Silicon-strip microvertex detector for studying QCD jets associated with direct photons

This thesis is about the design and construction of a charged particle tracking telescope made up of silicon microstrip detectors (SMD's). The device itself is a component of the E706 spectrometer being constructed for use at Tevatron II, the new proton accelerator at Fermilab. This detector is designed to study the production of direct photons and the associated hadron physics. They will present a comprehensive discussion of this effort. A description of the physics goals in chapter I defines the physics requirements and motivates the use of SMD's. Chapter II introduces us to the construction and instrumentation of this class of detectors. In order to have a working set of SMD's, especially in the environment of the Tevatron II, one needs a large and carefully constructed system of electronics. This is detailed in chapters III and IV. As they will see, theoretical predictions in this area of physics depend on Monte Carlo techniques which have become quite sophisticated over the years. In chapter V the adaptation of existing software to their needs is described. Finally in chapter VI, they look at the future and discuss some additional physics goals that can be pursued using the same detector