Characteristics of a detector with a moderator for determination of direction of flight of ionizing particles

One way of determining the direction toward the source of ionizing particles is to calculate the position of two points on the basis of the space coordinates measured with a system of two-dimensional coordinate-sensitive detectors. The points of entrance and exit of the particles from the detector are distinguished by ascertaining the energy lost by the particle in electromagnetic interactions with nuclei of a moderator placed between the coordinate-sensitive detectors. When two parallel sets of detectors are employed, the azimuth and the angle of the site of the flight direction are defined by the formulas α = arccos x2-x1/d; ρ = arccos y2-y1/d, where d = √(x2 - x1)2 + (y2 - y1)2 + ell 2, and x1, y1, and x2, y2 are the coordinates of the points of intersection of the first and second two-dimensional coordinate-sensitive detectors by the particle along its direction of motion, respectively; ell is the distance between the detectors. In this paper, the problem of determining the main characteristics of the detector is solved. By employing a system of a two-dimensional coordinate-sensisitive detector and moderator and statistically treating the measurement results, the flight direction of ionizing particles on a broad energy range can be determined. 7 refs., 2 figs