A high pressure streamer chamber serving as a target for investigating the interaction of pions with light nuclei

The physical program of investigating double charge exchange and dibaryon systems is presented. The results obtained previously in this field are described. In the Laboratory of Nuclear Problems of the JINR an experimental installation has been set up including a streamer chamber-target in magnetic field designed to study pion double charge exchange on helium and carbon nuclei involving the production of multi-prong events with low-energy particles at the vertex. In the streamer chamber high-temperature centres along the particle track arise that represent optical inhomogeneities in gas detected by means of laser illumination. The utilization of a powerfull nitrogen laser for illumination makes possible the use of photographic film of low sensitivity up to 10 units of GOST, USSR. The described method provides for a spatial resolution 10 times, higher than in a conventional streamer chamber. The chamber operates with light gases, such as H2,D2, He4,He3, as well as with their admixtures with CH at high gaseous pressures. The chamber is provided with an external trigger for selecting the events of interest