Track finding studies for CMS

A simulation study of the tracking detector of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector for the LHC has been performed. The tracker is based on fast microstrip silicon and somewhat slower microstrip gas techniques to be operated in a 4 Tesla magnetic field. Pattern recognition capabilities of the tracker consisting of more than 107 readout channels are studied in the heavy background conditions at the highest LHC luminosities, 1.7x1034. For isolated high momentum (p-t > 2 GeV/c) particles the track finding efficiency is close to 100%. In collimated jets the efficiency drops to ∼ 95% for jet transverse energies around 100 GeV and further to ∼ 90% for 500 GeV jets. (orig.)