The CHAOS spectrometer for pion physics at TRIUMF

The Canadian high acceptance orbit spectrometer (CHAOS) is a unique magnetic spectrometer system recently commissioned for studies of pion induced reactions at TRIUMF. It is based on a cylindrical dipole magnet producing vertical magnetic fields up to 1.6 T. The scattering target is located in the center of the magnet. Charged particle tracks produced by pion interactions there are identified using four concentric cylindrical wire chambers surrounding the target. Particle identification and track multiplicity are determined by cylindrical layers of scintillation counters and lead-glass Cherenkov counters, which also provide a first level trigger. A sophisticated second level trigger system permits pion fluxes in excess of 5 MHz to be employed. The detector subtends 360° in the horizontal plane, and ±7° out of this plane for a solid angle coverage approximately 10% of 4π sr. The momentum resolution delivered by the detector system is 1% (σ).