A study of relativistic charged particle identification by primary cluster counting

The possibility to identify charged particles in the relativistic rise region by primary cluster counting in low-pressure gaseous detectors is discussed. Based on experimental parameters measured with a single detector module and with minimum ionizing electrons, the response of a full detection system to relativistic particles was simulated. Particle separation with a realistic device, comprising 20 consecutive detector modules, was evaluated in terms of total system length and momentum range. The estimated performance is compared to that of some existing dEdx detectors.