Super-Cerenkov Radiation: A new phenomenon useful for RICH Detectors

Abstract

In this contribution the Super-Cerenkov radiation (SCR) as a new phenomenon which includes in a more general and exact form the usual Cerenkov effect is presented. The Super-Cerenkov effect at Cerenkov threshold in the radiators of RICH detectors is investigated. The results on the experimental test of the super- Cerenkov coherence conditions are presented. The SCR-predictions are verified experimentally with high accuracy chi/n_{dof}=1.47 by the data on the Cerenkov ring radii of electron, muon, pion and kaon, all measured with RICH detector. Moreover, it is shown that the Super-Cerenkov phenomenon can explain not only subthreshold CR but also the observed secondary rings (or anomalous Cerenkov radiation) observed at CERN SPS accelerator. The influence of medium on the particle propagation properties is also estimated and the refractive properties of electrons, muons, pions, in the radiator C4F10Ar are obtained. So, we proved that the refractive indices of the charged elementary particles in medium are also very important for the RICH detectors, especially at low and intermediate energies.