The Ring Imaging CHerenkov Detectors of the LHCb Experiment

Particle identification is a fundamental requirement of the LHCb experiment to fulfill its physics programme. Positive hadron identification is performed by two Ring Imaging CHerenkov (RICH) detectors. This system covers the full angular acceptance of the experiment and is equipped with three Cherenkov radiators to identify particles in a wide momentum range from1 GeV/c up to 100 GeV/c. The Hybrid Photon Detectors (HPDs) located outside the detector acceptance provide the photon detection with 500,000 channels. Specific read–out electronics has been developed to readout and process data from the HPDs including data transmission and power distribution. The operation and performanceoftheRICHsystemare ensuredbythe constant controland monitoringoflowandhighvoltage systems,of thegas qualityandenvironmental parameters,ofthe mirror alignment,and finallyofthe detector safety. The description of the LHCb RICH is given. The experience in operating the detector at the Large Hadron Collider is presented and discussed.