Strong enhancement of electromagnetic shower development in oriented scintillating crystals and implications for particle detectors

作者：M. Soldani, P. Monti-Guarnieri, A. Selmi, N. Argiolas, L. Bomben, C. Brizzolari, N. Canale, S. Carsi, N. Charitonidis, D. De Salvador, Vincenzo Guidi, Viktar Haurylavets, Mikhail Korzhik, Giulia Lezzani, А. С. Лобко, Lorenzo Malagutti, S. Mangiacavalli, V. Mascagna, A. Mazzolari, V. Mechinsky, M. Moulson, R. Negrello, G. Paternò, Leonardo Perna, C. Petroselli, M. Prest, M. Romagnoni, F. Ronchetti, Giosué Saibene, Francesco Sgarbossa, Alexei Sytov, Виктор Тихомиров, E. Vallazza, L. Bandiera · 发表于：The European Physical Journal C · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1140/epjc/s10052-025-14967-4 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Crystallography and Radiation Phenomena、Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena、Radiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies

Abstract A particle traversing a crystal aligned with one of its crystallographic axes experiences a strong electromagnetic field that is constant along the direction of motion over macroscopic distances. For "Equation missing" and $$\gamma $$ γ -rays with energies above a few $$\textrm{GeV}$$ GeV , this field is amplified by the Lorentz boost, to the point of exceeding the Schwinger critical field $$\mathcal {E}_0 \sim 1.32 \times 10^{16}~\mathrm {V/cm}$$ E 0 ∼ 1.32 × 10 16 V / cm . In this regime, nonlinear quantum-electrodynamical effects occur, such as the enhancement of intense electromagnetic radiation emission and pair production, so that the electromagnetic shower development is accelerated and the effective shower length is reduced compared to amorphous materials. We have investigated this phenomenon in lead tungstate ( $$\textrm{PbWO}_4$$ PbWO 4 ), a high- Z scintillator widely used in particle detection. We have observed a substantial increase in scintillation light at small incidence angles with respect to the main lattice axes. Measurements with $$120~\textrm{GeV}$$ 120 GeV electrons and $$\gamma $$ γ -rays between 5 and $$100~\textrm{GeV}$$ 100 GeV demonstrate up to a threefold increase in energy deposition in oriented samples. These findings challenge the current models of shower development in crystal scintillators and could guide the development of next-generat...