A novel approach to the classification of multidetector array data

In nuclear physics at intermediate energies the use of multidetector arrays consisting of thousands of detectors is customary. For each event up to one hundred of detection cells are hit. As usual in the case of a large number of detectors tools are needed for their stability control and the data analysis automation. This paper presents a simple, novel approach to the classification of data collected using a multidetector array. We describe the results obtained by applying special algorithms to the signals coming from the detection cells of the 4/spl pi/ multidetector array CHIMERA, constituted by telescopes of a thin silicon transparent detector coupled to a thick CsI(Tl) scintillator. The method, which does not require any preliminary energy calibration, consists in a quasiautomatic data processing and produces frequency distributions of the most significant physical parameters. These monodimensional spectra are more easily automatically analyzed than the standard bidimensional scatter plots. In particular, in the proposed system the interactive phase is shorter than in the usual analysis, thus saving time and operator intervention. The proposed method has been successfully used both in the off-line data analysis and in the control of the multidetector stability.