Report of the Central Tracking Group

Issues involved in building a realistic central tracking system for a general-purpose 4..pi.. detector for the SSC are addressed. Such a central tracking system must be capable of running at the full design luminosity of 10/sup 33/ cm/sup -2/s/sup -1/. Momentum measurement was required in a general-purpose 4..pi.. detector. Limitations on charged particle tracking detectors at the SSC imposed by rates and radiation damage are reviewed. Cell occupancy is the dominant constraint, which led us to the conclusion that only small cells, either wires or straw tubes, are suitable for a central tracking system at the SSC. Mechanical problems involved in building a central tracking system of either wires or straw tubes were studied, and our conclusion was that it is possible to build such a large central tracking system. Of course, a great deal of research and development is required. We also considered central tracking systems made of scintillating fibers or silicon microstrips, but our conclusion was that neither is a realistic candidate given the current state of technology. We began to work on computer simulation of a realistic central tracking system. Events from interesting physics processes at the SSC will be complex and will be further complicated bymore » hits from out-of-time bunch crossings and multiple interactions within the same bunch crossing. Detailed computer simulations are needed to demonstrate that the pattern recognition and tracking problems can be solved.« less