Nuclear track detection: advances and potential in astrophysics, particle physics, and applied research

Results of nuclear physics research made using track detectors are briefly reviewed.Advantages and prospects of applying the track detection technique in particle physics, neutrino physics, astrophysics, and other fields are discussed for the example of the results of works at the PAVICOM facility of the Lebedev Physical Institute (LPI), Russian Academy of Sciences (PAVICOM: the Russian acronym for Completely Automated Measuring Complex).A unique facility PAVICOM satisfies the best world standards for track detectors and has been successfully operated for about 10 years now.The review covers the results of studies on the search for direct origination of the tau neutrino in a muon neutrino beam within the framework of the international experiment OPERA (Oscillation Project with Emulsion-tRacking Apparatus).LPI's PAVICOM made the possibility of scanning nuclear emulsions from OPERA's detector a reality, enabling the participation of Russian physicists in processing and analyzing the data of this experiment.The spectra of superheavy elements in galactic cosmic rays are presented; the spectra were obtained in measurements of the nucleus tracks in crystals of olivines from meteorites, and nuclei with charges within the range 105 `Z `130 were registered.The prospects for using the track detection technique in, for example, neutrino physics studies (the search for double beta decay) and applied research into muon radiography (nondestructive testing of large construction sites, the search for mineral resources, etc.) are reported.Track detectors have been widely used in particle physics for very many decades.In track detectors, registration of elementary particles is accompanied by the emergence of observable traces (tracks) repeating the mechanical trajectory of an elementary particle.These are bubble and spark chambers, nuclear emulsions, silver chloride crystals, and etchable solid state track detectors [1±14].The popularity and long lifetime of the track detection technique are not by