Machine Learning-Based Cluster Classification to Suppress Background in a Prototype RPC Detector

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Chattopadhay, Souvik, Ahammed, Zubayer
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Chattopadhay, Souvik
Ahammed, Zubayer
author_facet Chattopadhay, Souvik
Ahammed, Zubayer
contents Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) are widely used as tracking detectors in many high-energy physics experiments. It has been observed that low-resistive bakelite RPC prototypes frequently exhibit a secondary hit component, appearing as a long tail or an additional peak in the time-correlation spectra relative to the trigger detector. These secondary hits, which affect both the time and spatial resolution, are difficult to distinguish from genuine signals in high-rate environments without an external trigger. As a result, they can significantly degrade track reconstruction efficiency and increase processing time. We present a machine-learning-based strategy to separate signal and background hit clusters using fifteen cluster-level descriptors that encode both statistical properties (histogram mean, width, cluster size) and fit-based parameters (Gaussian-fit mean, width, amplitude, chi^2, NDF) of the time and ADC distributions. Using laboratory data collected from a single-gap low resistive RPC with a three-scintillator master trigger, we trained and evaluated three classifiers-DNN, 1D-CNN, and XGBoost-on balanced signal/background samples. All models demonstrate strong discrimination capability, with XGBoost showing the most robust generalization performance. Feature-importance analysis indicates that cluster size and temporal-shape descriptors are the dominant discriminants. These results highlight that compact, interpretable cluster-level features combined with machine-learning classifiers offer a practical and effective approach to suppress background in self-triggering low resistive RPC detectors.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_28835
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Machine Learning-Based Cluster Classification to Suppress Background in a Prototype RPC Detector
Chattopadhay, Souvik
Ahammed, Zubayer
Instrumentation and Detectors
High Energy Physics - Experiment
Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) are widely used as tracking detectors in many high-energy physics experiments. It has been observed that low-resistive bakelite RPC prototypes frequently exhibit a secondary hit component, appearing as a long tail or an additional peak in the time-correlation spectra relative to the trigger detector. These secondary hits, which affect both the time and spatial resolution, are difficult to distinguish from genuine signals in high-rate environments without an external trigger. As a result, they can significantly degrade track reconstruction efficiency and increase processing time. We present a machine-learning-based strategy to separate signal and background hit clusters using fifteen cluster-level descriptors that encode both statistical properties (histogram mean, width, cluster size) and fit-based parameters (Gaussian-fit mean, width, amplitude, chi^2, NDF) of the time and ADC distributions. Using laboratory data collected from a single-gap low resistive RPC with a three-scintillator master trigger, we trained and evaluated three classifiers-DNN, 1D-CNN, and XGBoost-on balanced signal/background samples. All models demonstrate strong discrimination capability, with XGBoost showing the most robust generalization performance. Feature-importance analysis indicates that cluster size and temporal-shape descriptors are the dominant discriminants. These results highlight that compact, interpretable cluster-level features combined with machine-learning classifiers offer a practical and effective approach to suppress background in self-triggering low resistive RPC detectors.
title Machine Learning-Based Cluster Classification to Suppress Background in a Prototype RPC Detector
topic Instrumentation and Detectors
High Energy Physics - Experiment
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.28835