The UA5 streamer chamber experiment at the SPS pp collider

A multiparticle detector based on two large (6 m long) streamer chambers triggered by surrounding scintillation hodoscopes and viewed by cameras via image intensifiers is being assembled at CERN and tested at the ISR. Its purpose is to perform a first rapid visual survey of the new energy region afforded by the SPS pp collider. Charged tracks can be observed down to 3/4 degrees , and hence over most of the pseudorapidity range ( mod eta mod <or approximately=5.0) covered by high multiplicity events. Lead glass plates are being placed within each chamber to convert gammas produced within the same eta range. The apparatus is hence particularly appropriate for the detection with high efficiency of the so-called Centauro events, thought to be characterized by very large multiplicities ((n/sub ch/) approximately 100) and by very few accompanying neutral particles. (5 refs).