Analysis of Tungsten-DHCAL Data from the CERN Test Beam

This note reports on the status of the analysis and preliminary results of the large CALICE Digital Hadron Calorimeter prototype (W-DHCAL) from tests in the CERN test beams. In these tests, the W-DHCAL consisted of 39 layers instrumented with Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs), interleaved with 1 cm thick tungsten absorber plates. In addition, a steel plate absorber structure located behind the main stack and also instrumented with layers of RPCs, served as a tail catcher. The prototype was tested in the PS beam (1 – 10 GeV/c) and, subsequently, in the SPS H8 beamline (10 – 300 GeV). The note describes the setup, the test beams, and the trigger. It discusses the event selection and the measured response to muons, pions, protons and electrons. To help understand certain features of the data , a selection of the results is compared to predictions from detailed Monte Carlo simulations of the set-up and the RPC response.