Detection of High-Energy Particles

Abstract

In spite of quantum field theoretical and philosophical problems to define the concept of elementary particles and to understand their localizability, particles become intuitively apparent by the traces they leave in particle detectors. Today, experimental particle physicists have reached a high degree of perfection in measuring and visualizing particles up to highest energies using a variety of high technology detection devices and sophisticated, powerful particle accelerators. The paper reviews the basic detection techniques and puts the microscopic quantum field theoretical processes of interest into perspective with the measurements performed at macroscopic scales. It is shown that particle detectors and accelerators are highly classical devices which localize particles without significantly affecting the tails of their wave functions. It is discussed which properties of particles can be measured and how these measurements relate to the dynamics of elementary particles at microscopic length scales.