Simulation and prototype testing of multi-wire drift chamber arrays for the CEE

The building of a large-scale external-target experiment, abbreviated as CEE, in the cooling storage ring at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou has been planned. The CEE is a multi-purpose spectrometer that will be used for various studies on heavy-ion collisions. A multi-wire drift chamber (MWDC) array is the forward tracking detector of the CEE. In this work, GEANT4 simulations were performed for the MWDC forward tracking array with a focus on the track reconstruction algorithm. Combined with the time of flight information, particle identification is achieved. The residue is about $$30\,\upmu \hbox {m}$$, while the tracking efficiency is higher than 90% with the current redundancy. In addition, a prototype of the forward tracking system using three MWDCs was assembled and tested using a high-energy proton beam. The firing efficiency of the detector and the reconstruction accuracy of the prototype were derived. The track residue for the protons at about 400 MeV/c is better than $$300\,\upmu \hbox {m}$$, meeting the requirements of the CEE. Suggestions for improving the performance of the forward tracking system are given.