Multitube proportional chambers for the localization of electromagnetic showers in the CERN UA2 detector

Abstract 24 multitube proportional chambers with a total number of 5424 wires have been constructed for the CERN UA2 detector. They serve to localize the electromagnetic showers produced by electrons and photons in a lead-iron converter in front of each chamber, and to reject hadrons. Details of the construction and the operation parameters are given. The response to electrons and to hadrons in the energy range 20–60 GeV is discussed. The chambers and their electronics proved to be very reliable and stable.