Results from the GIF++ Long-Term Study of Eco-Friendly Gas Mixtures for RPCs

D. Ahmadi; M. Tytgat; M. Abbrescia; G. Aielli; R. Aly; M. C. Arena; M. Barroso; L. Benussi; S. Bianco; D. Boscherini; F. Bordon; A. Bruni; S. Buontempo; M. Busato; P. Camarri; R. Cardarelli; L. Congedo; D. De Jesus Damiao; M. De Serio; F. Debernardis; A. Di Ciaccio; L. Di Stante; P. Dupieux; J. Eysermans; N. Ferrara; A. Ferretti; G. Galati; M. Gagliardi; R. Guida; G. Iaselli; B. Joly; S. A. Juks; U. Lakshmaiah; K. S. Lee; B. Liberti; D. Lucero Ramirez; B. Mandelli; S. P. Manen; L. Massa; A. Pastore; E. Pastori; D. Piccolo; L. Pizzimento; A. Polini; G. Proto; G. Pugliese; L. Quaglia; D. Ramos; G. Rigoletti; A. Rocchi; M. Romano; P. Salvini; R. Santonico; G. Saviano; M. Sessa; S. Simone; E. Vercellin; M. Verzeroli; N. Zaganidis

arXiv · 2610.23706

Results from the GIF++ Long-Term Study of Eco-Friendly Gas Mixtures for RPCs

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Abstract

Gaseous detectors play a crucial role in high-energy physics experiments, yet their operation often relies on fluorinated gases with a very high Global Warming Potential (GWP). Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) operated in avalanche mode typically use high-performance gas mixtures based on high-GWP F-gases such as C$_2$H$_2$F$_4$ and SF$_6$. As environmental concerns grow and regulations become increasingly stringent, the development of sustainable gas mixtures has become a global priority. Within the RPC ECOGas@GIF++ Collaboration, a long-term R&D program has investigated eco-friendly gas mixtures for RPCs and assessed their performance under irradiation. RPCs operated with an HFO-1234ze/CO$_2$ mixture were exposed to high particle fluxes at CERN GIF++, accumulating $\mathcal{O}(10^2~\mathrm{mC/cm^2})$ over three years. This ageing campaign is now complete, and the detector performances have been systematically evaluated across a broad range of particle rates. This paper presents preliminary final results from the campaign, along with future perspectives.

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D. Ahmadi, M. Tytgat, M. Abbrescia, G. Aielli, R. Aly, M. C. Arena, M. Barroso, L. Benussi, S. Bianco, D. Boscherini, F. Bordon, A. Bruni, S. Buontempo, M. Busato, P. Camarri, R. Cardarelli, L. Congedo, D. De Jesus Damiao, M. De Serio, F. Debernardis, A. Di Ciaccio, L. Di Stante, P. Dupieux, J. Eysermans, N. Ferrara, A. Ferretti, G. Galati, M. Gagliardi, R. Guida, G. Iaselli, B. Joly, S. A. Juks, U. Lakshmaiah, K. S. Lee, B. Liberti, D. Lucero Ramirez, B. Mandelli, S. P. Manen, L. Massa, A. Pastore, E. Pastori, D. Piccolo, L. Pizzimento, A. Polini, G. Proto, G. Pugliese, L. Quaglia, D. Ramos, G. Rigoletti, A. Rocchi, M. Romano, P. Salvini, R. Santonico, G. Saviano, M. Sessa, S. Simone, E. Vercellin, M. Verzeroli, N. Zaganidis. 2026-10-16. Results from the GIF++ Long-Term Study of Eco-Friendly Gas Mixtures for RPCs. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.23706

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