Performance studies of a full-length prototype for the CASTOR forward calorimeter at the CMS experiment

We present performance studies of a full-length prototype for the CASTOR quartz-tungsten sampling calorimeter, installed in the very forward region of the CMS experiment at the LHC. The response linearity and energy resolution, the uniformity, as well as the showers’ spatial properties in the prototype have been studied with electrons, pions and muons of various energies. A special study was also carried out for testing the light-output with a 90-degree cut of the quartz plates of the calorimeter. The data were taken during the CASTOR test beam at CERN/SPS in 2007.