Markov modeling of performance deterioration in irradiated resistive plate chambers

This work presents a piecewise deterministic Markov process model for describing performance deterioration in resistive plate chambers (RPC) under uniform background irradiation. The approach accommodates high irradiation rates and arbitrary charge spectra. When applied to the one-dimensional single-cell model of a three-layer single-gap RPC, it shows agreement with state-of-the-art Monte Carlo simulations, which has not been achieved so far. The Markov process model is further applied to the single-cell model with polarizable resistive layers and the two-dimensional counterpart. Moreover, we show that incorporating streamer-like charge events allows the model to reproduce experimental data on efficiency curves under irradiation. These large charge events explain the experimentally observed reduction of the efficiency plateau at high irradiation rates. Extending this insight to eco-friendly gas mixtures reveals that suppressing streamers in general is crucial for achieving high-rate capability.