Longer Dead Time Reduces Counts - Detector Physics: Timing and Spatial Reconstruction Step by Step

With the same source rate and clock, a longer recovery interval reserves more time per accepted count and reduces the solved count. The reduction is exact only for the declared dead times and ideal electronics response; real instruments have variable recovery, pulse pileup, baseline shifts, discriminator thresholds, and timing calibration limits.

Holding rate and clock fixed, longer recovery lowers the count. Exact arithmetic here means exact results for the stated model inputs; measured inputs still carry uncertainty and significant-figure limits.

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One-second dead time gives ten counts

With 1 second dead time, the 15 second clock accepts 10 counts.

\tau=1\ \text{s},\quad N=10

Two-second dead time gives six counts

With 2 seconds dead time, the same clock accepts 6 counts, using 12 seconds dead.

\tau=2\ \text{s},\quad N=6,\quad T_d=12\ \text{s}