Fast 4π track reconstruction in nuclear emulsion detectors based on GPU technology

Fast 4π solid angle particle track recognition has been a challenge in particle physics for a long time, especially in using nuclear emulsion detectors. The recent advances in computing technology opened the way for its realization. A fast 4π solid angle particle track reconstruction based on GPU technology combined with a multithread programming is reported here with a detailed comparison of processing time by CPUs with respect to using GPUs. By employing 3 state-of-the-art GPUs with a multithread programming, a 60 times faster processing of 3D emulsion detector data has been achieved with an excellent tracking performance in comparison with a single-thread CPU processing, corresponding to processing of 15 cm² emulsion surface scanned per hour.