Dead time correction of time distribution measurements

We report in this article an analysis of the distortion of the time distribution due to the dead time of the detection chain. The special case of distributions coming from a pulsed source is considered and a relatively simple method for the reconstruction of the true time distribution is given. The method is applicable in both extended and nonextended dead times. It can be applied to correcting an experimental time distribution and, if the shape of the distribution is known, to deducing the true rate of events from that measured by a counter. An experimental method to simulate a pulsed source with a controllable mean production rate is also shown; the time distributions obtained from this source have been used as test distributions to prove the reliability of the reconstruction procedure.