Low Gain Avalanche Detectors for the HADES reaction time (T$_0$) detector upgrade

Low Gain Avalanche Detector (LGAD) technology has been used to design and construct prototypes of time-zero detector for experiments utilizing proton and pion beams with High Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at GSI Darmstadt, Germany. LGAD properties have been studied with proton beams at the COoler SYnchrotron (COSY) facility in Julich, Germany. We have demonstrated that systems based on a prototype LGAD operated at room temperature and equipped with leading-edge discriminators reach a time precision below 50 ps. The application in the HADES, experimental conditions, as well as the test results obtained with proton beams are presented.