Abstract: The correct functioning of a collimation system is crucial to safely and successfully operate high-energy particle accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). However, the requirements to handle high-intensity beams can be demanding, and accident scenarios must be well studied in order to assess if the collimator design is robust against possible error scenarios. One of the catastrophic, though not very probable, accident scenarios identified within the LHC is an asynchronous beam dump. In this case, one (or more) of the 15 precharged kicker circuits fires out of time with the abort gap, spraying beam pulses onto LHC machine elements before the machine protection system can fire the remaining kicker circuits and bring the beam to the dump. If a proton bunch directly hits a collimator during such an event, severe beam-induced damage such as magnet quenches and other equipment damage might result, with consequent downtime for the machine. This study investigates a number of newly defined jaw error cases, which include angular misalignment errors of the collimator jaw. A numerical finite element method approach is presented in order to precisely evaluate the thermomechanical response of tertiary collimators to beam impact. We identify the most critical and interesting cases, and show that a tilt of the jaw can actually mitigate the effect of an asynchronous dump on the collimators. Relevant collimator damage limits are taken into account, with the aim to identify optimal operational conditions for the LHC.

Abstract: Two structures are observed close to the kinematic threshold in the Xi(0)(b)pi(-) mass spectrum in a sample of proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb(-1), recorded by the LEICb experiment. In the quark model, two baryonic resonances with quark content bds are expected in this mass region: the spin-parity J(P) = (1/2)(+) and J(P) = (3/2)(+) states, denoted Xi'(-)(b) and Xi*(-)(b). Interpreting the structures as these resonances, we measure the mass differences and the width of the heavier state to be m(Xi'(-)(b)) – m(Xi(0)(b)) – m(pi(-))=3.653 +/- 0.018 +/- 0.006 MeV/c(2), m(Xi*(-)(b)) – m(Xi(0)(b)) – m(pi(-)) = 23.96 +/- 0.12 +/- 0.06 MeV/e(2), Gamma(Xi*(-)(b)) = 1.65 +/- 0.31 +/- 0.10 MeV, where the first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The width of the lighter state is consistent with zero, and we place an upper limit of Gamma(Xi'(-)(b)) < 0.08 MeV at 95% confidence level. Relative production rates of these states are also reported.

Abstract: The semileptonic CP asymmetry in B-0-(B) over bar (0) mixing, a(s1)(d), is measured in proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb(-1), recorded by the LHCb experiment. Semileptonic B-0 decays are reconstructed in the inclusive final states D-mu(+) and D*(-)mu(+), where the D- meson decays into the K+pi(-)pi(-) final state and the D*(-) meson into the (D) over bar (0)(-> K+pi(-))pi(-) final state. The asymmetry between the numbers of D-(*()-)mu(+) and D-(*()+)mu(-) decays is measured as a function of the decay time of the B-0 mesons. The CP asymmetry is measured to be a(s1)(d) = (-0.02 +/- 0.19 +/- 0.30)%, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. This is the most precise measurement of a(s1)(d) to date and is consistent with the prediction from the standard model.