XENON Collaboration(Aprile, E. et al), & Orrigo, S. E. A. (2017). Results from a calibration of XENON100 using a source of dissolved radon-220. Phys. Rev. D, 95(7), 072008–10pp.
Abstract: A Rn-220 source is deployed on the XENON100 dark matter detector in order to address the challenges in calibration of tonne-scale liquid noble element detectors. We show that the Pb-212 beta emission can be used for low-energy electronic recoil calibration in searches for dark matter. The isotope spreads throughout the entire active region of the detector, and its activity naturally decays below background level within a week after the source is closed. We find no increase in the activity of the troublesome Rn-222 background after calibration. Alpha emitters are also distributed throughout the detector and facilitate calibration of its response to Rn-222. Using the delayed coincidence of Rn-220-Po-216, we map for the first time the convective motion of particles in the XENON100 detector. Additionally, we make a competitive measurement of the half-life of Po-212, t(1/2) = (293.9 +/- (1.0)(stat) +/- (0.6)(sys)) ns.
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Aliaga, R. J. (2017). Real-Time Estimation of Zero Crossings of Sampled Signals for Timing Using Cubic Spline Interpolation. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., 64(8), 2414–2422.
Abstract: A scheme is proposed for hardware estimation of the location of zero crossings of sampled signals with subsample resolution for timing applications, which consists of interpolating the signal with a cubic spline near the zero crossing and then finding the root of the resulting polynomial. An iterative algorithm based on the bisection method is presented that obtains one bit of the result per step and admits an efficient digital implementation using fixed-point representation. In particular, the root estimation iteration involves only two additions, and the initial values can be obtained from finite impulse response (FIR) filters with certain symmetry properties. It is shown that this allows online real-time estimation of timestamps in free-running sampling detector systems with improved accuracy with respect to the more common linear interpolation. The method is evaluated with simulations using ideal and real timing signals, and estimates are given for the resource usage and speed of its implementation.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Garcia Martin, L. M., Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Remon Alepuz, C., Ruiz Valls, P., et al. (2017). Search for long-lived scalar particles in B+-> K+chi(mu(+) mu(-)) decays. Phys. Rev. D, 95(7), 071101–9pp.
Abstract: A search for a long-lived scalar particle. is performed, looking for the decay B+ -> K+chi with chi ->mu(+)mu(-) pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb(-1), collected by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of root s = 7 and 8 TeV. This new scalar particle, predicted by hidden sector models, is assumed to have a narrow width. The signal would manifest itself as an excess in the dimuon invariant mass distribution over the Standard Model background. No significant excess is observed in the accessible ranges of mass 250 < m(chi) < 4700 MeV/c(2) and lifetime 0.1 < tau(chi) < 1000 ps. Upper limits on the branching fraction B(B-broken vertical bar -> K-broken vertical bar chi(mu(vertical bar) mu(-))) at 95% confidence level are set as a function of m(chi) and tau(chi), varying between 2 x 10(-10) and 10(-7). These are the most stringent limits to date. The limits are interpreted in the context of a model with a light inflaton particle.
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ANTARES Collaboration(Albert, A. et al), Barrios-Marti, J., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., Illuminati, G., Lotze, M., Tönnis, C., et al. (2017). Search for dark matter annihilation in the earth using the ANTARES neutrino telescope. Phys. Dark Universe, 16, 41–48.
Abstract: A search for a neutrino signal from WIMP pair annihilations in the centre of the Earth has been performed with the data collected with the ANTARES neutrino telescope from 2007 to 2012. The event selection criteria have been developed and tuned to maximise the sensitivity of the experiment to such a neutrino signal. No significant excess of neutrinos over the expected background has been observed. Upper limits at 90% C.L. on the WIMP annihilation rate in the Earth and the spin independent scattering cross-section of WIMPs to nucleons sigma(SI)(p) were calculated for WIMP pair annihilations into either iota(+) iota(-), W+W-, b (b) over bar or the non-SUSY v mu(v) over bar as a function of the WIMP mass (between 25 GeV/c(2) and 1000 GeV/c(2)) and as a function of the thermally averaged annihilation cross section times velocity <sigma A(v)>(Earth) of the WIMPs in the centre of the Earth. For masses of the WIMP close to the mass of iron nuclei (50 GeV/c(2)), the obtained limits on sigma(SI)(p) are more stringent than those obtained by other indirect searches.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Garcia Martin, L. M., Henry, L., Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Remon Alepuz, C., et al. (2017). Search for Baryon-Number Violating Xi(0)(b) Oscillations. Phys. Rev. Lett., 119(18), 181807–9pp.
Abstract: A search for baryon-number violating Xi(0)(b) oscillations is performed with a sample of pp collision data recorded by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb(-1). The baryon number at the moment of production is identified by requiring that the Xi(0)(b) come from the decay of a resonance Xi(b)*(-) -> Xi(0)(b)pi(-) or Xi(b)'(-) -> Xi(0)(b)pi(-) and the baryon number at the moment of decay is identified from the final state using the decays Xi(0)(b) -> Xi(0)(c)pi(-) , Xi(+-)(c) -> pK(-)pi(+). No evidence of baryon-number violation is found, and an upper limit at the 95% confidence level is set on the oscillation rate of omega < 0.08 ps(-1), where. is the associated angular frequency.
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