Abstract: We present the second in a series of studies into the forward tracking system for a future linear e(+)e(-) collider with a center-of-mass energy in the range from 250 GeV to 3 TeV. In this note a number of specific challenges are investigated, which have caused a degradation of the tracking and vertexing performance in the forward region in previous experiments. We perform a quantitative analysis of the dependence of the tracking performance on detector design parameters and identify several ways to mitigate the performance loss for charged particles emitted at shallow angle.

Abstract: The search for neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) remains one of the most compelling experimental avenues for the discovery in the neutrino sector. Electroluminescent gas-phase time projection chambers are well suited to 0νββ searches due to their intrinsically precise energy resolution and topological event identification capabilities. Scalability to ton-and multi-ton masses requires readout of large-area electroluminescent regions with fine spatial resolution, low radiogenic backgrounds, and a scalable data acquisition system. This paper presents a detector prototype that records event topology in an electroluminescent xenon gas TPC via VUV image-intensified cameras. This enables an extendable readout of large tracking planes with commercial devices that reside almost entirely outside of the active medium. Following further development in intermediate scale demonstrators, this technique may represent a novel and enlargeable method for topological event imaging in 0νββ.

Abstract: A novel technique to identify and split clusters created by multiple charged particles in the ATLAS pixel detector using a set of artificial neural networks is presented. Such merged clusters are a common feature of tracks originating from highly energetic objects, such as jets. Neural networks are trained using Monte Carlo samples produced with a detailed detector simulation. This technique replaces the former clustering approach based on a connected component analysis and charge interpolation. The performance of the neural network splitting technique is quantified using data from proton-proton collisions at the LHC collected by the ATLAS detector in 2011 and from Monte Carlo simulations. This technique reduces the number of clusters shared between tracks in highly energetic jets by up to a factor of three. It also provides more precise position and error estimates of the clusters in both the transverse and longitudinal impact parameter resolution.

Abstract: The momentum measurement capability of the ATLAS muon spectrometer relies fundamentally on the intrinsic single-hit spatial resolution of the monitored drift tube precision tracking chambers. Optimal resolution is achieved with a dedicated calibration program that addresses the specific operating conditions of the 354 000 high-pressure drift tubes in the spectrometer. The calibrations consist of a set of timing offsets and drift time to drift distance transfer relations, and result in chamber resolution functions. This paper describes novel algorithms to obtain precision calibrations from data collected by ATLAS in LHC Run 2 and from a gas monitoring chamber, deployed in a dedicated gas facility. The algorithm output consists of a pair of correction constants per chamber which are applied to baseline calibrations, and determined to be valid for the entire ATLAS Run 2. The final single-hit spatial resolution, averaged over 1172 monitored drift tube chambers, is 81.7 +/- 2.2 μm.

Abstract: The ATLAS inner detector comprises three different sub-detectors: the pixel detector, the silicon strip tracker, and the transition-radiation drift-tube tracker. The Insertable B-Layer, a new innermost pixel layer, was installed during the shutdown period in 2014, together with modifications to the layout of the cables and support structures of the existing pixel detector. The material in the inner detector is studied with several methods, using a low-luminosity root s = 13 TeV pp collision sample corresponding to around 2.0 nb(-1) collected in 2015 with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. In this paper, the material within the innermost barrel region is studied using reconstructed hadronic interaction and photon conversion vertices. For the forward rapidity region, the material is probed by a measurement of the efficiency with which single tracks reconstructed from pixel detector hits alone can be extended with hits on the track in the strip layers. The results of these studies have been taken into account in an improved description of the material in the ATLAS inner detector simulation, resulting in a reduction in the uncertainties associated with the charged-particle reconstruction efficiency determined from simulation.