ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Ferrer, A., Fiorini, L., et al. (2014). Search for new resonances in W gamma and Z gamma final states in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Lett. B, 738, 428–447.
Abstract: This Letter presents a search for new resonances decaying to final states with a vector boson produced in association with a high transverse momentum photon, V gamma, with V = W(-> l nu) or Z(-> l(+)l(-)), where l = μor mu. The measurements use 20.3fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector. No deviations from the Standard Model expectations are found, and production cross section limits are set at 95% confidence level. Masses of the hypothetical a(T) and omega(T) states of a benchmark Low Scale Technicolor model are excluded in the ranges [275, 960] GeV and [200, 700]boolean OR[750, 890] GeV, respectively. Limits at 95% confidence level on the production cross section of a singlet scalar resonance decaying to Z gamma final states have also been obtained for masses below 1180 GeV.
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AGATA Collaboration(Pellegri, L. et al), & Gadea, A. (2014). Pygmy dipole resonance in Sn-124 populated by inelastic scattering of O-17. Phys. Lett. B, 738, 519–523.
Abstract: The gamma decay from the high-lying states of Sn-124 was measured using the inelastic scattering of O-17 at 340 MeV. The emitted gamma rays were detected with high resolution with the AGATA demonstrator array and the scattered ions were detected in two segmented Delta E-E silicon telescopes. The angular distribution was measured both for the gamma rays and the scattered O-17 ions. An accumulation of E1 strength below the particle threshold was found and compared with previous data obtained with (gamma,gamma') and (alpha,alpha'gamma) reactions. The present results of elastic scattering, and excitation of E2 and E1 states were analysed using the DWBA approach. From this comprehensive description the isoscalar component of the 1-excited states was extracted. The obtained values are based on the comparison of the data with DWBA calculations including a form factor deduced using a microscopic transition density.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Ruiz Valls, P., & Sanchez Mayordomo, C. (2014). Precision luminosity measurements at LHCb. J. Instrum., 9, P12005–91pp.
Abstract: Measuring cross-sections at the LHC requires the luminosity to be determined accurately at each centre-of-mass energy root s. In this paper results are reported from the luminosity calibrations carried out at the LHC interaction point 8 with the LHCb detector for root s = 2.76, 7 and 8TeV (proton-proton collisions) and for root s(NN) = 5TeV (proton-lead collisions). Both the “van der Meer scan” and “beam-gas imaging” luminosity calibration methods were employed. It is observed that the beam density profile cannot always be described by a function that is factorizable in the two transverse coordinates. The introduction of a two-dimensional description of the beams improves significantly the consistency of the results. For proton-proton interactions at root s = 8TeV a relative precision of the luminosity calibration of 1.47% is obtained using van der Meer scans and 1.43% using beam-gas imaging, resulting in a combined precision of 1.12%. Applying the calibration to the full data set determines the luminosity with a precision of 1.16%. This represents the most precise luminosity measurement achieved so far at a bunched-beam hadron collider.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Ruiz Valls, P., & Sanchez Mayordomo, C. (2014). Measurement of the (B)over-bar(0)-B-0 and (B)over-bars(0)-B-s(0) production asymmetries in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV. Phys. Lett. B, 739, 218–228.
Abstract: The (B) over bar (0)-B-0 and (B) over bar (0)(s)-B-s(0) production asymmetries, A(P)(B-0) and A(P)(B-s(0)), are measured by means of a time-dependent analysis of B-0 -> J/Psi K-*0, B-0 -> D-pi(+) and B-s(0) -> D-s(-)pi(+) decays, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb(-1), collected by LHCb in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. The measurements are performed as a function of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity of the B-0 and B-s(0) mesons within the LHCb acceptance. The production asymmetries, integrated over p(T) and eta in the range 4 < p(T) < 30 GeV/c and 2.5 < eta < 4.5, are determined to be A(P)(B-0) = (-0.35 +/- 0.76 +/- 0.28)% and A(P)(B-s(0)) = (1.09 +/- 2.61 +/- 0.66)%, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fassi, F., Ferrer, A., et al. (2014). Measurement of inclusive jet charged-particle fragmentation functions in Pb plus Pb collisions at root S-NN=2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Lett. B, 739, 320–342.
Abstract: Measurements of charged-particle fragmentation functions of jets produced in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions can provide insight into the modification of parton showers in the hot, dense medium created in the collisions. ATLAS has measured jets in root S-NN = 2.76 TeV Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC using a data set recorded in 2011 with an integrated luminosity of 0.14 nb(-1). Jets were reconstructed using the anti-k(t) algorithm with distance parameter values R = 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4. Distributions of charged-particle transverse momentum and longitudinal momentum fraction are reported for seven bins in collision centrality for R = 0.4 jets with p(T)(jet) > 100 GeV. Commensurate minimum p(T) values are used for the other radii. Ratios of fragment distributions in each centrality bin to those measured in the most peripheral bin are presented. These ratios show a reduction of fragment yield in central collisions relative to peripheral collisions at intermediate z values, 0.04 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 0.2, and an enhancement in fragment yield for z less than or similar to 0.04. A smaller, less significant enhancement is observed at large z and large p(T) in central collisions.
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NEXT Collaboration(Lorca, D. et al), Martin-Albo, J., Laing, A., Ferrario, P., Gomez-Cadenas, J. J., Alvarez, V., et al. (2014). Characterisation of NEXT-DEMO using xenon K-alpha X-rays. J. Instrum., 9, P10007–20pp.
Abstract: The NEXT experiment aims to observe the neutrinoless double beta decay of Xe-136 in a high-pressure xenon gas TPC using electroluminescence (EL) to amplify the signal from ionization. Understanding the response of the detector is imperative in achieving a consistent and well understood energy measurement. The abundance of xenon K-shell X-ray emission during data taking has been identified as a multitool for the characterisation of the fundamental parameters of the gas as well as the equalisation of the response of the detector. The NEXT-DEMO prototype is a similar to 1.5 kg volume TPC filled with natural xenon. It employs an array of 19 PMTs as an energy plane and of 256 SiPMs as a tracking plane with the TPC light tube and SiPM surfaces being coated with tetraphenyl butadiene (TPB) which acts as a wavelength shifter for the VUV scintillation light produced by xenon. This paper presents the measurement of the properties of the drift of electrons in the TPC, the effects of the EL production region, and the extraction of position dependent correction constants using K-alpha X-ray deposits. These constants were used to equalise the response of the detector to deposits left by gammas from Na-22.
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Sorel, M. (2014). Expected performance of an ideal liquid argon neutrino detector with enhanced sensitivity to scintillation light. J. Instrum., 9, P10002–25pp.
Abstract: Scintillation light is used in liquid argon (LAr) neutrino detectors to provide a trigger signal, veto information against cosmic rays, and absolute event timing. In this work, we discuss additional opportunities offered by detectors with enhanced sensitivity to scintillation light, that is with light collection efficiencies of about 10(-3). We focus on two key detector performance indicators for neutrino oscillation physics: calorimetric neutrino energy reconstruction and neutrino/antineutrino separation in a non-magnetized detector. Our results are based on detailed simulations, with neutrino interactions modelled according to the GENIE event generator, while the charge and light responses of a large LAr ideal detector are described by the Geant4 and NEST simulation tools. A neutrino energy resolution as good as 3.3% RMS for 4 GeV electron neutrino charged-current interactions can in principle be obtained in a large detector of this type, by using both charge and light information. By exploiting muon capture in argon and scintillation light information to veto muon decay electrons, we also obtain muon neutrino identification efficiencies of about 50%, and muon antineutrino misidentification rates at the few percent level, for few-GeV neutrino interactions that are fully contained. We argue that the construction of large LAr detectors with sufficiently high light collection efficiencies is in principle possible.
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XENON Collaboration(Aprile, E. et al), & Orrigo, S. E. A. (2014). Conceptual design and simulation of a water Cherenkov muon veto for the XENON1T experiment. J. Instrum., 9, P11006–20pp.
Abstract: XENON is a dark matter direct detection project, consisting of a time projection chamber (TPC) filled with liquid xenon as detection medium. The construction of the next generation detector, XENON1T, is presently taking place at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy. It aims at a sensitivity to spin-independent cross sections of 2.10(47) cm(2) for WIMP masses around 50 GeV/c(2), which requires a background reduction by two orders of magnitude compared to XENON100, the current generation detector. An active system that is able to tag muons and muon-induced backgrounds is critical for this goal. A water Cherenkov detector of similar to 10m height and diameter has been therefore developed, equipped with 8 inch photomultipliers and cladded by a reflective foil. We present the design and optimization study for this detector, which has been carried out with a series of Monte Carlo simulations. The muon veto will reach very high detection efficiencies for muons (> 99.5%) and showers of secondary particles from muon interactions in the rock (> 70%). Similar efficiencies will be obtained for XENONnT, the upgrade of XENON1T, which will later improve the WIMP sensitivity by another order of magnitude. With the Cherenkov water shield studied here, the background from muon-induced neutrons in XENON1T is negligible.
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Lattanzi, M., Lineros, R. A., & Taoso, M. (2014). Connecting neutrino physics with dark matter. New J. Phys., 16, 125012–19pp.
Abstract: The origin of neutrino masses and the nature of dark matter are two in most pressing open questions in modern astro-particle physics. We consider here the possibility that these two problems are related, and review some theoretical scenarios which offer common solutions. A simple possibility is that the dark matter particle emerges in minimal realizations of the seesaw mechanism, as in the majoron and sterile neutrino scenarios. We present the theoretical motivation for both models and discuss their phenomenology, confronting the predictions of these scenarios with cosmological and astrophysical observations. Finally, we discuss the possibility that the stability of dark matter originates from a flavor symmetry of the leptonic sector. We review a proposal based on an A(4) flavor symmetry.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Ruiz Valls, P., & Sanchez Mayordomo, C. (2014). Observation of B-s(0) -> K* (+/-) K -/+ and evidence for B-s(0) -> K*(-) pi(+) decays. New J. Phys., 16, 123001–18pp.
Abstract: Measurements of the branching fractions of B-s(0) -> K*K-+/-(-/+) and B-s(0) -> K*(+/-) pi(-/+) decays are performed using a data sample corresponding to 1.0 fb(-1) of protonproton collision data collected with the LHCb detector at a centre-of- mass energy of 7 TeV, where the K*(+/-) mesons are reconstructed in the K-s(0) pi(+/-) final state. The first observation of the B-s(0) -> K*(+/-) K--/+ decay and the first evidence for the B-s(0) -> K*(-) pi(+) decay are reported with branching fractions B(B-s(0) -> K*K-+/-(-/+)) = (12.7 +/- 1.9 +/- 1.9) x 10(-6) , B(B-s(0) -> K*(-) pi(+)) = (3.3 +/- 1.1 +/- 0.5) x 10(-6) , where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. In addition, an upper limit of B(B-0 -> K*K-+/-(-/+)) < 0.4 (0.5) x 10(-6) is set at 90% (95%) confidence level.
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