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Candela-Juan, C., Ballester, F., Perez-Calatayud, J., & Vijande, J. (2015). Assaying multiple I-125 seeds with the well-ionization chamber SourceCheck(4 Pi) 33005 and a new insert. J. Contemp. Brachytherapy, 7(6), 492–496.
Abstract: Purpose: To provide a practical solution that can be adopted in clinical routine to fulfill the AAPM-ESTRO recommendations regarding quality assurance of seeds used in prostate permanent brachytherapy. The aim is to design a new insert for the well-ionization chamber SourceCheck(4 Pi) 33005 (PTW, Germany) that allows evaluating the mean air-kerma strength of up to ten I-125 seeds with one single measurement instead of measuring each seed individually. Material and methods: The material required is: a) the SourceCheck(4 Pi) 33005 well-ionization chamber provided with a PTW insert to measure the air-kerma strength S-K of one single seed at a time; b) a newly designed insert that accommodates ten seeds in one column, which allows measuring the mean S-K of the ten seeds in one single measurement; and c) a container with ten seeds from the same batch and class of the seeds used for the patient implant, and a set of nine non-radioactive seeds.The new insert is characterized by determining its calibration coefficient, used to convert the reading of the well-chamber when ten seeds are measured to their mean S-K. The proposed method is validated by comparing the mean S-K of the ten seeds obtained from the new insert with the individual measurement of S-K of each seed, evaluated with the PTW insert. Results: The ratio between the calibration coefficient of the new insert and the calibration coefficient of the PTW insert for the SourceCheck(4 Pi) 33005 is 1.135 +/- 0.007 (k = 1). The mean S-K of a set of ten seeds evaluated with this new system is in agreement with the mean value obtained from measuring independently the S-K of each seed. Conclusions: The new insert and procedure allow evaluating the mean S-K of ten seeds prior to the implant in a single measurement. The method is faster and more efficient from radiation protection point of view than measuring the individual S-K of each seed.
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Barrientos, D., Bellato, M., Bazzacco, D., Bortolato, D., Cocconi, P., Gadea, A., et al. (2015). Performance of the Fully Digital FPGA-Based Front-End Electronics for the GALILEO Array. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., 62(6), 3134–3139.
Abstract: In this work we present the architecture and results of a fully digital Front End Electronics (FEE) read out system developed for the GALILEO array. The FEE system, developed in collaboration with the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) collaboration, is composed of three main blocks: preamplifiers, digitizers and preprocessing electronics. The slow control system contains a custom Linux driver, a dynamic library and a server implementing network services. This work presents the first results of the digital FEE system coupled with a GALILEO germanium detector, which has demonstrated the capability to achieve an energy resolution of 1.53% at an energy of 1.33 MeV, similar to the one obtained with a conventional analog system. While keeping a good performance in terms of energy resolution, digital electronics will allow to instrument the full GALILEO array with a versatile system with high integration and low power consumption and costs.
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Bonilla, C., Sokolowska, D., Darvishi, N., Diaz-Cruz, J. L., & Krawczyk, M. (2016). IDMS: inert dark matter model with a complex singlet. J. Phys. G, 43(6), 065001–39pp.
Abstract: We study an extension of the inert doublet model (IDM) that includes an extra complex singlet of the scalars fields, which we call the IDMS. In this model there are three Higgs particles, among them a SM-like Higgs particle, and the lightest neutral scalar, from the inert sector, remains a viable dark matter (DM) candidate. We assume a non-zero complex vacuum expectation value for the singlet, so that the visible sector can introduce extra sources of CP violation. We construct the scalar potential of IDMS, assuming an exact Z(2) symmetry, with the new singlet being Z(2)-even, as well as a softly broken U(1) symmetry, which allows a reduced number of free parameters in the potential. In this paper we explore the foundations of the model, in particular the masses and interactions of scalar particles for a few benchmark scenarios. Constraints from collider physics, in particular from the Higgs signal observed at the Large Hadron Collider with M-h approximate to 125 GeV, as well as constraints from the DM experiments, such as relic density measurements and direct detection limits, are included in the analysis. We observe significant differences with respect to the IDM in relic density values from additional annihilation channels, interference and resonance effects due to the extended Higgs sector.
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Helo, J. C., Hirsch, M., & Ota, T. (2016). Long-range contributions to double beta decay revisited. J. High Energy Phys., 06(6), 006–32pp.
Abstract: We discuss the systematic decomposition of all dimension-7 (d = 7) lepton number violating operators. These d = 7 operators produce momentum enhanced contributions to the long-range part of the 0 nu beta beta decay amplitude and thus are severely constrained by existing half-live limits. In our list of possible models one can find contributions to the long-range amplitude discussed previously in the literature, such as the left-right symmetric model or scalar leptoquarks, as well as some new models not considered before. The d = 7 operators generate Majorana neutrino mass terms either at tree-level, 1-loop or 2-loop level. We systematically compare constraints derived from the mass mechanism to those derived from the long-range 0 nu beta beta decay amplitude and classify our list of models accordingly. We also study one particular example decomposition, which produces neutrino masses at 2-loop level, can fit oscillation data and yields a large contribution to the long-range 0 nu beta beta decay amplitude, in some detail.
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Pakarinen, J. et al, & Algora, A. (2017). Collectivity in Pb-196, Pb-198 isotopes probed in Coulomb-excitation experiments at REX-ISOLDE. J. Phys. G, 44(6), 064009–10pp.
Abstract: The neutron-deficient Pb-196,Pb-198 isotopes have been studied in Coulomb-excitation experiments employing the Miniball gamma-ray spectrometer and radioactive ion beams from the REX-ISOLDE post-accelerator at CERN. The reduced transition probabilities of the first excited 2(+) states in Pb-196 and Pb-198 nuclei have been measured for the first time. Values of B (E2) = 18.2(-4.1)(+4.8) W. u. and B (E2) = 13.1(-3.5)(+4.9) W. u., were obtained, respectively. The experiment sheds light on the development of collectivity when moving from the regime governed by the generalised seniority scheme to a region, where intruding structures, associated with different deformed shapes, start to come down in energy and approach the spherical ground state.
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Gariazzo, S., Giunti, C., Laveder, M., & Li, Y. F. (2017). Updated global 3+1 analysis of short-baseline neutrino oscillations. J. High Energy Phys., 06(6), 135–38pp.
Abstract: We present the results of an updated fit of short-baseline neutrino oscillation data in the framework of 3+1 active-sterile neutrino mixing. We first consider v(e) and (v) over bar (e) disappearance in the light of the Gallium and reactor anomalies. We discuss the implications of the recent measurement of the reactor (v) over bar (e) spectrum in the NEOS experiment, which shifts the allowed regions of the parameter space towards smaller values of |U-e1|(2). The beta-decay constraints of the Mainz and Troitsk experiments allow us to limit the oscillation length between about 2 cm and 7 m at 3 sigma for neutrinos with an energy of 1 MeV. The corresponding oscillations can be discovered in a model-independent way in ongoing reactor and source experiments by measuring v(e) and (v) over bar (e), disappearance as a function of distance. We then consider the global fit of the data on short-baseline v(mu)((-)) -> v(e)((-)) transitions in the light of the LSND anomaly, taking into account the constraints from v(e)(( )) and v(mu)((-)) disappearance experiments, including the recent data of the MINOS and IceCube experiments. The combination of the NEOS constraints on |U-e4|(2) and the MINOS and IceCube constraints on |U-mu 4|(2) lead to an unacceptable appearance-disappearance tension which becomes tolerable only in a pragmatic fit which neglects the MiniBooNE low-energy anomaly. The minimization of the global chi(2) in the space of the four mixing parameters Delta m(41)(2), |U-e4|(2), |U-mu 4|(2) and |U-4 tau|(2) leads to three allowed regions with narrow Delta m(41)(2) widths at Delta m(41)(2) approximate to 1.7 (best-fit), 1.3 (at 2 sigma), 2.4 (at 3 sigma) eV(2). The effective amplitude of short-baseline v(mu)((-)) -> v(e)((-)) oscillations is limited by 0.00048 less than or similar to sin(2) 2 nu(e mu) less than or similar to 0.0020 at 3 sigma The restrictions of the allowed regions of the mixing parameters with respect to our previous global fits are mainly due to the NEOS constraints. We present a comparison of the allowed regions of the mixing parameters with the sensitivities of ongoing experiments, which show that it is likely that these experiments will determine in a definitive way if the reactor, Gallium and LSND anomalies are due to active-sterile neutrino oscillations or not.
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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). Measurements of prompt charm production cross-sections in pp collisions at root s=5TeV. J. High Energy Phys., 06(6), 147–41pp.
Abstract: Production cross-sections of prompt charm mesons are measured using data from pp collisions at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 5TeV. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 8 : 60 +/- 0 : 33 pb(-1) collected by the LHCb experiment. The production cross-sections of D-0, D+, D-s(+), and D*(+) mesons are measured in bins of charm meson transverse momentum, p(T), and rapidity, y. They cover the rapidity range 2 : 0 < y < 4 : 5 and transverse momentum ranges 0 < p(T) < 10 GeV/c for D-0 and D+ and 1 < p(T) < 10 GeV/c for D-s(+) and D*(+) mesons. The inclusive cross- sections for the four mesons, including charge-conjugate states, within the range of 1 < p(T) < 8 GeV/c are determined to be sigma (pp -> D-0 X) – 1004 +/- 3 +/- 54 μb; sigma ( pp -> D+ X) = 402 +/- 2 +/- 30 μb; sigma ( pp -> Ds+X) = 170 +/- 4 +/- 16 μb; sigma ( pp -> D*(+) X) = 421 +/- 5 +/- 36 μb; where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.
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Caputo, A., Hernandez, P., Lopez-Pavon, J., & Salvado, J. (2017). The seesaw portal in testable models of neutrino masses. J. High Energy Phys., 06(6), 112–20pp.
Abstract: A Standard Model extension with two Majorana neutrinos can explain the measured neutrino masses and mixings, and also account for the matter-antimatter asymmetry in a region of parameter space that could be testable in future experiments. The testability of the model relies to some extent on its minimality. In this paper we address the possibility that the model might be extended by extra generic new physics which we parametrize in terms of a low-energy effective theory. We consider the effects of the operators of the lowest dimensionality, d = 5, and evaluate the upper bounds on the coefficients so that the predictions of the minimal model are robust. One of the operators gives a new production mechanism for the heavy neutrinos at LHC via higgs decays. The higgs can decay to a pair of such neutrinos that, being long-lived, leave a powerful signal of two displaced vertices. We estimate the LHC reach to this process.
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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). Measurement of the J/psi pair production cross-section in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV. J. High Energy Phys., 06(6), 047–38pp.
Abstract: The production cross-section of J/psi pairs is measured using a data sample of pp collisions collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 279 +/- 11 pb(-1). The measurement is performed for J/psi mesons with a transverse momentum of less than 10 GeV/c in the rapidity range 2.0 < y < 4.5. The production cross-section is measured to be 15.2 +/- 1.0 +/- 0.9 nb. The first uncertainty is statistical, and the second is systematic. The differential cross-sections as functions of several kinematic variables of the J/psi pair are measured and compared to theoretical predictions.
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ANTARES Collaboration(Albert, A. et al), Barrios-Marti, J., Coleiro, A., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., Illuminati, G., Lotze, M., et al. (2017). An Algorithm for the Reconstruction of Neutrino-induced Showers in the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope. Astron. J., 154(6), 275–9pp.
Abstract: Muons created by nu(mu) charged current (CC) interactions in the water surrounding the ANTARES neutrino telescope have been almost exclusively used so far in searches for cosmic neutrino sources. Due to their long range, highly energetic muons inducing Cherenkov radiation in the water are reconstructed with dedicated algorithms that allow for the determination of the parent neutrino direction with a median angular resolution of about 0 degrees.4 for an E-2 neutrino spectrum. In this paper, an algorithm optimized for accurate reconstruction of energy and direction of shower events in the ANTARES detector is presented. Hadronic showers of electrically charged particles are produced by the disintegration of the nucleus both in CC and neutral current interactions of neutrinos in water. In addition, electromagnetic showers result from the CC interactions of electron neutrinos while the decay of a tau lepton produced in nu(tau) CC interactions will, in most cases, lead to either a hadronic or an electromagnetic shower. A shower can be approximated as a point source of photons. With the presented method, the shower position is reconstructed with a precision of about 1 m; the neutrino direction is reconstructed with a median angular resolution between 2 degrees and 3 degrees in the energy range of 1-1000 TeV. In this energy interval, the uncertainty on the reconstructed neutrino energy is about 5%-10%. The increase in the detector sensitivity due to the use of additional information from shower events in the searches for a cosmic neutrino flux is also presented.
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