LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Ruiz Valls, P., & Sanchez Mayordomo, C. (2016). Study of the production of A(b)(0) and (B)over-bar(0) hadrons in pp collisions and first measurement of the A(b)(0)-> J/psi pK(-) branching fraction. Chin. Phys. C, 40(1), 011001–16pp.
Abstract: The product of the A(b)(0) ((B) over bar (0)) differential production cross-section and the branching fraction of the decay A(b)(0)-> J/psi pK(-) ((B) over bar (0)-> J/psi p (K) over bar*(892)(0)) is measured as a function of the beauty hadron transverse momentum, p(T), and rapidity, y. The kinematic region of the measurements is p(T) <20 GeV/c and 2.0 < y < 4.5. The measurements use a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3fb(-1) collected by the LHCb detector in pp collisions at centre-of-mass energies root s=7 TeV in 2011 and root s=8 TeV in 2012. Based on previous LHCb results of the fragmentation fraction ratio, f(Ab0)/f(d), the branching fraction of the decay A(b)(0)-> J/psi pK(-) is measured to be B(A(b)(0)-> J/psi pK(-))=(3.17 +/- 0.04 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.34(-0.28)(+0.45))x10(-4) where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, the third is due to the uncertainty on the branching fraction of the decay (B) over bar (0)-> J/psi p (K) over bar*(892)(0), and the fourth is due to the knowledge of f(Ab0)/f(d). The sum of the asymmetries in the production and decay between A(b)(0) and (A) over bar (0)(b) is also measured as a function of p(T) and y. The previously published branching fraction of A(b)(0)-> J/psi p pi(-), relative to that of A(b)(0)-> J/psi pK(-), is updated. The branching fractions of A(b)(0)-> P-c(+)(-> J/psi p)K- are determined.
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Guerrero, C., Cano-Ott, D., Mendoza, E., Tain, J. L., Algora, A., Berthoumieux, E., et al. (2012). Monte Carlo simulation of the n_TOF Total Absorption Calorimeter. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 671, 108–117.
Abstract: The n_TOF Total Absorption Calorimeter (TAC) is a 4 pi BaF2 segmented detector used at CERN for measuring neutron capture cross-sections of importance for the design of advanced nuclear reactors. This work presents the simulation code that has been developed in GEANT4 for the accurate determination of the detection efficiency of the TAC for neutron capture events. The code allows to calculate the efficiency of the TAC for every neutron capture state, as a function of energy, crystal multiplicity, and counting rate. The code includes all instrumental effects such as the single crystal detection threshold and energy resolution, finite size of the coincidence time window, and signal pile-up. The results from the simulation have been validated with experimental data for a large set of electromagnetic de-excitation patterns: beta-decay of well known calibration sources, neutron capture reactions in light nuclei with well known level schemes like Ti-nat, reference samples used in (n,gamma) measurements like Au-197 and experimental data from an actinide sample like Pu-240. The systematic uncertainty in the determination of the detection efficiency has been estimated for all the cases. As a representative example, the accuracy reached for the case of Au-197(n,gamma) ranges between 0.5% and 2%, depending on the experimental and analysis conditions. Such a value matches the high accuracy required for the nuclear cross-section data needed in advanced reactor design.
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n_TOF Collaboration(Weiss, C. et al), Domingo-Pardo, C., Tain, J. L., & Tarifeño-Saldivia, A. (2015). The new vertical neutron beam line at the CERN n_TOF facility design and outlook on the performance. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 799, 90–98.
Abstract: At the neutron Lime-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN a new vertical beam line was constructed in 2014, in order to extend the experimental possibilities at this facility to an even wider range of challenging cross-section measurements of interest in astrophysics, nuclear technology and medical physics. The design of the beam line and the experimental hall was based on FLUKA Monte Carlo simulations, aiming at maximizing the neutron flux, reducing the beam halo and minimizing the background from neutrons interacting with the collimator or back-scattered in the beam dump. The present paper gives an overview on the design of the beam line and the relevant elements and provides an outlook on the expected performance regarding the neutron beam intensity, shape and energy resolution, as well as the neutron and photon backgrounds.
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Magan, D. L. P., Caballero, L., Domingo-Pardo, C., Agramunt-Ros, J., Albiol, F., Casanovas, A., et al. (2016). First tests of the applicability of gamma-ray imaging for background discrimination in time-of-flight neutron capture measurements. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 823, 107–119.
Abstract: In this work we explore for the first time the applicability of using gamma-ray imaging in neutron capture measurements to identify and suppress spatially localized background. For this aim, a pinhole gamma camera is assembled, tested and characterized in terms of energy and spatial performance. It consists of a monolithic CeBr3 scintillating crystal coupled to a position-sensitive photomultiplier and readout through an integrated circuit AMIC2GR. The pinhole collimator is a massive carven block of lead. A series of dedicated measurements with calibrated sources and with a neutron beam incident on a Au-197 sample have been carried out at n_TOF, achieving an enhancement of a factor of two in the signal-to-background ratio when selecting only those events coming from the direction of the sample.
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Domingo-Pardo, C. (2016). i-TED: A novel concept for high-sensitivity (n,gamma) cross-section measurements. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 825, 78–86.
Abstract: A new method for measuring (n, gamma) cross-sections aiming at enhanced signal-to-background ratio is presented. This new approach is based on the combination of the pulse-height weighting technique with a total energy detection system that features gamma-ray imaging capability (i-TED). The latter allows one to exploit Compton imaging techniques to discriminate between true capture gamma-rays arising from the sample under study and background gamma-rays coming from contaminant neutron (prompt or delayed) captures in the surrounding environment. A general proof-of-concept detection system for this application is presented in this paper together with a description of the imaging method and a conceptual demonstration based on Monte Carlo simulations.
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