Abstract: The tracking performance parameters of the ATLAS Transition Radiation Tracker (TRT) as part of the ATLAS inner detector are described in this paper for different data-taking conditions in proton-proton, proton-lead and lead-lead collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The performance is studied using data collected during the first period of LHC operation (Run 1) and is compared with Monte Carlo simulations. The performance of the TRT, operating with two different gas mixtures (xenon-based and argon-based) and its dependence on the TRT occupancy is presented. These studies show that the tracking performance of the TRT is similar for the two gas mixtures and that a significant contribution to the particle momentum resolution is made by the TRT up to high particle densities.

Abstract: The liquid argon calorimeter is a key component of the ATLAS detector installed at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The primary purpose of this calorimeter is the measurement of electron and photon kinematic properties. It also provides a crucial input for measuring jets and missing transverse momentum. An advanced data monitoring procedure was designed to quickly identify issues that would affect detector performance and ensure that only the best quality data are used for physics analysis. This article presents the validation procedure developed during the 2011 and 2012 LHC data-taking periods, in which more than 98% of the proton-proton luminosity recorded by ATLAS at a centre-of-mass energy of 7-8 TeV had calorimeter data quality suitable for physics analysis.

Abstract: The objective of this work is the evaluation of the risk of suffering a multipactor discharge in an S-band dielectric-assist accelerating (DAA) structure for a compact low-energy linear particle accelerator dedicated to hadrontherapy treatments. A DAA structure consists of ultra-low loss dielectric cylinders and disks with irises which are periodically arranged in a metallic enclosure, with the advantage of having an extremely high quality factor and very high shunt impedance at room temperature, and it is therefore proposed as a potential alternative to conventional disk-loaded copper structures. However, it has been observed that these structures suffer from multipactor discharges. In fact, multipactor is one of the main problems of these devices, as it limits the maximum accelerating gradient. Because of this, the analysis of multipactor risk in the early design steps of DAA cavities is crucial to ensure the correct performance of the device after fabrication. In this paper, we present a comprehensive and detailed study of multipactor in our DAA design through numerical simulations performed with an in-house developed code based on the Monte-Carlo method. The phenomenology of the multipactor (resonant electron trajectories, electron flight time between impacts, etc.) is described in detail for different values of the accelerating gradient. It has been found that in these structures an ultra-fast non-resonant multipactor appears, which is different from the types of multipactor theoretically studied in the scientific literature. In addition, the effect of several low electron emission coatings on the multipactor threshold is investigated. Furthermore, a novel design based on the modification of the DAA cell geometry for multipactor mitigation is introduced, which shows a significant increase in the accelerating gradient handling capabilities of our prototype.