Abstract: In emission tomography, iterative statistical methods are accepted as the reconstruction algorithms that achieve the best image quality. The accuracy of these methods relies partly on the quality of the system response matrix (SRM) that characterizes the scanner. The more physical phenomena included in the SRM, the higher the SRM quality, and therefore higher image quality is obtained from the reconstruction process. High-resolution small animal scanners contain as many as 10(3)-10(4) small crystal pairs, while the field of view (FOV) is divided into hundreds of thousands of small voxels. These two characteristics have a significant impact on the number of elements to be calculated in the SRM. Monte Carlo (MC) methods have gained popularity as a way of calculating the SRM, due to the increased accuracy achievable, at the cost of introducing some statistical noise and long simulation times. In the work presented here the SRM is calculated using MC methods exploiting the cylindrical symmetries of the scanner, significantly reducing the simulation time necessary to calculate a high statistical quality SRM and the storage space necessary. The use of cylindrical symmetries makes polar voxels a convenient basis function. Alternatively, spherically symmetric basis functions result in improved noise properties compared to cubic and polar basis functions. The quality of reconstructed images using polar voxels, spherically symmetric basis functions on a polar grid, cubic voxels and post-reconstruction filtered polar and cubic voxels is compared from a noise and spatial resolution perspective. This study demonstrates that polar voxels perform as well as cubic voxels, reducing the simulation time necessary to calculate the SRM and the disk space necessary to store it. Results showed that spherically symmetric functions outperform polar and cubic basis functions in terms of noise properties, at the cost of slightly degraded spatial resolution, larger SRM file size and longer reconstruction times. However, we demonstrate that post-reconstruction smoothing, usually applied in emission imaging to reduce the level of noise, can produce a spatial resolution degradation of similar to 50%, while spherically symmetric basis functions produce a degradation of only similar to 6%, compared to polar and cubic voxels, at the same noise level. Therefore, the image quality trade-off obtained with blobs is higher than that obtained with cubic or polar voxels.

Abstract: A search is presented for a high mass neutral particle that decays directly to the e(+/-) mu(-/+) final state. The data sample was recorded by the ATLAS detector in root s = 7 TeV pp collisions at the LHC from March to June 2011 and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.07 fb(-1). The data are found to be consistent with the Standard Model background. The high e(+/-) mu(-/+) mass region is used to set 95% confidence level upper limits on the production of two possible new physics processes: tau sneutrinos in an R-parity violating supersymmetric model and Z'-like vector bosons in a lepton flavor violating model.

Abstract: We present the first results on the Dalitz-plot structure and improved measurements of the time-dependent CP-violation parameters of the process B-0 -> (KSKSKS0)-K-0-K-0 obtained using 468 x 10(6) B (B) over bar decays collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B factory at SLAC. The Dalitz-plot structure is probed by a time-integrated amplitude analysis that does not distinguish between B-0 and (B) over bar (0) decays. We measure the total inclusive branching fraction B(B-0 -> (KSKSKS0)-K-0-K-0) = (6.19 +/- 0.48 +/- 0.15 +/- 0.12) x 10(-6), where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third represents the Dalitz-plot signal model dependence. We also observe evidence for the intermediate resonant states f(0)(980), f(0)(1710), and f(2)(2010). Their respective product branching fractions are measured to be (2.70(-1.19)(+1.25) +/- 0.36 +/- 1.17) x 10(-6), (0.50(-0.24)(+0.46) +/- 0.04 +/- 0.10) x 10(-6), and (0.54(-0.20)(+0.21) +/- 0.03 +/- 0.52) x 10(-6). Additionally, we determine the mixing-induced CP-violation parameters to be S = -0.94(-0.21)(+0.24) +/- 0.06 and C = -0.17 +/- 0.18 +/- 0.04, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. These values are in agreement with the standard model expectation. For the first time, we report evidence of CP violation in B-0 -> (KSKSKS0)-K-0-K-0 decays; CP conservation is excluded at 3.8 standard deviations including systematic uncertainties.

Abstract: The. decays of neutron-rich Ca isotopes around Ca-48 were measured at Legnaro National Laboratory with the PRISMA-CLARA setup, using the heavy-ion transfer reactions Ca-48 on Ni-64 and Ca-48 on Pb-208 at approximate to 6 MeV/A. The work shows the feasibility to perform full in-beam gamma spectroscopy with heavy-ion transfer reactions (in terms of angular distributions, polarizations, and lifetimes analysis), providing a method that can be further exploited in the future with heavy targets and radioactive beams. For the one-neutron transfer channels, Ca-49 and Ca-47, shell-model and particle-vibration coupling calculations are used to understand the nature of the states. In particular, in both nuclei evidence is found for particle-vibration coupled states based on the 3(-) phonon of Ca-48. In the two-neutron transfer channels, Ca-46 and Ca-50, the experimental data are in global agreement with predictions based on full fp shell-model calculations.

Abstract: The chi(b)(np) quarkonium states are produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at root s=7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb(-1), these states are reconstructed through their radiative decays to Y(1S,2S) with Y ->mu(+)mu(-). In addition to the mass peaks corresponding to the decay modes chi(b)(1P,2P)-> Y(1S)gamma, a new structure centered at a mass of 10.530 +/- 0.005(stat)+/- 0.009(syst) GeV is also observed, in both the Y(1S)gamma and Y(2S)gamma decay modes. This structure is interpreted as the chi(b)(3P) system.