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de Azcarraga, J. A. (2022). The new Spanish educational legislation: why public education will not improve. Rev. Esp. Pedagog., 80(281), 111–129.
Abstract: This paper provides some reasons that explain, in the view of the author, why the present eagerness of the Spanish Educational Authorities to reform all levels of education, from primary school to the universities, will not improve the quality of the Spanish educational system.
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Pino, F., Roe, N., Orero, A., Falcon, C., Rojas, S., Benlloch, J. M., et al. (2011). Development of a variable-radius pinhole SPECT system with a portable gamma camera. Rev. Esp. Med. Nucl., 30(5), 286–291.
Abstract: Objective: To develop a small-animal SPECT system using a low cost commercial portable gamma camera equipped with a pinhole collimator, a continuous scintillation crystal and a position-sensitive photomultiplier tube. Material and methods: The gamma camera was attached to a variable radius system, which enabled us to optimize sensitivity and resolution by adjusting the radius of rotation to the size of the object. To investigate the capability of the SPECT system for small animal imaging, the dependence of resolution and calibration parameters on radius was assessed and acquisitions of small phantoms and mice were carried out. Results: Resolution values, ranging from 1.0 mm for a radius of 21.4 mm and 1.4 mm for a radius of 37.2 mm were obtained, thereby justifying the interest of a variable radius SPECT system. Conclusions: The image quality of phantoms and animals were satisfactory, thus confirming the usefulness of the system for small animal SPECT imaging.
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Kogler, R., Nachman, B., Schmidt, A., Asquith, L., Winkels, E., Campanelli, M., et al. (2019). Jet substructure at the Large Hadron Collider. Rev. Mod. Phys., 91(4), 045003–44pp.
Abstract: Jet substructure has emerged to play a central role at the Large Hadron Collider, where it has provided numerous innovative ways to search for new physics and to probe the standard model, particularly in extreme regions of phase space. This review focuses on the development and use of state-of-the-art jet substructure techniques by the ATLAS and CMS experiments.
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Dorigo, T. et al, Ramos, A., & Ruiz de Austri, R. (2023). Toward the end-to-end optimization of particle physics instruments with differentiable programming. Rev. Phys., 10, 100085– pp.
Abstract: The full optimization of the design and operation of instruments whose functioning relies on the interaction of radiation with matter is a super-human task, due to the large dimensionality of the space of possible choices for geometry, detection technology, materials, data-acquisition, and information-extraction techniques, and the interdependence of the related parameters. On the other hand, massive potential gains in performance over standard, “experience-driven” layouts are in principle within our reach if an objective function fully aligned with the final goals of the instrument is maximized through a systematic search of the configuration space. The stochastic nature of the involved quantum processes make the modeling of these systems an intractable problem from a classical statistics point of view, yet the construction of a fully differentiable pipeline and the use of deep learning techniques may allow the simultaneous optimization of all design parameters.
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Gonzalez-Iglesias, D., Gimeno, B., Esperante, D., Martinez-Reviriego, P., Martin-Luna, P., Fuster-Martinez, N., et al. (2024). Non-resonant ultra-fast multipactor regime in dielectric-assist accelerating structures. Results Phys., 56, 107245–12pp.
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.
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Gisbert, H., & Pich, A. (2018). Direct CP violation in K-0 -> pi pi : Standard Model Status. Rep. Prog. Phys., 81(7), 076201–22pp.
Abstract: In 1988 the NA31 experiment presented the first evidence of direct CP violation in the K-0 -> pi pi decay amplitudes. A clear signal with a 7.2 sigma statistical significance was later established with the full data samples from the NA31, E731, NA48 and KTeV experiments, confirming that CP violation is associated with a Delta S = 1 quark transition, as predicted by the Standard Model. However, the theoretical prediction for the measured ratio epsilon'/epsilon has been a subject of strong controversy along the years. Although the underlying physics was already clarified in 2001, the recent release of improved lattice data has revived again the theoretical debate. We review the current status, discussing in detail the different ingredients that enter into the calculation of this observable and the reasons why seemingly contradictory predictions were obtained in the past by several groups. An update of the Standard Model prediction is presented and the prospects for future improvements are analysed. Taking into account all known short-distance and long-distance contributions, one obtains Re (epsilon' / epsilon) = (15 +/- 7) . 10(-4), in good agreement with the experimental measurement.
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Curtin, D. et al, & Hirsch, M. (2019). Long-lived particles at the energy frontier: the MATHUSLA physics case. Rep. Prog. Phys., 82(11), 116201–133pp.
Abstract: We examine the theoretical motivations for long-lived particle (LLP) signals at the LHC in a comprehensive survey of standard model (SM) extensions. LLPs are a common prediction of a wide range of theories that address unsolved fundamental mysteries such as naturalness, dark matter, baryogenesis and neutrino masses, and represent a natural and generic possibility for physics beyond the SM (BSM). In most cases the LLP lifetime can be treated as a free parameter from the μm scale up to the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis limit of similar to 10(7) m. Neutral LLPs with lifetimes above similar to 100 m are particularly difficult to probe, as the sensitivity of the LHC main detectors is limited by challenging backgrounds, triggers, and small acceptances. MATHUSLA is a proposal for a minimally instrumented, large-volume surface detector near ATLAS or CMS. It would search for neutral LLPs produced in HL-LHC collisions by reconstructing displaced vertices (DVs) in a low-background environment, extending the sensitivity of the main detectors by orders of magnitude in the long-lifetime regime. We study the LLP physics opportunities afforded by a MATHUSLA-like detector at the HL-LHC, assuming backgrounds can be rejected as expected. We develop a model-independent approach to describe the sensitivity of MATHUSLA to BSM LLP signals, and compare it to DV and missing energy searches at ATLAS or CMS. We then explore the BSM motivations for LLPs in considerable detail, presenting a large number of new sensitivity studies. While our discussion is especially oriented towards the long-lifetime regime at MATHUSLA, this survey underlines the importance of a varied LLP search program at the LHC in general. By synthesizing these results into a general discussion of the top-down and bottom-up motivations for LLP searches, it is our aim to demonstrate the exceptional strength and breadth of the physics case for the construction of the MATHUSLA detector.
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Kasieczka, G. et al, & Sanz, V. (2021). The LHC Olympics 2020: a community challenge for anomaly detection in high energy physics. Rep. Prog. Phys., 84(12), 124201–64pp.
Abstract: A new paradigm for data-driven, model-agnostic new physics searches at colliders is emerging, and aims to leverage recent breakthroughs in anomaly detection and machine learning. In order to develop and benchmark new anomaly detection methods within this framework, it is essential to have standard datasets. To this end, we have created the LHC Olympics 2020, a community challenge accompanied by a set of simulated collider events. Participants in these Olympics have developed their methods using an R&D dataset and then tested them on black boxes: datasets with an unknown anomaly (or not). Methods made use of modern machine learning tools and were based on unsupervised learning (autoencoders, generative adversarial networks, normalizing flows), weakly supervised learning, and semi-supervised learning. This paper will review the LHC Olympics 2020 challenge, including an overview of the competition, a description of methods deployed in the competition, lessons learned from the experience, and implications for data analyses with future datasets as well as future colliders.
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Borsato, M. et al, Zurita, J., Henry, L., Jashal, B. K., & Oyanguren, A. (2022). Unleashing the full power of LHCb to probe stealth new physics. Rep. Prog. Phys., 85(2), 024201–45pp.
Abstract: In this paper, we describe the potential of the LHCb experiment to detect stealth physics. This refers to dynamics beyond the standard model that would elude searches that focus on energetic objects or precision measurements of known processes. Stealth signatures include long-lived particles and light resonances that are produced very rarely or together with overwhelming backgrounds. We will discuss why LHCb is equipped to discover this kind of physics at the Large Hadron Collider and provide examples of well-motivated theoretical models that can be probed with great detail at the experiment.
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AbdusSalam, S. S. et al, & Eberhardt, O. (2022). Simple and statistically sound recommendations for analysing physical theories. Rep. Prog. Phys., 85(5), 052201–11pp.
Abstract: Physical theories that depend on many parameters or are tested against data from many different experiments pose unique challenges to statistical inference. Many models in particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology fall into one or both of these categories. These issues are often sidestepped with statistically unsound ad hoc methods, involving intersection of parameter intervals estimated by multiple experiments, and random or grid sampling of model parameters. Whilst these methods are easy to apply, they exhibit pathologies even in low-dimensional parameter spaces, and quickly become problematic to use and interpret in higher dimensions. In this article we give clear guidance for going beyond these procedures, suggesting where possible simple methods for performing statistically sound inference, and recommendations of readily-available software tools and standards that can assist in doing so. Our aim is to provide any physicists lacking comprehensive statistical training with recommendations for reaching correct scientific conclusions, with only a modest increase in analysis burden. Our examples can be reproduced with the code publicly available at Zenodo.
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