ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amoros, G., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Ferrer, A., et al. (2012). Search for squarks and gluinos using final states with jets and missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector in root s=7 TeV proton-proton collisions. Phys. Lett. B, 710(1), 67–85.
Abstract: A search for squarks and gluinos in events containing jets, missing transverse momentum and no electrons or muons is presented. The data were recorded in 2011 by the ATLAS experiment in root s = 7 TeV proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. No excess above the Standard Model background expectation is observed in 1.04 fb(-1) of data. Gluino and squark masses below 700 GeV and 875 GeV respectively are excluded at the 95% confidence level in simplified models containing only squarks of the first two generations, a gluino octet and a massless neutralino. The exclusion limit increases to 1075 GeV for squarks and gluinos of equal mass. In MSUGRA/CMSSM models with tan beta = 10, A(0) = 0 and μ> 0, squarks and gluinos of equal mass are excluded for masses below 950 GeV. These limits extend the region of supersymmetric parameter space excluded by previous measurements.
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Bates, R. L. et al, Bernabeu Verdu, J., Civera, J. V., Gonzalez, F., Lacasta, C., & Sanchez, J. (2012). The ATLAS SCT grounding and shielding concept and implementation. J. Instrum., 7, P03005.
Abstract: This paper describes the design and implementation of the grounding and shielding system for the ATLAS SemiConductor Tracker (SCT). The mitigation of electromagnetic interference and noise pickup through power lines is the critical design goal as they have the potential to jeopardize the electrical performance. We accomplish this by adhering to the ATLAS grounding rules, by avoiding ground loops and isolating the different subdetectors. Noise sources are identified and design rules to protect the SCT against them are described. A rigorous implementation of the design was crucial to achieve the required performance. This paper highlights the location, connection and assembly of the different components that affect the grounding and shielding system: cables, filters, cooling pipes, shielding enclosure, power supplies and others. Special care is taken with the electrical properties of materials and joints. The monitoring of the grounding system during the installation period is also discussed. Finally, after connecting more than four thousand SCT modules to all of their services, electrical, mechanical and thermal within the wider ATLAS experimental environment, dedicated tests show that noise pickup is minimised.
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Arbelaez, C., Hirsch, M., & Reichert, L. (2012). Supersymmetric mass spectra and the seesaw type-I scale. J. High Energy Phys., 02(2), 112.
Abstract: We calculate supersymmetric mass spectra with cMSSM boundary conditions and a type-I seesaw mechanism added to explain current neutrino data. Using published, estimated errors on SUSY mass observables for a combined LHC+ILC analysis, we perform a theoretical chi(2) analysis to identify parameter regions where pure cMSSM and cMSSM plus seesaw type-I might be distinguishable with LHC+ILC data. The most important observables are determined to be the (left) smuon and selectron masses and the splitting between them, respectively. Splitting in the (left) smuon and selectrons is tiny in most of cMSSM parameter space, but can be quite sizeable for large values of the seesaw scale, m S S. Thus, for very roughly m(SS) >= 10(14) GeV hints for type-I seesaw might appear in SUSY mass measurements. Since our numerical results depend sensitively on forecasted error bars, we discuss in some detail the accuracies, which need to be achieved, before a realistic analysis searching for signs of type-I seesaw in SUSY spectra can be carried out.
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Hirsch, M., Malinsky, M., Porod, W., Reichert, L., & Staub, F. (2012). Hefty MSSM-like light Higgs in extended gauge models. J. High Energy Phys., 02(2), 084.
Abstract: It is well known that in the MSSM the lightest neutral Higgs h(0) must be, at the tree level, lighter than the Z boson and that the loop corrections shift this stringent upper bound up to about 130GeV. Extending the MSSM gauge group in a suitable way, the new Higgs sector dynamics can push the tree-level mass of h(0) well above the tree-level MSSM limit if it couples to the new gauge sector. This effect is further pronounced at the loop level and h(0) masses in the 140GeV ballpark can be reached easily. We exemplify this for a sample setting with a low-scale U(1)(R) x U(1)(B-L) gauge symmetry in which neutrino masses can be implemented via the inverse seesaw mechanism.
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NEXT Collaboration(Alvarez, V. et al), Agramunt, J., Ball, M., Bayarri, J., Carcel, S., Cervera-Villanueva, A., et al. (2012). SiPMs coated with TPB: coating protocol and characterization for NEXT. J. Instrum., 7, P02010.
Abstract: Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) are the photon detectors chosen for the tracking read-out in NEXT, a neutrinoless beta beta decay experiment which uses a high pressure gaseous xenon time projection chamber (TPC). The reconstruction of event track and topology in this gaseous detector is a key handle for background rejection. Among the commercially available sensors that can be used for tracking, SiPMs offer important advantages, mainly high gain, ruggedness, cost-effectiveness and radio-purity. Their main drawback, however, is their non sensitivity in the emission spectrum of the xenon scintillation (peak at 175 nm). This is overcome by coating these sensors with the organic wavelength shifter tetraphenyl butadiene (TPB). In this paper we describe the protocol developed for coating the SiPMs with TPB and the measurements performed for characterizing the coatings as well as the performance of the coated sensors in the UV-VUV range.
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Dai, L. R., & Oset, E. (2013). Tests on the molecular structure of f(2)(1270), f'(2) (1525) from psi(nS) and Upsilon(nS) decays. Eur. Phys. J. A, 49(10), 130–6pp.
Abstract: Based on previous studies that support the vector-vector molecular structure of the f(2)'(1270), f 2 (1525), K * 0 2 (1430), f0(1370) and f0(1710) resonances, we make predictions for the.(2S) decay into.(f) f2(1270),.(f) f 2 (1525), K* 0 (892) K * 0 2 (1430) and the radiative decay of.(1S),.(2S),.(2S) into.f2(1270),.f 2 (1525),.f0(1370),.f0(1710). Agreement with experimental data is found for three available ratios, without using free parameters, and predictions are done for other cases.
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ANTARES Collaboration(Adrian-Martinez, S. et al), Barrios-Marti, J., Bigongiari, C., Emanuele, U., Gomez-Gonzalez, J. P., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., et al. (2013). Measurement of the atmospheric nu (mu) energy spectrum from 100 GeV to 200 TeV with the ANTARES telescope. Eur. Phys. J. C, 73(10), 2606–12pp.
Abstract: Atmospheric neutrinos are produced during cascades initiated by the interaction of primary cosmic rays with air nuclei. In this paper, a measurement of the atmospheric energy spectrum in the energy range 0.1-200 TeV is presented, using data collected by the ANTARES underwater neutrino telescope from 2008 to 2011. Overall, the measured flux is similar to 25 % higher than predicted by the conventional neutrino flux, and compatible with the measurements reported in ice. The flux is compatible with a single power-law dependence with spectral index gamma (meas)=3.58 +/- 0.12. With the present statistics the contribution of prompt neutrinos cannot be established.
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Brown, J. M. C., Gillam, J. E., Paganin, D. M., & Dimmock, M. R. (2013). Laplacian Erosion: An Image Deblurring Technique for Multi-Plane Gamma-Cameras. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., 60(5), 3333–3342.
Abstract: Laplacian Erosion, an image deblurring technique for multi-plane Gamma-cameras, has been developed and tested for planar imaging using a GEANT4 Monte Carlo model of the Pixelated Emission Detector for RadioisOtopes (PEDRO) as a test platform. A contrast and Derenzo-like phantom composed of I-125 were both employed to investigate the dependence of detection plane and pinhole geometry on the performance of Laplacian Erosion. Three different pinhole geometries were tested. It was found that, for the test system, the performance of Laplacian Erosion was inversely proportional to the detection plane offset, and directly proportional to the pinhole diameter. All tested pinhole geometries saw a reduction in the level of image blurring associated with the pinhole geometry. However, the reduction in image blurring came at the cost of signal to noise ratio in the image. The application of Laplacian Erosion was shown to reduce the level of image blurring associated with pinhole geometry and improve recovered image quality in multi-plane Gamma-cameras for the targeted radiotracer I-125.
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Cabello, J., Torres-Espallardo, I., Gillam, J. E., & Rafecas, M. (2013). PET Reconstruction From Truncated Projections Using Total-Variation Regularization for Hadron Therapy Monitoring. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., 60(5), 3364–3372.
Abstract: Hadron therapy exploits the properties of ion beams to treat tumors by maximizing the dose released to the target and sparing healthy tissue. With hadron beams, the dose distribution shows a relatively low entrance dose which rises sharply at the end of the range, providing the characteristic Bragg peak that drops quickly thereafter. It is of critical importance in order not to damage surrounding healthy tissues and/or avoid targeting underdosage to know where the delivered dose profile ends-the location of the Bragg peak. During hadron therapy, short-lived beta(+)-emitters are produced along the beam path, their distribution being correlated with the delivered dose. Following positron annihilation, two photons are emitted, which can be detected using a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. The low yield of emitters, their short half-life, and the wash out from the target region make the use of PET, even only a few minutes after hadron irradiation, a challenging application. In-beam PET represents a potential candidate to estimate the distribution of beta(+)-emitters during or immediately after irradiation, at the cost of truncation effects and degraded image quality due to the partial rings required of the PET scanner. Time-of-flight (ToF) information can potentially be used to compensate for truncation effects and to enhance image contrast. However, the highly demanding timing performance required in ToF-PET makes this option costly. Alternatively, the use of maximum-a-posteriori-expectation-maximization (MAP-EM), including total variation (TV) in the cost function, produces images with low noise, while preserving spatial resolution. In this paper, we compare data reconstructed with maximum-likelihood-expectation-maximization (ML-EM) and MAP-EM using TV as prior, and the impact of including ToF information, from data acquired with a complete and a partial-ring PET scanner, of simulated hadron beams interacting with a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) target. The results show that MAP-EM, in the absence of ToF information, produces lower noise images and more similar data compared to the simulated beta(+) distributions than ML-EM with ToF information in the order of 200-600 ps. The investigation is extended to the combination of MAP-EM and ToF information to study the limit of performance using both approaches.
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Oliver, J. F., Fuster-Garcia, E., Cabello, J., Tortajada, S., & Rafecas, M. (2013). Application of Artificial Neural Network for Reducing Random Coincidences in PET. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., 60(5), 3399–3409.
Abstract: Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is based on the detection in coincidence of the two photons created in a positron annihilation. In conventional PET, this coincidence identification is usually carried out through a coincidence electronic unit. An accidental coincidence occurs when two photons arising from different annihilations are classified as a coincidence. Accidental coincidences are one of the main sources of image degradation in PET. Some novel systems allow coincidences to be selected post-acquisition in software, or in real time through a digital coincidence engine in an FPGA. These approaches provide the user with extra flexibility in the sorting process and allow the application of alternative coincidence sorting procedures. In this work a novel sorting procedure based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) techniques has been developed. It has been compared to a conventional coincidence sorting algorithm based on a time coincidence window. The data have been obtained from Monte-Carlo simulations. A small animal PET scanner has been implemented to this end. The efficiency (the ratio of correct identifications) can be selected for both methods. In one case by changing the actual value of the coincidence window used, and in the other by changing a threshold at the output of the neural network. At matched efficiencies, the ANN-based method always produces a sorted output with a smaller random fraction. In addition, two differential trends are found: the conventional method presents a maximum achievable efficiency, while the ANN-based method is able to increase the efficiency up to unity, the ideal value, at the cost of increasing the random fraction. Images reconstructed using ANN sorted data (no compensation for randoms) present better contrast, and those image features which are more affected by randoms are enhanced. For the image quality phantom used in the paper, the ANN method decreases the spill-over ratio by a factor of 18%.
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