Abstract: An analysis is presented of events containing jets including at least one b tagged jet, sizeable missing transverse momentum, and at least two leptons including a pair of the same electric charge, with the scalar sum of the jet and lepton transverse momenta being large. A data sample with an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) of p p collisions at p root s = 8TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used. Standard Model processes rarely produce these final states, but there are several models of physics beyond the Standard Model that predict an enhanced rate of production of such events; the ones considered here are production of vector-like quarks, enhanced fourtop- quark production, pair production of chiral b'-quarks, and production of two positively charged top quarks. Eleven signal regions are defined; subsets of these regions are combined when searching for each class of models. In the three signal regions primarily sensitive to positively charged top quark pair production, the data yield is consistent with the background expectation. There are more data events than expected from background in the set of eight signal regions defined for searching for vector-like quarks and chiral b'-quarks, but the significance of the discrepancy is less than two standard deviations. The discrepancy reaches 2.5 standard deviations in the set of five signal regions defined for searching for four-top-quark production. The results are used to set 95% CL limits on various models.

Abstract: Purpose: To provide a practical solution that can be adopted in clinical routine to fulfill the AAPM-ESTRO recommendations regarding quality assurance of seeds used in prostate permanent brachytherapy. The aim is to design a new insert for the well-ionization chamber SourceCheck(4 Pi) 33005 (PTW, Germany) that allows evaluating the mean air-kerma strength of up to ten I-125 seeds with one single measurement instead of measuring each seed individually. Material and methods: The material required is: a) the SourceCheck(4 Pi) 33005 well-ionization chamber provided with a PTW insert to measure the air-kerma strength S-K of one single seed at a time; b) a newly designed insert that accommodates ten seeds in one column, which allows measuring the mean S-K of the ten seeds in one single measurement; and c) a container with ten seeds from the same batch and class of the seeds used for the patient implant, and a set of nine non-radioactive seeds.The new insert is characterized by determining its calibration coefficient, used to convert the reading of the well-chamber when ten seeds are measured to their mean S-K. The proposed method is validated by comparing the mean S-K of the ten seeds obtained from the new insert with the individual measurement of S-K of each seed, evaluated with the PTW insert. Results: The ratio between the calibration coefficient of the new insert and the calibration coefficient of the PTW insert for the SourceCheck(4 Pi) 33005 is 1.135 +/- 0.007 (k = 1). The mean S-K of a set of ten seeds evaluated with this new system is in agreement with the mean value obtained from measuring independently the S-K of each seed. Conclusions: The new insert and procedure allow evaluating the mean S-K of ten seeds prior to the implant in a single measurement. The method is faster and more efficient from radiation protection point of view than measuring the individual S-K of each seed.

Abstract: Charged particle therapy, or so-called hadrontherapy, is developing very rapidly. There is large pressure on the scientific community to deliver dedicated accelerators, providing the best possible treatment modalities at the lowest cost. In this context, the Italian research Foundation TERA is developing fast-cycling accelerators, dubbed 'cyclinacs'. These are a combination of a cyclotron (accelerating ions to a fixed initial energy) followed by a high gradient linac boosting the ions energy up to the maximum needed for medical therapy. The linac is powered by many independently controlled klystrons to vary the beam energy from one pulse to the next. This accelerator is best suited to treat moving organs with a 4D multipainting spot scanning technique. A dual proton/carbon ion cyclinac is here presented. It consists of an Electron Beam Ion Source, a superconducting isochronous cyclotron and a high-gradient linac. All these machines are pulsed at high repetition rate (100-400 Hz). The source should deliver both C6+ and H-2(+) ions in short pulses (1.5 μs flat-top) and with sufficient intensity (at least 10(8) fully stripped carbon ions per pulse at 300 Hz). The cyclotron accelerates the ions to 120 MeV/u. It features a compact design (with superconducting coils) and a low power consumption. The linac has a novel C-band high-gradient structure and accelerates the ions to variable energies up to 400 MeV/u. High RF frequencies lead to power consumptions which are much lower than the ones of synchrotrons for the same ion extraction energy. This work is part of a collaboration with the CLIC group, which is working at CERN on high-gradient electron-positron colliders.