Abstract: A study of the dimensions and performance of a single detector of the future neutron detector array NEDA was performed by means of Monte Carlo simulations, using GEANT4. Two different liquid scintillators were evaluated: the hydrogen based BC501A and the deuterated BC537. The efficiency and the probability that one neutron will trigger a signal in more than one detector were investigated as a function of the detector size. The simulations were validated comparing the results to experimental measurements performed with two existing neutron detectors, with different geometries, based on the liquid scintillator BC501.

Abstract: The Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) is a European project to develop and operate the next generation gamma-ray spectrometer. AGATA is based on the technique of gamma-ray energy tracking in electrically segmented high-purity germanium crystals. This technique requires the accurate determination of the energy, time and position of every interaction as a gamma ray deposits its energy within the detector volume. Reconstruction of the full interaction path results in a detector with very high efficiency and excellent spectral response. The realisation of gamma-ray tracking and AGATA is a result of many technical advances. These include the development of encapsulated highly segmented germanium detectors assembled in a triple cluster detector cryostat, an electronics system with fast digital sampling and a data acquisition system to process the data at a high rate. The full characterisation of the crystals was measured and compared with detector-response simulations. This enabled pulse-shape analysis algorithms, to extract energy, time and position, to be employed. In addition, tracking algorithms for event reconstruction were developed. The first phase of AGATA is now complete and operational in its first physics campaign. In the future AGATA will be moved between laboratories in Europe and operated in a series of campaigns to take advantage of the different beams and facilities available to maximise its science output. The paper reviews all the achievements made in the AGATA project including all the necessary infrastructure to operate and support the spectrometer.

Abstract: Context. The existence of a maximum correlation angle (theta(max) & 60 greater than or similar to degrees) in the two-point angular temperature correlations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, measured by WMAP and Planck, stands in sharp contrast to the prediction of standard inflationary cosmology, in which the correlations should extend across the full sky (i.e., 180 degrees). The introduction of a hard lower cuto ff (k(min)) in the primordial power spectrum, however, leads naturally to the existence of theta(max). Among other cosmological anomalies detected in these data, an apparent dominance of odd-over-even parity multipoles has been seen in the angular power spectrum of the CMB. This feature, however, may simply be due to observational contamination in certain regions of the sky. Aims. In attempting to provide a more detailed assessment of whether this odd-over-even asymmetry is intrinsic to the CMB, we therefore proceed in this paper, first, to examine whether this odd-even parity imbalance also manifests itself in the angular correlation function and, second, to examine in detail the interplay between the presence of theta(max) and this observed anomaly. Methods. We employed several parity statistics and recalculated the angular correlation function for di fferent values of the cuto ff kmin in order to optimize the fit to the di fferent Planck 2018 data. Results. We find a phenomenological connection between these features in the data, concluding that both must be considered together in order to optimize the theoretical fit to the Planck 2018 data. Conclusions. This outcome is independent of whether the parity imbalance is intrinsic to the CMB, but if it is, the odd-over-even asymmetry would clearly point to the emergence of new physics.

Abstract: In current particle physics experiments, silicon strip detectors are widely used as part of the inner tracking layers. A foreseeable large-scale application for such detectors consists of the luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the super-LHC or sLHC, where silicon detectors with extreme radiation hardness are required. The mission statement of the CERN RD50 Collaboration is the development of radiation-hard semiconductor devices for very high luminosity colliders. As a consequence, the aim of the R&D programme presented in this article is to develop silicon particle detectors able to operate at sLHC conditions. Research has progressed in different areas, such as defect characterisation, defect engineering and full detector systems. Recent results from these areas will be presented. This includes in particular an improved understanding of the macroscopic changes of the effective doping concentration based on identification of the individual microscopic defects, results from irradiation with a mix of different particle types as expected for the sLHC, and the observation of charge multiplication effects in heavily irradiated detectors at very high bias voltages.

Abstract: The first implementation of the AGATA spectrometer consisting of five triple germanium detector clusters has been installed at Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, INFN. This setup has two major goals, the first one is to validate the gamma-tracking concept and the second is to perform an experimental physics program using the stable beams delivered by the Tandem-PIAVE-ALPI accelerator complex. A large variety of physics topics will be addressed during this campaign, aiming to investigate both neutron and proton-rich nuclei. The setup has been designed to be coupled with the large-acceptance magnetic-spectrometer PRISMA. Therefore, the in-beam prompt gamma rays detected with AGATA will be measured in coincidence with the products of multinucleon-transfer and deep-inelastic reactions measured by PRISMA. Moreover, the setup is versatile enough to host ancillary detectors, including the heavy-ion detector DANTE, the gamma-ray detector array HELENA, the Cologne plunger for lifetime measurements and the Si-pad telescope TRACE. In this paper the design; characteristics and performance figures of the setup will be described.