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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Aikot, A., Amos, K. R., Bouchhar, N., Cabrera Urban, S., Cantero, J., et al. (2025). Total Cost of Ownership and Evaluation of Google Cloud Resources for the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC. Comput. Softw. Big Sci., 9, 2–35pp.
Abstract: The ATLAS Google Project was established as part of an ongoing evaluation of the use of commercial clouds by the ATLAS Collaboration, in anticipation of the potential future adoption of such resources by WLCG grid sites to fulfil or complement their computing pledges. Seamless integration of Google cloud resources into the worldwide ATLAS distributed computing infrastructure was achieved at large scale and for an extended period of time, and hence cloud resources are shown to be an effective mechanism to provide additional, flexible computing capacity to ATLAS. For the first time a total cost of ownership analysis has been performed, to identify the dominant cost drivers and explore effective mechanisms for cost control. Network usage significantly impacts the costs of certain ATLAS workflows, underscoring the importance of implementing such mechanisms. Resource bursting has been successfully demonstrated, whilst exposing the true cost of this type of activity. A follow-up to the project is underway to investigate methods for improving the integration of cloud resources in data-intensive distributed computing environments and reducing costs related to network connectivity, which represents the primary expense when extensively utilising cloud resources.
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Folgado, M. G., Sanz, V., Hirn, J., Lorenzo-Saez, E., & Urchueguia, J. F. (2025). Towards Predictive Pollution Control Through Traffic Flux Forecasting With Deep Learning: A Case Study in the City of Valencia. Applied AI Lett., 6(1), e106–15pp.
Abstract: Traffic congestion represents a significant urban challenge, with notable implications for public health and environmental well-being. Consequently, urban decision-makers prioritize the mitigation of congestion. This study delves into the efficacy of harnessing extensive data on urban traffic dynamics, coupled with comprehensive knowledge of road networks, to enable Artificial Intelligence (AI) in forecasting traffic flux well in advance. Such forecasts hold promise for informing emission reduction measures, particularly those aligned with Low Emission Zone policies. The investigation centers on Valencia, leveraging its robust traffic sensor infrastructure, one of the most densely deployed worldwide, encompassing approximately 3500 sensors strategically positioned across the city. Employing historical data spanning 2016 and 2017, we undertake the task of training and characterizing a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) Neural Network for the prediction of temporal traffic patterns. Our findings demonstrate the LSTM's efficacy in real-time forecasting of traffic flow evolution, facilitated by its ability to discern salient patterns within the dataset.
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PTOLEMY Collaboration(Ammendola, R. et al), & Gariazzo, S. (2026). Ultra-high precision high voltage system for PTOLEMY. J. Instrum., 21(4), P04009–19pp.
Abstract: The PTOLEMY project is prototyping a novel electromagnetic filter for high-precision β spectroscopy, with the ultimate and ambitious long-term goal of detecting the cosmic neutrino background through electron capture on tritium bound to graphene. Intermediate small-scale prototypes can achieve competitive sensitivity to the effective neutrino mass, even with reduced energy resolution. To reach an energy resolution better than 500 meV at the tritium β-spectrum endpoint of 18.6 keV, and accounting for all uncertainties in the filtering chain, the electrode voltage must be controlled at the level of a few parts per million and monitored in real time. In this work, we present the first results obtained in this effort, using a chain of commercial ultra-high-precision voltage references, read out by precision multimeters and afield mill device. The currently available precision on high voltage is, in the conservative case, as low as 0.2 ppm per 1 kV single board and less than or similar to 50 mV over the 10 kV series, presently limited by field mill read-out noise. However, assuming uncor related Gaussian noise extrapolation, the real precision could in principle be as low as 0.05 ppm over 20 kV.
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DUNE Collaboration(Abbaslu, S. et al), Amar Es-Sghir, H., Amedo, P., Barenboim, G., Benitez Montiel, C., Capo, J., et al. (2026). Operation of a Modular 3D-Pixelated Liquid Argon Time-Projection Chamber in a Neutrino Beam. Instrum., 10(1), 18–33pp.
Abstract: The 2x2 Demonstrator, a prototype for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) liquid argon (LAr) Near Detector, was exposed to the Neutrinos from the Main Injector (NuMI) neutrino beam at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). This detector is a prototype of a new modular design for a liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC), comprising a two-by-two array of four modules, each further segmented into two optically isolated LArTPCs. The 2x2 Demonstrator features a number of pioneering technologies, including a low-profile resistive field shell to establish drift fields, native 3D ionization pixelated imaging, and a high-coverage dielectric light readout system. The 2.4-tonne active mass detector is flanked upstream and downstream by supplemental solid-scintillator tracking planes, repurposed from the MINERvA experiment, which track ionizing particles exiting the argon volume. The antineutrino beam data collected by the detector over a 4.5 day period in 2024 include over 30,000 neutrino interactions in the LAr active volume-the first neutrino interactions reported by a DUNE detector prototype. During its physics-quality run, the 2x2 Demonstrator operated at a nominal drift field of 500 V/cm and maintained good LAr purity, with a stable electron lifetime of approximately 1.25 ms. This paper describes the detector and supporting systems, summarizes the installation and commissioning, and presents the initial validation of collected NuMI beam and off-beam self-triggers. In addition, it highlights observed interactions in the detector volume, including candidate muon antineutrino events.
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Escudeiro, R. et al, Perez-Vidal, R. M., Algora, A., Deltoro, J. M., Gadea, A., Jurado, M., et al. (2026). Anomalous quadrupole transition probabilities in the f7/2 mirror nuclei. Physical Review C, 113(4), 044304.
Abstract: Lifetimes of several excited states in the mirror nuclei 47Cr – 47V and 49Mn – 49Cr, located at the center of the f7/2 shell, were measured using the advanced gamma -ray tracking array AGATA. The Doppler shift attenuation method was employed to determine such lifetimes in the subpicosecond range. The reduced transition probabilities obtained from the lifetimes are compared to shell-model calculations in the full f p space. The shell-model-calculated B(E2) values were underestimated in comparison with experimental data. In particular, large discrepancies are obtained in 49Mn at low spin. These results suggest an incomplete understanding of low-energy states in the studied nuclei and call for further refinement of the existing nuclear structure theories.
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