Search

A search for long-lived particles was performed with data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.6 fb −1 collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the CMS experiment in 2015. The analysis exploits two customized topological trigger algorithms, and uses the multiplicity of displaced jets to search for the presence of a signal decay occurring at distances between 1 and 1000 mm. The results can be interpreted in a variety of different models. For pair-produced long-lived particles decaying to two b quarks and two leptons with equal decay rates between lepton flavors, cross sections larger than 2.5 fb are excluded for proper decay lengths between 70–100 mm for a long-lived particle mass of 1130 GeV at 95% confidence. For a specific model of pair-produced, long-lived top squarks with R-parity violating decays to a b quark and a lepton, masses below 550–1130 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence for equal branching fractions between lepton flavors, depending on the squark decay length. This mass bound is the most stringent to date for top squark proper decay lengths greater than 3 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the characterization of commercially available plastic scintillation detectors to be used as an active shield or veto system to reduce the neutron background resulting from atmospheric muon interactions in low-level nuclear waste assay systems. The shield consists of an array of scintillation detectors surrounding a neutron detection system. Scintillation detectors with different thicknesses are characterized for their response to gamma rays, neutrons, and muons. Response functions to gamma rays were determined and measured in the energy range from 0.6 MeV to 6.0 MeV using radionuclide sources. Neutron response functions were derived from results of time-of-flight measurements at the Van de Graaff accelerator of the INFN Legnaro and from measurements with quasi mono-energetic neutron beams produced at the Van de Graaff accelerator of the JRC Geel. From these data, the light output and resolution functions for protons and electrons were derived. The response to muons was verified by background measurements, i.e. without the presence of any neutron or gamma source. It was found that the muon peak is more pronounced when the detectors are placed horizontally. The results indicate that a scintillator with a minimum thickness of 20 mm is needed to separate events due to atmospheric muons from natural gamma ray background, and contributions due to neutron production in nuclear waste based on only the total energy deposition in the detector. In addition, it was shown that muons can be identified with a coincidence pattern when the detectors are stacked. The effectiveness of the proposed system was demonstrated based on muon induced spallation reactions in a lead sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of muon experiments at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland deploy ultra-pure hydrogen active targets. A new gas impurity analysis technique was developed, based on conventional gas chromatography, with the capability to measure part-per-billion (ppb) traces of nitrogen and oxygen in hydrogen and deuterium. Key ingredients are a cryogenic admixture accumulation, a directly connected sampling system and a dedicated calibration setup. The dependence of the measured concentration on the sample volume was investigated, confirming that all impurities from the sample gas are collected in the accumulation column and measured with the gas chromatograph. The system was calibrated utilizing dynamic dilution of admixtures into the gas flow down to sub-ppb level concentrations. The total amount of impurities accumulated in the purification system during a three month long experimental run was measured and agreed well with the calculated amount based on the measured concentrations in the flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upgrade of the ATLAS muon spectrometer for the high-luminosity LHC requires new trigger and readout electronics for various elements of the detector. We present the design of a time-to-digital converter (TDC) ASIC prototype for the ATLAS Monitored Drift Tube (MDT) detector. The chip was fabricated in a GlobalFoundries 130 nm CMOS technology. Studies indicate that its timing and power dissipation characteristics meet the design specifications, with a timing bin variation of ± 40 ps for all 48 TDC slices and a power dissipation of about 6.5 mW per slice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution from the axial-vector meson exchange to the potential of the muon–proton interaction in muonic hydrogen induced by anomalous axial-vector meson coupling to two photon state is calculated. It is shown that such contribution to the hyperfine splitting in muonic hydrogen is large and important for a comparison with precise experimental data. In the light of our result, the proton radius “puzzle” is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy ion absorption cross sections play an important role in radiation transport codes used in risk assessment and for shielding studies of galactic cosmic ray (GCR) exposures. Due to the GCR primary nuclei composition and nuclear fragmentation leading to secondary nuclei heavy ions of charge number, Z with 3 ≤  Z  ≥ 28 and mass numbers, A with 6 ≤  A  ≥ 60 representing about 190 isotopes occur in GCR transport calculations. In this report we describe methods for developing a data-base of isotopic dependent heavy ion absorption cross sections for interactions. Calculations of a 2nd-order optical model solution to coupled-channel solutions to the Eikonal form of the nucleus-nucleus scattering amplitude are compared to 1st-order optical model solutions. The 2nd-order model takes into account two-body correlations in the projectile and target ground-states, which are ignored in the 1st-order optical model. Parameter free predictions are described using one-body and two-body ground state form factors for the isotopes considered and the free nucleon-nucleon scattering amplitude. Root mean square (RMS) matter radii for protons and neutrons are taken from electron and muon scattering data and nuclear structure models. We report on extensive comparisons to experimental data for energy-dependent absorption cross sections for over 100 isotopes of elements from Li to Fe interacting with carbon and aluminum targets. Agreement between model and experiments are generally within 10% for the 1st-order optical model and improved to less than 5% in the 2nd-order optical model in the majority of comparisons. Overall the 2nd-order optical model leads to a reduction in absorption compared to the 1st-order optical model for heavy ion interactions, which influences estimates of nuclear matter radii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a programmable time alignment scheme used in an ASIC for the ATLAS forward muon trigger development. The scheme utilizes regenerated clocks with programmable phases to compensate for the timing offsets introduced by different detector trace lengths. Each ASIC used in the design has 104 input channels with delay compensation circuitry providing steps of ∼ 3 ns and a full range of 25 ns for each channel. Detailed implementation of the scheme including majority logic to suppress single-event effects is presented. The scheme is flexible and fully synthesizable. The approach is adaptable to other applications with similar phase shifting requirements. In addition, the design is resource efficient and is suitable for cost-effective digital implementation with a large number of channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is mounting evidence that the IceCube findings cannot be described simply invoking a single power-law spectrum for cosmic neutrinos. We discuss which the minimal modifications are of the spectrum that are required by the existing observations and we obtain a universal cosmic neutrino spectrum, i.e. valid for all neutrino flavors. Our approach to such task can be outlined in three points: (1) we rely on the throughgoing muon analysis above 200 TeV and on the high-energy starting events (HESE) analysis below this energy, requiring the continuity of the spectrum; (2) we assume that cosmic neutrinos are subject to three-flavor neutrino oscillations in vacuum; (3) we make no assumption on the astrophysical mechanism of production, except for no $$\nu _\tau $$ $$(\overline{\nu }_\tau )$$ component at the source. We test our model using the information provided by HESE shower-like events and by the lack of double pulses and resonant events. We find that a two-component power-law spectrum is compatible with all observations. The model agrees with the standard picture of pion decay as a source of neutrinos, and indicates a slight preference for a $$p\gamma $$ mechanism of production. We discuss the tension between the HESE and the 'throughgoing muons' datasets around few tens TeV, focussing on the angular distributions of the spectra. The expected number of smoking-gun signatures of $$\nu _\tau $$ -induced events (referred to as double pulses) is quantified: in the baseline model we predict 0.65 double pulse events in 5.7 years. Uncertainties in the predictions are quantified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present results on transverse momentum ( $$p_{\mathrm {\textsc {t}}}$$ ) and rapidity ( $$y$$ ) differential production cross sections, mean transverse momentum and mean transverse momentum square of inclusive $$\mathrm {J}/\psi $$ and $$\psi \mathrm {(2S)}$$ at forward rapidity ( $$2.515$$ GeV/ c the non-prompt contribution reaches up to 50% of the total charmonium yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied how the energy spectrum of muons at production affects some of the most common measurements related to muons in extensive air shower studies, namely, the number of muons at the ground, the slope of the lateral distribution of muons, the apparent muon production depth, and the arrival time delay of muons at ground. We found that by changing the energy spectrum by an amount consistent with the difference between current models (namely EPOS-LHC and QGSJ et -II.04), the muon surface density at ground increases 5% at 20° zenith angle and 17% at 60° zenith angle. This effect introduces a zenith angle dependence on the reconstructed number of muons which might be experimentally observed. The maximum of the muon production depth distribution at 40° increases ∼ 10 g/cm 2 and ∼ 0 g/cm 2 at 60°, which, from pure geometrical considerations, increases the arrival time delay of muons. There is an extra contribution to the delay due to the subluminal velocities of muons of the order of ∼ 3 ns at all zenith angles. Finally, changes introduced in the logarithmic slope of the lateral density function are less than 2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large area Micromegas (MM) detectors will be employed for the Muon Spectrometer upgrade of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. A total surface of about 150 m 2 of the forward regions of the Muon Spectrometer will be equipped with 8 layers of MM modules. Each module covers a surface area of approximately 2–3 m 2 for a total active area of 1200 m 2 . Together with the small-strips Thin Gap Chambers, they will compose the two New Small Wheels, which will replace the innermost stations of the ATLAS Endcap Muon tracking system in the planned 2018/2019 shutdown. This upgrade will maintain a low p T threshold for single muons and provide excellent tracking capabilities for the HL-LHC phase. The New Small Wheel (NSW) project requires fully efficient MM chambers with spatial resolution down to 100 μ m , at rate capability up to about 15 kHz/cm 2 and operation in a moderate (highly inhomogeneous) magnetic field up to B =0.3 T. The required tracking capability is provided by the intrinsic spatial resolution combined with a challenging mechanical precision. The design, recent progress in the construction and results from the substantial R& D phase (with a focus on novel technical solutions) is presented. In the R& D phase, small and medium size single layer prototypes have been built, along with, more recently, the first two MM quadruplets in a configuration very close to the final one chosen for the NSW. Several tests have been performed on these prototypes at a high-energy test-beam at CERN, to demonstrate that the achieved performances fulfil the requirements. Recent tests applying various configuration and operating conditions are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results obtained by studying the background of neutrons produced by cosmic-raymuons in underground experimental facilities intended for rare-event searches and in surrounding rock are presented. The types of this rock may include granite, sedimentary rock, gypsum, and rock salt. Neutron production and transfer were simulated using the Geant4 and SHIELD transport codes. These codes were tuned via a comparison of the results of calculations with experimental data-in particular, with data of the Artemovsk research station of the Institute for Nuclear Research (INR, Moscow, Russia)-as well as via an intercomparison of results of calculations with the Geant4 and SHIELD codes. It turns out that the atomic-number dependence of the production and yield of neutrons has an irregular character and does not allow a description in terms of a universal function of the atomic number. The parameters of this dependence are different for two groups of nuclei-nuclei consisting of alpha particles and all of the remaining nuclei. Moreover, there are manifest exceptions from a power-law dependence-for example, argon. This may entail important consequences both for the existing underground experimental facilities and for those under construction. Investigation of cosmic-ray-induced neutron production in various materials is of paramount importance for the interpretation of experiments conducted at large depths under the Earth's surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a new fixed latency scheme for Xilinx gigabit transceivers that will be used in the upgrade of the ATLAS forward muon spectrometer at the Large Hadron Collider. The fixed latency scheme is implemented in a 4.8 Gbps link between a frontend data serializer ASIC and a packet router. To achieve fixed latency, we use IO delay and dedicated carry in resources in a Xilinx FPGA, while minimally relying on the embedded features of the FPGA transceivers. The scheme is protocol independent and can be adapted to FPGA from other vendors with similar resources. This paper presents a detailed implementation of the fixed latency scheme, as well as simulations of the real environment in the ATLAS forward muon region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The observation of charged cosmic rays with energies up to 1020 eV shows that particle acceleration must occur in astrophysical sources. Acceleration of secondary particles like muons and pions, produced in cosmic ray interactions, are usually neglected, however, when calculating the flux of neutrinos from cosmic ray interactions. Aims. Here, we discuss the acceleration of secondary muons, pions, and kaons in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) within the internal shock scenario, and their impact on the neutrino fluxes. Methods. We introduce a two-zone model consisting of an acceleration zone (the shocks) and a radiation zone (the plasma downstream the shocks). The acceleration in the shocks, which is an unavoidable consequence of effcient proton acceleration, requires effcient transport from the radiation back to the acceleration zone. On the other hand, stochastic acceleration in the radiation zone can enhance the secondary spectra of muons and kaons significantly if there is a suffciently large turbulent region. Results. Overall, it is plausible that neutrino spectra can be enhanced by up to a factor of two at the peak by stochastic acceleration, that an additional spectral peak appears from shock acceleration of the secondary muons and pions, and that the neutrino production from kaon decays is enhanced. Conclusions. Depending on the GRB parameters, the general conclusions concerning the limits to the internal shock scenario obtained by recent IceCube and ANTARES analyses may be affected by up to a factor of two by secondary acceleration. Most of the changes occur at energies above 107 GeV, so the e ects for next-generation radio-detection experiments will be more pronounced. In the future, however, if GRBs are detected as high-energy neutrino sources, the detection of one or several pronounced peaks around 106 GeV or higher energies could help to derive the basic properties of the magnetic field strength in the GRB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider will increase the sensitivity of the ATLAS experiment to rare physics processes. In order to cope with a 10 times higher instantaneous luminosity compared to the LHC, the trigger system of ATLAS needs to be upgraded. The ATLAS experiment plans to increase the maximum rate capability of the 1st trigger level to 1 MHz at 6 μ s latency. This requires new on- and off-chamber electronics for its muon spectrometer. The replacement of the precision chamber read-out electronics will make it possible to include their data in the 1st level trigger decision and thus to increase the selectivity of the 1st level muon trigger. The acceptance of the present RPC trigger system in the barrel region will be increased from 75% to 95% by the installation of additional thin-gap RPC with a substantially increased high-rate capability compared to the current RPCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Letter presents a search for quantum black-hole production using 20.3 fb-1 of data collected with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at the LHC at √s - 8 TeV. The quantum black holes are assumed to decay into a final state characterized by a lepton (electron or muon) and a jet. In either channel, no event with a lepton-jet invariant mass of 3.5 TeV or more is observed, consistent with the expected background. Limits are set on the product of cross sections and branching fractions for the lepton + jet final states of quantum black holes produced in a search region for invariant masses above 1 TeV. The combined 95% confidence level upper limit on this product for quantum black holes with threshold mass above 3.5 TeV is 0.18 fb. This limit constrains the threshold quantum black-hole mass to be above 5.3 TeV in the model considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We usedGeant4 to accurately model the low energy muons (LEM) beam line, including scattering due to the 10-nm thin carbon foil in the trigger detector. Simulations of the beam line transmission give excellent agreement with experimental results for beam energies higher than ∼ 12keV.We use these simulations to design and model the operation of a spin rotator for the LEM spectrometer, which will enable longitudinal field measurements in the near future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]