16965099
Status of the SPARC Project
The SPARC project has entered its installation phase at the Frascati National Laboratories of INFN: its main goal, the promotion of an R&D activity oriented to the development of a high brightness photoinjector to drive SASE-FEL experiments, is being vigorously pursued by a collaboration among ENEA-INFN-CNR-Universita` di Roma Tor Vergata-INFM-ST. In this paper we will report on the installation and test of some major components, like Ti: Sa laser system, RF gun and RF power system. Advancements in the control and beam diagnostics systems will also be reported, in particular on the emittance-meter device for beam emittance measurements in the drift space downstream the RF gun. Recent results on laser pulse shaping show the feasibility of producing 10 ps flat-top laser pulses in the UV with rise time below 1 ps. First FEL experiments have been proposed, using SASE, seeding and non-linear resonant harmonics.
122714679
Charge collection efficiency of an irradiated cryogenic double-p silicon detector
Abstract We present results on the measurement of the charge collection efficiency of a p + /n/p + silicon detector irradiated to 1×10 15  n/cm 2 , operated in the temperature range between 80 and 200 K. For comparison, measurements obtained with a standard silicon diode (p + /n/n + ), irradiated to the same fluence, are also presented. Both detectors show a dramatic increase of the CCE when operated at temperatures around 130 K. The double-p detector shows a higher CCE regardless of the applied bias and temperature, besides being symmetric with respect to the polarity of the bias voltage. At 130 K and 500 V applied bias the double-p detector shows a CCE of 80%, an unprecedented result for a silicon detector irradiated to such a high dose.
122796566
Cryogenic semiconductor high-intensity radiation monitors
Abstract This paper describes a novel technique to monitor high-intensity particle beams by means of a semiconductor detector. It consists of cooling a semiconductor detector down to cryogenic temperature to suppress the thermally generated leakage current and to precisely measure the integrated ionization signal. It will be shown that such a device provides very good linearity and a dynamic range wider than is possible with existing techniques. Moreover, thanks to the Lazarus effect, extreme radiation hardness can be achieved providing in turn absolute intensity measurements against precise calibration of the device at low beam flux.
120071736
Radiation hardness of cryogenic silicon detectors
Abstract We shall review test results which show that silicon detectors can withstand at 130 K temperature a fluence of 2×10 15  cm –2 of 1 MeV neutrons, which is about 10 times higher than the fluence tolerated by the best detectors operated close to room temperature. The tests were carried out on simple pad devices and on microstrip detectors of different types. The devices were irradiated at room temperature using reactor neutrons, and in situ at low temperatures using high-energy protons and lead ions. No substantial difference was observed between samples irradiated at low temperature and those irradiated at room temperature, after beneficial annealing. The design of low-mass modules for low-temperature trackers is discussed briefly, together with the cooling circuits for small and large systems.
54691127
A EUROPEAN PROPOSAL FOR THE COMPTON GAMMA-RAY SOURCE OF ELI-NP*
A European proposal is under preparation for the Compton gamma-ray Source of ELI-NP. In the Romanian pillar of ELI (the European Extreme Light Infrastructure) an advanced gamma-ray beam is foreseen, coupled to two 10 PW laser systems. The photons will be generated by Compton back-scattering in the collision between a high quality electron beam and a high power laser. A European collaboration formed by INFN, Univ. of Roma La Sapienza, Orsay-LAL of IN2P3, Univ. de Paris Sud XI and ASTeC at Daresbury, is preparing a TDR exploring the feasibility of a machine expected to achieve the Gamma-ray beam specifications: energy tunable between 1 and 20 MeV, narrow bandwidth (0.3%) and high spectral density, 10 4 photons/sec/eV. We will describe the lay-out of the 720 MeV RF Linac and the collision laser with the associated optical cavity, as well as the optimized beam dynamics to achieve maximum phase space density at the collision. The predicted gamma-ray spectra have been evaluated for the case at 360 MeV.
16425228
Measurement of the pressure dependence of air fluorescence emission induced by electrons
The fluorescence detection of ultra high energy (J10 18 eV) cosmic rays requires a detailed knowledge of the fluorescence light emission from nitrogen molecules, which are excited by the cosmic ray shower particles along their path in the atmosphere. We have made a precise measurement of the fluorescence light spectrum excited by MeV electrons in dry air. We measured the relative intensities of 34 fluorescence bands in the wavelength range from 284 to 429 nm with a high resolution spectrograph. The pressure dependence of the fluorescence spectrum was also measured from a few hPa up to atmospheric pressure. Relative intensities and collisional quenching reference pressures for bands due to transitions from a common upper level were found in agreement with theoretical expectations. The presence of argon in air was found to have a negligible effect on the fluorescence yield. We estimated that the systematic uncertainty on the cosmic ray shower energy due to the pressure dependence of the fluorescence spectrum is reduced to a level of 1% by the AIRFLY results presented in this paper.
118438824
Four-quark hadrons: An updated review
The past decade witnessed a remarkable proliferation of exotic charmonium-like resonances discovered at accelerators. In particular, the recently observed charged states are clearly not interpretable as mesons. Notwithstanding the considerable advances on the experimental side, conflicting theoretical descriptions do not seem to provide a definitive picture about the nature of the so-called XYZ particles. We present here a comprehensive review about this intriguing topic, discussing both those experimental and theoretical aspects which we consider relevant to make further progress in the field. At this state of progress, XYZ phenomenology speaks in favor of the existence of compact four-quark particles (tetraquarks) and we believe that realizing this instructs us in the quest for a firm theoretical framework.