118568116
Updated limits on diffuse fluxes of cosmic neutrinos with 2008-2011 ANTARES data
The ANTARES neutrino telescope detects the Cherenkov radiation emitted along the path of charged particles produced in neutrino interactions. ANTARES is sensitive to all flavors even though it is optimized for muon neutrinos. Several algorithms estimating the deposited energy in the active volume of the detector have been developed and applied to the reconstruction of the primary neutrino energy - this allows to improve the search for a diffuse flux of astrophysical neutrinos. The search for a diffuse flux of cosmic neutrinos at very high energies (E_\nu > 30 TeV) is updated using 4 years of data with the full detector.
54839319
A search for time dependent neutrino emission from microquasars with the ANTARES telescope
Results are presented on a search for neutrino emission from a sample of six microquasars, based on the data collected by the ANTARES neutrino telescope between 2007 and 2010. By means of appropriate time cuts, the neutrino search has been restricted to the periods when the acceleration of relativistic jets was taking place at the microquasars under study. The time cuts have been chosen using the information from the X-ray telescopes RXTE/ASM and Swift/BAT, and, in one case, the gamma-ray telescope Fermi/LAT. No statistically significant excess has been observed, thus upper limits on the neutrino fluences have been derived and compared to the predictions by models. Constraints have been put on the ratio of proton to electron luminosity in the jets.
110859812
The Central Logic Board and its auxiliary boards for the optical module of the KM3Net detector
The KM3Net neutrino telescope will be composed of many optical modules, each of them containing 31 (3") photomultipliers, connected to a Central Logic Board. The Central Logic Board integrates Time to Digital Converters that measure Time over Threshold of the photomultipliers signals while White Rabbit is used for the optical modules time synchronization. Auxiliary boards have also been designed and built in order to test and extend the performance of the Central Logic Board. The Central Logic Board, as well as the auxiliary boards, will be presented by focusing on the design consideration, prototyping issues and tests.
36324839
Searches for clustering in the time integrated skymap of the ANTARES neutrino telescope
This paper reports a search for spatial clustering of the arrival directions of high energy muon neutrinos detected by the ANTARES neutrino telescope. An improved two-point correlation method is used to study the autocorrelation of 3058 neutrino candidate events as well as cross-correlations with other classes of astrophysical objects: sources of high energy gamma rays, massive black holes and nearby galaxies. No significant deviations from the isotropic distribution of arrival directions expected from atmospheric backgrounds are observed.
55753733
Measurement of the atmospheric muon depth intensity relation with the NEMO Phase-2 tower
Abstract The results of the analysis of the data collected with the NEMO Phase-2 tower, deployed at 3500 m depth about 80 km off-shore Capo Passero (Italy), are presented. Cerenkov photons detected with the photomultipliers tubes were used to reconstruct the tracks of atmospheric muons. Their zenith-angle distribution was measured and the results compared with Monte Carlo simulations. An evaluation of the systematic effects due to uncertainties on environmental and detector parameters is also included. The associated depth intensity relation was evaluated and compared with previous measurements and theoretical predictions. With the present analysis, the muon depth intensity relation has been measured up to 13 km of water equivalent.
120966174
The NEMO project: A status report
Abstract The latest results and the activities towards the construction of a km 3 Cherenkov neutrino detector carried out by the NEMO Collaboration are described. Long-term exploration of a 3500 m deep-sea site close to the Sicilian coast has shown that it is optimal for the installation of the detector. The NEMO Phase-1 project has validated several technologies proposed for the construction of the km 3 detector on a test site at 2000 m depth. The new infrastructure on the candidate Capo Passero site set up as part of the Phase-2 project will provide the possibility to test detector components at 3500 m depth.
120592230
A multiterm Boltzmann analysis of drift velocity, diffusion, gain and magnetic-field effects in argon-methane-water-vapour mixtures
Abstract The effect of adding water vapour to argon-methane mixtures used in TPC-type detectors is investigated using the exact multiterm Boltzmann expansion. The transverse and longitudinal diffusion coefficients and the drift velocity are calculated with an accuracy of ± 3, ± 2 and ± 1% respectively. The calculations are extended into the avalanche region and compared to avalanche gain measurements. The effect of misalignment of the electric and magnetic fields on the drift direction is also investigated.
122074650
A study of the response of thin-oxide MSGCs to minimum ionising particles and low energy X-rays
Abstract Charged particle tracking at LHC requires detector elements with low occupancy and high space and time resolution coupled with sufficient radiation hardness to survive in the harsh environment. We report on progress in the development of MSGCs with thin silicon dioxide substrates and present results of experimental measurements of performance using minimum ionising particle and X-ray beams. The data show that these devices match the performance requirements needed for LHC-type tracking systems.
122185622
Measurement of kaonic X-rays from Li, LiH AND Be
Abstract We have observed X-rays from kaons stopping in targets of Li, LiH and Be. The strong interaction widths, shifts and relative yield of the last observed X-ray have been measured. There is evidence for a difference in the yield of the n = 3 → 2 Li X-rays in Li metal and LiH. There is no evidence in the spectra for X-rays from kaonic hydrogen formed in LiH.
120799482
Charge collection and charge sharing in heavily irradiated n-side read-out silicon microstrip detectors
Abstract Hadron radiation damage of n-bulk silicon detectors leads to a change in the effective space charge from positive to negative. This effect is called type inversion. Type inversion occurs after exposure to a fluence of a few 10 13 proton cm −2 and is characterized by migration of the diode junction to the n + implanted side (n-side) of the detector. After inversion the charge collection efficiency (CCE) of segmented detectors at low voltage is higher when the n-side, rather than the p-side, is read out. A p-side read out (p–in–n) and an n-side read out (n–in–n) strip detector with identical strip geometry and a wafer thickness of 200 μm were simultaneously and inhomogenously irradiated to a maximum fluence of 7×10 14 proton cm −2 with 24 GeV  c −1 protons. A comparison of the CCE at very high irradiation doses is shown with these two read out geometries. The inhomogeneous irradiation induces an inhomogenous distribution of the effective space charge with a transverse component of the electric field that could in principle affect the resolution properties of the microstrip detector. The inter-strip charge sharing properties, as a function of dose, for the n–in–n detector have been measured. No systematic distortion of the reconstructed cluster position was detected within the limits of the measurement accuracy. The detectors were manufactured using oxygen enriched silicon substrates to limit the degradation of the full depletion voltage under charged hadron irradiation. The measured CCE confirms that the use of oxygenated n–in–n detectors is viable up to fluences of 7×10 14 proton cm −2 .
120683548
Large-area low-pressure microstrip gas chambers for thermal neutron imaging
Abstract Thermal neutron imaging gas detectors using counting gas mixtures with gaseous neutron convertors (e.g. 3 He) suffer from inherent limitations in position and time-of-flight resolutions resulting from the long ranges of the released secondary ions in the counting gas and from parallax errors due to the necessary depth of the detector gas volume of >1 cm. In order to overcome these limitations a novel detector generation is presently being constructed utilizing composite neutron convertor foils ( 157 Gd or 6 Li overcoated with CsI) in combination with arrays of large-area microstrip and microdot gas chambers (MSGCs and MDOTs) which are operated in low-pressure, two-stage amplification mode and delivering unsurpassed gains. In this paper the optimization of MSGCs for low-pressure operation with 157 Gd convertors is discussed. The MSGCs are of technologically advanced, robust design, using 3 mm thick synthetic quartz substrates and two closely spaced electrode planes for true two-dimensional position readout. These metal planes are separated by a ∼3 μm thick SiO 2 /DLC double-layer deposited by means of plasma-enhanced CVD. The same fabrication technology is presently prepared for production of large-area MDOTs. The work shall be conducted in collaboration with nine teams from research institutes and industry.