116427383
Photodetector timing research at Fermilab
Author(s): Ramberg, E; Ronzhin, A; Albrow, M; Los, S; Pranko, A; Malik, S; Zatserklyaniy, A | Abstract: We describe here the outlines of research undertaken by Fermilab into timing characteristics of photodetectors. We describe our experimental method and give benchtop results on the timing resolution of micro-channel plate photomultipliers (MCP-PMT) and silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). In addition, we describe results of various configurations of these detectors, along with quartz radiators, in particle test beams at Fermilab. Results for timing of scintillator light using the DRS4 high speed digitizer are also presented.
126196482
ELASTIC SCATTERING OF POSITIVE KAONS ON POLARIZED PROTONS BETWEEN 0.87 AND 2.74 GeV/c. RESULTS AND PHASE-SHIFT ANALYSIS.
Abstract Polarization and differential cross-section data at 16 momenta between 0.86 and 2.74 GeV/ c are presented. (Preliminary data on some of the momenta have been published earlier.) In an energy-independent phase-shift analysis from threshold up to 2.5 GeV/ c , resonant-like as well as non-resonant solutions are found for the P 3 wave. An helicity flip-non-flip decomposition of the partial waves partly supports the indications found in the analyses of other reactions that the pomeron is built up mainly from s -channel helicity non-flip contributions.
118601539
Quartz Cherenkov counters for fast timing: QUARTIC
We have developed particle detectors based on fused silica (quartz) Cherenkov radi- ators read out with microchannel plate photomultipliers (MCP-PMTs) or silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) for high precision timing (st 10-15 ps). One application is to measure the times of small angle protons from exclusive reactions, p+ p! p+ X + p, at the Large Hadron Collider, LHC. They may also be used to measure directional particle fluxes close to external or stored beams. The detectors have small areas (cm 2 ), but need to be active very close ( 4 mm) to the intense LHC beam, and so must be radiation hard and nearly edgeless. We present results of tests of detectors with quartz bars inclined at the Cherenkov angle, and with bars in the form of an "L" (with a 90 corner). We also describe a possible design for a fast timing hodoscope with few mm 2 elements.
59382161
QCD subgroup on diffractive and forward physics
Over the last few years, there has been a resurgence of interest in small-x or diffractive physics. This has been due to the realization that perturbative QCD techniques may be applicable to what was previously thought of as a non-perturbative problem and to the opening up of new energy regimes at HERA and the Tevatron collider. The goal is to understand the pomeron, and hence the behavior of total cross sections, elastic scattering and diffractive excitation, in terms of the underlying theory, QCD. This paper is divided into experiments of hadron-hadron colliders and electron-proton colliders.
115609427
VIIth Blois Workshop summary: experimental
The Blois Workshop has become a conference not just restricted to diffractive scattering, but including topics such as searches for SUSY and Higgs, measurements of the top mass and b-decays. I will mention these briefly but will mostly discuss new results (and needed future measurements) in hard diffraction at HERA and the Tevatron.
82550552
Search for stable particles of charge 1 and mass deuteron mass
In a search for stable massive particles of charge q ⩾ 1 at the CERN ISR (√s = 53 GeV) no new particle in the mass range q × 2.4 GeV < m ≲ 30 GeV has been found among 3.1 × 107 recorded secondaries. At x = 2pL/√s = 0.21 and pT = 0.21 GeV/c the deuteron to π+ ratio is (1.3±0.2) × 10−4 and the antideuteron to π− ratio is (7.6±2.3) × 10−6. for (anti)tritons upper limits of (t/π+) < 5 × 10−7and (t/π−7) < 5 × 10−7 have been obtained.
55031010
Difference image analysis: extension to a spatially varying photometric scale factor and other considerations
We present a general framework for matching the point-spread function (PSF), photometric scaling and sky background between two images, a subject which is commonly referred to as difference image analysis (DIA). We introduce the new concept of a spatially varying photometric scale factor which will be important for DIA applied to wide-field imaging data in order to adapt to transparency and airmass variations across the field-of-view. Furthermore, we demonstrate how to separately control the degree of spatial variation of each kernel basis function, the photometric scale factor and the differential sky background. We discuss the common choices for kernel basis functions within our framework, and we introduce the mixed-resolution delta basis functions to address the problem of the size of the least-squares problem to be solved when using delta basis functions. We validate and demonstrate our algorithm on simulated and real data. We also describe a number of useful optimizations that may be capitalized on during the construction of the least-squares matrix and which have not been reported previously. We pay special attention to presenting a clear notation for the DIA equations which are set out in a way that will hopefully encourage developers to tackle the implementation of DIA software.
14344979
The PLANET microlensing follow-up network : results and prospects for the detection of extra-solar planets
Among various techniques to search for extra-solar planets, microlensing has some unique characteristics. Contrary to all other methods which favour nearby objects, microlensing is sensitive to planets around stars at distances of several kpc. These stars act as gravitational lenses leading to a brightening of observed luminous source stars. The lens stars that are tested for the presence of planets are not generally seen themselves. The largest sensitivity is obtained for planets at orbital separations of 1-10 AU offering the view on an extremely interesting range with regard to our own solar system and in particular to the position of Jupiter. The microlensing signal of a jupiter-mass planet lasts typically a few days. This means that a planet reveals its existence by producing a short signal at its quasi-instantaneous position, so that planets can be detected without the need to observe a significant fraction of the orbital period. Relying on the microlensing alerts issued by several survey groups that observe similar to10(7) stars in the Galactic bulge. PLANET (Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork) performs precise and frequent measurements on ongoing microlensing events in order to detect deviations from a light curve produced by a single point-like object. These measurements allow constraints to be put on the abundance of planets. From 42 well-sampled events between 1995 and 1999, we infer that less than 1/3 of M-dwarfs in the Galactic bulge have jupiter-mass companions at separations between 1 and 4 AU from their parent star, and that
7459273
Limits on the Abundance of Galactic Planets From 5 Years of PLANET Observations
We search for signatures of planets in 43 intensively monitored microlensing events that were observed between 1995 and 1999. Planets would be expected to cause a short-duration (∼1 day) deviation on the smooth, symmetric light curve produced by a single lens. We find no such anomalies and infer that less than one-third of the ∼0.3 stars that typically comprise the lens population have Jupiter mass companions with semimajor axes in M, the range of . Since orbital periods of planets at these radii are 3–15 yr, the outer portion of 1.5 AU ! a ! 4A U this region is currently difficult to probe with any other technique. Subject headings: gravitational lensing — planetary systems — stars: late-type — stars: low-mass, brown dwarfs — techniques: photometric On-line material: color figure
3000437
Detection of Rotation in a Binary Microlens: PLANET Photometry of MACHO 97-BLG-41
We analyze PLANET collaboration data for MACHO 97-BLG-41, the only microlensing event observed to date in which the source transits two disjoint caustics. The PLANET data, consisting of 46 V -band and 325 I-band observations from —ve southern observatories, span a period from the initial alert until the end of the event. Our data are incompatible with a static binary lens, but are well —tted by a rotating binary lens of mass ratio q \ 0.34 and angular separation d B 0.5 (in units of the Einstein ring radius), in which the binary separation changes in size by dd \( 0.070 ^ 0.009 and in orientation by during the 35.17 days between the separate caustic transits. We use this measurement, dh \ 5i.61^ 0i.36 combined with other observational constraints, to derive the —rst kinematic estimate of the mass, dis- tance, and period of a binary microlens. The relative probability distributions for these parameters peak at a total lens mass M D 0.3 (M-dwarf binary system), lens distance kpc, and binary period M _ D L D 5.5 P D 1.5 yr. The robustness of our model is demonstrated by its striking agreement with MACHO/ GMAN data that cover several sharp features in the light curve not probed by the PLANET obser- vations, and which did not enter our modeling procedure in any way. Available data sets thus indicate that the light curve of MACHO 97-BLG-41 can be modeled as a source crossing two caustics of a physi- cally realistic rotating binary. Thus, contrary to a recent suggestion, the additional eUects of a postulated planetary companion to the binary lens are not required. Subject headings: binaries: generalgravitational lensingplanetary systems
73625238
1318 new variable stars in a 0.25 square degree region of the Galactic plane
We conducted a deep photometric survey of a 0.5 ◦ × 0.5 ◦ area of the Galactic plane using the WFI instrument on the 2.2-m ESO telescope on La Silla, Chile. The dataset comprises a total of 267 R-band images, 204 from a 16 day observation run in 2005, supplemented by 63 images from a six week period in 2002. Our reduction employed the new numerical kernel difference image analysis method as implemented in the pysis3 code and resulted in more than 500 000 lightcurves of stars down to a magnitude limit of R ∼ 24.5. A search for variable stars resulted in the detection of 1318 variables of different types. 1011 of these are eclipsing or contact binary stars. A number of the contact binaries have low mass-ratios and several of the detached binaries appear to have low-mass components. Three candidate contact binaries have periods at the known cut off including two with periods lower than any previously published. Also identified are 3 possible pre-main sequence detached eclipsing binaries.