Architecture of a Silicon Strip Beam Position Monitor

A collaboration between Fermilab and the Institute for High Energy Physics (IHEP), Beijing, has developed a beam position monitor for the IHEP test beam facility. This telescope is based on 5 stations of silicon strip detectors having a pitch of 60 microns. The total active area of each layer of the detector is about 12x10 cm2. Readout of the strips is provided through the use of VA1` ASICs mounted on custom hybrid printed circuit boards and interfaced to Adapter Cards via copper-over-kapton flexible circuits. The Adapter Cards amplify and level-shift the signal for input to the Fermilab CAPTAN data acquisition nodes for data readout and channel configuration. These nodes deliver readout and temperature data from triggered events to an analysis computer over gigabit Ethernet links.Comment: Submitted to TWEPP 201

Observation of thundercloud-related gamma rays and neutrons in Tibet

During the 2010 rainy season in Yangbajing (4300 m above sea level) in Tibet, China, a long-duration count enhancement associated with thunderclouds was detected by a solar-neutron telescope and neutron monitors installed at the Yangbajing Comic Ray Observatory. The event, lasting for ∼40  min, was observed on July 22, 2010. The solar-neutron telescope detected significant γ-ray signals with energies >40  MeV in the event. Such a prolonged high-energy event has never been observed in association with thunderclouds, clearly suggesting that electron acceleration lasts for 40 min in thunderclouds. In addition, Monte Carlo simulations showed that >10  MeV γ rays largely contribute to the neutron monitor signals, while >1  keV neutrons produced via a photonuclear reaction contribute relatively less to the signals. This result suggests that enhancements of neutron monitors during thunderstorms are not necessarily clear evidence for neutron production, as previously thought

Proposal of the Next Incarnation of Accelerator Test Facility at KEK for the International Linear Collider

To reach design luminosity, the International Linear Collider (ILC) must be able to create and reliably maintain nanometer size beams. The ATF damping ring is the unique facility where ILC emittances are possible. In this paper we present and evaluate the proposal to create a final focus facility at the ATF which, using compact final focus optics and an ILC-like bunch train, would be capable of achieving 37 nm beam size. Such a facility would enable the development of beam diagnostics and tuning methods, as well as the training of young accelerator physicists

Parameter Scaling and Practical Design of TME Lattice

It is a challenge to produce a practical design of an electron storage ring with a theorectical minimum emittance (TME) lattice of ultra low emittance, e.g. several pico-meters, due to the very strong focusing and extremely large natural chromaticity associated to these lattice designs. To help dealing with this challenge, it is requisite to scale the parameters and look for a best solution. In this paper, the parameter scaling is summarized, and it is argued that, with the lattice configuration with defocusing quadrupole closer to the dipole or just defocusing dipole, one can reach a good balance of the low emittance and relative small natural chromaticity, with phase advance per half cell below {pi}/2. The 10 pm TME lattice for PEP-X is shown at last as demonstration of the design procedure

Effects of the crystal structure on electrical and optical properties of pyrite FeS2 films prepared by thermally sulfurizing iron films

Based on experimental results and theoretical analysis effects of the crystal structure on the optical and electrical properties of pyrite FeS2 films produced by thermally sulfurizing iron films at various temperatures have been systematically studied. The results indicate that the crystal structure and some related factors, such as the crystallization and the stoichiometry, remarkably influence the optical and electrical performances of the pyrite films. It is also shown that the preferred orientation of the crystal grain plays a major role in determining the crystal structure and the optical and electrical properties of the pyrite FeS2 films. Also we find that it is the crystal grains, rather than the particles that exercise a decisive influence on the electrical performance of pyrite films. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Effects of the sulfur pressure on pyrite FeS2 films prepared by sulfurizing thermally iron films

The effect of sulfur vapor pressure in preparing the FeS2 films has been discussed and some incongruous views about sulfur pressure have been clarified in this paper based on experimental results and theoretical analysis. It is shown that lower sulfur pressures than the saturation value only result in poorer crystallization and worse performances, and in other words the FeS2 films could be optimized through improving the sulfur pressure till the saturation point. However for a certain temperature the sulfur pressure is limited by its saturated vapor pressure, and further increase of the sulfur quantity reacted with Fe films has little influence on the structure and properties of the pyrite films. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Evolution of structural defects in SiOx films fabricated by electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapour deposition upon annealing treatment

We study the structural defects in the SiOx film prepared by electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapour deposition and annealing recovery evolution. The photoluminescence property is observed in the as-deposited and annealed samples. [-SiO3](2-) defects are the luminescence centres of the ultraviolet photoluminescence (PL) from the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and PL measurements. [-SiO3](2-) is observed by positron annihilation spectroscopy, and this defect can make the S parameters increase. After 1000 degrees C annealing, [-SiO3](2-) defects still exist in the films

International Linear Collider: A technical progress report.

The International Linear Collider: A Technical Progress Report marks the halfway point towards the Global Design Effort fulfilling its mandate to follow up the ILC Reference Design Report with a more optimised Technical Design Report (TDR) by the end of 2012. The TDR will be based on much of the work reported here and will contain all the elements needed to propose the ILC to collaborating governments, including a technical design and implementation plan that are realistic and have been better optimised for performance, cost and risk. We are on track to develop detailed plans for the ILC, such that once results from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN establish the main science goals and parameters of the next machine, we will be in good position to make a strong proposal for this new major global project in particle physics. The two overriding issues for the ILC R&D programme are to demonstrate that the technical requirements for the accelerator are achievable with practical technologies, and that the ambitious physics goals can be addressed by realistic ILC detectors. This GDE interim report documents the impressive progress on the accelerator technologies that can make the ILC a reality. It highlights results of the technological demonstrations that are giving the community increased confidence that we will be ready to proceed with an ILC project following the TDR. The companion detector and physics report document likewise demonstrates how detector designs can meet the ambitious and detailed physics goals set out by the ILC Steering Committee. LHC results will likely affect the requirements for the machine design and the detectors, and we are monitoring that very closely, intending to adapt our design as those results become available

International Linear Collider Reference Design Report Volume 2: Physics at the ILC

The triumph of 20th century particle physics was the development of the Standard Model and the confirmation of many of its aspects. Experiments determined the particle constituents of ordinary matter, and identified four forces that hold matter together and transform it from one form to another. Particle interactions were found to obey precise laws of relativity and quantum theory. Remarkable features of quantum physics were observed, including the real effects of 'virtual' particles on the visible world. Building on this success, particle physicists are now able to address questions that are even more fundamental, and explore some of the deepest mysteries in science. The scope of these questions is illustrated by this summary from the report Quantum Universe: (1) Are there undiscovered principles of nature; (2) How can we solve the mystery of dark energy; (3) Are there extra dimensions of space; (4) Do all the forces become one; (5) Why are there so many particles; (6) What is dark matter? How can we make it in the laboratory; (7) What are neutrinos telling us; (8) How did the universe begin; and (9) What happened to the antimatter? A worldwide program of particle physics investigations, using multiple approaches, is already underway to explore this compelling scientific landscape. As emphasized in many scientific studies, the International Linear Collider is expected to play a central role in what is likely to be an era of revolutionary advances. Discoveries from the ILC could have breakthrough impact on many of these fundamental questions. Many of the scientific opportunities for the ILC involve the Higgs particle and related new phenomena at Terascale energies. The Standard Model boldly hypothesizes a new form of Terascale energy, called the Higgs field, that permeates the entire universe. Elementary particles acquire mass by interacting with this field. The Higgs field also breaks a fundamental electroweak force into two forces, the electromagnetic and weak forces, which are observed by experiments in very different forms. So far, there is no direct experimental evidence for a Higgs field or the Higgs particle that should accompany it. Furthermore, quantum effects of the type already observed in experiments should destabilize the Higgs boson of the Standard Model, preventing its operation at Terascale energies. The proposed antidotes for this quantum instability mostly involve dramatic phenomena at the Terascale: new forces, a new principle of nature called supersymmetry, or even extra dimensions of space. Thus for particle physicists the Higgs boson is at the center of a much broader program of discovery, taking off from a long list of questions. Is there really a Higgs boson? If not, what are the mechanisms that give mass to particles and break the electroweak force? If there is a Higgs boson, does it differ from the hypothetical Higgs of the Standard Model? Is there more than one Higgs particle? What are the new phenomena that stabilize the Higgs boson at the Terascale? What properties of Higgs boson inform us about these new phenomena? Another major opportunity for the ILC is to shed light on the dark side of the universe. Astrophysical data shows that dark matter dominates over visible matter, and that almost all of this dark matter cannot be composed of known particles. This data, combined with the concordance model of Big Bang cosmology, suggests that dark matter is comprised of new particles that interact weakly with ordinary matter and have Terascale masses. It is truely remarkable that astrophysics and cosmology, completely independently of the particle physics considerations reviewed above, point to new phenomena at the Terascale. If Terascale dark matter exists, experiments at the ILC should be able to produce such particles in the laboratory and study their properties. Another list of questions will then beckon. Do these new particles really have the correct properties to be the dark matter? Do they account for all of the dark matter, or only part of it? What do their properties tell us about the evolution of the universe? How is dark matter connected to new principles or forces of nature? A third cluster of scientific opportunities for the ILC focus on Einstein's vision of an ultimate unified theory. Particle physics data already suggests that three of the fundamental forces originated from a single 'grand' unified force in the first instant of the Big Bang. Experiments at the ILC could test this idea and look for evidence of a related unified origin of matter involving supersymmetry. A theoretical framework called string theory goes beyond grand unification to include gravity, extra spatial dimensions, and new fundamental entities called superstrings. Theoretical models to explain the properties of neutrinos, and account for the mysterious dominance of matter over antimatter, also posit unification at high energies