Study of weak magnetism by precision spectrum shape measurements in nuclear beta decay

Nuclear beta decays play an important role in uncovering the nature of the weak interaction. The weak magnetism (WM) form factor, bWM, is generally a small correction to the beta decay rate that arises at first order as an interference term between the dominant Gamow-Teller and the magnetic dipole contributions to the weak current. This form factor is still poorly known for nuclei with higher atomic number. We performed a careful analysis of the measured beta spectrum shape for Gamow-Teller transitions in $^{114}$In and $^{32}$P nuclei. The precision spectrum shape measurements were carried out using the miniBETA spectrometer consisting of a low-mass, low-Z multi-wire gas tracker and a plastic scintillator energy detector. The preliminary results for the weak magnetism extraction for $^{114}$In and $^{32}$P nuclei are presented

BRAND – search for BSM physics at TeV scale by exploring transverse polarization of electrons emitted in neutron decay

Neutron and nuclear beta decay correlation coefficients are linearly sensitive to the exotic scalar and tensor interactions that are not included in the Standard Model (SM). The proposed experiment will measure simultaneously 11 neutron correlation coefficients (a, a, B, D, H, L, N, R, S, U, V) where 7 of them (H, L, N, R, S, U, V) depend on the transverse electron polarization – a quantity that vanishes for the SM weak interaction. The neutron decay correlation coefficients H, L, S, U, V were never attempted experimentally before. The expected ultimate sensitivity of the proposed experiment that currently takes off on the cold neutron beamline PF1B at the Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France, is comparable to that of the planned electron spectrum shape measurements in neutron and nuclear β decays but offers completely different systematics and additional sensitivity to imaginary parts of the scalar and tensor couplings

TOF-PET detector concept based on organic scintillators

In this contribution we present a new concept of the large acceptance detector systems based on organic scintillators which may allow for simultaneous diagnostic of large fraction of the human body. Novelty of the concept lies in employing large blocks of polymer scintillators instead of crystals as detectors of annihilation quanta, and in using predominantly the timing of signals instead of their amplitudes

Strip- PET : a novel detector concept for the TOF-PET scanner

We briefly present a design of a new PET scanner based on strips of polymer scintillators arranged in a barrel constituting a large acceptance detector. The solution proposed is based on the superior timing properties of the polymer scintillators. The position and time of the reaction of the gamma quanta in the detector material will be determined based on the time of arrival of light signals to the edges of the scintillator strips

Open charm measurements in NA61/SHINE at CERN SPS

The measurements of open charm production was proposed as an important tool to investigate the properties of the hot and dense matter formed in nucleus-nucleus collisions as well as to provide the means for model independent interpretation of the existing data on J/ψ suppression. Recently, the experimental setup of the NA61/SHINE experiment was supplemented with a Vertex Detector which was motivated by the importance and the possibility of the first direct measurements of open charm meson production in heavy ion collisions at SPS energies. First test data taken in December 2016 on Pb+Pb collisions at 150A GeV/c allowed to validate the general concept of D0 meson detection via its D0 → π+ + K− decay channel and delivered a first indication of open charm production. The physics motivation of open charm measurements at SPS energies, pilot results on open charm production, and finally, the future plans of open charm measurements in the NA61/SHINE experiment after LS2 are presented

Front-end electronics and data acquisition system for a multi-wire 3D gas tracker

This paper presents the design and implementation of the front-end electronics and the data acquisition (DAQ) system for readout of multi-wire drift chambers (MWDC). Apart of the conventional drift time measurement the system delivers the hit position along the wire utilizing the charge division technique. The system consists of preamplifiers, and analog and digital boards sending data to a back-end computer via an Ethernet interface. The data logging software formats the received data and enables an easy access to the data analysis software. The use of specially designed preamplifiers and peak detectors allows the charge-division readout (tithe low resistance signal wire. The implication (tithe charge-division circuitry onto the drift time measurement was studied and the overall performance of the electronic system was evaluated in dedicated off-line tests

Beta spectrum shape measurements using a multi-wire drift chamber and a plastic scintillator

Spectrum shape measurements in nuclear $\beta$ decay are a versatile observable. They can be used to test physics beyond the Standard Model with results being complementary to high energy collider experiments. In addition, the $\beta$ spectrum shape is a useful tool to probe Standard Model effects. One of those effects is called Weak Magnetism and is induced by QCD interactions between quarks in the nucleon. In order to study effects on the order of $10^{-3} - 10^{-2}$ in the $\beta$ spectrum shape, a new prototype spectrometer, named miniBETA, was designed and built. It consists of a 3D low-pressure gas tracker, i.e. a multi-wire drift chamber with hexagonal cells, and a plastic scintillator for triggering the data acquisition and recording the $\beta$ particle energy. Results of the miniBETA spectrometer characterization, supported by Monte Carlo simulations in Geant4 and Garfield++, are reported here. In addition, the preliminary results from $\beta$ spectrum shape measurements on the allowed Gamow-Teller transition $^{114}\textrm{In}\rightarrow ^{114}\textrm{Sn}$ are presented, including an extraction of the Weak Magnetism form factor