3,095 research outputs found
The MRPC-based ALICE Time-Of-Flight detector: status and performance
The large Time-Of-Flight (TOF) array is one of the main detectors devoted to
charged hadron identification in the mid-rapidity region of the ALICE
experiment at the LHC. It allows separation among pions, kaons and protons up
to a few GeV/c, covering the full azimuthal angle and -0.9 < eta < 0.9. The TOF
exploits the innovative MRPC technology capable of an intrinsic time resolution
better than 50 ps with an efficiency close to 100% and a large operational
plateau; the full array consists of 1593 MRPCs covering a cylindrical surface
of 141 m2. The TOF detector has been efficiently taking data since the first pp
collisions recorded in ALICE in December 2009. In this report, the status of
the TOF detector and the performance achieved for both pp and Pb--Pb collisions
are described.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure
Long-term operation of a multi-channel cosmic muon system based on scintillation counters with MRS APD light readout
A Cosmic Ray Test Facility (CRTF) is the first large-scale implementation of
a scintillation triggering system based on a new scintillation technique known
as START. In START, the scintillation light is collected and transported by WLS
optical fibers, while light detection is performed by pairs of avalanche
photodiodes with the Metal-Resistor-Semiconductor structure operated in the
Geiger mode (MRS APD). START delivers 100% efficiency of cosmic muon detection,
while its intrinsic noise level is less than 10^{-2} Hz. CRTF, consisting of
160 START channels, has been continuously operated by the ALICE TOF
collaboration for more than 25 000 hours, and has demonstrated a high level of
stability. Fewer than 10% of MRS APDs had to be replaced during this period.Comment: Proceedings of NDIP-2008. 8 pages, 8 figures, 6 reference
RPC with low-resistive phosphate glass electrodes as a candidate for the CBM TOF
Usage of electrodes made of glass with low bulk resistivity seems to be a
promising way to adapt the Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) to the high-rate
environment of the upcoming CBM experiment. A pilot four-gap RPC sample with
electrodes made of phosphate glass, which has bulk resistivity in the order of
10^10 Ohm cm, has been studied with MIP beam for TOF applications. The tests
have yielded satisfactory results: the efficiency remains above 95% and the
time resolution stays within 120 ps up to the particle rate of 18 kHz/cm2. The
increase in rate from 2.25 to 18 kHz/cm2 leads to an increase of estimated
"tails" fraction in the time spectrum from 1.5% to 4%.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Elsevier Scienc
Scintillation counter with MRS APD light readout
START, a high-efficiency and low-noise scintillation detector for ionizing
particles, was developed for the purpose of creating a high-granular system for
triggering cosmic muons. Scintillation light in START is detected by MRS APDs
(Avalanche Photo-Diodes with Metal-Resistance-Semiconductor structure),
operated in the Geiger mode, which have 1 mm^2 sensitive areas. START is
assembled from a 15 x 15 x 1 cm^3 scintillating plastic plate, two MRS APDs and
two pieces of wavelength-shifting optical fiber stacked in circular coils
inside the plastic. The front-end electronic card is mounted directly on the
detector. Tests with START have confirmed its operational consistency, over 99%
efficiency of MIP registration and good homogeneity. START demonstrates a low
intrinsic noise of about 10^{-2} Hz. If these detectors are to be
mass-produced, the cost of a mosaic array of STARTs is estimated at a moderate
level of 2-3 kUSD/m^2.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Perspectives for Positron Emission Tomography with RPCs
In this study we address the feasibility and main properties of a positron
emission tomograph (PET) based on RPCs. The concept, making use of the
converter-plate principle, takes advantage of the intrinsic layered structure
of RPCs and its simple and economic construction. The extremely good time and
position resolutions of RPCs also allow the TOF-PET imaging technique to be
considered. Monte-Carlo simulations, supported by experimental data, are
presented and the main advantages and drawbacks for applications of potential
interest are discussed.Comment: Presented at "RPC2001-VI Workshop on Resistive Plate Chambers and
Related Detectors", Coimbra, Portugal, 26-27 November 2001 (5 pages
Subthreshold and near-threshold kaon and antikaon production in proton-nucleus reactions
The differential production cross sections of K^+ and K^- mesons have been
measured at the ITEP proton synchrotron in p+Be, p+Cu collisions under lab
angle of 10.5^0, respectively, at 1.7 and 2.25, 2.4 GeV beam energies. A
detailed comparison of these data with the results of calculations within an
appropriate folding model for incoherent primary proton-nucleon, secondary
pion-nucleon kaon and antikaon production processes and processes associated
with the creation of antikaons via the decay of intermediate phi mesons is
given. We show that the strangeness exchange process YN->NNK^- gives a small
contribution to the antikaon yield in the kinematics of the performed
experiment. We argue that in the case when antikaon production processes are
dominated by the channels with KK^- in the final state, the cross sections of
the corresponding reactions are weakly influenced by the in-medium kaon and
antikaon mean fields.Comment: 24 pages. accepted for publication at J.Phys.
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