2,535 research outputs found

    Application of dexterous space robotics technology to myoelectric prostheses

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    Future space missions will require robots equipped with highly dexterous robotic hands to perform a variety of tasks. A major technical challenge in making this possible is an improvement in the way these dexterous robotic hands are remotely controlled or teleoperated. NASA is currently investigating the feasibility of using myoelectric signals to teleoperate a dexterous robotic hand. In theory, myoelectric control of robotic hands will require little or no mechanical parts and will greatly reduce the bulk and weight usually found in dexterous robotic hand control devices. An improvement in myoelectric control of multifinger hands will also benefit prosthetics users. Therefore, as an effort to transfer dexterous space robotics technology to prosthetics applications and to benefit from existing myoelectric technology, NASA is collaborating with the Limbs of Love Foundation, the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, and Rice University in developing improved myoelectric control multifinger hands and prostheses. In this paper, we will address the objectives and approaches of this collaborative effort and discuss the technical issues associated with myoelectric control of multifinger hands. We will also report our current progress and discuss plans for future work

    Performance of the LHCb vertex locator

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    The Vertex Locator (VELO) is a silicon microstrip detector that surrounds the proton-proton interaction region in the LHCb experiment. The performance of the detector during the first years of its physics operation is reviewed. The system is operated in vacuum, uses a bi-phase CO2 cooling system, and the sensors are moved to 7 mm from the LHC beam for physics data taking. The performance and stability of these characteristic features of the detector are described, and details of the material budget are given. The calibration of the timing and the data processing algorithms that are implemented in FPGAs are described. The system performance is fully characterised. The sensors have a signal to noise ratio of approximately 20 and a best hit resolution of 4 ÎŒm is achieved at the optimal track angle. The typical detector occupancy for minimum bias events in standard operating conditions in 2011 is around 0.5%, and the detector has less than 1% of faulty strips. The proximity of the detector to the beam means that the inner regions of the n+-on-n sensors have undergone space-charge sign inversion due to radiation damage. The VELO performance parameters that drive the experiment's physics sensitivity are also given. The track finding efficiency of the VELO is typically above 98% and the modules have been aligned to a precision of 1 ÎŒm for translations in the plane transverse to the beam. A primary vertex resolution of 13 ÎŒm in the transverse plane and 71 ÎŒm along the beam axis is achieved for vertices with 25 tracks. An impact parameter resolution of less than 35 ÎŒm is achieved for particles with transverse momentum greater than 1 GeV/c

    Precision luminosity measurements at LHCb

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    Measuring cross-sections at the LHC requires the luminosity to be determined accurately at each centre-of-mass energy √s. In this paper results are reported from the luminosity calibrations carried out at the LHC interaction point 8 with the LHCb detector for √s = 2.76, 7 and 8 TeV (proton-proton collisions) and for √sNN = 5 TeV (proton-lead collisions). Both the "van der Meer scan" and "beam-gas imaging" luminosity calibration methods were employed. It is observed that the beam density profile cannot always be described by a function that is factorizable in the two transverse coordinates. The introduction of a two-dimensional description of the beams improves significantly the consistency of the results. For proton-proton interactions at √s = 8 TeV a relative precision of the luminosity calibration of 1.47% is obtained using van der Meer scans and 1.43% using beam-gas imaging, resulting in a combined precision of 1.12%. Applying the calibration to the full data set determines the luminosity with a precision of 1.16%. This represents the most precise luminosity measurement achieved so far at a bunched-beam hadron collider

    Differential branching fraction and angular analysis of the decay B0→K∗0ÎŒ+Ό−

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    The angular distribution and differential branching fraction of the decay B 0→ K ∗0 ÎŒ + ÎŒ − are studied using a data sample, collected by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1. Several angular observables are measured in bins of the dimuon invariant mass squared, q 2. A first measurement of the zero-crossing point of the forward-backward asymmetry of the dimuon system is also presented. The zero-crossing point is measured to be q20=4.9±0.9GeV2/c4 , where the uncertainty is the sum of statistical and systematic uncertainties. The results are consistent with the Standard Model predictions

    Observation of an Excited Bc+ State

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    Using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.5 fb-1 recorded by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of s=7, 8, and 13 TeV, the observation of an excited Bc+ state in the Bc+π+π- invariant-mass spectrum is reported. The observed peak has a mass of 6841.2±0.6(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, where the last uncertainty is due to the limited knowledge of the Bc+ mass. It is consistent with expectations of the Bc∗(2S31)+ state reconstructed without the low-energy photon from the Bc∗(1S31)+→Bc+Îł decay following Bc∗(2S31)+→Bc∗(1S31)+π+π-. A second state is seen with a global (local) statistical significance of 2.2σ (3.2σ) and a mass of 6872.1±1.3(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, and is consistent with the Bc(2S10)+ state. These mass measurements are the most precise to date

    Observation of two new Ξb−\Xi_b^- baryon resonances

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    Two structures are observed close to the kinematic threshold in the Ξb0π−\Xi_b^0 \pi^- mass spectrum in a sample of proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb−1^{-1} recorded by the LHCb experiment. In the quark model, two baryonic resonances with quark content bdsbds are expected in this mass region: the spin-parity JP=12+J^P = \frac{1}{2}^+ and JP=32+J^P=\frac{3}{2}^+ states, denoted Ξbâ€Č−\Xi_b^{\prime -} and Ξb∗−\Xi_b^{*-}. Interpreting the structures as these resonances, we measure the mass differences and the width of the heavier state to be m(Ξbâ€Č−)−m(Ξb0)−m(π−)=3.653±0.018±0.006m(\Xi_b^{\prime -}) - m(\Xi_b^0) - m(\pi^{-}) = 3.653 \pm 0.018 \pm 0.006 MeV/c2/c^2, m(Ξb∗−)−m(Ξb0)−m(π−)=23.96±0.12±0.06m(\Xi_b^{*-}) - m(\Xi_b^0) - m(\pi^{-}) = 23.96 \pm 0.12 \pm 0.06 MeV/c2/c^2, Γ(Ξb∗−)=1.65±0.31±0.10\Gamma(\Xi_b^{*-}) = 1.65 \pm 0.31 \pm 0.10 MeV, where the first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The width of the lighter state is consistent with zero, and we place an upper limit of Γ(Ξbâ€Č−)<0.08\Gamma(\Xi_b^{\prime -}) < 0.08 MeV at 95% confidence level. Relative production rates of these states are also reported.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure

    Measurement of the Bs0→J/ψηB_{s}^{0} \rightarrow J/\psi \eta lifetime

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    Using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3fb−13 fb^{-1}, collected by the LHCb experiment in pppp collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, the effective lifetime in the Bs0→J/ψηB^0_s \rightarrow J/\psi \eta decay mode, τeff\tau_{\textrm{eff}}, is measured to be τeff=1.479±0.034 (stat)±0.011 (syst)\tau_{\textrm{eff}} = 1.479 \pm 0.034~\textrm{(stat)} \pm 0.011 ~\textrm{(syst)} ps. Assuming CPCP conservation, τeff\tau_{\textrm{eff}} corresponds to the lifetime of the light Bs0B_s^0 mass eigenstate. This is the first measurement of the effective lifetime in this decay mode.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-017.htm

    Measurement of the mass and lifetime of the Ωb−\Omega_b^- baryon

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    A proton-proton collision data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb−1^{-1} collected by LHCb at s=7\sqrt{s}=7 and 8 TeV, is used to reconstruct 63±963\pm9 Ωb−→Ωc0π−\Omega_b^-\to\Omega_c^0\pi^-, Ωc0→pK−K−π+\Omega_c^0\to pK^-K^-\pi^+ decays. Using the Ξb−→Ξc0π−\Xi_b^-\to\Xi_c^0\pi^-, Ξc0→pK−K−π+\Xi_c^0\to pK^-K^-\pi^+ decay mode for calibration, the lifetime ratio and absolute lifetime of the Ωb−\Omega_b^- baryon are measured to be \begin{align*} \frac{\tau_{\Omega_b^-}}{\tau_{\Xi_b^-}} &= 1.11\pm0.16\pm0.03, \\ \tau_{\Omega_b^-} &= 1.78\pm0.26\pm0.05\pm0.06~{\rm ps}, \end{align*} where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic and from the calibration mode (for τΩb−\tau_{\Omega_b^-} only). A measurement is also made of the mass difference, mΩb−−mΞb−m_{\Omega_b^-}-m_{\Xi_b^-}, and the corresponding Ωb−\Omega_b^- mass, which yields \begin{align*} m_{\Omega_b^-}-m_{\Xi_b^-} &= 247.4\pm3.2\pm0.5~{\rm MeV}/c^2, \\ m_{\Omega_b^-} &= 6045.1\pm3.2\pm 0.5\pm0.6~{\rm MeV}/c^2. \end{align*} These results are consistent with previous measurements.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-008.htm

    Observation of the decay Bc→J/ψK+K−π+B_c \rightarrow J/\psi K^+ K^- \pi^+

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    The decay Bc→J/ψK+K−π+B_c\rightarrow J/\psi K^+ K^- \pi^+ is observed for the first time, using proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3fb−1^{-1}. A signal yield of 78±1478\pm14 decays is reported with a significance of 6.2 standard deviations. The ratio of the branching fraction of \B_c \rightarrow J/\psi K^+ K^- \pi^+ decays to that of Bc→J/ψπ+B_c \rightarrow J/\psi \pi^+ decays is measured to be 0.53±0.10±0.050.53\pm 0.10\pm0.05, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figure

    Opposite-side flavour tagging of B mesons at the LHCb experiment

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    The calibration and performance of the oppositeside flavour tagging algorithms used for the measurements of time-dependent asymmetries at the LHCb experiment are described. The algorithms have been developed using simulated events and optimized and calibrated with B + →J/ψK +, B0 →J/ψK ∗0 and B0 →D ∗− ÎŒ + ΜΌ decay modes with 0.37 fb−1 of data collected in pp collisions at √ s = 7 TeV during the 2011 physics run. The oppositeside tagging power is determined in the B + → J/ψK + channel to be (2.10 ± 0.08 ± 0.24) %, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic
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