Absolute Calibration of a Large-diameter Light Source

A method of absolute calibration for large aperture optical systems is presented, using the example of the Pierre Auger Observatory fluorescence detectors. A 2.5 m diameter light source illuminated by an ultra--violet light emitting diode is calibrated with an overall uncertainty of 2.1 % at a wavelength of 365 nm.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to JINS

Absolute Calibration of the Auger Fluorescence Detectors

Absolute calibration of the Pierre Auger Observatory fluorescence detectors uses a light source at the telescope aperture. The technique accounts for the ombined effects of all detector components in a single measurement. The calibrated 2.5 m diameter light source fills the aperture, providing uniform illumination to each pixel. The known flux from the light source and the response of the acquisition system give the required calibration for each pixel. In the lab, light source uniformity is studied using CCD images and the intensity is measured relative to NIST-calibrated photodiodes. Overall uncertainties are presently 12%, and are dominated by systematics.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure. Submitted to the 29th ICRC, Pune, Indi

Multi-wavelength Calibration Procedure for the Pierre Auger Observatory Fluorescence Detectors

We present a method to measure the relative spectral response of the Pierre Auger Observatory Fluorescence Detector. The calibration was done at wavelengths of 320, 337, 355, 380 and 405 nm using an end-to-end technique in which the response of all detector components are combined in a single measurement. A xenon flasher and notch-filters were used as the light source for the calibration device. The overall uncertainty is 5%.Comment: Submitted to Astroparticle Physics. V2: section 5.2 extended; author list change

Political Orientation and Moral Values: Examining their Effects on Susceptibility to Misinformation

According to past research, political misinformation is prevalent within social media, where information often goes unchecked. Both liberals and conservatives tend to believe misinformation that supports their beliefs. Values emphasized also tend to differ by political orientation, with liberals being more concerned with issues of harm, fairness, and universalism, and conservatives, with loyalty, authority, purity, and self-reliance. This study examines whether misinformation susceptibility is influenced by which of these values the information appeals to. 136 participants read social media posts that either supported or did not support their party’s platforms and that appealed to one of the seven values. They indicated whether they believed that a post was true or false and their confidence in their response, along with how likely they would be to share the information. We hypothesize that liberals and conservatives will be especially susceptible to believing misinformation that appeals to their moral values

Political Orientation and Moral Values: Examining their Effects on Susceptibility to Misinformation

Political misinformation is prevalent within social media, where information often goes unchecked (Bradshaw et al., 2021). Both liberals and conservatives may believe misinformation that supports their beliefs (Zmigrod et al., 2020), although conservatives may be more likely to share that misinformation on social media (Mosleh et al., 2023). In addition, liberals and conservatives tend to differentially endorse moral values (Haidt, 2012), with liberals more concerned with issues of harm, fairness, and universalism, and conservatives more concerned with issues of loyalty, authority, purity, and self-reliance (Graham et al., 2009; Wetherell et al., 2013)

The DRIFT Dark Matter Experiments

The current status of the DRIFT (Directional Recoil Identification From Tracks) experiment at Boulby Mine is presented, including the latest limits on the WIMP spin-dependent cross-section from 1.5 kg days of running with a mixture of CS2 and CF4. Planned upgrades to DRIFT IId are detailed, along with ongoing work towards DRIFT III, which aims to be the world's first 10 m3-scale directional Dark Matter detector.Comment: Proceedings of the 3rd International conference on Directional Detection of Dark Matter (CYGNUS 2011), Aussois, France, 8-10 June 201

VHMPID: a new detector for the ALICE experiment at LHC

This article presents the basic idea of VHMPID, an upgrade detector for the ALICE experiment at LHC, CERN. The main goal of this detector is to extend the particle identification capabilities of ALICE to give more insight into the evolution of the hot and dense matter created in Pb-Pb collisions. Starting from the physics motivations and working principles the challenges and current status of development is detailed.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures. To be published in EPJ Web of Conference