43 research outputs found
Flux Modulations seen by the Muon Veto of the GERDA Experiment
The GERDA experiment at LNGS of INFN is equipped with an active muon veto.
The main part of the system is a water Cherenkov veto with 66~PMTs in the water
tank surrounding the GERDA cryostat. The muon flux recorded by this veto shows
a seasonal modulation. Two effects have been identified which are caused by
secondary muons from the CNGS neutrino beam (2.2 %) and a temperature
modulation of the atmosphere (1.4 %). A mean cosmic muon rate of /(sm) was found in good agreement with other experiments at
LNGS at a depth of 3500~meter water equivalent.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Limit on the Radiative Neutrinoless Double Electron Capture of Ar from GERDA Phase I
Neutrinoless double electron capture is a process that, if detected, would
give evidence of lepton number violation and the Majorana nature of neutrinos.
A search for neutrinoless double electron capture of Ar has been
performed with germanium detectors installed in liquid argon using data from
Phase I of the GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment at the Gran Sasso
Laboratory of INFN, Italy. No signal was observed and an experimental lower
limit on the half-life of the radiative neutrinoless double electron capture of
Ar was established: 3.6 10 yr at 90 % C.I.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Procedure for short-lived particle detection in the OPERA experiment and its application to charm decays
The OPERA experiment, designed to perform the first observation of oscillations in appearance mode through the detection of
the leptons produced in charged current interactions, has
collected data from 2008 to 2012. In the present paper, the procedure developed
to detect particle decays, occurring over distances of the order of 1 mm
from the neutrino interaction point, is described in detail. The results of its
application to the search for charmed hadrons are then presented as a
validation of the methods for appearance detection
Angular and Current-Target Correlations in Deep Inelastic Scattering at HERA
Correlations between charged particles in deep inelastic ep scattering have
been studied in the Breit frame with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an
integrated luminosity of 6.4 pb-1. Short-range correlations are analysed in
terms of the angular separation between current-region particles within a cone
centred around the virtual photon axis. Long-range correlations between the
current and target regions have also been measured. The data support
predictions for the scaling behaviour of the angular correlations at high Q2
and for anti-correlations between the current and target regions over a large
range in Q2 and in the Bjorken scaling variable x. Analytic QCD calculations
and Monte Carlo models correctly describe the trends of the data at high Q2,
but show quantitative discrepancies. The data show differences between the
correlations in deep inelastic scattering and e+e- annihilation.Comment: 26 pages including 10 figures (submitted to Eur. J. Phys. C
Can large scintillators be used for solar-axion searches to test the cosmological axion-photon oscillation proposal?
Solar-axion interaction rates in NaI, CsI and Xe scintillators via the
axio-electric effect were calculated. A table is presented with photoelectric
and axioelectric cross sections, solar-axion fluxes, and the interaction rates
from 2.0 to 10.0 keV. The results imply that annual-modulation data of large
NaI and CsI arrays, and large Xe scintillation chambers, might be made
sensitive enough to probe coupling to photons at levels required to explain
axion-photon oscillation phenomena proposed to explain the survival of
high-energy photons traveling cosmological distances. The DAMAA/LIBRA data are
used to demonstrate the power of the model-independent annual modulation due to
the seasonal variation in the earth sun distance.Comment: 7 pages and no figure
Search for effective Lorentz and CPT violation using ZEUS data
Lorentz and CPT symmetry in the quark sector of the Standard Model are studied in the context of an effective field theory using ZEUS e±p data. Symmetry-violating effects can lead to time-dependent oscillations of otherwise time-independent observables, including scattering cross sections. An analysis using five years of inclusive neutral-current deep inelastic scattering events corresponding to an integrated HERA luminosity of 372 pb-1 at s=318 GeV has been performed. No evidence for oscillations in sidereal time has been observed within statistical and systematic uncertainties. Constraints, most for the first time, are placed on 42 coefficients parametrizing dominant CPT-even dimension-four and CPT-odd dimension-five spin-independent modifications to the propagation and interaction of light quarks
What is the role of the placebo effect for pain relief in neurorehabilitation? Clinical implications from the Italian Consensus Conference on Pain in Neurorehabilitation
Background: It is increasingly acknowledged that the outcomes of medical treatments are influenced by the context of the clinical encounter through the mechanisms of the placebo effect. The phenomenon of placebo analgesia might be exploited to maximize the efficacy of neurorehabilitation treatments. Since its intensity varies across neurological disorders, the Italian Consensus Conference on Pain in Neurorehabilitation (ICCP) summarized the studies on this field to provide guidance on its use. Methods: A review of the existing reviews and meta-analyses was performed to assess the magnitude of the placebo effect in disorders that may undergo neurorehabilitation treatment. The search was performed on Pubmed using placebo, pain, and the names of neurological disorders as keywords. Methodological quality was assessed using a pre-existing checklist. Data about the magnitude of the placebo effect were extracted from the included reviews and were commented in a narrative form. Results: 11 articles were included in this review. Placebo treatments showed weak effects in central neuropathic pain (pain reduction from 0.44 to 0.66 on a 0-10 scale) and moderate effects in postherpetic neuralgia (1.16), in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (1.45), and in pain associated to HIV (1.82). Moderate effects were also found on pain due to fibromyalgia and migraine; only weak short-term effects were found in complex regional pain syndrome. Confounding variables might have influenced these results. Clinical implications: These estimates should be interpreted with caution, but underscore that the placebo effect can be exploited in neurorehabilitation programs. It is not necessary to conceal its use from the patient. Knowledge of placebo mechanisms can be used to shape the doctor-patient relationship, to reduce the use of analgesic drugs and to train the patient to become an active agent of the therapy
The OPERA RPCs front end electronics; a novel application of LVDS line receiver as low cost discriminator
The OPERA spectrometer is built from two large dipoles instrumented with around 1000 Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs), covering a surface of about 3350 m2, and digitally read out by means of almost 27000 strips. The huge number of channels, the inaccessibility of many parts of the detector and the wide uncertainty about the signal amplitude pushed to study a low cost, high sensitivity discriminator, and a very carefully designed layout for the read out system. Here we will present a novel application of LVDS line receiver as discriminator, showing that it exceeds the requirements of a large RPC based detector and offers the intrinsic advantages of a mature technology in terms of costs, reliability and integration scale. We will also present the layout of the read out system showing as the sensitivity and the noise immunity were preserved in a system where the front end electronics is far away from the detector
THE ZEUS BARREL AND REAR MUON DETECTOR
Design, construction and performance characteristics of the ZEUS barrel and rear muon detector are presented
The OPERA cosmic ray test facility at the Gran Sasso
The OPERA experiment foresees the use of about 3000m(2) of RPCs, that will be tested before the installation in a dedicated cosmic ray test facility. The test facility is composed of 2 triggering walls selecting horizontal cosmic rays muons. Each wall houses 64 glass RPCs equipped with 128 horizontal Flat Cable Strips. The z-coordinate is measured with a standard digital chain, while the x-coordinate is obtained by measuring the propagation time of the signals along the strips. In this paper the performance of the trigger walls and the first results of the RPC debug are presented