The VELO High Voltage System Control Software

This note describes the VELO high voltage control software. The implementation of its structure as a PVSS Finite State Machine is emphasized. The main error conditions that may occur during operation is also discussed. The VELO HV software conforms to the specification of the VELO

Determining Neutrino Mass Hierarchy by Precision Measurements in Electron and Muon Neutrino Disappearance Experiments

Recently a new method for determining the neutrino mass hierarchy by comparing the effective values of the atmospheric \Delta m^2 measured in the electron neutrino disappearance channel, \Delta m^2(ee), with the one measured in the muon neutrino disappearance channel, \Delta m^2(\mu \mu), was proposed. If \Delta m^2(ee) is larger (smaller) than \Delta m^2(\mu \mu) the hierarchy is of the normal (inverted) type. We re-examine this proposition in the light of two very high precision measurements: \Delta m^2(\mu \mu) that may be accomplished by the phase II of the Tokai-to-Kamioka (T2K) experiment, for example, and \Delta m^2(ee) that can be envisaged using the novel Mossbauer enhanced resonant \bar\nu_e absorption technique. Under optimistic assumptions for the systematic uncertainties of both measurements, we estimate the parameter region of (\theta_13, \delta) in which the mass hierarchy can be determined. If \theta_13 is relatively large, sin^2 2\theta_13 \gsim 0.05, and both of \Delta m^2(ee) and \Delta m^2(\mu \mu) can be measured with the precision of \sim 0.5 % it is possible to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy at > 95% CL for 0.3 \pi \lsim \delta \lsim 1.7 \pi for the current best fit values of all the other oscillation parameters.Comment: 12 pages, 6 postscript figure

A new generation photodetector for astroparticle physics: the VSiPMT

The VSiPMT (Vacuum Silicon PhotoMultiplier Tube) is an innovative design we proposed for a revolutionary photon detector. The main idea is to replace the classical dynode chain of a PMT with a SiPM (G-APD), the latter acting as an electron detector and amplifier. The aim is to match the large sensitive area of a photocathode with the performance of the SiPM technology. The VSiPMT has many attractive features. In particular, a low power consumption and an excellent photon counting capability. To prove the feasibility of the idea we first tested the performance of a special non-windowed SiPM by Hamamatsu (MPPC) as electron detector and current amplifier. Thanks to this result Hamamatsu realized two VSiPMT industrial prototypes. In this work, we present the results of a full characterization of the VSiPMT prototype

Shoes and Insoles: The Influence on Motor Tasks Related to Walking Gait Variability and Stability

The rhythmic control of the lower limb muscles influences the cycle-to-cycle variability during a walking task. The benefits of insoles, commonly used to improve the walking gait, have been little studied. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the walking gait variability and stability on different walking conditions (without shoes, WTS, with shoes, WS, with shoes and insoles, WSI) related to brain activity. Twelve participants randomly (WTS/WS/WSI) walked on a treadmill at 4 km/h for 10 min. Kinematic analysis (i.e., footstep and gait variability), brain activation (beta wave signal), rating of perceived exertion (RPE, CR-10 scale), and time domain measures of walking variability were assessed. The maximum Lyapunov exponent (LyE) on the stride cycle period\u2019s datasets was also calculated. Stride length and cycle calculated for all walking conditions were 61.59 \ub1 2.53/63.38 \ub1 1.43/64.09 \ub1 2.40 cm and 1.11 \ub1 0.03/1.14 \ub1 0.03/1.15 \ub1 0.04 s (F1,10 = 4.941/p = 0.01, F1,10 = 4.938/p = 0.012) for WTS, WS, WSI, respectively. Beta wave (F1,10 = 564.201/p = 0.0001) was higher in WTS compared to WS and WSI. Analysis of variance\u2019s (ANOVA) LyE showed a F1,10 = 3.209/p = 0.056, while post hoc analysis showed a significant effect between WS and WSI with p = 0.023, and nonsignificant effects between WTS and WS/WSI (p = 0.070/0.607), respectively. Small perturbations of the foot can influence the control of gait rhythmicity by increasing the variability in a dissipative deterministic regimen

Crystallographic dependence of the spin Hall angle in epitaxial Pt films: Comparison of optical and electrical detection of spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance techniques

The spin Hall effect appears in nature in two forms. Its intrinsic form is highly dependent on the crystal symmetry while its extrinsic form stems from impurity scattering. Its efficiency is defined by the spin Hall angle, θSH, and has profound impact on spintronic technologies. However, an accurate measurement of θSH is not straightforward nor the identification of its origin. In this work, we apply a spin-torque driven ferromagnetic resonance method that is probed in two different ways, optically and electrically, to study the dependence of θSH in the crystallographic direction in epitaxial Al2O3/Pt (111), MgO(110)/Pt (110), and MgO(001)/Pt (001) films. We show that the electrical technique is limited in its ability to accurately quantify θSH at high current densities, and in some cases, it may even result in erroneous θSH values. Such cases include films that exhibit a large inhomogeneous broadening. We find that θSH is strongly affected by the crystallographic direction. Our study extends the understanding of one of the most commonly used methods for the exploration of the spin Hall effect

Mappe di rischio sismico a scala nazionale con dati aggiornati sulla pericolosità sismica di base e locale

Le mappe di rischio sismico nazionale rappresentano un importante strumento per la sua mitigazione e possono essere utilizzate nella valutazione delle priorità di intervento per la messa in sicurezza degli edifici. La realizzazione di queste mappe è possibile valutando la pericolosità sismica, la vulnerabilità per le diverse classi di edifici presenti sul territorio italiano e l’esposizione. In questo articolo, oltre a presentare le nuove mappe di rischio sismico per l’Italia si vuole analizzare l’influenza del fattore di amplificazione litostratigrafica sui risultati ottenuti, mettendo a confronto le mappe di rischio che sono state sviluppate utilizzando sia i fattori di amplificazione litostratigrafica previsti dall’OPCM n°3274 che quelli previsti dalle NTC08. Inoltre, in modo innovativo rispetto agli studi condotti in Italia negli ultimi 10 anni, vengono considerate curve analitiche di vulnerabilità e valori di pericolosità sismica basati sugli spettri di accelerazione

Dominant patterns of boreal summer interactions between tropics and mid-latitude: causal relationships and the role of timescales

Tropical convective activity represents a source of predictability for mid-latitude weather in the Northern Hemisphere. In winter, the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the dominant source of predictability in the tropics and extra-tropics, but its role in summer is much less pronounced and the exact teleconnection pathways are not well understood. Here, we assess how tropical convection interacts with mid-latitude summer circulation at different intraseasonal time-scales and how ENSO affects these interactions. First, we apply maximum covariance analysis (MCA) between tropical convective activity and mid-latitude geopotential height fields to identify the dominant modes of interaction. The first MCA mode connects the South Asian monsoon with the mid-latitude circumglobal teleconnection pattern. The second MCA mode connects the western North Pacific summer monsoon in the tropics with a wave-5 pattern centred over the North Pacific High in the mid-latitudes. We show that the MCA patterns are fairly insensitive to the selected intraseasonal time-scale from weekly to 4-weekly data. To study the potential causal interdependencies between these modes and with other atmospheric fields, we apply causal effect networks (CEN) at different time-scales. CENs extend standard correlation analysis by removing the confounding effects of autocorrelation, indirect links and common drivers. In general, there is a two-way causal interaction between the tropics and mid-latitudes but the strength and sometimes sign of the causal link are time-scale dependent. We introduce causal maps that plot the regionally specific causal effect from each MCA mode. Those maps confirm the dominant patterns of interaction and in addition, highlight specific mid-latitude regions that are most strongly connected to tropical convection. In general, the identified causal teleconnection patterns are only mildly affected by ENSO and the tropical-mid-latitude linkages remain similar. Still, La Niña strengthens the South Asian monsoon generating a stronger response in the mid-latitudes, while during El Niño years, the Pacific pattern is reinforced. This study paves the way for process-based validation of boreal summer teleconnections in (sub)seasonal forecast models and climate models and therefore helps to improve sub-seasonal and climate projections

Performance of the LHCb muon system

The performance of the LHCb Muon system and its stability across the full 2010 data taking with LHC running at ps = 7 TeV energy is studied. The optimization of the detector setting and the time calibration performed with the first collisions delivered by LHC is described. Particle rates, measured for the wide range of luminosities and beam operation conditions experienced during the run, are compared with the values expected from simulation. The space and time alignment of the detectors, chamber efficiency, time resolution and cluster size are evaluated. The detector performance is found to be as expected from specifications or better. Notably the overall efficiency is well above the design requirementsComment: JINST_015P_1112 201