1,516 research outputs found
The ALTCRISS project on board the International Space Station
The Altcriss project aims to perform a long term survey of the radiation
environment on board the International Space Station. Measurements are being
performed with active and passive devices in different locations and
orientations of the Russian segment of the station. The goal is to perform a
detailed evaluation of the differences in particle fluence and nuclear
composition due to different shielding material and attitude of the station.
The Sileye-3/Alteino detector is used to identify nuclei up to Iron in the
energy range above 60 MeV/n. Several passive dosimeters (TLDs, CR39) are also
placed in the same location of Sileye-3 detector. Polyethylene shielding is
periodically interposed in front of the detectors to evaluate the effectiveness
of shielding on the nuclear component of the cosmic radiation. The project was
submitted to ESA in reply to the AO in the Life and Physical Science of 2004
and data taking began in December 2005. Dosimeters and data cards are rotated
every six months: up to now three launches of dosimeters and data cards have
been performed and have been returned with the end of expedition 12 and 13.Comment: Accepted for publication on Advances in Space Research
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2007.04.03
Search for a simultaneous signal from small transient events in the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Tupi muon telescopes
We present results of a search for a possible signal from small scale solar
transient events (such as flares and interplanetary shocks) as well as possible
counterparts to Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) observed simultaneously by the Tupi muon
telescope Niteroi-Brazil, 22.90S, 43.20W, 3 m above sea level) and the Pierre
Auger Observatory surface detectors (Malargue-Argentina, 69.30S, 35.30W,
altitude 1400 m). Both cosmic ray experiments are located inside the South
Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) region. Our analysis of several examples shows
similarities in the behavior of the counting rate of low energy (above 100 MeV)
particles in association with the solar activity (solar flares and
interplanetary shocks). We also report an observation by the Tupi experiment of
the enhancement of muons at ground level with a significance higher than 8
sigma in the 1-sec binning counting rate (raw data) in close time coincidence
(T-184 sec) with the Swift-BAT GRB110928B (trigger=504307). The GRB 110928B
coordinates are in the field of view of the vertical Tupi telescope, and the
burst was close to the MAXI source J1836-194. The 5-min muon counting rate in
the vertical Tupi telescope as well as publicly available data from Auger (15
minutes averages of the scaler rates) show small peaks above the background
fluctuations at the time following the Swift-BAT GRB 110928B trigger. In
accordance with the long duration trigger, this signal can possibly suggest a
long GRB, with a precursor narrow peak at T-184 sec.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figure
SiPM: Characterizations, modelling and VLSI front-end dedicated development
In this work we describe the results of performance tests and measures of SiPM of several sizes (1×1, 3×3, 5×5) delivered from MEPHI. The SiPMs have been studied both in steady and pulsed stimuli. Aging and temperature behavior
are also discussed. Another test has been performed in order to obtain an electrical model of the SiPM to be used in analog simulations. Finally, a design of a pilot chip with 0.35 μm technology implementing a front-end for SiPM aimed to TOF applications with adjustable thresholds and very high dynamical range is described
Launch of the Space experiment PAMELA
PAMELA is a satellite borne experiment designed to study with great accuracy
cosmic rays of galactic, solar, and trapped nature in a wide energy range
protons: 80 MeV-700 GeV, electrons 50 MeV-400 GeV). Main objective is the study
of the antimatter component: antiprotons (80 MeV-190 GeV), positrons (50
MeV-270 GeV) and search for antimatter with a precision of the order of 10^-8).
The experiment, housed on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite, was launched
on June, 15, 2006 in a 350*600 km orbit with an inclination of 70 degrees. The
detector is composed of a series of scintillator counters arranged at the
extremities of a permanent magnet spectrometer to provide charge,
Time-of-Flight and rigidity information. Lepton/hadron identification is
performed by a Silicon-Tungsten calorimeter and a Neutron detector placed at
the bottom of the device. An Anticounter system is used offline to reject false
triggers coming from the satellite. In self-trigger mode the Calorimeter, the
neutron detector and a shower tail catcher are capable of an independent
measure of the lepton component up to 2 TeV. In this work we describe the
experiment, its scientific objectives and the performance in the first months
after launch.Comment: Accepted for publication on Advances in Space Researc
Quantum Black Holes from Cosmic Rays
We investigate the possibility for cosmic ray experiments to discover
non-thermal small black holes with masses in the TeV range. Such black holes
would result due to the impact between ultra high energy cosmic rays or
neutrinos with nuclei from the upper atmosphere and decay instantaneously. They
could be produced copiously if the Planck scale is in the few TeV region. As
their masses are close to the Planck scale, these holes would typically decay
into two particles emitted back-to-back. Depending on the angles between the
emitted particles with respect to the center of mass direction of motion, it is
possible for the simultaneous showers to be measured by the detectors.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Introducing SWERTO: A regional space weather service
The Space WEeatherR TOr vergata university (SWERTO) service is an operational Space Weather service based on data from space-based and ground-based instruments, located in the Physics Department of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy (UNITOV). The service is designed to promote the access to technical and scientific information by the regional industries whose technologies are sensible to Space Weather effects and allows registered users to access scientific data from instrumentation available to UNITOV researchers through national and international collaborations. To non-registered users, it provides a quick-look interface (spaceweather.roma2.infn.it) for the selection and visualization of such data and the visualization of the forecast for flare probability and Solar Energetic Particles (SEP) fluxes from prototype codes. The SWERTO database contains data on particles fluxes from the space missions ALTEA and PAMELA, and high-resolution and full disk spectro-polarimetric solar data. The solar data are related to solar Active Regions (ARs), observed at high resolution with the IBIS (Interferometric BIdimensional Spectropolarimeter) instrument, and full disk Line-of-Sight Doppler and magnetic field at different heights in the solar atmosphere, observed with the MOTH II telescope. SWERTO main goals are: i) design and realize a data-base with the particle fluxes recorded by the space missions and with the spectropolarimetric measurement of the solar photosphere; ii) allow an Open Access to the data-base and to prototype forecast to regional industries involved and exposed to Space Weather effects; iii) implement a tutorial and a FAQ section to help decision makers to realize and evaluate the risks from Space Weather events; iv) outreach and customer products
The Cosmic-Ray Proton and Helium Spectra measured with the CAPRICE98 balloon experiment
A new measurement of the primary cosmic-ray proton and helium fluxes from 3
to 350 GeV was carried out by the balloon-borne CAPRICE experiment in 1998.
This experimental setup combines different detector techniques and has
excellent particle discrimination capabilities allowing clear particle
identification. Our experiment has the capability to determine accurately
detector selection efficiencies and systematic errors associated with them.
Furthermore, it can check for the first time the energy determined by the
magnet spectrometer by using the Cherenkov angle measured by the RICH detector
well above 20 GeV/n. The analysis of the primary proton and helium components
is described here and the results are compared with other recent measurements
using other magnet spectrometers. The observed energy spectra at the top of the
atmosphere can be represented by (1.27+-0.09)x10^4 E^(-2.75+-0.02) particles
(m^2 GeV sr s)^-1, where E is the kinetic energy, for protons between 20 and
350 GeV and (4.8+-0.8)x10^2 E^(-2.67+-0.06) particles (m^2 GeV nucleon^-1 sr
s)^-1, where E is the kinetic energy per nucleon, for helium nuclei between 15
and 150 GeV nucleon^-1.Comment: To be published on Astroparticle Physics (44 pages, 13 figures, 5
tables
A systematic review and meta-analysis of germline BRCA mutations in pancreatic cancer patients identifies global and racial disparities in access to genetic testing
Background: Germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations (gBRCAm) can inform pancreatic cancer (PC) risk and treatment but most of the available information is derived from white patients. The ethnic and geographic variability of gBRCAm prevalence and of germline BRCA (gBRCA) testing uptake in PC globally is largely unknown. Materials and methods: We carried out a systematic review and prevalence meta-analysis of gBRCA testing and gBRCAm prevalence in PC patients stratified by ethnicity. The main outcome was the distribution of gBRCA testing uptake across diverse populations worldwide. Secondary outcomes included: geographic distribution of gBRCA testing uptake, temporal analysis of gBRCA testing uptake in ethnic groups, and pooled proportion of gBRCAm stratified by ethnicity. The study is listed under PROSPERO registration number #CRD42022311769. Results: A total of 51 studies with 16 621 patients were included. Twelve of the studies (23.5%) enrolled white patients only, 10 Asians only (19.6%), and 29 (56.9%) included mixed populations. The pooled prevalence of white, Asian, African American, and Hispanic patients tested per study was 88.7%, 34.8%, 3.6%, and 5.2%, respectively. The majority of included studies were from high-income countries (HICs) (64; 91.2%). Temporal analysis showed a significant increase only in white and Asians patients tested from 2000 to present (P < 0.001). The pooled prevalence of gBRCAm was: 3.3% in white, 1.7% in Asian, and negligible (<0.3%) in African American and Hispanic patients. Conclusions: Data on gBRCA testing and gBRCAm in PC derive mostly from white patients and from HICs. This limits the interpretation of gBRCAm for treating PC across diverse populations and implies substantial global and racial disparities in access to BRCA testing in PC
Observations of the December 13 and 14, 2006, Solar Particle Events in the 80 MeV/n - 3 GeV/n range from space with PAMELA detector
We present the space spectrometer PAMELA observations of proton and helium
fluxes during the December 13 and 14, 2006 solar particle events. This is the
first direct measurement of the solar energetic particles in space with a
single instrument in the energy range from 80 MeV/n up to 3
GeV/n. In the event of December 13 measured energy spectra of solar protons and
helium were compared with results obtained by neutron monitors and other
detectors. Our measurements show a spectral behaviour different from those
derived from the neutron monitor network. No satisfactory analytical fitting
was found for the energy spectra. During the first hours of the December 13
event solar energetic particles spectra were close to the exponential form
demonstrating rather significant temporal evolution. Solar He with energy up to
~1 GeV/n was recorded on December 13. In the event of December 14 energy of
solar protons reached ~600 MeV whereas maximum energy of He was below 100
MeV/n. The spectra were slightly bended in the lower energy range and preserved
their form during the second event. Difference in the particle flux appearance
and temporal evolution in these two events may argue for a special conditions
leading to acceleration of solar particles up to relativistic energies.Comment: Accepted for publication on Astrophysical journa
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