Inclusive and exclusive diffractive production of dilepton pairs in proton-proton collisions at high energies

We calculate for the first time cross sections for single and central diffractive as well as exclusive diffractive production of dilepton pairs in proton-proton collisions. Several differential distributions are shown. The inclusive diffractive processes are calculated using diffractive parton distributions extracted from the analysis of diffractive structure function and dijet production at HERA. We find that the inclusive single-diffractive Drell-Yan process is by about 2 orders of magnitude smaller than ordinary Drell-Yan process. The central-diffractive processes are smaller by one order of magnitude compared to single-diffractive ones. We consider also exclusive production of dilepton pairs. The exclusive photon-pomeron (pomeron-photon) process constitutes a background to the QED photon-photon process proposed to be used for controlling luminosity at LHC. Both processes are compared then in several differential distributions. We find a region of the phase space where the photon-pomeron or pomeron-photon contributions can be larger than the photon-photon one.Comment: 20 page, 19 figure

Modelling of Quench Limit for Steady State Heat Deposits in LHC Magnets

A quench, the transition of a conductor from the superconducting to the normal conducting state, occurs irreversibly in the accelerator magnets if one of the three parameters: temperature, magnetic field or current density exceeds a critical value. Energy deposited in the superconductor by the particle beams provokes quenches detrimental for the accelerator operation. In particular if particles impacting on the vacuum chamber and their secondary showers depose energy in the magnet coils. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) nominal beam intensity is 3.2 ldr 10^14 protons. A quench occurs if a fraction of the order of 10^7 protons per second is lost locally. A network model is used to simulate the thermodynamic behaviour of the magnets. The heat flow in the network model was validated with measurements performed in the CERN magnet test facility. A steady state heat flow was introduced in the coil by using the quench heaters implemented in the LHC magnets. The value of the heat source current is determined by the network model and the magnet coil current which is required to quench the coil is predicted accordantly. The measured and predicted value comparison is regarded as a sensitive test of the method

Footbridge dynamic performance assessment using inertial measurement units

This is the author accepted manuscriptDynamic performance of footbridges is still a great concern to designers, operators and users, with many structures requiring investigation before, during and after construction to manage performance. We have been investigating the use of wireless inertial measurement units (IMUs) designed for biomechanics, health and sports science application for estimating human dynamic loads or ground reaction forces (GRFs) on structures. The aim has been to move from direct measurements using force plates and treadmills, via optical motion capture in the laboratory (with application of Newton’s Second law), to unconstrained field conditions. Initially we used IMUs to evaluate pedestrian synchronisation, but we found that a single IMU attached to the C7 neck vertebra can provide a remarkably accurate estimate of vertical GRF. With an ability to communicate and synchronise within a group wirelessly, to identify orientation and transform accelerations into world coordinates, IMUs can identify both the GRF force vectors and their time varying location with a moving pedestrian. As a side-benefit, the signal to noise ratio and synchronisation accuracy are sufficient to enable low-cost wireless footbridge ambient vibration testing and monitoring. So far we have used IMUs for ambient and forced vibration testing (the latter using a human shaker), moving pedestrian load and response measurement and crowd tracking. There are many more possibilities

QUENCH LIMIT CALCULATION FOR STEADY STATE HEAT DEPOSITS IN LHC INNER TRIPLET QUADRUPOLE MAGNETS

Abstract In hadron colliders such as the LHC, the energy deposited in the superconductors by the particles lost from the beams or coming from the collision debris may provoke quenches detrimental to the accelerator operation. A Network Model is used to simulate the thermodynamic behavior of the superconducting magnets. In previous papers the validations of network model with measurements performed in the CERN and Fermilab magnet test facilities were presented. This model was subsequently used for thermal analysis of the current LHC inner triplet quadrupole magnets for beam energy of 3.5 TeV and 7.0 TeV. The detailed study of helium cooling channels efficiency for energy deposits simulated with FLUKA was performed. The expected LHC inner triplet magnets quench limit is presented

Salmonella contamination of pig farm environment, Poland, 2014

Although pork is considered an important source of Salmonella infections, the introduction of control programs in pig farms are not obligatory in the EU. To resolve current epidemiological situation, monitoring of pig farms was introduced in Poland in 2014. The paper reports the first year outputs of the survey

Beam losses from ultra-peripheral nuclear collisions between Pb ions in the Large Hadron Collider and their alleviation

Electromagnetic interactions between colliding heavy ions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN will give rise to localized beam losses that may quench superconducting magnets, apart from contributing significantly to the luminosity decay. To quantify their impact on the operation of the collider, we have used a three-step simulation approach, which consists of optical tracking, a Monte-Carlo shower simulation and a thermal network model of the heat flow inside a magnet. We present simulation results for the case of Pb ion operation in the LHC, with focus on the ALICE interaction region, and show that the expected heat load during nominal Pb operation is 40% above the quench level. This limits the maximum achievable luminosity. Furthermore, we discuss methods of monitoring the losses and possible ways to alleviate their effect.Comment: 17 pages, 20 figure

A framework for experimental determination of localised vertical pedestrian forces on full-scale structures using wireless attitude and heading reference systems

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.A major weakness among loading models for pedestrians walking on flexible structures proposed in recent years is the various uncorroborated assumptions made in their development. This applies to spatio- temporal characteristics of pedestrian loading and the nature of multi-object interactions. To alleviate this problem, a framework for the determination of localised pedestrian forces on full-scale structures is presented using a wireless attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS). An AHRS comprises a triad of tri-axial accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers managed by a dedicated data processing unit, allowing motion in three-dimensional space to be reconstructed. A pedestrian loading model based on a single point inertial measurement from an AHRS is derived and shown to perform well against benchmark data collected on an instrumented treadmill. Unlike other models, the current model does not take any predefined form nor does it require any extrapolations as to the timing and amplitude of pedestrian loading. In order to assess correctly the influence of the moving pedestrian on behaviour of a structure, an algorithm for tracking the point of application of pedestrian force is developed based on data from a single AHRS attached to a foot. A set of controlled walking tests with a single pedestrian is conducted on a real footbridge for validation purposes. A remarkably good match between the measured and simulated bridge response is found, indeed confirming applicability of the proposed framework.The research presented here was funded by EPSRC (grant EP/I029567/2). Authors thank Devon County Council for permitting the experimental campaign to be conducted on Baker Bridge in Exeter, UK, and Dr Erfan Shahabpour (supported by EPSRC grant EP/K03877X/1) for providing access to and assisting with measurements on the ADAL-3D treadmill at the University of Sheffield (funded by EPSRC grant EP/E018734/1)

A framework for experimental determination of localised vertical pedestrian forces on full-scale structures using wireless attitude and heading reference systems

A major weakness among loading models for pedestrians walking on flexible structures proposed in recent years is the various uncorroborated assumptions made in their development. This applies to spatio-temporal characteristics of pedestrian loading and the nature of multi-object interactions. To alleviate this problem, a framework for the determination of localised pedestrian forces on full-scale structures is presented using a wireless attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS). An AHRS comprises a triad of tri-axial accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers managed by a dedicated data processing unit, allowing motion in three-dimensional space to be reconstructed. A pedestrian loading model based on a single point inertial measurement from an AHRS is derived and shown to perform well against benchmark data collected on an instrumented treadmill. Unlike other models, the current model does not take any predefined form nor does it require any extrapolations as to the timing and amplitude of pedestrian loading. In order to assess correctly the influence of the moving pedestrian on behaviour of a structure, an algorithm for tracking the point of application of pedestrian force is developed based on data from a single AHRS attached to a foot. A set of controlled walking tests with a single pedestrian is conducted on a real footbridge for validation purposes. A remarkably good match between the measured and simulated bridge response is found, indeed confirming applicability of the proposed framework

Quenching Capabilities of Long-Chain Carotenoids in Light-Harvesting-2 Complexes from Rhodobacter sphaeroides with an Engineered Carotenoid Synthesis Pathway

Six light-harvesting-2 complexes (LH2) from genetically modified strains of the purple photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter (Rb.) sphaeroides were studied using static and ultrafast optical methods and resonance Raman spectroscopy. These strains were engineered to incorporate carotenoids for which the number of conjugated groups (N = NCC + NCO) varies from 9 to 15. The Rb. sphaeroides strains incorporate their native carotenoids spheroidene (N = 10) and spheroidenone (N = 11), as well as longer-chain analogues including spirilloxanthin (N = 13) and diketospirilloxantion (N = 15) normally found in Rhodospirillum rubrum. Measurements of the properties of the carotenoid first singlet excited state (S1) in antennas from the Rb. sphaeroides set show that carotenoid-bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl a) interactions are similar to those in LH2 complexes from various other bacterial species and thus are not significantly impacted by differences in polypeptide composition. Instead, variations in carotenoid-to-BChl a energy transfer are primarily regulated by the N-determined energy of the carotenoid S1 excited state, which for long-chain (N ≥ 13) carotenoids is not involved in energy transfer. Furthermore, the role of the long-chain carotenoids switches from a lightharvesting supporter (via energy transfer to BChl a) to a quencher of the BChl a S1 excited state B850*. This quenching is manifested as a substantial (∼2-fold) reduction of the B850* lifetime and the B850* fluorescence quantum yield for LH2 housing the longest carotenoids

Stability Analysis of the LHC Cables for Transient Heat Depositions

The commissioning and the exploitation of the LHC require a good knowledge of the stability margins of the superconducting magnets with respect to beam induced heat depositions. Previous studies showed that simple numerical models are suitable to carry out stability calculations of multi-strands cables, and highlighted the relevance of the heat transfer model with the surrounding helium. In this paper we present a systematic scan of the stability margin of all types of LHC cables working at 1.9 Kagainst transient heat depositions. We specifically discuss the dependence of the stability margin on the parameters of the model, which provide an estimate of the uncertainty of the values quoted. The stability margin calculations have been performed using a zero-dimensional (0-D) numerical model, and a cooling model taking into account the relevant helium phases which may appear during a stability experiment: it includes Kapitza thermal resistance in superfluid He, boundary layer formation and heat transfer in He I, and considers the transition from nucleating boiling to film boiling during He gas formation