Study of the time and space distribution of beta+ emitters from 80 MeV/u carbon ion beam irradiation on PMMA

Proton and carbon ion therapy is an emerging technique used for the treatment of solid cancers. The monitoring of the dose delivered during such treatments and the on-line knowledge of the Bragg peak position is still a matter of research. A possible technique exploits the collinear 511\ \kilo\electronvolt photons produced by positrons annihilation from $\beta^+$ emitters created by the beam. This paper reports rate measurements of the 511\ \kilo\electronvolt photons emitted after the interactions of a 80\ \mega\electronvolt / u fully stripped carbon ion beam at the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS) of INFN, with a Poly-methyl methacrylate target. The time evolution of the $\beta^+$ rate was parametrized and the dominance of $^{11}C$ emitters over the other species ($^{13}N$, $^{15}O$, $^{14}O$) was observed, measuring the fraction of carbon ions activating $\beta^+$ emitters $A_0=(10.3\pm0.7)\cdot10^{-3}$. The average depth in the PMMA of the positron annihilation from $\beta^+$ emitters was also measured, D_{\beta^+}=5.3\pm1.1\ \milli\meter, to be compared to the expected Bragg peak depth D_{Bragg}=11.0\pm 0.5\ \milli\meter obtained from simulations

PEGASO: Polar Explorer for Geomagnetic And other Scientific Observation

PEGASO (Polar Explorer for Geomagnetic And other Scientific Observation) program has been created to conduct small experiments in as many disciplines on-board of small stratospheric balloons. PEGASO uses the very low expensive pathfinder balloons. Stratospheric pathfinders are small balloons commonly used to explore the atmospheric circumpolar upper winds and to predict the trajectory for big LDBs (Long Duration Balloons). Installing scientific instruments on pathfinder and using solar energy to power supply the system, we have the opportunity to explorer the Polar Regions, during the polar summer, following circular trajectory. These stratospheric small payload have flown for 14 up to 40 days, measuring the magnetic field of polar region, by means of 3-axis-fluxgate magnetometer. PEGASO payload uses IRIDIUM satellite telemetry (TM). A ground station communicates with one or more payloads to download scientific and house-keeping data and to send commands for ballast releasing, for system resetting and for operating on the separator system at the flight end. The PEGASO missions have been performed from the Svalbard islands with the logistic collaboration of the Andoya Rocket Range and from the Antarctic Italian base. Continuous trajectory predictions, elaborated by Institute of Information Science and Technology (ISTI-CNR), were necessary for the flight safety requirements in the north hemisphere. This light payloads (<10 Kg) are realized by the cooperation between the INGV and the Physics department “La Sapienza” University and it has operated five times in polar areas with the sponsorship of Italian Antarctic Program (PNRA), Italian Space Agency (ASI). This paper summarizes important results about stratospheric missions.PNRA, ASI.Published940-9455IT. Osservazioni satellitariN/A or not JCRope

Charged particle's flux measurement from PMMA irradiated by 80 MeV/u carbon ion beam

Hadrontherapy is an emerging technique in cancer therapy that uses beams of charged particles. To meet the improved capability of hadrontherapy in matching the dose release with the cancer position, new dose monitoring techniques need to be developed and introduced into clinical use. The measurement of the fluxes of the secondary particles produced by the hadron beam is of fundamental importance in the design of any dose monitoring device and is eagerly needed to tune Monte Carlo simulations. We report the measurements done with charged secondary particles produced from the interaction of a 80 MeV/u fully stripped carbon ion beam at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Catania, with a Poly-methyl methacrylate target. Charged secondary particles, produced at 90$\degree$ with respect to the beam axis, have been tracked with a drift chamber, while their energy and time of flight has been measured by means of a LYSO scintillator. Secondary protons have been identified exploiting the energy and time of flight information, and their emission region has been reconstructed backtracking from the drift chamber to the target. Moreover a position scan of the target indicates that the reconstructed emission region follows the movement of the expected Bragg peak position. Exploting the reconstruction of the emission region, an accuracy on the Bragg peak determination in the submillimeter range has been obtained. The measured differential production rate for protons produced with $E^{\rm Prod}_{\rm kin} >$ 83 MeV and emitted at 90$\degree$ with respect to the beam line is: $dN_{\rm P}/(dN_{\rm C}d\Omega)(E^{\rm Prod}_{\rm kin} > 83 {\rm ~MeV}, \theta=90\degree)= (2.69\pm 0.08_{\rm stat} \pm 0.12_{\rm sys})\times 10^{-4} sr^{-1}$.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure

Pegaso: an ultra-light long duration stratospheric payload for polar regions flights

Stratospheric balloons are powerful and affordable tools for a wide spectrum of scientific investigations that are carried out at the stratosphere level. They are less expensive compared to satellite projects and have the capability to lift payloads from a few kilograms to a couple of tons or more, well above the troposphere, for more than a month. Another interesting feature of these balloons, which is not viable in satellites, is the short turnaround time, which enables frequent flights. We introduce the PEGASO (Polar Explorer for Geomagnetism And other Scientific Observations) project, a stratospheric payload designed and developed by the INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia), Rome and La Sapienza University, Rome. The project was sponsored by the PNRA (Progetto Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide), Italy (Peterzen et al., 2003). This light payload (10 kg) was used by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and Andoya Rocket Range (ARR) for five different scientific missions. PEGASO carries a 3-component flux-gate magnetometer, uses a solar cell array as the power source and has a GPS location system. The bi-directional telemetry system for data transfer and the remote control system were IRIDIUM basedINGV, PNRA, ASI, ARR, CNR, La SapienzaPublishedBeijing, China1.10. TTC - Telerilevamentoope

Precision measurement of σ(e+e−→π+π−γ)/σ(e+e−→μ+μ−γ)\sigma(e^+e^-\rightarrow\pi^+\pi^-\gamma)/\sigma(e^+e^-\rightarrow \mu^+\mu^-\gamma) and determination of the π+π−\pi^+\pi^- contribution to the muon anomaly with the KLOE detector

We have measured the ratio $\sigma(e^+e^-\rightarrow\pi^+\pi^-\gamma)/\sigma(e^+e^-\rightarrow \mu^+\mu^-\gamma)$, with the KLOE detector at DA$\Phi$NE for a total integrated luminosity of $\sim$ 240 pb$^{-1}$. From this ratio we obtain the cross section $\sigma(e^+e^-\rightarrow\pi^+\pi^-)$. From the cross section we determine the pion form factor $|F_\pi|^2$ and the two-pion contribution to the muon anomaly $a_\mu$ for $0.592<M_{\pi\pi}<0.975$ GeV, $\Delta^{\pi\pi} a_\mu$= $({\rm 385.1\pm1.1_{stat}\pm2.7_{sys+theo}})\times10^{-10}$. This result confirms the current discrepancy between the Standard Model calculation and the experimental measurement of the muon anomaly.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, minor text corrections, one table added, version to appear on Physics Letters

PEGASO: LONG DURATION BALLOONS FROM NORTH POLE

In a joint effort, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and Andoya Rocket Range (ARR) have initiated the development of a European balloon center in Svalbard, Norway that is an ideal location for performing Long Duration Balloon (LDB) flights. After the identification of the launch location several light balloon flights have been performed since 2003. The 2004 campaign utilized a 10000 m³ balloon produced for the program by Aerostar of Sulfur Springs, Texas USA. This flight lasted 40 days and was an excellent test of the small PEGASO payload, developed (for use in Antarctica) by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) with the PNRA (Progetto Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide) sponsorship. This payload uses an IRIDIUM based bi-directional telemetry system. During summer 2005 two flights have been performed using balloons of the same size. They carried an updated telemetry and a scientific payload which analyzed the magnetic field of the Earth. The Institute of Information Science and Technology (ISTI-CNR) team computed predictions of the balloons trajectories, both before and during flights, as well as statistical evaluations of the seasonal flight windows at the beginning of the ASI LDB program. The 2004 and 2005 missions have been defined to investigate the stratospheric winds structure and they tested the possibility for future heavy LDB flights. The Italian scientific community foresees this kind of missions from 2007-2008 campaigns. Next sections, starting from a general overview of the Italian LDB program, give the description of the Pegaso flights and, in particular, the adopted technical solutions for the on-board and ground-based equipments.PublishedVOLTERRA, PISA1.10. TTC - Telerilevamentoope

Precise measurement of prompt photon emission for carbon ion therapy

Proton and carbon ion therapy is an emerging technique used for the treatment of solid cancers. The monitoring of the dose delivered during such treatments is still a matter of research. A possible technique exploits the information provided by single photon emission from nuclear decays induced by the irradiation. This paper reports the measurements of the spectrum and rate of such photons produced from the interaction of a 80 MeV/u fully stripped carbon ion beam at the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud of INFN, Catania, with a Poly-methyl methacrylate target. The differential production rate for photons with energy E > 2 MeV and emitted at 90 degree is found to be $dN_{\gamma}/(dN_C d\Omega)=(2.92\pm 0.19)\times 10^{-2}$sr$^{-1}$

PEGASO: LONG DURATION BALLOONS FROM NORTH POLE

In a joint effort, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and Andoya Rocket Range (ARR) have initiated the development of a European balloon center in Svalbard, Norway that is an ideal location for performing Long Duration Balloon (LDB) flights. After the identification of the launch location several light balloon flights have been performed since 2003. The 2004 campaign utilized a 10000 m³ balloon produced for the program by Aerostar of Sulfur Springs, Texas USA. This flight lasted 40 days and was an excellent test of the small PEGASO payload, developed (for use in Antarctica) by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) with the PNRA (Progetto Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide) sponsorship. This payload uses an IRIDIUM based bi-directional telemetry system. During summer 2005 two flights have been performed using balloons of the same size. They carried an updated telemetry and a scientific payload which analyzed the magnetic field of the Earth. The Institute of Information Science and Technology (ISTI-CNR) team computed predictions of the balloons trajectories, both before and during flights, as well as statistical evaluations of the seasonal flight windows at the beginning of the ASI LDB program. The 2004 and 2005 missions have been defined to investigate the stratospheric winds structure and they tested the possibility for future heavy LDB flights. The Italian scientific community foresees this kind of missions from 2007-2008 campaigns. Next sections, starting from a general overview of the Italian LDB program, give the description of the Pegaso flights and, in particular, the adopted technical solutions for the on-board and ground-based equipments

KLOE results in kaon physics and prospects for KLOE-2

The phi-factory DAPHNE offers a possibility to select pure kaon beams, charged and neutral ones. In particular, neutral kaons from phi->KS KL are produced in pairs and the detection of a KS (KL) tags the presence of a KL (KS). This allows to perform precise measurements of kaon properties by means of KLOE detector. Another advantage of a phi-factory consists in fact that the neutral kaon pairs are produced in a pure quantum state (J^(PC) = 1^(--)), which allowsto investigate CP and CPT symmetries via quantum interference effects, as well as the basic principles of quantum mechanics.A review of the most recent results of the KLOE experiment at DAPHNE using pure kaon beams or via quantum interferometry is presented together with prospects for kaon physics at KLOE-2.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, From Phi To Psi 2011 conference, to be published in Nuclear Physics B (Proceedings Supplements

Proposal for taking data with the KLOE-2 detector at the DAΦ\PhiNE collider upgraded in energy

This document reviews the physics program of the KLOE-2 detector at DA$\Phi$NE upgraded in energy and provides a simple solution to run the collider above the $\phi$-peak (up to 2, possibly 2.5 GeV). It is shown how a precise measurement of the multihadronic cross section in the energy region up to 2 (possibly 2.5) GeV would have a major impact on the tests of the Standard Model through a precise determination of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and the effective fine-structure constant at the $M_Z$ scale. With a luminosity of about $10^{32}$cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$, DA$\Phi$NE upgraded in energy can perform a scan in the region from 1 to 2.5 GeV in one year by collecting an integrated luminosity of 20 pb$^{-1}$ (corresponding to a few days of data taking) for single point, assuming an energy step of 25 MeV. A few years of data taking in this region would provide important tests of QCD and effective theories by $\gamma\gamma$ physics with open thresholds for pseudo-scalar (like the $\eta'$), scalar ($f_0,f'_0$, etc...) and axial-vector ($a_1$, etc...) mesons; vector-mesons spectroscopy and baryon form factors; tests of CVC and searches for exotics. In the final part of the document a technical solution for the energy upgrade of DA$\Phi$NE is proposed.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure