Update on the Combined Analysis of Muon Measurements from Nine Air Shower Experiments

Over the last two decades, various experiments have measured muon densities in extensive air showers over several orders of magnitude in primary energy. While some experiments observed differences in the muon densities between simulated and experimentally measured air showers, others reported no discrepancies. We will present an update of the meta-analysis of muon measurements from nine air shower experiments, covering shower energies between a few PeV and tens of EeV and muon threshold energies from a few 100 MeV to about 10GeV. In order to compare measurements from different experiments, their energy scale was cross-calibrated and the experimental data has been compared using a universal reference scale based on air shower simulations. Above 10 PeV, we find a muon excess with respect to simulations for all hadronic interaction models, which is increasing with shower energy. For EPOS-LHC and QGSJet-II.04 the significance of the slope of the increase is analyzed in detail under different assumptions of the individual experimental uncertainties

Impact of cross-section uncertainties on supernova neutrino spectral parameter fitting in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment

A primary goal of the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is to measure the $\mathcal{O}(10)$ MeV neutrinos produced by a Galactic core-collapse supernova if one should occur during the lifetime of the experiment. The liquid-argon-based detectors planned for DUNE are expected to be uniquely sensitive to the $\nu_e$ component of the supernova flux, enabling a wide variety of physics and astrophysics measurements. A key requirement for a correct interpretation of these measurements is a good understanding of the energy-dependent total cross section $\sigma(E_\nu)$ for charged-current $\nu_e$ absorption on argon. In the context of a simulated extraction of supernova $\nu_e$ spectral parameters from a toy analysis, we investigate the impact of $\sigma(E_\nu)$ modeling uncertainties on DUNE's supernova neutrino physics sensitivity for the first time. We find that the currently large theoretical uncertainties on $\sigma(E_\nu)$ must be substantially reduced before the $\nu_e$ flux parameters can be extracted reliably: in the absence of external constraints, a measurement of the integrated neutrino luminosity with less than 10\% bias with DUNE requires $\sigma(E_\nu)$ to be known to about 5%. The neutrino spectral shape parameters can be known to better than 10% for a 20% uncertainty on the cross-section scale, although they will be sensitive to uncertainties on the shape of $\sigma(E_\nu)$. A direct measurement of low-energy $\nu_e$-argon scattering would be invaluable for improving the theoretical precision to the needed level.Comment: 25 pages, 21 figure

Highly-parallelized simulation of a pixelated LArTPC on a GPU

The rapid development of general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is allowing the implementation of highly-parallelized Monte Carlo simulation chains for particle physics experiments. This technique is particularly suitable for the simulation of a pixelated charge readout for time projection chambers, given the large number of channels that this technology employs. Here we present the first implementation of a full microphysical simulator of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) equipped with light readout and pixelated charge readout, developed for the DUNE Near Detector. The software is implemented with an end-to-end set of GPU-optimized algorithms. The algorithms have been written in Python and translated into CUDA kernels using Numba, a just-in-time compiler for a subset of Python and NumPy instructions. The GPU implementation achieves a speed up of four orders of magnitude compared with the equivalent CPU version. The simulation of the current induced on 10^3 pixels takes around 1 ms on the GPU, compared with approximately 10 s on the CPU. The results of the simulation are compared against data from a pixel-readout LArTPC prototype

The DUNE far detector vertical drift technology. Technical design report

DUNE is an international experiment dedicated to addressing some of the questions at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics, including the mystifying preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe. The dual-site experiment will employ an intense neutrino beam focused on a near and a far detector as it aims to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and to make high-precision measurements of the PMNS matrix parameters, including the CP-violating phase. It will also stand ready to observe supernova neutrino bursts, and seeks to observe nucleon decay as a signature of a grand unified theory underlying the standard model. The DUNE far detector implements liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) technology, and combines the many tens-of-kiloton fiducial mass necessary for rare event searches with the sub-centimeter spatial resolution required to image those events with high precision. The addition of a photon detection system enhances physics capabilities for all DUNE physics drivers and opens prospects for further physics explorations. Given its size, the far detector will be implemented as a set of modules, with LArTPC designs that differ from one another as newer technologies arise. In the vertical drift LArTPC design, a horizontal cathode bisects the detector, creating two stacked drift volumes in which ionization charges drift towards anodes at either the top or bottom. The anodes are composed of perforated PCB layers with conductive strips, enabling reconstruction in 3D. Light-trap-style photon detection modules are placed both on the cryostat's side walls and on the central cathode where they are optically powered. This Technical Design Report describes in detail the technical implementations of each subsystem of this LArTPC that, together with the other far detector modules and the near detector, will enable DUNE to achieve its physics goals

Gerência de serviços de saúde: competências desenvolvidas e dificuldades encontradas na atenção básica Management of health services: developed competencies and difficulties found in basic attention

Este estudo tem como objetivo conhecer o perfil e verificar as competências, atribuições e habilidades gerenciais, no nível de estrutura da atenção básica; identificar as dificuldades e facilidades em relação às suas atribuições e em relação à gestão de pessoas. A pesquisa é um estudo de caso. O instrumento de coleta utilizado foi um questionário semi-estruturado e uma escala de Likert, aplicada às gerências das unidades básicas de saúde de Caxias do Sul (RS), no mês de novembro de 2006. Constatou-se que todas as gerentes possuem habilidades gerenciais, que abrangem a comunicação, a organização de tarefas, o planejamento de ações e a negociação. Entretanto, algumas descreveram como dificuldade para a realização de suas atribuições não ter formação específica em gerenciamento. Os problemas com maior evidência se relacionaram ao excesso de burocracia, à sobrecarga de atividades, à pequena área física, às dificuldades em manipular e trabalhar com equipamentos e à gestão de pessoas. Nota-se que há grande necessidade de informatizar a rede pública e de capacitar os profissionais para trabalhar com programas, a fim de efetivar o novo modelo assistencial e de reconhecer situações de vulnerabilidade social e em saúde.<br>The objective of this article is to know the profile and check the competencies, management attributions and abilities in the level of structure of Basic Attention; to identify the difficulties and easiness in relation to their attributions and management of people. The research is a subject of study. A semi-structured and a scale of Likert were used as the guide of research that was applied to the management of the basic units of health of Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul State, in November of 2006. It was evidenced that all managers have management skills that include communication, organization of tasks, planning of actions and negotiation. However, some described that the difficulty for the accomplishment of their attributions would be not having specific graduation in management. The problems in higher evidence were related to the bureaucracy excess, the overload of activities, the small physical area, the difficulties in manipulating and working with equipment as well as managing people. It has been noticed that there is a great need of computerizing the public system and enable professionals to work in programs, in order to accomplish the new assistance model and to recognize situations of social vulnerability and in health