1,324 research outputs found
Observing the sky at extremely high energies with the Cherenkov Telescope Array: Status of the GCT project
The Cherenkov Telescope Array is the main global project of ground-based
gamma-ray astronomy for the coming decades. Performance will be significantly
improved relative to present instruments, allowing a new insight into the
high-energy Universe [1]. The nominal CTA southern array will include a
sub-array of seventy 4 m telescopes spread over a few square kilometers to
study the sky at extremely high energies, with the opening of a new window in
the multi-TeV energy range. The Gamma-ray Cherenkov Telescope (GCT) is one of
the proposed telescope designs for that sub-array. The GCT prototype recorded
its first Cherenkov light on sky in 2015. After an assessment phase in 2016,
new observations have been performed successfully in 2017. The GCT
collaboration plans to install its first telescopes and cameras on the CTA site
in Chile in 2018-2019 and to contribute a number of telescopes to the
subsequent CTA production phase.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, ICRC201
Aberrant posterior cingulate connectivity classify first-episode schizophrenia from controls: A machine learning study
Background Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is a key aspect of the default mode network (DMN). Aberrant PCC functional connectivity (FC) is implicated in schizophrenia, but the potential for PCC related changes as biological classifier of schizophrenia has not yet been evaluated. Methods We conducted a data-driven approach using resting-state functional MRI data to explore differences in PCC-based region- and voxel-wise FC patterns, to distinguish between patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) and demographically matched healthy controls (HC). Discriminative PCC FCs were selected via false discovery rate estimation. A gradient boosting classifier was trained and validated based on 100 FES vs. 93 HC. Subsequently, classification models were tested in an independent dataset of 87 FES patients and 80 HC using resting-state data acquired on a different MRI scanner. Results Patients with FES had reduced connectivity between PCC and frontal areas, left parahippocampal regions, left anterior cingulate cortex, and right inferior parietal lobule, but hyperconnectivity with left lateral temporal regions. Predictive voxel-wise clusters were similar to region-wise selected brain areas functionally connected with PCC in relation to discriminating FES from HC subject categories. Region-wise analysis of FCs yielded a relatively high predictive level for schizophrenia, with an average accuracy of 72.28% in the independent samples, while selected voxel-wise connectivity yielded an accuracy of 68.72%. Conclusion FES exhibited a pattern of both increased and decreased PCC-based connectivity, but was related to predominant hypoconnectivity between PCC and brain areas associated with DMN, that may be a useful differential feature revealing underpinnings of neuropathophysiology for schizophrenia
Tagging High Energy Photons in the H1 Detector at HERA
Measures taken to extend the acceptance of the H1 detector at HERA for
photoproduction events are described. These will enable the measurement of
electrons scattered in events in the high y range 0.85 < y < 0.95 in the 1998
and 1999 HERA run period. The improvement is achieved by the installation of an
electromagnetic calorimeter, the ET8, in the HERA tunnel close to the electron
beam line 8 m downstream of the H1 interaction point in the electron direction.
The ET8 will allow the study of tagged gamma p interactions at centre-of-mass
energies significantly higher than those previously attainable. The calorimeter
design and expected performance are discussed, as are results obtained using a
prototype placed as close as possible to the position of the ET8 during the
1996 and 1997 HERA running.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figure
Radiation Hardness Studies in a CCD with High-Speed Column Parallel Readout
Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs) have been successfully used in several high
energy physics experiments over the past two decades. Their high spatial
resolution and thin sensitive layers make them an excellent tool for studying
short-lived particles. The Linear Collider Flavour Identification (LCFI)
collaboration is developing Column-Parallel CCDs (CPCCDs) for the vertex
detector of the International Linear Collider (ILC). The CPCCDs can be read out
many times faster than standard CCDs, significantly increasing their operating
speed. The results of detailed simulations of the charge transfer inefficiency
(CTI) of a prototype CPCCD are reported and studies of the influence of gate
voltage on the CTI described. The effects of bulk radiation damage on the CTI
of a CPCCD are studied by simulating the effects of two electron trap levels,
0.17 and 0.44 eV, at different concentrations and operating temperatures. The
dependence of the CTI on different occupancy levels (percentage of hit pixels)
and readout frequencies is also studied. The optimal operating temperature for
the CPCCD, where the effects of the charge trapping are at a minimum, is found
to be about 230 K for the range of readout speeds proposed for the ILC. The
results of the full simulation have been compared with a simple analytic model.Comment: 3 pages, 6 figures; presented at IEEE'07, ALCPG'07, ICATPP'0
A New High Energy Photon Tagger for the H1 - Detector at HERA
The H1 detector at HERA has been upgraded by the addition of a new
electromagnetic calorimeter. This is installed in the HERA tunnel close to the
electron beam line at a position 8m from the interaction point in the electron
beam direction. The new calorimeter extends the acceptance for tagged
photoproduction events to the high y range, 0.85 < y < 0.95, and thus
significantly improves the capability of H1 to study high energy gamma-p
processes. The calorimeter design, performance and first results obtained
during the 1996-1999 HERA running are described.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figure
SST-GATE: A dual mirror telescope for the Cherenkov Telescope Array
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the world's first open
observatory for very high energy gamma-rays. Around a hundred telescopes of
different sizes will be used to detect the Cherenkov light that results from
gamma-ray induced air showers in the atmosphere. Amongst them, a large number
of Small Size Telescopes (SST), with a diameter of about 4 m, will assure an
unprecedented coverage of the high energy end of the electromagnetic spectrum
(above ~1TeV to beyond 100 TeV) and will open up a new window on the
non-thermal sky. Several concepts for the SST design are currently being
investigated with the aim of combining a large field of view (~9 degrees) with
a good resolution of the shower images, as well as minimizing costs. These
include a Davies-Cotton configuration with a Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode
(GAPD) based camera, as pioneered by FACT, and a novel and as yet untested
design based on the Schwarzschild-Couder configuration, which uses a secondary
mirror to reduce the plate-scale and to allow for a wide field of view with a
light-weight camera, e.g. using GAPDs or multi-anode photomultipliers. One
objective of the GATE (Gamma-ray Telescope Elements) programme is to build one
of the first Schwarzschild-Couder prototypes and to evaluate its performance.
The construction of the SST-GATE prototype on the campus of the Paris
Observatory in Meudon is under way. We report on the current status of the
project and provide details of the opto-mechanical design of the prototype, the
development of its control software, and simulations of its expected
performance.Comment: In Proceedings of the 33rd International Cosmic Ray Conference
(ICRC2013), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). All CTA contributions at arXiv:1307.223
The first GCT camera for the Cherenkov Telescope Array
The Gamma Cherenkov Telescope (GCT) is proposed to be part of the Small Size
Telescope (SST) array of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The GCT
dual-mirror optical design allows the use of a compact camera of diameter
roughly 0.4 m. The curved focal plane is equipped with 2048 pixels of
~0.2{\deg} angular size, resulting in a field of view of ~9{\deg}. The GCT
camera is designed to record the flashes of Cherenkov light from
electromagnetic cascades, which last only a few tens of nanoseconds. Modules
based on custom ASICs provide the required fast electronics, facilitating
sampling and digitisation as well as first level of triggering. The first GCT
camera prototype is currently being commissioned in the UK. On-telescope tests
are planned later this year. Here we give a detailed description of the camera
prototype and present recent progress with testing and commissioning.Comment: In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference
(ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherlands. All CTA contributions at
arXiv:1508.0589
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