3,647 research outputs found
Absolute Calibration of a Large-diameter Light Source
A method of absolute calibration for large aperture optical systems is
presented, using the example of the Pierre Auger Observatory fluorescence
detectors. A 2.5 m diameter light source illuminated by an ultra--violet light
emitting diode is calibrated with an overall uncertainty of 2.1 % at a
wavelength of 365 nm.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to JINS
Absolute Calibration of the Auger Fluorescence Detectors
Absolute calibration of the Pierre Auger Observatory fluorescence detectors
uses a light source at the telescope aperture. The technique accounts for the
ombined effects of all detector components in a single measurement. The
calibrated 2.5 m diameter light source fills the aperture, providing uniform
illumination to each pixel. The known flux from the light source and the
response of the acquisition system give the required calibration for each
pixel. In the lab, light source uniformity is studied using CCD images and the
intensity is measured relative to NIST-calibrated photodiodes. Overall
uncertainties are presently 12%, and are dominated by systematics.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure. Submitted to the 29th ICRC, Pune, Indi
Multi-wavelength Calibration Procedure for the Pierre Auger Observatory Fluorescence Detectors
We present a method to measure the relative spectral response of the Pierre
Auger Observatory Fluorescence Detector. The calibration was done at
wavelengths of 320, 337, 355, 380 and 405 nm using an end-to-end technique in
which the response of all detector components are combined in a single
measurement. A xenon flasher and notch-filters were used as the light source
for the calibration device. The overall uncertainty is 5%.Comment: Submitted to Astroparticle Physics. V2: section 5.2 extended; author
list change
The DRIFT Dark Matter Experiments
The current status of the DRIFT (Directional Recoil Identification From
Tracks) experiment at Boulby Mine is presented, including the latest limits on
the WIMP spin-dependent cross-section from 1.5 kg days of running with a
mixture of CS2 and CF4. Planned upgrades to DRIFT IId are detailed, along with
ongoing work towards DRIFT III, which aims to be the world's first 10 m3-scale
directional Dark Matter detector.Comment: Proceedings of the 3rd International conference on Directional
Detection of Dark Matter (CYGNUS 2011), Aussois, France, 8-10 June 201
Left-Right Symmetry and Supersymmetric Unification
The existence of an SU(3) X SU(2)_L X SU(2)_R X U(1) gauge symmetry with g_L
= g_R at the TeV energy scale is shown to be consistent with supersymmetric
SO(10) grand unification at around 1O^{16} GeV if certain new particles are
assumed. The additional imposition of a discrete Z_2 symmetry leads to a
generalized definition of R parity as well as highly suppressed Majorana
neutrino masses. Another model based on SO(10) X SO(10) is also discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures not included, UCRHEP-T124, Apr 199
VHMPID: a new detector for the ALICE experiment at LHC
This article presents the basic idea of VHMPID, an upgrade detector for the
ALICE experiment at LHC, CERN. The main goal of this detector is to extend the
particle identification capabilities of ALICE to give more insight into the
evolution of the hot and dense matter created in Pb-Pb collisions. Starting
from the physics motivations and working principles the challenges and current
status of development is detailed.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures. To be published in EPJ Web of Conference
Background Assay and Rejection in DRIFT
The DRIFT-IId dark matter detector is a m3-scale low-pressure TPC with directional sensitivity to WIMP-induced nuclear recoils. Its primary backgrounds were due to alpha decays from contamination on the central cathode. Efforts to reduce these backgrounds led to replacing the 20 ÎĽm wire central cathode with one constructed from 0.9 ÎĽm aluminized mylar, which is almost totally transparent to alpha particles. Detailed modeling of the nature and origin of the remaining backgrounds led to an in-situ, ppt-sensitive assay of alpha decay backgrounds from the central cathode. This led to further improvements in the thin-film cathode resulting in over 2 orders of magnitude reduction in backgrounds compared to the wire cathode. Finally, the addition of O2 to CS2 gas was found to produce multiple species of electronegative charge carriers, providing a method to determine the absolute position of nuclear recoils and reject all known remaining backgrounds while retaining a high efficiency for nuclear recoil detection
Ultrahigh-energy neutrino follow-up of Gravitational Wave events GW150914 and GW151226 with the Pierre Auger Observatory
On September 14, 2015 the Advanced LIGO detectors observed their first
gravitational-wave (GW) transient GW150914. This was followed by a second GW
event observed on December 26, 2015. Both events were inferred to have arisen
from the merger of black holes in binary systems. Such a system may emit
neutrinos if there are magnetic fields and disk debris remaining from the
formation of the two black holes. With the surface detector array of the Pierre
Auger Observatory we can search for neutrinos with energy above 100 PeV from
point-like sources across the sky with equatorial declination from about -65
deg. to +60 deg., and in particular from a fraction of the 90% confidence-level
(CL) inferred positions in the sky of GW150914 and GW151226. A targeted search
for highly-inclined extensive air showers, produced either by interactions of
downward-going neutrinos of all flavors in the atmosphere or by the decays of
tau leptons originating from tau-neutrino interactions in the Earth's crust
(Earth-skimming neutrinos), yielded no candidates in the Auger data collected
within s around or 1 day after the coordinated universal time (UTC)
of GW150914 and GW151226, as well as in the same search periods relative to the
UTC time of the GW candidate event LVT151012. From the non-observation we
constrain the amount of energy radiated in ultrahigh-energy neutrinos from such
remarkable events.Comment: Published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Added Report
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