A Comparative Numerical Study on GEM, MHSP and MSGC

In this work, we have tried to develop a detailed understanding of the physical processes occurring in those variants of Micro Pattern Gas Detectors (MPGDs) that share micro hole and micro strip geometry, like GEM, MHSP and MSGC etc. Some of the important and fundamental characteristics of these detectors such as gain, transparency, efficiency and their operational dependence on different device parameters have been estimated following detailed numerical simulation of the detector dynamics. We have used a relatively new simulation framework developed especially for the MPGDs that combines packages such as GARFIELD, neBEM, MAGBOLTZ and HEED. The results compare closely with the available experimental data. This suggests the efficacy of the framework to model the intricacies of these micro-structured detectors in addition to providing insight into their inherent complex dynamical processes

Cosmic ray tests of a GEM-based TPC prototype operated in Ar-CF4-isobutane gas mixtures

Argon with an admixture of CF4 is expected to be a good candidate for the gas mixture to be used for a time projection chamber (TPC) in the future linear collider experiment because of its small transverse diffusion of drift electrons especially under a strong magnetic field. In order to confirm the superiority of this gas mixture over conventional TPC gases we carried out cosmic ray tests using a GEM-based TPC operated mostly in Ar-CF4-isobutane mixtures under 0 - 1 T axial magnetic fields. The measured gas properties such as gas gain and transverse diffusion constant as well as the observed spatial resolution are presented.Comment: 22 pages, 18 figures. Published in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A. Fig. 3 in the introduction was corrected since it had not been properly normalized. Minor corrections and no changes in the conclusio

Charmed Baryons with J=3/2J = 3/2

The width of a recently discovered excited charmed-strange baryon, a candidate for a state $\Xi_c^*$ with spin 3/2, is calculated. In the absence of configuration mixing between the ground-state (spin-1/2) charmed-strange baryon $\Xi_c^{(a)}$ and the spin-1/2 state $\Xi_c^{(s)}$ lying about 95 MeV above it, one finds $\tilde \Gamma(\Xi^*_c \to \Xi_c^{(a)} \pi) = (3/4) \tilde \Gamma(\Xi^* \to \Xi \pi)$ and $\tilde \Gamma(\Xi^*_c \to \Xi_c^{(s)} \pi) = (1/4) \tilde \Gamma(\Xi^* \to \Xi \pi)$, where the tilde denotes the partial width with kinematic factors removed. Assuming a kinematic factor for P-wave decay of $p_{\rm cm}^3$, one predicts $\Gamma(\Xi^*_c \to \Xi_c^{(a)} \pi) = 2.3$ MeV, while the $\Xi^*_c \to \Xi_c^{(s)} \pi$ channel is closed. Some suggestions are given for detecting the $\Sigma_c^*$, the spin-3/2 charmed nonstrange baryon, and the $\Omega_c^*$, the spin-3/2 charmed doubly-strange baryon.Comment: 11 pages, latex, 2 uuencoded figures sent separatel

Hyperon weak radiative decays in chiral perturbation theory

We investigate the leading-order amplitudes for weak radiative decays of hyperons in chiral perturbation theory. We consistently include contributions from the next-to-leading order weak-interaction Lagrangian. It is shown that due to these terms Hara's theorem is violated. The data for the decays of charged hyperons can be easily accounted for. However, at this order in the chiral expansion, the four amplitudes for the decays of neutral hyperons satisfy relations which are in disagreement with the data. The asymmetry parameters for all the decays can not be accounted for without higher-order terms. We shortly comment on the effect of the 27-plet part of the weak interaction.Comment: 8 pages of REVTeX and using macro-package "feynman.tex" (available at http://xxx.lanl.gov/ftp/hep-ph/papers/macros) for the 2 figure

Measurement of the Omega_c Lifetime

We present the measurement of the lifetime of the Omega_c we have performed using three independent data samples from two different decay modes. Using a Sigma- beam of 340 GeV/c we have obtained clean signals for the Omega_c decaying into Xi- K- pi+ pi+ and Omega- pi+ pi- pi+, avoiding topological cuts normally used in charm analysis. The short but measurable lifetime of the Omega_c is demonstrated by a clear enhancement of the signals at short but finite decay lengths. Using a continuous maximum likelihood method we determined the lifetime to be tau(Omega_c) = 55 +13-11(stat) +18-23(syst) fs. This makes the Omega_c the shortest living weakly decaying particle observed so far. The short value of the lifetime confirms the predicted pattern of the charmed baryon lifetimes and demonstrates that the strong interaction plays a vital role in the lifetimes of charmed hadrons.Comment: 15 pages, including 7 figures; gzipped, uuencoded postscrip

Changing the prehistory of Sindh and Las Bela coast: twenty-five years of Italian contribution

The paper discusses the prehistory of Lowr Sindh and Las Bela Coast, and the role played by the Italian archaeologists since the 1980's. New date are presented regarding mainly the radiocarbon chronology the Indus Delta settlement on rocky outcrops and the shell middens of Las Bela

Heavy Baryon Specroscopy from the Lattice

The results of an exploratory lattice study of heavy baryon spectroscopy are presented. We have computed the full spectrum of the eight baryons containing a single heavy quark, on a $24^3\times 48$ lattice at $\beta=6.2$, using an $O(a)$-improved fermion action. We discuss the lattice baryon operators and give a method for isolating the contributions of the spin doublets $(\Sigma,\Sigma^*)$, $(\Xi',\Xi^*)$ and $(\Omega,\Omega^*)$ to the correlation function of the relevant operator. We compare our results with the available experimental data and find good agreement in both the charm and the beauty sectors, despite the long extrapolation in the heavy quark mass needed in the latter case. We also predict the masses of several undiscovered baryons. We compute the \Lambda-\mbox{pseudoscalar meson} and $\Sigma-\Lambda$ mass splittings. Our results, which have errors in the range $10-30\%$, are in good agreement with the experimental numbers. For the $\Sigma^*-\Sigma$ mass splitting, we find results considerably smaller than the experimental values for both the charm and the beauty baryons, although in the latter case the experimental results are still preliminary. This is also the case for the lattice results for the hyperfine splitting for the heavy mesons.Comment: 31 pages LaTex, with postscript figures include

Growth factor restriction impedes progression of wound healing following cataract surgery: identification of VEGF as a putative therapeutic target

Secondary visual loss occurs in millions of patients due to a wound-healing response, known as posterior capsule opacification (PCO), following cataract surgery. An intraocular lens (IOL) is implanted into residual lens tissue, known as the capsular bag, following cataract removal. Standard IOLs allow the anterior and posterior capsules to become physically connected. This places pressure on the IOL and improves contact with the underlying posterior capsule. New open bag IOL designs separate the anterior capsule and posterior capsules and further reduce PCO incidence. It is hypothesised that this results from reduced cytokine availability due to greater irrigation of the bag. We therefore explored the role of growth factor restriction on PCO using human lens cell and tissue culture models. We demonstrate that cytokine dilution, by increasing medium volume, significantly reduced cell coverage in both closed and open capsular bag models. This coincided with reduced cell density and myofibroblast formation. A screen of 27 cytokines identified nine candidates whose expression profile correlated with growth. In particular, VEGF was found to regulate cell survival, growth and myofibroblast formation. VEGF provides a therapeutic target to further manage PCO development and will yield best results when used in conjunction with open bag IOL designs

Characterisation of large area THGEMs and experimental measurement of the Townsend coefficients for CF4

Whilst the performance of small THGEMs is well known, here we consider the challenges in scaling these up to large area charge readouts. We first verify the expected gain of larger THGEMs by reporting experimental Townsend coefficients for a 10 cm diameter THGEM in low-pressure CF$_4$. Large area 50 cm by 50 cm THGEMs were sourced from a commercial PCB supplier and geometrical imperfections were observed which we quantified using an optical camera setup. The large area THGEMs were experimentally characterised at Boulby Underground Laboratory through a series of gain calibrations and alpha spectrum measurements. ANSYS, Magboltz and Garfield++ simulations of the design of a TPC based on the large area THGEMs are presented. We also consider their implications for directional dark matter research and potential applications within nuclear security

Search for the exotic Ξ−−(1860)\Xi^{--}(1860) Resonance in 340GeV/c Σ−\Sigma^--Nucleus Interactions

We report on a high statistics search for the $\Xi^{--}(1860)$ resonance in $\Sigma^-$-nucleus collisions at 340GeV/c. No evidence for this resonance is found in our data sample which contains 676000 $\Xi^-$ candidates above background. For the decay channel $\Xi^{--}(1860) \to \Xi^-\pi^-$ and the kinematic range 0.15$<x_F<$0.9 we find a 3$\sigma$ upper limit for the production cross section of 3.1 and 3.5 $\mu$b per nucleon for reactions with carbon and copper, respectively.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, modification of ref. 43 and 4