2,978 research outputs found
Primary vertex reconstruction
This report reviews the improved method of primary vertex off-line reconstruction. The new method for primary vertex seed finding as well as modified procedure for vertex fit have been briefly described. Results of the primary vertex reconstruction performance are presented and compared to the previous version of the package. Improvement in the primary vertex reconstruction efficiencies is observed. Small but statistically significant bias, coming mostly from the long-living tracks as well as from a bias of the Velo measurements present in the DC06 simulation, affects the determination of the primary vertex position along the beam direction
A literature review of magnetic resonance imaging sequence advancements in visualizing functional neurosurgery targets
OBJECTIVE: Historically, preoperative planning for functional neurosurgery has depended on the indirect localization of target brain structures using visible anatomical landmarks. However, recent technological advances in neuroimaging have permitted marked improvements in MRI-based direct target visualization, allowing for refinement of "first-pass" targeting. The authors reviewed studies relating to direct MRI visualization of the most common functional neurosurgery targets (subthalamic nucleus, globus pallidus, and thalamus) and summarize sequence specifications for the various approaches described in this literature. METHODS: The peer-reviewed literature on MRI visualization of the subthalamic nucleus, globus pallidus, and thalamus was obtained by searching MEDLINE. Publications examining direct MRI visualization of these deep brain stimulation targets were included for review. RESULTS: A variety of specialized sequences and postprocessing methods for enhanced MRI visualization are in current use. These include susceptibility-based techniques such as quantitative susceptibility mapping, which exploit the amount of tissue iron in target structures, and white matter attenuated inversion recovery, which suppresses the signal from white matter to improve the distinction between gray matter nuclei. However, evidence confirming the superiority of these sequences over indirect targeting with respect to clinical outcome is sparse. Future targeting may utilize information about functional and structural networks, necessitating the use of resting-state functional MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging. CONCLUSIONS: Specialized MRI sequences have enabled considerable improvement in the visualization of common deep brain stimulation targets. With further validation of their ability to improve clinical outcomes and advances in imaging techniques, direct visualization of targets may play an increasingly important role in preoperative planning
Improved performance of the LHCb Outer Tracker in LHC Run 2
The LHCb Outer Tracker is a gaseous detector covering an area of with 12 double layers of straw tubes. The performance of the detector is
presented based on data of the LHC Run 2 running period from 2015 and 2016.
Occupancies and operational experience for data collected in , pPb and
PbPb collisions are described. An updated study of the ageing effects is
presented showing no signs of gain deterioration or other radiation damage
effects. In addition several improvements with respect to LHC Run 1 data taking
are introduced. A novel real-time calibration of the time-alignment of the
detector and the alignment of the single monolayers composing detector modules
are presented, improving the drift-time and position resolution of the detector
by 20\%. Finally, a potential use of the improved resolution for the timing of
charged tracks is described, showing the possibility to identify low-momentum
hadrons with their time-of-flight.Comment: 29 pages, 20 figures, minor changes to match the published versio
Lattice Blind Signatures with Forward Security
Blind signatures play an important role in both electronic cash and
electronic voting systems. Blind signatures should be secure against various
attacks (such as signature forgeries). The work puts a special attention to
secret key exposure attacks, which totally break digital signatures. Signatures
that resist secret key exposure attacks are called forward secure in the sense
that disclosure of a current secret key does not compromise past secret keys.
This means that forward-secure signatures must include a mechanism for
secret-key evolution over time periods.
This paper gives a construction of the first blind signature that is forward
secure. The construction is based on the SIS assumption in the lattice setting.
The core techniques applied are the binary tree data structure for the time
periods and the trapdoor delegation for the key-evolution mechanism.Comment: ACISP 202
Specific Heat Discontinuity, deltaC, at Tc in BaFe2(As0.7P0.3)2 - Consistent with Unconventional Superconductivity
We report the specific heat discontinuity, deltaC/Tc, at Tc = 28.2 K of a
collage of single crystals of BaFe2(As0.7P0.3)2 and compare the measured value
of 38.5 mJ/molK**2 with other iron pnictide and iron chalcogenide (FePn/Ch)
superconductors. This value agrees well with the trend established by Bud'ko,
Ni and Canfield who found that deltaC/Tc ~ a*Tc**2 for 14 examples of doped
Ba1-xKxFe2As2 and BaFe2-xTMxAs2, where the transition metal TM=Co and Ni. We
extend their analysis to include all the FePn/Ch superconductors for which
deltaC/Tc is currently known and find deltaC/Tc ~ a*Tc**1.9 and a=0.083
mJ/molK**4. A comparison with the elemental superconductors with Tc>1 K and
with A-15 superconductors shows that, contrary to the FePn/Ch superconductors,
electron-phonon-coupled conventional superconductors exhibit a significantly
different dependence of deltaC on Tc, namely deltaC/Tc ~ Tc**0.9. However
deltaC/gamma*Tc appears to be comparable in all three classes (FePn/Ch,
elemental and A-15) of superconductors with, e. g., deltaC/gamma*Tc=2.4 for
BaFe2(As0.7P0.3)2. A discussion of the possible implications of these
phenomenological comparisons for the unconventional superconductivity believed
to exist in the FePn/Ch is given.Comment: some disagreement in reference and footnote numbering with the
published versio
AFe2As2 (A = Ca, Sr, Ba, Eu) and SrFe_(2-x)TM_(x)As2 (TM = Mn, Co, Ni): crystal structure, charge doping, magnetism and superconductivity
The electronic structure and physical properties of the pnictide compound
families OFeAs ( = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm), FeAs ( = Ca,
Sr, Ba, Eu), LiFeAs and FeSe are quite similar. Here, we focus on the members
of the FeAs family whose sample composition, quality and single
crystal growth are better controllable compared to the other systems. Using
first principles band structure calculations we focus on understanding the
relationship between the crystal structure, charge doping and magnetism in
FeAs systems. We will elaborate on the tetragonal to
orthorhombic structural distortion along with the associated magnetic order and
anisotropy, influence of doping on the site as well as on the Fe site, and
the changes in the electronic structure as a function of pressure.
Experimentally, we investigate the substitution of Fe in
SrFeAs by other 3 transition metals, = Mn, Co, Ni.
In contrast to a partial substitution of Fe by Co or Ni (electron doping) a
corresponding Mn partial substitution does not lead to the supression of the
antiferromagnetic order or the appearance of superconductivity. Most calculated
properties agree well with the measured properties, but several of them are
sensitive to the As position. For a microscopic understanding of the
electronic structure of this new family of superconductors this structural
feature related to the Fe-As interplay is crucial, but its correct ab initio
treatment still remains an open question.Comment: 27 pages, single colum
Evidence for an Excess of Soft Photons in Hadronic Decays of Z^0
Soft photons inside hadronic jets converted in front of the DELPHI main
tracker (TPC) in events of qqbar disintegrations of the Z^0 were studied in the
kinematic range 0.2 < E_gamma < 1 GeV and transverse momentum with respect to
the closest jet direction p_T < 80 MeV/c. A clear excess of photons in the
experimental data as compared to the Monte Carlo predictions is observed. This
excess (uncorrected for the photon detection efficiency) is (1.17 +/- 0.06 +/-
0.27) x 10^{-3} gamma/jet in the specified kinematic region, while the expected
level of the inner hadronic bremsstrahlung (which is not included in the Monte
Carlo) is (0.340 +/- 0.001 +/- 0.038) x 10^{-3} gamma/jet. The ratio of the
excess to the predicted bremsstrahlung rate is then (3.4 +/- 0.2 +/- 0.8),
which is similar in strength to the anomalous soft photon signal observed in
fixed target experiments with hadronic beams.Comment: 37 pages, 9 figures, Accepted by Eur. Phys. J.
Measurement and Interpretation of Fermion-Pair Production at LEP energies above the Z Resonance
This paper presents DELPHI measurements and interpretations of
cross-sections, forward-backward asymmetries, and angular distributions, for
the e+e- -> ffbar process for centre-of-mass energies above the Z resonance,
from sqrt(s) ~ 130 - 207 GeV at the LEP collider. The measurements are
consistent with the predictions of the Standard Model and are used to study a
variety of models including the S-Matrix ansatz for e+e- -> ffbar scattering
and several models which include physics beyond the Standard Model: the
exchange of Z' bosons, contact interactions between fermions, the exchange of
gravitons in large extra dimensions and the exchange of sneutrino in R-parity
violating supersymmetry.Comment: 79 pages, 16 figures, Accepted by Eur. Phys. J.
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