286 research outputs found

    A facility to Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP) at the CERN SPS

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    A new general purpose fixed target facility is proposed at the CERN SPS accelerator which is aimed at exploring the domain of hidden particles and make measurements with tau neutrinos. Hidden particles are predicted by a large number of models beyond the Standard Model. The high intensity of the SPS 400~GeV beam allows probing a wide variety of models containing light long-lived exotic particles with masses below O{\cal O}(10)~GeV/c2^2, including very weakly interacting low-energy SUSY states. The experimental programme of the proposed facility is capable of being extended in the future, e.g. to include direct searches for Dark Matter and Lepton Flavour Violation.Comment: Technical Proposa

    Evidence for ΜΌ→Μτ\nu_\mu \to \nu_\tau appearance in the CNGS neutrino beam with the OPERA experiment

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    The OPERA experiment is designed to search for ΜΌ→Μτ\nu_{\mu} \rightarrow \nu_{\tau} oscillations in appearance mode i.e. through the direct observation of the τ\tau lepton in Μτ\nu_{\tau} charged current interactions. The experiment has taken data for five years, since 2008, with the CERN Neutrino to Gran Sasso beam. Previously, two Μτ\nu_{\tau} candidates with a τ\tau decaying into hadrons were observed in a sub-sample of data of the 2008-2011 runs. Here we report the observation of a third Μτ\nu_\tau candidate in the τ−→Ό−\tau^-\to\mu^- decay channel coming from the analysis of a sub-sample of the 2012 run. Taking into account the estimated background, the absence of ΜΌ→Μτ\nu_{\mu} \rightarrow \nu_{\tau} oscillations is excluded at the 3.4 σ\sigma level.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, 1 table

    The detection of neutrino interactions in the emulsion/lead target of the OPERA experiment

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    The OPERA neutrino detector in the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory (LNGS) was designed to perform the first detection of neutrino oscillations in appearance mode through the study of ΜΌ→Μτ\nu_\mu\to\nu_\tau oscillations. The apparatus consists of an emulsion/lead target complemented by electronic detectors and it is placed in the high energy long-baseline CERN to LNGS beam (CNGS) 730 km away from the neutrino source. Runs with CNGS neutrinos were successfully carried out in 2007 and 2008 with the detector fully operational with its related facilities for the emulsion handling and analysis. After a brief description of the beam and of the experimental setup we report on the collection, reconstruction and analysis procedures of first samples of neutrino interaction events

    Measurement of the atmospheric muon charge ratio with the OPERA detector

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    The OPERA detector at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory (LNGS) was used to measure the atmospheric muon charge ratio in the TeV energy region. We analyzed 403069 atmospheric muons corresponding to 113.4 days of livetime during the 2008 CNGS run. We computed separately the muon charge ratio for single and for multiple muon events in order to select different energy regions of the primary cosmic ray spectrum and to test the charge ratio dependence on the primary composition. The measured charge ratio values were corrected taking into account the charge-misidentification errors. Data have also been grouped in five bins of the "vertical surface energy". A fit to a simplified model of muon production in the atmosphere allowed the determination of the pion and kaon charge ratios weighted by the cosmic ray energy spectrum.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figure

    EIFiso4G augments the synthesis of specific plant proteins involved in normal chloroplast function

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    Copyright © 2019 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved. The plant-specific translation initiation complex eIFiso4F is encoded by three genes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana)-genes encoding the cap binding protein eIFiso4E (eifiso4e) and two isoforms of the large subunit scaffolding protein eIFiso4G (i4g1 and i4g2). To quantitate phenotypic changes, a phenomics platform was used to grow wild-type and mutant plants (i4g1, i4g2, i4e, i4g1 × i4g2, and i4g1 × i4g2 × i4e [i4f]) under various light conditions. Mutants lacking both eIFiso4G isoforms showed the most obvious phenotypic differences from the wild type. Two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry were used to identify changes in protein levels in plants lacking eIFiso4G. Four of the proteins identified as measurably decreased and validated by immunoblot analysis were two light harvesting complex binding proteins 1 and 3, Rubisco activase, and carbonic anhydrase. The observed decreased levels for these proteins were not the direct result of decreased transcription or protein instability. Chlorophyll fluorescence induction experiments indicated altered quinone reduction kinetics for the double and triple mutant plants with significant differences observed for absorbance, trapping, and electron transport. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of the chloroplasts in mutant plants showed impaired grana stacking and increased accumulation of starch granules consistent with some chloroplast proteins being decreased. Rescue of the i4g1 × i4g2 plant growth phenotype and increased expression of the validated proteins to wild-type levels was obtained by overexpression of eIFiso4G1. These data suggest a direct and specialized role for eIFiso4G in the synthesis of a subset of plant proteins

    Charged-Particle Multiplicities in Charged-Current Neutrino-- and Anti-Neutrino--Nucleus Interactions

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    The CHORUS experiment, designed to search for ΜΌ→Μτ\nu_{\mu}\to\nu_{\tau} oscillations, consists of a nuclear emulsion target and electronic detectors. In this paper, results on the production of charged particles in a small sample of charged-current neutrino-- and anti-neutrino--nucleus interactions at high energy are presented. For each event, the emission angle and the ionization features of the charged particles produced in the interaction are recorded, while the standard kinematic variables are reconstructed using the electronic detectors. The average multiplicities for charged tracks, the pseudo-rapidity distributions, the dispersion in the multiplicity of charged particles and the KNO scaling are studied in different kinematical regions. A study of quasi-elastic topologies performed for the first time in nuclear emulsions is also reported. The results are presented in a form suitable for use in the validation of Monte Carlo generators of neutrino--nucleus interactions.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure

    First events from the CNGS neutrino beam detected in the OPERA experiment

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    The OPERA neutrino detector at the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory (LNGS) was designed to perform the first detection of neutrino oscillations in appearance mode, through the study of nu_mu to nu_tau oscillations. The apparatus consists of a lead/emulsion-film target complemented by electronic detectors. It is placed in the high-energy, long-baseline CERN to LNGS beam (CNGS) 730 km away from the neutrino source. In August 2006 a first run with CNGS neutrinos was successfully conducted. A first sample of neutrino events was collected, statistically consistent with the integrated beam intensity. After a brief description of the beam and of the various sub-detectors, we report on the achievement of this milestone, presenting the first data and some analysis results.Comment: Submitted to the New Journal of Physic
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