A model for the time uncertainty measurements in the Auger surface detector array

The precise determination of the arrival direction of cosmic rays is a fundamental prerequisite for the search for sources or the study of their anisotropies on the sky. One of the most important aspects to achieve an optimal measurement of these directions is to properly take into account the measurement uncertainties in the estimation procedure. In this article we present a model for the uncertainties associated with the time measurements in the Auger surface detector array. We show that this model represents well the measurement uncertainties and therefore provides the basis for an optimal determination of the arrival direction. With this model and a description of the shower front geometry it is possible to estimate, on an event by event basis, the uncertainty associated with the determination of the arrival directions of the cosmic rays

SHARE with CHARM

SHARE with CHARM program (SHAREv3) implements the statistical hadronization model description of particle production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Given a set of statistical parameters, SHAREv3 program evaluates yields and therefore also ratios, and furthermore, statistical particle abundance fluctuations. The physical bulk properties of the particle source is evaluated based on all hadrons produced, including the fitted yields. The bulk properties can be prescribed as a fit input complementing and/or replacing the statistical parameters. The modifications and improvements in the SHARE suite of programs are oriented towards recent and forthcoming LHC hadron production results including charm hadrons. This SHAREv3 release incorporates all features seen previously in SHAREv1.x and v2.x and, beyond, we include a complete treatment of charm hadrons and their decays, which further cascade and feed lighter hadron yields. This article is a complete and self-contained manual explaining and introducing both the conventional and the extended capabilities of SHARE with CHARM. We complement the particle list derived from the Particle Data Group tabulation composed of up, down, strange $u,d,s$ quarks (including resonances) with hadrons containing charm $c,\bar c$ quarks. We provide a table of the charm hadron decays including partial widths. The branching ratios of each charm hadron decays add to unity, which is achieved by including some charm hadron decay channels based on theoretical consideration in the absence of direct experimental information. A very successful interpretation of all available LHC results has been already obtained using this program.Comment: 41 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables. Associated program available at http://www.physics.arizona.edu/~gtshare/SHARE/share.html (Computer Physics Communications in press

Strangeness and the discovery of quark-gluon plasma

Strangeness flavor yield s and the entropy yield S are the observables of the deconfined quark-gluon state of matter which can be studied in the entire available experimental energy range at AGS, SPS, RHIC, and, in near future, at the LHC energy range. We present here a comprehensive analysis of strange, soft hadron production as function of energy and reaction volume. We discuss the physical properties of the final state and argue how evidence about the primordial QGP emerges.Comment: 16 pages: Invited talk at 5th International Conference on Physics and Astrophysics of Quark Gluon Plasma, February 8 - 12, 2005, Salt Lake City, Kolkata, India, to appear in: Journal of Physics: Conference Serie

Thermal Dimuon Yields at NA60

Dilepton emission rates from a hadronic gas at finite temperature and baryon density are completely constrained by broken chiral symmetry in a density expansion. The rates can be expressed in terms of vacuum correlations which are measured in $e^+e^-$ annihilation, $\tau$ decays and photo-reactions on nucleons and nuclei. In this paper, the theoretical results are summarized and the total dimuon yield is calculated by integrating the dimuon rates over the space-time history of a fireball based on hydrodynamic calculations with CERN SPS conditions. The resulting dimuon yield is in good agreement with the recent measurements reported by NA60.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Heavy Flavor Hadrons in Statistical Hadronization of Strangeness-rich QGP

We study b, c quark hadronization from QGP. We obtain the yields of charm and bottom flavored hadrons within the statistical hadronization model. The important novel feature of this study is that we take into account the high strangeness and entropy content of QGP, conserving strangeness and entropy yields at hadronization.Comment: v2 expended: 20 pages, 23 figures, 5 tables, in press EPJ-

A statistical model analysis of K/πK/\pi fluctuations in heavy ion collisions

We briefly describe two statistical hadronization models, based respectively on the presence and absence of light quark chemical equilibrium, used to analyze particle yields in heavy ion collisions. We then try to distinguish between these models using $K/\pi$ fluctuations data. We find that while the non-equilibrium model provides an acceptable description of fluctuations at top SPS and RHIC energies, both models considerably under-estimate fluctuations at low SPS energies.Comment: References updated Poster in QM2006 conference, Shangha

Strangeness and threshold of phase changes

We explore entropy and strangeness as signature of QGP for top AGS energy and the energy scan at SPS. We find that the hadronization dynamics changes between 20 and 30 $A$ GeV projectile energy. The high energy results are consistent with QGP.Comment: Presented at SQM07, to appear in JPG special issu

Molecular Bremsstrahlung Radiation at GHz Frequencies in Air

A detection technique for ultra-high energy cosmic rays, complementary to the fluorescence technique, would be the use of the molecular Bremsstrahlung radiation emitted by low-energy ionization electrons left after the passage of the showers in the atmosphere. In this article, a detailed estimate of the spectral intensity of photons at ground level originating from this radiation is presented. The spectral intensity expected from the passage of the high-energy electrons of the cascade is also estimated. The absorption of the photons in the plasma of electrons/neutral molecules is shown to be negligible. The obtained spectral intensity is shown to be $2\times10^{-21}$W cm$^{-2}$ GHz$^{-1}$ at 10 km from the shower core for a vertical shower induced by a proton of $10^{17.5}$ eV. In addition, a recent measurement of Bremsstrahlung radiation in air at gigahertz frequencies from a beam of electrons produced at 95 keV by an electron gun is also discussed and reasonably reproduced by the model.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, figures (2,4,7) improved in v2, accepted by Phys. Rev.

QGP fireball explosion

We identify the major physics milestones in the development of strange hadrons as an observable for both the formation of quark-gluon plasma, and of the ensuing explosive disintegration of deconfined matter fireball formed in relativistic heavy ion collisions at 160--20A GeV. We describe the physical properties of QGP phase and show agreement with the expectations based on an analysis of hadron abundances. We than also demonstrate that the m_t shape of hadron spectra is in qualitative agreement with the sudden breakup of a supercooled QGP fireball.Comment: 10 pages, incl. 4 figures J. Phys. G in press; presented at STRANGENESS2000 International Conference, Berkeley July 200