The multilevel trigger system of the DIRAC experiment

The multilevel trigger system of the DIRAC experiment at CERN is presented. It includes a fast first level trigger as well as various trigger processors to select events with a pair of pions having a low relative momentum typical of the physical process under study. One of these processors employs the drift chamber data, another one is based on a neural network algorithm and the others use various hit-map detector correlations. Two versions of the trigger system used at different stages of the experiment are described. The complete system reduces the event rate by a factor of 1000, with efficiency $\geq$95% of detecting the events in the relative momentum range of interest.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figure

The current progress of the ALICE Ring Imaging Cherenkov Detector

Recently, the last two modules (out of seven) of the ALICE High Momentum Particle Identification detector (HMPID) were assembled and tested. The full detector, after a pre-commissioning phase, has been installed in the experimental area, inside the ALICE solenoid, at the end of September 2006. In this paper we review the status of the ALICE/HMPID project and we present a summary of the series production of the CsI photo-cathodes. We describe the key features of the production procedure which ensures high quality photo-cathodes as well as the results of the quality assessment performed by means of a specially developed 2D scanner system able to produce a detailed map of the CsI photo-current over the entire photo-cathode surface. Finally we present our recent R&D efforts toward the development of a novel generation of imaging Cherenkov detectors with the aim to identify, in heavy ions collisions, hadrons up to 30 GeV/c.Comment: Presented at the Imaging-2006 Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, June 200

The ATLAS Simulation: an LHC Challenge

The simulation program for the ATLAS experiment at CERN is currently in a full operational mode and integrated into the ATLAS common analysis framework, Athena. The OO approach, based on GEANT4, and in use during the DC2 data challenge has been interfaced within Athena and to GEANT4 using the LCG dictionaries and Python scripting. The robustness of the application was proved during the DC2 data challenge. The Python interface has added the flexibility, modularity and interactivity that the simulation tool requires in order to be able to provide a common implementation of different full ATLAS simulation setups, test beams and cosmic ray applications. Generation, simulation and digitization steps were exercised for performance and robustness tests. The comparison with real data has been possible in the context of the ATLAS Combined Test Beam (2004) and ongoing cosmic ray studies

Chiral thermodynamics of dense hadronic matter

We discuss phases of hot and dense hadronic matter using chiral Lagrangians. A two-flavored parity doublet model constrained by the nuclear matter ground state predicts chiral symmetry restoration. The model thermodynamics is shown within the mean field approximation. A field-theoretical constraint on possible phases from the anomaly matching is also discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of 6th International Workshop on Critical Point and Onset of Deconfinement (CPOD), 23-29 August 2010 at Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russi

Fast shower simulation in the ATLAS calorimeter

The time to simulate pp collisions in the ATLAS detector is largely dominated by the showering of electromagnetic particles in the heavy parts of the detector, especially the electromagnetic barrel and endcap calorimeters. Two procedures have been developed to accelerate the processing time of electromagnetic particles in these regions: (1) a fast shower parameterisation and (2) a frozen shower library. Both work by generating the response of the calorimeter to electrons and positrons with Geant 4, and then reintroduce the response into the simulation at runtime. In the fast shower parameterisation technique, a parameterisation is tuned to single electrons and used later by simulation. In the frozen shower technique, actual showers from low-energy particles are used in the simulation. Full Geant 4 simulation is used to develop showers down to ~1 GeV, at which point the shower is terminated by substituting a frozen shower. Judicious use of both techniques over the entire electromagnetic portion of the ATLAS calorimeter produces an important improvement of CPU time. We discuss the algorithms and their performance in this paper

ATLAS Simulation readiness for first data at LHC

The commissioning phase for the ATLAS experiment, in preparation for the new LHC machine to switch on, has presented challenges to nearly every aspect of the software development. The ATLAS simulation program, as a part of this phase, is now operational and fully functional within the ATLAS common software framework, Athena. The latest developments are directed towards enhanced versatility to cope with the increasing needs of developers and users and ease of use for the large ATLAS community, now with more than 2000 potential users. Emphasis in this talk is on recently added functionality recently added, validation and production strategy, and improved robustness and maintainability