Factorization breaking in high-transverse-momentum charged-hadron production at the Tevatron?

We compare the transverse momentum (p_T) distribution of inclusive light-charged-particle production measured by the CDF Collaboration at the Fermilab Tevatron with the theoretical prediction evaluated at next-to-leading order in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) using fragmentation functions recently determined through a global data fit. While, in the lower p_T range, the data agree with the prediction within the theoretical error or slightly undershoot it, they significantly exceed it in the upper p_T range, by several orders of magnitude at the largest values of p_T, where perturbation theory should be most reliable. This disagreement is too large to be remedied by introducing additional produced particles into the calculation, and potentially challenges the validity of the factorization theorem on which the parton model of QCD relies. Clearly, a breakdown of the factorization theorem, being a fundamental property of QCD, would be extremely difficult to understand.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures; discussion extended, references added; accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Risk analysis of Bacillus spp. isolated from cured pork sausages

This study was undertaken to acquire information about the toxigenic potential of Bacillus strains isolated from eight cured pork sausages obtained from traditional or industrial processings. The application of RAPD-PCR protocols made it possible to identify 52 different biotypes among 220 heat-resistant Gram-positive endospore-forming colonies. The sequence analysis of the 5’ region of 16S rDNA revealed that 36 strains belonged to B. subtilis and 16 to B. pumilus species. No strains belonging to B. cereus species were isolated from the cured sausages analysed. The toxigenic potential of these strains was assayed by PCR analysis and physiological tests to identify the most important B. cereus toxins and virulence factors. No specific PCR fragment was obtained from any of the strains; however, some of them were found positive for hemolytic and lecithinase activity.These preliminary results reassure about the microbiological risk related to the presence of pathogenic Bacillus strains in cured pork sausages analysed even though the hemolytic and lecithinase activities found in some strains suggest that more in-depth analyses need to be carried out

Eco-friendly gas mixtures for Resistive Plate Chambers based on Tetrafluoropropene and Helium

Due to the recent restrictions deriving from the application of the Kyoto protocol, the main components of the gas mixtures presently used in the Resistive Plate Chambers systems of the LHC experiments will be most probably phased out of production in the coming years. Identifying possible replacements with the adequate characteristics requires an intense R&D, which was recently started, also in collaborations across the various experiments. Possible candidates have been proposed and are thoroughly investigated. Some tests on one of the most promising candidate - HFO-1234ze, an allotropic form of tetrafluoropropane- have already been reported. Here an innovative approach, based on the use of Helium, to solve the problems related to the too elevate operating voltage of HFO-1234ze based gas mixtures, is discussed and the relative first results are shown.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

A study of gas contaminants and interaction with materials in RPC closed loop systems

Resistive Plate Counters (RPC) detectors at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments use gas recirculation systems to cope with large gas mixture volumes and costs. In this paper a long-term systematic study about gas purifiers, gas contaminants and detector performance is discussed. The study aims at measuring the lifetime of purifiers with unused and used cartridge material along with contaminants release in the gas system. During the data-taking the response of several RPC double-gap detectors was monitored in order to characterize the correlation between dark currents, filter status and gas contaminants

Performance of resistive plate chambers for the muon detection at CMS

The latest results, still preliminary, of tests dedicated to study the performance of Resistive Plate Chamber for the CMS experiment are presented. Full efficiency with a 2 ns time resolution in conditions of incident flux up to 2 kHz/cm2 has been obtained. Detector uniformity has been studied and found to be well within the constraints due to the large surfaces used in the experiment. An aging test is currently being carried out and shows no significant performance variation with time

Long-term performance of double gap resistive plate chambers under gamma irradiation

In this paper, we describe a dedicated test to study possible long-term aging effects on Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs). A double gap detector was operated under gamma irradiation for a period approximately equal to 10 years of LHC in the CMS-barrel region: an integrated dose of about and a total charge of about gap were accumulated on the chamber. The results show no relevant aging effect. Also the RPC sensitivity to gamma energies is measured

Performance of the Gas Gain Monitoring system of the CMS RPC muon detector and effective working point fine tuning

The Gas Gain Monitoring (GGM) system of the Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) muon detector in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment provides fast and accurate determination of the stability in the working point conditions due to gas mixture changes in the closed loop recirculation system. In 2011 the GGM began to operate using a feedback algorithm to control the applied voltage, in order to keep the GGM response insensitive to environmental temperature and atmospheric pressure variations. Recent results are presented on the feedback method used and on alternative algorithms

The Upgrade of the CMS RPC System during the First LHC Long Shutdown

The CMS muon system includes in both the barrel and endcap region Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC). They mainly serve as trigger detectors and also improve the reconstruction of muon parameters. Over the years, the instantaneous luminosity of the Large Hadron Collider gradually increases. During the LHC Phase 1 (~first 10 years of operation) an ultimate luminosity is expected above its design value of 10^34/cm^2/s at 14 TeV. To prepare the machine and also the experiments for this, two long shutdown periods are scheduled for 2013-2014 and 2018-2019. The CMS Collaboration is planning several detector upgrades during these long shutdowns. In particular, the muon detection system should be able to maintain a low-pT threshold for an efficient Level-1 Muon Trigger at high particle rates. One of the measures to ensure this, is to extend the present RPC system with the addition of a 4th layer in both endcap regions. During the first long shutdown, these two new stations will be equipped in the region |eta|<1.6 with 144 High Pressure Laminate (HPL) double-gap RPCs operating in avalanche mode, with a similar design as the existing CMS endcap chambers. Here, we present the upgrade plans for the CMS RPC system for the fist long shutdown, including trigger simulation studies for the extended system, and details on the new HPL production, the chamber assembly and the quality control procedures.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, presented by M.Tytgat at the XI workshop on Resistive Plate Chambers and Related Detectors (RPC2012), INFN - Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, February 5-10, 201

Gas Analysis and Monitoring Systems for the RPC Detector of CMS at LHC

The Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) detector of the CMS experiment at the LHC proton collider (CERN, Switzerland) will employ an online gas analysis and monitoring system of the freon-based gas mixture used. We give an overview of the CMS RPC gas system, describe the project parameters and first results on gas-chromatograph analysis. Finally, we report on preliminary results for a set of monitor RPC.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures. Presented by Stefano Bianco (Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati dell'INFN) at the IEEE NSS, San Diego (USA), October 200