Measurement of the muon flux from 400 GeV/c protons interacting in a thick molybdenum/tungsten target

The SHiP experiment is proposed to search for very weakly interacting particles beyond the Standard Model which are produced in a 400 GeV/c proton beam dump at the CERN SPS. About 1011 muons per spill will be produced in the dump. To design the experiment such that the muon-induced background is minimized, a precise knowledge of the muon spectrum is required. To validate the muon flux generated by our Pythia and GEANT4 based Monte Carlo simulation (FairShip), we have measured the muon flux emanating from a SHiP-like target at the SPS. This target, consisting of 13 interaction lengths of slabs of molybdenum and tungsten, followed by a 2.4 m iron hadron absorber was placed in the H4 400 GeV/c proton beam line. To identify muons and to measure the momentum spectrum, a spectrometer instrumented with drift tubes and a muon tagger were used. During a 3-week period a dataset for analysis corresponding to (3.27±0.07) × 1011 protons on target was recorded. This amounts to approximatively 1% of a SHiP spill

Track reconstruction and matching between emulsion and silicon pixel detectors for the SHiP-charm experiment

In July 2018 an optimization run for the proposed charm cross section measurement for SHiP was performed at the CERN SPS. A heavy, moving target instrumented with nuclear emulsion films followed by a silicon pixel tracker was installed in front of the Goliath magnet at the H4 proton beam-line. Behind the magnet, scintillating-fibre, drift-tube and RPC detectors were placed. The purpose of this run was to validate the measurement's feasibility, to develop the required analysis tools and fine-tune the detector layout. In this paper, we present the track reconstruction in the pixel tracker and the track matching with the moving emulsion detector. The pixel detector performed as expected and it is shown that, after proper alignment, a vertex matching rate of 87% is achieved

Exchange rate forecasts and forecasting

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DX198957 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Currency spillovers and tri-polarity: A simultaneous model of the US dollar, German mark and Japanese yen

This paper presents a simultaneous model of exchange rates between the US dollar, German mark and Japanese yen. In addition to incorporating long-run equilibria and short-run dynamics, the model is designed to capture complex interaction between currencies not normally considered in exchange rate models. The model is demonstrated to be an economically and statistically superior forecasting tool over relatively short horizons, thereby demonstrating that the random walk paradigm no longer rules the roost

A suite of robust radioanalytical techniques for the determination of tritium and other volatile radionuclides in decommissioning wastes and environmental matrices

Tritium is ubiquitous in and around nuclear plants, being formed via neutron capture by 2H, 6Li, 10B and 14N and via ternary fission. The highly mobile nature of 3H species results in widespread distribution of the radionuclide. Predictive modeling of 3H activity concentrations is challenging and direct measurement of 3H activities in materials is the preferred approach to underpin waste and environmental assessments. For well over a decade, the UK nuclear industry has engaged in a significant program of site decommissioning of its first generation reactors. This has resulted in a high demand for the rapid characterization of 3H in a diverse range of matrices, including concretes, metals, plastics, sludges, resins, soils and biota. To support such assessments, it has been necessary to develop dedicated instrumentation in parallel with robust radioanalytical methodologies; namely a multi-tube furnace and a high-capacity, closed (pressurized) oxygen combustion system. Data are presented on the development and validation of these instruments, designed specifically to enable the quantitative extraction of 3H (and other volatile radionuclides) from diverse sample types. Furthermore the furnace system has been employed as a tool to gain insights into the 3H association in decommissioning and environmental matrices exposed to 3H arising from nuclear power plant operations through tritium evolution with temperature profiling. The impact of the chemical speciation of 3H on analytical strategy is discussed. A major benefit of the multi-sample furnace is its ease of use and applicability to 3H determination in virtually any sample type. The complementary HBO2 oxygen combustion system has been developed for the quantitative oxidation of organic-rich samples (e.g. wood, plastic, oil, biota) and analytical data prove its effectiveness

Branch networks Franchising for competitive advantage

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:7755.0135(97/3) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Assessing the performance of foreign exchange forecasters in a portfolio framework

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:3597.85187(no 4) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

An empirical analysis of the dynamic relationship between investment-grade bonds and credit default swaps

Centro de Informacion y Documentacion Cientifica (CINDOC). C/Joaquin Costa, 22. 28002 Madrid. SPAIN / CINDOC - Centro de Informaciòn y Documentaciòn CientìficaSIGLEESSpai

Assessing the performance of foreign exchange forecasters in a portfolio framework

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:3631.125103(9417) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

How does UK-based foreign exchange dealers think their market operates?

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:3597.9512(2230) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo