Analytical description of the time-over-threshold method based on the time properties of plastic scintillators equipped with silicon photomultipliers

A new high-granular compact time-of-flight neutron detector for the identification and energy measurement of neutrons produced in nucleus-nucleus interactions at the BM@N experiment, Dubna, Russia, at energies up to 4 AGeV is under development. The detector consists of approximately 2000 fast plastic scintillators, each with dimensions of 40$\times$40$\times$25 mm$^3$, equiped with SiPM (Silicon Photomultiplier) with an active area of 6$\times$6 mm$^2$. The signal readout from these scintillators will employ a single-threshold multichannel Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) to measure their response time and amplitude using the time-over-threshold (ToT) method. This article focuses on the analytical description of the signals from the plastic scintillator detectors equipped with silicon photomultipliers. This description is crucial for establishing the ToT-amplitude relationship and implementing slewing correction techniques to improve the time resolution of the detector. The methodology presented in this paper demonstrates that a time resolution at the 70 ps level can be achieved for the fast plastic scintillator coupled with silicon photomultiplier with epitaxial quenching resistors

ON THE LOCAL SUM CONJECTURE IN TWO DIMENSIONS

In this paper we give an elementary proof of the local sum conjecture in two dimensions. In a remarkable paper [CMN, arXiv:1810.11340], this conjecture has been established in all dimensions using sophisticated, powerful techniques from a research area blending algebraic geometry with ideas from logic. The purpose of this paper is to give an elementary proof of this conjecture which will be accessbile to a broad readership.Comment: 32 Page

Measurement of Time Resolution of Scintillation Detectors with EQR-15 Silicon Photodetectors for the Time-of-Flight Neutron Detector of the BM@N Experiment

To study the dependence of the equation of state of high density nuclear matter on the term characterizing the isospin (proton-neutron) asymmetry of nuclear matter, it is necessary to measure azimuthal flow of neutrons as well as azimuthal flow of charged particles from a dense nuclear matter in the nuclear-nuclear collisions. For this purpose INR RAS is developing a new high-granular neutron detector which will be used in the BM@N experiment at the extracted beam of the Nuclotron accelerator at JINR (Dubna). This detector will identify neutrons and measure their energies in the heavy-ion collisions up to 4 GeV per nucleon. This article presents the results of measurements of the time resolution and light yields of samples of scintillation detectors with sizes 40$\times$40$\times$25 mm$^3$ that will be used in a neutron detector based on the currently available fast plastic scintillator manufactured by JINR using an EQR15 11-6060D-S photodetector for light readout. For comparison, the results of measurements for a detector of the same size with a fast scintillator EJ-230 and with the same type of photodetector are given. The measurements were made on cosmic muons as well as on the electron synchrotron "Pakhra" of the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences located in Troitsk, Moscow

The PSD CBM Supermodule Response Study for Hadrons in Momentum Range 2 – 6 GeV/c at CERN Test Beams

The Projectile Spectator Detector (PSD) will be used at the Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at FAIR to measure the centrality and orientation of the reaction plane in heavy-ion collisions. A study of PSD supermodule response at proton and pion momentum range 2 – 6 GeV has been done at the CERN T10 beam line. The PSD supermodule is 3x3 array of 9 modules. Each module has transverse dimensions of 20x20 cm2 and longitudinal dimension of 5.6 interaction lengths. The modules have sandwich structure of 60 lead/scintillator layers with the sampling ratio 4:1. Light from each scintillator plate is collected by a WLS fiber. Scintillator light from 6 consecutive scintillator plates (one longitudinal section) is detected by a 3x3 mm2 Hamamatsu MPPC placed at the end of the module. In total, 10 MPPCs are used to detect light from 10 longitudinal sections in each module. Preliminary results on the longitudinal profile of energy deposition, linearity of the response and energy resolution of the supermodule are discussed

Development of High Granular Neutron Time-of-Flight Detector for the BM@N experiment

The HGND (High Granular Neutron Detector) is developed for the BM@N (Baryonic Matter at Nuclotron) experiment on the extracted beam of the Nuclotron at JINR, Dubna. The HGND will be used to measure the azimuthal flow of neutrons produced with energies ranging from 300 to 4000 MeV in heavy-ion collisions at beam energies of 2--4 AGeV. The azimuthal flow of charged particles will be measured using the BM@N magnet spectrometer. The data on the azimuthal flow of neutrons will shed light on the study of the high-density Equation of State (EoS) of isospin-symmetric nuclear matter, which is crucial for studying astrophysical phenomena such as neutron stars and their mergers. The HGND has a highly granular structure with approximately 2000 plastic scintillation detectors (cells), each measuring 4$\times$4$\times$2.5 cm$^3$. These detectors are arranged in 16 layers, with 121 detectors in each layer, and are subdivided by copper absorber plates with a thickness of 3 cm. The light from each cell is detected with SiPM (Silicon Photomultiplier) with an active area of 6$\times$6 mm$^2$. Developed multi-channel TDC board based on the Kintex FPGA chip with a bin width of 100 ps will be used to perform precise timestamp and amplitude measurement using Time-over-Threshold (ToT) method. Good spatial resolution due to the high granularity together with a cell's time resolution of 100-150 ps ensures neutron reconstruction with good energy resolution. The design of the detector as well as the results from test measurements and simulations have been presented

Production of {\pi}+ and K+ mesons in argon-nucleus interactions at 3.2 AGeV

First physics results of the BM@N experiment at the Nuclotron/NICA complex are presented on {\pi}+ and K+ meson production in interactions of an argon beam with fixed targets of C, Al, Cu, Sn and Pb at 3.2 AGeV. Transverse momentum distributions, rapidity spectra and multiplicities of {\pi}+ and K+ mesons are measured. The results are compared with predictions of theoretical models and with other measurements at lower energies.Comment: 29 pages, 20 figure

K∗(892)0K^{*}(892)^0 meson production in inelastic p+p interactions at 40 and 80 GeV ⁣/ ⁣c\text{ GeV }\!/\!c beam momenta measured by NA61/SHINE at the CERN SPS

Measurements of K∗(892)0 resonance production via its K+π− decay mode in inelastic p+p collisions at beam momenta 40 and 80 GeV /c (sNN−−−−√=8.8 and 12.3 GeV ) are presented. The data were recorded by the NA61/SHINE hadron spectrometer at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. The template method was used to extract the K∗(892)0 signal. Transverse momentum and rapidity spectra were obtained. The mean multiplicities of K∗(892)0 mesons were found to be (35.1±1.3(stat)±3.6(sys))⋅10−3 at 40 GeV /c and (58.3±1.9(stat)±4.9(sys))⋅10−3 at 80 GeV /c. The NA61/SHINE results are compared with the Epos1.99 and Hadron Resonance Gas models as well as with world data. The transverse mass spectra of K∗(892)0 mesons and other particles previously reported by NA61/SHINE were fitted within the Blast-Wave model. The transverse flow velocities are close to 0.1–0.2 of the speed of light and are significantly smaller than the ones determined in heavy nucleus-nucleus interactions at the same beam momenta

Measurements of K0^{0}S_{S}, Λ , and Λˉ\bar{Λ} production in 120 GeV / c p + C interactions

This paper presents multiplicity measurements of K0S, Λ, and ¯Λ produced in 120  GeV/c proton-carbon interactions. The measurements were made using data collected at the NA61/SHINE experiment during two different periods. Decays of these neutral hadrons impact the measured π+, π−, p and ¯p multiplicities in the 120  GeV/c proton-carbon reaction, which are crucial inputs for long-baseline neutrino experiment predictions of neutrino beam flux. The double-differential multiplicities presented here will be used to more precisely measure charged-hadron multiplicities in this reaction, and to reweight neutral hadron production in neutrino beam Monte Carlo simulations

Measurements of π±\pi^\pm, K±K^\pm, pp and pˉ\bar{p} spectra in 40^{40}Ar+45^{45}Sc collisions at 13AA to 150AA GeV/cc

The NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron studies the onset of deconfinement in strongly interacting matter through a beam energy scan of particle production in collisions of nuclei of varied sizes. This paper presents results on inclusive double-differential spectra, transverse momentum and rapidity distributions and mean multiplicities of $\pi^\pm$, $K^\pm$, $p$ and $\bar{p}$ produced in $^{40}$Ar+$^{45}$Sc collisions at beam momenta of 13$A$, 19$A$, 30$A$, 40$A$, 75$A$ and 150$A$ GeV/$c$. The analysis uses the 10% most central collisions, where the observed forward energy defines centrality. The energy dependence of the $K^\pm$/$\pi^\pm$ ratios as well as of inverse slope parameters of the $K^\pm$ transverse mass distributions are placed in between those found in inelastic $p$+$p$ and central Pb+Pb collisions. The results obtained here establish a system-size dependence of hadron production properties that so far cannot be explained either within statistical (SMES, HRG) or dynamical (EPOS, UrQMD, PHSD, SMASH) models

Measurements of π+\pi^+, π−\pi^-, pp, pˉ\bar{p}, K+K^+ and K−K^- production in 120 GeV/cc p + C interactions

This paper presents multiplicity measurements of charged hadrons produced in 120 GeV/$c$ proton-carbon interactions. The measurements were made using data collected at the NA61/SHINE experiment during two different data-taking periods, with increased phase space coverage in the second configuration due to the addition of new subdetectors. Particle identification via $dE/dx$ was employed to obtain double-differential production multiplicities of $\pi^+$, $\pi^-$, $p$, $\bar{p}$, $K^+$ and $K^-$. These measurements are presented as a function of laboratory momentum in intervals of laboratory polar angle covering the range from 0 to 450 mrad. They provide crucial inputs for current and future long-baseline neutrino experiments, where they are used to estimate the initial neutrino flux