33 research outputs found
Design, Commissioning and Performance of the PIBETA Detector at PSI
We describe the design, construction and performance of the PIBETA detector
built for the precise measurement of the branching ratio of pion beta decay,
pi+ -> pi0 e+ nu, at the Paul Scherrer Institute. The central part of the
detector is a 240-module spherical pure CsI calorimeter covering 3*pi sr solid
angle. The calorimeter is supplemented with an active collimator/beam degrader
system, an active segmented plastic target, a pair of low-mass cylindrical wire
chambers and a 20-element cylindrical plastic scintillator hodoscope. The whole
detector system is housed inside a temperature-controlled lead brick enclosure
which in turn is lined with cosmic muon plastic veto counters. Commissioning
and calibration data were taken during two three-month beam periods in
1999/2000 with pi+ stopping rates between 1.3*E3 pi+/s and 1.3*E6 pi+/s. We
examine the timing, energy and angular detector resolution for photons,
positrons and protons in the energy range of 5-150 MeV, as well as the response
of the detector to cosmic muons. We illustrate the detector signatures for the
assorted rare pion and muon decays and their associated backgrounds.Comment: 117 pages, 48 Postscript figures, 5 tables, Elsevier LaTeX, submitted
to Nucl. Instrum. Meth.
Spin asymmetry A_1^d and the spin-dependent structure function g_1^d of the deuteron at low values of x and Q^2
We present a precise measurement of the deuteron longitudinal spin asymmetry
A_1^d and of the deuteron spin-dependent structure function g_1^d at Q^2 < 1
GeV^2 and 4*10^-5 < x < 2.5*10^-2 based on the data collected by the COMPASS
experiment at CERN during the years 2002 and 2003. The statistical precision is
tenfold better than that of the previous measurement in this region. The
measured A_1^d and g_1^d are found to be consistent with zero in the whole
range of x.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure
Gluon polarization in the nucleon from quasi-real photoproduction of high-pT hadron pairs
We present a determination of the gluon polarization Delta G/G in the
nucleon, based on the helicity asymmetry of quasi-real photoproduction events,
Q^2<1(GeV/c)^2, with a pair of large transverse-momentum hadrons in the final
state. The data were obtained by the COMPASS experiment at CERN using a 160 GeV
polarized muon beam scattered on a polarized 6-LiD target. The helicity
asymmetry for the selected events is = 0.002 +- 0.019(stat.) +-
0.003(syst.). From this value, we obtain in a leading-order QCD analysis Delta
G/G=0.024 +- 0.089(stat.) +- 0.057(syst.) at x_g = 0.095 and mu^2 =~ 3
(GeV}/c)^2.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Measurement of the Spin Structure of the Deuteron in the DIS Region
We present a new measurement of the longitudinal spin asymmetry A_1^d and the
spin-dependent structure function g_1^d of the deuteron in the range 1 GeV^2 <
Q^2 < 100 GeV^2 and 0.004< x <0.7. The data were obtained by the COMPASS
experiment at CERN using a 160 GeV polarised muon beam and a large polarised
6-LiD target. The results are in agreement with those from previous experiments
and improve considerably the statistical accuracy in the region 0.004 < x <
0.03.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, subm. to PLB, revised: author list, Fig. 4,
details adde
Search for the Phi(1860) Pentaquark at COMPASS
Narrow Xi-pi+- and Xi-bar+pi+- resonances produced by quasi-real photons have
been searched for by the COMPASS experiment at CERN. The study was stimulated
by the recent observation of an exotic baryonic state decaying into Xi-pi-, at
a mass of 1862 MeV, interpreted as a pentaquark. While the ordinary hyperon
states Xi(1530)^0 and Xi-bar(1530)^0 are clearly seen, no exotic baryon is
observed in the data taken in 2002 and 2003.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Measurement of the Positive Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment to 0.46 ppm
We present the first results of the Fermilab Muon g-2 Experiment for the
positive muon magnetic anomaly . The anomaly is
determined from the precision measurements of two angular frequencies.
Intensity variation of high-energy positrons from muon decays directly encodes
the difference frequency between the spin-precession and cyclotron
frequencies for polarized muons in a magnetic storage ring. The storage ring
magnetic field is measured using nuclear magnetic resonance probes calibrated
in terms of the equivalent proton spin precession frequency
in a spherical water sample at 34.7C. The
ratio , together with known fundamental
constants, determines
(0.46\,ppm). The result is 3.3 standard deviations greater than the standard
model prediction and is in excellent agreement with the previous Brookhaven
National Laboratory (BNL) E821 measurement. After combination with previous
measurements of both and , the new experimental average of
(0.35\,ppm) increases the
tension between experiment and theory to 4.2 standard deviationsComment: 10 pages; 4 figure
Comparative Study of Methanogenic Pathways in the Sediments of Thermokarst and Polygenetic Yamal Lakes
Comparative study of methanogen diversity and potential activity of different methanogenic pathways in the sediments of young thermokarst and mature polygenetic Yamal lakes was carried out. The hydrogenotrophic pathway of methanogenesis played an important role in methane formation in thermokarst lakes. The acetoclastic and methylotrophic pathways were also revealed there. In a polygenetic lake with a dissolved organic matter content closest to that of the thermokarst lakes, methanogenesis proceeded more intensively, and the relative abundance of methanogens, especially acetoclastic ones, was higher than in thermokarst lakes. The activity of methyl-reducing methanogens was also assumed there. Methanogens of the genera Methanothrix and Methanoregula, as well as representatives of the family Methanomassiliicoccaceae were identified in the sediments of all lakes. Methane-oxidizing bacteria (Methylobacter, Candidatus "Methylomirabilis") and archaea (Ca. "Methanoperedens") were also detected