Motion of a Vector Particle in a Curved Spacetime. I. Lagrangian Approach

From the simple Lagrangian the equations of motion for the particle with spin are derived. The spin is shown to be conserved on the particle world-line. In the absence of a spin the equation coincides with that of a geodesic. The equations of motion are valid for massless particles as well, since mass does not enter the equations explicitely.Comment: 6 pages, uses mpla1.sty, published in MPLA, replaced with corrected typo

Superconducting microstrip detectors

Superconducting NbN microstrip counters feature radiation hardness two orders of magnitude higher than conventional Si strip detectors, spatial resolution limited only by lithographic techniques (0.1 - 2 microns), intrinsic signal rise time of 2 ps, and signal transport over large distances without losses. The aim of this proposal is to improve understanding of the physics of such detectors and to establish their large- scale feasibility

Sterile Neutrinos, Coherent Scattering and Oscillometry Measurements with Low-temperature Bolometers

Coherent neutrino-nucleon scattering offers a unique approach in the search for physics beyond the Standard Model. When used in conjunction with mono-energetic neutrino sources, the technique can be sensitive to the existence of light sterile neutrinos. The ability to utilize such reactions has been limited in the past due to the extremely low energy threshold (10-50 eV) needed for detection. In this paper, we discuss an optimization of cryogenic solid state bolometers that enables reaching extremely low kinetic energy thresholds. We investigate the sensitivity of an array of such detectors to neutrino oscillations to sterile states. A recent analysis of available reactor data appears to favor the existence of such such a sterile neutrino with a mass splitting of $|\Delta m_{\rm sterile}|^2 \ge 1.5$ eV$^2$ and mixing strength of $\sin^2{2\theta_{\rm sterile}} = 0.17\pm 0.08$ at 95% C.L. An array of such low-threshold detectors would be able to make a definitive statement as to the validity of the interpretation.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures. Version 2: Temperature dependence on alpha fixed from earlier versio

Superconducting NbN microstrip detectors

Superconducting NbN strip transmission line counters and coupling circuits were processed on silicon wafers using thin film techniques, and they were characterized with several methods to verify the design principles. The stripline circuits, designed using microwave design rules, were simulated using a circuit design tool enhanced to include modelling of the superconducting lines. The strips, etched out of the 282 nm thick top NbN film with resistivity 284 µ?cm at 20 K, have critical temperatures in the range 12 to 13 K and a critical current density approximately Jc(0) = 3.3·105 A/cm2. The linearized heat transfer coefficient between the strip and the substrate is approximately 1.1·105 W/(m2K) and the healing length is about 1.6 µm between 3 and 5 K temperatures. Traversing 5 MeV a-particles caused the strips to quench. No events due to electrons could be detected in agreement with the predicted signal amplitude which is below the noise threshold of our wideband circuitry. The strip bias current and hence the signal amplitude were limited due to a microbridge at the isolator step of the impedance transformer

Equations of Motion of Spinning Relativistic Particle in External Fields

We consider the motion of a spinning relativistic particle in external electromagnetic and gravitational fields, to first order in the external field, but to an arbitrary order in spin. The correct account for the spin influence on the particle trajectory is obtained with the noncovariant description of spin. Concrete calculations are performed up to second order in spin included. A simple derivation is presented for the gravitational spin-orbit and spin-spin interactions of a relativistic particle. We discuss the gravimagnetic moment (GM), a specific spin effect in general relativity. It is demonstrated that for the Kerr black hole the gravimagnetic ratio, i.e., the coefficient at the GM, equals to unity (as well as for the charged Kerr hole the gyromagnetic ratio equals to two). The equations of motion obtained for relativistic spinning particle in external gravitational field differ essentially from the Papapetrou equations.Comment: 22 pages, latex, no figure

Large enhancement of deuteron polarization with frequency modulated microwaves

We report a large enhancement of 1.7 in deuteron polarization up to values of 0.6 due to frequency modulation of the polarizing microwaves in a two liters polarized target using the method of dynamic nuclear polarization. This target was used during a deep inelastic polarized muon-deuteron scattering experiment at CERN. Measurements of the electron paramagnetic resonance absorption spectra show that frequency modulation gives rise to additional microwave absorption in the spectral wings. Although these results are not understood theoretically, they may provide a useful testing ground for the deeper understanding of dynamic nuclear polarization.Comment: 10 pages, including the figures coming in uuencoded compressed tar files in poltar.uu, which also brings cernart.sty and crna12.sty files neede

Tracking with heavily irradiated silicon detectors operated at cryogenic temperatures

In this work we show that a heavily irradiated double-sided silicon microstrip detector recovers its performance when operated at cryogenic temperatures. A DELPHI microstrip detector, irradiated to a fluence of $\sim\,4\times 10^{14}$ p/cm$^2$, no longer operational at room temperature, cannot be distinguished from a non-irradiated one when operated at $T<120$~K. Besides confirming the previously observed `Lazarus effect' in single diodes, these results establish for the first time, the possibility of using standard silicon detectors for tracking applications in extremely demanding radiation environments