The StoreGate: a Data Model for the Atlas Software Architecture

The Atlas collaboration at CERN has adopted the Gaudi software architecture which belongs to the blackboard family: data objects produced by knowledge sources (e.g. reconstruction modules) are posted to a common in-memory data base from where other modules can access them and produce new data objects. The StoreGate has been designed, based on the Atlas requirements and the experience of other HENP systems such as Babar, CDF, CLEO, D0 and LHCB, to identify in a simple and efficient fashion (collections of) data objects based on their type and/or the modules which posted them to the Transient Data Store (the blackboard). The developer also has the freedom to use her preferred key class to uniquely identify a data object according to any other criterion. Besides this core functionality, the StoreGate provides the developers with a powerful interface to handle in a coherent fashion persistable references, object lifetimes, memory management and access control policy for the data objects in the Store. It also provides a Handle/Proxy mechanism to define and hide the cache fault mechanism: upon request, a missing Data Object can be transparently created and added to the Transient Store presumably retrieving it from a persistent data-base, or even reconstructing it on demand.Comment: Talk from the 2003 Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics (CHEP03), La Jolla, Ca, USA, March 2003, 4 pages, LaTeX, MOJT00

Multi-core job submission and grid resource scheduling for ATLAS AthenaMP

AthenaMP is the multi-core implementation of the ATLAS software framework and allows the efficient sharing of memory pages between multiple threads of execution. This has now been validated for production and delivers a significant reduction on the overall application memory footprint with negligible CPU overhead. Before AthenaMP can be routinely run on the LHC Computing Grid it must be determined how the computing resources available to ATLAS can best exploit the notable improvements delivered by switching to this multi-process model. A study into the effectiveness and scalability of AthenaMP in a production environment will be presented. Best practices for configuring the main LRMS implementations currently used by grid sites will be identified in the context of multi-core scheduling optimisation

A Development Environment for Visual Physics Analysis

The Visual Physics Analysis (VISPA) project integrates different aspects of physics analyses into a graphical development environment. It addresses the typical development cycle of (re-)designing, executing and verifying an analysis. The project provides an extendable plug-in mechanism and includes plug-ins for designing the analysis flow, for running the analysis on batch systems, and for browsing the data content. The corresponding plug-ins are based on an object-oriented toolkit for modular data analysis. We introduce the main concepts of the project, describe the technical realization and demonstrate the functionality in example applications

The ATLAS Data Quality Defect Database System

The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider has implemented a new system for recording information on detector status and data quality, and for transmitting this information to users performing physics analysis. This system revolves around the concept of "defects," which are well-defined, fine-grained, unambiguous occurrences affecting the quality of recorded data. The motivation, implementation, and operation of this system is described.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, published in EPJ C. (v2: as published

Determination of the branching ratios Γ(KL→3π0)/Γ(KL→π+π−π0)\Gamma (K_L \to 3 \pi^0) / \Gamma (K_L \to \pi^+ \pi^- \pi^0) and Γ(KL→3π0)/Γ(KL→πeν)\Gamma (K_L \to 3 \pi^0) / \Gamma (K_L \to \pi e \nu )

Improved branching ratios were measured for the $K_L \to 3 \pi^0$ decay in a neutral beam at the CERN SPS with the NA31 detector: $\Gamma (K_L \to 3 \pi^0) / \Gamma (K_L \to \pi^+ \pi^- \pi^0) = 1.611 \pm 0.037$ and $\Gamma (K_L \to 3 \pi^0) / \Gamma (K_L \to \pi e \nu ) = 0.545 \pm 0.010$. From the first number an upper limit for $\Delta I =5/2$ and $\Delta I = 7/2$ transitions in neutral kaon decay is derived. Using older results for the Ke3/K$\mu$3 fraction, the 3$\pi^0$ branching ratio is found to be $\Gamma (K_L \to 3 \pi^0 )/ \Gamma_{tot} = (0.211 \pm 0.003)$, about a factor three more precise than from previous experiments

The ATLAS Detector Digitization Project for 2009 data taking

The ATLAS digitization project is steered by a top-level PYTHON digitization package which ensures uniform and consistent configuration across the subdetectors. The properties of the digitization algorithms were tuned to reproduce the detector response seen in lab tests, test beam data and cosmic ray running. Dead channels and noise rates are read from database tables to reproduce conditions seen in a particular run. The digits are then persistified as Raw Data Objects (RDO) with or without intermediate bytestream simulation depending on the detector type. Emphasis is put on the description of the digitization project configuration, its flexibility in events handling for processing and in the global detector configuration, as well as its variety of options including detector noise simulation, random number service, metadata and details of pile-up background events to be overlaid. The LHC beam bunch spacing is also configurable, as well as the number of bunch crossings to overlay and the default detector conditions (including noisy channels, dead electronics associated with each detector layout). Cavern background calculation, beam halo and beam gas treatment, pile-up with real data is also part of this report

Report of the AOD Format Task Force

The Analysis Object Data (AOD) are produced by ATLAS reconstruction and are the main input for most analyses. AOD, like the Event Summary Data (ESD, the other main output of reconstruction) are written as POOL files and are readable from Athena, and, to a limited extent, from ROOT. The AOD typical size, processing speed, and their relatively complex class structure and package dependencies, make them inconvenient to use for most interactive analysis. According to the computing model, interactive analysis will be based on Derived Physics Data (DPD), a user-defined format commonly produced from the AOD. As of release 12.0.3 it is common practice to write DPD as Athena-aware Ntuples (AANT) in ROOT. In an effort to organize and standardize AANT, we introduced the Structured Athena-aware Ntuple (SAN), an AANT containing objects that behave, as much as it is allowed by ROOT interpreter limitations, as their AOD counterparts. Recently it was proposed to extend SAN functionality beyond DPD implementation. SAN objects would be used as AOD objects. The TOB formed our task force with the mandate to "perform a technical evaluation of the two proposals, one based upon the existing AOD classes and architecture, the other upon Structured Athena-Aware Ntuples. [...] Criteria for the evaluation should include I/O performance, support for schema evolution, suitability for end user analysis and simplicity.

A new measurement of direct CP violation in two pion decays of the neutral kaon

The NA48 experiment at CERN has performed a new measurement of direct CP violation, based on data taken in 1997 by simultaneously collecting K_L and K_S decays into pi0pi0 and pi+pi-. The result for the CP violating parameter Re(epsilon'/epsilon) is (18.5 +/- 4.5(stat)} +/- 5.8 (syst))x10^{-4}.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure

Measurement of J/Psi and Psi(2S) Polarization in ppbar Collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV

We have measured the polarization of J/Psi and Psi(2S) mesons produced in p\bar{p} collisions at \sqrt{s} = 1.8 TeV, using data collected at CDF during 1992-95. The polarization of promptly produced J/Psi [Psi(2S)] mesons is isolated from those produced in B-hadron decay, and measured over the kinematic range 4[5.5] < P_T < 20 GeV/c and |y| < 0.6. For P_T \gessim 12 GeV/c we do not observe significant polarization in the prompt component.Comment: Revised version, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Measurement of the Strong Coupling Constant from Inclusive Jet Production at the Tevatron pˉp\bar pp Collider

We report a measurement of the strong coupling constant, $\alpha_s(M_Z)$, extracted from inclusive jet production in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$1800 GeV. The QCD prediction for the evolution of $\alpha_s$ with jet transverse energy $E_T$ is tested over the range 40<$E_T$<450 GeV using $E_T$ for the renormalization scale. The data show good agreement with QCD in the region below 250 GeV. In the text we discuss the data-theory comparison in the region from 250 to 450 GeV. The value of $\alpha_s$ at the mass of the $Z^0$ boson averaged over the range 40<$E_T$<250 GeV is found to be $\alpha_s(M_{Z})= 0.1178 \pm 0.0001{(\rm stat)}^{+0.0081}_{-0.0095}{\rm (exp. syst)}$. The associated theoretical uncertainties are mainly due to the choice of renormalization scale (^{+6%}_{-4%}) and input parton distribution functions (5%).Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, using RevTeX. Submitted to Physical Review Letter