R&D Paths of Pixel Detectors for Vertex Tracking and Radiation Imaging

This report reviews current trends in the R&D of semiconductor pixellated sensors for vertex tracking and radiation imaging. It identifies requirements of future HEP experiments at colliders, needed technological breakthroughs and highlights the relation to radiation detection and imaging applications in other fields of science.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures, submitted to the European Strategy Preparatory Grou

Measurement of charged particle multiplicities in pppp collisions at s=7{\sqrt{s} =7}TeV in the forward region

The charged particle production in proton-proton collisions is studied with the LHCb detector at a centre-of-mass energy of ${\sqrt{s} =7}$TeV in different intervals of pseudorapidity $\eta$. The charged particles are reconstructed close to the interaction region in the vertex detector, which provides high reconstruction efficiency in the $\eta$ ranges $-2.5<\eta<-2.0$ and $2.0<\eta<4.5$. The data were taken with a minimum bias trigger, only requiring one or more reconstructed tracks in the vertex detector. By selecting an event sample with at least one track with a transverse momentum greater than 1 GeV/c a hard QCD subsample is investigated. Several event generators are compared with the data; none are able to describe fully the multiplicity distributions or the charged particle density distribution as a function of $\eta$. In general, the models underestimate the charged particle production

Measurement of prompt hadron production ratios in pppp collisions at s=\sqrt{s} = 0.9 and 7 TeV

The charged-particle production ratios $\bar{p}/p$, $K^-/K^+$, $\pi^-/\pi^+$, $(p + \bar{p})/(\pi^+ + \pi^-)$, $(K^+ + K^-)/(\pi^+ + \pi^-)$ and $(p + \bar{p})/(K^+ + K^-)$ are measured with the LHCb detector using $0.3 {\rm nb^{-1}}$ of $pp$ collisions delivered by the LHC at $\sqrt{s} = 0.9$ TeV and $1.8 {\rm nb^{-1}}$ at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV. The measurements are performed as a function of transverse momentum $p_{\rm T}$ and pseudorapidity $\eta$. The production ratios are compared to the predictions of several Monte Carlo generator settings, none of which are able to describe adequately all observables. The ratio $\bar{p}/p$ is also considered as a function of rapidity loss, $\Delta y \equiv y_{\rm beam} - y$, and is used to constrain models of baryon transport.Comment: Incorrect entries in Table 2 corrected. No consequences for rest of pape

Measurement of the forward energy flow in pp collisions at &#8730;<span style="text-decoration:overline">s</span>=7 TeV

The energy flow created in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV is studied within the pseudorapidity range 1.9&#60;η&#60;4.9 with data collected by the LHCb experiment. The measurements are performed for inclusive minimum-bias interactions, hard scattering processes and events with an enhanced or suppressed diffractive contribution. The results are compared to predictions given by Pythia-based and cosmic-ray event generators, which provide different models of soft hadronic interactions

Measurement of the inelastic pp cross-section at a centre-of-mass energy of root s=7 TeV

The cross-section for inelastic proton-proton collisions, with at least one prompt long-lived charged particle of transverse momentum $p_{\rm T}>0.2$ GeV/$c$ in the pseudorapidity range $2.0<\eta<4.5$, is measured by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV. The cross-section in this kinematic range is determined to be $\sigma_{\rm inel}^{\rm acc} = 55.0 \pm 2.4$ mb within the spectrometer acceptance with an experimental uncertainty that is dominated by systematic contributions. Extrapolation to the full phase space, using PYTHIA 6, yields $\sigma_{\rm inel} = 66.9 \pm 2.9 \pm 4.4$ mb, where the first uncertainty is experimental and the second is due to the extrapolation.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure

First observation of forward Z→bbˉZ \rightarrow b \bar{b} production in pppp collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV

The decay Z→bb¯ is reconstructed in pp collision data, corresponding to 2 fb −1 of integrated luminosity, collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of s=8 TeV. The product of the Z production cross-section and the Z→bb¯ branching fraction is measured for candidates in the fiducial region defined by two particle-level b -quark jets with pseudorapidities in the range 2.220 GeV and dijet invariant mass in the range 4520$GeV and dijet invariant mass in the range$45 < m_{jj} < 165$GeV. From a signal yield of$5462 \pm 763$$Z \rightarrow b \bar{b}$events, where the uncertainty is statistical, a production cross-section times branching fraction of$332 \pm 46 \pm 59$pb is obtained, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The measured significance of the signal yield is 6.0 standard deviations. This measurement represents the first observation of the$Z \rightarrow b \bar{b}$production in the forward region of$pp$ collisions