A scalable data taking system at a test beam for LHC

We propose the installation of a data taking system at a test beam for the simultaneous test of LHC detectors, trigger and readout electronics, together with the development of the supporting architecture in a multiprocessor environment. A strong emphasis is put on a highly modular design, such that new hardware and software developments can be conveniently introduced for training and evaluation. One of the main thrusts of the project will be the modelling and system integration of different readout architectures, which are meant to provide a valuable training ground for new techniques. To address these aspects in a realistic manner, we propose to collaborate with two detector R+D projects

The ATLAS Level-1 Calorimeter Trigger

The ATLAS Level-1 Calorimeter Trigger uses reduced-granularity information from all the ATLAS calorimeters to search for high transverse-energy electrons, photons, tau leptons and jets, as well as high missing and total transverse energy. The calorimeter trigger electronics has a fixed latency of about 1 microsecond, using programmable custom-built digital electronics. This paper describes the Calorimeter Trigger hardware, as installed in the ATLAS electronics cavern

Forensic electrochemistry: simultaneous voltammetric detection of MDMA and its fatal counterpart "Dr Death" (PMA)

The simultaneous detection of substances present in drugs of abuse is increasingly important since some materials are known for their high mortality rate. One drug that received considerable attention is para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA), commonly known as ‘Dr Death’ – this substance is linked with several deaths internationally and can often be found together with 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in drugs sold under the alias “ecstasy”, a very popular drug of abuse. This work reports for the first time the detection and quantification of MDMA and PMA simultaneously through an electrochemical technique using screen-printed graphite electrodes (SPEs). The electroanalytical sensing of MDMA/PMA, MDMA and PMA are explored directly at bare unmodified SPEs yielding a detection limit (3σ) corresponding to 0.25 μg mL−1/0.14 μg mL−1 for MDMA/PMA, 0.04 μg mL−1 MDMA and 0.03 μg mL−1 PMA. Raman spectroscopy and presumptive colour tests were also performed on MDMA/PMA, MDMA and PMA using the Marquis, Mandelin, Simon's and Robadope tests but were found to not be able discriminate when PMA and MDMA are both present in the same samples. We report a novel electrochemical protocol for the sensing of PMA and MDMA which is independently validated in a synthetic (MDMA/PMA) sample with HPLC

A study of multi-jet events at the CERN I3p collider and a search for double patton scattering UA2 Collaboration Bern-Cambridge-CERN-Dortmund-Heidelberg-Melbourne-Milano-Orsay (LAL)-Pavia- Perugia-Pisa-Saclay (CEN)

A study of events containing at least four high transverse momentum jets and a search for double parton scattering (DPS) have been performed using data collected with the UA2 detector at the CERN lbp Collider (x/s= 630 GeV). The results are in good agreement with leading order QCD calculations. A value of at~Ps < 0.82 nb at 95% confidence level (CL) is obtained for the DPS cross section