6,280 research outputs found
Distribution of an Invasive Aquatic Pathogen (Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus) in the Great Lakes and Its Relationship to Shipping
Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is a rhabdovirus found in fish from oceans of the northern hemisphere and freshwaters of Europe. It has caused extensive losses of cultured and wild fish and has become established in the North American Great Lakes. Large die-offs of wild fish in the Great Lakes due to VHSV have alarmed the public and provoked government attention on the introduction and spread of aquatic animal pathogens in freshwaters. We investigated the relations between VHSV dispersion and shipping and boating activity in the Great Lakes by sampling fish and water at sites that were commercial shipping harbors, recreational boating centers, and open shorelines. Fish and water samples were individually analyzed for VHSV using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and cell culture assays. Of 1,221 fish of 17 species, 55 were VHSV positive with highly varied qRT-PCR titers (1 to 5,950,000 N gene copies). The detections of VHSV in fish and water samples were closely associated and the virus was detected in 21 of 30 sites sampled. The occurrence of VHSV was not related to type of site or shipping related invasion hotspots. Our results indicate that VHSV is widely dispersed in the Great Lakes and is both an enzootic and epizootic pathogen. We demonstrate that pathogen distribution information could be developed quickly and is clearly needed for aquatic ecosystem conservation, management of affected populations, and informed regulation of the worldwide trade of aquatic organisms
Enabling Technologies for Silicon Microstrip Tracking Detectors at the HL-LHC
While the tracking detectors of the ATLAS and CMS experiments have shown
excellent performance in Run 1 of LHC data taking, and are expected to continue
to do so during LHC operation at design luminosity, both experiments will have
to exchange their tracking systems when the LHC is upgraded to the
high-luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) around the year 2024. The new tracking systems
need to operate in an environment in which both the hit densities and the
radiation damage will be about an order of magnitude higher than today. In
addition, the new trackers need to contribute to the first level trigger in
order to maintain a high data-taking efficiency for the interesting processes.
Novel detector technologies have to be developed to meet these very challenging
goals. The German groups active in the upgrades of the ATLAS and CMS tracking
systems have formed a collaborative "Project on Enabling Technologies for
Silicon Microstrip Tracking Detectors at the HL-LHC" (PETTL), which was
supported by the Helmholtz Alliance "Physics at the Terascale" during the years
2013 and 2014. The aim of the project was to share experience and to work
together on key areas of mutual interest during the R&D phase of these
upgrades. The project concentrated on five areas, namely exchange of
experience, radiation hardness of silicon sensors, low mass system design,
automated precision assembly procedures, and irradiations. This report
summarizes the main achievements
Differential (2+1) Jet Event Rates and Determination of alpha_s in Deep Inelastic Scattering at HERA
Events with a (2+1) jet topology in deep-inelastic scattering at HERA are
studied in the kinematic range 200 < Q^2< 10,000 GeV^2. The rate of (2+1) jet
events has been determined with the modified JADE jet algorithm as a function
of the jet resolution parameter and is compared with the predictions of Monte
Carlo models. In addition, the event rate is corrected for both hadronization
and detector effects and is compared with next-to-leading order QCD
calculations. A value of the strong coupling constant of alpha_s(M_Z^2)=
0.118+- 0.002 (stat.)^(+0.007)_(-0.008) (syst.)^(+0.007)_(-0.006) (theory) is
extracted. The systematic error includes uncertainties in the calorimeter
energy calibration, in the description of the data by current Monte Carlo
models, and in the knowledge of the parton densities. The theoretical error is
dominated by the renormalization scale ambiguity.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, submitted to Eur. Phys.
Multiplicity Structure of the Hadronic Final State in Diffractive Deep-Inelastic Scattering at HERA
The multiplicity structure of the hadronic system X produced in
deep-inelastic processes at HERA of the type ep -> eXY, where Y is a hadronic
system with mass M_Y< 1.6 GeV and where the squared momentum transfer at the pY
vertex, t, is limited to |t|<1 GeV^2, is studied as a function of the invariant
mass M_X of the system X. Results are presented on multiplicity distributions
and multiplicity moments, rapidity spectra and forward-backward correlations in
the centre-of-mass system of X. The data are compared to results in e+e-
annihilation, fixed-target lepton-nucleon collisions, hadro-produced
diffractive final states and to non-diffractive hadron-hadron collisions. The
comparison suggests a production mechanism of virtual photon dissociation which
involves a mixture of partonic states and a significant gluon content. The data
are well described by a model, based on a QCD-Regge analysis of the diffractive
structure function, which assumes a large hard gluonic component of the
colourless exchange at low Q^2. A model with soft colour interactions is also
successful.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J., error in first
submission - omitted bibliograph
Multi-Jet Event Rates in Deep Inelastic Scattering and Determination of the Strong Coupling Constant
Jet event rates in deep inelastic ep scattering at HERA are investigated
applying the modified JADE jet algorithm. The analysis uses data taken with the
H1 detector in 1994 and 1995. The data are corrected for detector and
hadronization effects and then compared with perturbative QCD predictions using
next-to-leading order calculations. The strong coupling constant alpha_S(M_Z^2)
is determined evaluating the jet event rates. Values of alpha_S(Q^2) are
extracted in four different bins of the negative squared momentum
transfer~\qq in the range from 40 GeV2 to 4000 GeV2. A combined fit of the
renormalization group equation to these several alpha_S(Q^2) values results in
alpha_S(M_Z^2) = 0.117+-0.003(stat)+0.009-0.013(syst)+0.006(jet algorithm).Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, this version to appear in Eur. Phys.
J.; it replaces first posted hep-ex/9807019 which had incorrect figure 4
Measurements of Transverse Energy Flow in Deep-Inelastic Scattering at HERA
Measurements of transverse energy flow are presented for neutral current
deep-inelastic scattering events produced in positron-proton collisions at
HERA. The kinematic range covers squared momentum transfers Q^2 from 3.2 to
2,200 GeV^2, the Bjorken scaling variable x from 8.10^{-5} to 0.11 and the
hadronic mass W from 66 to 233 GeV. The transverse energy flow is measured in
the hadronic centre of mass frame and is studied as a function of Q^2, x, W and
pseudorapidity. A comparison is made with QCD based models. The behaviour of
the mean transverse energy in the central pseudorapidity region and an interval
corresponding to the photon fragmentation region are analysed as a function of
Q^2 and W.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys.
Energy Flow in the Hadronic Final State of Diffractive and Non-Diffractive Deep-Inelastic Scattering at HERA
An investigation of the hadronic final state in diffractive and
non--diffractive deep--inelastic electron--proton scattering at HERA is
presented, where diffractive data are selected experimentally by demanding a
large gap in pseudo --rapidity around the proton remnant direction. The
transverse energy flow in the hadronic final state is evaluated using a set of
estimators which quantify topological properties. Using available Monte Carlo
QCD calculations, it is demonstrated that the final state in diffractive DIS
exhibits the features expected if the interaction is interpreted as the
scattering of an electron off a current quark with associated effects of
perturbative QCD. A model in which deep--inelastic diffraction is taken to be
the exchange of a pomeron with partonic structure is found to reproduce the
measurements well. Models for deep--inelastic scattering, in which a
sizeable diffractive contribution is present because of non--perturbative
effects in the production of the hadronic final state, reproduce the general
tendencies of the data but in all give a worse description.Comment: 22 pages, latex, 6 Figures appended as uuencoded fil
Hadron Production in Diffractive Deep-Inelastic Scattering
Characteristics of hadron production in diffractive deep-inelastic
positron-proton scattering are studied using data collected in 1994 by the H1
experiment at HERA. The following distributions are measured in the
centre-of-mass frame of the photon dissociation system: the hadronic energy
flow, the Feynman-x (x_F) variable for charged particles, the squared
transverse momentum of charged particles (p_T^{*2}), and the mean p_T^{*2} as a
function of x_F. These distributions are compared with results in the gamma^* p
centre-of-mass frame from inclusive deep-inelastic scattering in the
fixed-target experiment EMC, and also with the predictions of several Monte
Carlo calculations. The data are consistent with a picture in which the
partonic structure of the diffractive exchange is dominated at low Q^2 by hard
gluons.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Lett.
A Search for Selectrons and Squarks at HERA
Data from electron-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 300 GeV
are used for a search for selectrons and squarks within the framework of the
minimal supersymmetric model. The decays of selectrons and squarks into the
lightest supersymmetric particle lead to final states with an electron and
hadrons accompanied by large missing energy and transverse momentum. No signal
is found and new bounds on the existence of these particles are derived. At 95%
confidence level the excluded region extends to 65 GeV for selectron and squark
masses, and to 40 GeV for the mass of the lightest supersymmetric particle.Comment: 13 pages, latex, 6 Figure
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