1,823 research outputs found
u-RANIA: a neutron detector based on \mu -RWELL technology
In the framework of the ATTRACT-uRANIA project, funded by the European
Community, we are developing an innovative neutron imaging detector based on
micro-Resistive WELL ( -RWELL) technology. The -RWELL, based on the
resistive detector concept, ensuring an efficient spark quenching mechanism, is
a highly reliable device. It is composed by two main elements: a readout-PCB
and a cathode. The amplification stage for this device is embedded in the
readout board through a resistive layer realized by means of an industrial
process with DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon). A thin layer of BC on the copper
surface of the cathode allows the thermal neutrons detection through the
release of Li and particles in the active volume. This technology
has been developed to be an efficient and convenient alternative to the He
shortage. The goal of the project is to prove the feasibility of such a novel
neutron detector by developing and testing small planar prototypes with readout
boards suitably segmented with strip or pad read out, equipped with existing
electronics or readout in current mode. Preliminary results from the test with
different prototypes, showing a good agreement with the simulation, will be
presented together with construction details of the prototypes and the future
steps of the project.Comment: Prepared for the INSTR20 Conference Proceeding for JINS
High-resolution tracking in a GEM-Emulsion detector
SHiP (Search for Hidden Particles) is a beam dump experiment proposed at the
CERN SPS aiming at the observation of long lived particles very weakly coupled
with ordinary matter mostly produced in the decay of charmed hadrons. The beam
dump facility of SHiP is also a copious factory of neutrinos of all three kinds
and therefore a dedicated neutrino detector is foreseen in the SHiP apparatus.
The neutrino detector exploits the Emulsion Cloud Chamber technique with a
modular structure, alternating walls of target units and planes of electronic
detectors providing the time stamp to the event. GEM detectors are one of the
possible choices for this task. This paper reports the results of the first
exposure to a muon beam at CERN of a new hybrid chamber, obtained by coupling a
GEM chamber and an emulsion detector. Thanks to the micrometric accuracy of the
emulsion detector, the position resolution of the GEM chamber as a function of
the particle inclination was evaluated in two configurations, with and without
the magnetic fiel
The micro-RWELL layouts for high particle rate
The -RWELL is a single-amplification stage resistive Micro-Pattern
Gaseous Detector (MPGD). The detector amplification element is realized with a
single copper-clad polyimide foil micro-patterned with a blind hole (well)
matrix and embedded in the readout PCB through a thin Diamond-Like-Carbon (DLC)
sputtered resistive film. The introduction of the resistive layer, suppressing
the transition from streamer to spark, allows to achieve large gains
(10) with a single amplification stage, while partially reducing the
capability to stand high particle fluxes. The simplest resistive layout,
designed for low-rate applications, is based on a single-resistive layer with
edge grounding. At high particle fluxes this layout suffers of a non-uniform
response. In order to get rid of such a limitation different current evacuation
geometries have been designed. In this work we report the study of the
performance of several high rate resistive layouts tested at the CERN H8-SpS
and PSI M1 beam test facilities. These layouts fulfill the requirements
for the detectors at the HL-LHC and for the experiments at the next generation
colliders FCC-ee/hh and CepC
Unprecedented studies of the low-energy negatively charged kaons interactions in nuclear matter by AMADEUS
The AMADEUS experiment aims to provide unique quality data of hadronic
interactions in light nuclear targets, in order to solve fundamental open
questions in the non-perturbative strangeness QCD sector, like the
controversial nature of the state, the yield of hyperon
formation below threshold, the yield and shape of multi-nucleon
absorption, processes which are intimately connected to the possible existence
of exotic antikaon multi-nucleon clusters. AMADEUS takes advantage of the
DANE collider, which provides a unique source of monochromatic
low-momentum kaons and exploits the KLOE detector as an active target, in order
to obtain excellent acceptance and resolution data for nuclear capture on
H, He, Be and C, both at-rest and in-flight. During the
second half of 2012 a successful data taking was performed with a dedicated
pure carbon target implemented in the central region of KLOE, providing a high
statistic sample of pure at-rest nuclear interactions. For the future
dedicated setups involving cryogenic gaseous targets are under preparation.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Measurement of the strong interaction induced shift and width of the 1s state of kaonic deuterium at J-PARC
The antikaon-nucleon interaction close to threshold provides crucial
information on the interplay between spontaneous and explicit chiral symmetry
breaking in low-energy QCD. In this context the importance of kaonic deuterium
X-ray spectroscopy has been well recognized, but no experimental results have
yet been obtained due to the difficulty of the measurement. We propose to
measure the shift and width of the kaonic deuterium 1s state with an accuracy
of 60 eV and 140 eV respectively at J-PARC. These results together with the
kaonic hydrogen data (KpX at KEK, DEAR and SIDDHARTA at DAFNE) will then permit
the determination of values of both the isospin I=0 and I=1 antikaon-nucleon
scattering lengths and will provide the most stringent constraints on the
antikaon-nucleon interaction, promising a breakthrough. Refined Monte Carlo
studies were performed, including the investigation of background suppression
factors for the described setup. These studies have demonstrated the
feasibility of determining the shift and width of the kaonic deuterium atom 1s
state with the desired accuracy of 60 eV and 140 eV.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure
Blood Arsenic Levels as a Marker of Breast Cancer Risk among BRCA1 Carriers
Funding Information: Funding: The study was funded by the National Centre for Research and Development Projects. INNOMED/1/16/NCBR/2014 and PBS3/B7/26/2015. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.An important group of breast cancers is those associated with inherited susceptibility. In women, several predisposing mutations in genes involved in DNA repair have been discovered. Women with a germline pathogenic variant in BRCA1 have a lifetime cancer risk of 70%. As part of a larger prospective study on heavy metals, our aim was to investigate if blood arsenic levels are associated with breast cancer risk among women with inherited BRCA1 mutations. A total of 1084 participants with pathogenic variants in BRCA1 were enrolled in this study. Subjects were followed from 2011 to 2020 (mean follow-up time: 3.75 years). During that time, 90 cancers were diagnosed, including 67 breast and 10 ovarian cancers. The group was stratified into two categories (lower and higher blood As levels), divided at the median (<0.85 µg/L and ≥0.85 µg/L) As level among all unaffected participants. Cox proportional hazards models were used to model the association between As levels and cancer incidence. A high blood As level (≥0.85 µg/L) was associated with a significantly increased risk of developing breast cancer (HR = 2.05; 95%CI: 1.18–3.56; p = 0.01) and of any cancer (HR = 1.73; 95%CI: 1.09–2.74; p = 0.02). These findings suggest a possible role of environmental arsenic in the development of cancers among women with germline pathogenic variants in BRCA1.Peer reviewe
A facility to Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP) at the CERN SPS
A new general purpose fixed target facility is proposed at the CERN SPS
accelerator which is aimed at exploring the domain of hidden particles and make
measurements with tau neutrinos. Hidden particles are predicted by a large
number of models beyond the Standard Model. The high intensity of the SPS
400~GeV beam allows probing a wide variety of models containing light
long-lived exotic particles with masses below (10)~GeV/c,
including very weakly interacting low-energy SUSY states. The experimental
programme of the proposed facility is capable of being extended in the future,
e.g. to include direct searches for Dark Matter and Lepton Flavour Violation.Comment: Technical Proposa
Observation of an Excited Bc+ State
Using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.5 fb-1 recorded by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of s=7, 8, and 13 TeV, the observation of an excited Bc+ state in the Bc+π+π- invariant-mass spectrum is reported. The observed peak has a mass of 6841.2±0.6(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, where the last uncertainty is due to the limited knowledge of the Bc+ mass. It is consistent with expectations of the Bc∗(2S31)+ state reconstructed without the low-energy photon from the Bc∗(1S31)+→Bc+γ decay following Bc∗(2S31)+→Bc∗(1S31)+π+π-. A second state is seen with a global (local) statistical significance of 2.2σ (3.2σ) and a mass of 6872.1±1.3(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, and is consistent with the Bc(2S10)+ state. These mass measurements are the most precise to date
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