Software digitizer for high granular gaseous detector

A sampling calorimeter equipped with gaseous sensor layers with digital readout is near perfect for "Particle Flow Algorithm" approach, since it is homogeneous over large surfaces, robust, cost efficient, easily segmentable to any readout pad dimension and size and almost insensitive to neutrons. The response of a finely segmented digital calorimeter is characterized by track efficiency and multiplicity. Monte Carlo (MC) programs such as GEANT4 simulate with high precision the energy deposited by particles. The sensor and electronic response associated to a pad are calculated in a separate "digitization" process. We developed a general method for simulating the pad response, a digitization, reproducing efficiency and multiplicity, using the spatial information from a simulation done at higher granularity. The digitization method proposed here has been applied to gaseous detectors including Glass Resistive Plate Chambers (GRPC) and MicroMegas. Validating the method on test beam data, experimental observables such as efficiency, multiplicity and mean number of hits at different thresholds have been reproduced with high precision.Comment: Proceeding for MPGD 201

SGXIO: Generic Trusted I/O Path for Intel SGX

Application security traditionally strongly relies upon security of the underlying operating system. However, operating systems often fall victim to software attacks, compromising security of applications as well. To overcome this dependency, Intel introduced SGX, which allows to protect application code against a subverted or malicious OS by running it in a hardware-protected enclave. However, SGX lacks support for generic trusted I/O paths to protect user input and output between enclaves and I/O devices. This work presents SGXIO, a generic trusted path architecture for SGX, allowing user applications to run securely on top of an untrusted OS, while at the same time supporting trusted paths to generic I/O devices. To achieve this, SGXIO combines the benefits of SGX's easy programming model with traditional hypervisor-based trusted path architectures. Moreover, SGXIO can tweak insecure debug enclaves to behave like secure production enclaves. SGXIO surpasses traditional use cases in cloud computing and makes SGX technology usable for protecting user-centric, local applications against kernel-level keyloggers and likewise. It is compatible to unmodified operating systems and works on a modern commodity notebook out of the box. Hence, SGXIO is particularly promising for the broad x86 community to which SGX is readily available.Comment: To appear in CODASPY'1

Observation of Coherently-Enhanced Tunable Narrow-Band Terahertz Transition Radiation from a Relativistic Sub-Picosecond Electron Bunch Train

We experimentally demonstrate the production of narrow-band ($\delta f/f \simeq20$% at $f\simeq 0.5$ THz) THz transition radiation with tunable frequency over [0.37, 0.86] THz. The radiation is produced as a train of sub-picosecond relativistic electron bunches transits at the vacuum-aluminum interface of an aluminum converter screen. We also show a possible application of modulated beams to extend the dynamical range of a popular bunch length diagnostic technique based on the spectral analysis of coherent radiation.Comment: 3 pages, 6 figure

Composite-fermion crystallites in quantum dots

The correlations in the ground state of interacting electrons in a two-dimensional quantum dot in a high magnetic field are known to undergo a qualitative change from liquid-like to crystal-like as the total angular momentum becomes large. We show that the composite-fermion theory provides an excellent account of the states in both regimes. The quantum mechanical formation of composite fermions with a large number of attached vortices automatically generates omposite fermion crystallites in finite quantum dots.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Wave-optics modeling of the optical-transport line for passive optical stochastic cooling

This work was supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE) under contract DE-SC0013761 to Northern Illinois University. Fermilab is managed by the Fermi Research Alliance, LLC (DE-SC0013761 DEAC02-07CH11359) for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Contract number DE-AC02-07CH11359.Optical stochastic cooling (OSC) is expected to enable fast cooling of dense particle beams. Transition from microwave to optical frequencies enables an achievement of stochastic cooling rates which are orders of magnitude higher than ones achievable with the classical microwave based stochastic cooling systems. A subsytem critical to the OSC scheme is the focusing optics used to image radiation from the upstream “pickup” undulator to the downstream “kicker” undulator. In this paper, we present simulation results using wave-optics calculation carried out with the Synchrotron Radiation Workshop (SRW). Our simulations are performed in support to a proof-of-principle experiment planned at the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) at Fermilab. The calculations provide an estimate of the energy kick received by a 100-MeV electron as it propagates in the kicker undulator and interacts with the electromagnetic pulse it radiated at an earlier time while traveling through the pickup undulato

Initial beam-profiling tests with the NML prototype station at the Fermilab A0 Photoinjector

The beam-profile diagnostics station prototype for the superconducting rf electron linac being constructed at Fermilab at the New Muon Lab has been tested. The station uses intercepting radiation converter screens for the low-power beam mode: either a 100-\mu m thick YAG:Ce single crystal scintillator or a 1-\mu m thin Al optical transition radiation (OTR) foil. The screens are oriented with the surface perpendicular to the beam direction. A downstream mirror with its surface at 45 degrees to the beam direction is used to direct the radiation into the optical transport. The optical system has better than 20 (10) \mu m rms spatial resolution when covering a vertical field of view of 18 (5) mm. The initial tests were performed at the A0 Photoinjector at a beam energy of ~15 MeV and with micropulse charges from 25 to 500 pC for beam sizes of 45 to 250 microns. Example results will be presented.Comment: 3 pp. Particle Accelerator, 24th Conference (PAC'11) 2011. 28 Mar - 1 Apr 2011. New York, US

A Metrological Based Realization of Time-of-Flight Diffraction Technique

AbstractTime-of-Flight Diffraction (ToFD) is a technique of non-destructive testing by ultrasound used for detecting faults and discontinuities in different components. The development and implementation of this technique was based on ISO 16828:2012 (Non-Destructive testing – Ultrasonic Testing – Time-of-Flight Diffraction Technique as a method for Detection and Sizing of Discontinuities). Controlling the different characteristics of the system, from the specification of the ultrasonic characteristics, to the imaging technique, was possible to identify the sources of uncertainty and estimate the ToFD measurement uncertainty. For a 25mm deep stainless steel test object, expanded uncertainties less than 0.5%(0.093 mm) was achieved with ToFD. For larger ultrasonic paths, the technique is able to depict even lower uncertainties, regarding some care are taken in the ultrasonic measurement setup

Farmers’ attitudes towards participation in short food supply chains: Evidence from a Chinese field research

As the industrialized agro-food supply systems have been commonly criticized for their adverse environmental and social impact, Short food supply chains have emerged as a promising sustainable alternative. Given that the history of SFSCs is relatively short, the majority of empirical evidences is from developed countries, and existing studies on SFSCs in developing country context are rather limited. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the farmers’ attitudes towards participating in SFSCs by conducting a field research in China. Semi-structured interviews were implemented with eight participants selected from a local farmer market as a pilot study. The social and economic reasons are found to be the main motivations of Chinese farmers participating in SFSCs. However, none of these interviewed participants are aware of the environmental effects of SFSCs. Moreover, the findings were cross-compared with existing studies conducted in developed countries. It was found that Chinese farmers participating in SFSCs are mainly passive choice, as they lack of relevant knowledge and governmental support