Study of Scintillator Strip with Wavelength Shifting Fiber and Silicon Photomultiplier

The performance of the $200\times2.5\times1$ cm$^3$ plastic scintillator strip with wavelength shifting fiber read-out by two novel photodetectors called Silicon PhotoMultipliers (SiPMs) is discussed. The advantages of SiPM relative to the traditional multichannel photomultiplier are shown. Light yield and light attenuation measurements are presented. This technique can be used in muon or calorimeter systems.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

A High-resolution Scintillating Fiber Tracker With Silicon Photomultiplier Array Readout

We present prototype modules for a tracking detector consisting of multiple layers of 0.25 mm diameter scintillating fibers that are read out by linear arrays of silicon photomultipliers. The module production process is described and measurements of the key properties for both the fibers and the readout devices are shown. Five modules have been subjected to a 12 GeV/c proton/pion testbeam at CERN. A spatial resolution of 0.05 mm and light yields exceeding 20 detected photons per minimum ionizing particle have been achieved, at a tracking efficiency of more than 98.5%. Possible techniques for further improvement of the spatial resolution are discussed.Comment: 31 pages, 27 figures, pre-print version of an article published in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, Vol. 62

A Honeycomb Proportional Counter for Photon Multiplicity Measurement in the ALICE Experiment

A honeycomb detector consisting of a matrix of 96 closely packed hexagonal cells, each working as a proportional counter with a wire readout, was fabricated and tested at the CERN PS. The cell depth and the radial dimensions of the cell were small, in the range of 5-10 mm. The appropriate cell design was arrived at using GARFIELD simulations. Two geometries are described illustrating the effect of field shaping. The charged particle detection efficiency and the preshower characteristics have been studied using pion and electron beams. Average charged particle detection efficiency was found to be 98%, which is almost uniform within the cell volume and also within the array. The preshower data show that the transverse size of the shower is in close agreement with the results of simulations for a range of energies and converter thicknesses.Comment: To be published in NIM

Vesicular glutamate release from feeder-free hiPSC-derived neurons

Human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) represent one of the main and powerful tools for the in vitro modeling of neurological diseases. Standard hiPSC-based protocols make use of animal-derived feeder systems to better support the neuronal differentiation process. Despite their efficiency, such protocols may not be appropriate to dissect neuronal specific properties or to avoid interspecies contaminations, hindering their future translation into clinical and drug discovery approaches. In this work, we focused on the optimization of a reproducible protocol in feeder-free conditions able to generate functional glutamatergic neurons. This protocol is based on a generation of neuroprecursor cells differentiated into human neurons with the administration in the culture medium of specific neurotrophins in a Geltrex-coated substrate. We confirmed the efficiency of this protocol through molecular analysis (upregulation of neuronal markers and neurotransmitter receptors assessed by gene expression profiling and expression of the neuronal markers at the protein level), morphological analysis, and immunfluorescence detection of pre-synaptic and post-synaptic markers at synaptic boutons. The hiPSC-derived neurons acquired Ca2+-dependent glutamate release properties as a hallmark of neuronal maturation. In conclusion, our study describes a new methodological approach to achieve feeder-free neuronal differentiation from hiPSC and adds a new tool for functional characterization of hiPSC-derived neurons

Search for the h_c meson in B^+- ->h_c K^+-

We report a search for the $h_c$ meson via the decay chain $B^{\pm}\to h_c K^{\pm}$, \etac \gamma with $\eta_c \to K_S^0 K^{\pm} \pi^{\mp}$ and $p\bar{p}$. No significant signals are observed. We obtain upper limits on the branching fractions for $B^{\pm} \to \eta_c\gamma K^{\pm}$ in bins of the $\eta_c\gamma$ invariant mass. The results are based on an analysis of 253 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB $e^+e^-$ collider.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Improved measurement of time-dependent CP violation in B0 -> J/Psi pi0 decays

We report improved measurements of time-dependent CP violation parameters for $B^0(\bar{B}^0) \to J/\psi \pi^0$ decay. This analysis is based on 535 million $B\bar{B}$ pairs accumulated at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e^+e^- collider. From the distribution of proper time intervals between the two B decays, we obtain the following CP violation parameters $\mathcal{S}_{J/\psi \pi^0} = -0.65\pm0.21 (\rm{stat})\pm0.05 (\rm{syst})$ and $\mathcal{A}_{J/\psi \pi^0} = +0.08\pm0.16 (\rm{stat})\pm0.05 (\rm{syst})$, which are consistent with Standard Model expectations.Comment: Resubmitted to PRD(RC), including 4 figures, 6pages Revision has been made according to communication with PRD referee

Measurements of time-dependent CP asymmetries in B→D∗∓π±B \to D^{*\mp} \pi^{\pm} decays using a partial reconstruction technique

We report results on time-dependent CP asymmetries in $B \to D^{*\mp}\pi^{\pm}$ decays based on a data sample containing 657 {\times} $10^6$ $B\bar{B}$ pairs collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance. We use a partial reconstruction technique, wherein signal $B \to D^{*\mp}\pi^{\pm}$ events are identified using information only from the fast pion from the B decay and the slow pion from the subsequent decay of the $D^{*\mp}$, where the former (latter) corresponds to $D^{*+} (D^{*-})$ final states. We obtain CP violation parameters $S^+ = +0.061 \pm 0.018(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 0.012(\mathrm{syst})$ and $S^- = +0.031 \pm 0.019(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 0.015(\mathrm{syst})$.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Physical Review D (RC

Observation of B+->Lambda_c+Lambda_c-K+ and B0->Lambda_c+Lambda_c^-K0 decays

We report first measurements of the doubly charmed baryonic B decays B->Lambda_c+Lambda_c-K. The B+->Lambda_c+Lambda_c-K+ decay is observed with a branching fraction of (6.5+1.0-0.9+-1.1+-3.4)x10^{-4} and a statistical significance of 15.4sigma. The B0->Lambda_c+Lambda_c-K0 decay is observed with a branching fraction of (7.9+2.9-2.3+-1.2+-4.2)x10^{-4} and a statistical significance of 6.6sigma. The branching fraction errors are statistical, systematic, and the error resulting from the uncertainty of Lambda_c+->pK-pi+ decay branching fraction. The analysis is based on 357fb-1 of data accumulated at the Y(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric e+e- collider.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Measurement of the decay B0→π−ℓ+νB^0\to\pi^-\ell^+\nu and determination of ∣Vub∣|V_{ub}|

We present a measurement of the charmless semileptonic decay $B^0\to\pi^-\ell^+\nu$ using a data sample containing 657$\times 10^6$ $B\bar{B}$ events collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider operating near the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance. We determine the total branching fraction of the decay, $\mathcal{B}(B^0\to\pi^-\ell^+\nu)=(1.49\pm 0.04{(\mathrm{stat})}\pm 0.07{(\mathrm{syst})})\times 10^{-4}$. We also report a new precise measurement of the differential decay rate, and extract the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $|V_{ub}|$ using model-independent and -dependent approaches. From a simultaneous fit to the measured differential decay rate and lattice QCD results, we obtain $|V_{ub}|=(3.43\pm 0.33)\times 10^{-3}$, where the error includes both statistical and systematic uncertainties.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, Submitted to PRD(RC