2,730 research outputs found
A new way to detect the Higgs
We describe a new technique to look for evidence of the Higgs mechanism. The
usual method involves seeking evidence for the Higgs boson either directly or
via the indirect effect that a virtual Higgs boson would have on a variety of
Standard Model parameters. The new technique looks for Higgs field effects that
are predicted to reduce the masses of heavy particles when they are in the
presence of other heavy particles.Comment: Presentation (by S. Reucroft) at TeV Particle Astrophysics II
(Madison WI, 28-31 August 2006). To be published in J. Phys.: Conf. Se
Fractal Electromagnetic Showers
We study the self-similar structure of electromagnetic showers and introduce
the notion of the fractal dimension of a shower. Studies underway of showers in
various materials and at various energies are presented, and the range over
which the fractal scaling behaviour is observed is discussed. Applications to
fast shower simulations and identification, particularly in the context of
extensive air showers, are also discussed.Comment: Talk to be presented at the XI International Symposium on Very High
Energy Cosmic Ray Interaction
On the limited amplitude resolution of multipixel Geiger-mode APDs
The limited number of active pixels in a Geiger-mode Avalanche Photodiode
(G-APD) results not only in a non-linearity but also in an additional
fluctuation of its response. Both these effects are taken into account to
calculate the amplitude resolution of an ideal G-APD, which is shown to be
finite. As one of the consequences, the energy resolution of a scintillation
detector based on a G-APD is shown to be limited to some minimum value defined
by the number of pixels in the G-APD.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Using {\sc top-c} for Commodity Parallel Computing in Cosmic Ray Physics Simulations
{\sc top-c} (Task Oriented Parallel C) is a freely available package for
parallel computing. It is designed to be easy to learn and to have good
tolerance for the high latencies that are common in commodity networks of
computers. It has been successfully used in a wide range of examples, providing
linear speedup with the number of computers. A brief overview of {\sc top-c} is
provided, along with recent experience with cosmic ray physics simulations.Comment: Talk to be presented at the XI International Symposium on Very High
Energy Cosmic Ray Interaction
Simulation of Water Cerenkov Detectors Using {\sc geant4}
We present a detailed simulation of the performance of water Cerenkov
detectors suitable for use in the Pierre Auger Observatory. Using {\sc geant4},
a flexible object-oriented simulation program, including all known physics
processes, has been developed. The program also allows interactive
visualization, and can easily be modified for any experimental setup.Comment: Talk to be presented at the XI Symposium on Very High Energy Cosmic
Ray Interaction
Hadronic interactions, precocious unification, and cosmic ray showers at Auger energies
At Auger energies only model predictions enable us to extract primary cosmic
ray features. The simulation of the shower evolution depends sensitively on the
first few interactions, necessarily related to the quality of our understanding
of high energy hadronic collisions. Distortions of the standard ``soft
semi-hard'' scenario include novel large compact dimensions and a string or
quantum gravity scale not far above the electroweak scale. Na\"{\i}vely, the
additional degrees of freedom yield unification of all forces in the TeV range.
In this article we study the influence of such precocious unification during
atmospheric cascade developments by analyzing the most relevant observables in
proton induced showers.Comment: 16 pages latex. 4 eps figure
Exotic and not-so-exotic candidates for ultrahigh energy cosmic rays
Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays present a major unsolved puzzle. Not only do we not know their origin, but we also have no really solid evidence that they are protons or iron nuclei—the two most popular candidates. We examine briefly a couple of “nonstandard” possibilities: light magnetic monopoles, which are rather exotic, and nuclei heavier than iron, which are perhaps less exotic, but have many attractive features.Facultad de Ciencias Exacta
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