Tests of a Novel Design of Resistive Plate Chambers

A novel design of Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs), using only a single resistive plate, is being proposed. Based on this design, two large size prototype chambers were constructed and were tested with cosmic rays and in particle beams. The tests confirmed the viability of this new approach. In addition to showing an improved single-particle response compared to the traditional 2-plate design, the novel chambers also prove to be suitable for calorimetric applications

TTCPR: a PMC receiver for TTC

Abstract The TTCPR receiver is a mezzanine card intended for use in distributing TTC information to Data Acquisition and Trigger Crates in the ATLAS Prototype Integration activities. An original prototype run of these ~cards was built for testbeam and integration studies, implemented in both the PMC and PCI form factors, using the TTCrx chips from the previous manufacture. When the new TTCrx chips became available, the TTCPR was redesigned to take advantage of the availability and enhanced features of the new TTCRX(1), and a run of 20 PMC cards was manufactured, and has since been used in integration studies and the testbeam. The TTCPR uses the AMCC 5933(2) to manage the PCI port, an Altera 10K30A(3) to provide all the logic so that the functionality may be easily altered, and provides a 4K deep FIFO to retain TTC data for subsequent DMA through the PCI port. In addition to DMA's which are mastered by the Add On logic, communication through PCI is accomplished via mailboxes, interrupts, and the pass-through feature of the 5933. An interface to the I2C bus of the TTCRX is provided so that internal registers may be accessed, and the card supports reinitialization of the TTCRX from PCI. Software has been developed to support operation of the TTCPR under both LynxOS and Linux. I. History of the TTCPR The TTCPR was developed in response to a need for TTC(4) information in the Data Acquisition from TileCal Modules in the ATLAS Test Beam. Specifically, it was desired to have EventID, Bunch Counter, and Trigger Type available from TTC in the data records. It was useful to have the TTC information available to processors in the Data Acquisition crates through PCI ports, and to have the data transferred to the processor's address space via an externally mastered DMA. Accordingly, the TTCPR was designed as a mezzanine card in the PMC form factor. The original cards utilized the older nonradhard version of the TTCRX, because the new radhard version was not available at that time. When it became clear that the new TTCRX would be available soon and also that it would not be possible to obtain any more of the older TTCRX chips, the TTCPR was redesigned, and enhancements were added to take advantage of the features of the new TTCRX. This new TTCPR was produced and has been used successfully in data acquisition at the ATLAS Test Beam. The card has also been implemented in the PCI form factor. The TTCPR in the PMC version is shown in II. Architecture of the TTCPR A block diagram of the TTCPR is shown i

Construction of the Soudan 2 detector

Progress in the construction of the Soudan 2 nucleon decay detector which is being built at the Soudan iron mine in Minnesota is discussed. The expected event rate and characteristics of low energy neutrino events, muon events, multiple muon events, and other cosmic ray phenomena are discussed

A Prototype ROI Builder for the Second Level Trigger of ATLAS Implemented in FPGAs

The design and implementation of a Region of Interest (ROI) Builder connecting the ATLAS Level 1 Trigger to the Level 2 Trigger Supervisor is described. A highly parallel design implemented in high large, high-speed FPGA's is described and results of tests are presented

ATLAS TDAQ RoI Builder and the Level 2 Supervisor system

The ATLAS High Level Trigger (HLT) uses information from the hardware based Level 1 Trigger system to guide the retrieval of information from the readout system. The Level 1 Trigger elements (jet, electromagnetic, muon candidate, etc.) determine Regions of Interest (RoIs) that seed further trigger decisions. This paper describes the device - the RoI Builder (RoIB) - that collects these data from the Level 1 Trigger and the Level 2 Supervisors (L2SV) Farm that makes these data available to the HLT. The status of the system design and the results of the tests and integration into ATLAS TDAQ system are presented

Experimental study of the reactions e(+)e(-)→e(+)e(-) and e(+)e(-)→γγ at 29 GeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.34.3286.This paper reports measurements of the differential cross sections for the reactions e(+)e(-)→e(+)e(-) (Bhabha scattering) and e(+)e(-)→γγ (γ-pair production). The reactions are studied at a center-of-mass energy of 29 GeV and in the polar-angular region ‖costheta‖154 GeV and Λ->220 GeV for Bhabha scattering, and Λ+>59 GeV and Λ->59 GeV for γ-pair production

The longitude problem from the 1700s to today: An international and general education physics course

For instructors wishing to use physics as part of an international or general education course, the framework for a course based on the “longitude problem” from the 1700s is described. The longitude problem is teeming with basic principles of physics and astronomy, which makes it ideal for a non-science-major-based college-level course. This paper summarizes the longitude problem in the context of conceptual physics and astronomy and outlines an appropriate curriculum. Specifics on teaching such a course in London, as part of an international studies program, are discussed