4,994 research outputs found
Data acquisition electronics and reconstruction software for directional detection of Dark Matter with MIMAC
Directional detection of galactic Dark Matter requires 3D reconstruction of
low energy nuclear recoils tracks. A dedicated acquisition electronics with
auto triggering feature and a real time track reconstruction software have been
developed within the framework of the MIMAC project of detector. This
auto-triggered acquisition electronic uses embedded processing to reduce data
transfer to its useful part only, i.e. decoded coordinates of hit tracks and
corresponding energy measurements. An acquisition software with on-line
monitoring and 3D track reconstruction is also presented.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figure
Gaseous Dark Matter Detectors
Dark Matter detectors with directional sensitivity have the potential of
yielding an unambiguous positive observation of WIMPs as well as discriminating
between galactic Dark Matter halo models. In this article, we introduce the
motivation for directional detectors, discuss the experimental techniques that
make directional detection possible, and review the status of the experimental
effort in this field.Comment: 19 pages, review on gaseous directional dark matter detectors
submitted to New Journal of Physic
Ultrafast dynamics of fluctuations in high-temperature superconductors far from equilibrium
Despite extensive work on high-temperature superconductors, the critical
behavior of an incipient condensate has so far been studied exclusively under
equilibrium conditions. Here, we excite Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d with a femtosecond
laser pulse and monitor the subsequent nonequilibrium dynamics of the
mid-infrared conductivity. Our data allow us to discriminate temperature
regimes where superconductivity is either coherent, fluctuating or vanishingly
small. Above the transition temperature Tc, we make the striking observation
that the relaxation to equilibrium exhibits power-law dynamics and scaling
behavior, both for optimally and underdoped superconductors. Our findings can
in part be modeled using time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory and provide
strong indication of universality in systems far from equilibrium.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Dark Matter Direct Detection with Non-Maxwellian Velocity Structure
The velocity distribution function of dark matter particles is expected to
show significant departures from a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. This can
have profound effects on the predicted dark matter - nucleon scattering rates
in direct detection experiments, especially for dark matter models in which the
scattering is sensitive to the high velocity tail of the distribution, such as
inelastic dark matter (iDM) or light (few GeV) dark matter (LDM), and for
experiments that require high energy recoil events, such as many directionally
sensitive experiments. Here we determine the velocity distribution functions
from two of the highest resolution numerical simulations of Galactic dark
matter structure (Via Lactea II and GHALO), and study the effects for these
scenarios. For directional detection, we find that the observed departures from
Maxwell-Boltzmann increase the contrast of the signal and change the typical
direction of incoming DM particles. For iDM, the expected signals at direct
detection experiments are changed dramatically: the annual modulation can be
enhanced by more than a factor two, and the relative rates of DAMA compared to
CDMS can change by an order of magnitude, while those compared to CRESST can
change by a factor of two. The spectrum of the signal can also change
dramatically, with many features arising due to substructure. For LDM the
spectral effects are smaller, but changes do arise that improve the
compatibility with existing experiments. We find that the phase of the
modulation can depend upon energy, which would help discriminate against
background should it be found.Comment: 34 pages, 16 figures, submitted to JCAP. Tables of g(v_min), the
integral of f(v)/v from v_min to infinity, derived from our simulations, are
available for download at http://astro.berkeley.edu/~mqk/dmdd
Background Rejection in the DMTPC Dark Matter Search Using Charge Signals
The Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber (DMTPC) collaboration is developing
low-pressure gas TPC detectors for measuring WIMP-nucleon interactions. Optical
readout with CCD cameras allows for the detection for the daily modulation in
the direction of the dark matter wind, while several charge readout channels
allow for the measurement of additional recoil properties. In this article, we
show that the addition of the charge readout analysis to the CCD allows us too
obtain a statistics-limited 90% C.L. upper limit on the rejection factor
of for recoils with energies between 40 and 200
keV. In addition, requiring coincidence between charge signals
and light in the CCD reduces CCD-specific backgrounds by more than two orders
of magnitude.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures. For proceedings of DPF 2011 conferenc
SPHERE: Irradiation of sphere-pac fuel of UPuO2−x containing 3% Americium
AbstractAmericium is a strong contributor to the long term radiotoxicity of high activity nuclear waste. Transmutation by irradiation in nuclear reactors of long-lived nuclides like 241Am is therefore an option for the reduction of radiotoxicity of waste packages to be stored in a repository. The SPHERE irradiation experiment is the latest of a series of European experiments on americium transmutation (e.g. EFTTRA-T4, EFTTRA-T4bis, HELIOS, MARIOS) performed in the HFR (High Flux Reactor). The SPHERE experiment is carried out in the framework of the 4-year project FAIRFUELS of the EURATOM 7th Framework Programme (FP7). During the past years of experimental works in the field of transmutation and tests of innovative nuclear fuels, the release or trapping of helium as well as helium induced fuel swelling have been shown to be the key issues for the design of Am-bearing targets. The main objective of the SPHERE experiment is to study the in-pile behaviour of fuel containing 3% of americium and to compare the behaviour of sphere-pac fuel to pellet fuel, in particular the role of microstructure and temperature on fission gas release (mainly He) and on fuel swelling.The SPHERE experiment is being irradiated since September 2013 in the HFR in Petten (The Netherlands) and is expected to be terminated in spring 2015. The experiment has been designed to last up to 18 reactor cycles (corresponding to 18 months) but may reach its target earlier.This paper discusses the rationale and objective of the SPHERE experiment and provides a general description of its design
Micromegas micro-TPC for direct Dark Matter search with MIMAC
The MIMAC project is a multi-chamber detector for Dark Matter search, aiming
at measuring both track and ionization with a matrix of micromegas micro-TPC
filled with He3 and CF4. Recent experimental results on the first measurements
of the Helium quenching factor at low energy (1 keV recoil) are presented,
together with the first simulation of the track reconstruction. Recontruction
of track of alpha from Radon impurities is shown as a first proof of concept.Comment: 5 pages, Proc. of the fourth international symposium on large TPCs
for low energy rare event detection, Paris, France, Dec. 2008. To appear in
Journal of Physic
On quantum mean-field models and their quantum annealing
This paper deals with fully-connected mean-field models of quantum spins with
p-body ferromagnetic interactions and a transverse field. For p=2 this
corresponds to the quantum Curie-Weiss model (a special case of the
Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model) which exhibits a second-order phase transition,
while for p>2 the transition is first order. We provide a refined analytical
description both of the static and of the dynamic properties of these models.
In particular we obtain analytically the exponential rate of decay of the gap
at the first-order transition. We also study the slow annealing from the pure
transverse field to the pure ferromagnet (and vice versa) and discuss the
effect of the first-order transition and of the spinodal limit of metastability
on the residual excitation energy, both for finite and exponentially divergent
annealing times. In the quantum computation perspective this quantity would
assess the efficiency of the quantum adiabatic procedure as an approximation
algorithm.Comment: 44 pages, 23 figure
CP violation and limits on New Physics including recent measurements
We analyse present constraints on the SM parameter space and derive, in a
model independent way, various bounds on New Physics contributions to
-- and -- mixings. Our analyses include
information on a large set of asymmetries, leading to the measurement of the
CKM phases and , as well as recent data from D0 and CDF
related to the -- system such as the measurement of , and . We examine in detail several
observables such as the asymmetries , , the width differences
and and discuss the r\^ole they play
in establishing the limits on New Physics. The present data clearly favour the
SM, with the New Physics favoured region placed around the SM solution. A New
Physics solution significantly different from the SM is still allowed, albeit
quite disfavoured (2.6% probability). We analyse the presently available
indirect knowledge on the phase entering in --
mixing and study the impact of a future measurement of to be
achieved at LHC, through the measurement of the time-dependent CP asymmetry in
decays.Comment: 29 pages, 31 figures; updated analyses and reference
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