Prototype ATLAS IBL Modules using the FE-I4A Front-End Readout Chip

The ATLAS Collaboration will upgrade its semiconductor pixel tracking detector with a new Insertable B-layer (IBL) between the existing pixel detector and the vacuum pipe of the Large Hadron Collider. The extreme operating conditions at this location have necessitated the development of new radiation hard pixel sensor technologies and a new front-end readout chip, called the FE-I4. Planar pixel sensors and 3D pixel sensors have been investigated to equip this new pixel layer, and prototype modules using the FE-I4A have been fabricated and characterized using 120 GeV pions at the CERN SPS and 4 GeV positrons at DESY, before and after module irradiation. Beam test results are presented, including charge collection efficiency, tracking efficiency and charge sharing.Comment: 45 pages, 30 figures, submitted to JINS

The GDH-Detector

For the GDH-Experiment at ELSA, the helicity dependent total photoabsorption cross-section is to be determined. These measurements will be performed with the newly developed GDH-Detector which is presented here. The concept of the GDH-Detector is to detect at least one reaction product from all possible hadronic processes with almost complete acceptance concerning solid angle and efficiency. This is realized by an arrangement of scintillators and lead. The overall acceptance for hadronic processes is better than 99%. The electromagnetic background is suppressed by about five orders of magnitude by means of a threshold Cherenkov detector. In dedicated tests, it has been demonstrated that all individual components of the GDH-Detector fulfill the design goals. Measurements of unpolarized total photoabsorption cross-sections were performed to ensure that the complete GDH-Detector is operational

Determinants of Malaysian Trade Balance: An ARDL Bound Testing Approach - A Commentary

This commentary is served as an additional light both from theoretical and empirical perspectives, on the study by Duasa (Global Economic Review, 2007, 36, pp. 89-102) who examined the short- and long-run relationships between trade balance, real exchange rates, income, and money supply for Malaysia. The final words I would like to make are that the results documented by Duasa require further investigation before it can be generalized.Trade balance, open macro economy equilibrium, Malaysia,

International Forum Shopping and Transnational Lawsuits

International forum shopping in disputes on liability can be a legitimate procedural strategy for plaintiffs in looking for a favourable jurisdiction. But it demands careful consideration of the pros and cons. In particular, the assumption that the selected court will prefer its own law in any case is not always honoured. The true (and more reliable) motives for forum shopping are aiming at the procedural climate in the selected forum state that seems favourable to the plaintiff (in the case of U.S. courts: jury trial, pre-trial discovery, and class actions). The defendant has but a limited number of remedies and procedural tactics to react upon the claimant's forum shopping or anticipate it – which requires imagination and skilful reflection of all the conceivable steps to be taken by the plaintiff: ADR, anti-suit injunctions (only rarely available in continental Europe, however), declaratory actions for denial, torpedo suits, and, sometimes, the forum-non-conveniens objection. In order to keep undue excesses in forum shopping under control, it seems necessary that the international community, too, in conventions and treaties, agrees on reducing the choices and on banning exorbitant jurisdictions in national laws. The Geneva Papers (2006) 31, 293–303. doi:10.1057/palgrave.gpp.2510083

Production and integration of the ATLAS Insertable B-Layer

During the shutdown of the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2013-2014, an additional pixel layer was installed between the existing Pixel detector of the ATLAS experiment and a new, smaller radius beam pipe. The motivation for this new pixel layer, the Insertable B-Layer (IBL), was to maintain or improve the robustness and performance of the ATLAS tracking system, given the higher instantaneous and integrated luminosities realised following the shutdown. Because of the extreme radiation and collision rate environment, several new radiation-tolerant sensor and electronic technologies were utilised for this layer. This paper reports on the IBL construction and integration prior to its operation in the ATLAS detector.Comment: 90 pages in total. Author list: ATLAS IBL Collaboration, starting page 2. 69 figures, 20 tables. Published in Journal of Instrumentation. All figures available at: https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PLOTS/PIX-2018-00

Production and Integration of the ATLAS Insertable B-Layer

During the shutdown of the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2013-2014, an additional pixel layer was installed between the existing Pixel detector of the ATLAS experiment and a new, smaller radius beam pipe. The motivation for this new pixel layer, the Insertable B-Layer (IBL), was to maintain or improve the robustness and performance of the ATLAS tracking system, given the higher instantaneous and integrated luminosities realised following the shutdown. Because of the extreme radiation and collision rate environment, several new radiation-tolerant sensor and electronic technologies were utilised for this layer. This paper reports on the IBL construction and integration prior to its operation in the ATLAS detector