Very Forward proton-proton interactions with the LHCf detector

The LHCf experiment has been designed to precisely measure very forward neutral particle spectra produced in proton-proton collisions at LHC up to an energy of 14 TeV in the center of mass system. These measurements are of fundamental importance to calibrate the Monte Carlo models widely used in the high energy cosmic ray (HECR) field, up to an equivalent laboratory energy of the order of 1017 eV. In 2009-2010 the experiment has completed the p-p data taking at sqrt{s} = 0.9 TeV and sqrt{s}=7 TeV and the detectors have later on been removed from the tunnel region, when the LHC luminosity increased above 1030 cm-2s-1. In this paper the most up-to-date results on the inclusive photon spectra and the pi0 spectra measured by LHCf are reported. Comparison of these spectra with the model expectations and the impact on high energy cosmic ray (HECR) Physics are discussed. In addition, perspectives for future analyses as well as the program for the next data taking period, in particular the foreseen data taking in p-Pb collisions, will be discussed.Comment: Physics in Collision, Slovakia, 201

Neural Correlates of Instrumental Contingency Learning: Differential Effects of Action–Reward Conjunction and Disjunction

Contingency theories of goal-directed action propose that experienced disjunctions between an action and its specific consequences, as well as conjunctions between these events, contribute to encoding the action–outcome association. Although considerable behavioral research in rats and humans has provided evidence for this proposal, relatively little is known about the neural processes that contribute to the two components of the contingency calculation. Specifically, while recent findings suggest that the influence of action–outcome conjunctions on goal-directed learning is mediated by a circuit involving ventromedial prefrontal, medial orbitofrontal cortex, and dorsomedial striatum, the neural processes that mediate the influence of experienced disjunctions between these events are unknown. Here we show differential responses to probabilities of conjunctive and disjunctive reward deliveries in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, the dorsomedial striatum, and the inferior frontal gyrus. Importantly, activity in the inferior parietal lobule and the left middle frontal gyrus varied with a formal integration of the two reward probabilities, ΔP, as did response rates and explicit judgments of the causal efficacy of the action

Toward a Nonlocal Theory of Gravitation

The nonlocal theory of accelerated systems is extended to linear gravitational waves as measured by accelerated observers in Minkowski spacetime. The implications of this approach are discussed. In particular, the nonlocal modifications of helicity-rotation coupling are pointed out and a nonlocal wave equation is presented for a special class of uniformly rotating observers. The results of this study, via Einstein's heuristic principle of equivalence, provide the incentive for a nonlocal classical theory of the gravitational field.Comment: 15 pages, no figures, accepted for publication in Ann. Phys. (Leipzig

Nonlocality of Accelerated Systems

The conceptual basis for the nonlocality of accelerated systems is presented. The nonlocal theory of accelerated observers and its consequences are briefly described. Nonlocal field equations are developed for the case of the electrodynamics of linearly accelerated systems.Comment: LaTeX file, no figures, 9 pages, to appear in: "Black Holes, Gravitational Waves and Cosmology" (World Scientific, Singapore, 2003

Measurement of the forward-backward asymmetries in Z->bb and Z->cc decays with leptons

The sample of hadronic Z decays collected by the ALEPH detector at LEP in the years 1991-1995 is analysed in order to measure the forward-backward asymmetries in Z decays to b and c quark pairs. The quark's electric charge is tagged by the charges of electrons and muons produced in b and c semileptonic decays. The separation of the event flavours and of the direct and cascade b semileptonic decays is realised by means of multivariate analyses. The b and c asymmetries are measured simultaneously, and translated, in the framework of the Standard Model, to a determination of the effective electroweak mixing angle

Archeologia della lana in età romana. Dati preliminari dalla provincia di Rovigo

This paper presents the preliminary results of the census of archeological data for the province of Rovigo related to the textile industry in roman times. This research comes from a Phd project that is still ongoing and is a part of a larger research focused on the Roman textiles in Northern Italy started a few years ago by the Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali, University of Padua. Whilst weaving and spinning activities are quite frequent, evidence for shearing is quite rare. The paper also divides the specific characteristics of each class of objects studied in two separate geographic contexts, the urban context of the city of Adria and the rural context of the rest of the Rovigo province

The CMS Inner Tracker Silicon Microstrip Modules: production and test

The Silicon Microstrip Tracker is a key element for the discovery potential of the CMS detectors at LHC. The layout of the Tracker and the main components are described. The status of the construction of the Inner part of the CMS Tracker is reviewed. The construction of such a large scale detector requires an industrial and distributed approach. The procedures followed at each step of the production chain are described and finally the test performed on this subsystem are shown

RESULTS FROM LHCF EXPERIMENT

The LHCf experiment has taken data in 2009 and 2010 p–p collisions at LHC at √s = 0.9TeV and √s = 7TeV. In this paper the most up-to-date results on the inclusive photon spectra and the π0 spectra measured by LHCf are reported. Comparison of these spectra with the model expectations and the impact on high energy cosmic ray (HECR) Physics are iscussed. In addition, perspectives for future analyses as well as the program for the next data taking period, in particular the foreseen data taking in p–Pb collisions, will be discussed