The HIBEAM/NNBAR Calorimeter Prototype

The HIBEAM/NNBAR experiment is a free-neutron search for $n \rightarrow$ sterile $n$ and $n \rightarrow \bar{n}$ oscillations planned to be installed at the European Spallation Source under construction in Lund, Sweden. A key component in the experiment is the detector to identify $n-\bar{n}$ annihilation events, which will produce on average four pions with a final state invariant mass of two nucleons, around $1.9\,$GeV. The beamline and experiment are shielded from magnetic fields which would suppress $n \rightarrow \bar{n}$ transitions, thus no momentum measurement will be possible. Additionally, calorimetry for particles with kinetic energies below $600\,$MeV is challenging, as traditional sampling calorimeters used in HEP would suffer from poor shower statistics. A design study is underway to use a novel approach of a hadronic range measurement in multiple plastic scintillator layers, followed by EM calorimetery with lead glass. A prototype calorimeter system is being built, and will eventually be installed at an ESS test beam line for \textit{in situ} neutron background studies.Comment: Contribution to the International Conference on Technology and Instrumentation in Particle Physics (TIPP2021

Suicide methods in Europe: a gender-specific analysis of countries participating in the "European Alliance Against Depression"

Objective: To identify the most frequent gener-specific suicide methods in Europe. Design: Proportions of seven predominant suicide methods utilised in 16 countries participating in the European Alliance Against Depression (EAAD)were reported in total and cross-nationally. Relative risk (RR)relating to suicide methods and gender was calculated. To group countries by pattern of suicide methods, hierarchical clustering was applied. Setting and participants: Data on suicide methods for 119 122 male and 41 338 female cases in 2000-4/5 from 16 EAAD countries, covering 52% of European population were obtained. Results: Hanging was the most prevalent suicide method among both males (54.3%) and females (35.6%). For males, hanging was followed by firearms (9.7%) and poisoning by drugs (8.6%); for females, by poisoning by drugs (24.7%)and jumping from a high place (14.5%). Only in Switzerland did hanging rank as second for males after firearms. Hanging ranked first among females in eight countries, poisoning by drugs in five and jumping from a high place in three. In all countries, males had a higher risk than females of using firearms and hanging and a lower risk of poisoning by drugs, drowning and jumping. Grouping showed that countries might be divided into five main groups among males; for females, grouping did not yield clear results. Conclusions: Research on suicide methods could lead to the development of gender-specific intervention strategies. Nevertheless, other approaches, such as better identification and treatment of mental disorders and the improvement of toxicological aid should be put in place

Protect the natives to combat the aliens: Could octopus vulgaris cuvier, 1797 be a natural agent for the control of the lionfish invasion in the mediterranean sea?

[No abstract available

Interferometry of Direct Photons in Central 280Pb+208Pb Collisions at 158A GeV

Two-particle correlations of direct photons were measured in central 208Pb+208Pb collisions at 158 AGeV. The invariant interferometric radii were extracted for 100<K_T<300 MeV/c and compared to radii extracted from charged pion correlations. The yield of soft direct photons, K_T<300 MeV/c, was extracted from the correlation strength and compared to theoretical calculations.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Filling gaps via citizen science: Phyllorhiza punctata von Lendenfeld, 1884 (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa: Mastigiidae) in Cyprus (eastern Mediterranean Sea)

The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most heavily impacted areas by biological invasions worldwide, with over 650 non-indigenous species (NIS) reported as established in 2019. Information about the distribution of NIS in the basin is often fragmented or non-existent due to factors such as lack of finance, expertise, and appropriate surveillance systems. Citizen science might represent a reliable tool in monitoring the spread of NIS, being able to overcome the challenges of scientific monitoring. In the context of the citizen science project “Is it alien to you? Share it!!!”, we hereby first report the presence of the Australian spotted jellyfish Phyllorhiza punctata von Lendenfeld, 1884 in the marine waters of Cyprus and review its known distribution in the Mediterranean Sea. Although this taxon does not represent a direct threat to human health or tourism as it bears no painful sting, it already caused important ecological and economic damages in other regions of the world, and thus its further spread in Cypriot waters requires appropriate monitoring

Search for DCC in 158A GeV Pb+Pb Collisions

A detailed analysis of the phase space distributions of charged particles and photons have been carried out using two independent methods. The results indicate the presence of nonstatistical fluctuations in localized regions of phase space.Comment: Talk at the PANIC99 Conference, June 9-16, 199

Systematics of Inclusive Photon Production in 158 AGeV Pb Induced Reactions on Ni, Nb, and Pb Targets

The multiplicity of inclusive photons has been measured on an event-by-event basis for 158 AGeV Pb induced reactions on Ni, Nb, and Pb targets. The systematics of the pseudorapidity densities at midrapidity (rho_max) and the width of the pseudorapidity distributions have been studied for varying centralities for these collisions. A power law fit to the photon yield as a function of the number of participating nucleons gives a value of 1.13+-0.03 for the exponent. The mean transverse momentum, , of photons determined from the ratio of the measured electromagnetic transverse energy and photon multiplicity, remains almost constant with increasing rho_max. Results are compared with model predictions.Comment: 16 pages including 4 figure

Pion Freeze-Out Time in Pb+Pb Collisions at 158 A GeV/c Studied via pi-/pi+ and K-/K+ Ratios

The effect of the final state Coulomb interaction on particles produced in Pb+Pb collisions at 158 A GeV/c has been investigated in the WA98 experiment through the study of the pi-/pi+ and K-/K+ ratios measured as a function of transverse mass. While the ratio for kaons shows no significant transverse mass dependence, the pi-/pi+ ratio is enhanced at small transverse mass values with an enhancement that increases with centrality. A silicon pad detector located near the target is used to estimate the contribution of hyperon decays to the pi-/pi+ ratio. The comparison of results with predictions of the RQMD model in which the Coulomb interaction has been incorporated allows to place constraints on the time of the pion freeze-out.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figure

Scaling of Particle and Transverse Energy Production in 208Pb+208Pb collisions at 158 A GeV

Transverse energy, charged particle pseudorapidity distributions and photon transverse momentum spectra have been studied as a function of the number of participants (N_{part}) and the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions (N_{coll}) in 158 A GeV Pb+Pb collisions over a wide impact parameter range. A scaling of the transverse energy pseudorapidity density at midrapidity as N_{part}^{1.08 \pm 0.06} and N_{coll}^{0.83 \pm 0.05} is observed. For the charged particle pseudorapidity density at midrapidity we find a scaling as N_{part}^{1.07 \pm 0.04} and N_{coll}^{0.82 \pm 0.03}. This faster than linear scaling with N_{part} indicates a violation of the naive Wounded Nucleon Model.Comment: 13 pages, 16 figures, submitted to European Physical Journal C (revised results for scaling exponents

Centrality Dependence of Neutral Pion Production in 158 A GeV Pb + Pb Collisions

The production of neutral pions in 158AGeV Pb+Pb collisions has been studied in the WA98 experiment at the CERN SPS. Transverse momentum spectra are studied for the range 0.3 GeV/c < mT-m0 < 4.0 GeV/c. The results for central collisions are compared to various models. The centrality dependence of the neutral pion spectral shape and yield is investigated. An invariance of the spectral shape and a simple scaling of the yield with the number of participating nucleons is observed for centralities with greater than about 30 participating nucleons which is most naturally explained by assuming an equilibrated system.Comment: 5 pages, Latex, including 3 eps figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.Lett; updated pQCD comparison due to new input from the author, updated references, corrected plotting error in figure