Highly-parallelized simulation of a pixelated LArTPC on a GPU

The rapid development of general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is allowing the implementation of highly-parallelized Monte Carlo simulation chains for particle physics experiments. This technique is particularly suitable for the simulation of a pixelated charge readout for time projection chambers, given the large number of channels that this technology employs. Here we present the first implementation of a full microphysical simulator of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) equipped with light readout and pixelated charge readout, developed for the DUNE Near Detector. The software is implemented with an end-to-end set of GPU-optimized algorithms. The algorithms have been written in Python and translated into CUDA kernels using Numba, a just-in-time compiler for a subset of Python and NumPy instructions. The GPU implementation achieves a speed up of four orders of magnitude compared with the equivalent CPU version. The simulation of the current induced on 10^3 pixels takes around 1 ms on the GPU, compared with approximately 10 s on the CPU. The results of the simulation are compared against data from a pixel-readout LArTPC prototype

Triangle Singularity as the Origin of the a1(1420)

International audienceThe COMPASS Collaboration experiment recently discovered a new isovector resonancelike signal with axial-vector quantum numbers, the a1(1420), decaying to f0(980)π. With a mass too close to and a width smaller than the axial-vector ground state a1(1260), it was immediately interpreted as a new light exotic meson, similar to the X, Y, Z states in the hidden-charm sector. We show that a resonancelike signal fully matching the experimental data is produced by the decay of the a1(1260) resonance into K*(→Kπ)K¯ and subsequent rescattering through a triangle singularity into the coupled f0(980)π channel. The amplitude for this process is calculated using a new approach based on dispersion relations. The triangle-singularity model is fitted to the partial-wave data of the COMPASS experiment. Despite having fewer parameters, this fit shows a slightly better quality than the one using a resonance hypothesis and thus eliminates the need for an additional resonance in order to describe the data. We thereby demonstrate for the first time in the light-meson sector that a resonancelike structure in the experimental data can be described by rescattering through a triangle singularity, providing evidence for a genuine three-body effect

Measurement of the cross section for hard exclusive π0\pi^0 leptoproduction

We report on a measurement of hard exclusive $\pi^0$ muoproduction on the proton by COMPASS using 160 GeV/$c$ polarised $\mu^+$ and $\mu^-$ beams of the CERN SPS impinging on a liquid hydrogen target. From the average of the measured $\mu^+$ and $\mu^-$ cross sections, the virtual-photon proton cross section is determined as a function of the squared four-momentum transfer between initial and final proton in the range $0.08\,(\text{GeV/}c)^2 < |t| < 0.64\,(\text{GeV/}c)^2$. The average kinematics of the measurement are $\langle Q^2 \rangle =2.0\; {(\text{GeV}/c)^2}$, $\langle \nu \rangle = 12.8\; {\text{GeV}}$, $\langle x_{Bj} \rangle = 0.093$ and $\langle -t \rangle = 0.256\; {(\text{GeV}/c)^2}$. Fitting the azimuthal dependence reveals a combined contribution by transversely and longitudinally polarised photons of $(8.1 \ \pm \ 0.9_{\text{stat}}{}_{- \ 1.0}^{+ \ 1.1}\big\rvert_{\text{sys}})\,{\text{nb}}/{(\text{GeV}/c)^{2}}$, as well as transverse-transverse and longitudinal-transverse interference contributions of $(-6.0 \pm 1.3_{\text{stat}}{}_{- \ 0.7}^{+ \ 0.7}\big\rvert_{\text{sys}})\,{\text{nb}}/{(\text{GeV}/c)^{2}}$ and $(1.4 \pm 0.5_{\text{stat}}{}_{- \ 0.2}^{+ \ 0.3}\big\rvert_{\text{sys}})\,{\text{nb}}/{(\text{GeV}/c)^{2}}$, respectively. Our results provide important input for modelling Generalised Parton Distributions. In the context of the phenomenological Goloskokov-Kroll model, the statistically significant transverse-transverse interference contribution constitutes clear experimental evidence for the chiral-odd GPD $\overline{E}_T$

K− over K+ multiplicity ratio for kaons produced in DIS with a large fraction of the virtual-photon energy

The K− over K+ multiplicity ratio is measured in deep-inelastic scattering, for the first time for kaons carrying a large fraction z of the virtual-photon energy. The data were obtained by the COMPASS collaboration using a 160 GeV muon beam and an isoscalar 6LiD target. The regime of deep-inelastic scattering is ensured by requiring Q2>1(GeV/c)2 for the photon virtuality and W>5GeV/c2 for the invariant mass of the produced hadronic system. Kaons are identified in the momentum range from 12 GeV/c to 40 GeV/c, thereby restricting the range in Bjorken-x to 0.010.75. For very large values of z, i.e. z>0.8, we observe the kaon multiplicity ratio to fall below the lower limits expected from calculations based on leading and next-to-leading order perturbative quantum chromodynamics. Also, the kaon multiplicity ratio shows a strong dependence on the missing mass of the single-kaon production process. This suggests that within the perturbative quantum chromodynamics formalism an additional correction may be required, which takes into account the phase space available for hadronisation

Antiproton over proton and K−^- over K+^+ multiplicity ratios at high zz in DIS

International audienceThe antiparticle-over-particle multiplicity ratio is measured in deep-inelastic scattering for negatively and positively charged kaons and, for the first time, for antiprotons and protons. The data were obtained by the COMPASS Collaboration using a 160 GeV muon beam impinging on an isoscalar 6 LiD target. The regime of deep-inelastic scattering is ensured by requiring Q2 > 1 (GeV/ c ) 2 for the photon virtuality and W>5 GeV/ c2 for the invariant mass of the produced hadronic system. Bjorken- x is restricted to the range 0.01 to 0.40. Protons and antiprotons are identified in the momentum range from 20 GeV/ c to 60 GeV/ c and required to carry a large fraction of the virtual-photon energy, z>0.5 . In the whole studied z -region, the p¯ over p multiplicity ratio is found to be below the lower limit expected from calculations based on leading-order perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (pQCD). Kaons were previously analysed in the momentum range 12 GeV/ c to 40 GeV/ c . In the present analysis this range is extended up to 55 GeV/ c , whereby events with larger virtual-photon energies are included in the analysis and the observed K − over K + ratio becomes closer to the expectation of next-to-leading order pQCD. The results of both analyses strengthen our earlier conclusion that at COMPASS energies the phase space available for single-hadron production in deep-inelastic scattering should be taken into account in the standard pQCD formalism