61 research outputs found
Large-angle production of charged pions by 3 GeV/c - 12.9 GeV/c protons on beryllium, aluminium and lead targets
Measurements of the double-differential production cross-section
in the range of momentum 100 \MeVc \leq p < 800 \MeVc and angle 0.35 \rad
\leq \theta < 2.15 \rad in proton--beryllium, proton--aluminium and
proton--lead collisions are presented. The data were taken with the HARP
detector in the T9 beam line of the CERN PS. The pions were produced by proton
beams in a momentum range from 3 \GeVc to 12.9 \GeVc hitting a target with a
thickness of 5% of a nuclear interaction length. The tracking and
identification of the produced particles was performed using a small-radius
cylindrical time projection chamber (TPC) placed inside a solenoidal magnet.
Incident particles were identified by an elaborate system of beam detectors.
Results are obtained for the double-differential cross-sections at six incident
proton beam momenta (3 \GeVc, 5 \GeVc, 8 \GeVc, 8.9 \GeVc (Be only), 12 \GeVc
and 12.9 \GeVc (Al only)) and compared to previously available data
Measurement of the production of charged pions by protons on a tantalum target
A measurement of the double-differential cross-section for the production of
charged pions in proton--tantalum collisions emitted at large angles from the
incoming beam direction is presented. The data were taken in 2002 with the HARP
detector in the T9 beam line of the CERN PS. The pions were produced by proton
beams in a momentum range from 3 \GeVc to 12 \GeVc hitting a tantalum target
with a thickness of 5% of a nuclear interaction length. The angular and
momentum range covered by the experiment (100 \MeVc \le p < 800 \MeVc and
0.35 \rad \le \theta <2.15 \rad) is of particular importance for the design
of a neutrino factory. The produced particles were detected using a
small-radius cylindrical time projection chamber (TPC) placed in a solenoidal
magnet. Track recognition, momentum determination and particle identification
were all performed based on the measurements made with the TPC. An elaborate
system of detectors in the beam line ensured the identification of the incident
particles. Results are shown for the double-differential cross-sections
at four incident
proton beam momenta (3 \GeVc, 5 \GeVc, 8 \GeVc and 12 \GeVc). In addition, the
pion yields within the acceptance of typical neutrino factory designs are shown
as a function of beam momentum. The measurement of these yields within a single
experiment eliminates most systematic errors in the comparison between rates at
different beam momenta and between positive and negative pion production.Comment: 49 pages, 31 figures. Version accepted for publication on Eur. Phys.
J.
Measurement of the production cross-section of positive pions in the collision of 8.9 GeV/c protons on beryllium
The double-differential production cross-section of positive pions,
, measured in the HARP experiment is presented.
The incident particles are 8.9 GeV/c protons directed onto a beryllium target
with a nominal thickness of 5% of a nuclear interaction length. The measured
cross-section has a direct impact on the prediction of neutrino fluxes for the
MiniBooNE and SciBooNE experiments at Fermilab. After cuts, 13 million protons
on target produced about 96,000 reconstructed secondary tracks which were used
in this analysis. Cross-section results are presented in the kinematic range
0.75 GeV/c < < 6.5 GeV/c and 30 mrad < < 210 mrad in
the laboratory frame.Comment: 39 pages, 21 figures. Version accepted for publication by Eur. Phys.
J.
The time response of glass resistive plate chambers to heavily ionizing particles
The HARP system of resistive plate chambers (RPCs) was designed to perform particle identification by the measurement of the difference in the time-of-flight of different particles. In previous papers an apparent discrepancy was shown between the response of the RPCs to minimum ionizing pions and heavily ionizing protons. Using the kinematics of elastic scattering off a hydrogen target a controlled beam of low momentum recoil protons was directed onto the RPC chambers. With this method the trajectory and momentum, and hence the time-of-flight of the protons can be precisely predicted without need for a measurement of momentum of the protons. It is demonstrated that the measurement of the time-of-arrival of particles by the thin gas-gap glass RPC system of the HARP experiment depends on the primary ionization deposited by the particle in the detector
Forward production of charged pions with incident on nuclear targets measured at the CERN PS
Measurements of the double-differential production cross-section
in the range of momentum 0.5 \GeVc \leq p \le 8.0 \GeVc and angle 0.025 \rad
\leq \theta \le 0.25 \rad in interactions of charged pions on beryllium,
carbon, aluminium, copper, tin, tantalum and lead are presented. These data
represent the first experimental campaign to systematically measure forward
pion hadroproduction. The data were taken with the large acceptance HARP
detector in the T9 beam line of the CERN PS. Incident particles, impinging on a
5% nuclear interaction length target, were identified by an elaborate system of
beam detectors. The tracking and identification of the produced particles was
performed using the forward spectrometer of the HARP detector. Results are
obtained for the double-differential cross-sections mainly at four incident pion beam
momenta (3 \GeVc, 5 \GeVc, 8 \GeVc and 12 \GeVc). The measurements are compared
with the GEANT4 and MARS Monte Carlo simulationComment: to be published on Nuclear Physics
Large-angle production of charged pions by 3 GeV/c - 12 GeV/c protons on carbon, copper and tin targets
A measurement of the double-differential production cross-section
in proton--carbon, proton--copper and proton--tin collisions in the range of
pion momentum 100 \MeVc \leq p < 800 \MeVc and angle 0.35 \rad \le \theta
<2.15 \rad is presented. The data were taken with the HARP detector in the T9
beam line of the CERN PS. The pions were produced by proton beams in a momentum
range from 3 \GeVc to 12 \GeVc hitting a target with a thickness of 5% of a
nuclear interaction length. The tracking and identification of the produced
particles was done using a small-radius cylindrical time projection chamber
(TPC) placed in a solenoidal magnet. An elaborate system of detectors in the
beam line ensured the identification of the incident particles. Results are
shown for the double-differential cross-sections at four incident proton beam
momenta (3 \GeVc, 5 \GeVc, 8 \GeVc and 12 \GeVc)
On the selection of AGN neutrino source candidates for a source stacking analysis with neutrino telescopes
The sensitivity of a search for sources of TeV neutrinos can be improved by
grouping potential sources together into generic classes in a procedure that is
known as source stacking. In this paper, we define catalogs of Active Galactic
Nuclei (AGN) and use them to perform a source stacking analysis. The grouping
of AGN into classes is done in two steps: first, AGN classes are defined, then,
sources to be stacked are selected assuming that a potential neutrino flux is
linearly correlated with the photon luminosity in a certain energy band (radio,
IR, optical, keV, GeV, TeV). Lacking any secure detailed knowledge on neutrino
production in AGN, this correlation is motivated by hadronic AGN models, as
briefly reviewed in this paper.
The source stacking search for neutrinos from generic AGN classes is
illustrated using the data collected by the AMANDA-II high energy neutrino
detector during the year 2000. No significant excess for any of the suggested
groups was found.Comment: 43 pages, 12 figures, accepted by Astroparticle Physic
Anisotropy studies around the galactic centre at EeV energies with the Auger Observatory
Data from the Pierre Auger Observatory are analyzed to search for
anisotropies near the direction of the Galactic Centre at EeV energies. The
exposure of the surface array in this part of the sky is already significantly
larger than that of the fore-runner experiments. Our results do not support
previous findings of localized excesses in the AGASA and SUGAR data. We set an
upper bound on a point-like flux of cosmic rays arriving from the Galactic
Centre which excludes several scenarios predicting sources of EeV neutrons from
Sagittarius . Also the events detected simultaneously by the surface and
fluorescence detectors (the `hybrid' data set), which have better pointing
accuracy but are less numerous than those of the surface array alone, do not
show any significant localized excess from this direction.Comment: Matches published versio
Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter
Data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory through 31 August 2007 showed
evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above the
Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min energy threshold, \nobreak{eV}. The
anisotropy was measured by the fraction of arrival directions that are less
than from the position of an active galactic nucleus within 75 Mpc
(using the V\'eron-Cetty and V\'eron catalog). An updated
measurement of this fraction is reported here using the arrival directions of
cosmic rays recorded above the same energy threshold through 31 December 2009.
The number of arrival directions has increased from 27 to 69, allowing a more
precise measurement. The correlating fraction is , compared
with expected for isotropic cosmic rays. This is down from the early
estimate of . The enlarged set of arrival directions is
examined also in relation to other populations of nearby extragalactic objects:
galaxies in the 2 Microns All Sky Survey and active galactic nuclei detected in
hard X-rays by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope. A celestial region around the
position of the radiogalaxy Cen A has the largest excess of arrival directions
relative to isotropic expectations. The 2-point autocorrelation function is
shown for the enlarged set of arrival directions and compared to the isotropic
expectation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics on 31 August 201
The Fluorescence Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Observatory is a hybrid detector for ultra-high energy
cosmic rays. It combines a surface array to measure secondary particles at
ground level together with a fluorescence detector to measure the development
of air showers in the atmosphere above the array. The fluorescence detector
comprises 24 large telescopes specialized for measuring the nitrogen
fluorescence caused by charged particles of cosmic ray air showers. In this
paper we describe the components of the fluorescence detector including its
optical system, the design of the camera, the electronics, and the systems for
relative and absolute calibration. We also discuss the operation and the
monitoring of the detector. Finally, we evaluate the detector performance and
precision of shower reconstructions.Comment: 53 pages. Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics
Research Section
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