The Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector of the AMS experiment: test beam results with a prototype

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to be installed on the International Space Station (ISS) will be equipped with a proximity Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detector for measuring the velocity and electric charge of the charged cosmic particles. This detector will contribute to the high level of redundancy required for AMS as well as to the rejection of albedo particles. Charge separation up to iron and a velocity resolution of the order of 0.1% for singly charged particles are expected. A RICH protoptype consisting of a detection matrix with 96 photomultiplier units, a segment of a conical mirror and samples of the radiator materials was built and its performance was evaluated. Results from the last test beam performed with ion fragments resulting from the collision of a 158 GeV/c/nucleon primary beam of indium ions (CERN SPS) on a lead target are reported. The large amount of collected data allowed to test and characterize different aerogel samples and the sodium fluoride radiator. In addition, the reflectivity of the mirror was evaluated. The data analysis confirms the design goals.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. Contribution to the 10th Topical Seminar on Innovative Particle and Radiation Detectors (Siena, Italy 2006

Joint Design and Pricing of Intermodal Port - Hinterland Network Services: Considering Economies of Scale and Service Time Constraints

Maritime container terminal operating companies have extended their role from node operators to that of multimodal transport network operators. They have extended the gates of their seaport terminals to the gates of inland terminals in their network by means of frequent services of high capacity transport modes such as river vessels (barges) and trains.

Cerenkov angle and charge reconstruction with the RICH detector of the AMS experiment

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) experiment to be installed on the International Space Station (ISS) will be equipped with a proximity focusing Ring Imaging Cerenkov (RICH) detector, for measurements of particle electric charge and velocity. In this note, two possible methods for reconstructing the Cerenkov angle and the electric charge with the RICH, are discussed. A Likelihood method for the Cerenkov angle reconstruction was applied leading to a velocity determination for protons with a resolution of around 0.1%. The existence of a large fraction of background photons which can vary from event to event, implied a charge reconstruction method based on an overall efficiency estimation on an event-by-event basis.Comment: Proceedings submitted to RICH 2002 (Pylos-Greece

Reconstruction and Particle Identification for a DIRC System

We study the reconstruction and particle identification (PID) problem for Ring Imaging devices providing a good knowledge of the direction of the Cerenkov photons, as the DIRC system, on which we specialize. We advocate first the use of the stereographic projection as a tool allowing a suitable representation of the photon data, as it allows to represent the Cerenkov cone always as a circle. We set up an algorithm able to perform reliably a fit of circle arcs of small angular opening, by minimising a true Chi2 expression. The system we develop for PID relies on this algorithm and on a procedure able to remove background photons with a high efficiency. We thus show that, even when the background is large, it is possible to perform an efficient PID by means of a fit algorithm which finally provides all the circle parameters; these are connected with the charged track direction and its Cerenkov angle. It is shown that background effects can be dealt without spoiling significantly the reconstruction probability distributions.Comment: 67 pages, 23 figure

Unified treatment and classification of superintegrable systems with integrals quadratic in momenta on a two dimensional manifold

In this paper we prove that the two dimensional superintegrable systems with quadratic integrals of motion on a manifold can be classified by using the Poisson algebra of the integrals of motion. There are six general fundamental classes of superintegrable systems. Analytic formulas for the involved integrals are calculated in all the cases. All the known superintegrable systems are classified as special cases of these six general classes.Comment: LaTeX, 72 pages. Extended version of the published version in JM

Assessment of the immunomodulatory properties of the probiotic strain Lactobacillus paracasei K5 in vitro and in vivo

Lactobacillus paracasei K5 is a lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strain that has been isolated from dairy products. Previous studies have established its probiotic potential in a series of in vitro tests, including molecular characterization, safety profiling, and tolerability of the gastrointestinal tract conditions. To characterize its beneficial actions on the host, we have shown previously that L. paracasei K5 adheres to Caco-2 cells and exerts anti-proliferative effects through the induction of apoptosis. In the present study, we focused on the immunomodulatory potential of this strain. We employed the dorsal-air-pouch mouse model of inflammation and recorded an eight-fold increase in the recruitment of immune cells in mice treated with the probiotic strain, compared to the control group. Analysis of the exudates revealed significant changes in the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators on site. Treatment of Caco-2 cells with L. paracasei K5 induced significant upregulation of cytokines interleukin-1α (IL-1α), ΙL-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), the chemokine C-X-C motif ligand 2 (CXCL2), and the inflammation markers soluble intercellular adhesion molecule (sICAM) and metallopeptidase inhibitor-1 (TIMP-1). Transient induction of the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 2, 4, 6, and 9 expression levels was recorded by real-time PCR analysis. These results highlight the immunomodulatory potential of this strain and further support its probiotic character

A method for detecting ντ\nu_\tau appearance in the spectra of quasielastic CC events

A method for detecting the transition \omutau in long-baseline accelerator experiments, that consists in comparing the far-to-near ratios of the spectra of quasielastic CC events generated by high- and low-energy beams of muon neutrinos, is proposed. The test may be accessible to big water Cherenkov detectors and iron--scintillator calorimeters, and is limited by statistics rather than systematics.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Proposal for PS beam tests of a fast rich detector

A full scale prototype Fast RICH detector with pad readout for unambiguous imaging has been constructed for operation in a high luminosity environment. It uses the best photosensitive gas capable of fast response (TEA) or the intrinsically fast solid photocathode (CsI/TMAE), developed specifically for this purpose. It can be used at e+e- or hadron colliders as well as at fixed target facilities. It has time resolution of 20 ns with a 1.3 microsecond pipeline and parallel readout of 4000 pad sectors. Fast digital VLSI electronics has been developed for readout and 24000 channels have been tested. The prototype device (12000 pad channels) is assembled and ready for beam tests in 1993

Monte Carlo Studies of a Novel LiF Radiator for RICH Detectors

We show that a multifaceted LiF radiator produces more Cherenkov light and has better resolution per photon than a flat radiator slab when used in a ring imaging Cherenkov counter. Such a system is being considered for the CLEO III upgrade.Comment: 9 page