119 research outputs found
Neutrinos in a spherical box
In the present paper we study some neutrino properties as they may appear in
the low energy neutrinos emitted in triton decay with maximum neutrino energy
of 18.6 keV. The technical challenges to this end can be achieved by building a
very large TPC capable of detecting low energy recoils, down to a a few tenths
of a keV, within the required low background constraints. More specifically We
propose the development of a spherical gaseous TPC of about 10-m in radius and
a 200 Mcurie triton source in the center of curvature. One can list a number of
exciting studies, concerning fundamental physics issues, that could be made
using a large volume TPC and low energy antineutrinos: 1) The oscillation
length involving the small angle of the neutrino mixing matrix, directly
measured in this disappearance experiment, is fully contained inside the
detector. Measuring the counting rate of neutrino-electron elastic scattering
as a function of the distance of the source will give a precise and unambiguous
measurement of the oscillation parameters free of systematic errors. In fact
first estimates show that even with a year's data taking a sensitivity of a few
percent for the measurement of the above angle will be achieved. 2) The low
energy detection threshold offers a unique sensitivity for the neutrino
magnetic moment which is about two orders of magnitude beyond the current
experimental limit. 3) Scattering at such low neutrino energies has never been
studied and any departure from the expected behavior may be an indication of
new physics beyond the standard model. In this work we mainly focus on the
various theoretical issues involved including a precise determination of the
Weinberg angle at very low momentum transfer.Comment: 16 Pages, LaTex, 7 figures, talk given at NANP 2003, Dubna, Russia,
June 23, 200
The CLEO-III Ring Imaging Cherenkov Detector
The CLEO-III Detector upgrade for charged particle identification is
discussed. The RICH design uses solid LiF crystal radiators coupled with
multi-wire chamber photon detectors, using TEA as the photosensor, and
low-noise Viking readout electronics. Results from our beam test at Fermilab
are presented.Comment: Invited talk by R.J. Mountain at ``The 3rd International Workshop on
Ring Imaging Cherenkov Detectors," a research workshop of the Israel Science
Foundation, Ein-Gedi, Dead-Sea, Israel, Nov. 15-20, 1998, 14 pages, 9 figure
The Cleo Rich Detector
We describe the design, construction and performance of a Ring Imaging
Cherenkov Detector (RICH) constructed to identify charged particles in the CLEO
experiment. Cherenkov radiation occurs in LiF crystals, both planar and ones
with a novel ``sawtooth''-shaped exit surface. Photons in the wavelength
interval 135--165 nm are detected using multi-wire chambers filled with a
mixture of methane gas and triethylamine vapor. Excellent pion/kaon separation
is demonstrated.Comment: 75 pages, 57 figures, (updated July 26, 2005 to reflect reviewers
comments), to be published in NIM
Controlling Cherenkov angles with resonance transition radiation
Cherenkov radiation provides a valuable way to identify high energy particles
in a wide momentum range, through the relation between the particle velocity
and the Cherenkov angle. However, since the Cherenkov angle depends only on
material's permittivity, the material unavoidably sets a fundamental limit to
the momentum coverage and sensitivity of Cherenkov detectors. For example, Ring
Imaging Cherenkov detectors must employ materials transparent to the frequency
of interest as well as possessing permittivities close to unity to identify
particles in the multi GeV range, and thus are often limited to large gas
chambers. It would be extremely important albeit challenging to lift this
fundamental limit and control Cherenkov angles as preferred. Here we propose a
new mechanism that uses constructive interference of resonance transition
radiation from photonic crystals to generate both forward and backward
Cherenkov radiation. This mechanism can control Cherenkov angles in a flexible
way with high sensitivity to any desired range of velocities. Photonic crystals
thus overcome the severe material limit for Cherenkov detectors, enabling the
use of transparent materials with arbitrary values of permittivity, and provide
a promising option suited for identification of particles at high energy with
enhanced sensitivity.Comment: There are 16 pages and 4 figures for the manuscript. Supplementary
information with 18 pages and 5 figures, appended at the end of the file with
the manuscript. Source files in Word format converted to PDF. Submitted to
Nature Physic
The COMPASS Experiment at CERN
The COMPASS experiment makes use of the CERN SPS high-intensitymuon and
hadron beams for the investigation of the nucleon spin structure and the
spectroscopy of hadrons. One or more outgoing particles are detected in
coincidence with the incoming muon or hadron. A large polarized target inside a
superconducting solenoid is used for the measurements with the muon beam.
Outgoing particles are detected by a two-stage, large angle and large momentum
range spectrometer. The setup is built using several types of tracking
detectors, according to the expected incident rate, required space resolution
and the solid angle to be covered. Particle identification is achieved using a
RICH counter and both hadron and electromagnetic calorimeters. The setup has
been successfully operated from 2002 onwards using a muon beam. Data with a
hadron beam were also collected in 2004. This article describes the main
features and performances of the spectrometer in 2004; a short summary of the
2006 upgrade is also given.Comment: 84 papes, 74 figure
A Rapid and Highly Sensitive Method of Non Radioactive Colorimetric In Situ Hybridization for the Detection of mRNA on Tissue Sections
Background: Non Radioactive colorimetric In Situ Hybridization (NoRISH) with hapten labeled probes has been widely used for the study of gene expression in development, homeostasis and disease. However, improvement in the sensitivity of the method is still needed to allow for the analysis of genes expressed at low levels. Methodology/Principal Findings: A stable, non-toxic, zinc-based fixative was tested in NoRISH experiments on sections of mouse embryos using four probes (Lhx6, Lhx7, ncapg and ret) that have different spatial patterns and expression levels. We showed that Z7 can successfully replace paraformaldehyde used so far for tissue fixation in NoRISH; the morphology of the cryosections of Z7-fixed tissues was excellent, and the fixation time required for tissues sized 1 cm was 1 hr instead of 24 hr for paraformaldehyde. The hybridization signal on the sections of the Z7-treated embryos always appeared earlier than that of the PFA-fixed embryos. In addition, a 50–60 % shorter detection time was observed in specimen of Z7-treated embryos, reducing significantly the time required to complete the method. Finally and most importantly, the strength of the hybridization signal on the sections of the Z7-treated embryos always compared favorably to that of the sections of PFAfixed embryos; these data demonstrate a significant improvement of the sensitivity the method that allows for the analysis of mRNAs that are barely or not detected by the standard colorimetric NoRISH method. Conclusions/Significance: Our NoRISH method provides excellent preservation of tissue morphology, is rapid, highl
Pattern recognition and PID for COMPASS RICH-1
A package for pattern recognition and PID by COMPASS RICH-1 has been
developed and used for the analysis of COMPASS data collected in the years 2002
to 2004, and 2006-2007 with the upgraded RICH-1 photon detectors. It has
allowed the full characterization of the detector in the starting version and
in the upgraded one, as well as the PID for physics results. We report about
the package structure and algorithms, and the detector characterization and PID
results.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures,to appear in the proceedings of 6th International
Workshop on Ring Imaging Cherenkov Counters (RICH 2007), Trieste, Italy,
15-20 Oct 200
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