194 research outputs found
Transition Radiation Spectra of Electrons from 1 to 10 GeV/c in Regular and Irregular Radiators
We present measurements of the spectral distribution of transition radiation
generated by electrons of momentum 1 to 10 GeV/c in different radiator types.
We investigate periodic foil radiators and irregular foam and fiber materials.
The transition radiation photons are detected by prototypes of the drift
chambers to be used in the Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) of the ALICE
experiment at CERN, which are filled with a Xe, CO2 (15 %) mixture. The
measurements are compared to simulations in order to enhance the quantitative
understanding of transition radiation production, in particular the momentum
dependence of the transition radiation yield.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. Meth. Phys. Res.
Transition Radiation Spectroscopy with Prototypes of the ALICE TRD
We present measurements of the transition radiation (TR) spectrum produced in
an irregular radiator at different electron momenta. The data are compared to
simulations of TR from a regular radiator.Comment: 4 pages, 5 Figures, Proceedings for "TRDs for the 3rd millennium"
(Sept. 4-7, 2003, Bari, Italy
Energy loss of pions and electrons of 1 to 6 GeV/c in drift chambers operated with Xe,CO2(15%)
We present measurements of the energy loss of pions and electrons in drift
chambers operated with a Xe,CO2(15%) mixture. The measurements are carried out
for particle momenta from 1 to 6 GeV/c using prototype drift chambers for the
ALICE TRD. Microscopic calculations are performed using input parameters
calculated with GEANT3. These calculations reproduce well the measured average
and most probable values for pions, but a higher Fermi plateau is required in
order to reproduce our electron data. The widths of the measured distributions
are smaller for data compared to the calculations. The electron/pion
identification performance using the energy loss is also presented.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Nucl.Instrum.Meth.
Space charge in drift chambers operated with the Xe,CO2(15%) mixture
Using prototype modules of the ALICE Transition Radiation Detector we
investigate space charge effects and the dependence of the pion rejection
performance on the incident angle of the ionizing particle. The average pulse
height distributions in the drift chambers operated with the Xe,CO2(15%)
mixture provide quantitative information on the gas gain reduction due to space
charge accumulating during the drift of the primary ionization. Our results
demonstrate that the pion rejection performance of a TRD is better for tracks
which are not at normal incidence to the anode wires. We present detailed
simulations of detector signals, which reproduce the measurements and lend
strong support to our interpretation of the measurements in terms of space
charge effects.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Nucl.Instrum.Meth.
A. Data files available at http://www-alice.gsi.de/tr
Position Reconstruction in Drift Chambers operated with Xe, CO2 (15%)
We present measurements of position and angular resolution of drift chambers
operated with a Xe,CO(15%) mixture. The results are compared to Monte Carlo
simulations and important systematic effects, in particular the dispersive
nature of the absorption of transition radiation and non-linearities, are
discussed. The measurements were carried out with prototype drift chambers of
the ALICE Transition Radiation Detector, but our findings can be generalized to
other drift chambers with similar geometry, where the electron drift is
perpendicular to the wire planes.Comment: 30 pages, 18 figure
Subthreshold Xi- Production in Collisions of p(3.5 GeV)+Nb
Results on the production of the double-strange cascade hyperon
are reported for collisions of p\,(3.5~GeV)\,+\,Nb, studied
with the High Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at SIS18 at GSI
Helmholtzzentrum for Heavy-Ion Research, Darmstadt. For the first time,
subthreshold production is observed in proton-nucleus
interactions. Assuming a phase-space distribution similar to
that of hyperons, the production probability amounts to
resulting in a
ratio of $P_{\mathrm{\Xi^-}}/\
P_{\mathrm{\Lambda+\Sigma^0}}=(1.2\pm
0.3\,\mathrm{(stat)}\pm0.4\,\mathrm{(syst)})\times10^{-2}\mathrm{\Xi^-}$ yield.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Lambda hyperon production and polarization in collisions of p(3.5 GeV) + Nb
Results on hyperon production are reported for collisions of p(3.5
GeV) + Nb, studied with the High Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at
SIS18 at GSI Helmholtzzentrum for Heavy-Ion Research, Darmstadt. The transverse
mass distributions in rapidity bins are well described by Boltzmann shapes with
a maximum inverse slope parameter of about MeV at a rapidity of ,
i.e. slightly below the center-of-mass rapidity for nucleon-nucleon collisions,
. The rapidity density decreases monotonically with increasing
rapidity within a rapidity window ranging from 0.3 to 1.3. The
phase-space distribution is compared with results of other experiments and with
predictions of two transport approaches which are available publicly. None of
the present versions of the employed models is able to fully reproduce the
experimental distributions, i.e. in absolute yield and in shape. Presumably,
this finding results from an insufficient modelling in the transport models of
the elementary processes being relevant for production, rescattering
and absorption. The present high-statistics data allow for a genuine
two-dimensional investigation as a function of phase space of the
self-analyzing polarization in the weak decay . Finite negative values of the polarization in the order of
are observed over the entire phase space studied. The absolute value of the
polarization increases almost linearly with increasing transverse momentum for
MeV/c and increases with decreasing rapidity for .Comment: accepted by Eur. Phys. J.
Searching a Dark Photon with HADES
We present a search for the e+e- decay of a hypothetical dark photon, also
names U vector boson, in inclusive dielectron spectra measured by HADES in the
p (3.5 GeV) + p, Nb reactions, as well as the Ar (1.756 GeV/u) + KCl reaction.
An upper limit on the kinetic mixing parameter squared epsilon^{2} at 90% CL
has been obtained for the mass range M(U) = 0.02 - 0.55 GeV/c2 and is compared
with the present world data set. For masses 0.03 - 0.1 GeV/c^2, the limit has
been lowered with respect to previous results, allowing now to exclude a large
part of the parameter region favoured by the muon g-2 anomaly. Furthermore, an
improved upper limit on the branching ratio of 2.3 * 10^{-6} has been set on
the helicity-suppressed direct decay of the eta meson, eta-> e+e-, at 90% CL
- …