Characterisation and calibration of a scintillating fibre detector with > 4000 multi-anode photomultiplier channels

In the Kaos spectrometer at the Mainz Microtron a high-resolution coordinate detector for high-energy particles is operated. It consists of scintillating fibres with diameters of 4000 multi-anode photomultiplier channels. It is one of the most modern focal-plane detectors for magnetic spectrometers world-wide. To correct variations in the detection efficiency, caused by the different gains and the different optical transmittances, a fully automated off-line calibration procedure has been developed. The process includes the positioning of a radioisotope source alongside the detector plane and the automated acquisition and analysis of the detector signals. It was possible to characterise and calibrate each individual fibre channel with a low degree of human interaction.Comment: Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A (2012

A Tracking Fiber Detector based on Silicon Photomultipliers for the Kaos Spectrometer

A tracking detector based on two meters long scintillating fibers read out by silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) is being developed for the Kaos spectrometer at the Mainz Microtron MAMI. Results from a prototype setup using 2 mm square fibers and large area SiPM readout are presented. The detection efficiency of such a combination was measured to be between 83 and 100% depending on the threshold on the SiPM amplitude. A Monte Carlo simulation based on a physical model was employed in order to extract the photon detection efficiency of the SiPM devices.Comment: Contributed to 2008 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium, 19-25 October 2008, Dresden, German

Detector developments for the hypernuclear programme at PANDA

The technical design of the PANDA experiment at the future FAIR facility next to GSI is progressing. At the proposed anti-proton storage ring the spectroscopy of double Lambda hypernuclei is one of the four main topics which will be addressed by the Collaboration. The hypernuclear experiments require (i) a dedicated internal target, (ii) an active secondary target of alternating silicon and absorber material layers, (iii) high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors, and (iv) a good particle identification system for low momentum kaons. All systems need to operate in the presence of a high magnetic field and a large hadronic background. The status of the detector developments for this programme is summarized.Comment: Contributed to 2008 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium, 19-25 October 2008, Dresden, German

Direct and Inverse Methods for Scattering by Cracks at High Frequencies

Further results are presented for the direct problem of scattering of high-frequency waves by cracks in elastic solids. Results for a penny-shaped crack, obtained on the basis of geometrical diffraction theory, are compared with experimental data. For simple crack geometries a hybrid method, whereby the crack-opening displacement is computed by ray theory, and the scattered field is subsequently obtained by the use of a representation theorem, is tested by comparison with exact results. The simple form of the far-field high-frequency solutions to the direct scattering problem suggests the application of Fourier-type integrals to solve the inverse problem. Two different inversion integrals are discussed. The inversion method is checked by applying it to the scattered field of a flat elliptical crack, for which an analytical expression is derived. Some computational technicalities are discussed, and numerical results are presented

Measurements of Local Surface Wave Speeds by a Dual-Probe Laser Interferometer

In a recent paper Huang and Achenbach [1] have reported the development of a dual-probe laser interferometer. In addition to the usual advantages of a laser interferometer such as no contact and point detection, the dual-probe interferometer measures the same signal at two points along its propagation path. Hence the instrument is particularly useful for the measurement of surface wave speed and attenuation. Such measurements provide valuable information on the near-surface material properties as well as the condition of the surface

Emotion processing in infancy: specificity in risk for social anxiety and associations with two year outcomes

The current study examined the specificity of patterns of responding to high and low intensity negative emotional expressions of infants of mothers with social phobia, and their association with child outcomes at two years of age. Infants of mothers with social phobia, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) or no history of anxiety were shown pairs of angry and fearful emotional expressions at 10 weeks of age. Symptoms of social withdrawal, anxiety and sleep problems were assessed at two years of age. Only infants of mothers with social phobia showed a tendency to look away from high intensity fear faces; however infants of mothers with both social phobia and GAD showed a bias towards high intensity angry faces. Among the offspring of mothers with social phobia, anxiety symptoms at two years of age were associated with a preference for high intensity fear faces in infancy. The reverse pattern was found amongst the offspring of non-anxious mothers. These findings suggest a possible specific response to emotional expressions among the children of mothers with social phobia