L0 Project: Monitoring H1 Triggers with SpaCal

We have built a VME module using H1’s ADC and BaBar TDC interfaced to H1’s 29K processor. It is used to monitor SpaCal trigger, energy sums and trigger elements, by reading up to 130Kevents/s. The timing resolution is found to be surprisingly good ( »1ns) for energy sum signals. The performances under various beam conditions are shown, including a first study of the “hotspot” counters designed as a veto against e-beam background

Results of a self-triggered prototype system for radio-detection of extensive air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory

We describe the experimental setup and the results of RAuger, a small radio-antenna array, consisting of three fully autonomous and self-triggered radio-detection stations, installed close to the center of the Surface Detector (SD) of the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina. The setup has been designed for the detection of the electric field strength of air showers initiated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays, without using an auxiliary trigger from another detection system. Installed in December 2006, RAuger was terminated in May 2010 after 65 registered coincidences with the SD. The sky map in local angular coordinates (i.e., zenith and azimuth angles) of these events reveals a strong azimuthal asymmetry which is in agreement with a mechanism dominated by a geomagnetic emission process. The correlation between the electric field and the energy of the primary cosmic ray is presented for the first time, in an energy range covering two orders of magnitude between 0.1 EeV and 10 EeV. It is demonstrated that this setup is relatively more sensitive to inclined showers, with respect to the SD. In addition to these results, which underline the potential of the radio-detection technique, important information about the general behavior of self-triggering radio-detection systems has been obtained. In particular, we will discuss radio self-triggering under varying local electric-field conditions.Comment: accepted for publication in JINS

Application of Dynamic Adaptive Focusing System to Ultrasonic Non Destructive Testing

To obtain the high performances requested by the safety authorities for ultrasonic inspections, in term of sizing, characterization and on-line monitoring, it is needed to vary the refracted angles, focusing depths and the size of the ultrasonic beams rapidly and over a wide range. This is not possible with conventional techniques which allow only fixed focusing. The F.A.U.S.T. (Focusing Adaptive UltraSonic Tomography) system, which is described in this paper, is an open and powerful tool designed to overcome the difficult problems in flaw assessment and monitoring

Results of a self-triggered prototype system for radio-detection of extensive air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory

We describe the experimental setup and the results of RAuger, a small radio-antenna array, consisting of three fully autonomous and self-triggered radio-detection stations, installed close to the center of the Surface Detector (SD) of the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina. The setup has been designed for the detection of the electric field strength of air showers initiated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays, without using an auxiliary trigger from another detection system. Installed in December 2006, RAuger was terminated in May 2010 after 65 registered coincidences with the SD. The sky map in local angular coordinates (i.e., zenith and azimuth angles) of these events reveals a strong azimuthal asymmetry which is in agreement with a mechanism dominated by a geomagnetic emission process. The correlation between the electric field and the energy of the primary cosmic ray is presented for the first time, in an energy range covering two orders of magnitude between 0.1 EeV and 10 EeV. It is demonstrated that this setup is relatively more sensitive to inclined showers, with respect to the SD. In addition to these results, which underline the potential of the radio-detection technique, important information about the general behavior of self-triggering radio-detection systems has been obtained. In particular, we will discuss radio self-triggering under varying local electric-field conditions

The ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC

ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is a general-purpose, heavy-ion detector at the CERN LHC which focuses on QCD, the strong-interaction sector of the Standard Model. It is designed to address the physics of strongly interacting matter and the quark-gluon plasma at extreme values of energy density and temperature in nucleus-nucleus collisions. Besides running with Pb ions, the physics programme includes collisions with lighter ions, lower energy running and dedicated proton-nucleus runs. ALICE will also take data with proton beams at the top LHC energy to collect reference data for the heavy-ion programme and to address several QCD topics for which ALICE is complementary to the other LHC detectors. The ALICE detector has been built by a collaboration including currently over 1000 physicists and engineers from 105 Institutes in 30 countries. Its overall dimensions are 161626 m3 with a total weight of approximately 10 000 t. The experiment consists of 18 different detector systems each with its own specific technology choice and design constraints, driven both by the physics requirements and the experimental conditions expected at LHC. The most stringent design constraint is to cope with the extreme particle multiplicity anticipated in central Pb-Pb collisions. The different subsystems were optimized to provide high-momentum resolution as well as excellent Particle Identification (PID) over a broad range in momentum, up to the highest multiplicities predicted for LHC. This will allow for comprehensive studies of hadrons, electrons, muons, and photons produced in the collision of heavy nuclei. Most detector systems are scheduled to be installed and ready for data taking by mid-2008 when the LHC is scheduled to start operation, with the exception of parts of the Photon Spectrometer (PHOS), Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) and Electro Magnetic Calorimeter (EMCal). These detectors will be completed for the high-luminosity ion run expected in 2010. This paper describes in detail the detector components as installed for the first data taking in the summer of 2008

Application of Dynamic Adaptive Focusing System to Ultrasonic Non Destructive Testing

To obtain the high performances requested by the safety authorities for ultrasonic inspections, in term of sizing, characterization and on-line monitoring, it is needed to vary the refracted angles, focusing depths and the size of the ultrasonic beams rapidly and over a wide range. This is not possible with conventional techniques which allow only fixed focusing. The F.A.U.S.T. (Focusing Adaptive UltraSonic Tomography) system, which is described in this paper, is an open and powerful tool designed to overcome the difficult problems in flaw assessment and monitoring.</p

Results of a self-triggered prototype system for radio-detection of extensive air showers at the Pierre auger observatory

We describe the experimental setup and the results of RAuger, a small radio-antenna array, consisting of three fully autonomous and self-triggered radio-detection stations, installed close to the center of the Surface Detector (SD) of the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina. The setup has been designed for the detection of the electric field strength of air showers initiated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays, without using an auxiliary trigger from another detection system. Installed in December 2006, RAuger was terminated in May 2010 after 65 registered coincidences with the SD. The sky map in local angular coordinates (i.e., zenith and azimuth angles) of these events reveals a strong azimuthal asymmetry which is in agreement with a mechanism dominated by a geomagnetic emission process. The correlation between the electric field and the energy of the primary cosmic ray is presented for the first time, in an energy range covering two orders of magnitude between 0.1 EeV and 10 EeV. It is demonstrated that this setup is relatively more sensitive to inclined showers, with respect to the SD. In addition to these results, which underline the potential of the radio-detection technique, important information about the general behavior of self-triggering radio-detection systems has been obtained. In particular, we will discuss radio self-triggering under varying local electric-field conditions.</p

Results of a self-triggered prototype system for radio-detection of extensive air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory

We describe the experimental setup and the results of RAuger, a small radio-antenna array, consisting of three fully autonomous and self-trigg ered radio-detection stations, installed close to the center of the Surface Detector (SD) of the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina. The setup has been designed for the detection of the electric field strength of air showers initiated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays, without using an auxiliary trigger from another detection system. Installed in December 2006, RAuger was terminated in May 2010 after 65 registered coincidences with the SD. The sky map in local angular coordinates (i.e., zenith and azimuth angles) of these events reveals a strong azimuthal asymmetry which is in agreement with a mechanism dominated by a geomagnetic emission process. The correlation between the electric field and the energy of the primary cosmic ray is presented for the first time, in an energy range covering two orders of magnitude between 0.1 EeV and 10 EeV. It is demonstrated that this setup is relatively more sensitive to inclined showers, with respect to the SD. In addition to these results, which underline the potential of the radio-detection technique, important information about the general behavior of self-triggering radio-detection systems has been obtained. In particular, we will discuss radio self-triggering under varying local electric-field condition