First observation of the cosmic ray shadow of the Moon and the Sun with KM3NeT/ORCA

This article reports the first observation of the Moon and the Sun shadows in the sky distribution of cosmic-ray induced muons measured by the KM3NeT/ORCA detector. The analysed data-taking period spans from February 2020 to November 2021, when the detector had 6 Detection Units deployed at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, each composed of 18 Digital Optical Modules. The shadows induced by the Moon and the Sun were detected at their nominal position with a statistical significance of 4.2 and 6.2 , and an angular resolution of and , respectively, consistent with the prediction of from simulations. This early result confirms the effectiveness of the detector calibration, in time, position and orientation and the accuracy of the event direction reconstruction. This also demonstrates the performance and the competitiveness of the detector in terms of pointing accuracy and angular resolution.Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) ANR-15-CE31-0020Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Commission Europeenne (FEDER fund), FranceMarie Curie Actions European Union (EU)Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), FranceLabEx UnivEarthS, France ANR-10-LABX-0023 ANR-18-IDEX-0001Paris ile-de-France Region, FranceGerman Research Foundation (DFG)Greek Ministry of Development-GSRTIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Ministero dell'Universita e della Ricerca (MIUR), PRIN 2017 program Italy NAT-NET 2017W4HA7SMinistry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, MoroccoArab Fund for Economic and Social DevelopmentNetherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) Netherlands GovernmentNational Science Centre, PolandNational Authority for Scientific Research (ANCS), RomaniaMCIN/AEI PID2021-124591NB-C41 PID2021-124591NB-C42 PID2021-124591NB-C43ERDF A way of making EuropeEuropean Union (EU)Center for Forestry Research & Experimentation (CIEF) ASFAE/2022/023 ASFAE/2022/014Programa Prometeo of the Generalitat Valenciana PROMETEO/2020/019GenT of the Generalitat Valenciana CIDEGENT/2018/034 CIDEGENT/2019/043 CIDEGENT/2020/049 CIDEGENT/2021/23Junta de Andalucia SOMM17/6104/UGR P18-FR-5057EU: MSC program 101025085Programa Maria Zambrano (Spanish Ministry of Universities - European Union, NextGenerationEU), Spai

El cuatrimestre de la COVID-19 en la asignatura de Arquitectura de Computadores: reflexiones sobre la incidencia de la pandemia en la docencia universitaria

La pandemia de COVID-19 ha afectado de forma significativa a la docencia de las asignaturas universitarias del segundo cuatrimestre del curso 2019-20 y del primer cuatrimestre del 2020-2021. Así, se ha requerido usar plataformas para impartir las asignaturas a través de videoconferencias, grabar las clases, y elaborar y realizar exámenes no presenciales. En particular, las circunstancias que acompañan la evaluación no presencial han generado situaciones que deben analizarse en el ámbito de la relación estudiante-profesor y estudiante-estudiante, precisamente en un contexto en el que la limitada interacción a distancia entre docentes y estudiantes ha dificultado en muchos casos alcanzar el nivel de confianza necesario para lograr los niveles de aprendizaje que se conseguían a través de clases presenciales. Esta situación se ha sido evidente en asignaturas con grupos muy numerosos, tal y como ocurre en el caso de la asignatura Arquitectura de Computadores del grado en Ingeniería Informática de la Universidad de Granada, que se considera en este artículo.The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the teaching of university subjects in the second quarter of the 2019-20 academic year and the first quarter of 2020-2021. Thus, it has been necessary to use technological platforms to teach the subjects through videoconferences, to record the classes, and to prepare and carry out remote exams. In particular, the circumstances that accompany the remote assessment have generated situations that must be analysed in the area of the student-teacher and student-student relationships, precisely in a context in which the limited distance interaction between the teacher and his or her students has made it difficult in many cases to achieve the level of confidence achieved through face-to-face classes. This situation has been clearly evident in subjects with very large groups, as has been the case with the Computer Architecture subject of the degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Granada, which is considered in this paper.Departamento de Arquitectura y Tecnología de ComputadoresPGC2018-098813-B-C31 (Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades y fondos FEDER)

Proyecto Cluster

En el marco de un Proyecto de Innovación Docente de la Universidad de Granada, aplicado a la asignatura de 5º curso “Arquitectura de Computadores II” (ACII) en el curso 2008-09, realizamos el diseño, compra, montaje, instalación y utilización de un mini-cluster de computadores orientado a aplicaciones científicas. En el curso 2009-10, disponiendo ya del equipo montado, la actividad se ha replanteado como instalación y utilización del cluster, habiéndose concurrido al Programa de Apoyo a Docencia Práctica para la adquisición de hardware adicional con el cual explotar las prestaciones del cluster (discos adicionales para servidor de disco, infraestructura Infiniband, etc). Esta contribución describe el método aplicado para desarrollar y evaluar la actividad, el cluster diseñado por los estudiantes y su configuración software, así como los resultados de encuestas de opinión de los estudiantes que participaron, posibles variaciones de la experiencia que podrían probarse, y las conclusiones alcanzadas con la realización del proyecto.Plan de Innovación Docente de la UGR. Plan de Apoyo a la Docencia Práctica de la UG

Architecture and performance of the KM3NeT front-end firmware

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the funding agencies: Agence Nationale de la Recherche (contract ANR-15-CE31-0020), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commission Europeenne (FEDER fund and Marie Curie Program), Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), LabEx UnivEarthS (ANR-10-LABX-0023 and ANR-18-IDEX-0001), Paris Ile-de-France Region, France; Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRNSFG, FR-18-1268), Georgia; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Germany; The General Secretariat of Research and Technology (GSRT), Greece; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Universita e della Ricerca (MIUR), PRIN 2017 program (Grant NAT-NET 2017W4HA7S) Italy; Ministry of Higher Education Scientific Research and Professional Training, ICTP through Grant AF-13, Morocco; Nederlandse organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO), the Netherlands; The National Science Centre, Poland (2015/18/E/ST2/00758); National Authority for Scientific Research (ANCS), Romania; Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion, Investigacion y Universidades (MCIU): Programa Estatal de Generacion de Conocimiento (refs. PGC2018-096663-B-C41, -A-C42, -B-C43, -B-C44) (MCIU/FEDER), Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence and MultiDark Consolider (MCIU), Junta de Andalucia (ref. SOMM17/6104/UGR), Generalitat Valenciana: Grisolia (ref. GRISOLIA/2018/119) and GenT (ref. CIDEGENT/2018/034) programs, La Caixa Foundation (ref. LCF/BQ/IN17/11620019), EU: MSC program (ref. 713673), Spain.The KM3NeT infrastructure consists of two deep-sea neutrino telescopes being deployed in the Mediterranean Sea. The telescopes will detect extraterrestrial and atmospheric neutrinos by means of the incident photons induced by the passage of relativistic charged particles through the seawater as a consequence of a neutrino interaction. The telescopes are configured in a three-dimensional grid of digital optical modules, each hosting 31 photomultipliers. The photomultiplier signals produced by the incident Cherenkov photons are converted into digital information consisting of the integrated pulse duration and the time at which it surpasses a chosen threshold. The digitization is done by means of time to digital converters (TDCs) embedded in the field programmable gate array of the central logic board. Subsequently, a state machine formats the acquired data for its transmission to shore. We present the architecture and performance of the front-end firmware consisting of the TDCs and the state machine.French National Research Agency (ANR) ANR-15-CE31-0020Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Commission Europeenne (FEDER fund), FranceCommission Europeenne (Marie Curie Program), FranceInstitut Universitaire de France (IUF), FranceLabEx UnivEarthS, France ANR-10-LABX-0023 ANR-18-IDEX-0001Paris Ile-de-France Region, FranceShota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRNSFG), Georgia FR-18-1268German Research Foundation (DFG)Greek Ministry of Development-GSRTIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) NAT-NET 2017W4HA7SMinistry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR) NAT-NET 2017W4HA7SPRIN 2017 program Italy NAT-NET 2017W4HA7SMinistry of Higher Education Scientific Research and Professional Training, ICTP, Morocco AF-13Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) Netherlands GovernmentNational Science Centre, Poland 2015/18/E/ST2/00758National Authority for Scientific Research (ANCS), RomaniaMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovacion, Investigacion y Universidades (MCIU): Programa Estatal de Generacion de Conocimiento (MCIU/FEDER), Spain PGC2018-096663-B-C41 PGC2018-096663-A-C42 PGC2018-096663-B-C43 PGC2018-096663-B-C44Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence and MultiDark Consolider (MCIU), SpainJunta de Andalucia European Commission SOMM17/6104/UGRGeneralitat Valenciana: Grisolia program, Spain GRISOLIA/2018/119Generalitat Valenciana: GenT program, Spain CIDEGENT/2018/034La Caixa Foundation LCF/BQ/IN17/11620019EU: MSC program, Spain 71367

The KM3NeT multi-PMT optical module

The optical module of the KM3NeT neutrino telescope is an innovative multi-faceted large area photodetection module. It contains 31 three-inch photomultiplier tubes in a single 0.44m diameter pressure-resistant glass sphere. The module is a sensory device also comprising calibration instruments and electronics for power, readout and data acquisition. It is capped with a breakout-box with electronics for connection to an electro-optical cable for power and long-distance communication to the onshore control station. The design of the module was qualified for the first time in the deep sea in 2013. Since then, the technology has been further improved to meet requirements of scalability, cost-effectiveness and high reliability. The module features a sub-nanosecond timing accuracy and a dynamic range allowing the measurement of a single photon up to a cascade of thousands of photons, suited for the measurement of the Cherenkov radiation induced in water by secondary particles from interactions of neutrinos with energies in the range of GeV to PeV. A distributed production model has been implemented for the delivery of more than 6000 modules in the coming few years with an average production rate of more than 100 modules per month. In this paper a review is presented of the design of the multi-PMT KM3NeT optical module with a proven effective background suppression and signal recognition and sensitivity to the incoming direction of photons.French National Research Agency (ANR) ANR-15-CE31-0020 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Commission Europeenne (FEDER fund) Commission Europeenne (Marie Curie Program)Institut Universitaire de France (IUF)LabEx UnivEarthS ANR-10-LABX-0023 ANR-18-IDEX-0001Paris Ile-de-France Region, FranceShota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRNSFG), Georgia FR-18-1268German Research Foundation (DFG)Greek Ministry of Development-GSRTIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Ministero dell'Universita e della Ricerca (MIUR), PRIN 2017 program, Italy NAT-NET 2017W4HA7SMinistry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, MoroccoArab Fund for Economic and Social DevelopmentNederlandse organisatie voor Wetenschappelk Onderzoek (NWO), the NetherlandsNational Science Centre, Poland 2015/18/E/ST2/00758National Authority for Scientific Research (ANCS), RomaniaMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovacion, Investigacion y Universidades (MCIU): Programa Estatal de Generacion de Conocimiento PGC2018-096663-B-C41 PGC2018-096663-A C42 PGC2018-096663-B-C43 PGC2018-096663-B-C44Center for Forestry Research & Experimentation (CIEF) PROMETEO/2020/019Generalitat Valenciana: Grisolia program GRISOLIA/2018/119 GRISOLIA/2021/192 Generalitat Valenciana: GenT program CIDEGENT/2018/034 CIDEGENT/2019/043 CIDEGENT/2020/049 CIDEGENT/2021/023Junta de Andalucia AFQM-053-UGR18La Caixa Foundation LCF/BQ/IN17/11620019EU: MSC program, Spain 10102508

Determining the neutrino mass ordering and oscillation parameters with KM3NeT/ORCA

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the funding agencies: Agence Nationale de la Recherche (contract ANR-15-CE31-0020), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commission Europeenne (FEDER fund and Marie Curie Program), Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), LabEx UnivEarthS (ANR-10-LABX-0023 and ANR-18-IDEX-0001), Paris Ile-de-France Region, France; Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRNSFG, FR-18-1268), Georgia; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Germany; The General Secretariat of Research and Technology (GSRT), Greece; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Ministero dell'Universita e della Ricerca (MIUR), PRIN 2017 program (Grant NAT-NET 2017W4HA7S) Italy; Ministry of Higher Education Scientific Research and Professional Training, ICTP through Grant AF-13, Morocco; Nederlandse organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO), the Netherlands; The National Science Centre, Poland (2015/18/E/ST2/00758); National Authority for Scientific Research (ANCS), Romania; Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion, Investigacion y Universidades (MCIU): Programa Estatal de Generacion de Conocimiento (refs. PGC2018-096663-B-C41, -A-C42, -B-C43, -B-C44) (MCIU/FEDER), Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence and MultiDark Consolider (MCIU), Junta de Andalucia (ref. SOMM17/6104/UGR), Generalitat Valenciana: Grisolia (ref. GRISOLIA/2018/119) and GenT (ref. CIDEGENT/2018/034 and CIDEGENT/2019/043) programs, La Caixa Foundation (ref. LCF/BQ/IN17/11620019), EU: MSC program (ref. 713673), Spain.The next generation of water Cherenkov neutrino telescopes in the Mediterranean Sea are under construction offshore France (KM3NeT/ORCA) and Sicily (KM3NeT/ARCA). The KM3NeT/ORCA detector features an energy detection threshold which allows to collect atmospheric neutrinos to study flavour oscillation. This paper reports the KM3NeT/ORCA sensitivity to this phenomenon. The event reconstruction, selection and classification are described. The sensitivity to determine the neutrino mass ordering was evaluated and found to be 4.4 sigma if the true ordering is normal and 2.3 sigma if inverted, after 3 years of data taking. The precision to measure Delta m(32)(2) and theta(23) were also estimated and found to be 85.10(-6) eV(2) and ((+1.9)(-3.1))degrees for normal neutrino mass ordering and, 75.10(-6) eV(2) and ((+2.0)(-7.0))degrees for inverted ordering. Finally, a unitarity test of the leptonic mixing matrix by measuring the rate of tau neutrinos is described. Three years of data taking were found to be sufficient to exclude (nu)over-left-right-arrow tau event rate variations larger than 20% at 3 sigma level.French National Research Agency (ANR) ANR-15-CE31-0020 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Commission Europeenne (FEDER fund), France Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), France LabEx UnivEarthS, France ANR-10-LABX-0023 ANR-18-IDEX-0001 Paris Ile-de-France Region, FranceShota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRNSFG), Georgia FR-18-1268German Research Foundation (DFG)The General Secretariat of Research and Technology (GSRT), GreeceIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR)PRIN 2017 program, Italy NAT-NET 2017W4HA7SMinistry of Higher Education Scientific Research and Professional Training, ICTP, Morocco AF-13Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) Netherlands GovernmentThe National Science Centre, Poland 2015/18/E/ST2/00758National Authority for Scientific Research (ANCS), RomaniaMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovacion, Investigacion y Universidades (MCIU): Programa Estatal de Generacion de Conocimiento, Spain PGC2018-096663-B-C41 PGC2018-096663-A-C42 PGC2018-096663-B-C43 PGC2018-096663-B-C44 Generalitat Valenciana: Grisolia program, Spain GRISOLIA/2018/119 La Caixa Foundation LCF/BQ/IN17/11620019EU: MSC program, Spain 713673Commission Europeenne (Marie Curie Program), FranceGeneralitat Valenciana: GenT programs, Spain CIDEGENT/2018/034 CIDEGENT/2019/043Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion, Investigacion y Universidades (MCIU): Severo Ochoa Centre of ExcellenceMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovacion, Investigacion y Universidades (MCIU): MultiDark Consolider (MCIU)Junta de Andalucia European Commission SOMM17/6104/UG

Multiprotocol Authentication Device for HPC and Cloud Environments Based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography

Multifactor authentication is a relevant tool in securing IT infrastructures combining two or more credentials. We can find smartcards and hardware tokens to leverage the authentication process, but they have some limitations. Users connect these devices in the client node to log in or request access to services. Alternatively, if an application wants to use these resources, the code has to be amended with bespoke solutions to provide access. Thanks to advances in system-on-chip devices, we can integrate cryptographically robust, low-cost solutions. In this work, we present an autonomous device that allows multifactor authentication in client–server systems in a transparent way, which facilitates its integration in High-Performance Computing (HPC) and cloud systems, through a generic gateway. The proposed electronic token (eToken), based on the system-on-chip ESP32, provides an extra layer of security based on elliptic curve cryptography. Secure communications between elements use Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) to facilitate their interconnection. We have evaluated different types of possible attacks and the impact on communications. The proposed system offers an efficient solution to increase security in access to services and systems.Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICINN) PGC2018-096663-B-C44European Union (EU

Reflexiones sobre el EEES tras los primeros cursos de la asignatura Arquitectura de Computadores

Han pasado ya algunos cursos académicos desde que empezaron a impartirse en la Universidad de Granada estudios de grado según las directrices del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES). En el caso del grado en Ingeniería Informática, este curso 2015/2016 terminará la tercera promoción. En este artículo, tras resumir los objetivos de la denominada reforma de Bolonia, se describen algunas de las situaciones en las que se ha traducido la implementación de la reforma en nuestro país. Para extraer algunas de las conclusiones del artículo se ha tomado como referencia la asignatura de Arquitectura de Computadores de segundo del grado en Ingeniería Informática que está siendo impartida por varios de los autores del artículo.It has been several academic years since the beginning of study programmes at the University of Granada according to the guidelines of the European Higher Education Area. In this paper, after summarizing the main objectives of the so-called Bologna reform, some of the consequences of its implementation in Spain are described. Moreover, the subject of Computer Architecture, taught in the second course by some of the authors of the paper, is considered as a reference to extract some of the conclusions of the paper.Universidad de Granada: Departamento de Arquitectura y Tecnología de Computadores; Vicerrectorado para la Garantía de la Calidad

Probing invisible neutrino decay with KM3NeT/ORCA

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the funding agencies: Agence Nationale de la Recherche (contract ANR-15-CE31-0020), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commission Européenne (FEDER fund and Marie Curie Program), LabEx UnivEarthS (ANR-10-LABX-0023 and ANR-18-IDEX-0001), Paris Île-de-France Region, France; The General Secretariat of Research and Innovation (GSRI), Greece Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca (MIUR), PRIN 2017 program (Grant NAT-NET 2017W4HA7S) Italy; Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Morocco, and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Kuwait; Nederlandse organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO), the Netherlands; The National Science Centre, Poland (2021/41/N/ST2/01177); National Authority for Scientific Research (ANCS), Romania; Grants PID2021-124591NB-C41, -C42, -C43 funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and, as appropriate, by “ERDF A way of making Europe”, by the “European Union” or by the “European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR”, Programa de Planes Complementarios I+D+I (refs. ASFAE/2022/023, ASFAE/2022/014), Programa Prometeo (PROMETEO/2020/019) and GenT (refs. CIDEGENT/2018/034, /2019/043, /2020/049. /2021/23) of the Generalitat Valenciana, Junta de Andalucía (ref. SOMM17/6104/UGR, P18-FR-5057), EU: MSC program (ref. 101025085), Programa María Zambrano (Spanish Ministry of Universities, funded by the European Union, NextGenerationEU), Spain.In the era of precision measurements of the neutrino oscillation parameters, upcoming neutrino experiments will also be sensitive to physics beyond the Standard Model. KM3NeT/ORCA is a neutrino detector optimised for measuring atmospheric neutrinos from a few GeV to around 100 GeV. In this paper, the sensitivity of the KM3NeT/ORCA detector to neutrino decay has been explored. A three-flavour neutrino oscillation scenario, where the third neutrino mass state v3 decays into an invisible state, e.g. a sterile neutrino, is considered. We find that KM3NeT/ORCA would be sensitive to invisible neutrino decays with 1/alpha 3 = T3/m3 < 180 ps/eV at 90% confidence level, assuming true normal ordering. Finally, the impact of neutrino decay on the precision of KM3NeT/ORCA measurements for theta(23), Delta m(31)(2) and mass ordering have been studied. No significant effect of neutrino decay on the sensitivity to these measurements has been found.Commission Européenne FEDER fundCommission Européenn Marie Curie ProgramMCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033, ID2021-124591NB-C41, -C42, -C43ERDFEuropean UnionEuropean Union NextGenerationEU/PRTRPlanes Complementarios I+D+I, ASFAE/2022/023, ASFAE/2022/014PROMETEO/2020/019Generalitat Valenciana, GenT, CIDEGENT/2018/034, /2019/043, /2020/049, /2021/23Junta de Andalucía SOMM17/6104/UGR, P18-FR-5057EU: MSC program 101025085European Union, NextGenerationEU, Programa María Zambran

Motivación para la Ingeniería de Computadores

Los estudios de Ingeniería de Computadores proporcionan competencias que permiten participar en el desarrollo de los actuales y futuros sistemas de cómputo, con una incidencia importante en el entorno socioeconómico, y por tanto con posibilidades profesionales relevantes. Este artículo incluye consideraciones y argumentos para facilitar, a los profesores involucrados en la docencia de asignaturas relacionadas con la Ingeniería de Computadores, la labor de motivación de los estudiantes. En particular se proporcionan algunas estrategias docentes para la motivación y se ilustra su uso en la docencia del lenguaje ensamblador y de los modelos de consistencia de memoria.Computer engineering courses and degrees provide competencies to be involved in the development of present and future computer systems, with a relevant effect in social and economical contexts, and interesting professional opportunities for students. This paper provides some considerations and arguments to make it easier for teachers involved in subjects related with computer engineering topics to motivate their students. More specifically, the use of some motivation strategies for teaching assembly languages and memory consistency models are described.Departamento de Arquitectura y Tecnología de Computadores y Vicerrectorado para la Garantía de la Calidad de la Universidad de Granada