On distortions of TPC coordinates: inhomogeneities of electric and magnetic field

After a general discussion of electron drift in a gas volume with electric and magnetic fields, distortions in the r and r phi coordinates arising from inhomogeneities of the electric and magnetic fields in the HARP TPC are calculated. Inhomogeneities of the electric field arise from i) positive ions released by cosmic rays, ii) positive ions released by interaction secondaries, iii) positive ions released by beam muons, iv) positive ions released from beam particles downstream of the inner field cage, and v) a high voltage misalignment between the outer and inner field cages. Also, distortions arising from the inhomogeneity of the magnetic field are calculated. These effects resolve the controversy on unphysical numbers of 'wrong-charge' TPC tracks. The bad news are that effects are too big to be neglected. The good news are that, with enough sweat and tears, they can be adequately corrected

Momentum and missing mass from elastic scattering on hydrogen

The kinematics of the elastic scattering of incoming protons and pions on protons at rest is recalled. The effect of biases and resolutions on the momentum of the recoil protons observed in the TPC, and on the missing mass of the forward-scattered beam particle, are discussed

TPC Track Reconstruction: Generalized Least Squares Fit

Track fitting in the HARP TPC must account for the fact that, because of the rotational symmetry of the TPC, both x and y cluster coordinates have errors at the same level of importance. Conventional fit algorithms which have only one coordinate with error while all other coordinates are error-free, are not appropriate. A generalized least-squares method is described which is symmetric in all coordinates, and applied in a 3D helix fit of TPC tracks

Analysis of HARP TPC krypton data

This memo describes the procedure which was adopted to equalize the response of the 3972 pads of the HARP TPC, using radioactive 83mKr gas. The results obtained from the study of reconstructed krypton clusters in the calibration data taken in 2002 are reported. Two complementary methods were employed in the data analysis. Compatible results were obtained for channel-to-channel equalization constants. An estimate of the overall systematic uncertainty was derived

TPC track distortions: correction maps for magnetic and static electric inhomogeneities

Inhomogeneities of the magnetic and electric fields in the active TPC volume lead to displacements of cluster coordinates, and therefore to track distortions. In case of good data taking conditions, the largest effects are expected from the inhomogeneity of the solenoidal magnetic field, and from a distortion of the electric field arising from a high voltage misalignment between the outer and inner field cages. Both effects are stable over the entire HARP data taking. The displacements are large compared to the azimuthal coordinate resolution but can be corrected with sufficient precision, except at small TPC radius. The high voltage misalignment between the outer and inner field cages is identified as the likely primary cause of sagitta distortions of TPC tracks. The position and the length of the target plays an important role. Based on a detailed modelling of the magnetic and static electric field inhomogeneities, precise correction maps for both effects have been calculated. Predictions from the correction maps are compared with laser data

Sterile Neutrinos in a 6x6 Matrix Approach

Quark-lepton symmetry invites consideration of the existence of sterile neutrinos. Long ago, we showed that this approach predicts large neutrino mixing amplitudes. Using a Weyl spinor approach, we show, in an analytic example, how this, and pseudo-Dirac pairing, can develop within a reduced rank version of the conventional see-saw mechanism, from small intrinsic mixing strengths. We show by numerical examples that mixing of active and sterile neutrinos can affect the structure of oscillations relevant to extraction of neutrino mixing parameters from neutrino oscillation data.Comment: 12pp., 6 figs., published; Proc of the Festschrift for B.H.J. McKellar and G. Joshi, U of Melbourne, 29-30 Nov. 2006, ed. R. Volka

The measurement of the W mass at the LHC: shortcuts revisited

The claim that the W mass will be measured at the LHC with a precision of $cal{O}$(10)~MeV is critically reviewed. It is argued that in order to achieve such precision, a considerably better knowledge of the $u_{m v}$, $d_{m v}$, $s$, $c$, and $b$ structure functions of the proton than available today is needed. This will permit to assess with adequate precision the production characteristics of the W and Z bosons in the proton--proton collisions at the LHC, and their effect on the $p_{m T}$ spectra of charged leptons from W and Z decays. An experimental programme is suggested that will deliver the missing information. The core of this programme is a dedicated muon scattering experiment at the CERN SPS, with simultaneous measurements on hydrogen and deuterium targets

Neutrino Physics: Open Theoretical Questions

We know that neutrino mass and mixing provide a window to physics beyond the Standard Model. Now this window is open, at least partly. And the questions are: what do we see, which kind of new physics, and how far "beyond"? I summarize the present knowledge of neutrino mass and mixing, and then formulate the main open questions. Following the bottom-up approach, properties of the neutrino mass matrix are considered. Then different possible ways to uncover the underlying physics are discussed. Some results along the line of: see-saw, GUT and SUSY GUT are reviewed.Comment: 17 pages, latex, 12 figures. Talk given at the XXI International Symposium on Lepton and Photon Interactions at High Energies, ``Lepton Photon 2003", August 11-16, 2003 - Fermilab, Batavia, IL US

Water data: bad TPC pads, 3.6 µs and 100 ns problems

Out of the 3972 pads of the HARP TPC, about 9% are 'bad' and not useful for the correct reconstruction of clusters. Bad pads comprise dead pads, noisy pads, and pads with low or undefined amplification. Pads may be bad at one time, but not at another. This memo discusses the sources of information which were used to declare a pad 'bad', and gives the list of bad pads for the water data (runs 19146 to 19301). Also, the 3.6 µs and 100 ns problems of the TPC readout are discussed, including the corrective measures which have been taken

Towards a standard jet definition

In a simulated measurement of the $W$-boson mass, evaluation of Fisher's information shows the optimal jet definition to be physically equivalent to the $k_\mathrm{T}$ algorithm while being much faster at large multiplicities.Comment: version to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett., 4 page