Trigger, reconstruction and physics performances in LHCb

LHCb is one of the four major experiments that will take data at the LHC, due to start operation in 2007. The primary aims of LHCb are to perform precision tests of CP violation and to search for new physics in b hadron decays. About 10^12 bb pairs will be produced in LHCb per 10^7 seconds (a nominal year) in pp collisions with a luminosity of 2x10^32 cm^-2 s^-1. A large, high-purity sample of b hadrons, decaying in a variety of channels, will be accumulated. LHCb will perform a detailed study of B meson mixing, precise measurements of the angles of the unitary triangle and investigations of rare decays in b hadrons, looking for new physics in loop-induced processes. The LHCb detector is optimised to reach these physics goals. Here a brief description of the reconstruction performance is given, and the sensitivities in typical channels for the study of Bs mixing, CP violation and rare decays are summarised.Comment: Hadron Collider Physics Symposium (HCP06) Duke University Durham, North Carolina; May 22-26, 200

Lepton universality tests with leptonic kaon decays

The NA62 experiment at CERN aims to use rare kaon decays to search for new phenomena beyond the Standard Model. During the current short term phase (data taking completed in years 2007-8), the ratio $R_K = \Gamma(K^+ \rightarrow e \nu_e (\gamma)) / \Gamma(K^+ \rightarrow \mu \nu_{\mu} (\gamma))$ of leptonic decay rates is studied, which tests the structure of weak interactions and lepton flavour universality. In this paper, the $R_K$ analysis is summarized, and the preliminary result is discussed, based on 59963 $K^+ \rightarrow e \nu_e$ candidates collected in 2007.Comment: Proceedings of CKM2010, the 6th International Workshop on the CKM Unitarity Triangle, University of Warwick, UK, 6-10 September 201

Production of high quality 11C beams for radiation treatment and accurate PET-CT dose delivery verification

Radiation therapy with external beams of positron emitter light ions offers the optimal solution for simultaneously treating and in vivo monitoring the delivery of the dose in 3D with Positron Emission Tomography (PET) or PET-Computed Tomography (CT) imaging. Specifically, positron emitter light ion beams merge the main distinctive advantages of light ion therapy, namely a high conformal and biological effective dose delivery to the tumor, an optimal penumbra, and sparing of the surrounding normal tissues, with the advantage of a high β+-activity signal mainly produced directly by the beam itself, and therefore not primarily dependent on the specific stoichiometry of the body tissues. The aim of this thesis is to explore a method to maximize the generally low production yield of 11C ion beams through in-flight fragmentation of a primary 12C ion beam on a dedicated decelerating target. The thesis provides a practical solution applicable to cyclotron, synchrotron and linac based hospital facilities. The study investigates the main steps from the production of the beam and the transport through the beam optics system to the purification of the beam from other potentially contaminating fragments. Analytical models of transport of ions in matter, as well as the Monte Carlo code SHIELD-HIT were used to conduct the analysis. The proposed beam line includes a composite production target made of a 20 cm thick liquid hydrogen section followed by a variable thickness section consisting of plane parallel slabs of polyethylene. The first section is selected to maximize the 11C ion beam intensity, whereas, the second section is used to reduce the beam energy to the desired value, maintaining the high 11C ion yield. To be able to minimize the energy spread of the beam, and the contamination from other fragments, a variable wedge-shaped degrader and a Time Of Flight (TOF) Radio-Frequency driven velocity filter are included in the beam line together with dipole and quadrupole magnets. A 11C ion beam intensity of about 4-6% of the primary 12C ion beam intensity with radial spot size confined to 0.5 cm in radius, and an energy and angular spread of about 1% and 1°, respectively, are achievable. The 11C ion beam purity is expected to be about 99%. The proposed system for production of high quality 11C ion beams contributes to the developments of an accurate PET-CT based dose delivery verification, ultimately aiming towards a biologically optimized adaptive radiation therapy

Powersum Bases in Quasisymmetric Functions and Quasisymmetric Functions in Non-commuting Variables

We introduce a new $P$ basis for the Hopf algebra of quasisymmetric functions that refine the symmetric powersum basis. Unlike the quasisymmetric power sums of types 1 and 2, our basis is defined combinatorially: its expansion in quasisymmetric monomial functions is given by fillings of matrices. This basis has a shuffle product, a deconcatenate coproduct, and has a change of basis rule to the quasisymmetric fundamental basis by using tuples of ribbons. We lift our quasisymmetric powersum $P$ basis to the Hopf algebra of quasisymmetric functions in non-commuting variables by introducing fillings with disjoint sets. This new basis has a shifted shuffle product and a standard deconcatenate coproduct, and certain basis elements agree with the fundamental basis of the Malvenuto-Reutenauer Hopf algebra of permutations. Finally we discuss how to generalize these bases and their properties by using total orders on indices

Energy networks in sustainable cities: towards a lull integration of renewable systems in urban area

The European Commission is supporting many projects intended to improve the use of renewable energy sources and a special attention has been devoted to the case of large scale urban areas. The project POLYCITY represents a significant demonstration of this energy policy which is applied to 3 cities: Barcelona, Stuttgart and Torino. The case of Torino appears of particular relevance because it is dedicated to the improvement of existing building and installations which is in our opinion the most frequent situation. In particular the most qualifying characteristic of Torino project is the installation of a new combined heat and power generator (CHP) coupled with the existing district heating and an absorption chiller in order to supply energy more efficiently in a district which include the Housing Authority of the Province of Torino (ATC) and 30 council buildings. The paper describes this project highlighting the use of renewable sources and the initial results. The preliminary assessment of our experiment will be discussed according to socio-economic, environmental and energetic indicators

Kaon experiments at CERN: NA48 and NA62

Searches for violation of lepton flavour universality and lepton number conservation in kaon decays by the NA62 and NA48/2 experiments at CERN, status and future plans of the CERN kaon programme are presented. A precision measurement of the helicity-suppressed ratio $R_K$ of the $K^\pm\to e^\pm\nu$ and $K^\pm\to\mu^\pm\nu$ decay rates has been performed using the full data set collected by the NA62 experiment in 2007--2008. The result is $R_K=(2.488\pm0.010)\times10^{-5}$, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation. An improved upper limit on the rate of the lepton number violating $K^\pm\to\pi^\mp\mu^\pm\mu^\pm$ decay from the NA48/2 experiment (2003--2004 data set) is presented. Finally, the NA62 project aiming at a measurement of the branching ratio of the ultra-rare decay $K^+\to\pi^+\nu\bar\nu$ at 10% precision is discussed.Comment: Talk given at PhiPsi 2011 conference (Novosibirsk, Russia, September 2011). To be published in Nucl.Phys.B Proc.Sup

Introduction to A Research Agenda for Small and Medium-Sized Towns.

Exploring current debates on the topic, this book maps out an agenda for theory, research and practice about the role and function of small and medium-sized towns in various contexts and at different territorial scales. Chapters highlight new insights and approaches to studying small and medium-sized towns, moving beyond the ‘urban bias’ to provide nuanced thought on these spaces both in terms of their relation to larger cities, and in terms of implications related to their size

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF A DISK-SHAPED REENTRY CONFIGURATION AT TRANSONIC AND LOW SUPERSONIC SPEEDS

Disk shaped reentry body at transonic and low supersonic speed