2,188 research outputs found
MONDO: A tracker for the characterization of secondary fast and ultrafast neutrons emitted in particle therapy
Characterisation of the secondary-neutron production in particle therapy treatments with the MONDO tracking detector
Particle Therapy (PT) is a non-invasive technique that exploits charged light ions for the irradiation of tumours that cannot be effectively treated with surgery or conventional radiotherapy. While the largest dose fraction is released to the tumour volume by the primary beam, a non-negligible amount of additional dose is due to the beam fragmentation that occurs along the path towards the target volume. In particular, the produced neutrons are particularly dangerous as they can release their energy far away from the treated area, increasing the risk of developing a radiogenic secondary malignant neoplasm after undergoing a treatment. A precise measurement of the neutron flux, energy spectrum and angular distributions is eagerly needed in order to improve the treatment planning system software, so as to predict the normal tissue toxicity in the target region and the risk of late complications in the whole body. The MONDO (MOnitor for Neutron Dose in hadrOntherapy) project is dedicated to the characterisation of the secondary ultra-fast neutrons ([20-400] MeV energy range) produced in PT. The neutron tracking system exploits the reconstruction of the recoil protons produced in two consecutive (n, p) elastic scattering interactions to measure simultaneously the neutron incoming direction and energy. The tracker active media is a matrix of thin squared scintillating fibers arranged in orthogonally oriented layers that are read out by a sensor (SBAM) based on SPAD (Single-Photon Avalanche Diode) detectors developed in collaboration with the Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK)
Massless versus Kaluza-Klein Gravitons at the LHC
We show that the LHC will be able to differentiate between a four-dimensional
model with quantum gravity at ~1 TeV where the (massless) graviton becomes
strongly coupled to standard model particles at 1 TeV and brane world type
models with a large extra-dimensional volume and massive Kaluza-Klein
gravitons. We estimate that the 14 TeV LHC could put a limit of the order of ~5
TeV on the four dimensional Planck mass in a model independent way.Comment: 9 page
Oblique Parameter Constraints on Large Extra Dimensions
We consider the Kaluza-Klein scenario in which gravity propagates in the
dimensional bulk of spacetime and the Standard Model particles are
confined to a 3-brane. We calculate the gauge boson self-energy corrections
arising from the exchange of virtual gravitons and present our results in the
-formalism. We find that the new physics contributions to , and
decouple in the limit that the string scale goes to infinity. The oblique
parameters constrain the lower limit on . Taking the quantum gravity
cutoff to be ,
-parameter constraints impose TeV for at the 1
level. -parameter constraints impose TeV for .Comment: Version to appear in PR
A Large Mass Hierarchy from a Small Extra Dimension
We propose a new higher-dimensional mechanism for solving the Hierarchy
Problem. The Weak scale is generated from a large scale of order the Planck
scale through an exponential hierarchy. However, this exponential arises not
from gauge interactions but from the background metric (which is a slice of
AdS_5 spacetime). This mechanism relies on the existence of only a single
additional dimension. We demonstrate a simple explicit example of this
mechanism with two three-branes, one of which contains the Standard Model
fields. The experimental consequences of this scenario are new and dramatic.
There are fundamental spin-2 excitations with mass of weak scale order, which
are coupled with weak scale as opposed to gravitational strength to the
standard model particles. The phenomenology of these models is quite distinct
from that of large extra dimension scenarios; none of the current constraints
on theories with very large extra dimensions apply.Comment: 9 pages, LaTe
Large Extra Dimension Effects on the Spin Configuration of the Top Quark Pair at e^+ e^- Colliders
Large extra dimension effects on the spin configuration of the top quark pair
at the process are studied. It is shown that the TeV
scale quantum gravity effects cause significant deviations from the Standard
Model predictions for the spin configuration in the off-diagonal basis: they
lead to substantial cross sections of the like-spin states of the top quark
pair, which vanish in the SM; they weaken the pure dominance of the processes,
the Up-Down (Down-Up) spin states for the left-handed (right-handed) beam. In
addition it is shown that the angular cut is very effective
to determine the sign of the quantum gravity corrections.Comment: A discussion on the angular distribution is added with a tabl
In-room test results at CNAO of an innovative PT treatments online monitor (Dose Profiler)
The use of C, He and O ions as projectiles in Particle Therapy (PT) treatments is getting more and more widespread as a consequence of their enhanced relative biological effectiveness and oxygen enhancement ratio, when compared to the protons one. The advantages related to the incoming radiation improved efficacy are requiring an accurate online monitor of the dose release spatial distribution. Such monitor is necessary to prevent unwanted damage to the tissues surrounding the tumour that can arise, for example, due to morphological changes occurred in the patient during the treatment with respect to the initial CT scan. PT treatments with ions can be monitored by detecting the secondary radiation produced by the primary beam interactions with the patient body along the path towards the target volume. Charged fragments produced in the nuclear process of projectile fragmentation can be emitted at large angles with respect to the incoming beam direction and can be detected with high efficiency in a nearly background-free environment. The Dose Profiler (DP) detector, developed within the INSIDE project, is a scintillating fibre tracker that allows an online reconstruction and backtracking of such secondary charged fragments. The construction and preliminary in-room tests performed on the DP, carried out using the 12C ions beam of the CNAO treatment centre using an anthropomorphic phantom as a target, will be reviewed in this contribution. The impact of the secondary fragments interactions with the patient body will be discussed in view of a clinical application. Furthermore, the results implications for a pre-clinical trial on CNAO patients, foreseen in 2019, will be discussed
Brane fluctuations and suppression of Kaluza-Klein mode couplings
In higher dimensional models where the gauge and gravity fields live in the
bulk and the matter fields only in a brane, we point out the importance of the
brane (transverse) coordinate modes, which are the Nambu-Goldstone bosons
appearing as a result of spontaneous breaking of the translation symmetry. The
brane recoil effect suppresses the couplings of higher Kaluza-Klein modes to
the matter, and gives a natural resolution to the divergence problem caused by
the exchange of infinitely many Kaluza-Klein modes.Comment: 11 pages, 1 eps figure, references adde
Sperm macrocephaly syndrome in a patient without AURKC mutations and with a history of recurrent miscarriage.
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