ATLAS Silicon Microstrip Tracker Operation

The ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has started taking data last autumn with the inauguration of the LHC. The SemiConductor Tracker (SCT) is the key precision tracking device in ATLAS, made up from silicon micro-strip detectors. The completed SCT has been installed inside ATLAS. Since then the detector was operated for many months under realistic conditions. Calibration data has been taken and analysed to determine the noise performance of the system. In addition, extensive commissioning with cosmic ray events has been performed both with and without magnetic field. The current status of the SCT will be reviewed, including results from the latest data-taking, and from the detector alignment

Muons in gamma showers

Muon production in gamma-induced air showers, accounting for all major processes. For muon energies in the GeV region the photoproduction is by far the most important process, while the contribution of micron + micron pair creation is not negligible for TeV muons. The total rate of muons in gamma showers is, however, very low

Proper-Time Resolution Modelling

The paper reports on a study of the resolution of the proper-time of the B0 and B+ mesons. The decay modes used are B+ --> J/psi(mu+mu-) K+ and B0 --> J/psi(mu+mu-) K*(K+pi-) and their conjugates. A resolution model based on the proper-time residuals and the corresponding per-event error is proposed and results are presented on the two decay modes studied. While the model still requires further refinement the approach presented appears promising

Characteristics of geomagnetic cascading of ultra-high energy photons at the southern and northern sites of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Cosmic-ray photons above 10^19 eV can convert in the geomagnetic field and initiate a preshower, i.e. a particle cascade before entering the atmosphere. We compare the preshower characteristics at the southern and northern sites of the Pierre Auger Observatory. In addition to a shift of the preshower patterns on the sky due to the different pointing of the local magnetic field vectors, the fact that the northern Auger site is closer to the geomagnetic pole results in a different energy dependence of the preshower effect: photon conversion can start at smaller energies, but large conversion probabilitites (>90%) are reached for the whole sky at higher energies compared to the southern Auger site. We show how the complementary preshower features at the two sites can be used to search for ultra-high energy photons among cosmic rays. In particular, the different preshower characteristics at the northern Auger site may provide an elegant and unambiguous confirmation if a photon signal is detected at the southern site.Comment: 25 pages, 14 figures, minor changes, conclusions unchanged, Appendix A replaced, accepted by Astroparticle Physic

The nature of the highest energy cosmic rays

Ultra high energy gamma rays produce electron--positron pairs in interactions on the geomagnetic field. The pair electrons suffer magnetic bremsstrahlung and the energy of the primary gamma ray is shared by a bunch of lower energy secondaries. These processes reflect the structure of the geomagnetic field and cause experimentally observable effects. The study of these effects with future giant air shower arrays can identify the nature of the highest energy cosmic rays as either gamma-rays or nuclei.Comment: 15 pages of RevTeX plus 6 postscript figures, tarred, gzipped and uuencoded. Subm. to Physical Review

Muon Track Matching

For most physical processes the tracks observed in the muon stations must be matched with the corresponding tracks in the inner tracker, the external muon system providing muon identification and triggering but the tracker points giving the precise momentum measurement at lower momenta. For high momenta the momentum resolution is much improved by the interconnection of inner and outer measurements. The matching of outer and inner measurements is more delicate in case of muons embedded in jets. A study of the matching procedure was carried out using samples of (b, anti b) jets at high Pt, requiring (b, anti b) -> mu decays.For most physical processes the tracks observed in the muon stations must be matched with the corresponding tracks in the inner tracker, the external muon system providing muon identification and triggering but the tracker points giving the precise momentum measurement at lower momenta. For high momenta the momentum resolution is much improved by the interconnection of inner and outer measurements. The matching of outer and inner measurements is more delicate in case of muons embedded in jets. A study of the matching procedure was carried out using samples of (b, anti b) jets at high Pt, requiring (b, anti b) -> mu decays

Electromagnetic showers in a strong magnetic field

We present the results concerning the main shower characteristics in a strong magnetic field obtained through shower simulation. The processes of magnetic bremsstrahlung and pair production were taken into account for values of the parameter $\chi \gg 1$. We compare our simulation results with a recently developed cascade theory in a strong magnetic field.Comment: 11 pages, 9 eps figures, LaTex2e, Iopart.cls, Iopart12.clo, Iopams.st

Resistive Plate Chambers with Gd-coated electrodes as thermal neutron detectors

Abstract Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) are wide spread, cheap, easy-to-build and large size detectors, used mainly to reveal ionising particles in high-energy physics experiments. Here a technique, consisting in coating the inner surface of the bakelite electrodes with a mixture of linseed oil and Gd 2 O 3 is reported. This allows to make RPCs sensitive also to thermal neutrons, making them suitable to be employed for industrial, medical or de-mining applications. Thermal neutron-sensitive RPCs can be operated at atmospheric pressure, are lightweighted, have low γ -ray sensitivity and are easy to handle even when large areas have to be covered. This paper reports the results of the first test of this detector, performed at the Geel Linear Accelerator (GELINA) in Belgium

Simulation of Ultra-High Energy Photon Propagation in the Geomagnetic Field

The identification of primary photons or specifying stringent limits on the photon flux is of major importance for understanding the origin of ultra-high energy (UHE) cosmic rays. We present a new Monte Carlo program allowing detailed studies of conversion and cascading of UHE photons in the geomagnetic field. The program named PRESHOWER can be used both as an independent tool or together with a shower simulation code. With the stand-alone version of the code it is possible to investigate various properties of the particle cascade induced by UHE photons interacting in the Earth's magnetic field before entering the Earth's atmosphere. Combining this program with an extensive air shower simulation code such as CORSIKA offers the possibility of investigating signatures of photon-initiated showers. In particular, features can be studied that help to discern such showers from the ones induced by hadrons. As an illustration, calculations for the conditions of the southern part of the Pierre Auger Observatory are presented.Comment: 41 pages, 9 figures, added references in introduction, corrected energy in row 1 of Table 3, extended caption of Table

Comparison of anaerobic digestion strategies of nitrogen-rich substrates: Performance of anaerobic reactors and microbial community diversity

© 2016 Elsevier LtdIn the present study, the application of different operating strategies on performance of three continuous stirred tank reactors digesting chicken manure at mesophilic temperature and constant organic loading rate (OLR) of 3.5 gVS L−1 d−1 was investigated. Control reactor (RC) and reactor (RH) with the decreasing hydraulic retention time (HRT) had the comparable specific biogas production (SBP) with maximum values of 334–351 mL g−1VS (added) during days 84–93, while the SBP from reactor with zeolites (RZ) was higher and achieved 426–432 mL g−1VS (added). Attachments of microorganisms to zeolite particles as the operational environment, exchanged cations released from zeolites as well as lower total ammonium nitrogen (TAN) levels observed in RZ (6.2–6.3 g L−1; days 71–93) compared to RC (6.6–6.9 g L−1; days 71–93) resulted in a more effective process in RZ. Moreover, microbial community structure and dynamics were comprehensively characterized using Illumina sequencing, pyrosequencing and T-RFLP analysis of 16S rRNA genes. Methanogenic archaeal activity was additionally assessed by the expressed mcrA genes encoding the alpha subunit of methyl-CoM reductase. Within the major class Clostridia, Caldicoprobacter, Alkaliphilus, Gallicola, Sporanaerobacter and Tepidimicrobium spp. were the notable bacteria developed during operation of all tested reactors. Archaeal communities were dominated by methanogens belonging to the genus Methanosarcina followed by the genus Methanoculleus during the experimental period. Results of this study indicate that attachment of microorganisms to the zeolite particles as the operational environment might have led to the higher microbial activity at high ammonia concentrations