0000000000158189
AUTHOR
E. Ferrer-ribas
NEXT-100 Technical Design Report (TDR). Executive summary
[EN] In this Technical Design Report (TDR) we describe the NEXT-100 detector that will search for neutrinoless double beta decay (ßß0v) in 136XE at the Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc (LSC), in Spain. The document formalizes the design presented in our Conceptual Design Report (CDR): an electroluminescence time projection chamber, with separate readout planes for calorimetry and tracking, located, respectively, behind cathode and anode. The detector is designed to hold a maximum of about 150 kg of xenon at 15 bar, or 100 kg at 10 bar. This option builds in the capability to increase the total isotope mass by 50% while keeping the operating pressure at a manageable level. The readout pla…
Axion search with BabyIAXO in view of IAXO
Axions are a natural consequence of the Peccei-Quinn mechanism, the most compelling solution to the strong-CP problem. Similar axion-like particles (ALPs) also appear in a number of possible extensions of the Standard Model, notably in string theories. Both axions and ALPs are very well motivated candidates for Dark Matter, and in addition, they would be copiously produced at the sun's core. A relevant effort during the last decade has been the CAST experiment at CERN, the most sensitive axion helioscope to-date. The International Axion Observatory (IAXO) is a large-scale 4th generation helioscope. As its primary physics goal, IAXO will look for solar axions or ALPs with a signal to backgro…
Conceptual design of the International Axion Observatory (IAXO)
The International Axion Observatory (IAXO) will be a forth generation axion helioscope. As its primary physics goal, IAXO will look for axions or axion-like particles (ALPs) originating in the Sun via the Primakoff conversion of the solar plasma photons. In terms of signal-to-noise ratio, IAXO will be about 4-5 orders of magnitude more sensitive than CAST, currently the most powerful axion helioscope, reaching sensitivity to axion-photon couplings down to a few $\times 10^{-12}$ GeV$^{-1}$ and thus probing a large fraction of the currently unexplored axion and ALP parameter space. IAXO will also be sensitive to solar axions produced by mechanisms mediated by the axion-electron coupling $g_{…
Search for neutralino pair production at root s = 189 GeV
A search for pair-production of neutralinos at a LEP centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV gave no evidence for a signal. This limits the neutralino production cross-section and excludes regions in the parameter space of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM).
A measurement of the Tau topological branching ratios
Using data collected in the DELPHI detector at LEP-1, measurements of the inclusive tau branching ratios for decay modes containing one, three, or five charged particles have been performed, giving the following results: B_1 = B(\tau^- -> (particle)^- \geq 0pi^0 \geq 0K^0 \nu_\tau(\bar{\nu})) = (85.316 +/- 0.093 +/- 0.049)%; B_3 = B(\tau^- -> 2h^-h^+ \geq 0pi^0 \geq 0K^0 \nu_\tau) = (14.569 +/- 0.093 +/- 0.048)%; B_5 = B(\tau^- -> 3h^-2h^+ \geq 0pi^0 \geq 0K^0 \nu_\tau) = (0.115 +/- 0.013 +/- 0.006)%, where h is either a charged pi or K meson. The first quoted uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic.
Description and commissioning of NEXT-MM prototype: first results from operation in a Xenon-Trimethylamine gas mixture
[EN] A technical description of NEXT-MM and its commissioning and first performance is reported. Having an active volume of ∼35 cm drift × 28 cm diameter, it constitutes the largest Micromegas-read TPC operated in Xenon ever constructed, made by a sectorial arrangement of the 4 largest single wafers manufactured with the Microbulk technique to date. It is equipped with a suitably pixelized readout and with a sufficiently large sensitive volume (∼23 l) so as to contain long (∼20 cm) electron tracks. First results obtained at 1 bar for Xenon and Trymethylamine (Xe-(2%)TMA) mixture are presented. The TPC can accurately reconstruct extended background tracks. An encouraging fu…
A Precise Measurement of the $\tau$ Polarisation at LEP-1
The $\tau$ polarisation has been studied with the ${\rm e^+e^-}\to \tau^+\tau^-$ data collected by the DELPHI detector at LEP in 1993, 1994 and 1995 around the Z resonance firstly through the exclusive decay channels ${\rm e}\nu\bar{\nu}$ , $\mu\nu\bar{\nu}$ , $\pi\nu$ , $\rho\nu$ and ${\rm a}_1\nu$ and secondly with an inclusive hadronic analysis which benefits from a higher efficiency and a better systematic precision. The results have been combined with those previously published on 1990 to 1992 DELPHI data, to produce results which reflect the full LEP-1 statistics. The fit of the $\tau$ polarisation dependence on the production angle yielded the polarisation parameters ${\cal A}_{_{\sc…
Identified charged particles in quark and gluon jets
A sample of 2.2 million hadronic Z decays, selected from the data recorded by the Delphi detector at LEP during 1994-1995 was used for an improved measurement of inclusive distributions of pi+, K+ and p and their antiparticles in gluon and quark jets. The production spectra of the individual identified particles were found to be softer in gluon jets compared to quark jets, with a higher multiplicity in gluon jets as observed for inclusive charged particles. A significant proton enhancement in gluon jets is observed indicating that baryon production proceeds directly from colour objects. The maxima, xi^*, of the xi-distributions for kaons in gluon and quark jets are observed to be different.
SiPMs coated with TPB: coating protocol and characterization for NEXT
[EN] Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) are the photon detectors chosen for the tracking readout in NEXT, a neutrinoless \bb decay experiment which uses a high pressure gaseous xenon time projection chamber (TPC). The reconstruction of event track and topology in this gaseous detector is a key handle for background rejection. Among the commercially available sensors that can be used for tracking, SiPMs offer important advantages, mainly high gain, ruggedness, cost-effectiveness and radio-purity. Their main drawback, however, is their non sensitivity in the emission spectrum of the xenon scintillation (peak at 175 nm). This is overcome by coating these sensors with the organic wavelength shifte…
Energy dependence of inclusive spectra in e+ e- annihilation
Inclusive charged hadron distributions as obtained from the DELPHI measurements at 130, 136, 161, 172 and 183 GeV are presented as a function of the variables rapidity, xi(p), p and transversal momenta. Data are compared with event generators and with MLLA calculations, in order to examine the hypothesis of local parton hadron duality. The differential momentum spectra show an indication for coherence effects in the production of soft particles. The relation between the energy dependence of the charged multiplicity and the rapidity distribution is examined. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Search for the sgoldstino at √s = 189 to 202 GeV.
A search for the supersymmetric partner of the goldstino, the sgoldstino S, at LEP2 is presented. The production Sgamma followed by S decay into two gluons or into two photons was studied at 189 - 202 GeV LEP centre-of-mass energies. No evidence for the S production was found and limits on the S mass corresponding to different theory parameters are given.
A search for invisible Higgs bosons produced in e+e- interactions at LEP 2 energies
Searches for HZ production with the Higgs boson decaying into an invisible final state have been performed with the data collected by the DELPHI experiment up to the centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV. The hadronic and muon pair final states of the Z boson were analysed. From the absence of signal, upper limits on the cross-section and the corresponding Higgs boson mass limits were set at 95% confidence level. The results are interpreted as excluded parameter regions in the framework of the minimal supersymmetric standard model and in the simplest Majoron model with one Higgs doublet and one Higgs singlet field. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
IAXO - The International Axion Observatory
The International Axion Observatory (IAXO) is a next generation axion helioscope aiming at a sensitivity to the axion-photon coupling of a few 10^{-12} GeV^{-1}, i.e. 1-1.5 orders of magnitude beyond sensitivities achieved by the currently most sensitive axion helioscope, the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST). Crucial factors in improving the sensitivity for IAXO are the increase of the magnetic field volume together with the extensive use of x-ray focusing optics and low background detectors, innovations already successfully tested at CAST. Electron-coupled axions invoked to explain the white dwarf cooling, relic axions, and a large variety of more generic axion-like particles (ALPs) along…
Search for chargino pair production in scenarios with gravitino LSP and stau NLSP at GeV at LEP
Promptly decaying lightest charginos were searched for in the context of scenarios with gravitino LSP. It was assumed that the stau is the next to lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP). Data collected with the DELPHI detector at a centre-of-mass energy near 183~{~mbox{${mathrm{GeV}}$}}\nwere analysed combining the methods developed in previous searches. No evidence for the production of these particles was found. Hence, limits were derived at 95% confidence level. The mass of charginos was found to be greater than 85.5~GeV/$c^2$ for $m_{ ilde{chi}^+_1}-m_{ ilde{ au}_1}geq 0.3 {mathrm{GeV}}/c^2$, independently of the mass of the gravitino.
The Next Generation of Axion Helioscopes: The International Axion Observatory (IAXO)
Çetin, Serkant Ali (Dogus Author) -- Conference full title: 13th International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics, TAUP 2013; Asilomar Conference Grounds Monterey Peninsula; United States; 8 September 2013 through 13 September 2013. The International Axion Observatory (IAXO) is a proposed 4th-generation axion helioscope with the primary physics research goal to search for solar axions via their Primakoff conversion into photons of 1 - 10 keV energies in a strong magnetic field. IAXO will achieve a sensitivity to the axion-photon coupling gaγ down to a few ×10-12 GeV-1 for a wide range of axion masses up to ∼ 0.25 eV. This is an improvement over the currently best …
Future axion searches with the International Axion Observatory (IAXO)
Çetin, Serkant Ali (Dogus Author) -- Conference full title: 6th Symposium on Large TPCs for Low Energy Rare Event Detection; Paris; France; 17 December 2012 through 19 December 2012. The International Axion Observatory (IAXO) is a new generation axion helioscope aiming at a sensitivity to the axion-photon coupling of gaγ ∼ few × 10-12 GeV-1, i.e. 1-1.5 orders of magnitude beyond the one achieved by CAST, currently the most sensitive axion helioscope. The main elements of IAXO are an increased magnetic field volume together with extensive use of x-ray focusing optics and low background detectors, innovations already successfully tested in CAST. Additional physics cases of IAXO could include …
Energy dependence of event shapes and of $\alpha_s$ at LEP 2
Infrared and collinear safe event shape distributions and their mean values are determined using the data taken at five different centre of mass energies above M-Z with the DELPHI detector at LEP. From the event shapes, the strong coupling alpha(s) is extracted in O(alpha(s)(2)), NLLA and a combined scheme using hadronisation corrections evaluated with fragmentation model generators as well as using an analytical power ansatz. Comparing these measurements to those obtained at M-Z, the energy dependence (running) of alpha(s) is accessible. The logarithmic energy slope of the inverse strong coupling is measured to be d alpha(s)(-1)/d log(E-cm) = 1.39 +/- 0.34 (stat) +/- 0.17(syst), in good ag…
Study of dimuon production in photon-photon collisions and measurement of QED photon structure functions at LEP
Muon pair production in the process e+e- -> e+e-mu+mu- is studied using the data taken at LEP1 (sqrt(s) \simeq m_Z) with the DELPHI detector during the years 1992-1995. The corresponding integrated luminosity is 138.5 pb^{-1}. The QED predictions have been tested over the whole Q^2 range accessible at LEP1 (from several GeV^2/c^4 to several hundred GeV^2/c^4) by comparing experimental distributions with distributions resulting from Monte Carlo simulations using various generators. Selected events are used to extract the leptonic photon structure function F_2^\gamma. Azimuthal correlations are used to obtain information on additional structure functions, F_A^\gamma and F_B^\gamma, which orig…
Characterization of a medium size Xe/TMA TPC instrumented with microbulk Micromegas, using low-energy gamma-rays
NEXT-MM is a general-purpose high pressure (10 bar, $\sim25$ l active volume) Xenon-based TPC, read out in charge mode with an 8 cm $\times$8 cm-segmented 700 cm$^2$ plane (1152 ch) of the latest microbulk-Micromegas technology. It has been recently commissioned at University of Zaragoza as part of the R&D of the NEXT $0\nu\beta\beta$ experiment, although the experiment's first stage is currently being built based on a SiPM/PMT-readout concept relying on electroluminescence. Around 2 million events were collected during the last months, stemming from the low energy $\gamma$-rays emitted by a $^{241}$Am source when interacting with the Xenon gas ($\epsilon$ = 26, 30, 59.5 keV). The localized…
Next Generation Search for Axion and ALP Dark Matter with the International Axion Observatory
International audience; More than 80 years after the postulation of dark matter, its nature remains one of the fundamental questions in cosmology. Axions are currently one of the leading candidates for the hypothetical, non-baryonic dark matter that is expected to account for about 25% of the energy density of the Universe. Especially in the light of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN slowly closing in on Weakly-Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) searches, axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) provide a viable alternative approach to solving the dark matter problem. The fact that makes them particularly appealing is that they were initially introduced to solve a long-standing problem in qu…
Two-particle angular correlations in e(+)e(-) interactions compared with QCD predictions
Two-particle angular correlations in jet cones have been measured in e(+)e(-) annihilation into hadrons at LEP energies (root s = 91 and 183 GeV) and are compared with QCD predictions using the LPHD hypothesis. Two different functions have been tested. While the differentially normalized correlation function shows substantial deviations from the predictions, a globally normalized correlation function agrees well. The size of alpha(s)(eff) land other QCD parameters) and its running with the relevant angular scale, the validity of LPHD, and problems due to non-perturbative effects are discussed critically. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Determination of |Vub|/|Vcb| with DELPHI at LEP
The ratio of the CKM quark-mixing matrix elements |Vub|/|Vcb| has been measured using B hadron semileptonic decays. The analysis uses the reconstructed mass M_X of the secondary hadronic system produced in association with an identified lepton. Since B -> X_u lepton anti-nu transitions are characterised by hadronic masses below those of the D mesons produced in B -> X_c lepton anti-nu transitions, events with a reconstructed value of M_X significantly below the D mass are selected. Further signal enrichments are obtained using the topology of reconstructed decays and hadron identification. A fit to the numbers of decays in the b -> u enriched and depleted samples with M_X above and…
A Search for Heavy Stable and Long-Lived Squarks and Sleptons in $e^+ e^-$ Collisions at Energies from 130 to 183 GeV
A search for stable and long-lived heavy charged particles used the data taken by the DELPHI experiment at energies from 130 to 183 GeV. The Cherenkov light detected in the Ring Imaging Cherenkov Detector and the ionization loss measured in the Time Projection Chamber identify heavy particles from masses of 2 to nearly 89 GeV/c$^2$. Upper limits are given on the production cross-section and masses of sleptons, free squarks with a charge of $q = \pm 2/3e$ and hadronizing squarks. A search for stable and long-lived heavy charged particles used the data taken by the DELPHI experiment at energies from 130 to 183 GeV. The Cherenkov light detected in the Ring Imaging Cherenkov Detector and the io…
Study of the four-jet anomaly observed at LEP centre-of-mass energies of 130 and 136 GeV
The four-jet events collected by DELPHI during the special LEP run at centre-of-mass energies of 130 and 136 GeV in 1997 with an integrated luminosity of 5.9 pb(-1) are analysed. Their rate and the distributions of their di-jet masses, their smallest jet charges, and their di-jet charge separations all agree well with Standard Model predictions. Thus the hypothesis of pair production of a new particle with a sum of di-jet masses around 105 GeV/c(2) is not supported. The combined result of the four LEP collaborations refuting this hypothesis at over 99% confidence level is also given. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Consistent measurements of alpha(s) from precise oriented event shape distributions
An updated analysis using about 1.5 million events recorded at $\sqrt{s} = M_Z$ with the DELPHI detector in 1994 is presented. Eighteen infrared and collinear safe event shape observables are measured as a function of the polar angle of the thrust axis. The data are compared to theoretical calculations in ${\cal O} (\alpha_s^2)$ including the event orientation. A combined fit of $\alpha_s$ and of the renormalization scale $x_{\mu}$ in $\cal O(\alpha_s^2$) yields an excellent description of the high statistics data. The weighted average from 18 observables including quark mass effects and correlations is $\alpha_s(M_Z^2) = 0.1174 \pm 0.0026$. The final result, derived from the jet cone energ…
Measurement of inclusive ρ0, f0(980), f2(1270), K and f′2(1525) production in Z0 decays
DELPHI results are presented on the inclusive production of the neutral mesons ρ0, f0(980), f2(1270), KView the MathML source and f′2(1525) in hadronic Z0 decays. They are based on about 2 million multihadronic events collected in 1994 and 1995, using the particle identification capabilities of the DELPHI Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors and measured ionization losses in the Time Projection Chamber. The total production rates per hadronic Z0 decay have been determined to be: 1.19±0.10 for ρ0; 0.164±0.021 for f0(980); 0.214±0.038 for f2(1270); 0.073±0.023 for KView the MathML source; and 0.012±0.006 for f′2(1525). The total production rates for all mesons and differential cross-sections for …
Measurements of the trilinear gauge boson couplings WWV (V = $\gamma$ Z) in e$^+$e$^-$ collisions at 183 GeV
Measurements of the trilinear gauge boson couplings WWγ and WWZ are presented from data taken by DELPHI in 1997 at an energy of 183 GeV. From a study of the reactions e + e − → W + W − , e + e − → Weν and e + e − → ννγ , values are obtained for Δg 1 Z and Δκ γ , the differences of the WWZ charge coupling and of the WWγ dipole couplings from their Standard Model values, and for λ γ , the WWγ quadrupole coupling. The observations are consistent with the predictions of the Standard Model. (Elsevier)