Search results for "Mathematical physics"

The antares neutrino detector instrumentation

2012

ANTARES is actually the fully operational and the largest neutrino telescope in the Northern hemisphere. Located in the Mediterranean Sea, it consists of a 3D array of 885 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) arranged in 12 detection lines (25 storeys each), able to detect the Cherenkov light induced by upgoing relativistic muons produced in the interaction of high energy cosmic neutrinos with the detector surroundings. Among its physics goals, the search for neutrino astrophysical sources and the indirect detection of dark matter particles coming from the sun are of particular interest. To reach these goals, good accuracy in track reconstruction is mandatory, so several calibration systems for tim…

2021

Abstract IceCube is a cubic-kilometer Cherenkov telescope operating at the South Pole. The main goal of IceCube is the detection of astrophysical neutrinos and the identification of their sources. High-energy muon neutrinos are observed via the secondary muons produced in charge current interactions with nuclei in the ice. Currently, the best performing muon track directional reconstruction is based on a maximum likelihood method using the arrival time distribution of Cherenkov photons registered by the experiment's photomultipliers. A known systematic shortcoming of the prevailing method is to assume a continuous energy loss along the muon track. However at energies >1 TeV the light yie…

Resolution changes of MCP-PMTs in magnetic fields

2016

Micro-channel plate photomultiplier tubes (MCP-PMTs) are chosen in many applications that have to cope with strong magnetic fields. The DIRC detectors of the PANDA experiment plan to employ them as they show excellent timing characteristics, radiation hardness, relatively low dark count rates and sufficient lifetime. This article mainly focuses on the performance of the position reconstruction of detected photons. Two different MCP-PMTs with segmented anode geometries have been tested in magnetic fields of different strengths. The variation of their performance has been studied. The measurements show improved position resolution and image shifts with increasing magnetic field strength.

Detection system for forward emitted photons at the Experimental Storage Ring at GSI

2013

A single photon counting system has been developed for efficient detection of forward emitted fluorescence photons at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) at GSI. The system employs a movable parabolic mirror with a central slit that can be positioned around the ion beam and a selected low noise photomultiplier for detection of the collected photons. Compared to the previously used system of mirror segments installed inside the ESR the collection efficiency for forward-emitted photons is improved by more than a factor of 5. No adverse effects on the stored ion beam have been observed during operation besides a small drop in the ion current of about 5% during movement of the mirror into the b…

Proof-of-principle measurements with a liquid-scintillator detector using wavelength-shifting optical modules

2018

Based on test-beam measurements, we study the response of a liquid-scintillator detector equipped with wavelength-shifting optical modules, that are proposed e.g. for the IceCube experiment and the SHiP experiment, and adiabatic light guides that are viewed either by a photomultiplier tube or by an array of silicon photomultipliers. We report on the efficiency, the time resolution and the detector response to different particle types and point out potential ways to improve the detector performance.

Some physical appearances of vector coherent states and coherent states related to degenerate Hamiltonians

2005

In the spirit of some earlier work on the construction of vector coherent states over matrix domains, we compute here such states associated to some physical Hamiltonians. In particular, we construct vector coherent states of the Gazeau-Klauder type. As a related problem, we also suggest a way to handle degeneracies in the Hamiltonian for building coherent states. Specific physical Hamiltonians studied include a single photon mode interacting with a pair of fermions, a Hamiltonian involving a single boson and a single fermion, a charged particle in a three dimensional harmonic force field and the case of a two-dimensional electron placed in a constant magnetic field, orthogonal to the plane…

Gravity and handedness of photons

2017

Vacuum fluctuations of quantum fields are altered in presence of a strong gravitational background, with important physical consequences. We argue that a non-trivial spacetime geometry can act as an optically active medium for quantum electromagnetic radiation, in such a way that the state of polarization of radiation changes in time, even in the absence of electromagnetic sources. This is a quantum effect, and is a consequence of an anomaly related to the classical invariance under electric-magnetic duality rotations in Maxwell theory.

Lifetime of MCP-PMTs and other performance features

2018

The ANDA experiment at FAIR will use DIRC detectors for the separation of hadrons. The compactness of the ANDA detector requires the image planes of these detectors to be placed inside the magnetic field of the solenoid. Due to this and other boundary conditions MCP-PMTs were identified as the only suitable photon sensors. Until recently the major obstacle for an application of MCP-PMTs in high rate experiments like ANDA were serious aging problems which led to damage at the photo-cathode and a fast declining quantum efficiency as the integrated anode charge (IAC) increased. With new countermeasures against the aging, in particular due to the application of an atomic layer deposition (ALD) …

The PANDA Barrel DIRC

2016

The PANDA detector at the international accelerator Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Europe (FAIR) addresses fundamental questions of hadron physics. Experiments concerning charmonium spectroscopy, the search for hybrids and glueballs and the interaction of hidden and open charm particles with nucleons and nuclei will be performed with antiproton beams impinging on hydrogen or nuclear targets. Cooled beams allow the precision scan of resonances in formation experiments. The momentum range of the antiproton beam between 1.5 GeV/c and 15 GeV/c tests predictions by perturbation theory and will reveal deviations originating from strong QCD . An excellent hadronic particle identificat…

Precise determination of the 1s Lamb Shift in hydrogen-like heavy ions at the ESR storage ring using microcalorimeters

2015

The precise determination of the energy of the Lyman α1 and α2 lines in hydrogen-like heavy ions provides a sensitive test of quantum electrodynamics in very strong Coulomb fields. To improve the precision of such experiments, the new detector concept of microcalorimeters, which detect the temperature change of an absorber after an incoming particle or photon has deposited its energy as heat, is now exploited. The microcalorimeters for x-rays used in these experiments consist of arrays of silicon thermometers and x-ray absorbers made of high-Z material. With such detectors, a relative energy resolution of about 1 per mille is obtained in the energy regime of 50–100 keV. Two successful measu…