Search results for "methods"
showing 10 items of 4526 documents
The neutron background of the XENON100 dark matter search experiment
2013
TheXENON100 experiment, installed underground at the LaboratoriNazionali del Gran Sasso, aims to directly detect dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) via their elastic scattering off xenon nuclei. This paper presents a study on the nuclear recoil background of the experiment, taking into account neutron backgrounds from (alpha, n) reactions and spontaneous fission due to natural radioactivity in the detector and shield materials, as well as muon-induced neutrons. Based on MonteCarlo simulations and using measured radioactive contaminations of all detector components, we predict the nuclear recoil backgrounds for the WIMP search results published by theXENO…
Distribution Amplitudes of Heavy-Light Mesons
2019
A symmetry-preserving approach to the continuum bound-state problem in quantum field theory is used to calculate the masses, leptonic decay constants and light-front distribution amplitudes of empirically accessible heavy-light mesons. The inverse moment of the $B$-meson distribution is particularly important in treatments of exclusive $B$-decays using effective field theory and the factorisation formalism; and its value is therefore computed: $\lambda_B(\zeta = 2\,{\rm GeV}) = 0.54(3)\,$GeV. As an example and in anticipation of precision measurements at new-generation $B$-factories, the branching fraction for the rare $B\to \gamma(E_\gamma) \ell \nu_\ell$ radiative decay is also calculated…
Neutral baryonic systems with strangeness
2020
We review the status as regards the existence of three- and four-body bound states made of neutrons and $\Lambda$ hyperons. For interesting cases, the coupling to neutral baryonic systems made of charged particles of different strangeness has been addressed. There are strong arguments showing that the $\Lambda nn$ system has no bound states. $\Lambda\Lambda nn$ strong stable states are not favored by our current knowledge of the strangeness $-1$ and $-2$ baryon-baryon interactions. However, a possible $\Xi^- t$ quasibound state decaying to $\Lambda\Lambda nn$ might exist in nature. Similarly, there is a broad agreement about the nonexistence of $\Lambda\Lambda n$ bound states. However, the …
An improved method for measuring muon energy using the truncated mean of dE/dx
2012
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research / A 703, 190 - 198 (2013). doi:10.1016/j.nima.2012.11.081
The ANTARES optical module
2001
The ANTARES collaboration is building a deep sea neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea. This detector will cover a sensitive area of typically 0.1 km-squared and will be equipped with about 1000 optical modules. Each of these optical modules consists of a large area photomultiplier and its associated electronics housed in a pressure resistant glass sphere. The design of the ANTARES optical module, which is a key element of the detector, has been finalized following extensive R & D studies and is reviewed here in detail.
First tests of the applicability of gamma-ray imaging for background discrimination in time-of-flight neutron capture measurements
2015
In this work we explore for the first time the applicability of using $\gamma$-ray imaging in neutron capture measurements to identify and suppress spatially localized background. For this aim, a pinhole gamma camera is assembled, tested and characterized in terms of energy and spatial performance. It consists of a monolithic CeBr$_3$ scintillating crystal coupled to a position-sensitive photomultiplier and readout through an integrated circuit AMIC2GR. The pinhole collimator is a massive carven block of lead. A series of dedicated measurements with calibrated sources and with a neutron beam incident on a $^{197}$Au sample have been carried out at n_TOF, achieving an enhancement of a factor…
The ANTARES Optical Beacon System
2007
ANTARES is a neutrino telescope being deployed in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of a three dimensional array of photomultiplier tubes that can detect the Cherenkov light induced by charged particles produced in the interactions of neutrinos with the surrounding medium. High angular resolution can be achieved, in particular when a muon is produced, provided that the Cherenkov photons are detected with sufficient timing precision. Considerations of the intrinsic time uncertainties stemming from the transit time spread in the photomultiplier tubes and the mechanism of transmission of light in sea water lead to the conclusion that a relative time accuracy of the order of 0.5 ns is desirabl…
Calibration and Characterization of the IceCube Photomultiplier Tube
2010
Over 5,000 PMTs are being deployed at the South Pole to compose the IceCube neutrino observatory. Many are placed deep in the ice to detect Cherenkov light emitted by the products of high-energy neutrino interactions, and others are frozen into tanks on the surface to detect particles from atmospheric cosmic ray showers. IceCube is using the 10-inch diameter R7081-02 made by Hamamatsu Photonics. This paper describes the laboratory characterization and calibration of these PMTs before deployment. PMTs were illuminated with pulses ranging from single photons to saturation level. Parameterizations are given for the single photoelectron charge spectrum and the saturation behavior. Time resoluti…
Performance of the front-end electronics of the ANTARES neutrino telescope
2010
ANTARES is a high-energy neutrino telescope installed in the Mediterranean Sea at a depth of 2475 m. It consists of a three-dimensional array of optical modules, each containing a large photomultiplier tube. A total of 2700 front-end ASICs named Analogue Ring Samplers (ARS) process the phototube signals, measure their arrival time, amplitude and shape as well as perform monitoring and calibration tasks. The ARS chip processes the analogue signals from the optical modules and converts information into digital data. All the information is transmitted to shore through further multiplexing electronics and an optical link. This paper describes the performance of the ARS chip; results from the fu…
Observation and applications of single-electron charge signals in the XENON100 experiment
2014
The XENON100 dark matter experiment uses liquid xenon in a time projection chamber (TPC) to measure xenon nuclear recoils resulting from the scattering of dark matter Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). In this paper, we report the observation of single-electron charge signals which are not related to WIMP interactions. These signals, which show the excellent sensitivity of the detector to small charge signals, are explained as being due to the photoionization of impurities in the liquid xenon and of the metal components inside the TPC. They are used as a unique calibration source to characterize the detector. We explain how we can infer crucial parameters for the XENON100 experim…