Narrow muon bundles from muon pair production in rock
We revise the process of muon pair production by high-energy muons in rock using the recently published cross-section. The three-dimensional Monte Carlo code MUSIC has been used to obtain the characteristics of the muon bundles initiated via this process. We have compared them with those of conventional muon bundles initiated in the atmosphere and shown that large underground detectors, capable of collecting hundreds of thousands of multiple muon events, can discriminate statistically muon induced bundles from conventional ones. However, we find that the enhancement of the measured muon decoherence function over that predicted at small distances, recently reported by the MACRO experiment, cannot be explained by the effect of muon pair production alone, unless its cross-section is underestimated by a factor of 3.

title: The potential of liquid xenon for WIMP search: the ZEPLIN diagnostic array
abstract: A Liquid Xenon based WIMP detector diagnostic array is currently developed by the UKDMC with the help of international collaborators. After a brief reminder on the detection principle in Liquid Xenon, the individual detectors will be described. ZEPLIN I, a detector with a 4 kg fiducial mass with a background discrimination based on Pulse Shape Analysis, is already underground and starting operation. Two setups with improved background discrimination tools (as the ionisation is also recorded) are designed and scheduled to move underground in the second half of 2001. Both of them, ZEPLIN II and ZEPLIN III, are predicted to be sensitive to rate of 0.1–0.01 events/kg/day within 2 years of data taking. Furthermore, new ideas for lower background readout devices are studied, in order to avoid the use of PhotoMultiplier Tubes (PMTs).

title: Particle polarization in inclusive reactions

title: Progress report from the UK Dark Matter search at Boulby Mine
abstract: The UK Dark Matter Collaboration is currently running a series of scintillation devices at the Boulby mine in North Yorkshire to search for the neutralino, the hypothetical WIMP solution to the dark matter problem. Results of the current NaI(T1) detector array will be discussed, illustrating a population of events of unknown origin. Diagnostic tests performed to investigate the origin of these anomalous events will be outlined, including alpha, beta and neutron calibrations.

title: The ZEPLIN-III dark matter detector: Performance study using an end-to-end simulation tool
abstract: We present results from a GEANT4-based Monte Carlo tool for end-to-end simulations of the ZEPLIN-III dark matter experiment. ZEPLIN-III is a two-phase detector which measures both the scintillation light and the ionisation charge generated in liquid xenon by interacting particles and radiation. The software models the instrument response to radioactive backgrounds and calibration sources, including the generation, ray-tracing and detection of the primary and secondary scintillations in liquid and gaseous xenon, and subsequent processing by data acquisition electronics. A flexible user interface allows easy modification of detector parameters at run time. Realistic datasets can be produced to help with data analysis, an example of which is the position reconstruction algorithm developed from simulated data. We present a range of simulation results confirming the original design sensitivity of a few times 10−8 pb to the WIMP-nucleon cross-section.

title: Muon-induced background in the EDELWEISS dark matter search
abstract: A dedicated analysis of the muon-induced background in the EDELWEISS dark matter search has been performed on a data set acquired in 2009 and 2010. The total muon flux underground in the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane (LSM) was measured to be Φ μ = ( 5.4 ± 0.2 - 0.9 + 0.5 )  muons/m 2 /d. The modular design of the μ -veto system allows the reconstruction of the muon trajectory and hence the determination of the angular dependent muon flux in LSM. The results are in good agreement with both MC simulations and earlier measurements. Synchronization of the μ -veto system with the phonon and ionization signals of the Ge detector array allowed identification of muon-induced events. Rates for all muon-induced events Γ μ = ( 0.172 ± 0.012 ) evts / ( kg d ) and of WIMP-like events Γ μ – n = 0.008 - 0.004 + 0.005 evts / ( kg d ) were extracted. After vetoing, the remaining rate of accepted muon-induced neutrons in the EDELWEISS-II dark matter search was determined to be Γ irred μ – n 6 · 10 - 4 evts / ( kg d ) at 90% C.L. Based on these results, the muon-induced background expectation for an anticipated exposure of 3000 kg d for EDELWEISS-III is N 3000 kg d μ – n 0.6 events.

title: Observation of Z production in proton-lead collisions at LHCb
abstract: A bstractThe first observation of Z boson production in proton-lead collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per proton-nucleon pair of sNN$$ \sqrt{s_{N\;N}} $$ = 5 TeV is presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.6 nb−1 collected with the LHCb detector. The Z candidates are reconstructed from pairs of oppositely charged muons with pseudorapidities between 2.0 and 4.5 and transverse momenta above 20 GeV/c. The invariant dimuon mass is restricted to the range 60 − 120 GeV/c. The Z production cross-section is measured to be
σZ→μ+μ−fwd=13.5−4.0+5.4stat.±1.2syst.nb$$ {\sigma_Z}_{\to {\mu}^{+}{\mu}^{-}}\left(\mathrm{fwd}\right)={13.5}_{-4.0}^{+5.4}\left(\mathrm{stat}.\right)\pm 1.2\left(\mathrm{syst}.\right)\mathrm{nb} $$
 in the direction of the proton beam and
σZ→μ+μ−bwd=10.7−5.1+8.4stat.±1.0syst.nb$$ {\sigma}_{Z\to {\mu}^{+}{\mu}^{-}}\left(\mathrm{bwd}\right)={10.7}_{-5.1}^{+8.4}\left(\mathrm{stat}.\right)\pm 1.0\left(\mathrm{syst}.\right)\mathrm{nb} $$
 in the direction of the lead beam, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic.

title: Limits on neutral Higgs boson production in the forward region in pp collisions at $ \sqrt{s}=7 $ TeV
abstract: A bstractLimits on the cross-section times branching fraction for neutral Higgs bosons, produced in pp collisions at $ \sqrt{s}=7 $ TeV, and decaying to two tau leptons with pseudorapidities between 2.0 and 4.5, are presented. The result is based on a dataset, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1, collected with the LHCb detector. Candidates are identified by reconstructing final states with two muons, a muon and an electron, a muon and a hadron, or an electron and a hadron. A model independent upper limit at the 95% confidence level is set on a neutral Higgs boson cross-section times branching fraction. It varies from 8.6 pb for a Higgs boson mass of 90 GeV to 0.7 pb for a Higgs boson mass of 250 GeV, and is compared to the Standard Model expectation. An upper limit on tan β in the Minimal Supersymmetric Model is set in the $ m_{{{h^0}}}^{\max } $ scenario. It ranges from 34 for a CP -odd Higgs boson mass of 90 GeV to 70 for a pseudo-scalar Higgs boson mass of 140 GeV.

title: Production of high-energy muons in extensive air showers from primary el rays
abstract: The primary mechanism for the production of high-energy muons (E/sub / > 5 TeV) in extensive air showers from primary el rays is the production of muon pairs by shower photons in the field of a nucleus.

title: Measurement of CP asymmetry in $B^0_s \rightarrow D^{\mp}_s K^{\pm}$ decays
abstract: We report on measurements of the time-dependent CP violating observables in $B^0_s\rightarrow D^{\mp}_s K^{\pm}$ decays using a dataset corresponding to 1.0 fb$^{-1}$ of pp collisions recorded with the LHCb detector. We find the CP violating observables $C_f=0.53\pm0.25\pm0.04$, $A^{\Delta\Gamma}_f=0.37\pm0.42\pm0.20$, $A^{\Delta\Gamma}_{\bar{f}}=0.20\pm0.41\pm0.20$, $S_f=-1.09\pm0.33\pm0.08$, $S_{\bar{f}}=-0.36\pm0.34\pm0.08$, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. We use these observables to make the first measurement of the CKM angle $\gamma$ in $B^0_s\rightarrow D^{\mp}_s K^{\pm}$ decays, finding $\gamma$ = (115$_{-43}^{+28}$)$^\circ$ modulo 180$^\circ$ at 68% CL, where the error contains both statistical and systematic uncertainties.

title: Superfermionic superconformal string model