EXPLORER and NAUTILUS: Present status
We report on the present status of the resonant gravitational waves detectors EXPLORER and NAUTILUS operated by the ROG collaboration at CERN and at the INFN Prascati National Laboratories respectively. EXPLORER has been operating in continuous data taking for three years. NAUTILUS during 2002 underwent a partial overhaul of its read-out electronics. The results obtained since May 2003 show a considerable improvement in the performances of the apparatus. Both the detectors exhibit an unprecedented useful bandwidth: in over 30 Hz their spectral sensitivities are better than 10~/ \/Hz with a duty cycle only limited by cryogenic operations.

title: Muon tracking underground
abstract: SummaryWe present a new design of plastic streamer tubes, optimized to match the experimental requirements of large-area under-ground detectors, where muon identification is needed with good angular resolution.RiassuntoSi descrive un nuovo disegno di tubi a streamer in plastica, ottimizzati per le esigenze sperimentali di apparati sotterranei di grande area, dove si richiede l'identificazione di muoni con buona risoluzione angolare.РзюмеПредлагается новый проект пластических стримерных трубок, оптимально согласованный с эксперименталыми требованиями подэемных детекторов на большой площади, когда небходима идентификция мюоноб с высокими угловым разрешением.

title: EXPLORER and NAUTILUS gravitational wave detectors: a status report
abstract: The two cryogenic resonant bar detectors of the ROG Collaboration, EXPLORER and NAUTILUS, have been taking data continuously with a high duty cycle for several years. We report here on the status of recent analysis of the data and in particular on the results of the burst searches in the year 2004.

title: RAP: thermoacoustic detection at the DAΦNE beam test facility
abstract: In order to investigate the anomalous response at ultra-low temperatures of the resonant-mass gravitational wave detector NAUTILUS, the RAP experiment has been planned to measure the vibrations in a small cylindrical aluminium bar when hit by 105 510 MeV electrons from the DAΦNE beam test facility, corresponding to the energies released by typical extensive air showers. The results of the measurement at low temperature and in the superconducting regime are crucial to understand the interaction of ionizing particles with bulk superconductors and to confirm the results on the thermoacoustic model of the past experiments. The first run of RAP experiment is scheduled for the end of June. The scheme of operation and the preliminary results at room temperature will be presented.

title: Comparison of muon and neutrino times from decays of mesons in the atmosphere
abstract: We propose a test to compare the speed of muons and muon neutrinos produced in the same bundles in the atmosphere. By comparing the arrival times of primary muons and muons induced by neutrinos, experiments such as Super-Kamiokande, IceCube and ANTARES could verify recent hints on the possibility that neutrinos have a velocity larger than the speed of light. For smaller detectors such as MINOS and OPERA, where it may be challenging to recognize downgoing muons induced by neutrinos inside the active volume, another measurement may be possible thanks to the ns-time resolution. The arrival times of muons in a bundle produced by one cosmic ray interaction in the atmosphere should return a value compatible with the time resolution, while if neutrinos have larger velocity than muons some of the muons may arrive slightly earlier in a bundle of particles than others.

title: Detection of high energy cosmic rays with the resonant gravitational wave detectors NAUTILUS and EXPLORER
abstract: The cryogenic resonant gravitational wave detectors NAUTILUS and EXPLORER, made of an aluminum alloy bar, can detect cosmic ray showers. At temperatures above 1 K, when the material is in the normal-conducting state, the measured signals are in good agreement with the expected values based on the cosmic rays data and on the thermo-acoustic model. When NAUTILUS was operated at the temperature of 0.14 K, in superconductive state, large signals produced by cosmic ray interactions, more energetic than expected, were recorded. The NAUTILUS data in this case are in agreement with the measurements done by a dedicated experiment on a particle beam. The biggest recorded event was in EXPLORER and excited the first longitudinal mode to a vibrational energy of ∼670 K, corresponding to ∼360 TeV absorbed in the bar. Cosmic rays can be an important background in future acoustic detectors of improved sensitivity. At present, they represent a useful tool to verify the gravitational wave antenna performance.

title: Spatial resolution in Micromegas detectors
abstract: The performance of a telescope of Micromegas detectors has been studied in a pion beam at the CERN PS. With a gas "lling of CF and 20% isobutane and with a strip pitch of 100m an accuracyof 14 $3m on the spatial resolution has been measured at normal incidence. A simulation demonstrates that the resolution is limited bythe size of the holes of the mesh of the detector and could be reduced to 11m in the same conditions with smaller holes. Even further improvement down to 8.5m is feasible for the same gas with an optimized 75m strip pitch.

title: Performance and operation of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter
abstract: The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75 848 channels corresponding to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise, is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented.

title: Implications of initial LHC searches for supersymmetry
abstract: The CMS and ATLAS Collaborations have recently published the results of initial direct LHC searches for supersymmetry analyzing ∼35/pb of data taken at 7 TeV in the centre of mass. We incorporate these results into a frequentist analysis of the probable ranges of parameters of simple versions of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM), namely the constrained MSSM (CMSSM), a model with common non-universal Higgs masses (NUHM1), the very constrained MSSM (VCMSSM) and minimal supergravity (mSUGRA). We present updated predictions for the gluino mass, $m_{\tilde{g}}$, the light-Higgs boson mass, Mh, BR(Bs→μ+μ−) and the spin-independent dark matter scattering cross section, $\sigma^{\mathrm{SI}}_{p}$. The CMS and ATLAS data make inroads into the CMSSM, NUHM1 and VCMSSM (but not mSUGRA) parameter spaces, thereby strengthening previous lower limits on sparticle masses and upper limits on $\sigma^{\mathrm{SI}}_{p}$ in the CMSSM and VCMSSM. The favoured ranges of BR(Bs→μ+μ−) in the CMSSM, VCMSSM and mSUGRA are close to the Standard Model, but considerably larger values of BR(Bs→μ+μ−) are possible in the NUHM1. Applying the CMS and ATLAS constraints improves the consistency of the model predictions for Mh with the LEP exclusion limits.

title: Commissioning and performance of the CMS pixel tracker with cosmic ray muons
abstract: The pixel detector of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment consists of three barrel layers and two disks for each endcap. The detector was installed in summer 2008, commissioned with charge injections, and operated in the 3.8 T magnetic field during cosmic ray data taking. This paper reports on the first running experience and presents results on the pixel tracker performance, which are found to be in line with the design specifications of this detector. The transverse impact parameter resolution measured in a sample of high momentum muons is 18 microns.

title: Search for supersymmetry in events with b-quark jets and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at 7 TeV
abstract: Results are presented from a search for physics beyond the standard model based on events with large missing transverse energy, at least three jets, and at least one, two, or three b-quark jets. The study is performed using a sample of proton-proton collision data collected at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2011, with the missing transverse energy distribution as the principal search variable. The integrated luminosity of the sample is 4.98 inverse femtobarns. The observed number of events is found to be consistent with the standard model expectation, which is evaluated using control samples in the data. The results are used to constrain cross sections for the production of supersymmetric particles decaying to b-quark-enriched final states in the context of simplified model spectra.