High-statistics study of the low-energy cosmic-muons angular distribution: Results from MICRO
SummaryWe present results from MICRO, a muon telescope with good angular resolution, which has collected more than 31·106 cosmic muons. Upper limits are given for the flux coming from point sources and for the periodic component from Cygnus X3.

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: 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: 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: 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: Prediction for the lightest Higgs boson mass in the CMSSM using indirect experimental constraints
abstract: Measurements at low energies provide interesting indirect information about masses of particles that are (so far) too heavy to be produced directly. Motivated by recent progress in consistently and rigorously calculating electroweak precision observables and flavour related observables, we derive the preferred value for m h in the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (CMSSM), obtained from a fit taking into account electroweak precision data, flavour physics observables and the abundance of cold dark matter. No restriction is imposed on m h itself: the experimental bound from direct Higgs boson search at LEP is not included in the fit. A multi-parameter χ 2 is minimized with respect to the free parameters of the CMSSM, M 0 , M 1 / 2 , A 0 , tan β . A statistical comparison with the Standard Model fit to the electroweak precision data is made. The preferred value for the lightest Higgs boson mass in the CMSSM is found to be m h CMSSM = 110 −10 +8 ( exp. ) ± 3 ( theo. ) GeV / c 2 , where the first uncertainty is experimental and the second uncertainty is theoretical. This value is compatible with the limit from direct Higgs boson search at LEP.

title: Measurement of the Muon Stopping Power in Lead Tungstate
abstract: A large sample of cosmic ray events collected by the CMS detector is exploited to measure the specific energy loss of muons in the lead tungstate of the electromagnetic calorimeter. The measurement spans a momentum range from 5 GeV/c to 1 TeV/c. The results are consistent with the expectations over the entire range. The calorimeter energy scale, set with 120 GeV/c electrons, is validated down to the sub-GeV region using energy deposits, of order 100 MeV, associated with low-momentum muons. The muon critical energy in lead tungstate is measured to be 160+5/-6 plus or minus 8 GeV, in agreement with expectations. This is the first experimental determination of muon critical energy.

title: Observation of D+(s)K- and evidence for D+(s)pi- final states in neutral B decays.
abstract: We report the first observation of a B meson decay that is not accessible by a direct spectator process. The channel B(0)-->D(+)(s)K- is found in a sample of 85 x 10(6) BB; events, collected with the Belle detector at KEKB, with a branching fraction B(B(0)-->D(+)(s)K-)=(4.6(+1.2)(-1.1)+/-1.3) x 10(-5). We also obtain evidence for the B0-->D(+)(s)pi(-) decay with branching fraction B(B0-->D(+)(s)pi(-))=(2.4(+1.0)(-0.8)+/-0.7) x 10(-5). This value may be used to extract a model-dependent value of |V(ub)|.

title: Tracking and Alignment in the CMS Detector
abstract: This Report summarises the alignment strategy of the CMS detector. Track reconstruction in the silicon tracker and muon chambers is briefly described. We then present the different sources of alignment information, in particular alignment algorithms using reconstructed tracks.

title: Studies of B0 ---> rho+- pi-+ and evidence of B0 ----> rho0 pi0