Time resolution limits of the MWPCs for the LHCb muon system
Detailed simulations of the timing properties of the Multi-Wire-Proportional-Chambers of the LHCb muon system are compared with actual measurements. The simulated time resolution is in good agreement with the measurement which allows to study the resolution limiting parameters like diffusion, charge deposit fluctuations, cluster position fluctuations, electronics noise, track position and wire spacing to show how they affect the performance of the system. Methods to improve the time resolution of the muon chambers are discussed.

title: Observation of charmonium pairs produced exclusively in $pp$ collisions
abstract: A search is performed for the central exclusive production of pairs of charmonia produced in proton-proton collisions. Using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3{\rm\ fb}^{-1}$ collected at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, $J/\psi J/\psi$ and $J/\psi\psi(2S)$ pairs are observed, which have been produced in the absence of any other activity inside the LHCb acceptance that is sensitive to charged particles in the pseudorapidity ranges $(-3.5,-1.5)$ and $(1.5,5.0)$. Searches are also performed for pairs of P-wave charmonia and limits are set on their production. The cross-sections for these processes, where the dimeson system has a rapidity between 2.0 and 4.5, are measured to be $$ \begin{array}{rl} \sigma^{J/\psi J/\psi} &= 58\pm10{(\rm stat)} \pm 6{(\rm syst)}  , \\ \sigma^{J/\psi\psi(2S)} &= 63 ^{+27}_{-18}{(\rm stat)}\pm 10{(\rm syst)}  , \\ \sigma^{\psi(2S)\psi(2S)} &< 237 , \\ \sigma^{\chi_{c0}\chi_{c0}} &< 69 , \\ \sigma^{\chi_{c1}\chi_{c1}} &< 45 } &< 141 , \\ \end{array} $$ where the upper limits are set at the 90% confidence level. The measured $J/\psi J/\psi$ and $J/\psi\psi(2S)$ cross-sections are consistent with theoretical expectations.

title: A Precision Measurement of Charm Dimuon Production in Neutrino Interactions from the NOMAD Experiment
abstract: We present our new measurement of the cross-section for charm dimuon production in neutrino–iron interactions based upon the full statistics collected by the NOMAD experiment. After background subtraction we observe 15 344 charm dimuon events, providing the largest sample currently available. The analysis exploits the large inclusive charged current sample – about 9 × 10 6 events after all analysis cuts – and the high resolution NOMAD detector to constrain the total systematic uncertainty on the ratio of charm dimuon to inclusive Charged Current (CC) cross-sections to ∼2%. We also perform a fit to the NOMAD data to extract the charm production parameters and the strange quark sea content of the nucleon within the NLO QCD approximation. We obtain a value of m c ( m c ) = 1.159 ± 0.075 GeV / c 2 for the running mass of the charm quark in the MS ¯ scheme and a strange quark sea suppression factor of κ s = 0.591 ± 0.019 at Q 2 = 20 GeV 2 / c 2 .

title: Measurement of the charge asymmetry in $B^{\pm}\rightarrow \phi K^{\pm}$ and search for $B^{\pm}\rightarrow \phi \pi^{\pm}$ decays
abstract: The \CP-violating charge asymmetry in $B^{\pm}\rightarrow \phi K^{\pm}$ decays is measured in a sample of $pp$ collisions at 7 TeV centre-of-mass energy, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment. The result is $\mathcal{A}_{CP}(B^{\pm}\rightarrow \phi K^{\pm}) = \rm 0.022\pm 0.021 \pm 0.009$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. In addition, a search for the $B^{\pm}\rightarrow \phi \pi^{\pm}$ decay mode is performed, using the $B^{\pm}\rightarrow \phi K^{\pm}$ decay rate for normalization. An upper limit on the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(B^{\pm}\rightarrow \phi \pi^{\pm})< 1.5\times 10^{-7}$ is set at 90% confidence level.

title: Measurement of the effective $B^0_s\rightarrow K^+K^-$ lifetime
abstract: A measurement of the effective $B^0_s\rightarrow K^+K^-$ lifetime is presented using approximately $37 pb^{-1}$ of data collected by LHCb during 2010. This quantity can be used to put constraints on contributions from processes beyond the Standard Model in the $B^0_s$ meson system and is determined by two complementary approaches as $\tau_{B^0_s\to K^+K^-} = 1.440 \pm 0.096 (stat) \pm 0.008 (syst) \pm 0.003 (model) ps$.

title: Opposite-side flavour tagging of B mesons at the LHCb experiment
abstract: The calibration and performance of the opposite-side flavour tagging algorithms used for the measurements of time-dependent asymmetries at the LHCb experiment are described. The algorithms have been developed using simulated events and optimized and calibrated with B+→J/ψK+, B0→J/ψK∗0 and B0→D∗−μ+νμ decay modes with 0.37 fb−1 of data collected in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7\mbox{~TeV}$ during the 2011 physics run. The opposite-side tagging power is determined in the B+→J/ψK+ channel to be (2.10±0.08±0.24) %, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.

title: Electron beam profile imaging in the presence of coherent optical radiation effects
abstract: High-brightness electron beams with low energy spread at existing and future x-ray free-electron lasers are affected by various collective beam self-interactions and microbunching instabilities. The corresponding coherent optical radiation effects, e.g., coherent optical transition radiation, render electron beam profile imaging impossible and become a serious issue for all kinds of electron beam diagnostics using imaging screens. Furthermore, coherent optical radiation effects can also be related to intrinsically ultrashort electron bunches or the existence of ultrashort spikes inside the electron bunches. In this paper, we discuss methods to suppress coherent optical radiation effects both by electron beam profile imaging in dispersive beamlines and by using scintillation imaging screens in combination with separation techniques. The suppression of coherent optical emission in dispersive beamlines is shown by analytical calculations, numerical simulations, and measurements. Transverse and longitudinal electron beam profile measurements in the presence of coherent optical radiation effects in non-dispersive beamlines are demonstrated by applying a temporal separation technique.

title: HATS-3b: An inflated hot Jupiter transiting an F-type star
abstract: We report the discovery by the HATSouth survey of HATS-3b, a transiting extrasolar planet orbiting a V=12.4 F dwarf star. HATS-3b has a period of P = 3.5479d, mass of Mp = 1.07MJ, and radius of Rp = 1.38RJ. Given the radius of the planet, the brightness of the host star, and the stellar rotational velocity (v sini = 9.0kms −1 ), this system will make an interesting target for future observations to measure the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect and determine its spin-orbit alignment. We detail the low/medium-resolution reconnaissance spectroscopy that we are now using to deal with large numbers of transiting planet candidates produced by the HATSouth survey. We show that this important step in discovering planets produces logg and Teff parameters at a precision suitable for efficient candidate vetting, as well as efficiently identifying stellar mass eclipsing binaries with radial velocity semi-amplitudes as low as 1kms −1 . Subject headings: planetary systems — stars: individual (HATS-3, GSC 6926-00454) techniques: spectroscopic, photometric

title: Observational constraints on the nature of dark energy : First cosmological results from the essence supernova survey
abstract: We present constraints on the dark energy equation-of-state parameter, w = P/(rho c(2)), using 60 SNe Ia fromthe ESSENCE supernova survey. We derive a set of constraints on the nature of the dark energy assuming a flat universe. By including constraints on (Omega(M), w) from baryon acoustic oscillations, we obtain a value for a static equation-of-state parameter w = -1:05(-0.12)(+0: 13) (stat 1 sigma) +/- 0: 13 (sys) and Omega(M) = 0:274(-0.020)(+0:033) (stat 1 sigma) with a bestfit chi(2)/dof of 0.96. These results are consistent with those reported by the Supernova Legacy Survey from the first year of a similar program measuring supernova distances and redshifts. We evaluate sources of systematic error that afflict supernova observations and present Monte Carlo simulations that explore these effects. Currently, the largest systematic with the potential to affect our measurements is the treatment of extinction due to dust in the supernova host galaxies. Combining our set of ESSENCE SNe Ia with the first-results Supernova Legacy Survey SNe Ia, we obtain a joint constraint of w = -1:07(-0: 09)(+0:09) (stat 1 sigma) +/- 0: 13 ( sys), Omega(M) 0:267(-0:028)(+0:028) (stat 1 sigma) with a best-fit chi(2)/dof of 0.91. The current global SN Ia data alone rule out empty (Omega(M) = 0), matter-only Omega(M) = 0: 3, and Omega(M) = 1 universes at > 4.5 sigma. The current SN Ia data are fully consistent with a cosmological constant.

title: The Outer Tracker detector of the HERA-B experiment. Part II: Front-end electronics
abstract: The HERA-B Outer Tracker is a large detector with 112,674 drift chamber channels. It is exposed to a particle flux of up to 2 × 10 5 cm - 2 s - 1 thus coping with conditions similar to those expected for the LHC experiments. The front-end readout system, based on the ASD-8 chip and a customized TDC chip, is designed to fulfil the requirements on low noise, high sensitivity, rate tolerance, and high integration density. The TDC system is based on an ASIC which digitizes the time in bins of about 0.5 ns within a total of 256 bins. The chip also comprises a pipeline to store data from 128 events which is required for a deadtime-free trigger and data acquisition system. We report on the development, installation, and commissioning of the front-end electronics, including the grounding and noise suppression schemes, and discuss its performance in the HERA-B experiment.

title: Time-Resolved Electron Beam Phase Space Tomography at a Soft X-Ray Free-Electron Laser
abstract: High-gain free-electron lasers (FELs) in the ultraviolet and x-ray regime put stringent demands on the peak current, transverse emittance, and energy spread of the driving electron beam. At the soft x-ray FEL FLASH, a transverse deflecting microwave structure (TDS) has been installed to determine these parameters for the longitudinally compressed bunches, which are characterized by a narrow leading peak of high charge density and a long tail. The rapidly varying electromagnetic field in the TDS deflects the electrons vertically and transforms the time profile into a streak on an observation screen. The bunch current profile was measured single shot with an unprecedented resolution of 27 fs under FEL operating conditions. A precise single-shot measurement of the energy distribution along a bunch was accomplished by using the TDS in combination with an energy spectrometer. Variation of quadrupole strengths allowed for a determination of the horizontal emittance as a function of the longitudinal position within a bunch, the so-called slice emittance. In the bunch tail, a normalized slice emittance of about $2\text{ }\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ was found, in agreement with expectations. In the leading spike, however, surprisingly large emittance values were observed, in apparent contradiction with the low emittance deduced from the measured FEL gain. By applying three-dimensional phase space tomography, we were able to show that the bunch head contains a central core of low emittance and high local current density, which is presumably the lasing part of the bunch.