Signal coupling and signal integrity in multi-strip resistive plate chambers used for timing applications
We have systematically studied the transmission of electrical signals along several 2-strip Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) in the frequency range f = 0.1 − 3.5 GHz . Such a range was chosen to fully cover the bandwidth associated to the very short rise-times of signals originated in RPCs used for sub-100 ps timing applications. This work conveys experimental evidence of the dominant role of modal dispersion in counters built at the 1 m scale, a fact that results in large cross-talk levels and strong signal shaping. It is shown that modal dispersion appears in RPCs due to their inherent unbalance between capacitive and inductive coupling. A practical way to restore this symmetry has been introduced (hereafter ‘electrostatic compensation’), allowing for a cross-talk suppression factor up to × 12 and a rise-time reduction by 200 ps. Under conditions of compensation the signal transmission is only limited by dielectric losses, yielding a length-dependent cutoff frequency of around 1 GHz for propagation along 2 m in typical float glass-based RPCs. It is further shown that ‘electrostatic compensation’ can be achieved for an arbitrary number of strips as long as the nature of the coupling is ‘short-range’, that is an almost exact assumption for typical strip-line RPCs. This work extends the bandwidth of previous studies by a factor of×20.

title: Measurements of $D^{0}$ and $D^{*}$ Production in $p$ + $p$ Collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV
abstract: We report measurements of charmed-hadron ($D^{0}$, $D^{*}$) production cross sections at mid-rapidity in $p$ + $p$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV by the STAR experiment. Charmed hadrons were reconstructed via the hadronic decays $D^{0}\rightarrow K^{-}\pi^{+}$, $D^{*+}\rightarrow D^{0}\pi^{+}\rightarrow K^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{+}$ and their charge conjugates, covering the $p_T$ range of 0.6$-$2.0 GeV/$c$ and 2.0$-$6.0 GeV/$c$ for $D^{0}$ and $D^{*+}$, respectively. From this analysis, the charm-pair production cross section at mid-rapidity is $d\sigma/dy|_{y=0}^{c\bar{c}}$ = 170 $\pm$ 45 (stat.) $^{+38}_{-59}$ (sys.) $\mu$b. The extracted charm-pair cross section is compared to perturbative QCD calculations. The transverse momentum differential cross section is found to be consistent with the upper bound of a Fixed-Order Next-to-Leading Logarithm calculation.

title: Three-particle coincidence of the long range pseudorapidity correlation in high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions.
abstract: We report the first three-particle coincidence measurement in pseudorapidity (Δη) between a high transverse momentum (p⊥) trigger particle and two lower p⊥ associated particles within azimuth |Δϕ|<0.7 in square root of s(NN)=200 GeV d+Au and Au+Au collisions. Charge ordering properties are exploited to separate the jetlike component and the ridge (long range Δη correlation). The results indicate that the correlation of ridge particles are uniform not only with respect to the trigger particle but also between themselves event by event in our measured Δη. In addition, the production of the ridge appears to be uncorrelated to the presence of the narrow jetlike component.

title: A prototype of a high rating MRPC
abstract: Six-gap resistive plate chamber (MRPC) prototypes with semiconductive glass electrodes (bulk resistivity ~ 1010 Ωcm) were studied for suitability in time-of-flight (TOF) applications at high rates. These studies were performed using a continuous electron beam of 800 MeV at IHEP and an X-ray machine. Time resolutions of about 100 ps and efficiencies larger than 90% were obtained for flux densities up to 28 kHz/cm2.

title: Performance of a new LMRPC prototype for the STAR MTD system
abstract: A new prototype of a Long-Strip Multi-Gap Resistive Plate Chamber (LMRPC) for the STAR Muon Telescope Detector (MTD) at RHIC has been developed. This prototype has an active area of 52 x 90 cm(2) and consists of six 250 mu m wide gaps. Each detector has 12 strips, read-out at both ends, which are each 3.8 cm wide and 90 cm long with 0.6 cm intervals. In cosmic-ray tests, the efficiency was larger than 95% and the time resolution was similar to 75 ps for the 94% Freon, 5% iso-butane, and 1% SF6 gas mixture. There was good uniformity in the performance across the different strips. The module was also tested in a proton beam at IHEP in Beijing. The efficiency was close to 100% and the best timing resolution achieved was 55 ps for the 90% Freon, 5% iso-butane, and 5% SF6 gas mixture. Trigger scans along and across the strip direction were also performed. Crown

title: Study on the position resolution of resistive plate chamber
abstract: A prototype RPC detector with a 2-mm readout strip pitch has been built for research into its position resolution. After determining the optimal threshold and working voltage, the efficiency and position resolution of this prototype RPC detector have been studied carefully. Using cosmic-ray muons with different directions and incident positions, we have obtained less than 0.5-mm average statistical errors of position resolution for two different RPC readout structures: 1- and 1.7-mm readout strip widths. The results show that the RPC can also give high position resolution with very little variation from its traditional structure. This will lead to possible applications of the RPC in medical imaging and other domains.

title: Black hole to bulge mass correlation in Active Galactic Nuclei: a test for the simple unified formation scheme
abstract: A mass correlation of central black holes and their spheroids similar to 0.002 (within a factor of three) is suggested by Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and various ground-based CCD photometries of early type galaxies. The near-IR images of quasar hosts and the emission line measurements of Broad Line Region for bright QSOs present a similar correlation, which supports the speculation of an evolutionary linkage between the early active QSO phase and the central black holes in normal galaxies. On the other hand, recent reverberation mapping of a sample of Seyferts shows a broad distribution of black hole to bulge mass ratio with a mean of similar to 10(-3.5), about one magnitude lower than the value in early type galaxies and bright QSOs. Adopting a simple unified formation scheme for QSOs and Seyferts, we will discuss in this letter the dependence of the black hole to bulge mass ratio in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) on the environmental parameters of the host galaxies. We show a broad distribution of the mass correlation could be due to different velocity dispersion of the accreting gas from different Formation mechanism, and the mass ratio in normal galaxies and bright QSOs is probably a limit case of black hole evolution by merger enhanced accretion close to Eddington limit.

title: A new surface treatment for the prototype RPCs of the BESIII spectrometer
abstract: The prototype resistive plate chambers (RPCs) for the BESIII spectrometer were constructed by using resistive electrodes made from a special type of phenolic paper laminates developed by us. The surface quality of these laminates is superior to other bakelite plates that have been used to construct RPCs elsewhere. A method for adjusting the resistivety of these laminates was also developed. Extensive studies were conducted by using a number of prototype RPCs in the last several years. Tests have shown prototype RPCs made by using our resistive plates without the linseed oil treatment can achieve the level of performance comparable to RPCs with linseed oil treated bakelite or resistive glass electrodes. In this paper, we will discuss the construction of these prototype RPCs. The test results of a prototype RPC that have been monitored for a year will be reported. Based on favorable test results of prototypes, the RPC production for the muon identifier of the BESIII spectrometer has started at the Beijing Gaonengkedi Science and Technology Co. Ltd. in early 2004 using the technology that we developed.

title: The design and mass production on resistive plate chambers for the BESIII experiment
abstract: A new type of the phenolic paper laminate is used as the resistive electrodes of BESIII RPC. The surface smoothness of these laminates is comparable to that of the bakelite plates with linseed oil treating. A technique to adjust the bulk resistivity of the laminates within the range of 10 9 –10 13 O cm is developed. Nowadays, about 1000 bare chambers (1200 m 2 ) have been produced and used for BESIII MUON, and the rejection rate is only 1.5%. In this paper, we will discuss the mass production and quality control procedures of these RPCs. r 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.  29.40.n; 29.30.Cs

title: Measurements of H(z) and DA(z) from the two-dimensional two-point correlation function of Sloan Digital Sky Survey luminous red galaxies
abstract: We present a method for measuring the Hubble parameter, H(z), and angular diameter distance, DA(z), from the two-dimensional two-point correlation function and validate it using LasDamas mock galaxy catalogues. Applying our method to the sample of luminous red galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7, we measure and Mpc without assuming a dark energy model or a flat universe. We find that the derived measurements of H(0.35) rs(zd)/c and DA(0.35)/rs(zd) [where rs(zd) is the sound horizon at the drag epoch] are nearly uncorrelated, have tighter constraints and are more robust with respect to possible systematic effects. Our galaxy clustering measurements of (with the correlation coefficient r = 0.0604) can be used to combine with cosmic microwave background and any other cosmological data sets to constrain dark energy. Our results represent the first measurements of H(z) and DA(z) (or H(z) rs(zd)/c and DA(0.35)/rs(zd)) from galaxy clustering data. Our work has significant implications for future surveys in establishing the feasibility of measuring both H(z) and DA(z) from galaxy clustering data.

title: Future plan for observation of cosmic gamma rays in the 100 TeV energy region with the Tibet air shower array : simulation and sensitivity
abstract: The Tibet air shower array, which has an effective area of 37,000 square meters and is located at 4300 m in altitude, has been observing air showers induced by cosmic rays with energies above a few TeV. We have a plan to add a large muon detector array to it for the purpose of increasing its sensitivity to cosmic gamma rays in the 100 TeV energy region by discriminating them from cosmic-ray hadrons. We have deduced the attainable sensitivity of the muon detector array using our Monte Carlo simulation. We report here on the detailed procedure of our Monte Carlo simulation.