A Search for the Dark Matter Annual Modulation in South Pole Ice
Astrophysical observations and cosmological data have led to the conclusion that nearly one quarter of the Universe consists of dark matter. Under certain assumptions, an observable signature of dark matter is the annual modulation of the rate of dark matter-nucleon interactions taking place in an Earth-bound experiment. To search for this e ect, we introduce the concept for a new dark matter experiment using NaI scintillation detectors deployed deep in the South Pole ice. This experiment complements dark matter search e orts in the Northern Hemisphere and will investigate the observed annual modulation in the DAMA/LIBRA and DAMA/NaI experiments. The unique location will permit the study of background e ects correlated with seasonal variations and the surrounding environment. This paper describes the experimental concept and explores the sensitivity of a 250 kg NaI experiment at the South Pole.

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: 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 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: 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: Search for the lepton-flavor violating decays $B^0_s \rightarrow e^{\pm}\mu^{\mp}$ and $B^0 \rightarrow e^{\pm} \mu^{\mp}$
abstract: A search for the lepton-flavour violating decays $B^0_s \to e^{\pm} \mu^{\mp}$ and $B^0 \to e^{\pm} \mu^{\mp}$ is performed with a data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV, collected by the LHCb experiment. The observed number of $B^0_s \to e^{\pm} \mu^{\mp}$ and $B^0 \to e^{\pm} \mu^{\mp}$ candidates is consistent with background expectations. Upper limits on the branching fractions of both decays are determined to be $BR(B^0_s \to e^{\pm} \mu^{\mp}) 107$ TeV/c$^2$ and $M_{\rm LQ} (B^0 \to e^{\pm} \mu^{\mp}) > 126$ TeV/c$^2$ at 95% C.L., and are a factor of two higher than the previous bounds.

title: Search for the rare decay $D^0 \to \mu^+ \mu^-$
abstract: A search for the rare decay $D^0 \to \mu^+ \mu^-$is performed using a data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.9 fb$^{-1}$, of $pp$ collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV by the LHCb experiment. The observed number of events is consistent with the background expectations and corresponds to an upper limit of \mbox{${\cal B}(D^0 \to \mu^+ \mu^-) < 6.2(7.6) \times 10^{-9}$} at \mbox{90%} \mbox{(95%)} confidence level. This result represents an improvement of more than a factor twenty with respect to previous measurements.

title: Conformal covariant description of mesons and baryons in composite superconformal string model
abstract: Operator nucleon vertices are constructed in composite superconformal string model. Splitting of baryon Regge trajectories with the same quantum numbers but with opposite parity is provided by inclusion of special two-dimensional field to be carried spin-parity quantity on the basic two-dimensional surface. Then conservation of cyclic symmetry of hadron string amplitudes and necessary duality properties requires nucleon vertices with separation of spinor components of different chirality.

title: Measurement of the $\Lambda_b^0$, $\Xi_b^-$ and $\Omega_b^-$ baryon masses
abstract: Bottom baryons decaying to a J/\psi\ meson and a hyperon are reconstructed using 1.0 fb^{-1} of data collected in 2011 with the LHCb detector. Significant \Lambda_b^0 \rightarrow J/\psi \Lambda, \Xi_b^-\rightarrow J/\psi \Xi^- and \Omega_b^- \rightarrow J/\psi \Omega^- signals are observed and the corresponding masses are measured to be M(\Lambda_b^0) = 5619.53 \pm 0.13 (stat) \pm 0.45 (syst) MeV/c^2, M(\Xi_b^-) = 5795.8 \pm 0.9 (stat) \pm 0.4 (syst) MeV/c^2, M(\Omega_b^-) = 6046.0 \pm 2.2 (stat) \pm 0.5 (syst) MeV/c^2, while the differences with respect to the \Lambda_b^0 mass are M(\Xi_b^-)-M(\Lambda_b^0) = 176.2 \pm 0.9 (stat) \pm 0.1 (syst) MeV/c^2, M(\Omega_b^-)-M(\Lambda_b^0) = 426.4 \pm 2.2 (stat) \pm 0.4 (syst) MeV/c^2. These are the most precise mass measurements of the \Lambda_b^0, \Xi_b^- and \Omega_b^- baryons to date. Averaging the above \Lambda_b^0 mass measurement with that published by LHCb using 35 pb^{-1} of data collected in 2010 yields M(\Lambda_b^0) = 5619.44 \pm 0.13 (stat) \pm 0.38 (syst) MeV/c^2.

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.