The MACRO detector at Gran Sasso
MACRO was an experiment that ran in the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso from 1988 to 2000. Its principal goal was to observe magnetic monopoles or set significantly lower experimental flux limits than had been previously available in the velocity range from about beta = 10(-4) to unity. In addition it made a variety of other observations.  The apparatus consisted of three principal types of detectors: liquid scintillator counters, limited streamer tubes, and nuclear track etch detectors. In addition, over part of its area it contained a transition radiation detector. The general design philosophy emphasized redundancy and complementarity. This paper describes the technical aspects of the complete MACRO detector, its operational performance, and the techniques used to calibrate it and verify its proper operation. It supplements a previously published paper which described the first portion of the detector that was built and operated.

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: 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: 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: 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: 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: Supersymmetry in light of 1/fb of LHC data
abstract: We update previous frequentist analyses of the CMSSM and NUHM1 parameter spaces to include the public results of searches for supersymmetric signals using ∼1/fb of LHC data recorded by ATLAS and CMS and ∼0.3/fb of data recorded by LHCb in addition to electroweak precision and B-physics observables. We also include the constraints imposed by the cosmological dark matter density and the XENON100 search for spin-independent dark matter scattering. The LHC data set includes ATLAS and CMS searches for jets + events and for the heavier MSSM Higgs bosons, and the upper limits on BR(Bs→μ+μ−) from LHCb and CMS. The absences of jets + signals in the LHC data favour heavier mass spectra than in our previous analyses of the CMSSM and NUHM1, which may be reconciled with (g−2)μ if tanβ∼40, a possibility that is, however, under pressure from heavy Higgs searches and the upper limits on BR(Bs→μ+μ−). As a result, the p-value for the CMSSM fit is reduced to ∼15(38)%, and that for the NUHM1 to ∼16(38)%, to be compared with ∼9(49)% for the Standard Model limit of the CMSSM for the same set of observables (dropping (g−2)μ), ignoring the dark matter relic density. We discuss the sensitivities of the fits to the (g−2)μ and BR(b→sγ) constraints, contrasting fits with and without the (g−2)μ constraint, and combining the theoretical and experimental errors for BR(b→sγ) linearly or in quadrature. We present predictions for $m_{\tilde{g}}$, BR(Bs→μ+μ−), Mh and MA, and update predictions for spin-independent dark matter scattering, incorporating the uncertainty in the π-nucleon σ term ΣπN. Finally, we present predictions based on our fits for the likely thresholds for sparticle pair production in e+e− collisions in the CMSSM and NUHM1.

title: The Hunt for New Physics at the Large Hadron Collider
abstract: The Large Hadron Collider presents an unprecedented opportunity to probe the realm of new physics in the TeV region and shed light on some of the core unresolved issues of particle physics. These include the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking, the origin of mass, the possible constituent of cold dark matter, new sources of CP violation needed to explain the baryon excess in the universe, the possible existence of extra gauge groups and extra matter, and importantly the path Nature chooses to resolve the hierarchy problem - is it supersymmetry or extra dimensions. Many models of new physics beyond the standard model contain a hidden sector which can be probed at the LHC. Additionally, the LHC will be a top factory and accurate measurements of the properties of the top and its rare decays will provide a window to new physics. Further, the LHC could shed light on the origin of neutralino masses if the new physics associated with their generation lies in the TeV region. Finally, the LHC is also a laboratory to test the hypothesis of TeV scale strings and D-brane models. An overview of these possibilities is presented in the spirit that it will serve as a companion to the Technical Design Reports (TDRs) by the particle detector groups ATLAS and CMS to facilitate the test of the new theoretical ideas at the LHC. Which of these ideas stands the test of the LHC data will govern the course of particle physics in the subsequent decades.

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: Observation of B0 ---> a+-(1) (1260) pi-+

title: Study of sparking in Micromegas chambers
abstract: The discharge properties of Micromegas detector are studied in detail. Tests have demonstrated that the origin of discharges in hadron beams is mainly associated with nuclear interactions of the incident particle with the gas of the detector. Use of low average Z gas mixtures diminishes the spark rate. The streamer discharge model of Raether has been proved to be valid for this detector. A detector polarization which minimizes the spark energy is proposed. Gas and geometry factors improving the discharge limit are discussed.