CALCULATION OF NEUTRON YIELD FROM RADIOACTIVITY IN MATERIALS RELEVANT TO DARK MATTER SEARCHES

title: Particle polarization in inclusive reactions

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: 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: 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: Heavy states of hadron string as weak interacting massive particles for Dark Matter
abstract: Massive states (of order 10 Gev and more) of hadron string (with scale 1 Gev) can have very small coupling constants with usual baryons of the Universe. Corresponding mean times for them are found to be order and even more than the age of the Universe. They are proposed as possible candidates for weak interacting massive particles (WIMP) of Dark Matter.

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 the decay $B_c \rightarrow J/\psi K^+ K^- \pi^+ $
abstract: The decay $B_c\rightarrow J/\psi K^+ K^- \pi^+$ is observed for the first time, using proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3fb$^{-1}$. A signal yield of $78\pm14$ decays is reported with a significance of 6.2 standard deviations. The ratio of the branching fraction of $\B_c \rightarrow J/\psi K^+ K^- \pi^+$ decays to that of $B_c \rightarrow J/\psi \pi^+$ decays is measured to be $0.53\pm 0.10\pm0.05$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.

title: Model-independent search for $CP$ violation in $D^{0} \to K^{-}K^{+}\pi^{-}\pi^{+}$ and $D^{0} \to \pi^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$ decays
abstract: A search for CP violation in the phase-space structures of 130 and 15 decays to the final states K-K+pi(-)pi(+) and pi(-)pi(+)pi(+)pi(-) is presented. The search is carried out with a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb(-1) collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. For the K-K+pi(-)pi(+) final state, the four-body phase space is divided into 32 bins, each bin with approximately 1800 decays. The p-value under the hypothesis of no CP violation is 9.1%, and in no bin is a CP asymmetry greater than 6.5% observed. The phase space of the pi(-)pi(+)pi(+)pi(-). final state is partitioned into 128 bins, each bin with approximately 2500 decays. The p-value under the hypothesis of no CP violation is 41%, and in no bin is a CP asymmetry greater than 5.5% observed. All results are consistent with the hypothesis of no CP violation at the current sensitivity.

title: Observation of a resonance in $B^+ \to K^+ \mu^+\mu^-$ decays at low recoil
abstract: A broad peaking structure is observed in the dimuon spectrum of $B^+ \to K^+ \mu^+\mu^-$ decays in the kinematic region where the kaon has a low recoil against the dimuon system. The structure is consistent with interference between the $B^+ \to K^+ \mu^+\mu^-$ decay and a resonance and has a statistical significance exceeding six standard deviations. The mean and width of the resonance are measured to be $4191^{+9}_{-8}\mathrm{\,Me\kern -0.1em V/}c^2$ and $65^{+22}_{-16}\mathrm{\,Me\kern -0.1em V/}c^2$, respectively, where the uncertainties include statistical and systematic contributions. These measurements are compatible with the properties of the $\psi(4160)$ meson. First observations of both the decay $B^+ \to \psi(4160) K^+$ and the subsequent decay $\psi(4160) \to \mu^+\mu^-$ are reported. The resonant decay and the interference contribution make up 20\,% of the yield in the low recoil region, which is larger than theoretical estimates.