The potential of liquid xenon for WIMP search: the ZEPLIN diagnostic array
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: Development of a gadolinium-loaded liquid scintillator for solar neutrino detection and neutron measurements
abstract: A high flashpoint, low-toxicity liquid scintillator based on a-hydroxytoluene and containing 10wt% Gd has been developed for solar neutrino detection and neutron measurements. Dissolution of the gadolinium compound into the scintillator was facilitated by the use of the extractant triethylphosphate. Preliminary investigation has shown the attenuation length of the loaded scintillator to be 1.42m at 420 nm and the light collection to be 30% of that produced by an unloaded sample. r 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.  95.55.Vj;

title: Simulation of neutrons produced by high-energy muons underground
abstract: This article describes the Monte Carlo simulation used to interpret the measurement of the muon-induced neutron flux in the Boulby Underground Laboratory (North Yorkshire, UK), recently performed using a large scintillator veto deployed around the ZEPLIN-II WIMP detector. Version 8.2 of the GEANT4 toolkit was used after relevant benchmarking and validation of neutron production models. In the direct comparison between Monte Carlo and experimental data, we find that the simulation produces a 1.8 times higher neutron rate, which we interpret as over-production in lead by GEANT4. The dominance of this material in neutron production allows us to estimate the absolute neutron yield in lead as (1.31 ± 0.06)×10 −3  neutrons/muon/(g/cm 2 ) for a mean muon energy of 260 GeV. Simulated nuclear recoils due to muon-induced neutrons in the ZEPLIN-II target volume (∼1-year exposure) showed that, although a small rate of events is expected from this source of background in the energy range of interest for dark matter searches, no event survives an anti-coincidence cut with the veto.

title: EURECA: The future of cryogenic dark matter detection in Europe
abstract: EURECA (European Underground Rare Event Calorimeter Array) is an astro-particle physics facility aiming to directly detect galactic dark matter. The Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane has been selected as host laboratory. The EURECA collaboration unites CRESST, EDELWEISS and the Spanish-French experiment ROSEBUD, thus concentrating and focussing effort on cryogenic detector research in Europe into a single facility. EURECA will use a target mass of up to one ton, enough to explore WIMP - nucleon scalar scattering cross sections in the region of 10-9 - 10-10 picobarn. A major advantage of EURECA is the planned use of more than just one target material (multi target experiment for WIMP identification).

title: NEUTRON BACKGROUND IN LARGE-SCALE DARK MATTER DETECTORS

title: The LVD supernova detector

title: Quasi-stable states in the physical spectrum of the Neveu-Schwarz dual model
abstract: A certain class of states, comprising most of the spectrum for large mass M, is distinguished in the spectum of physical states predicted by the Neveu-Schwarz dual model with intercepts ..cap alpha../sub rho/(0) =1 and ..cap alpha../sub ..pi../(0) =1/2. The massive particles with large spins in this class are quasi-stable. Their couplings with all the other states are of order M/sup -1/ in comparison with the ordinary vertices. For the critical dimensions D=10 these states coincide with the zero-norm spurions. For the anomalous dimensions D=9 some of the quasi-stable states become new zero-norm spurion states.

title: Study of forward Z + jet production in pp collisions at $ \sqrt{s} $ = 7 TeV
abstract: A bstractA measurement of the Z(→ μ+μ−) + jet production cross-section in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy $ \sqrt{s} $ = 7 TeV is presented. The analysis is based on an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 recorded by the LHCb experiment. Results are shown with two jet transverse momentum thresholds, 10 and 20 GeV, for both the overall cross-section within the fiducial volume, and for six differential cross-section measurements. The fiducial volume requires that both the jet and the muons from the Z boson decay are produced in the forward direction (2.0 < η < 4.5). The results show good agreement with theoretical predictions at the second-order expansion in the coupling of the strong interaction.

title: Observation of CP violation in B+ to DK+ decays
abstract: An analysis of B → DK and B → Dπ decays is presented where the D meson is reconstructed in the two-body final states: Kπ, KK, ππ and πK. Using 1.0 fb of LHCb data, measurements of several observables are made including the first observation of the suppressed mode B ± → [πK]DK . CP violation in B → DK decays is observed with 5.8σ significance.

title: Observation of photon polarization in the b→sγ transition.
abstract: This Letter presents a study of the flavor-changing neutral current radiative B±→K±π∓π±γ decays performed using data collected in proton-proton collisions with the LHCb detector at 7 and 8 TeV center-of-mass energies. In this sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3  fb-1, nearly 14 000 signal events are reconstructed and selected, containing all possible intermediate resonances with a K±π∓π± final state in the [1.1,1.9]  GeV/c2 mass range. The distribution of the angle of the photon direction with respect to the plane defined by the final-state hadrons in their rest frame is studied in intervals of K±π∓π± mass and the asymmetry between the number of signal events found on each side of the plane is obtained. The first direct observation of the photon polarization in the b→sγ transition is reported with a significance of 5.2σ.

title: First measurement of the CP-violating phase in $B_s^0 \to \phi \phi$ decays
abstract: A first flavour-tagged measurement of the time-dependent CP-violating asymmetry in $B_s^0 \to \phi\phi$ decays is presented. In this decay channel, the CP-violating weak phase arises due to CP violation in the interference between $B_s^0$-$\bar{B}_s^0$ mixing and the $b \to s \bar{s} s $ gluonic penguin decay amplitude. Using a sample of $pp$ collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $1.0\; fb^{-1}$ and collected at a centre-of-mass energy of $7 \rm TeV$ with the LHCb detector, $880\ \B_s^0 \to \phi\phi$ signal decays are obtained. The CP-violating phase is measured to be in the interval [-2.46, -0.76] \rm rad$ at 68% confidence level. The p-value of the Standard Model prediction is 16%.