The Data Acquisition System and the Event Display Program for the Macro Experiment

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: 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: 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: 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: 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: Performance studies of the CMS strip tracker before installation
abstract: In March 2007 the assembly of the Silicon Strip Tracker was completed at the Tracker Integration Facility at CERN. Nearly 15% of the detector was instrumented using cables, fiber optics, power supplies, and electronics intended for the operation at the LHC. A local chiller was used to circulate the coolant for low temperature operation. In order to understand the efficiency and alignment of the strip tracker modules, a cosmic ray trigger was implemented. From March through July 4.5 million triggers were recorded. This period, referred to as the Sector Test, provided practical experience with the operation of the Tracker, especially safety, data acquisition, power, and cooling systems. This paper describes the performance of the strip system during the Sector Test, which consisted of five distinct periods defined by the coolant temperature. Significant emphasis is placed on comparisons between the data and results from Monte Carlo studies.

title: Computing System for the Belle Experiment
abstract: We describe the offline computing system of the Belle experiment, consisting of a computing farm with one thousand IA-32 CPUs. Up to now, the Belle experiment has accumulated more than 120 fb$^{-1}$ of data, which is the world largest $B\bar{B}$ sample at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ energy. The data have to be processed with a single version of reconstruction software and calibration constants to perform precise measurements of $B$ meson decays. In addition, Monte Carlo samples three times larger than the real beam data are generated. To fullfill our computing needs, we have constructed the computing system with 90(300) quad(dual) CPU PC servers from multiple vendors as a central processing system. The details of this computing system and performance of data processing with the current model are presented.

title: Multiplicity and transverse momentum dependence of two- and four-particle correlations in pPb and PbPb collisions
abstract: Measurements of two- and four-particle angular correlations for charged particles emitted in pPb collisions are presented over a wide range in pseudorapidity and full azimuth. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 31 nb^(−1), were collected during the 2013 LHC pPb run at a nucleon–nucleon center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV by the CMS experiment. The results are compared to 2.76 TeV semi-peripheral PbPb collision data, collected during the 2011 PbPb run, covering a similar range of particle multiplicities. The observed correlations are characterized by the near-side (|Δϕ|≈0) associated pair yields and the azimuthal anisotropy Fourier harmonics (v_n). The second-order (v_2) and third-order (v_3) anisotropy harmonics are extracted using the two-particle azimuthal correlation technique. A four-particle correlation method is also applied to obtain the value of v_2 and further explore the multi-particle nature of the correlations. Both associated pair yields and anisotropy harmonics are studied as a function of particle multiplicity and transverse momentum. The associated pair yields, the four-particle v_2, and the v_3 become apparent at about the same multiplicity. A remarkable similarity in the v_3 signal as a function of multiplicity is observed between the pPb and PbPb systems. Predictions based on the color glass condensate and hydrodynamic models are compared to the experimental results.

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 CMS Tracker operation and performance at the Magnet Test and Cosmic Challenge
abstract: During summer 2006 a fraction of the CMS silicon strip tracker was operated in a comprehensive slice test called the Magnet Test and Cosmic Challenge (MTCC). At the MTCC, cosmic rays detected in the muon chambers were used to trigger the readout of all CMS sub-detectors in the general data acquisition system and in the presence of the 4 T magnetic field produced by the CMS superconducting solenoid. This document describes the operation of the Tracker hardware and software prior, during and after data taking. The performance of the detector as resulting from the MTCC data analysis is also presented.