Muon-induced neutron production and detection with GEANT4 and FLUKA
We report on a comparison study of the Monte Carlo packages GEANT4 and FLUKA for simulating neutron production by muons penetrating deep underground. GEANT4 is found to generate fewer neutrons at muon energies above ∼ 100 GeV , by at most a factor of 2 in some materials, which we attribute mainly to lower neutron production in hadronic cascades. As a practical case study, the muon-induced neutron background expected in a 250 kg liquid-xenon WIMP dark matter detector was calculated and good agreement was found for the recoil event rates. The detailed model of neutron elastic scattering in GEANT4 was also shown to influence the nuclear recoil spectrum observed in the target, which is presently a shortcoming of FLUKA. We conclude that both packages are suited for this type of simulation, although further improvements are desirable in both cases.

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: 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 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: 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: Particle polarization in inclusive reactions

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: 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: 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: 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: Production of high-energy muons in extensive air showers from primary el rays
abstract: The primary mechanism for the production of high-energy muons (E/sub / > 5 TeV) in extensive air showers from primary el rays is the production of muon pairs by shower photons in the field of a nucleus.