[ { "text": "Longitudinal bunch monitoring at the Fermilab Tevatron and Main Injector\n synchrotrons: The measurement of the longitudinal behavior of the accelerated particle\nbeams at Fermilab is crucial to the optimization and control of the beam and\nthe maximizing of the integrated luminosity for the particle physics\nexperiments. Longitudinal measurements in the Tevatron and Main Injector\nsynchrotrons are based on the analysis of signals from resistive wall current\nmonitors. This article describes the signal processing performed by a 2\nGHz-bandwidth oscilloscope together with a computer running a LabVIEW program\nwhich calculates the longitudinal beam parameters.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Fast component re-emission in Xe-doped liquid argon: We present the first direct experimental confirmation of the fast component\nre-emission in liquid argon (LAr) doped with xenon (Xe). This effect was\nstudied at various Xe concentrations up to $\\sim$3000 ppm. The rate constant of\nenergy transfer for the fast component was quantified. It was shown that LAr\ndoped with a high concentration of Xe without TPB has a better PSD efficiency\nthan pure LAr or Xe-doped LAr with TPB. The stability of LAr+Xe mixture was\ntested for the first time at high Xe concentration for long continuous\nruntimes.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Computational Compressed Sensing of Fiber Bragg Gratings: State-of-the-art fiber Bragg grating interrogators utilize mature concepts\nand technologies like tunable lasers, optical spectrum analyzers and a\ncombination of time, wavelength, or spatial division demultiplexing approaches.\nHere, we propose the use of computational compressed sensing (CS) techniques\nfor interrogation of fiber Bragg gratings, reducing interrogator complexity by\nusing a broadband ASE light source and single-pixel detection. We demonstrate\ntemperature sensing using a pre-calibration approach to achieve reconstruction\naccuracy comparable to uncompressed measurements. We extend these principles\nfor the interrogation of sensor networks, presenting strategies for tackling\nsparsity considerations. Our proof-of-principle demonstrations show how the\npresented computational compressed sensing techniques can provide an\nalternative for realizing low-complexity, small footprint interrogator\nconfigurations.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Concept and status of the CALICE analog hadron calorimeter engineering\n prototype: A basic prototype for an analog hadron calorimeter for a future linear\ncollider detector is currently being realized by the CALICE collaboration. The\naim is to show the feasibility to build a realistic detector with fully\nintegrated readout electronics. An important aspect of the design is the\nimprovement of the jet energy resolution by measuring details of the shower\ndevelopment with a highly granular device and combining them with the\ninformation from the tracking detectors. Therefore, the signals are sampled by\nsmall scintillating tiles that are read out by silicon photomultipliers. The\nASICs are integrated into the calorimeter layers and are developed for minimal\npower dissipation. An embedded LED system per channel is used for calibration.\nThe prototype has been tested extensively and the concept as well as results\nfrom the DESY test setups are reported here.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Using the Medipix3 detector for direct electron imaging in the range\n 60keV to 200keV in electron microscopy: Hybrid pixel sensor technology such as the Medipix3 represents a unique tool\nfor electron imaging. We have investigated its performance as a direct imaging\ndetector using a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) which incorporated a\nMedipix3 detector with a 300 micrometre thick silicon layer compromising of\n256x256 pixels at 55 micrometre pixel pitch. We present results taken with the\nMedipix3 in Single Pixel Mode (SPM) with electron beam energies in the range,\n60 to 200 keV. Measurements of the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) and the\nDetective Quantum Efficiency (DQE) were investigated. At a given beam energy,\nthe MTF data was acquired by deploying the established knife edge technique.\nSimilarly, the experimental data required to DQE was obtained by acquiring a\nstack of images of a focused beam and of free space (flatfield) to determine\nthe Noise Power Spectrum (NPS).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Radiation background with the CMS RPCs at the LHC: The Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) are employed in the CMS experiment at the\nLHC as dedicated trigger system both in the barrel and in the endcap. This note\npresents results of the radiation background measurements performed with the\n2011 and 2012 proton-proton collision data collected by CMS. Emphasis is given\nto the measurements of the background distribution inside the RPCs. The\nexpected background rates during the future running of the LHC are estimated\nboth from extrapolated measurements and from simulation.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Reaction natYb+48Ca->217Th+3n: auto calibration process for DSSSD\n detector application (particular case): The Dubna Gas-Filled Recoil Separator (DGFRS) is the mostly effective setup\nin use for the field of synthesis of superheavy elements. Application of DSSSD\ndetector provides more precise energy and position detection for both implanted\nrecoils and their alpha decays. To minimize contribution of background products\nthe method of fctive correlation is applied at the DGFRS. To apply this method\na precise calibration for 48 front strips is strongly required. Method of three\npeaks auto calibration is proposed with a first approximation step with 9.26\nMeV 217Th peaks. Examples of alpha-decay original spectra and spectra after\nfiltration procedures are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of a sealed high gas pressure THGEM detector and response of Alpha\n particle spectra: A sealed high gas pressure detector working in pure argon is assembled. It\nconsists of a 5 cm $\\times$ 5 cm PCB THGEM (THick Gaseous Electron\nMultipliers). The detector structure and experimental setup are described. The\nperformances under high pressure of 2 atm mainly consist in selecting optimal\nvoltages for ionization region and induction region. The dependence of the\nshape of Alpha particle spectra measured with relative gas gain on gas pressure\n(1.3 $\\sim$ 2.0 atm) has been studied. The 8 groups of relative gas gain versus\nworking voltage of THGEM expressed by weighting filed $E/P$ are normalized,\nbeing consistent with theory. The results show that the air tightness of the\nchamber is good measured by a sensitive barometer and checked with gas gain.\nThe experimental results are compared with Monte Carlo simulation on energy\ndeposition without gas gain involved.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Production of Gadolinium-loaded Liquid Scintillator for the Daya Bay\n Reactor Neutrino Experiment: We report on the production and characterization of liquid scintillators for\nthe detection of electron antineutrinos by the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino\nExperiment. One hundred eighty-five tons of gadolinium-loaded (0.1% by mass)\nliquid scintillator (Gd-LS) and two hundred tons of unloaded liquid\nscintillator (LS) were successfully produced from a linear-alkylbenzene (LAB)\nsolvent in six months. The scintillator properties, the production and\npurification systems, and the quality assurance and control (QA/QC) procedures\nare described.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Initial Performance of the COSINE-100 Experiment: COSINE is a dark matter search experiment based on an array of low background\nNaI(Tl) crystals located at the Yangyang underground laboratory. The assembly\nof COSINE-100 was completed in the summer of 2016 and the detector is currently\ncollecting physics quality data aimed at reproducing the DAMA/LIBRA experiment\nthat reported an annual modulation signal. Stable operation has been achieved\nand will continue for at least two years. Here, we describe the design of\nCOSINE-100, including the shielding arrangement, the configuration of the\nNaI(Tl) crystal detection elements, the veto systems, and the associated\noperational systems, and we show the current performance of the experiment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Storage of ultracold neutrons in the UCN$\u03c4$ magneto-gravitational\n trap: The UCN$\\tau$ experiment is designed to measure the lifetime $\\tau_{n}$ of\nthe free neutron by trapping ultracold neutrons (UCN) in a\nmagneto-gravitational trap. An asymmetric bowl-shaped NdFeB magnet Halbach\narray confines low-field-seeking UCN within the apparatus, and a set of\nelectromagnetic coils in a toroidal geometry provide a background \"holding\"\nfield to eliminate depolarization-induced UCN loss caused by magnetic field\nnodes. We present a measurement of the storage time $\\tau_{store}$ of the trap\nby storing UCN for various times, and counting the survivors. The data are\nconsistent with a single exponential decay, and we find $\\tau_{store}=860\\pm19$\ns: within $1 \\sigma$ of current global averages for $\\tau_{n}$. The storage\ntime with the holding field deactiveated is found to be $\\tau_{store}=470 \\pm\n160$ s; this decreased storage time is due to the loss of UCN which undergo\nMajorana spin-flips while being stored. We discuss plans to increase the\nstatistical sensitivity of the measurement and investigate potential systematic\neffects.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Some considerations about cosmogenic production of radioactive isotopes\n in Ar as target for the next neutrino experiments: The concept of the LAr TPC technology that is an excellent tracking -\ncalorimeter detector will be used for the next generations of neutrino\nexperiments. In this class of detectors both the scintillation light emitted\nand the charge produced by the ionization are used to detect and identify the\ncharacteristics of the primary particle. The reduction of the radioactive\nbackground, the knowledge of the sources and mechanisms of its production as\nwell as the characteristics of the signals have as consequence the increase of\nthe sensitivity of huge detectors and the capability to discriminate between\nvarious particles interacting with the detector. Cosmogenic sources of\nbackground or activation of different materials become more important in this\ncontext. The radioactivity induced by cosmogenic reactions in Ar is discussed\nby considering muon capture and reactions induced by neutrons as sources of\nbackground. The simulated cross sections for the considered nuclear reactions\nare obtained using TALYS and EMPIRE codes, highlighting the similarities and\ndifferences between the results of these nuclear codes and the level of\nconcordance with the few existing experimental data.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Combining TCAD and Monte Carlo Methods to Simulate CMOS Pixel Sensors\n with a Small Collection Electrode using the Allpix Squared Framework: Combining electrostatic field simulations with Monte Carlo methods enables\nrealistic modeling of the detector response for novel monolithic silicon\ndetectors with strongly non-linear electric fields. Both the precise field\ndescription and the inclusion of Landau fluctuations and production of\nsecondary particles in the sensor are crucial ingredients for the understanding\nand reproduction of detector characteristics.\n In this paper, a CMOS pixel sensor with small collection electrode design,\nimplemented in a high-resistivity epitaxial layer, is simulated by integrating\na detailed electric field model from finite element TCAD into a Monte Carlo\nbased simulation with the Allpix$^2$ framework. The simulation results are\ncompared to data recorded in test-beam measurements and very good agreement is\nfound for various quantities such as cluster size, spatial resolution and\nefficiency. Furthermore, the observables are studied as a function of the\nintra-pixel incidence position to enable a detailed comparison with the\ndetector behavior observed in data.\n The validation of such simulations is fundamental for modeling the detector\nresponse and for predicting the performance of future prototype designs.\nMoreover, visualization plots extracted from the charge carrier drift model of\nthe framework can aid in understanding the charge propagation behavior in\ndifferent regions of the sensor.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The T2K Side Muon Range Detector: The T2K experiment is a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment aiming\nto observe the appearance of {\\nu} e in a {\\nu}{\\mu} beam. The {\\nu}{\\mu} beam\nis produced at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC), observed\nwith the 295 km distant Super- Kamiokande Detector and monitored by a suite of\nnear detectors at 280m from the proton target. The near detectors include a\nmagnetized off-axis detector (ND280) which measures the un-oscillated neutrino\nflux and neutrino cross sections. The present paper describes the outermost\ncomponent of ND280 which is a side muon range detector (SMRD) composed of\nscintillation counters with embedded wavelength shifting fibers and Multi-Pixel\nPhoton Counter read-out. The components, performance and response of the SMRD\nare presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Nanohertz Frequency Determination for the Gravity Probe B HF SQUID\n Signal: In this paper, we present a method to measure the frequency and the frequency\nchange rate of a digital signal. This method consists of three consecutive\nalgorithms: frequency interpolation, phase differencing, and a third algorithm\nspecifically designed and tested by the authors. The succession of these three\nalgorithms allowed a 5 parts in 10^10 resolution in frequency determination.\nThe algorithm developed by the authors can be applied to a sampled scalar\nsignal such that a model linking the harmonics of its main frequency to the\nunderlying physical phenomenon is available. This method was developed in the\nframework of the Gravity Probe B (GP-B) mission. It was applied to the High\nFrequency (HF) component of GP-B's Superconducting QUantum Interference Device\n(SQUID) signal, whose main frequency fz is close to the spin frequency of the\ngyroscopes used in the experiment. A 30 nHz resolution in signal frequency and\na 0.1 pHz/sec resolution in its decay rate were achieved out of a succession of\n1.86 second-long stretches of signal sampled at 2200 Hz. This paper describes\nthe underlying theory of the frequency measurement method as well as its\napplication to GP-B's HF science signal.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of e/gamma trigger for the electron calibration stream: This note describes a study of the possibilities for selecting an electron\ncalibration stream using the High level electron trigger (Level 2 and the event\nfilter). Using the electromagnetic calorimeter reconstruction and the track\nreconstruction algorithms, an evaluation has been performed of the selection\nefficiencies and purities for different physics channels with single or double\nelectrons in the final state. A study of the calibration stream composition,\nincluding the background from QCD processes, is presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Scintillation counter with MRS APD light readout: START, a high-efficiency and low-noise scintillation detector for ionizing\nparticles, was developed for the purpose of creating a high-granular system for\ntriggering cosmic muons. Scintillation light in START is detected by MRS APDs\n(Avalanche Photo-Diodes with Metal-Resistance-Semiconductor structure),\noperated in the Geiger mode, which have 1 mm^2 sensitive areas. START is\nassembled from a 15 x 15 x 1 cm^3 scintillating plastic plate, two MRS APDs and\ntwo pieces of wavelength-shifting optical fiber stacked in circular coils\ninside the plastic. The front-end electronic card is mounted directly on the\ndetector. Tests with START have confirmed its operational consistency, over 99%\nefficiency of MIP registration and good homogeneity. START demonstrates a low\nintrinsic noise of about 10^{-2} Hz. If these detectors are to be\nmass-produced, the cost of a mosaic array of STARTs is estimated at a moderate\nlevel of 2-3 kUSD/m^2.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Gamma-gamma angular correlation analysis techniques with the GRIFFIN\n spectrometer: Gamma-gamma angular correlation measurements are a powerful tool for\nidentifying the angular momentum (spin) of excited nuclear states involved in a\n$\\gamma$-ray cascade, and for measuring the multipole orders and mixing ratios\nof transitions. Though the physical angular correlations are fully calculable\nfrom first principles, experimental effects can make the extraction of\ncoefficients and thus conclusions about spins and mixing ratios difficult. In\nthis article we present data analysis techniques developed for the clover\ndetectors of the GRIFFIN spectrometer at TRIUMF-ISAC combined with GEANT4\nsimulations in order to extract accurate experimental results.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Describing the response of saturated SiPMs: We have developed a function which describes SiPM response in both small\nsignal and highly saturated regimes. The function includes the reactivation of\nSiPM pixels during a single input light pulse, and results in an approximately\nlinear increase of SiPM response in the highly saturated regime, as observed in\nreal SiPMs. This article shows that the function can accurately describe the\nmeasured response of real SiPM devices over a wide range of signal intensities.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Long-distance frequency transfer over an urban fiber link using optical\n phase stabilization: We transferred the frequency of an ultra-stable laser over 86 km of urban\nfiber. The link is composed of two cascaded 43-km fibers connecting two\nlaboratories, LNE-SYRTE and LPL in Paris area. In an effort to realistically\ndemonstrate a link of 172 km without using spooled fiber extensions, we\nimplemented a recirculation loop to double the length of the urban fiber link.\nThe link is fed with a 1542-nm cavity stabilized fiber laser having a sub-Hz\nlinewidth. The fiber-induced phase noise is measured and cancelled with an all\nfiber-based interferometer using commercial off the shelf pigtailed\ntelecommunication components. The compensated link shows an Allan deviation of\na few 10-16 at one second and a few 10-19 at 10,000 seconds.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Calibration of the scintillation of cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet\n crystals irradiated by monoenergetic 4 MeV energy electrons: This paper presents the results of measurements of fluorescing cerium-doped\nyttrium aluminum garnet crystals after being irradiated by an accelerated\nelectron beam with energy of around 4 MeV. The measurements were performed\nusing the PHIL linear accelerator at LAL (France). We observe linear dependence\nof the crystal emission to the electron beam charge and the isotropy of the\nphoton emission. We provide the calibration coefficients of the photon emission\ndepending on the charge of the accelerated electron beam for two crystals\noriginating from two different manufacturers.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Ageing studies of Multi-Strip Multi-Gap Resistive Plate Counters based\n on low resistivity glass electrodes in high irradiation dose: Detailed tests and analysis of ageing effects of high irradiation dose on\nMulti-Strip Multi-Gap Resistive Plate Counters based on low resistivity glass\nelectrodes were performed. MSMGRPC efficiency and cluster size before\nirradiation are measured and compared with their values after irradiation in a\nhigh irradiation dose accessed at a multi-purpose irradiation facility of\nIFIN-HH based on $^{60}$Co source. The composition and properties of the\ndeposited layers on the glass electrodes, studied based on a multitude of\nanalysis methods, i.e. SEM, XPS, foil-ERDA, RBS, AFM and THz-TDS, are\npresented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Precise Method to Determine the Energy Scale and Resolution using\n Gamma Calibration Sources in a Liquid Scintillator Detector: Gamma sources are routinely used to calibrate the energy scale and resolution\nof liquid scintillator detectors. However, non-scintillating material\nsurrounding the source introduces energy losses, which may bias the\ndetermination of the centroid and width of the full absorption peak. In this\npaper, we present a general method to determine the true gamma centroid and\nwidth to a relative precision of 0.03\\% and 0.50\\%, respectively, using energy\nlosses predicted by the Monte Carlo simulation. In particular, the accuracy of\nthe assumed source geometry is readily obtained from the fit. The method\nperforms well with experimental data in the Daya Bay detector.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Method of active correlations in the experiment 249Cf+48Ca->297118 +3n: Two decay chains originated from the even-even isotope 294118 produced in the\n3n-evaporation channel of the 249Cf+48Ca reaction. Method of active\ncorrelations is applied to suppress backgrounds associated with the cyclotron.\nIt is planned to apply this technique for the forthcoming experiment aimed to\nthe synthesis of Z=120 element. A calibration dependence for a recoil measured\nenergy signal is presented as well as a computer simulation spectrum for Z=118\nnuclei.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Intrinsic Spatial Resolution Limit in Analyzer-Based X-Ray Phase\n Contrast Imaging Technique: Dynamical diffraction effects always play a role when working with perfect\nsingle crystals. The penetration of X-rays respect to the surface normal during\ndiffraction (extinction depth, $1/\\sigma_e$) in perfect single crystals does\nnot have a constant value. The value changes for different angular positions on\nthe crystal diffraction condition. For higher X-ray energies this value can\nchange from few micrometers to tens of millimeters for each different crystal\nangular position in the small angular range of the diffraction condition. This\neffect may spread a single point in the object (sample) as a line in the image\ndetector, especially if the crystal is set (or if the sample angularly deviates\nthe beam) at lower diffraction angle positions, where the surface component of\nX-ray penetration can achieve huge values. Then, for imaging experiments where\nthe dynamical diffraction occurs, such intrinsic property can affect the image\nresolution. We have modeled and experimentally checked such a dynamical\ndiffraction property using, as example, an Analyzer-based X-ray phase contrast\nimaging setup (ABI) at two different X-ray energies: 10.7 keV and 18 keV. The\nresults show that our theoretical model is consistent with the measured\nresults. For higher energies the blur effect is enhanced and intrinsically\nlimits the image spatial resolution.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Long nanomechanical resonators with circular cross-section: Fabrication of superconducting nanomechanical resonators for quantum\nresearch, detectors and devices traditionally relies on a lithographic process,\nresulting in oscillators with sharp edges and a suspended length limited to a\nfew 100 micrometres. We report a low-investment top-down approach to\nfabricating NbTi nanowire resonators with suspended lengths up to several\nmillimetres and diameters down to 100 nanometres. The nanowires possess high\ncritical currents and fields, making them a natural choice for magnetomotive\nactuation and sensing. This fabrication technique is independent of the\nsubstrate material, dimensions and layout and can readily be adapted to\nfabricate nanowire resonators from any metal or alloy with suitable ductility\nand yield strength. Our work thus opens access to a new class of nanomechanical\ndevices with applications including microscopic and mesoscopic investigations\nof quantum fluids, detecting dark matter and fundamental materials research in\none-dimensional superconductors in vacuum.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Prospects and Results from the AFP Detector in ATLAS: In 2016 one arm of the AFP detector was installed and first data have been\ntaken. In parallel with integration of the AFP subdetector into the ATLAS TDAQ\nand DCS systems, beam tests and preparations for the installation of the\n2$^{\\textrm{nd}}$ arm are performed. In this report, a status of the AFP\nproject in the ATLAS experiment is discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Machine learning for surface prediction in ACTS: We present an ongoing R&D activity for machine-learning-assisted navigation\nthrough detectors to be used for track reconstruction. We investigate different\napproaches of training neural networks for surface prediction and compare their\nresults. This work is carried out in the context of the ACTS tracking toolkit.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Waveguide-based single-pixel up-conversion infrared spectrometer: A periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide-based single-pixel\nup-conversion infrared spectrometer was demonstrated. Sum-frequency generation\nbetween a 1.5 micrometer band scanning pump laser and a 1.3 micrometer band\nsignal generated visible radiation which was detected by a silicon\nsingle-photon detector. The noise equivalent power of the upconversion\nspectrometer was two-orders-of-magnitude lower than that of a commercial\noptical spectrum analyzer.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Status of ArDM-1t: First observations from operation with a full\n ton-scale liquid argon target: ArDM-1t is the first operating ton-scale liquid argon detector for direct\nsearch of Dark Matter particles. Developed at CERN as Recognized Experiment\nRE18, the experiment has been approved in 2010 to be installed in the Spanish\nunderground site LSC (Laboratorio Subterraneo de Canfranc). Under the label of\nLSC EXP-08-2010 the ArDM detector underwent an intensive period of technical\ncompletion and safety approval until the recent filling of the target vessel\nwith almost 2 ton of liquid argon. This report describes the experimental\nachievements during commissioning of ArDM and the transition into a stage of\nfirst physics data taking in single phase operational mode. We present\npreliminary observations from this run. A first indication for the background\ndiscrimination power of LAr detectors at the ton-scale is shown. We present an\noutlook for completing the detector with the electric drift field and upgrade\nof the scintillation light readout system with novel detector modules based on\nSiPMs in order to improve the light yield.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neutrino oscillometry at the next generation neutrino observatory: The large next generation liquid-scintillator detector LENA (Low Energy\nNeutrino Astronomy) offers an excellent opportunity for neutrino oscillometry.\nThe characteristic spatial pattern of very low monoenergetic neutrino\ndisappearance from artificial radioactive sources can be detected within the\nlong length of detector. Sufficiently strong sources of more than 1 MCi\nactivity can be produced at nuclear reactors. Oscillometry will provide a\nunique tool for precise determination of the mixing parameters for both active\nand sterile neutrinos within the broad mass region 0.01 - 2 (eV)^2. LENA can be\nconsidered as a versatile tool for a careful investigation of neutrino\noscillations.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Radiation Hardness of 30 cm Long CsI(Tl) Crystals: Measurements of the degradation in performance of 30 cm long CsI(Tl)\nscintillation crystals exposed to 1 MeV photon doses of 2, 10, 35, 100 and 1000\nGy are presented. The light yield, light yield longitudinal non-uniformity,\nscintillation decay times, energy resolution and timing resolution of a set of\nspare crystals from the BABAR and Belle experiments are studied as a function\nof these doses. In addition, a model that describes the plateau observed in the\nlight output loss as a function of dose in terms of increase in concentrations\nof absorption centres with irradiation is presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Observation of the angular distribution of a x-ray characteristic\n emission through a periodic multilayer: We present the observation of the angular distribution of a characteristic\nx-ray emission through a periodic multilayer. The emission coming from the\nsubstrate on which the multilayer is deposited is used for this purpose. It is\ngenerated upon proton irradiation through the multilayer and detected with an\nenergy sensitive CCD camera. The observed distribution in the low detection\nangle range presents a clear dip at a position characteristic of the emitting\nelement. Thus, such a device can be envisaged as a spectrometer without\nmechanical displacement and using various ionizing sources (electrons, x-rays,\nions), their incident direction being irrelevant.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of front-end readout electronics for silicon strip detectors: A front-end readout electronics system has been developed for silicon strip\ndetectors. The system uses an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)\nATHED to realize multi-channel E&T measurement. The slow control of ASIC chips\nis achieved by parallel port and the timing control signals of ASIC chips are\nprovided by the CPLD. The data acquisition is implemented with a PXI-DAQ card.\nThe system software has a user-friendly GUI which uses LabWindows/CVI in\nWindows XP operating system. Test results showed that the energy resolution is\nabout 1.22 % for alphas at 5.48 MeV and the maximum channel crosstalk of system\nis 4.6%. The performance of the system is very reliable and suitable for\nnuclear physics experiments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Improved search for neutron to mirror-neutron oscillations in the\n presence of mirror magnetic fields with a dedicated apparatus at the PSI UCN\n source: While the international nEDM collaboration at the Paul Scherrer Institut\n(PSI) took data in 2017 that covered a considerable fraction of the parameter\nspace of claimed potential signals of hypothetical neutron ($n$) to\nmirror-neutron ($n'$) transitions, it could not test all claimed signal regions\nat various mirror magnetic fields. Therefore, a new study of $n-n'$\noscillations using stored ultracold neutrons (UCNs)is underway at PSI,\nconsiderably expanding the reach in parameter space of mirror magnetic fields\n($B'$) and oscillation time constants ($\\tau_{nn'}$). The new apparatus is\ndesigned to test for the anomalous loss of stored ultracold neutrons as a\nfunction of an applied magnetic field. The experiment is distinguished from its\npredecessors by its very large storage vessel (1.47\\,m$^3$), enhancing its\nstatistical sensitivity. In a test experiment in 2020 we have demonstrated the\ncapabilities of our apparatus. However, the full analysis of our recent data is\nstill pending. Based on already demonstrated performance, we will reach a\nsensitivity to oscillation times $\\tau_{nn'}/\\sqrt{\\cos(\\beta)}$ well above\nhundred seconds, with $\\beta$ being the angle between $B'$ and the applied\nmagnetic field $B$. The scan of $B$ will allow the finding or the comprehensive\nexclusion of potential signals reported in the analysis of previous experiments\nand suggested to be consistent with neutron to mirror-neutron oscillations.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neutron spectroscopy with N$_2$-filled high-pressure large-volume\n spherical proportional counters: Precise in-situ measurements of the neutron flux in underground laboratories\nis crucial for direct dark matter searches, as neutron induced backgrounds can\nmimic the typical dark matter signal. The development of a novel neutron\nspectroscopy technique using Spherical Proportional Counters is investigated.\nThe detector is operated with nitrogen and is sensitive to both fast and\nthermal neutrons through the $^{14}$N(n, $\\alpha$)$^{11}$B and $^{14}$N(n,\np)$^{14}$C reactions. This method holds potential to be a safe, inexpensive,\neffective, and reliable alternative to $^3$He-based detectors. Measurements of\nfast and thermal neutrons from an Am-Be source with a Spherical Proportional\nCounter operated at pressures up to 2 bar at Birmingham are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An induced annealing technique for SiPMs neutron radiation damage: The use of Silicon Photo-Multipliers(SiPMs)has become popular in the design\nof High Energy Physics experimental apparatus with a growing interest for their\napplication in detector area where a significant amount of non-ionising dose is\ndelivered. For these devices, the main effect caused by the neutron fluence is\na linear increase of the leakage current. In this paper, we present a technique\nthat provides a partial recovery of the neutron damage on SiPMs by means of an\nElectrical Induced Annealing. Tests were performed, at the temperature of 20C,\non a sample of three SiPM arrays (2x3) of 6 mm^2 cells with 50 um pixel sizes:\ntwo from Hamamatsu and one from SensL. These SiPMs have been exposed to\nneutrons generated by the Elbe Positron Source facility (Dresden), up to a\ntotal fluence of 8x10^11 n1MeV-eq/cm^2. Our techniques allowed to reduced the\nleakage current of a factor ranging between 15-20 depending on the overbias\nused and the SiPM vendor. Because, during the process the SiPM current can\nreach O(100 mA), the sensors need to be operated in a condition that provides\nthermal dissipation. Indeed, caution must be used when applying this kind of\nprocedures on the SiPMs, because it may damage permanently the device itself.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The design of the n2EDM experiment: We present the design of a next-generation experiment, n2EDM, currently under\nconstruction at the ultracold neutron source at the Paul Scherrer Institute\n(PSI) with the aim of carrying out a high-precision search for an electric\ndipole moment of the neutron. The project builds on experience gained with the\nprevious apparatus operated at PSI until 2017, and is expected to deliver an\norder of magnitude better sensitivity with provision for further substantial\nimprovements. An overview is given of the experimental method and setup, the\nsensitivity requirements for the apparatus are derived, and its technical\ndesign is described.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A new experimental approach to probe QCD axion dark matter in the mass\n range above 40$\u03bc$eV: The axion emerges in extensions of the Standard Model that explain the\nabsence of CP violation in the strong interactions. Simultaneously, it can\nprovide naturally the cold dark matter in our universe. Several searches for\naxions and axion-like particles (ALPs) have constrained the corresponding\nparameter space over the last decades but no unambiguous hints of their\nexistence have been found. The axion mass range below 1 meV remains highly\nattractive and a well motivated region for dark matter axions. In this White\nPaper we present a description of a new experiment based on the concept of a\ndielectric haloscope for the direct search of dark matter axions in the mass\nrange of 40 to 400 $\\mu$eV. This MAgnetized Disk and Mirror Axion eXperiment\n(MADMAX) will consist of several parallel dielectric disks, which are placed in\na strong magnetic field and with adjustable separations. This setting is\nexpected to allow for an observable emission of axion induced electromagnetic\nwaves at a frequency between 10 to 100 GHz corresponding to the axion mass.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Laser calibration of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter during LHC Run 2: This article reports the laser calibration of the hadronic Tile Calorimeter\nof the ATLAS experiment in the LHC Run 2 data campaign. The upgraded Laser II\ncalibration system is described. The system was commissioned during the first\nLHC Long Shutdown, exhibiting a stability better than 0.8% for the laser light\nmonitoring. The methods employed to derive the detector calibration factors\nwith data from the laser calibration runs are also detailed. These allowed to\ncorrect for the response fluctuations of the 9852 photomultiplier tubes of the\nTile Calorimeter with a total uncertainty of 0.5% plus a luminosity-dependent\nsub-dominant term. Finally, we report the regular monitoring and performance\nstudies using laser events in both standalone runs and during proton\ncollisions. These studies include channel timing and quality inspection, and\nphotomultiplier linearity and response dependence on anode current.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Highly Segmented Neutron Polarimeter for A1: A new neutron polarimeter for measuring the neutron's electric form factor\nwas designed and constructed to complement the A1 spectrometer setup at the\nMainz Microtron (MAMI). The design is based on a previous polarimeter with\nsignificant improvements to halve the error of the extracted form factor. A\nhigher granularity of the polarimeter sections and a deeper first section on\nthe one hand, and a faster readout employing Time-over-Threshold methods to\nmeasure the signal amplitudes combined with a high-precision FPGA-based TDC on\nthe other hand will allow to achieve this goal. The performance of the new\npolarimeter during a first measurement campaign in 2019 using liquid hydrogen\nand deuterium targets will be discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Novel UV Photon Detector with Resistive Electrodes: In this study we present first results from a new detector of UV photons: a\nthick gaseous electron multiplier (GEM) with resistive electrodes, combined\nwith CsI or CsTe/CsI photocathodes. The hole type structure considerably\nsuppresses the photon and ion feedback, whereas the resistive electrodes\nprotect the detector and the readout electronics from damage by any eventual\ndischarges. This device reaches higher gains than a previously developed\nphotosensitive RPC and could be used not only for the imaging of UV sources,\nflames or Cherenkov light, for example, but also for the detection of X-rays\nand charged particles.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Test of High Time Resolution MRPC with Different Readout Modes: In order to further enhance the particle identification capability of the\nBeijing Spectrometer (BESIII), it is proposed to upgrade the current end-cap\ntime-of-flight (eTOF) detector with multi-gap resistive plate chamber (MRPC).\nThe prototypes, together with the front end electronics (FEE) and time\ndigitizer (TDIG) module have been tested at the E3 line of Beijing Electron\nPositron Collider (BEPCII) to study the difference between the single and\ndouble-end readout MRPC designs. The time resolutions (sigma) of the single-end\nreadout MRPC are 47/53 ps obtained by 600 MeV/c proton/pion beam, while that of\nthe double-end readout MRPC is 40 ps (proton beam). The efficiencies of three\nMRPC modules tested by both proton and pion beam are better than 98%. For the\ndouble-end readout MRPC, no incident position dependence is observed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of silicon photomultipliers for use in neutron decay experiments: Photon readout of plastic scintillators is investigated with the aim of\nimproving the precision of neutron \\b{eta} decay experiments. Neutron decay is\nnowadays studied with high statistics, based on up to 109 registered decay\nevents, and leads to strongly improved limits on new physics beyond the\nstandard model, with \\b{eta}s often registered in plastic scintillators. The\nmain systematic errors in these experiments are due to imperfect\ncharacterization of the scintillators with respect to linearity, energy\nresolution, and electron backscattering. We study whether these errors can be\ndiminished when the conventional photomultipliers used for scintillator readout\nare replaced by silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). To this end, various\ntheoretical and experimental tools are developed, and a procedure for handling\nthe extreme dark rates of SiPMs is proposed. In \\b{eta} spectroscopy, so the\nconclusion, plastic scintillator readout with SiPMs can significantly improve\nenergy response, and help providing reliable corrections for electron\nbackscattering.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Electronics and Data Acquisition System for the PandaX-I Dark Matter\n Experiment: We describe the electronics and data acquisition system used in the first\nphase of the PandaX experiment -- a 120 kg dual-phase liquid xenon dark matter\ndirect detection experiment in the China Jin-Ping Underground Laboratory. This\nsystem utilized 180 channels of commercial flash ADC waveform digitizers. This\nsystem achieved low trigger threshold ($<$1 keV electron-equivalent energy) and\nlow deadtime data acquistion during the entire experimental run.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterization of Silicon Drift Detectors with Electrons for the\n TRISTAN Project: Sterile neutrinos are a minimal extension of the Standard Model of Particle\nPhysics. A promising model-independent way to search for sterile neutrinos is\nvia high-precision beta spectroscopy. The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN)\nexperiment, equipped with a novel multi-pixel silicon drift detector focal\nplane array and read-out system, named the TRISTAN detector, has the potential\nto supersede the sensitivity of previous laboratory-based searches. In this\nwork we present the characterization of the first silicon drift detector\nprototypes with electrons and we investigate the impact of uncertainties of the\ndetector's response to electrons on the final sterile neutrino sensitivity.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Inorganic Scintillators for Future HEP Experiments: Future HEP experiments at the energy and intensity frontiers present\nstringent challenges to inorganic scintillators in radiation tolerance,\nultrafast time response and cost. This paper reports recent progress in\nradiation hard, ultrafast, and cost-effective inorganic scintillators for\nfuture HEP experiments. Examples are LYSO crystals for a precision time of\nflight detector, LuAG ceramics for an ultracompact, radiation hard shashlik\nsampling calorimeter, BaF2:Y crystals for an ultrafast calorimeter, and\ncost-effective scintillators for a homogeneous hadron calorimeter. Applications\nfor Gigahertz hard X-ray imaging will also be discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Intrinsic Energy Resolution of LaBr$_3$(Ce) Crystal for GECAM: The intrinsic resolution is the primary limitation on the total energy\nresolution of LaBr$_3$(Ce) crystal. This intrinsic resolution arises from two\neffects: fluctuations occurring in the process of energy transfer to\nluminescent centers within the LaBr$_3$(Ce) crystal and the LaBr$_3$(Ce)\ncrystal's non-proportional luminescence. Presently, experimental measurements\nregarding the intrinsic resolution of LaBr$_3$(Ce) crystal are scarce, and the\nunderlying physical mechanisms remain incompletely understood. In this paper,\nwe aim to elucidate the concept of intrinsic resolution. We investigated the\nentire physical process of luminescence following energy deposition in the\nLaBr$_3$(Ce) crystal, quantifying the various components in the total energy\nresolution. We conducted a series of experimental measurements and Geant4\nsimulations, determining the intrinsic resolution of LaBr$_3$(Ce) crystal to\n100 keV electrons as 2.12%. The non-proportionality contributes significantly\nat 1.43%, while fluctuations in the energy transfer process accounted for\n0.27%. It is evident that non-proportionality in light output constitutes the\nprimary source of intrinsic resolution. Horizontal and vertical unevenness in\nlight collection contributed 0.25% and 0.07%, respectively. Statistical\nfluctuations showed the largest impact on the total energy resolution, at\n2.86%. The contribution from fluctuations in single-photoelectron events was\n0.77%. Furthermore, we reconstructed the photon response using Geant4, and the\nconsistency between the simulated relative light yield and the experimentally\nmeasured one confirmed the reliability of the LaBr$_3$(Ce) detector mass model\nemployed in the simulation.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Passive broadband full Stokes polarimeter using a Fresnel cone: Light's polarisation contains information about its source and interactions,\nfrom distant stars to biological samples. Polarimeters can recover this\ninformation, but reliance on birefringent or rotating optical elements limits\ntheir wavelength range and stability. Here we present a static, single-shot\npolarimeter based on a Fresnel cone - the direct spatial analogue to the\npopular rotating quarter-wave plate approach. We measure the average angular\naccuracy to be 2.9 (3.6) degrees for elliptical(linear) polarisation states\nacross the visible spectrum, with the degree of polarisation determined to\nwithin 0.12(0.08). Our broadband full Stokes polarimeter is robust,\ncost-effective, and could find applications in hyper-spectral polarimetry and\nscanning microscopy.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Response Uniformity of the ATLAS Liquid Argon Electromagnetic\n Calorimeter: The construction of the ATLAS electromagnetic liquid argon calorimeter\nmodules is completed and all the modules are assembled and inserted in the\ncryostats. During the production period four barrel and three endcap modules\nwere exposed to test beams in order to assess their performance, ascertain the\nproduction quality and reproducibility, and to scrutinize the complete energy\nreconstruction chain from the readout and calibration electronics to the signal\nand energy reconstruction. It was also possible to check the full Monte Carlo\nsimulation of the calorimeter. The analysis of the uniformity, resolution and\nextraction of constant term is presented. Typical non-uniformities of 0.5% and\ntypical global constant terms of 0.6% are measured for the barrel and end-cap\nmodules.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High-rate glass MRPC for fixed target experiments at Nuclotron: A Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC) equipped with heaters to improve\nthe counting rate capability was designed for the BM@N experiment in Dubna. The\nmeasurements were performed using a muon beam at IHEP U-70 accelerator in\nProtvino. The MRPC at 40$^0$C tolerates counting rate up to 6 kHz/cm$^2$ with\ntime resolution ~65 ps and efficiency ~95\\% which complies with the conditions\nof the experiment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Chronopixel Vertex Detectors for Future Linear Colliders: Over the past few years we have developed, in collaboration with the SARNOFF\nCorporation, a design of a Monolithic CMOS Pixel Detector for ILC Vertex\nDetectors. The unique feature of this design is that each hit is accompanied by\na time tag with sufficient precision to assign each hit to a particular bunch\ncrossing of the ILC (thus the name Chronopixel). This reduces the occupancy\neven in the innermost Vertex Detector layer to negligible levels, allowing a\nrobust Vertex Detector even in the case that the backgrounds in the ILC are\nhigher than presently estimated.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Direct Photon Identification with Artificial Neural Network in the\n Photon Spectrometer PHOS: A neural network method is developed to discriminate direct photons from the\nneutral pion background in the PHOS spectrometer of the ALICE experiment at the\nLHC collider. The neural net has been trained to distinguish different classes\nof events by analyzing the energy-profile tensor of a cluster in its eigen\nvector coordinate system. Monte-Carlo simulations show that this method\ndiminishes by an order of magnitude the probability of $\\pi^0$-meson\nmisidentification as a photon with respect to the direct photon identification\nefficiency in the energy range up to 120 GeV.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of The Advanced GAmma Tracking Array at GANIL: The performance of the Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) at GANIL is\ndiscussed, on the basis of the analysis of source and in-beam data taken with\nup to 30 segmented crystals. Data processing is described in detail. The\nperformance of individual detectors are shown. The efficiency of the individual\ndetectors as well as the efficiency after $\\gamma$-ray tracking are discussed.\nRecent developments of $\\gamma$-ray tracking are also presented. The\nexperimentally achieved peak-to-total is compared with simulations showing the\nimpact of back-scattered $\\gamma$ rays on the peak-to-total in a $\\gamma$-ray\ntracking array. An estimate of the achieved position resolution using the\nDoppler broadening of in-beam data is also given.\n Angular correlations from source measurements are shown together with\ndifferent methods to take into account the effects of $\\gamma$-ray tracking on\nthe normalization of the angular correlations.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Electroluminescence yield in pure krypton: The krypton electroluminescence yield was studied, at room temperature, as a\nfunction of electric field in the gas scintillation gap. A large area avalanche\nphotodiode has been used to allow the simultaneous detection of the\nelectroluminescence pulses as well as the direct interaction of x-rays, the\nlatter being used as a reference for the calculation of the number of charge\ncarriers produced by the electroluminescence pulses and, thus, the\ndetermination of the number of photons impinging the photodiode. An\namplification parameter of 113 photons per kV per drifting electron and a\nscintillation threshold of 2.7 Td ( 0.7 kV/cm/bar at 293 K ) was obtained, in\ngood agreement with the simulation data reported in the literature. On the\nother hand, the ionisation threshold in krypton was found to be around 13.5 Td\n(3.4 kV/cm/bar), less than what had been obtained by the most recent simulation\nwork-package. The krypton amplification parameter is about 80% and 140% of\nthose measured for xenon and argon, respectively. The electroluminescence yield\nin krypton is of great importance for modeling krypton-based double-phase or\nhigh-pressure gas detectors, which may be used in future rare event detection\nexperiments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Novel Silicon n-on-p Edgeless Planar Pixel Sensors for the ATLAS upgrade: In view of the LHC upgrade phases towards HL-LHC, the ATLAS experiment plans\nto upgrade the Inner Detector with an all-silicon system. The n-on-p silicon\ntechnology is a promising candidate for the pixel upgrade thanks to its\nradiation hardness and cost effectiveness, that allow for enlarging the area\ninstrumented with pixel detectors. We report on the development of novel n-in-p\nedgeless planar pixel sensors fabricated at FBK (Trento, Italy), making use of\nthe \"active edge\" concept for the reduction of the dead area at the periphery\nof the device. After discussing the sensor technology and fabrication process,\nwe present device simulations (pre- and post-irradiation) performed for\ndifferent sensor configurations. First preliminary results obtained with the\ntest-structures of the production are shown.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Aligning the CMS Muon Chambers with the Muon Alignment System during an\n Extended Cosmic Ray Run: The alignment system for the muon spectrometer of the CMS detector comprises\nthree independent subsystems of optical and analog position sensors. It aligns\nmuon chambers with respect to each other and to the central silicon tracker.\nSystem commissioning at full magnetic field began in 2008 during an extended\ncosmic ray run. The system succeeded in tracking muon detector movements of up\nto 18 mm and rotations of several milliradians under magnetic forces. Depending\non coordinate and subsystem, the system achieved chamber alignment precisions\nof 140-350 microns and 30-200 microradians, close to the precision requirements\nof the experiment. Systematic errors on absolute positions are estimated to be\n340-590 microns based on comparisons with independent photogrammetry\nmeasurements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Amorphous silicon-based microchannel plate detectors with high\n multiplication gain: With their fast response time and a spatial resolution in the range of a few\nmicrons, microchannel plates (MCPs) are a prominent choice for the development\nof detectors with highest resolution standards. Amorphous silicon-based\nmicrochannel plates (AMCPs) aim at overcoming the fabrication drawbacks of\nconventional MCPs and the long dead time of their individual channels. AMCPs\nare fabricated via plasma deposition and dry reactive ion etching. Using a\nstate-of-the-art dry reactive ion etching process, the aspect ratio, so far\nlimited to a value of 14, could be considerably enhanced with a potential for\nvery high gain values. We show first fabricated AMCP devices and provide an\noutlook for gain values to be expected based on the fabrication results.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Studies for a Photon Collider at the ILC: One option at the International Linear Collider is to convert the electron\nbeams into high energy photon beams by Compton scattering a few millimetres in\nfront of the interaction region. Selected physics channels for this option have\nbeen analysed and technical issues have been studied. So far no showstoppers\nfor this option have been found.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Construction of the Digital Hadron Calorimeter: Particle Flow Algorithms (PFAs) have been proposed as a method of improving\nthe jet energy resolution of future colliding beam detectors. PFAs require\ncalorimeters with high granularity to enable three-dimensional imaging of\nevents. The Calorimeter for the Linear Collider Collaboration (CALICE) is\ndeveloping and testing prototypes of such highly segmented calorimeters. In\nthis context, a large prototype of a Digital Hadron Calorimeter (DHCAL) was\ndeveloped and constructed by a group led by Argonne National Laboratory. The\nDHCAL consists of 52 layers, instrumented with Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs)\nand interleaved with steel absorber plates. The RPCs are read out by 1 x 1 cm2\npads with a 1-bit resolution (digital readout). The DHCAL prototype has\napproximately 480,000 readout channels. This talk reports on the design,\nconstruction and commissioning of the DHCAL. The DHCAL was installed at the\nFermilab Test Beam Facility in fall 2010 and data was collected through the\nsummer 2011.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Infrared Remote Sensing Using Low Noise Avalanche Photodiode Detector: For a remote sensing optical payload to achieve a Ground Sampling Distance of\n~ 10-30 m, a critical problem is platform-induced motion blur. While forward\nmotion compensation can reduce this transit speed, it comes at the expense of a\nmore challenging satellite attitude control system and induces a variable\nobservation/illumination angle. This relative motion can be frozen out by\nsimply reading the sensor system at a frame rate that matches the ground\nresolution element's pixel crossing time. To achieve high resolution using this\nTime-Delay Integration (TDI)-like approach requires high speed and hence near\n\"zero\" readout noise detector arrays to avoid swamping the observed signal.\nThis requires associated control electronics for fast frame readout and direct\ninterface with smart- Artificial Intelligence (AI) onboard processing. With\nthis technique, the platform freezes out its movement concerning the ground,\nreducing the demands placed on the attitude control systems, which can\notherwise be difficult to implement on a small satellite platform. Here we\nreport the Australian National University's OzFuel mission which applies this\ntechnical solution to deliver high ground resolution via high frame rate\nimaging. OzFuel is built around the Leonardo SAPHIRA Mercury Cadmium Telluride\nlinear mode electron avalanche photodiode (LMeAPD) detector and the in-house\ndeveloped Rosella electronics control system. The mission will deliver an\nintegrated sensor system in a suite of Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) passbands\ndedicated to monitoring the flammability of Eucalypt trees. The OzFuel mission\nconcept focuses on the application of SWIR remote sensing data to deliver a\nstrategic evaluation of fuel loads and moisture content in the bushfire-prone\nAustralian environment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The ONSEN Data Reduction System for the Belle II Pixel Detector: We present an FPGA-based online data reduction system for the pixel detector\nof the future Belle II experiment. The occupancy of the pixel detector is\nestimated at 3 %. This corresponds to a data output rate of more than 20 GB/s\nafter zero suppression, dominated by background. The Online Selection Nodes\n(ONSEN) system aims to reduce the background data by a factor of 30. It\nconsists of 33 MicroTCA cards, each equipped with a Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA and 4\nGiB DDR2 RAM. These cards are hosted by 9 AdvancedTCA carrier boards. The ONSEN\nsystem buffers the entire output data from the pixel detector for up to 5\nseconds. During this time, the Belle II high-level trigger PC farm performs an\nonline event reconstruction, using data from the other Belle II subdetectors.\nIt extrapolates reconstructed tracks to the layers of the pixel detector and\ndefines regions of interest around the intercepts. Based on this information,\nthe ONSEN system discards all pixels not inside a region of interest before\nsending the remaining hits to the event builder system. During a beam test with\none layer of the pixel detector and four layers of the surrounding silicon\nstrip detector, including a scaled-down version of the high-level trigger and\ndata acquisition system, the pixel data reduction using regions of interest was\nexercised. We investigated the data produced in more than 20 million events and\nverified that the ONSEN system behaved correctly, forwarding all pixels inside\nregions of interest and discarding the rest.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterization of the transient response of diamond sensors to\n collimated, sub-ps, 1 GeV electron bunches: Diamond sensors (DS) are widely used as solid-state particle detectors, beam\nloss monitors, and dosimeters in high-radiation environments, e.g., particle\ncolliders. We have calibrated our DS with steady $\\beta$- and X-radiation,\nspanning a dose rate in the range 0.1-100 mGy/s. Here, we report the first\nsystematic characterization of transient responses of DS to collimated,\nsub-picosecond, 1 GeV electron bunches. These bunches, possessing a charge\nranging from tens to hundreds of pC and a size from tens of microns to\nmillimeters, are suitably provided by the FERMI electron linac in Trieste,\nItaly. The high density of charge carriers generated by ionization in the\ndiamond bulk causes a transient modification of electrical properties of DS\n(e.g., resistance), which in turn affects the signal shape. We have modeled a\ntwo-step numerical approach, simulating the effects on the signal of both the\nevolution of charge carrier density in the diamond bulk and the changes in the\ncircuit parameters. This approach interprets features observed in our\nexperimental results to a great extent.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Fundamentals of Gas Micropattern Detectors: We performed a new series of systematic studies of gain and rate\ncharacteristics of several micropattern gaseous detectors. Extending earlier\nstudies, these measurements were done at various pressures, gas mixtures, at a\nwide range of primary charges and also when the whole area of the detectors was\nirradiated with a high intensity x-ray beam. Several new effects were\ndiscovered, common to all tested detectors, which define fundamental limits of\noperation. The results of these studies allow us to identify several concrete\nways of improving the performance of micropattern detectors and to suggest that\nin some applications RPCs may constitute a valid alternative. Being protected\nfrom damaging discharges by the resistive electrodes, these detectors feature\nhigh gain, high rate capability (10^5 Hz/mm^2), good position resolution\n(better than 30 micrometer) and excellent timing (50 ps sigma).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Geometrical jitter and bolometric regime in photon detection by straight\n superconducting nanowire: We present a direct observation of the geometrical jitter in single photon\ndetection by a straight superconducting nanowire. Differential measurement\ntechnique was applied to the 180-{\\mu}m long nanowire similar to those commonly\nused in the technology of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors\n(SNSPD). A non-gaussian geometrical jitter appears as a wide almost uniform\nprobability distribution (histogram) of the delay time (latency) of the\nnanowire response to detected photon. White electrical noise of the readout\nelectronics causes broadened, Gaussian shaped edges of the histogram.\nSubtracting noise contribution, we found for the geometrical jitter a standard\ndeviation of 8.5 ps and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the\ndistribution of 29 ps. FWHM corresponds to the propagation speed of the\nelectrical signal along the nanowire of $6.2\\times10^{6}$ m/s or 0.02 of the\nspeed of light. Alternatively the propagation speed was estimated from the\ncentral frequency of the measured first order self-resonance of the nanowire.\nBoth values agree well with each other and with previously reported values. As\nthe intensity of the incident photon flux increases, the wide probability\ndistribution collapses into a much narrower Gaussian distribution with a\nstandard deviation dominated by the noise of electronics. We associate the\ncollapse of the histogram with the transition from the discrete, single photon\ndetection to the uniform bolometric regime", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Stabilizing amplifier with a programmable load line for characterization\n of nanodevices with negative differential resistance: Resistive switching devices and other components with negative differential\nresistance (NDR) are emerging as possible electronic constituents of\nnext-generation computing architectures. Due to the NDR effects exhibited,\nswitching operations are strongly affected by the presence of resistance in\nseries with the memory cell. Experimental measurements useful in the\ndevelopment of these devices use a deliberate addition of series resistance,\nwhich can be done either by integrating resistors on-chip or by connecting\nexternal components to the wafer probing system. The former approach is\nconsidered inflexible because the resistance value attached to a given device\ncannot be changed or removed, while the latter approach tends to create\nparasitic effects that impact controllability and interfere with measurements.\nIn this work we introduce a circuit design for flexible characterization of\ntwo-terminal nanodevices that provides a programmatically adjustable external\nseries resistance while maintaining low parasitic capacitance. Experimental\ndemonstrations are given that show the impact of the series resistance on NDR\nand resistive switching measurements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Dynamic phase microscopy: measurements of translational displacements at\n sub-nanometer scale: Dynamic phase microscopy has been applied for measurements of nanometer-scale\ndisplacements of a piezoelectric scanner. This scanner, which was designed for\ncalibration purposes for scanning probe microscopy and TEM, exhibited a linear\nand hysteresis-free translation in the 0.05-20 nm range. The voltage-activated\nmotion is described by a coefficient of 0.03 \\pm 0.005 nm/V.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors for Quantum Information: The superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) is a\nquantum-limit superconducting optical detector based on the Cooper-pair\nbreaking effect by a single photon, which exhibits a higher detection\nefficiency, lower dark count rate, higher counting rate, and lower timing\njitter when compared with those exhibited by its counterparts. SNSPDs have been\nextensively applied in quantum information processing, including quantum key\ndistribution and optical quantum computation. In this review, we present the\nrequirements of single-photon detectors from quantum information, as well as\nthe principle, key metrics, latest performance issues and other issues\nassociated with SNSPD. The representative applications of SNSPDs with respect\nto quantum information will also be covered.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High Precision Measurements Using High Frequency Signals: Generalized lock-in amplifiers use digital cavities with Q-factors as high as\n5X10^8. In this letter, we show that generalized lock-in amplifiers can be used\nto analyze microwave (giga-hertz) signals with a precision of few tens of\nhertz. We propose that the physical changes in the medium of propagation can be\nmeasured precisely by the ultra-high precision measurement of the signal. We\nprovide evidence to our proposition by verifying the Newton's law of cooling by\nmeasuring the effect of change in temperature on the phase and amplitude of the\nsignals propagating through two calibrated cables. The technique could be used\nto precisely measure different physical properties of the propagation medium,\nfor example length, resistance, etc. Real time implementation of the technique\ncan open up new methodologies of in-situ virtual metrology in material design.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurement of the temperature distribution inside a calorimeter: Hadron therapy is a novel treatment against cancer. The main advantage of\nthis therapy causes less side effect in comparison to X-ray irradiation\nmethods. Hadron therapy is just ahead of a significant breakthrough since this\ntechnique can be more precise, applying proton computer tomograph (pCT) to map\nthe stopping power in the tissues. The research and development of a pCT\nrequire a fast detector to measure the energy of hadrons behind the patient.\nThe best detector option is called hadron-tracking calorimeter, which consists\nof sandwich layers of silicon tracking detectors and absorber layers. The\ncombination of measuring the trajectory (tracking process), and, in parallel,\nthe energy of relativistic particles, can provide high-resolution hadron\nimaging. This semiconductor-based technology requires stable temperature and\nhomogeneous cooling. I have worked in the development of this detector in the\nBergen pCT Collaboration for two years. Last year my work was to investigate\nthe temperature distribution in the calorimeter and examine two cooling\nconcepts in detail. I performed both analytical and numerical calculations to\nanalyze the temperature distribution of the calorimeter. The final decision\nabout the design takes into account many engineering aspects, such as\nreliability, flexibility, and performance.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An accurate measurement of PMT TTS based on the photoelectron spectrum: The water Cherenkov detector array (WCDA) for the large high altitude air\nshower observatory(LHAASO) will employ more than 3600 hemisphere 8 inch\nphotomultiplier tubes (PMT). The good time performance of PMT, especially the\ntransit time spread (TTS), is required for WCDA. TTS is usually defined as the\nTTS of single photoelectron, and usually determined by using single\nphotoelectron counting technique. A method using the photoelectron spectrum is\nresearched for the measurement of TTS. The method is appropriate for\nmulti-photoelectrons and makes it possible to measure the TTS of different\nphotoelectrons at the same time. The TTS of different photoelectrons is\nmeasured for Hamamatsu R5912 with the divider circuit designed in specifically.\nThe TTS of single photoelectron is determined to 3.3 ns and satisfies the\nrequirement of WCDA.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Scalable Database Access Technologies for ATLAS Distributed Computing: ATLAS event data processing requires access to non-event data (detector\nconditions, calibrations, etc.) stored in relational databases. The\ndatabase-resident data are crucial for the event data reconstruction processing\nsteps and often required for user analysis. A main focus of ATLAS database\noperations is on the worldwide distribution of the Conditions DB data, which\nare necessary for every ATLAS data processing job. Since Conditions DB access\nis critical for operations with real data, we have developed the system where a\ndifferent technology can be used as a redundant backup. Redundant database\noperations infrastructure fully satisfies the requirements of ATLAS\nreprocessing, which has been proven on a scale of one billion database queries\nduring two reprocessing campaigns of 0.5 PB of single-beam and cosmics data on\nthe Grid. To collect experience and provide input for a best choice of\ntechnologies, several promising options for efficient database access in user\nanalysis were evaluated successfully. We present ATLAS experience with scalable\ndatabase access technologies and describe our approach for prevention of\ndatabase access bottlenecks in a Grid computing environment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Temperature Dependence of Sensitivity of 2DEG-Based Hall-Effect Sensors: The magnetic sensitivity of Hall-effect sensors made of InAlN/GaN and\nAlGaN/GaN heterostructures was measured between room temperature and\n576{\\deg}C. Both devices showed decreasing voltage-scaled magnetic sensitivity\nat high temperature, declining from 53 to 8.3 mV/V/T for the InAlN/GaN sample\nand from 89 to 8.5 mV/V/T for the AlGaN/GaN sample, corresponding to the\ndecreasing electron mobility due to scattering effects at elevated\ntemperatures. Alternatively, current-scaled sensitivities remained stable over\nthe temperature range, only varying by 13.1% from the mean of 26.3 V/A/T and\n10.5% from the mean of 60.2 V/A/T for the InAlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN samples\nrespectively. This is due to the minimal temperature dependence of the electron\nsheet density on the 2-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). Both devices showed\nconsistency in their voltage- and current-scaled sensitivity over multiple\ntemperature cycles as well as nearly full recovery when returned to room\ntemperature after thermal cycling. Additionally, an AlGaN/GaN sample held at\n576{\\deg}C for 12 hours also showed nearly full recovery at room temperature,\nfurther suggesting that GaN-based Hall-effect sensors are a good candidate for\nuse in high temperature applications.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "New method for determining avalanche breakdown voltage of silicon\n photomultipliers: The avalanche breakdown and Geiger mode of the silicon p-n junction is\nconsidered. A precise physically motivated method is proposed for determining\nthe avalanche breakdown voltage of silicon photomultipliers (Si PM). The method\nis based on measuring the dependence of the relative photon detection\nefficiency (PDErel ) on the bias voltage when one type of carriers (electron or\nhole) is injected into the avalanche multiplication zone of the p-n junction.\nThe injection of electrons or holes from the base region of the Si PM\nsemiconductor structure is performed using short-wave or long-wave light. At a\nlow overvoltage (1-2 V) the detection efficiency is linearly dependent on the\nbias voltage; therefore, extrapolation to zero PDErel value determines the Si\nPM avalanche breakdown voltage with an accuracy within a few millivolts.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Applying triangular correlation of angular deviation in muon scattering\n tomography for multi-block materials via GEANT4 simulations: The scattering angle due to the target volume can be split into two interior\nangles in the tomographic setups based on the muon scattering, and we call this\nproperty as the triangular correlation where the sum of these two interior\nangles is equal to the scattering angle. In this study, we apply this\ntriangular correlation for a multi-block material configuration that consist of\nconcrete, stainless steel, and uranium. By changing the order of this material\nset, we employ the GEANT4 simulations and we show that the triangular\ncorrelation is valid in the multi-block material setups, thereby providing the\npossibility of supportive information for the coarse prediction of the material\norder in such configurations.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Comparison of 35 and 50 \u03bcm thin HPK UFSD after neutron irradiation\n up to 6*10^15 neq/cm^2: We report results from the testing of 35 {\\mu}m thick Ultra-Fast Silicon\nDetectors (UFSD produced by Hamamatsu Photonics (HPK), Japan and the comparison\nof these new results to data reported before on 50 {\\mu}m thick UFSD produced\nby HPK. The 35 {\\mu}m thick sensors were irradiated with neutrons to fluences\nof 0, 1*10^14, 1*10^15, 3*10^15, 6*10^15 neq/cm^2. The sensors were tested\npre-irradiation and post-irradiation with minimum ionizing particles (MIPs)\nfrom a 90Sr \\b{eta}-source. The leakage current, capacitance, internal gain and\nthe timing resolution were measured as a function of bias voltage at -20C and\n-27C. The timing resolution was extracted from the time difference with a\nsecond calibrated UFSD in coincidence, using the constant fraction method for\nboth. Within the fluence range measured, the advantage of the 35 {\\mu}m thick\nUFSD in timing accuracy, bias voltage and power can be established.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Fast and Flexible CCD Driver System Using Fast DAC and FPGA: We have developed a completely new type of general-purpose CCD data\nacquisition system which enables one to drive any type of CCD using any type of\nclocking mode. A CCD driver system widely used before consisted of an analog\nmultiplexer (MPX), a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), and an operational\namplifier. A DAC is used to determine high and low voltage levels and the MPX\nselects each voltage level using a TTL clock. In this kind of driver board, it\nis difficult to reduce the noise caused by a short of high and low level in MPX\nand also to select many kinds of different voltage levels. Recent developments\nin semiconductor IC enable us to use a very fast sampling ($\\sim$ 10MHz) DAC\nwith low cost. We thus develop the new driver system using a fast DAC in order\nto determine both the voltage level of the clock and the clocking timing. We\nuse FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) to control the DAC. We have\nconstructed the data acquisition system and found that the CCD functions well\nwith our new system. The energy resolution of Mn K$\\alpha$ has a full-width at\nhalf-maximum of $\\simeq$ 150 eV and the readout noise of our system is $\\simeq$\n8 e$^-$.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Potential of Geo-neutrino Measurements at JUNO: The flux of geoneutrinos at any point on the Earth is a function of the\nabundance and distribution of radioactive elements within our planet. This flux\nhas been successfully detected by the 1-kt KamLAND and 0.3-kt Borexino\ndetectors with these measurements being limited by their low statistics. The\nplanned 20-kt JUNO detector will provide an exciting opportunity to obtain a\nhigh statistics measurement, which will provide data to address several\nquestions of geological importance. This paper presents the JUNO detector\ndesign concept, the expected geo-neutrino signal and corresponding backgrounds.\nThe precision level of geo-neutrino measurements at JUNO is obtained with the\nstandard least-squares method. The potential of the Th/U ratio and mantle\nmeasurements is also discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurements of time resolution of the RD50-MPW2 DMAPS prototype using\n TCT and $^{90}\\mathrm{Sr}$: Results in this paper present an in-depth study of time resolution for active\npixels of the RD50-MPW2 prototype CMOS particle detector. Measurement\ntechniques employed include Backside- and Edge-TCT configurations, in addition\nto electrons from a $^{90}\\mathrm{Sr}$ source. A sample irradiated to $5\\cdot\n10^{14}\\,\\mathrm{n}_\\mathrm{eq}/\\mathrm{cm}^2$ was used to study the effect of\nradiation damage. Timing performance was evaluated for the entire pixel matrix\nand with positional sensitivity within individual pixels as a function of the\ndeposited charge. Time resolution obtained with TCT is seen to be uniform\nthroughout the pixel's central region with approx. $220\\,\\mathrm{ps}$ at\n$12\\,\\mathrm{ke}^-$ of deposited charge, degrading at the edges and lower\nvalues of deposited charge. $^{90}\\mathrm{Sr}$ measurements show a slightly\nworse time resolution as a result of delayed events coming from the peripheral\nareas of the pixel.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Muon tomography of a reinforced concrete block -- first experimental\n proof of concept: Quality assurance and condition assessment of concrete structures is an\nimportant topic world-wide due to the ageing infrastructure and increasing\ntraffic demands. Common topics include, but are not limited to, localisation of\nrebar or tendon ducts, geometrical irregularities, cracks, voids, honeycombing\nor other flaws. Non-destructive techniques such as ultrasound or radar have\nfound regular, successful practical application but sometimes suffer from\nlimited resolution and accuracy, imaging artefacts or restrictions in detecting\ncertain features. Until the 1980s X-ray transmission was used in case of\nspecial demands and showed a resolution much higher than other NDT techniques.\nHowever, due to safety concerns and cost issues, this method is almost never\nused anymore. Muon tomography has received much attention recently. Novel\ndetectors for cosmic muons and tomographic imaging algorithms have opened up\nnew fields of application, such as the investigation of freight containers for\ncontraband or the assessment of the contents of radioactive waste containers.\nBut Muon imaging also has the potential to fill some of the gaps currently\nexisting in concrete NDT. As a first step towards practical use and as a proof\nof concept we used an existing system to image the interior of a reference\nreinforced 600 kg concrete block. Even with a yet not optimized setup for this\nkind of investigation, the muon imaging results show more resolution and less\ndistortion compared to ultrasonic and radar imaging. The data acquisition takes\nmore time and signals contain more noise, but the images allowed to detect the\nsame important features that are visible in conventional high energy x-ray\ntomography. In our experiment, we have shown the tremendous potential of muon\nimaging for concrete inspection. The next steps include the development of\nmobile detectors and optimising acquisition and imaging parameters.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Nanosurveyor: a framework for real-time data processing: Scientists are drawn to synchrotrons and accelerator based light sources\nbecause of their brightness, coherence and flux. The rate of improvement in\nbrightness and detector technology has outpaced Moore's law growth seen for\ncomputers, networks, and storage, and is enabling novel observations and\ndiscoveries with faster frame rates, larger fields of view, higher resolution,\nand higher dimensionality. Here we present an integrated software/algorithmic\nframework designed to capitalize on high throughput experiments, and describe\nthe streamlined processing pipeline of ptychography data analysis. The pipeline\nprovides throughput, compression, and resolution as well as rapid feedback to\nthe microscope operators.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High Precision Momentum Calibration of the Magnetic Spectrometers at\n MAMI for Hypernuclear Binding Energy Determination: We propose a new method for absolute momentum calibration of magnetic\nspectrometers used in nuclear physics, using the time-of-flight (TOF),\ndifferences of pairs of particles with different masses. In cases where the\nflight path is not known, a calibration can be determined by using the TOF\ndifferences of two pair combinations of three particles. A Cherenkov detector,\nread out by a radio frequency photomultiplier tube, is considered as the\nhigh-resolution and highly stable TOF detector. By means of Monte Carlo\nsimulations it is demonstrated that the magnetic spectrometers at the MAMI\nelectron-scattering facility can be calibrated absolutely with an accuracy\n$\\delta p/p\\leq 10^{-4}$, which will be crucial for high precision\ndetermination of hypernuclear masses.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Quantum-enhanced interferometry for axion searches: We propose an experiment to search for axions and axion-like-particles in the\ngalactic halo using quantum-enhanced interferometry. This proposal is related\nto the previously reported ideas (Phys. Rev. D 98, 035021, Phys. Rev. Lett.\n121, 161301, Phys. Rev. D 100, 023548) but searches for axions in the mass\nrange from $10^{-16}$ eV up to $10^{-8}$ eV using two coupled optical cavities.\nWe also show how to apply squeezed states of light to enhance the sensitivity\nof the experiment similar to the gravitational-wave detectors. The proposed\nexperiment has a potential to be further scaled up to a multi-km long detector.\nWe show that such an instrument has a potential to set constrains of the\naxion-photon coupling coefficient of $\\sim 10^{-18}$ GeV$^{-1}$ for axion\nmasses of $10^{-16}$ eV or detect the signal.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Drifting Photons on Optical Paths: Mirrors, Sub-mm Resolution in 4\n Dimensions, and Transverse/Longitudinal Phase Space: Exploiting Time\n Resolution: I discuss the status of MCP-based photo-detector amplification sections and\nCherenkov light sources for precise timing measurements of charged particles\nand gamma rays. Sub-psec resolution is predicted for the large pulses such as\nthose produced by a charged particle or electromagnetic shower traversing a\nphoto-detector entrance window. Measuring events with sub-mm resolution in each\nof the 4 dimensions expands the optical phase space from 4 dimensions, allowing\nemittance transformations that can minimize expensive instrumented\nphoto-sensitive area.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Forward TPC system of the NA61/SHINE experiment at CERN: a tandem\n TPC concept: This paper presents the Forward Time Projection Chamber (FTPC) system of the\nNA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN SPS accelerator. This TPC system applies a\nnovel tandem-TPC design to reduce the background originating from particle\ntracks not synchronous with the event trigger. The FTPC system is composed of\nthree chambers with alternating drift field directions. The chambers were\ninstalled directly along the beamline region of the NA61/SHINE detector in a\nmedium- to high-intensity (10-100 kHz) hadron or ion beam. The tandem TPC\nsystem has proved to be capable of rejecting out-of-time background tracks not\nassociated with a primary interaction. In addition, the system performs\ntracking and inclusive dE/dx particle identification for particles at and near\nthe beam momentum. This shows that a tandem-TPC-based chamber design may be\nused also in other experimental applications with a demand for low material\nbudget, tracking capability, and the need for dE/dx particle identification,\nall while in the presence of a relatively high particle flux.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Comment on a Tonomura Experiment : Locality of the Vector Potential: Three predictions for additional tests in a Tonomura experiment: 1,2: The\nFresnel frin-ges displayed outside and inside the geometric shadow of a\ntoroidal magnet should subsist intact, the ones if the others are masked, and\nvice versa ; 3 : Placing the registering film just before the magnet and thus\nuncovering the entire fringe pattern should display the curved fringes\nconnecting the outer and inner straight ones. Physicality of the vector\npotential expressed in the source adhering gauge will thus be unequivocally\nproved.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Review of Inductive Pulsed Power Generators for Railguns: This literature review addresses inductive pulsed power generators and their\nmajor components. Different inductive storage designs like solenoids, toroids\nand force-balanced coils are briefly presented and their advantages and\ndisadvantages are mentioned. Special emphasis is given to inductive circuit\ntopologies which have been investigated in railgun research such as the XRAM,\nmeat grinder or pulse transformer topologies. One section deals with opening\nswitches as they are indispensable for inductive storages and another one deals\nbriefly with SMES for pulsed power applications. In the end, the most relevant\ninductor systems which were realized in respect to railgun research are\nsummarized in a table, together with its main characteristics.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Spectral Characterization of PVDF Sensor Designs for Acoustic\n Spectroscopy: Polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) sensors are of interest to ultrasonic\napplications due to their high sensitivity and efficient acoustic coupling to\nthe environment. PVDF sensors for scientific applications typically possess a\nflat frequency response to faithfully reproduce spectral components of an\nunknown source. However, in industrial sensing applications higher responsivity\nis desirable even at the cost of decreased flatness in the spectral\nresponsivity. To better understand the trade-offs between intrinsic\nresponsivity and spectral response we examine four PVDF sensor variants for\nspectral responsivity as a function of thickness and find that increased\nresponsivity is correlated with a strong non-linear frequency dependence.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A large area, high counting rate micromegas-based neutron detector for\n BNCT: Beam monitoring and evaluation are very important to boron neutron capture\ntherapy (BNCT), and a variety of detectors have been developed for these\napplications. However, most of the detectors used in BNCT only have a small\ndetection area, leading to the inconvenience of the full-scale 2-D measurement\nof the beam. Based on micromegas technology, we designed a neutron detector\nwith large detection area and high counting rate. This detector has a detection\narea of 288 mm multiples 288 mm and can measure thermal, epithermal, and fast\nneutrons with different detector settings. The BNCT experiments demonstrated\nthat this detector has a very good 2-D imaging performance for the thermal,\nepithermal, fast neutron and gamma components, a highest counting rate of 94\nkHz/channel, and a good linearity response to the beam power. Additionally, the\nflux fraction of each component can be calculated based on the measurement\nresults. The Am-Be neutron source experiment indicates that this detector has a\nspatial resolution of approximately 1.4 mm, meeting the requirements of\napplications in BNCT. It is evident that this micromegas-based neutron detector\nwith a large area and high counting rate capability has great development\nprospects in BNCT beam monitoring and evaluation applications.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Iterative Retina for high track multiplicity in a barrel-shape tracker\n and high magnetic field: Real-time track tracking in high energy physics experiments at colliders\nrunning at high luminosity is very challenging for trigger systems. To perform\npattern-recognition and track fitting in online trigger system, the artificial\nRetina algorithm has been introduced in the field. Retina can be implemented in\nthe state of the art FPGA devices. Our developments use Retina in an iterative\nway to identify track for barrel-shape tracker embedded in a high magnetic\nfield and with high track multiplicity. As a benchmark we simulate LHC t-tbar\nevents, with a pile-up of 200 and a GEANT-4 based simulation of a 6-layers\nbarrel tracker detector made of silicon modules. With this sample the\nperformance of the hardware design (resource usage, latency) is evaluated. Both\nefficiency and purity of the Retina fitting are over 90%. Moreover we have also\nadded a Kalman filter after the Retina fit to improve the resolution on the\ntrack parameters. Our simulation results show that the Kalman filter can work\nwell together with the Retina algorithm to find track through t-tbar event and\nprovides high resolutions of the reconstructed parameters.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Test study on the RPS of TMSR-SF1 reactor: The reactor protection system (RPS), as a 1E-level safety system, should be\ndesigned and developed following a series of nuclear laws and technical\ndisciplines.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurement of electron-calcium ionization integral cross section using\n an ion trap with a low-energy, pulsed electron gun: An apparatus for production of various atomic and molecular ions inside a\nlinear Paul trap has been set up. The system applies a custom-made, low energy,\npulsed electron gun to produce ions in electron impact process. Such ionization\nmethod can find some interesting possible applications such as derivation of\nions inaccessible other-ways, which can be used in molecular ion experiments.\nThe technique allows also for determination of cross sections for various\ncollisional processes.\n As a feasibility study, the apparatus was used for determination of\nionization integral cross section of calcium in the 16--160 eV range of\nelectron impact energy. The obtained cross section values are discussed and\ncompared with existing data sets.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Separated flow operation of the SHARAQ spectrometer for in-flight proton\n decay experiments: New operation mode, \"separated flow mode\", has been developed for in-flight\nproton decay experiments with the SHARAQ spectrometer. In the separated flow\nmode, the protons and the heavy-ion products are separated and measured in\ncoincidence at two different focal planes of SHARAQ. The ion-optical properties\nof the new mode were studied by using a proton beam at $246~{\\rm MeV}$, and the\nmomentum vector was properly reconstructed from the parameters measured in the\nfocal plane of SHARAQ. In the experiment with the $({}^{16}{\\rm O},{}^{16}{\\rm\nF})$ reaction at a beam energy of $247~{\\rm MeV/u}$, the outgoing ${}^{15}{\\rm\nO}+p$ produced by the decay of ${}^{16}{\\rm F}$ were measured in coincidence\nwith SHARAQ. High energy resolutions of $100~{\\rm keV}$ (FWHM) and $\\sim 2~{\\rm\nMeV}$ were achieved for the relative energy of $535~{\\rm keV}$, and the\n${}^{16}{\\rm F}$ energy of $3940~{\\rm MeV}$, respectively.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of a New Target Design with an Additional Horn for NuMI Beam: This paper describes the simulation studies done for the standard NOvA target\nand the proposed new minimal NOvA target design, in forward and reverse horn\ncurrent for studying the neutrino and antineutrino event yield and the\nbackground contamination at the near and far detector. The standard NOvA target\nis segmented into 48 graphite segments (fins) with two magnetic horns, Horn 1\nplaced at MCZERO and Horn 2 placed at 19.18 m from MCZERO. The new minimal\ntarget design has 24 graphite fins extended into Horn 1. It shows the study for\nthe position optimization of the Horn 2 relative to Horn 1 for the standard and\nthe new minimal target design. The effect of introducing an additional horn\n(identical to Horn 2) with the new minimal target design, on the neutrino yield\nand the energy spectra, has also been explored.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Replacement of a Photomultiplier Tube with Silicon Photomultipliers for\n use in Safeguards Applications: We compared the performance of a SiPM array and a PMT in a laboratory setting\nusing a single 5.08x5.08-cm cylindrical sodium iodide scintillating crystal.\nPhotomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are the most commonly used device to monitor\nscintillating materials for radiation detection purposes. The systems are\nsometimes limited by disadvantages in the PMTs that may degrade their\nperformance, including temperature dependence and variation with magnetic\nfield. Instrumentation engineering must also contend with a potentially large\nvolume relative to the active scintillator volume, fragility, and high voltage\nrequirements. One possible alternative is an array of silicon photomultipliers\n(SiPMs). Measurements were made with a 5.04x5.04-cm sensL J-series SiPM array\nand a 7.62cm Hamamatsu PMT. We demonstrated how the SiPM bias can be\nsufficiently altered to remove the effects of temperature variation encountered\nin environments where nuclear safeguards work is often performed. Finally, we\nevaluated a method of determining enrichment levels of ${}^{235}U$ at various\nlevels and shielding configurations, using both the PMT-mounted and\nSiPM-mounted scintillator.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Energy Resolution studies for NEXT: This work aims to present the current state of simulations of\nelectroluminescence (EL) produced in gas-based detectors with special interest\nfor NEXT --- Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC. NEXT is a neutrinoless\ndouble beta decay experiment, thus needs outstanding energy resolution which\ncan be achieved by using electroluminescence. The process of light production\nis reviewed and properties such as EL yield and associated fluctuations,\nexcitation and electroluminescence efficiencies, and energy resolution, are\ncalculated. An EL production region with a 5 mm width gap between two infinite\nparallel planes is considered, where a uniform electric field is produced. The\npressure and temperature considered are 10 bar and 293 K, respectively. The\nresults show that, even for low values of VUV photon detection efficiency, good\nenergy resolution can be achieved: below 0.4 % (FWHM) at $Q_{\\beta\\beta}=$2.458\nMeV.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The X-ray Telescope of CAST: The Cern Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) is in operation and taking data since\n2003. The main objective of the CAST experiment is to search for a hypothetical\npseudoscalar boson, the axion, which might be produced in the core of the sun.\nThe basic physics process CAST is based on is the time inverted Primakoff\neffect, by which an axion can be converted into a detectable photon in an\nexternal electromagnetic field. The resulting X-ray photons are expected to be\nthermally distributed between 1 and 7 keV. The most sensitive detector system\nof CAST is a pn-CCD detector combined with a Wolter I type X-ray mirror system.\nWith the X-ray telescope of CAST a background reduction of more than 2 orders\noff magnitude is achieved, such that for the first time the axion photon\ncoupling constant g_agg can be probed beyond the best astrophysical constraints\ng_agg < 1 x 10^-10 GeV^-1.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Extracting longitudinal shower development information from crystal\n calorimetry plus tracking: We propose an approach to derive longitudinal shower development information\nfrom the longitudinally unsegmented BABAR electromagnetic calorimeter by using\ntracking information. Our algorithm takes advantage of the good\nthree-dimensional tracking resolution of BABAR, which provides an independent\ngeometric constraint on the shower as measured in the BABAR crystal\ncalorimeter. We show that adding the derived longitudinal shower development\ninformation to standard particle identification algorithms significantly\nimproves the low-momentum separation of pions from electrons and muons. We also\nverify that the energy dependence of the electromagnetic shower development we\nmeasure is consistent with the prediction of a standard electromagnetic shower\nmodel.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Background model of NaI(Tl) detectors for the ANAIS Dark Matter Project: A thorough understanding of the background sources is mandatory in any\nexperiment searching for rare events. The ANAIS (Annual Modulation with NaI(Tl)\nScintillators) experiment aims at the confirmation of the DAMA/LIBRA signal at\nthe Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC). Two NaI(Tl) crystals of 12.5 kg each\nproduced by Alpha Spectra have been taking data since December 2012. The\ncomplete background model of these detectors and more precisely in the region\nof interest will be described. Preliminary background analysis of a new 12.5 kg\ncrystal received at Canfranc in March 2015 will be presented too. Finally, the\npower of anticoincidence rejection in the region of interest has been analyzed\nin a 4x 5 12.5 kg detector matrix.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of Fast and High Precision CMOS Pixel Sensors for an ILC\n Vertex Detector: The development of CMOS pixel sensors with column parallel read-out and\nintegrated zero-suppression has resulted in a full size, nearly 1 Megapixel,\nprototype with ~100 \\mu s read-out time. Its performances are quite close to\nthe ILD vertex detector specifications, showing that the sensor architecture\ncan presumably be evolved to meet these specifications exactly.\n Starting from the existing architecture and achieved performances, the paper\nwill expose the details of how the sensor will be evolved in the coming 2-3\nyears in perspective of the ILD Detector Baseline Document, to be delivered in\n2012. Two different devices are foreseen for this objective, one being\noptimized for the inner layers and their fast read-out requirement, while the\nother exploits the dimmed background in the outer layers to reduce the power\nconsumption. The sensor evolution relies on a high resistivity epitaxial layer,\non the use of an advanced CMOS process and on the combination of column-level\nADCs with a pixel array. The paper will present how these aspects can be\nexploited to match the ILD VTX specifications.\n A status of the development of 3D CMOS devices will be mentioned for\ncompleteness.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Developing and building an absorption imaging system for Ultracold Atoms: In this report I attempt to outline the process of developing and building an\nabsorption imaging system capable of imaging ultracold atoms. In the theory\nsection I will discuss the elements required to estimate the atom number and\nderive the equations required to determine the temperature of the atom cloud. I\nwill outline the general features of a microscopic - two lens imaging setup via\nthe principles of geometric optics. A discussion of optical design process and\nits features will be carried out with an example on absorption imaging. The\nessence of basic optical design process will be given.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An Automated Ac Susceptibility Set up Fabricated Using a Closed-Cycle\n Helium Refrigerator: We have described here the design and operation of an automated ac\nsusceptibility set up using a closed cycle helium refrigerator. This set up is\nuseful for measuring linear and nonlinear magnetic susceptibilities of various\nmagnetic materials. The working temperature range is 2 K to 300 K. The overall\nsensitivity of the set up is found to be 10-3 emu.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Compact Anomaly Detection Solution for Science Instruments: Small low-cost instruments enable new and exciting mission opportunities yet\ntheir constrained volume and limited budgets make them especially susceptible\nto suffering anomalies during flight. Radiation effects as well as sensor or\nactuator failure can all pose a serious threat to the continued collection of\nscientific data as well as cause the partial or complete loss of a mission\nscience payload. Onboard anomaly detection could allow instruments to recover\nfrom such events but its ad hoc development typically falls outside the mission\ntimeline or monetary constraints. Here we describe a compact solution for the\nimplementation of onboard anomaly detection meant for space science missions.\nThe device is designed to be interoperable with a broad range of instruments\nutilizing easily accessible power and logic signals to monitor the state of\nperipherals and actuators without disrupting their functionality. By leveraging\na commercially available microcontroller with a radiation hardened alternative\npackage the device can be inexpensively sourced and assembled with minimal work\nenabling instrument characterization on an expedited timeline. The system can\nthen be exchanged for a radiation hardened version ensuring the replicability\nof observed anomalies in a laboratory environment during instrument operations.\nWe also present currently implemented anomaly detection algorithms which enable\nthe system to detect anomalies in instruments with varying failure modes and\nallow mission designers to choose which detection approach best fits the\nspecific needs of their instrument. Finally, we showcase an example application\nof this system in the detection of anomalies during the operation of a lysis\nmotor designed for use in biological space instruments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development and Performance of spark-resistant Micromegas Detectors: The Muon ATLAS MicroMegas Activity (MAMMA) focuses on the development and\ntesting of large-area muon detectors based on the bulk-Micromegas technology.\nThese detectors are candidates for the upgrade of the ATLAS Muon System in view\nof the luminosity upgrade of Large Hadron Collider at CERN (sLHC). They will\ncombine trigger and precision measurement capability in a single device. A\nnovel protection scheme using resistive strips above the readout electrode has\nbeen developed. The response and sparking properties of resistive Micromegas\ndetectors were successfully tested in a mixed (neutron and gamma) high\nradiation field, in a X-ray test facility, in hadron beams, and in the ATLAS\ncavern. Finally, we introduced a 2-dimensional readout structure in the\nresistive Micromegas and studied the detector response with X-rays.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Physics background at ILC at 500GeV and 1TeV: Measurement of the integrated luminosity at the International Linear Collider\n(ILC) will be accomplished by counting the rate of small angle Bhabha\nscattering events. The physics requirements for ILC set the constraint on the\nrelative precision of the luminosity measurement to be of a permille order. The\nrequired precision can be achieved by construction of a fine granulated\nelectromagnetic calorimeter of high energy and polar angle resolution and by\nsufficient experimental control of numerous systematic effects. One of the\nleading systematic effects in luminosity measurement is the background\noriginating from four-fermion processes, referred to as the physics background.\nIn this paper a possible selection strategy to measure the luminosity is\nproposed from the perspective of optimal signal to background separation.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Simulations of a multi-layer extended gating grid: A novel idea to control ion back-flow in time projection chambers is to use a\nmulti-layer extended gating grid to capture back-flowing ions at the expense of\nlive time and electron transparency. In this initial study, I perform\nsimulations of a four-layer grid for the ALICE and STAR time projection\nchambers, using $\\text{Ne}-\\text{CO}_{2}\\;(90-10)$ and\n$\\text{Ar}-\\text{CH}_{4}\\;(90-10)$ gas mixtures, respectively. I report the\nlive time and electron transparency for both 90% and 99% ion back-flow\nsuppression. Additionally, for the ALICE configuration I study several effects:\nusing a mesh vs. wire-plane grid, including a magnetic field, and varying the\nover-voltage distribution in the gating region. For 90% ion back-flow\nsuppression, I achieve 75% live time with 86% electron transparency for ALICE,\nand 95% live time with 83% electron transparency for STAR.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Modeling of Radiation Damage Effects in Silicon Detectors at High\n Fluences HL-LHC with Sentaurus TCAD: In this work we propose the application of an enhanced radiation damage model\nbased on the introduction of deep level traps / recombination centers suitable\nfor device level numerical simulation of silicon detectors at very high\nfluences (e.g. 2.0x10E16 1 MeV equivalent neutrons/cm2). We present the\ncomparison between simulation results and experimental data for p-type\nsubstrate structures in different operating conditions (temperature and biasing\nvoltages) for fluences up to 2.2x10E16 neutrons/cm2. The good agreement between\nsimulation findings and experimental measurements fosters the application of\nthis modeling scheme to the optimization of the next silicon detectors to be\nused at HL-LHC.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A setup for Seebeck coefficient measurement through controlled heat\n pulses: A setup is designed for measuring the Seebeck coefficient (S) of materials in\nform of thin film, bar and wire. The main feature of this setup is control in\nheating and cooling cycles. In this setup heat pulse is used to generate the\ntemperature gradient. To demonstrate the capabilities of this setup, S vs T of\nstandard wire samples such as Au-Fe (0.07 \\%), chromel, Pt and thin films of Pt\nand F doped SnO$_2$ are presented. The standard uncertainty of the\nrepeatability in S measurement is found to be $\\sim$ $\\pm 0.056~\\mu V/K$ while\ntemperature stability is $\\sim$ $\\pm 10~mK$ (at 320 K), estimated for a chromel\nwire sample. We have tested the setup in temperature range 100 K to 320 K,\nwhile it does not have any intrinsic limitation in going down to liquid He\ntemperatures. For temperatures above 320 K limitation is due to gluing material\nlike varnish.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Compensation for the setup instability in ptychographic imaging: The high-frequency vibration of the imaging system degrades the quality of\nthe reconstruction of ptychography by acting as a low-pass filter on ideal\ndiffraction patterns. In this study, we demonstrate that by subtracting the\ndeliberately blurred diffraction patterns from the recorded patterns and adding\nthe properly amplified subtraction to the original data, the high-frequency\ncomponents lost by the vibration of the setup can be recovered, and thus the\nimage quality can be distinctly improved. Because no prior knowledge regarding\nthe vibrating properties of the imaging system is needed, the proposed method\nis general and simple and has applications in several research fields.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Permanent Magnet System for MRI with Constant Gradient mechanically\n adjustable in Direction and Strength: A design for a permanent magnet system is proposed that generates spatially\nhomogeneous, constant magnetic field gradients, thus creating conditions\nsuitable for MRI without gradient coils and amplifiers. This is achieved by\nsuperimposing a weak Halbach quadrupole on a strong Halbach dipole. Rotation of\neither the quadrupole or the entire magnet assembly can be used to generate 2D\nimages via filtered back-projection. Additionally, the mutual rotation of two\nquadrupoles can be used to scale the resulting gradient. If both gradients have\nidentical strength the gradient can even be made to vanish. The concept is\ndemonstrated by analytical considerations and FEM-simulations.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An Automated Home Made Low Cost Vibrating Sample Magnetometer: The design and operation of a homemade low cost vibrating sample magnetometer\nis described here. The sensitivity of this instrument is better than 10-2 emu\nand found to be very efficient for the measurement of magnetization of most of\nthe ferromagnetic and other magnetic materials as a function of temperature\ndown to 77 K and magnetic field upto 800 Oe. Both M(H) and M(T) data\nacquisition are fully automated employing computer and Labview software", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of new silica aerogels in a threshold Cerenkov counter: New highly transparent, hydrophobic silica aerogels with refractive indices\nof 1.01 to 1.07 have been produced by Aspen Aerogels, Inc., and select tiles\nhave been tested using an electron beam at the DESY, Hamburg facility. A\ndiffusively-reflective threshold Cerenkov counter was designed and constructed\nfor the purpose of evaluating the aerogels, and can accommodate aerogel tile\nareas of up to 20 cm by 20 cm. Measurements of the performance of the counter\nusing the new aerogels as Cerenkov radiators are given in terms of\nphotoelectron yields and a figure of merit.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Wavefront Sensing with a Coupled Cavity for Torsion-Bar Antenna: Torsion-Bar Antenna (TOBA) is a ground-based gravitational wave detector\nusing torsion pendulums. TOBA can detect intermediate-mass black hole binary\nmergers, gravitational wave stochastic background, and Newtonian noise, and is\nuseful for earthquake early warning. A prototype detector Phase-III TOBA with\n35 cm-scale pendulums is under development to demonstrate noise reduction. The\ntarget strain sensitivity is set to $1\\times10^{-15}\\,{/\\sqrt{\\rm Hz}}$ between\n0.1 Hz--10 Hz. A new scheme of wavefront sensing with a coupled cavity was\nproposed to measure the pendulum rotation as low as $5\\times10^{-16}\\,{{\\rm\nrad}/\\sqrt{\\rm Hz}}$ for Phase-III TOBA. In our method, an auxiliary cavity is\nused to enhance the first-order Hermite--Gaussian mode in a main cavity.\nExperimental demonstration is ongoing to confirm the feasibility of angular\nsignal amplification and establish a method for locking a coupled cavity. We\nevaluated the performance of the coupled cavity and concluded that angular\nsignal amplification would be feasible with this sensor. The coupled cavity was\nsuccessfully locked to the resonance by the Pound--Drever--Hall technique with\ntwo modulation frequencies.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of the MRPC for the TOF system of the MultiPurpose Detector: The Multipurpose Detector (MPD) \\cite{cite1.MPD_CDR} is designed to study of\nhot and dense baryonic matter in collisions of heavy ions over the atomic mass\nrange 1--197 at the centre of mass energy up to $\\sqrt{S_{NN}}$ = 11 GeV (for\nAu79+). The MPD experiment will be carried out at the JINR accelerator complex\nNICA \\cite{cite2.NICA_CDR} which is under construction. The barrel part of the\nMPD consists of various detectors surrounding the interaction point. It\nincludes a precise tracking system (time projection chamber (TPC) and silicon\ninner tracker (IT)) and high-performance particle identification system based\non time-of-flight (TOF) and calorimeter (ECal). The triple-stack multigap\nresistive plate chamber is chosen as an active element of the TOF. It provides\ngood time resolution and long term stability.\n This article presents parameters of the MRPC obtained using the deuteron beam\nof JINR accelerator Nuclotron. The time resolution is $\\sim$40 ps with\nefficiency of 99\\%. Rate capability studies resulted with a time resolution of\n60 ps and efficiency higher than 90\\% on the beam with particle flux densities\nup to 2 kHz/cm$^2$.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A novel concept for a fully digital particle detector: Silicon sensors are the most diffuse position sensitive device in particle\nphysics 8 experiments and in countless applications in science and technology.\nThey had a spectacular progress in performance over almost 40 years since their\nfirst introduction, but their evolution is now slowing down. The position\nresolution for single particle hits is larger than a few microns in the most\nadvanced sensors. This value was reached already over 30 years ago [1]. The\nminimum ionising path length a sensor can detect is several tens of microns.\nThere are fundamental reasons why these limits will not be substantially\nimproved by further refinements of the current technology. This makes silicon\nsensors unsuitable to applications where the physics signature is the short\npath of a recoiling atom and constrains the layout of physics experiments where\nthey represent by far the best option like high energy physics collider\nexperiments. In perspective, the availability of sensors with sub-micron\nspatial resolution, in the order of a few tens of nanometres, would be a\ndisruptive change for the sensor technology with a foreseeable huge impact on\nexperiment layout and various applications of these devices. For providing such\na leap in resolution, we propose a novel design based on a purely digital\ncircuit. This disruptive concept potentially enables pixel sizes much smaller\nthan 1{\\mu}m2 and a number of advantages in terms of power consumption, readout\nspeed and reduced thickness (for low mass sensors).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A superfluid liquid helium target for low-momentum electron scattering\n experiments at the S-DALINAC: The superconducting electron accelerator S-DALINAC enables electron\nscattering experiments with low momentum transfer and high energy resolution.\nIn order to perform experiments on helium with high precision and high\nluminosity, a superfluid liquid helium target with good temperature stability\nwas developed. The functionality of this target could be confirmed and its\nproperties were characterized in a commissioning experiment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "MPPC versus MRS APD in two-phase Cryogenic Avalanche Detectors: Two-phase Cryogenic Avalanche Detectors (CRADs) with combined THGEM/GAPD\nmultiplier have become an emerging potential technique for dark matter search\nand coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering experiments. In such a multiplier the\nTHGEM hole avalanches are optically recorded in the Near Infrared (NIR) using a\nmatrix of Geiger-mode APDs (GAPDs). To select the proper sensor, the\nperformances of six GAPD types manufactured by different companies, namely by\nHamamatsu (MPPCs), CPTA (MRS APDs) and SensL (SiPMs), have been comparatively\nstudied at cryogenic temperatures when operated in two-phase CRADs in Ar at 87\nK. While the GAPDs with ceramic packages failed to operate properly at\ncryogenic temperatures, those with plastic packages, namely MPPC S10931-100P\nand MRS APD 149-35, showed satisfactory performances at 87 K. In addition, MPPC\nS10931-100P turned out to be superior in terms of the higher detection\nefficiency, lower nose rate, lower pixel quenching resistor and better\ncharacteristics reproducibility.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Time-resolved fast neutron imaging: simulation of detector performance: We have analyzed and compared the performance of two novel fast-neutron\nimaging methods with time-of-flight spectroscopy capability. Using MCNP and\nGEANT code simulations of neutron and charged-particle transport in the\ndetectors, key parameters such as detection efficiency, the amount of energy\ndeposited in the converter and the spatial resolution of both detector variants\nhave been evaluated.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "About the possibility of an international ground-based Very High Energy\n particle detector experiment in Ecuador: We discuss the possibility of hosting a big Astrophysics ground-based\nexperiment in Ecuador aimed to detect VHE particles. Ecuador location makes\npossible to see both the Northern and Southern sky. An additional geographic\nfeature is the presence of one of the highest American mountains, the\nChimborazo (6310 m.a.s.l.), that happen to be the highest point on Earth\nmeasured from the center of the planet. In the last decade Ecuadorian\ngovernment has invested resources in higher education and research, with an\nimportant policy of training abroad. The effect has been that now many\nresearchers in Physics, Astrophysics, and Engineering are working in\nuniversities across the country and collaborating with important experiments\nlike CMS at CERN, Pierre Auger in Argentina, HAWK in Mexico and in LAGO\nproject. All these features make Ecuador an ideal place to host a big VHE\nparticle detector experiment in South America.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Testing sTGC with small angle wire edges for the ATLAS New Small Wheel\n Muon Detector Upgrade: The LHC upgrade scheduled for 2018 is expected to significantly increase the\naccelerator's luminosity, and as a result the radiation background rates in the\nATLAS Muon Spectrometer will increase too. Some of its components will have to\nbe replaced in order to cope with these high rates. Newly designed small-strip\nThin Gap chambers (sTGC) will replace them at the small wheel region. One of\nthe differences between the sTGC and the currently used TGC is the alignment of\nthe wires along the azimuthal direction. As a result, the outermost wires\napproach the detector's edge with a small angle. Such a configuration may be a\ncause for various problems. Two small dedicated chambers were built and tested\nin order to study possible edge effects that may arise from the new\nconfiguration. The sTGC appears to be stable and no spark have been observed,\nyet some differences in the detector response near the edge is seen and further\nstudies should be carried out.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Prototyping an Active Neutron Veto for SuperCDMS: Neutrons, originating cosmogenically or from radioactive decays, can produce\nsignals in dark matter detectors that are indistinguishable from Weakly\nInteracting Massive Particles (WIMPs). To combat this background for the\nSuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment, we are investigating designs for an active neutron\nveto within the constrained space of the compact SuperCDMS passive shielding.\nThe current design employs an organic liquid scintillator mixed with an agent\nto enhance thermal neutron captures, with the scintillation light collected\nusing wavelength-shifting fibers and read out by silicon photo-multipliers. We\nwill describe the proposed veto and its predicted efficiency in detail and give\nsome recent results from our R&D and prototyping efforts.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Precision measurements of the scintillation pulse shape for low-energy\n recoils in liquid xenon: We present measurements of the scintillation pulse shape in liquid xenon for\nnuclear recoils (NR) and electronic recoils (ER) at electric fields of 0 to 0.5\nkV/cm for energies $<$ 15 keV and $<$ 70 keV electron-equivalent, respectively.\nThe average pulse shapes are well-described by an effective model with two\nexponential decay components, where both decay times are fit parameters. We\nfind significant broadening of the pulse for ER due to delayed luminescence\nfrom the recombination process. In addition to the effective model, we fit a\nmodel describing the recombination luminescence for ER at zero field and obtain\ngood agreement. We estimate the best performance of a combined S2/S1 and pulse\nshape ER/NR discrimination and show that even with 2 ns time resolution, the\nimprovement over S2/S1 discrimination alone is marginal, so that pulse shape\ndiscrimination will likely not be useful for future dual-phase liquid xenon\nexperiments looking for elastic dark matter recoil interactions.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Cross-spectrum Measurement of Thermal-noise Limited Oscillators: Cross-spectrum analysis is a commonly-used technique for the detection of\nphase and amplitude noise of a signal in the presence of interfering noise. It\nextracts the desired correlated noise from two time series in the presence of\nuncorrelated interfering noise. Recently, we demonstrated that the\nphase-inversion (anti-correlation) effect due to AM noise leakage can cause\ncomplete or partial collapse of the cross-spectral function. In this paper, we\ndiscuss the newly discovered effect of anti-correlated thermal noise that\noriginates from the common-mode power divider (splitter), an essential\ncomponent in a cross-spectrum noise measurement system. We studied this effect\nfor different power splitters and discuss its influence on the measurement of\nthermal-noise limited oscillators. An oscillator whose thermal noise is\nprimarily set by the 50 ohm source resistance is referred to as a\nthermally-limited oscillator. We provide theory, simulation and experimental\nresults. In addition, we expand this study to reveal how the presence of\nferrite-isolators and amplifiers at the output ports of the power splitters can\naffect the oscillator noise measurements. Finally, we discuss a possible\nsolution to overcome this problem.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Scintillation and optical properties of xenon-doped liquid argon: Liquid argon (LAr) is a common choice as detection medium in particle physics\nand rare-event searches. Challenges of LAr scintillation light detection\ninclude its short emission wavelength, long scintillation time and short\nattenuation length. The addition of small amounts of xenon to LAr is known to\nimprove the scintillation and optical properties. We present a characterization\ncampaign on xenon-doped liquid argon (XeDLAr) with target xenon concentrations\nranging from 0 to 300 ppm by mass encompassing the measurement of the\nphotoelectron yield $Y$ , effective triplet lifetime $\\tau_3$ and effective\nattenuation length $\\lambda_\\mathrm{att}$. The measurements were conducted in\nthe Subterranean Cryogenic ARgon Facility, SCARF, a 1 t (XeD)LAr test stand in\nthe shallow underground laboratory (UGL) of TU-Munich. These three\nscintillation and optical parameters were observed simultaneously with a single\nsetup, the Legend Liquid Argon Monitoring Apparatus, LLAMA. The actual xenon\nconcentrations in the liquid and gaseous phases were determined with the\nImpurity DEtector For Investigation of Xenon, IDEFIX, a mass spectrometer\nsetup, and successful doping was confirmed. At the highest dopant concentration\nwe find a doubling of $Y$ , a tenfold reduction of $\\tau_3$ to $\\sim$ 90 ns and\na tenfold increase of $\\lambda_{att}$ to over 6 m.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Digital signal processing for a thermal neutron detector using\n ZnS(Ag):6LiF scintillating layers read out with WLS fibers and SiPMs: We present a digital signal processing system based on a photon counting\napproach which we developed for a thermal neutron detector consisting of\nZnS(Ag):6LiF scintillating layers read out with WLS fibers and SiPMs. Three\ndigital filters have been evaluated: a moving sum, a moving sum after\ndifferentiation and a digital CR-RC^4 filter. The performances of the detector\nwith these filters are presented. A full analog signal processing using a\nCR-RC^4 filter has been emulated digitally. The detector performance obtained\nwith this analog approach is compared with the one obtained with the best\nperforming digital approach.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Review of Liquid Argon Detector Technologies in the Neutrino Sector: Liquid Argon (LAr) is one of the most widely used scintillators in particle\ndetection, due to its low cost, high availability and excellent scintillation\nproperties. A large number of experiments in the neutrino sector are based\naround using LAr in one or more Time Projection Chambers (TPCs), leading to\nhigh resolution three-dimensional particle reconstruction. In this paper, we\nreview and summarise a number of these Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber\n(LArTPC) experiments, and briefly describe the specific technologies that they\ncurrently employ. This includes single phase LAr experiments (ICARUS T600,\nMicroBooNE, SBND, LArIAT, DUNE-SP, ProtoDUNE-SP, ArgonCube and Vertical Drift)\nand dual phase LAr experiments (DUNE-DP, WA105, ProtoDUNE-DP and ARIADNE). We\nalso discuss some new avenues of research in the field of LArTPC readout, which\nshow potential for wide-scale use in the near future.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design, development and performance study of six-gap glass MRPC\n detectors: The Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPCs) are gas ionization detectors\nwith multiple gas sub-gaps made of resistive electrodes. The high voltage (HV)\nis applied on the outer surfaces of outermost resistive plates only, while the\ninterior plates are left electrically floating. The presence of multiple narrow\nsub--gaps with high electric field results in faster signals on the outer\nelectrodes, thus improving the detector's time resolution. Due to their\nexcellent performance and relatively low cost, the MRPC detector has found\npotential application in Time-of-Flight (TOF) systems. Here we present the\ndesign, fabrication, optimization of the operating parameters such as the HV,\nthe gas mixture composition, and, performance of six--gap glass MRPC detectors\nof area 27cm $\\times$ 27 cm, which are developed in order to find application\nas trigger detectors, in TOF measurement etc. The design has been optimized\nwith unique spacers and blockers to ensure a proper gas flow through the narrow\nsub-gaps, which are 250 $\\mu$m wide. The gas mixture consisting of R134A,\nIsobutane and SF$_{6}$, and the fraction of each constituting gases has been\noptimized after studying the MRPC performance for a set of different\nconcentrations. The counting efficiency of the MRPC is about 95% at $17.9$ kV.\nAt the same operating voltage, the time resolution, after correcting for the\nwalk effect, is found to be about $219$ ps.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A synchronization method for the multi-channel silicon telescope: A simple method is presented for the simultaneous off-line synchronization of\nthe digitally recorded data-streams from a multi-channel silicon telescope. The\nmethod is based both on the synchronization between the separate pairs of\nsilicon strips and on the synchronization relative to an external timing\ndevice. Though only a reduced subset of these constraints is necessary in ideal\ncircumstances, it is shown that this minimal set of conditions may not be\nsufficient for adequate synchronization in all cases. All available sources of\ninformation are therefore considered, in order to constrain the final\nsynchronization as well as possible.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A study of energy correction for the electron beam data in the BGO ECAL\n of the DAMPE: The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) is an orbital experiment aiming at\nsearching for dark matter indirectly by measuring the spectra of photons,\nelectrons and positrons originating from deep space. The BGO electromagnetic\ncalorimeter is one of the key sub-detectors of the DAMPE, which is designed for\nhigh energy measurement with a large dynamic range from 5 GeV to 10 TeV. In\nthis paper, some methods for energy correction are discussed and tried, in\norder to reconstruct the primary energy of the incident electrons. Different\nmethods are chosen for the appropriate energy ranges. The results of Geant4\nsimulation and beam test data (at CERN) are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High dynamic range CdTe mixed-mode pixel array detector (MM-PAD) for\n kilohertz imaging of hard x-rays: A hard x-ray, high-speed, high dynamic range scientific x-ray imager is\ndescribed. The imager is based on the mixed-mode pixel array detector (MM-PAD)\nreadout chip coupled to a 750 micron thick cadmium telluride (CdTe) sensor. The\nfull imager is a 2 x 3 tiled array of MM-PAD sensor/readout chip hybrids. CdTe\nimproves detection for high energy x-rays as compared to silicon sensors,\nenabling efficient x-ray imaging to extend to >100 keV. The detector is capable\nof 1 kHz imaging and in-pixel circuitry has been designed to allow for well\ndepths of greater than 4 x 10^{6} 80 keV x-rays. A charge integrating front-end\nallows for quantitative measurement of high flux x-ray images beyond the\ncapabilities of photon counting detectors. Detector performance is summarized\nand experimental measurements are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The ALICE TPC, a large 3-dimensional tracking device with fast readout\n for ultra-high multiplicity events: The design, construction, and commissioning of the ALICE Time-Projection\nChamber (TPC) is described. It is the main device for pattern recognition,\ntracking, and identification of charged particles in the ALICE experiment at\nthe CERN LHC. The TPC is cylindrical in shape with a volume close to 90 m^3 and\nis operated in a 0.5 T solenoidal magnetic field parallel to its axis.\n In this paper we describe in detail the design considerations for this\ndetector for operation in the extreme multiplicity environment of central\nPb--Pb collisions at LHC energy. The implementation of the resulting\nrequirements into hardware (field cage, read-out chambers, electronics),\ninfrastructure (gas and cooling system, laser-calibration system), and software\nled to many technical innovations which are described along with a presentation\nof all the major components of the detector, as currently realized. We also\nreport on the performance achieved after completion of the first round of\nstand-alone calibration runs and demonstrate results close to those specified\nin the TPC Technical Design Report.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Tracking Detector Performance and Data Quality in the NOvA Experiment: NOvA is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. It uses the NuMI\nbeam from Fermilab and two sampling calorimeter detectors located off-axis from\nthe beam. The NOvA experiment measures the rate of electron-neutrino appearance\nin the almost pure muon-neutrino NuMI beam, with the data measured at the Near\nDetector being used to accurately determine the expected rate at the Far\nDetector. It is very important to have automated and accurate monitoring of the\ndata recorded by the detectors so any hardware, DAQ or beam issues arising in\nthe 344k (20k) channels of the Far (Near) detector which could affect the\nquality of the data taking are determined. This paper will cover the techniques\nand detector monitoring systems in various stages of data taking.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design and commissioning of a timestamp-based data acquisition system\n for the DRAGON recoil mass separator: The DRAGON recoil mass separator at TRIUMF exists to study radiative proton\nand alpha capture reactions, which are important in a variety of astrophysical\nscenarios. DRAGON experiments require a data acquisition system that can be\ntriggered on either reaction product ($\\gamma$ ray or heavy ion), with the\nadditional requirement of being able to promptly recognize coincidence events\nin an online environment. To this end, we have designed and implemented a new\ndata acquisition system for DRAGON which consists of two independently\ntriggered readouts. Events from both systems are recorded with timestamps from\na $20$ MHz clock that are used to tag coincidences in the earliest possible\nstage of the data analysis. Here we report on the design, implementation, and\ncommissioning of the new DRAGON data acquisition system, including the\nhardware, trigger logic, coincidence reconstruction algorithm, and live time\nconsiderations. We also discuss the results of an experiment commissioning the\nnew system, which measured the strength of the $E_{\\text{c}.\\text{m}.} = 1113$\nkeV resonance in the $^{20}$Ne$\\left(p, \\gamma \\right)^{21}$Na radiative proton\ncapture reaction.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design and performance of a vacuum-UV simulator for material testing\n under space conditions: This paper describes the construction and performance of a VUV-simulator that\nhas been designed to study degradation of materials under space conditions. It\nis part of the Complex Irradiation Facility at DLR in Bremen, Germany, that has\nbeen built for testing of material under irradiation in the complete UV-range\nas well as under proton and electron irradiation. Presently available\nUV-sources used for material tests do not allow the irradiation with\nwavelengths smaller than about $115$ nm where common Deuterium lamps show an\nintensity cut-off. The VUV-simulator generates radiation by excitation of a\ngas-flow with an electron beam. The intensity of the radiation can be varied by\nmanipulating the gas-flow and/or the electron beam.\n The VUV simulator has been calibrated at three different gas-flow settings in\nthe range from $40$ nm to $410$ nm. The calibration has been made by the\nPhysikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Berlin. The measured spectra\nshow total irradiance intensities from $24$ to $58$ mW$\\rm{m^{-2}}$ (see Table\n4.2) in the VUV-range, i.e. for wavelengths smaller than $200$ nm. They exhibit\na large number of spectral lines generated either by the gas-flow constituents\nor by metal atoms in the residual gas which come from metals used in the source\nconstruction. In the range from $40$ nm to $120$ nm where Deuterium lamps are\nnot usable, acceleration factors of $3$ to $26.3$ Solar Constants are reached\ndepending on the gas-flow setting. The VUV-simulator allows studies of general\ndegradation effects caused by photoionization and photodissociation as well as\naccelerated degradation tests by use of intensities that are significantly\nhigher compared to that of the Sun at $1$ AU.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of ion feedback in multi-GEM structures: We study the feedback of positive ions in triple and quadruple Gas Electron\nMultiplier (GEM) detectors. The effects of GEM hole diameter, detector gain,\napplied voltages, number of GEMs and other parameters on ion feedback are\ninvestigated in detail. In particular, it was found that the ion feedback is\nindependent of the gas mixture and the pressure. In the optimized multi-GEM\nstructure, the ion feedback current can be suppressed down to 0.5% of the anode\ncurrent, at a drift field of 0.1 kV/cm and gain of 10^4. A simple model of ion\nfeedback in multi-GEM structures is suggested. The results obtained are\nrelevant to the performance of time projection chambers and gas\nphotomultipliers.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Adaptive Gain Integrating Pixel Detector at the European XFEL: The Adaptive Gain Integrating Pixel Detector (AGIPD) is an x-ray imager,\ncustom designed for the European x-ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL). It is a\nfast, low noise integrating detector, with an adaptive gain amplifier per\npixel. This has an equivalent noise of less than 1 keV when detecting single\nphotons and, when switched into another gain state, a dynamic range of more\nthan 10$^4$ photons of 12 keV. In burst mode the system is able to store 352\nimages while running at up to 6.5 MHz, which is compatible with the 4.5 MHz\nframe rate at the European XFEL. The AGIPD system was installed and\ncommissioned in August 2017, and successfully used for the first experiments at\nthe Single Particles, Clusters and Biomolecules (SPB) experimental station at\nthe European XFEL since September 2017. This paper describes the principal\ncomponents and performance parameters of the system.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Detector Development for the European XFEL: Requirements and Status: The variety of applications and especially the unique European XFEL time\nstructure will require adequate instrumentation to be developed to exploit the\nfull potential of the light source. Two-dimensional integrating X-ray detectors\nwith ultra-fast read out up to 4.5 MHz for 1024 x 1024 pixel images are under\ndevelopment for a variety of imaging applications. The actual status of the\nEuropean XFEL detector development projects is presented. Furthermore, an\noutlook will be given with respect to detector research and development,\nperformance optimization, integration, and commissioning.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Towards a precise determination of the excitation energy of the Thorium\n nuclear isomer using a magnetic bottle spectrometer: $^{229}$Th is the only known nucleus with an excited state that offers the\npossibility for a direct laser excitation using existing laser technology. Its\nexcitation energy has been measured indirectly to be 7.8(5) eV ($\\approx$160\nnm). The energy and lifetime of the isomeric state make it the presently only\nsuitable candidate for a nuclear optical clock, the uncertainty of the\nexcitation energy is, however, still too large to allow for a direct laser\nexcitation in a Paul trap. Therefore, a major goal during the past years has\nbeen an improved energy determination. One possible approach is to measure the\nkinetic energy of electrons which are emitted in the internal conversion decay\nof the first isomeric state in $^{229}$Th. For this reason an electron\nspectrometer based on a magnetic bottle combined with electrical retarding\nfields has been built. Its design, as well as first test measurements are\npresented, which reveal a relative energy resolution of 3 % and thus enable to\nmeasure the electrons' expected kinetic energy to better than 0.1 eV. This is\nsufficiently precise to specify a laser system able to drive the nuclear clock\ntransition in $^{229}$Th.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Multi-Chamber System for Analyzing the Outgassing, Deposition, and\n Associated Optical Degradation Properties of Materials in a Vacuum: We report on the Camera Materials Test Chamber, a multi-vessel apparatus\nwhich analyzes the outgassing consequences of candidate materials for use in\nthe vacuum cryostat of a new telescope camera. The system measures the\noutgassing products and rates of samples of materials at different\ntemperatures, and collects films of outgassing products to measure the effects\non light transmission in six optical bands. The design of the apparatus\nminimizes potential measurement errors introduced by background contamination.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neutron spectroscopy with the Spherical Proportional Counter: A novel large volume spherical proportional counter, recently developed, is\nused for neutron measurements. Gas mixtures of $N_{2}$ with $C_{2}H_{6}$ and\npure $N_{2}$ are studied for thermal and fast neutron detection, providing a\nnew way for the neutron spectroscopy. The neutrons are detected via the\n${}^{14}N(n, p)C^{14}$ and ${}^{14}N(n, \\alpha)B^{11}$ reactions. Here we\nprovide studies of the optimum gas mixture, the gas pressure and the most\nappropriate high voltage supply on the sensor of the detector in order to\nachieve the maximum amplification and better resolution. The detector is tested\nfor thermal and fast neutrons detection with a ${}^{252}Cf$ and a\n${}^{241}Am-{}^{9}Be$ neutron source. The atmospheric neutrons are successfully\nmeasured from thermal up to several MeV, well separated from the cosmic ray\nbackground. A comparison of the spherical proportional counter with the current\navailable neutron counters is also given.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The nucleation parameter for heavy-ion induced bubble nucleation in\n superheated emulsion detector: The values of the nucleation parameter, k, for bubble nucleation induced by\nhigh energy heavy ions 12C (180 MeV/u), 20Ne (400 MeV/u) and 28Si (350 MeV/u)\nin superheated emulsion detector are determined by comparing the experimentally\nobtained normalized count rates with those obtained from simulations done using\nthe GEANT3.21 simulation code. The results show that the nucleation parameter\ndepends on the mass number of the incident heavy ions, and decreases with\nincreasing mass number.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Exploration of Methods to Remove Implanted $^{210}$Pb and $^{210}$Po\n Contamination from Silicon Surfaces: Radioactive contaminants on the surfaces of detector components can be a\nproblematic source of background events for physics experiments searching for\nrare processes. Exposure to radon is a specific concern because it can result\nin the relatively long-lived $^{210}$Pb (and progeny) being implanted to\nsignificant subsurface depths such that removal is challenging. In this article\nwe present results from a broad exploration of cleaning treatments to remove\nimplanted $^{210}$Pb and $^{210}$Po contamination from silicon, which is an\nimportant material used in several rare-event searches. We demonstrate for the\nfirst time that heat treatments (\"baking\") can effectively mitigate such\nsurface contamination, with the results of a 1200 $^{\\circ}$C bake consistent\nwith perfect removal. We also report results using wet-chemistry and\nplasma-based methods, which show that etching can be highly effective provided\nthe etch depth is sufficiently aggressive. Our survey of cleaning methods\nsuggests consideration of multiple approaches during the different phases of\ndetector construction to enable greater flexibility for efficient removal of\n$^{210}$Pb and $^{210}$Po surface contamination", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Detection limit of a lutetium based non-paralizable PET detector: The effect of the intrinsic lutetium radioactivity on the detection\nperformances of a LYSO based in-beam PET prototype used for quality control of\nhadron therapy treatments is studied. This radioactivity leads to a background\nthat degrades the measurement of the $\\beta$ + signal. In particular, it\nprevents the measurement of faint signals originating from low activity $\\beta$\n+ sources. This paper presents a method to estimate the minimum $\\beta$ +\nactivity that can be measured for any acquisition time taking into account the\nnon-extensible dead time of the detector. This method is illustrated with\nexperimental data collected with the in-beam PET prototype. The results\npresented in this paper are therefore specific to this detector. The method can\nhowever be applied in other contexts, either to other lutetium based PET\ndetectors or even to non-PET detectors affected by lutetium radioactivity. The\ndead time correction formalism can also be used generally to scale signal and\nbackground yields in any non-paralizable detector, even those in which the\nbackground is not due to the presence of intrinsic radioactivity.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A 10 MHz beam counter and a multiplicity detector for the E864\n spectrometer: The E864 experiment at BNL requires a beam counter and multiplicity detector\nsystem that can perform at an incident beam rate of 10^7 Au ions per second. We\nhave developed and tested a 150 micrometer thick quartz Cherenkov beam counter\nand a scintillator based multiplicity-trigger counter during the first run of\nthis experiment in 1994. We obtained a time resolution of 78 ps for the beam\ncounter at an incident beam rate 5 x 10^5 Hz and 100 ps at a rate of 1 x 10^7\nHz. Pulse height discrimination is used to obtain a minimum bias and a 10%\ncentrality trigger from the multiplicity detectors. The multiplicity counter\nhas a time resolution of 250 ps.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Effects, Determination, and Correction of Count Rate Nonlinearity in\n Multi-Channel Analog Electron Detectors: Detector counting rate nonlinearity, though a known problem, is commonly\nignored in the analysis of angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy where\nmodern multichannel electron detection schemes using analog intensity scales\nare used. We focus on a nearly ubiquitous \"inverse saturation\" nonlinearity\nthat makes the spectra falsely sharp and beautiful. These artificially enhanced\nspectra limit accurate quantitative analysis of the data, leading to mistaken\nspectral weights, Fermi energies, and peak widths. We present a method to\nrapidly detect and correct for this nonlinearity. This algorithm could be\napplicable for a wide range of nonlinear systems, beyond photoemission\nspectroscopy.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Fault Localization in a Microfabricated Surface Ion Trap using Diamond\n Nitrogen-Vacancy Center Magnetometry: As quantum computing hardware becomes more complex with ongoing design\ninnovations and growing capabilities, the quantum computing community needs\nincreasingly powerful techniques for fabrication failure root-cause analysis.\nThis is especially true for trapped-ion quantum computing. As trapped-ion\nquantum computing aims to scale to thousands of ions, the electrode numbers are\ngrowing to several hundred with likely integrated-photonic components also\nadding to the electrical and fabrication complexity, making faults even harder\nto locate. In this work, we used a high-resolution quantum magnetic imaging\ntechnique, based on nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond, to investigate\nshort-circuit faults in an ion trap chip. We imaged currents from these\nshort-circuit faults to ground and compared to intentionally-created faults,\nfinding that the root-cause of the faults was failures in the on-chip trench\ncapacitors. This work, where we exploited the performance advantages of a\nquantum magnetic sensing technique to troubleshoot a piece of quantum computing\nhardware, is a unique example of the evolving synergy between emerging quantum\ntechnologies to achieve capabilities that were previously inaccessible.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Multi-messenger observations of thunderstorm-related bursts of cosmic\n rays: We present the facilities of the Aragats Space Environmental Center in\nArmenia used during multi-year observations of the thunderstorm ground\nenhancements (TGEs) and corresponding environmental parameters. We analyze the\ncharacteristics of the scintillation detectors, operated on Aragats, and\ndescribe the coordinated detection of TGEs by the network of scintillation\ndetectors, field meters, and environmental parameters. By using a fast\nsynchronized data acquisition system we reveal correlations of the multivariate\ndata on time scales from second to nanosecond which allow us to gain insight\ninto the TGE and lightning origin and their interrelations.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Spin flip loss in magnetic confinement of ultracold neutrons for neutron\n lifetime experiments: We analyze the spin flip loss for ultracold neutrons in magnetic bottles of\nthe type used in experiments aiming at a precise measurement of the neutron\nlifetime, extending the one-dimensional field model used previously by Steyerl\n$\\textit{et al.}$ [Phys.Rev.C $\\mathbf{86}$, 065501 (2012)] to two dimensions\nfor cylindrical multipole fields. We also develop a general analysis applicable\nto three dimensions. Here we apply it to multipole fields and to the bowl-type\nfield configuration used for the Los Alamos UCN$\\tau$ experiment. In all cases\nconsidered the spin flip loss calculated exceeds the Majorana estimate by many\norders of magnitude but can be suppressed sufficiently by applying a holding\nfield of appropriate magnitude to allow high-precision neutron lifetime\nmeasurements, provided other possible sources of systematic error are under\ncontrol.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Proton irradiation results for long-wave HgCdTe infrared detector arrays\n for NEOCam: HgCdTe detector arrays with a cutoff wavelength of ~10 ${\\mu}$m intended for\nthe NEOCam space mission were subjected to proton beam irradiation at the\nUniversity of California Davis Crocker Nuclear Laboratory. Three arrays were\ntested - one with 800 $\\mu$m substrate intact, one with 30 $\\mu$m substrate,\nand one completely substrate-removed. The CdZnTe substrate, on which the HgCdTe\ndetector is grown, has been shown to produce luminescence in shorter wave\nHgCdTe arrays that causes elevated signal in non-hit pixels when subjected to\nproton irradiation. This testing was conducted to ascertain whether or not full\nsubstrate removal is necessary. At the dark level of the dewar, we detect no\nluminescence in non-hit pixels during proton testing for both the\nsubstrate-removed detector array and the array with 30 ${\\mu}$m substrate. The\ndetector array with full 800 ${\\mu}$m substrate exhibited substantial\nphotocurrent for a flux of 103 protons/cm$^2$-s at a beam energy of 18.1 MeV (~\n750 e$^-$/s) and 34.4 MeV ($\\sim$ 65 e$^-$/s). For the integrated space-like\nambient proton flux level measured by the Spitzer Space Telescope, the\nluminescence would be well below the NEOCam dark current requirement of <200\ne$^-$/s, but the pattern of luminescence could be problematic, possibly\ncomplicating calibration.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development and test of a real-size MRPC for CBM-TOF: In the CBM (Compressed Baryonic Matter) experiment constructed at the\nFacility for Anti-proton and Ion Research (Fair) at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany,\nMRPC(Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber) is adopted to construct the large TOF\n(Time-of-Flight) system to achieve an unprecedented precision of hadron\nidentification, benefiting from its good time resolution, relatively high\nefficiency and low building price. We have developed a kind of double-ended\nreadout strip MRPC. It uses low resistive glass to keep good performance of\ntime resolution under high-rate condition. The differential double stack\nstructure of 2x4 gas gaps help to reduce the required high voltage to half.\nThere are 24 strips on one counter, and each is 270mm long, 7mm wide and the\ninterval is 3mm. Ground is placed onto the MRPC electrode and feed through is\ncarefully designed to match the 100 Ohm impedance of PADI electronics. The\nprototype of this strip MRPC has been tested with cosmic ray, a 98% efficiency\nand 60ps time resolution is gotten. In order to further examine the performance\nof the detector working under higher particle flux rate, the prototype has been\ntested in the 2014 October GSI beam time and 2015 February CERN beam time. In\nboth beam times a relatively high rate of 1 kHz/cm2 was obtained. The\ncalibration is done with CBM ROOT. A couple of corrections has been considered\nin the calibration and analysis process (including time-walk correction, gain\ncorrection, strip alignment correction and velocity correction) to access\nactual counter performances such as efficiency and time resolution. An\nefficiency of 97% and time resolution of 48ps are obtained. All these results\nshow that the real-size prototype is fully capable of the requirement of the\nCBM-TOF, and new designs such as self-sealing are modified into the strip\ncounter prototype to obtain even better performance.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "On the use of ferroelectric material in the detection of dark matter\n axions: Tuning is an essential requirement for the search of dark matter axions\nemploying haloscopes since its mass is not known yet to the scientific\ncommunity. At the present day, most haloscope tuning systems are based on\nmechanical devices which can lead to failures due to the complexity of the\nenvironment in which they are used. However, the electronic tuning making use\nof ferroelectric materials can provide a path that is less vulnerable to\nmechanical failures and thus complements and expands current tuning systems. In\nthis work, we present and design a novel concept for using the ferroelectric\nPotassium Tantalate ($KTaO_3$ or KTO) material as a tuning element in\nhaloscopes based on coupled microwave cavities. In this line, the structures\nused in the Relic Axion Detector Exploratory Setup (RADES) group are based on\nseveral cavities that are connected by metallic irises, which act as\ninterresonator coupling elements. In this article, we also show how to use\nthese $KTaO_3$ films as interresonator couplings between cavities, instead of\ninductive or capacitive metallic windows used in the past. These two concepts\nrepresent a crucial upgrade over the current systems employed in the dark\nmatter axions community, achieving a tuning range of $2.23 \\, \\%$ which\nrepresents a major improvement as compared to previous works ($<0.1 \\, \\%$) for\nthe same class of tuning systems. The theoretical and simulated results shown\nin this work demonstrate the interest of the novel concepts proposed for the\nincorporation of this kind of ferroelectric media in multicavity resonant\nhaloscopes in the search for dark matter axions.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "X-ray Metrology of an Array of Active Edge Pixel Sensors for Use at\n Synchrotron Light Sources: We report on the production of an array of active edge silicon sensors as a\nprototype of a large array. Four Medipix3RX.1 chips were bump bonded to four\nsingle chip sized Advacam active edge n-on-n sensors. These detectors were then\nmounted into a 2 by 2 array and tested on B16 at Diamond Light Source with an\nx-ray beam spot of 2um. The results from these tests, compared with optical\nmetrology give confidence that these sensors are sensitive to the physical edge\nof the sensor, with only a modest loss of efficiency in the final two rows of\npixels. We present the efficiency maps recorded with the microfocus beam and a\nsample powder diffraction measurement. These results give confidence that this\nsensor technology can be used in much larger arrays of detectors at synchrotron\nlight sources.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR Readout Electronics System: The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR comprises two arrays of high-purity germanium\ndetectors constructed to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay in 76-Ge and\nother physics beyond the Standard Model. Its readout electronics were designed\nto have low electronic noise, and radioactive backgrounds were minimized by\nusing low-mass components and low-radioactivity materials near the detectors.\nThis paper provides a description of all components of the MAJORANA\nDEMONSTRATOR readout electronics, spanning the front-end electronics and\ninternal cabling, back-end electronics, digitizer, and power supplies, along\nwith the grounding scheme. The spectroscopic performance achieved with these\nreadout electronics is also demonstrated.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development and commissioning of the Timing Counter for the MEG\n Experiment: The Timing Counter of the MEG (Mu to Electron Gamma) experiment is designed\nto deliver trigger information and to accurately measure the timing of the\n$e^+$ in searching for the decay $\\mu^+ \\rightarrow e^+\\gamma$. It is part of a\nmagnetic spectrometer with the $\\mu^+$ decay target in the center. It consists\nof two sectors upstream and downstream the target, each one with two layers:\nthe inner one made with scintillating fibers read out by APDs for trigger and\ntrack reconstruction, the outer one consisting in scintillating bars read out\nby PMTs for trigger and time measurement. The design criteria, the obtained\nperformances and the commissioning of the detector are presented herein.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "First measurement of surface nuclear recoil background for argon dark\n matter searches: One major background in direct searches for weakly interacting massive\nparticles (WIMPs) comes from the deposition of radon progeny on detector\nsurfaces. The most dangerous surface background is the $^{206}$Pb recoils\nproduced by $^{210}$Po decays. In this letter, we report the first\ncharacterization of this background in liquid argon. The scintillation signal\nof low energy Pb recoils is measured to be highly quenched in argon, and we\nestimate that the 103keV $^{206}$Pb recoil background will produce a signal\nequal to that of a ~5keV (30keV) electron recoil ($^{40}$Ar recoil). In\naddition, we demonstrate that this dangerous $^{210}$Po surface background can\nbe suppressed by a factor of ~100 or higher using pulse shape discrimination\nmethods, which can make argon dark matter detectors near background-free and\nenhance their potential for discovery of medium- and high-mass WIMPs. We also\ndiscuss the impact on other low background experiments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "One-dimensional Modelling of Electrostatic Generation and Detection of\n Bulk Acoustic Waves in layered structures: This paper is devoted to the unidimensional analysis of a 2-ports silicon\nresonator vibrating in thickness--extensional mode. Both excitation and\ndetection ports are capacitive transducers used to control the system of\nlongitudinal elastic waves established along the thickness of a layered\nstructure. The analysis consists of integrating the capacitive transduction of\nlongitudinal elastic waves within a specific implementation of the general\nscheme of impedance methods largely used as standard tools for the modelling of\nRF-MEMS.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Aging Study of RPC's for the SiD Hcal and Muon System: Preliminary test results on microscope investigation and BESIII-type RPC\naging performance have revealed interesting aging phenomena that had not been\nseen before in Linseed oil coated Italian-type RPC. We report here on the aging\nperformance of BESIII-type and its variant RPC, and on microscopic surface\ncharacterization of BESIII-type Bakelite electrodes.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Lithium-loaded Liquid Scintillator Production for the PROSPECT\n experiment: This work reports the production and characterization of lithium-loaded\nliquid scintillator (LiLS) for the Precision Reactor Oscillation and Spectrum\nExperiment (PROSPECT). Fifty-nine 90 liter batches of LiLS (${}^6{\\rm Li}$ mass\nfraction 0.082%$\\pm$0.001%) were produced and samples from all batches were\ncharacterized by measuring their optical absorbance relative to air, light\nyield relative to a pure liquid scintillator reference, and pulse shape\ndiscrimination capability. Fifty-seven batches passed the quality assurance\ncriteria and were used for the PROSPECT experiment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Assembly and bench testing of a spiral fiber tracker for the J-PARC\n TREK/E36 experiment: This study presents the recent progress made in developing a spiral fiber\ntracker (SFT) for use in the experiment TREK/E36 planned at the Japan Proton\nAccelerator Research Complex. This kaon decay experiment uses a stopped\npositive kaon beam to search for physics beyond the Standard Model through\nprecision measurements of lepton universality and through searches for a heavy\nsterile neutrino and a dark photon. Detecting and tracking positrons and\npositive muons from kaon decays are of importance in achieving high-precision\nmeasurements; therefore, we designed and are developing the new tracking\ndetector using a scintillating fiber. The SFT was completely assembled, and in\na bench test, no dead channel was determined.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Piggyback resistive Micromegas: A novel read-out architecture has been developed for the Micromegas detector.\nThe anode element is made of a resistive layer on a ceramic substrate. The\ndetector part is entirely separated from the read-out element. Without\nsignificant loss, signals are transmitted by capacitive coupling to the\nread-out pads. The detector provides high gas gain, good energy resolution and\nthe resistive layer assures spark protection to the electronics. This assembly\ncould be combined with modern pixel array electronic ASICs. This readout\norganization is free on how the pixels are designed, arranged and connected. We\npresent first results taken with a MediPix read-out chip.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Conservation of Helium while Maintaining High System Purity: Recent helium shortages and helium price increases have lead to an increased\nemphasis being placed on conserving helium. The need to conserve helium must be\nbalanced with need to maintain the high levels of purity necessary to prevent\noperational problems caused by contamination. Helium losses and contamination\ncontrol are especially important for test stands that have cryogenic\ndistribution systems operating continuously with frequent changeover of\ncryogenic temperature components that are being tested. This paper describes a\nmathematical model to estimate the quantity of helium lost and the purity of\nthe helium after the pump and backfill procedure is complete. The process to\ndetermine the optimal time during pump down to cut off pumping and start\nbackfilling is described. There is a tradeoff between trying to achieve the\nlowest possible pressure during pumping and the quantity of air leaking into\nthe volume while pumping is occurring. An additional benefit of careful\nselection of pump and backfill parameters in conjunction with real-time\npressure monitoring can reduce the labor and time required to complete a\nsuccessful pump and backfill procedure. This paper is intended to be a tool for\nengineers to review their pump and backfill procedures and measured data to\noptimize helium losses, system purity, and labor required.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Ion detector for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry based on low-pressure TPC\n with THGEM readout: A new technique for ion identification in Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS)\nhas been proposed by measuring the ion track ranges using a low-pressure TPC.\nAs a proof of principle, a low-pressure TPC with charge readout using a THGEM\nmultiplier was developed. The tracks of alpha particles from various\nradioactive sources were successfully recorded in the TPC. The track ranges\nwere measured with a high accuracy, reaching the 2% resolution level. Using\nthese results and the SRIM code simulation, it is shown that the isobaric boron\nand beryllium ions can be effectively separated at ten sigma level. It is\nexpected that this technique will be applied in the AMS facility in Novosibirsk\nfor dating geological objects, in particular for the geochronology of Cenozoic\nEra.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Comparing unloaded Q-factor of a high-Q dielectric resonator measured\n using the transmission mode and reflection mode methods involving S-parameter\n circle fitting: A comparative study of unloaded Q-factor measurements of a TE011 mode\nsapphire dielectric resonator with unloaded Q-factor value of 731,000 at a\nfrequency of 10 GHz and temperature of 65 K using two best Q-factor measurement\nmethods are presented. The Transmission (TMQF) and Reflection methods are based\non relevant multi-frequency S-parameter measurements and circle fitting\nprocedures to compute the unloaded Q-factor of the resonator. For accurate\ncomparison of the methods a delay compensation procedure (introduced in the\nTMQF technique to remove delay due to non-calibrated cables) has been applied\nalso to the reflection data.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "GEANT4 simulation of the neutron background of the C$_6$D$_6$ set-up for\n capture studies at n_TOF: The neutron sensitivity of the C$_6$D$_6$ detector setup used at n_TOF for\ncapture measurements has been studied by means of detailed GEANT4 simulations.\nA realistic software replica of the entire n_TOF experimental hall, including\nthe neutron beam line, sample, detector supports and the walls of the\nexperimental area has been implemented in the simulations. The simulations have\nbeen analyzed in the same manner as experimental data, in particular by\napplying the Pulse Height Weighting Technique. The simulations have been\nvalidated against a measurement of the neutron background performed with a\n$^\\mathrm{nat}$C sample, showing an excellent agreement above 1 keV. At lower\nenergies, an additional component in the measured $^\\mathrm{nat}$C yield has\nbeen discovered, which prevents the use of $^\\mathrm{nat}$C data for neutron\nbackground estimates at neutron energies below a few hundred eV. The origin and\ntime structure of the neutron background have been derived from the\nsimulations. Examples of the neutron background for two different samples are\ndemonstrating the important role of accurate simulations of the neutron\nbackground in capture cross section measurements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A hybrid silicon-sapphire cryogenic Fabry-Perot cavity using hydroxide\n catalysis bonding: The third-generation gravitational wave detectors are under development by\noperating the detector in cryogenic temperature to reduce the thermal noise.\nSilicon and sapphire are promising candidate materials for the test masses and\nsuspension elements due to their remarkable mechanical and thermal properties\nat cryogenic temperature. Here we present the performances of the cryogenic\nthermal cycling and strength testing on hydroxide catalysis bonding between\nsapphire and silicon. Our results suggest that although these two materials\nhave very different coefficients of thermal expansion, but if the flatness and\nthe thermally grown $\\mathrm{SiO_2}$ oxidation layer on the silicon surface are\ncontrolled well, the bonded samples can still survive thermal cycling from room\ntemperature to 5.5 K. A breaking strength of 3.6$\\pm 0.6$ MPa is measured for\nthe bonds between sapphire and silicon with a 190 nm silicon oxidation\nthickness after cooling cycle. We construct a hybrid sapphire-silicon\nFabry-Perot cavity with the developing bonding technique in our lab. The\nmeasurement results reveal that the cavity can survive repeated thermal cycling\nwhile maintaining a good finesse.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Designing an upgrade of the Medley setup for light-ion production and\n fission cross-section measurements: Measurements of neutron-induced fission cross sections and light-ion\nproduction are planned in the energy range 1-40 MeV at the upcoming Neutrons\nFor Science (NFS) facility. In order to prepare our detector setup for the\nneutron beam with continuous energy spectrum, a simulation software was written\nusing the Geant4 toolkit for both measurement situations. The neutron energy\nrange around 20 MeV is troublesome when it comes to the cross sections used by\nGeant4 since data-driven cross sections are only available below 20 MeV but not\nabove, where they are based on semi-empirical models. Several customisations\nwere made to the standard classes in Geant4 in order to produce consistent\nresults over the whole simulated energy range.\n Expected uncertainties are reported for both types of measurements. The\nsimulations have shown that a simultaneous precision measurement of the three\nstandard cross sections H(n,n), $^{235}$U(n,f) and $^{238}$U(n,f) relative to\neach other is feasible using a triple layered target. As high resolution timing\ndetectors for fission fragments we plan to use Parallel Plate Avalanche\nCounters (PPACs). The simulation results have put some restrictions on the\ndesign of these detectors as well as on the target design. This study suggests\na fissile target no thicker than 2 micrometers (1.7 mg/cm$^2$) and a PPAC foil\nthickness preferably less than 1 micrometer. We also comment on the usability\nof Geant4 for simulation studies of neutron reactions in this energy range.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Nuclear-recoil energy scale in CDMS II silicon dark-matter detectors: The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment aims to detect dark\nmatter particles that elastically scatter from nuclei in semiconductor\ndetectors. The resulting nuclear-recoil energy depositions are detected by\nionization and phonon sensors. Neutrons produce a similar spectrum of\nlow-energy nuclear recoils in such detectors, while most other backgrounds\nproduce electron recoils. The absolute energy scale for nuclear recoils is\nnecessary to interpret results correctly. The energy scale can be determined in\nCDMS II silicon detectors using neutrons incident from a broad-spectrum\n$^{252}$Cf source, taking advantage of a prominent resonance in the neutron\nelastic scattering cross section of silicon at a recoil (neutron) energy near\n20 (182) keV. Results indicate that the phonon collection efficiency for\nnuclear recoils is $4.8^{+0.7}_{-0.9}$% lower than for electron recoils of the\nsame energy. Comparisons of the ionization signals for nuclear recoils to those\nmeasured previously by other groups at higher electric fields indicate that the\nionization collection efficiency for CDMS II silicon detectors operated at\n$\\sim$4 V/cm is consistent with 100% for nuclear recoils below 20 keV and\ngradually decreases for larger energies to $\\sim$75% at 100 keV. The impact of\nthese measurements on previously published CDMS II silicon results is small.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Instrumentation for correlated prompt $n$-$\u03b3$ emission studies in\n coincidence with fission fragments: Recent theoretical and experimental results have brought renewed interest and\nfocus on the topic of fission fragment angular momentum. Measurements of\nneutrons and $\\gamma$ rays in coincidence with fission fragments remain the\nmost valuable tool in the exploration of fission physics. To achieve these\nscientific goals, we have developed a system that combines a state-of-the-art\nfission fragment detector and $n$-$\\gamma$ radiation detectors. A new twin\nFrisch-gridded ionization chamber has been designed and constructed for use\nwith a spontaneous fission source and an array of forty \\textit{trans}-stilbene\norganic scintillators (FS-3) at Argonne National Laboratory. The new ionization\nchamber design we present in this work aims at minimizing particle attenuation\nin the chamber walls, and provides a compact apparatus that can be fit inside\nexisting experimental systems. The ionization chamber is capable of measuring\nfission fragment masses and kinetic energies, whereas the FS-3 provides neutron\nand gamma-ray multiplicities and spectra. The details of both detector assembly\nare presented along with the first experimental results of this setup. Planned\nevent-by-event analysis and future experiments are briefly discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Single dot photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy in the\n telecommunication spectral range: Single dot photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy provides an insight into\nenergy structure of individual quantum dots, energy transfer processes within\nand between the dots and their surroundings. The access to single dot energy\nstructure is vital for further development of telecom-based quantum emitters,\nlike single photon sources or entangled pair of photons. However, application\nof single dot photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy is limited mainly to\ndots emitting below 1 $\\mu$m, while nanostructures optically active in the\ntelecommunication windows of 1.3 and 1.55 $\\mu$m are of particular interest, as\nthey correspond to the desirable wavelengths in nanophotonic applications. This\nreport presents an approach to photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy\ncovering this application-relevant spectral range on single dot level.\nExperimental details are discussed, including issues related to the tunable\nexcitation source and its spectral filtering, and illustrated with examples of\nphotoluminescence excitation spectroscopy results from single quantum dots\nemitting in both the 1.3 and 1.55 $\\mu$m spectral ranges.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Thermoluminescent characteristics of LiF:Mg,Cu,P and CaSO$_4$:Dy for low\n dose measurement: Thermoluminescence (TL) characteristics for LiF:Mg,Cu,P, and CaSO$_4$:Dy\nunder the homogeneous field of X-ray beams of diagnostic irradiation and its\nverification using thermoluminescence dosimetry is presented. The irradiation\nwere performed utilizing a conventional X-ray equipment installed at the\nHospital Ju\\'arez Norte of M\\'exico. Different thermoluminescence\ncharacteristics of two material were studied, such as batch homogeneity, glow\ncurve, linearity, detection threshold, reproducibility, relative sensitivity\nand fading. Materials were calibrated in terms of absorbed dose to the standard\ncalibration distance and they were positioned in a generic phantom. The dose\nanalysis, verification and comparison with the measurements obtained by the\nTLD-100 were performed. Results indicate that the dosimetric peak appears at\n202$^o$C and 277.5$^o$C for LiF:Mg,Cu,P and CaSO$_4$:Dy, respectively. TL\nresponse as a function of X-ray dose showed a linearity behavior in the very\nlow dose range for all materials. However, the TLD-100 is not accurate for\nmeasurements below $4mGy$. CaSO$_4$:Dy is 80\\% more sensitive than TLD-100 and\nit show the lowest detection threshold, whereas LiF:Mg,Cu,P is 60\\% more\nsensitive than TLD-100. All material showed very good repeatability. Fading for\na period of one month at room temperature showed low fading LiF:Mg,Cu,P, medium\nand high for TLD-100 and CaSO$_4$:Dy. The results suggest that CaSO$_4$:Dy and\nLiF:Mg,Cu,P are suitable for measurements at low doses used in radiodiagnostic.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Using deep neural networks to improve the precision of fast-sampled\n particle timing detectors: Measurements from particle timing detectors are often affected by the time\nwalk effect caused by statistical fluctuations in the charge deposited by\npassing particles. The constant fraction discriminator (CFD) algorithm is\nfrequently used to mitigate this effect both in test setups and in running\nexperiments, such as the CMS-PPS system at the CERN's LHC. The CFD is simple\nand effective but does not leverage all voltage samples in a time series. Its\nperformance could be enhanced with deep neural networks, which are commonly\nused for time series analysis, including computing the particle arrival time.\nWe evaluated various neural network architectures using data acquired at the\ntest beam facility in the DESY-II synchrotron, where a precise MCP\n(MicroChannel Plate) detector was installed in addition to PPS diamond timing\ndetectors. MCP measurements were used as a reference to train the networks and\ncompare the results with the standard CFD method. Ultimately, we improved the\ntiming precision by 8% to 23%, depending on the detector's readout channel. The\nbest results were obtained using a UNet-based model, which outperformed\nclassical convolutional networks and the multilayer perceptron.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "30Si Mole Fraction of a Silicon Material Highly Enriched in 28Si\n Determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis: The latest determination of the Avogadro constant, carried out by counting\nthe atoms in a pure silicon crystal highly enriched in 28Si, reached the target\n2x10-8 relative uncertainty required for the redefinition of the kilogram based\non the Planck constant. The knowledge of the isotopic composition of the\nenriched silicon material is central; it is measured by isotope dilution mass\nspectrometry. In this work, an independent estimate of the 30Si mole fraction\nwas obtained by applying a relative measurement protocol based on Instrumental\nNeutron Activation Analysis. The amount of 30Si isotope was determined by\ncounting the 1266.1 keV gamma-photons emitted during the radioactive decay of\nthe radioisotope 31Si produced via the neutron capture reaction\n30Si(n,gamma)31Si. The x(30Si) = 1.043(19)x10-6 mol mol-1 is consistent with\nthe value currently adopted by the International Avogadro Coordination.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "About Quartz Crystal Resonator Noise: Recent Study: The first step, before investigating physical origins of noise in resonators,\nis to investigate correlations between external measurement parameters and the\nresonator noise. Tests and measurements are mainly performed on an advanced\nphase noise measurement system, recently set up. The resonator noise is\nexamined as a function of the sensitivity to the drive level, the temperature\noperating point and the tuning capacitor.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Gyrotrons for High-Power Terahertz Science and Technology at FIR UF: In this paper, we present the recent progress in the development of a series\nof gyrotrons at FIR UF that have opened the road to many novel applications in\nthe high-power Terahertz science and technology. The current status of the\nresearch in this actively developing field is illustrated by the most\nrepresentative examples in which the developed gyrotrons are used as powerful\nand frequency tunable sources of coherent radiation operating in a CW regime.\nAmong them are high-precision spectroscopic techniques (most notably DNP-NMR,\nESR, XDMR, and studies of the hyperfine splitting of the energy levels of\npositronium), treatment and characterization of advanced materials, new medical\ntechnologies.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Materials & Properties: Mechanical Behaviour: All systems are expected to be designed to fulfil their functions over their\nrequested lifetime. Nevertheless, failure of a system may occur, and this is\nunfortunately, true also for vacuum systems. From a mechanical point of view,\nbuckling, leak by fatigue crack propagation, rupture of a fixed support under\nunbalanced vacuum force... may happen. To well understand and anticipate the\nbehaviour of a structure, it is mandatory to first understand the mechanical\nbehaviour of materials as well as their failure modes. This is presented in a\nfirst part of the document. Then, the structural behaviour of a vacuum system\nand its relationship with the material properties is discussed. Finally,\nguidelines for the material selection for a given application are roughed out.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Verification of He-3 proportional counters fast neutron sensitivity\n through a comparison with He-4 detectors: In the field of neutron scattering science, a large variety of instruments\nrequire detectors for thermal and cold neutrons. Helium-3 has been one of the\nmain actors in thermal and cold neutron detection for many years. Nowadays\nneutron facilities around the world are pushing their technologies to increase\nthe available flux delivered at the instruments, this enables a completely new\nscience landscape. Complementary with the increasing available flux, a better\nsignal-to-background ratio (S/B) enables to perform new types of measurements.\nTo this aim, this manuscript re-examines the background sensitivity of today's\n\"gold standard\" neutron detection. Fast neutrons and gamma-rays are the main\nbackground species in neutron scattering experiments. The efficiency\n(sensitivity) of detecting fast neutrons, cosmic rays and gamma-rays, for a\nHelium-3-based detector is studied here through the comparison with Helium-4\ncounters. The comparison to Helium-4 allows to separate the thermal (and cold)\nneutron to the fast neutron contributions in Helium-3-based counters, which are\notherwise entangled; verifying previous results from an indirect method. A\nrelatively high sensitivity is found. Moreover, an estimate for the cosmic\nneutron fluence, also a source of background, at ground level at ESS is\npresented in this manuscript.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A portable muon telescope for multidisciplinary applications: Muon tomography or muography is an emerging imaging technique that uses\ncosmogenic muons as the radiation source. Due to its diverse range of\napplications and the use of natural radiation, muography is being applied\nacross many fields such as geology, archaeology, civil engineering, nuclear\nreactor monitoring, nuclear waste characterization, underground surveys, etc.\nMuons can be detected using various detector technologies, among which,\nresistive plate chambers (RPC) are a very cost effective choice. RPCs are\nplanar detectors which use ionization in a thin gas gap to detect cosmic muons,\nalready used since years in major particle accelerator experiments.\n We have developed a muon telescope (or muoscope) composed of small scale\nRPCs. The design goal for our muoscope is to be portable and autonomous, in\norder to take data in places that are not easily accessible. The whole setup is\nlight and compact, such to be easily packed in a car trunk. Individual RPCs are\nhosted in gas-tight aluminium cases. There is no need for gas bottles, once the\nchambers are filled. The muoscope can be controlled from a reasonable distance\nusing wireless connection.\n In this paper, we summarize the guiding principles of our project and present\nsome recent developments and future prospects, including a long-term stability\nstudy of the resistivity of the semiconductive coating obtained with\nserigraphy.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Intrinsic Radiation in Lutetium Based PET Detector: Advantages and\n Disadvantages: Lutetium (Lu) based scintillators such as LSO and LYSO, are widely used in\nmodern PET detectors due to their high stopping power for 511 keV gamma rays,\nhigh light yield and short decay time. However, 2.6% of naturally occurring Lu\nis 176Lu, a long-lived radioactive element including a beta decay and three\nmajor simultaneous gamma decays. This phenomenon introduces random events to\nPET systems that affects the system performance. On the other hand, the\nadvantages of intrinsic radiation of 176Lu (IRL) continues to be exploited. In\nthis paper, research literatures about IRL in PET detectors are reviewed.\nDetails about the adverse effects of IRL to PET and their solutions, as well as\nthe useful applications are presented and discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The role of kinetic inductance on the performance of YBCO SQUID\n magnetometers: Inductance is a key parameter when optimizing the performance of\nsuperconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometers made from the\nhigh temperature superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-x}$ (YBCO) because lower\nSQUID inductance $L$ leads to lower flux noise, but also weaker coupling to the\npickup loop. In order to optimize the SQUID design, we combine inductance\nsimulations and measurements to extract the different inductance contributions,\nand measure the dependence of the transfer function $V_{\\Phi}$ and flux noise\n$S_\\Phi^{1/2}$ on $L$. A comparison between two samples shows that the kinetic\ninductance contribution varies strongly with film quality, hence making\ninductance measurements a crucial part of the SQUID characterization. Thanks to\nthe improved estimation of the kinetic inductance contribution, previously\nfound discrepancies between theoretical estimates and measured values of\n$V_{\\Phi}$ and $S_\\Phi^{1/2}$ could to a large extent be avoided. We then use\nthe measurements and improved theoretical estimations to optimize the SQUID\ngeometry and reach a noise level of $S_B^{1/2}$ = 44 fT/$\\sqrt{\\textrm{Hz}}$\nfor the best SQUID magnetometer with a 8.6 mm $\\times$ 9.2 mm directly coupled\npickup loop. Lastly, we demonstrate a method for reliable one-time sensor\ncalibration that is constant in a temperature range of several kelvin despite\nthe presence of temperature dependent coupling contributions, such as the\nkinetic inductance. The found variability of the kinetic inductance\ncontribution has implications not only for the design of YBCO SQUID\nmagnetometers, but for all narrow linewidth SQUID-based devices operated close\nto their critical temperature.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Sensitivity optimization of micro-machined thermo-resistive flow-rate\n sensors on silicon substrates: We report on an optimized micro-machined thermal flow-rate sensor as part of\nan autonomous multi-parameter sensing device for water network monitoring. The\nsensor has been optimized under the following constraints: low power\nconsumption and high sensitivity, while employing a large thermal conductivity\nsubstrate, namely silicon. The resulting device consists of a platinum\nresistive heater deposited on a thin silicon pillar ~ 100 $\\mu$m high and 5\n$\\mu$m wide in the middle of a nearly 100 $\\mu$m wide cavity. Operated under\nthe anemometric scheme, the reported sensor shows a larger sensitivity in the\nvelocity range up to 1 m/s compared to different sensors based on similar high\nconductivity substrates such as bulk silicon or silicon membrane with a power\nconsumption of 44 mW. Obtained performances are assessed with both CFD\nsimulation and experimental characterization.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Towards a Total Cross Section Measurement with the ALFA Detector at\n ATLAS: The main goals of the Absolute Luminosity For ATLAS (ALFA) detector is to\nprovide an absolute luminosity and total cross section measurement. The\nmeasurement method used, the detector alignment and the quality of the\ncollected data are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Proof-of-principle for Time-Of-Flight Positron Emission Tomography\n Imaging: Time-Of-Flight (TOF) is a noble technique that is used in Positron Emission\nTomography (PET) imaging worldwide. The scintillator based imaging system that\nis being used around the world for TOF-PET is very expensive. Multi-gap\nResistive Plate Chambers (MRPCs) are gaseous detectors which are easy to\nfabricate, inexpensive and have excellent position and timing resolution. They\ncan be used as a suitable alternative to highly expensive scintillators. For\nthe sole purpose of TOF-PET, a pair of 18 cm $\\times$ 18 cm, 5 gap, glass-based\nMRPC modules have been fabricated. Our main aim was to determine the shift in\nthe position of the source (Na-22) with these fabricated MRPCs. In this\ndocument, the details of the experimental results will be presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Ptychographic sensor for large-scale lensless microbial monitoring with\n high spatiotemporal resolution: Traditional microbial detection methods often rely on the overall property of\nmicrobial cultures and cannot resolve individual growth event at high\nspatiotemporal resolution. As a result, they require bacteria to grow to\nconfluence and then interpret the results. Here, we demonstrate the application\nof an integrated ptychographic sensor for lensless cytometric analysis of\nmicrobial cultures over a large scale and with high spatiotemporal resolution.\nThe reported device can be placed within a regular incubator or used as a\nstandalone incubating unit for long-term microbial monitoring. For longitudinal\nstudy where massive data are acquired at sequential time points, we report a\nnew temporal-similarity constraint to increase the temporal resolution of\nptychographic reconstruction by 7-fold. With this strategy, the reported device\nachieves a centimeter-scale field of view, a half-pitch spatial resolution of\n488 nm, and a temporal resolution of 15-second intervals. For the first time,\nwe report the direct observation of bacterial growth in a 15-second interval by\ntracking the phase wraps of the recovered images, with high phase sensitivity\nlike that in interferometric measurements. We also characterize cell growth via\nlongitudinal dry mass measurement and perform rapid bacterial detection at low\nconcentrations. For drug-screening application, we demonstrate proof-of-concept\nantibiotic susceptibility testing and perform single-cell analysis of\nantibiotic-induced filamentation. The combination of high phase sensitivity,\nhigh spatiotemporal resolution, and large field of view is unique among\nexisting microscopy techniques. As a quantitative and miniaturized platform, it\ncan improve studies with microorganisms and other biospecimens at\nresource-limited settings.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Why would you put a flashlight in a dark matter detector?: Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are solid-state, single-photon sensitive,\npixelated sensors whose usage for scintillation detection has rapidly increased\nover the past decade. It is known that the avalanche process within the device,\nwhich renders a single photon detectable, can also generate secondary photons\nwhich may be detected by a separate device. This effect, known as external\ncrosstalk, could potentially degrade the science goals of future xenon dark\nmatter experiments. In this article, we measure the effect of external\ncrosstalk in a dual-phase, liquid xenon time projection chamber fully\ninstrumented with SiPMs. We then consider the implications for a future xenon\ndark matter experiment utilizing SiPMs and discuss possible solutions.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Magnetic Force Microscopy for Nanoparticle Characterization: Since the invention of the atomic force microscope (AFM) in 1986, there has\nbeen a drive to apply this scanning probe technique or a form of this technique\nto various disciplines in nanoscale science. Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) is\na member of a growing family of scanning probe methods and has been widely used\nfor the study of magnetic materials. In MFM a magnetic probe is used to\nraster-scan the surface of the sample, of which its magnetic field interacts\nwith the magnetic tip to offer insight into its magnetic properties. This\nreview will focus on the use of MFM in relation to nanoparticle\ncharacterization, including superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles,\ncovering MFM imaging in air and in liquid environments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "CALICE Report to the Calorimeter R&D Review Panel: The report describes the status of the calorimeter R&D for ILC detector\nperformed in the CALICE collaboration. This status has been presented to the\nreview panel at the LCWS07 workshop at DESY in June 2007.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR: A Search for Neutrinoless Double-beta Decay\n of Germanium-76: The {\\sc Majorana} collaboration is searching for neutrinoless double beta\ndecay using $^{76}$Ge, which has been shown to have a number of advantages in\nterms of sensitivities and backgrounds. The observation of neutrinoless\ndouble-beta decay would show that lepton number is violated and that neutrinos\nare Majorana particles and would simultaneously provide information on neutrino\nmass. Attaining sensitivities for neutrino masses in the inverted hierarchy\nregion, $15 - 50$ meV, will require large, tonne-scale detectors with extremely\nlow backgrounds, at the level of $\\sim$1 count/t-y or lower in the region of\nthe signal. The {\\sc Majorana} collaboration, with funding support from DOE\nOffice of Nuclear Physics and NSF Particle Astrophysics, is constructing the\n{\\sc Demonstrator}, an array consisting of 40 kg of p-type point-contact\nhigh-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors, of which $\\sim$30 kg will be enriched\nto 87% in $^{76}$Ge. The {\\sc Demonstrator} is being constructed in a clean\nroom laboratory facility at the 4850' level (4300 m.w.e.) of the Sanford\nUnderground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, SD. It utilizes a compact graded\nshield approach with the inner portion consisting of ultra-clean Cu that is\nbeing electroformed and machined underground. The primary aim of the {\\sc\nDemonstrator} is to show the feasibility of a future tonne-scale measurement in\nterms of backgrounds and scalability.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Ultra-Low Noise Amplifier Design for Magnetic Resonance Imaging systems: This paper demonstrates designing and developing of an Ultra-Low Noise\nAmplifier which should potentially increase the sensitivity of the existing\nMagnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems. The Design of the LNA is fabricated\nand characterized including matching and input high power protection circuits.\nThe estimate improvement of SNR of the LNA in comparison to room temperature\noperation is taken here. The Cascode amplifier topology is chosen to be\ninvestigated for high performance Low Noise amplifier design and for the\nfabrication. The fabricated PCB layout of the Cascode LNA is tested by using\nmeasurement instruments Spectrum Analyser and Vector Network analyzer. The\nmeasurements of fabricated PCB layout of the Cascode LNA at room temperature\nhad the following performance, the operation frequency is 32 MHz, the noise\nfigure is 0.45 dB at source impedance 50 {\\Omega}, the gain is 11.6 dB, the\noutput return loss is 21.1 dB, and the input return loss 0.12 dB and it is\nunconditionally stable for up to 6 GHz band. The goal of the research is\nachieved where the Cascode LNA had improvement of SNR.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Sub-GeV events energy reconstruction with 3-inch PMTs in JUNO: A 20-kiloton liquid scintillator detector is designed in the Jiangmen\nUnderground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) for multiple physics purposes,\nincluding the determination of the neutrino mass ordering through reactor\nneutrinos, as well as measuring supernova neutrinos, solar neutrinos, and\natmosphere neutrinos to explore different physics topics. Efficient\nreconstruction algorithms are needed to achieve these physics goals in a wide\nenergy range from MeV to GeV. In this paper, we present a novel method for\nreconstructing the energy of events using hit information from 25600 3-inch\nphotomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and the OCCUPANCY method. Our algorithm exhibits\ngood performance in accurate energy reconstruction, validated with electron\nMonte Carlo samples spanning kinetic energies from 10 MeV to 1 GeV.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Building of a 4-channel TTL scaler for counting detector signals: A scaler has been fabricated to count the signals from any radiation de-\ntector. It can count signals of frequency up to 140 kHz. Transistor Transistor\nLogic (TTL) is used in this scaler. In this article the details of the design,\nfabrication and operation processes of the scaler is presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Energetic neutron identification with pulse shape discrimination in pure\n CsI crystals: Pulse shape discrimination with pure CsI scintillators is investigated as a\nmethod for separating energy deposits by energetic neutrons and photons at\nparticle physics experiments. Using neutron data collected near the European\nXFEL XS1 beam window the pulse shape discrimination capabilities of pure CsI\nare studied and compared to CsI(Tl) using near-identical detector setups, which\nwere operated in parallel. The inelastic interactions of 100MeV neutrons are\nobserved to produce a slower scintillation emission in pure CsI relative to\nenergy deposits from cosmic muons. By employing a charge-ratio method for pulse\nshape characterization, pulse shape discrimination with pure CsI is shown to be\neffective for identifying energy deposits from neutrons vs. cosmic muons,\nhowever, pure CsI was not able resolve the specific type of neutron inelastic\ninteractions as can be done with CsI(Tl). Using pulse shape discrimination, the\nrate of energetic neutron interactions in a pure CsI detector is measured as a\nfunction of time and shown to be correlated with the European XFEL beam power.\nThe results demonstrate that pulse shape discrimination with pure CsI has\nsignificant potential to improve electromagnetic vs. hadronic shower\nidentification at future particle physics experiments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Automatic track recognition for large-angle minimum ionizing particles\n in nuclear emulsions: We previously developed an automatic track scanning system which enables the\ndetection of large-angle nuclear fragments in the nuclear emulsion films of the\nOPERA experiment. As a next step, we have investigated this system's track\nrecognition capability for large-angle minimum ionizing particles $(1.0 \\leq\n|tan \\theta| \\leq 3.5)$. This paper shows that, for such tracks, the system has\na detection efficiency of 95$\\%$ or higher and reports the achieved angular\naccuracy of the automatically recognized tracks. This technology is of general\npurpose and will likely contribute not only to various analyses in the OPERA\nexperiment, but also to future experiments, e.g. on low-energy neutrino and\nhadron interactions, or to future research on cosmic rays using nuclear\nemulsions carried by balloons.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterisation of NEXT-DEMO using xenon K$_\u03b1$ X-rays: The NEXT experiment aims to observe the neutrinoless double beta decay of\n$^{136}$Xe in a high pressure gas TPC using electroluminescence (EL) to amplify\nthe signal from ionization. Understanding the response of the detector is\nimperative in achieving a consistent and well understood energy measurement.\nThe abundance of xenon k-shell x-ray emission during data taking has been\nidentified as a multitool for the characterisation of the fundamental\nparameters of the gas as well as the equalisation of the response of the\ndetector. The NEXT-DEMO prototype is a ~1.5 kg volume TPC filled with natural\nxenon. It employs an array of 19 PMTs as an energy plane and of 256 SiPMs as a\ntracking plane with the TPC light tube and SiPM surfaces being coated with\ntetraphenyl butadiene (TPB) which acts as a wavelength shifter for the VUV\nscintillation light produced by xenon. This paper presents the measurement of\nthe properties of the drift of electrons in the TPC, the effects of the EL\nproduction region, and the extraction of position dependent correction\nconstants using K$_{\\alpha}$ X-ray deposits. These constants were used to\nequalise the response of the detector to deposits left by gammas from\n$^{22}$Na.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neutron-Induced, Single-Event Effects on Neuromorphic Event-based Vision\n Sensor: A First Step Towards Space Applications: This paper studies the suitability of neuromorphic event-based vision cameras\nfor spaceflight, and the effects of neutron radiation on their performance.\nNeuromorphic event-based vision cameras are novel sensors that implement\nasynchronous, clockless data acquisition, providing information about the\nchange in illuminance greater than 120dB with sub-millisecond temporal\nprecision. These sensors have huge potential for space applications as they\nprovide an extremely sparse representation of visual dynamics while removing\nredundant information, thereby conforming to low-resource requirements. An\nevent-based sensor was irradiated under wide-spectrum neutrons at Los Alamos\nNeutron Science Center and its effects were classified. We found that the\nsensor had very fast recovery during radiation, showing high correlation of\nnoise event bursts with respect to source macro-pulses. No significant\ndifferences were observed between the number of events induced at different\nangles of incidence but significant differences were found in the spatial\nstructure of noise events at different angles. The results show that\nevent-based cameras are capable of functioning in a space-like, radiative\nenvironment with a signal-to-noise ratio of 3.355. They also show that\nradiation-induced noise does not affect event-level computation. We also\nintroduce the Event-based Radiation-Induced Noise Simulation Environment\n(Event-RINSE), a simulation environment based on the noise-modelling we\nconducted and capable of injecting the effects of radiation-induced noise from\nthe collected data to any stream of events in order to ensure that developed\ncode can operate in a radiative environment. To the best of our knowledge, this\nis the first time such analysis of neutron-induced noise analysis has been\nperformed on a neuromorphic vision sensor, and this study shows the advantage\nof using such sensors for space applications.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of wide range photon detection system for muonic X-ray\n spectroscopy: We have developed a photon detection system for muonic X-ray spectroscopy.\nThe detector system consists of high-purity germanium detectors with BGO\nCompton suppressors. The signals from the detectors are readout with a digital\nacquisition system. The absolute energy accuracy, energy and timing\nresolutions, photo-peak efficiency, the performance of the Compton suppressor,\nand high count rate durability are studied with standard $\\gamma$-ray sources\nand in-beam experiment using $^{27}\\mathrm{Al}(p, \\gamma){}^{28}\\mathrm{Si}$\nresonance reaction. The detection system was demonstrated at Paul Scherrer\nInstitute. A calibration method for a photon detector at a muon facility using\nmuonic X-rays of $^{197}$Au and $^{209}$Bi is proposed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Revealing neutral bremsstrahlung in two-phase argon electroluminescence: Proportional electroluminescence (EL) in noble gases has long been used in\ntwo-phase detectors for dark matter search, to record ionization signals\ninduced by particle scattering in the noble-gas liquid (S2 signals). Until\nrecently, it was believed that proportional electroluminescence was fully due\nto VUV emission of noble gas excimers produced in atomic collisions with\nexcited atoms, the latter being in turn produced by drifting electrons. In this\nwork we consider an additional mechanism of proportional electroluminescence,\nnamely that of bremsstrahlung of drifting electrons scattered on neutral atoms\n(so-called neutral bremsstrahlung); it is systemically studied here both\ntheoretically and experimentally. In particular, the absolute EL yield has for\nthe first time been measured in pure gaseous argon in the two-phase mode, using\na dedicated two-phase detector with EL gap optically read out by cryogenic PMTs\nand SiPMs. We show that the neutral bremsstrahlung effect can explain two\nintriguing observations in EL radiation: that of the substantial contribution\nof the non-VUV spectral component, extending from the UV to NIR, and that of\nthe photon emission at lower electric fields, below the Ar excitation\nthreshold. Possible applications of neutral bremsstrahlung effect in two-phase\ndark matter detectors are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Pulse shape discrimination using a convolutional neural network for\n organic liquid scintillator signals: A convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture is developed to improve the\npulse shape discrimination (PSD) power of the gadolinium-loaded organic liquid\nscintillation detector to reduce the fast neutron background in the inverse\nbeta decay candidate events of the NEOS-II data. A power spectrum of an event\nis constructed using a fast Fourier transform of the time domain raw waveforms\nand put into CNN. An early data set is evaluated by CNN after it is trained\nusing low energy $\\beta$ and $\\alpha$ events. The signal-to-background ratio\naveraged over 1-10 MeV visible energy range is enhanced by more than 20% in the\nresult of the CNN method compared to that of an existing conventional PSD\nmethod, and the improvement is even higher in the low energy region.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Devices for Thermal Conductivity Measurements of Electroplated Bi for\n X-ray TES Absorbers: Electroplated Bismuth (Bi) is commonly used in Transition-Edge Sensors (TESs)\nfor X-rays because of its high stopping power and low heat capacity.\nElectroplated Bi is usually grown on top of another metal that acts as seed\nlayer, typically gold (Au), making it challenging to extrapolate its\nthermoelectric properties. In this work, we present four-wire resistance\nmeasurement structures that allow us to measure resistance as a function of\ntemperature of electroplated Bi independently of Au. The results show that the\nthermal conductivity of the Bi at 3 K is high enough to guarantee the correct\nthermalization of X-ray photons when used as an absorber for TESs.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Optical characterization of RTV615 silicone rubber compound: Room Temperature Vulcanized (RTV) silicone compounds are commonly used to\nbond optical components. For our application, we needed to identify an adhesive\nwith good ultraviolet transmission characteristics, to couple photomultipliers\nto quartz windows in a Heavy Gas Cerenkov detector that is being constructed\nfor Experimental Hall C of Jefferson Lab to provide pi/K separation up to 11\nGeV/c. To this end, we present the light transmission results for Momentive\nRTV615 silicone rubber compound for wavelengths between 195-400 nm, obtained\nwith an adapted reflectivity apparatus at Jefferson Lab. All samples cured at\nroom temperature have transmissions ~93% for wavelengths between 360-400 nm and\nfall sharply below 230 nm. Wavelength dependent absorption coefficients were\nextracted with four samples of different thicknesses cured at normal\ntemperature (25oC for 7 days). The absorption coefficient drops approximately\ntwo orders in magnitude from 220-400 nm, exhibiting distinct regions of\nflattening near 250 nm and 330 nm. We also investigated the effect of a high\ntemperature curing method (100oC for 1 hour) and found 5-10% better\ntransmission than with the normal method. The effect was more significant with\nlarger sample thickness (3.35 mm) over the wavelength range of 220-280 nm.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The $^{3}$He BF$_{3}$ Giant Barrel (HeBGB) Neutron Detector: $(\\alpha,n)$ reactions play an important role in nuclear astrophysics and\napplications and are an important background source in neutrino and dark matter\ndetectors. Measurements of total $(\\alpha,n)$ cross sections employing direct\nneutron detection often have a considerable systematic uncertainty associated\nwith the energy-dependent neutron detection efficiency and the unknown initial\nneutron energy distribution. The $^{3}{\\rm He}\\,{\\rm BF}_{3}$ Giant Barrel\n(HeBGB) neutron detector was built at the Edwards Accelerator Laboratory at\nOhio University to overcome this challenge. HeBGB offers a near-constant\nneutron detection efficiency of ($7.5\\pm 1.2$) \\% over the neutron energy range\n0.01 MeV -- 9.00 MeV, removing a significant source of systematic uncertainty\npresent in earlier $(\\alpha,n)$ cross section measurements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "CMS RPC Background -- Studies and Measurements: The expected radiation background in the CMS RPC system has been studied\nusing the MC prediction with the CMS FLUKA simulation of the detector and the\ncavern. The MC geometry used in the analysis describes very accurately the\npresent RPC system but still does not include the complete description of the\nRPC upgrade region with pseudorapidity $1.9 < \\lvert \\eta \\rvert < 2.4$.\nPresent results will be updated with the final geometry description, once it is\navailable. The radiation background has been studied in terms of expected\nparticle rates, absorbed dose and fluence. Two High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC)\nscenarios have been investigated - after collecting $3000$ and $4000$\nfb$^{-1}$. Estimations with safety factor of 3 have been considered, as well.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Cosmic Muon Induced Backgrounds in the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino\n Experiment: Muon induced neutrons and long-lived radioactive isotopes are important\nbackground sources for low-energy underground experiments. We study the\nproduced processes and properties of cosmic muon induced backgrounds, show the\nmuon veto system used for rejecting these backgrounds and the methods to\nestimate residual backgrounds in the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High-resolution thermal expansion measurements under Helium-gas pressure: We report on the realization of a capacitive dilatometer, designed for\nhigh-resolution measurements of length changes of a material for temperatures\n1.4 K $\\leq T \\leq$ 300 K and hydrostatic pressure $P \\leq$ 250 MPa. Helium\n($^4$He) is used as a pressure-transmitting medium, ensuring\nhydrostatic-pressure conditions. Special emphasis has been given to guarantee,\nto a good approximation, constant-pressure conditions during temperature\nsweeps. The performance of the dilatometer is demonstrated by measurements of\nthe coefficient of thermal expansion at pressures $P \\simeq$ 0.1 MPa (ambient\npressure) and 104 MPa on a single crystal of azurite,\nCu$_3$(CO$_3$)$_2$(OH)$_2$, a quasi-one-dimensional spin S = 1/2 Heisenberg\nantiferromagnet. The results indicate a strong effect of pressure on the\nmagnetic interactions in this system.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Sensitivity Increases for the TITAN Decay Spectroscopy Program: The TITAN facility at TRIUMF has recently initiated a program of performing\ndecay spectroscopy measurements in an electron-beam ion-trap (EBIT). The unique\nenvironment of the EBIT provides backing-free storage of the radioactive ions,\nwhile guiding charged decay particles from the trap centre via the strong\nmagnetic field. This measurement technique is able to provide a significant\nincrease in detection sensitivity for photons which result from radioactive\ndecay. A brief overview of this device is presented, along with methods of\nimproving the signal-to-background ratio for photon detection by reducing\nCompton scattered events, and eliminating vibrational noise.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Pulse Shape Simulation and Discrimination using Machine-Learning\n Techniques: An essential metric for the quality of a particle-identification experiment\nis its statistical power to discriminate between signal and background. Pulse\nshape discrimination (PSD) is a basic method for this purpose in many nuclear,\nhigh-energy, and rare-event search experiments where scintillator detectors are\nused. Conventional techniques exploit the difference between decay-times of the\npulse from signal and background events or pulse signals caused by different\ntypes of radiation quanta to achieve good discrimination. However, such\ntechniques are efficient only when the total light-emission is sufficient to\nget a proper pulse profile. This is only possible when there is significant\nrecoil energy due to the incident particle in the detector. But, rare-event\nsearch experiments like neutrino or dark-matter direct search experiments don't\nalways satisfy these conditions. Hence, it becomes imperative to have a method\nthat can deliver very efficient discrimination in these scenarios. Neural\nnetwork-based machine-learning algorithms have been used for classification\nproblems in many areas of physics, especially in high-energy experiments, and\nhave given better results compared to conventional techniques. We present the\nresults of our investigations of two network-based methods viz. Dense Neural\nNetwork and Recurrent Neural Network, for pulse shape discrimination and\ncompare the same with conventional methods.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Automated cantilever exchange and optical alignment for High-throughput,\n parallel atomic force microscopy: In atomic force microscopy (AFM), the exchange and alignment of the AFM\ncantilever with respect to the optical beam and position-sensitive detector\n(PSD) are often performed manually. This process is tedious and time-consuming\nand sometimes damages the cantilever or tip. To increase the throughput of AFM\nin industrial applications, the ability to automatically exchange and align the\ncantilever in a very short time with sufficient accuracy is required. In this\npaper, we present the development of an automated cantilever exchange and\noptical alignment instrument. We present an experimental proof of principle by\nexchanging various types of AFM cantilevers in 6 seconds with an accuracy\nbetter than 2 um. The exchange and alignment unit is miniaturized to allow for\nintegration in a parallel AFM. The reliability of the demonstrator has also\nbeen evaluated. Ten thousand continuous exchange and alignment cycles were\nperformed without failure. The automated exchange and alignment of the AFM\ncantilever overcome a large hurdle toward bringing AFM into high-volume\nmanufacturing and industrial applications.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High Dynamic Range Pixel Array Detector for Scanning Transmission\n Electron Microscopy: We describe a hybrid pixel array detector (EMPAD - electron microscope pixel\narray detector) adapted for use in electron microscope applications, especially\nas a universal detector for scanning transmission electron microscopy. The 128\nx 128 pixel detector consists of a 500 um thick silicon diode array bump-bonded\npixel-by-pixel to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The\nin-pixel circuitry provides a 1,000,000:1 dynamic range within a single frame,\nallowing the direct electron beam to be imaged while still maintaining single\nelectron sensitivity. A 1.1 kHz framing rate enables rapid data collection and\nminimizes sample drift distortions while scanning. By capturing the entire\nunsaturated diffraction pattern in scanning mode, one can simultaneously\ncapture bright field, dark field, and phase contrast information, as well as\nbeing able to analyze the full scattering distribution, allowing true center of\nmass imaging. The scattering is recorded on an absolute scale, so that\ninformation such as local sample thickness can be directly determined. This\npaper describes the detector architecture, data acquisition (DAQ) system, and\npreliminary results from experiments with 80 to 200 keV electron beams.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Nuclear analysis and shielding optimisation in support of the ITER\n In-Vessel Viewing System design: The In-Vessel Viewing System (IVVS) units proposed for ITER are deployed to\nperform in-vessel examination. During plasma operations, the IVVS is located\nbeyond the vacuum vessel, with shielding blocks envisaged to protect components\nfrom neutron damage and reduce shutdown dose rate (SDR) levels. Analyses were\nconducted to determine the effectiveness of several shielding configurations.\nThe neutron response of the system was assessed using global variance reduction\ntechniques and a surface source, and shutdown dose rate calculations were\nundertaken using MCR2S. Unshielded, the absorbed dose to piezoelectric motors\n(PZT) was found to be below stable limits, however activation of the primary\nclosure plate (PCP) was prohibitively high. A scenario with shielding blocks at\nprobe level showed significantly reduced PCP contact dose rate, however still\nmarginally exceeded port cell requirements. The addition of shielding blocks at\nthe bioshield plug demonstrated PCP contact dose rates below project\nrequirements. SDR levels in contact with the isolated IVVS cartridge were found\nto marginally exceed the hands-on maintenance limit. For engineering\nfeasibility, shielding blocks at bioshield level are to be avoided, however the\nport cell SDR field requires further consideration. In addition, alternative\nlow-activation steels are being considered for the IVVS cartridge.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Novel Silicon n-in-p Pixel Sensors for the future ATLAS Upgrades: In view of the LHC upgrade phases towards HL-LHC the ATLAS experiment plans\nto upgrade the Inner Detector with an all silicon system. The n-in-p silicon\ntechnology is a promising candidate for the pixel upgrade thanks to its\nradiation hardness and cost effectiveness, that allow for enlarging the area\ninstrumented with pixel detectors. We present the characterization and\nperformance of novel n-in-p planar pixel sensors produced by CiS (Germany)\nconnected by bump bonding to the ATLAS readout chip FE-I3. These results are\nobtained before and after irradiation up to a fluence of 10^16 1-MeV n_eq/cm^2,\nand prove the operability of this kind of sensors in the harsh radiation\nenvironment foreseen for the pixel system at HL-LHC. We also present an\noverview of the new pixel production, which is on-going at CiS for sensors\ncompatible with the new ATLAS readout chip FE-I4.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High voltage scheme optimization for secondary discharge mitigation in\n GEM-based detectors: We investigate the influence of the high voltage scheme elements on the\nstability of a detector based on a single $10\\times10$ cm$^2$ area GEM with\nrespect to the secondary discharge occurrence. These violent events pose a\nmajor threat to the integrity of GEM detectors and their Front-End Electronics\nand need to be avoided by any means. For a single GEM setup, we propose a\ndetailed high voltage scheme that is designed to prevent secondary discharges.\nWe determine optimal values of the protection resistors and parasitic\ncapacitances introduced by cables used in the system. The results of this paper\nmay be used as a guideline for the optimization of more complicated multi-GEM\ndetectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of the LHCb Vertex Detector Alignment Algorithm determined\n with Beam Test Data: LHCb is the dedicated heavy flavour experiment at the Large Hadron Collider\nat CERN. The partially assembled silicon vertex locator (VELO) of the LHCb\nexperiment has been tested in a beam test. The data from this beam test have\nbeen used to determine the performance of the VELO alignment algorithm. The\nrelative alignment of the two silicon sensors in a module and the relative\nalignment of the modules has been extracted. This alignment is shown to be\naccurate at a level of approximately 2 micron and 0.1 mrad for translations and\nrotations, respectively in the plane of the sensors. A single hit precision at\nnormal track incidence of about 10 micron is obtained for the sensors. The\nalignment of the system is shown to be stable at better than the 10 micron\nlevel under air to vacuum pressure changes and mechanical movements of the\nassembled system.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Nonlocal Thresholds for Improving the Spatial Resolution of Pixel\n Detectors: Pixel detectors only record signals above a tuned threshold in order to\nsuppress noise. As sensors become thinner, pitches decrease, and radiation\ndamage reduces the collected charge, it is increasingly desirable to lower\nthresholds. By making the simple, but powerful observation that hit pixels tend\nto be spatially close to each other, we introduce a scheme for dynamic\nthresholds. This dynamic scheme can enhance the signal efficiency without\nsignificantly increasing the occupancy. In addition to presenting a selection\nof empirical results, we also discuss some potential methods for implementing\ndynamic thresholds in a realistic readout chip for the Large Hadron Collider or\nother future colliders.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Developing AMS measurement of $^{59}$Ni at CIAE: Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurement of $^{59}$Ni has been\nestablished at CIAE with the HI-13 tandem accelerator and the recently\ndeveloped $\\Delta E$-Q3D detection system. $^{59}$Ni standard and commercial\nNiO samples were measured to check the performance of the $\\Delta E$-Q3D\ndetection system on $^{59}$Ni isobar separation and suppression. An overall\nsuppression factor of about 10$^{7}$ for the interfering isobar $^{59}$Co\nresulting in detection sensitivity as low as 3.8$\\times 10^{-13}$ atomic ratio\n($^{59}$Ni/Ni) has been obtained. Based on these techniques, the AMS\nmeasurement method of $^{59}$Ni with high sensitivity is developed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A motorized rotation mount for fast and reproducible optical\n polarization control: We present a simple motorised rotation mount for a half-wave plate that can\nbe used to rapidly change the polarization of light. We use the device to\nswitch a high power laser beam between different optical dipole traps in an\nultracold atom experiment. The device uses a stepper motor with a hollow shaft,\nwhich allows a beam to propagate along the axis of the motor shaft, minimising\ninertia and mechanical complexity. A simple machined adapter is used to mount\nthe wave plate. We characterise the performance of the device, focusing on its\ncapability to switch a beam between the output ports of a polarizing\nbeamsplitter cube. We demonstrate a switching time of 15.9(3) ms, limited by\nthe torque of the motor. The mount has a reaction time of 0.52(3) ms, and a\nrotational resolution of 0.45 degrees. The rotation is highly reproducible,\nwith the stepper motor not missing a step in 2000 repeated tests over 11 hours.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Determination of the Charge per Micro-Bunch of a Self-Modulated Proton\n Bunch using a Streak Camera: The Advanced Wakefield Experiment (AWAKE) develops the first plasma wakefield\naccelerator with a high-energy proton bunch as driver. The 400GeV bunch from\nCERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) propagates through a 10m long rubidium\nplasma, ionized by a 4TW laser pulse co-propagating with the proton bunch. The\nrelativistic ionization front seeds a self-modulation process. The seeded\nself-modulation transforms the bunch into a train of micro-bunches resonantly\ndriving wakefields. We measure the density modulation of the bunch, in time,\nwith a streak camera with picosecond resolution. The observed effect\ncorresponds to alternating focusing and defocusing fields. We present a\nprocedure recovering the charge of the bunch from the experimental streak\ncamera images containing the charge density. These studies are important to\ndetermine the charge per micro-bunch along the modulated proton bunch and to\nunderstand the wakefields driven by the modulated bunch.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The 1m3 Semidigital Hadronic Prototype: A high granularity hadronic 1 m3 calorimeter prototype with semi-digital\nreadout has been designed and built. This calorimeter has been made using\nstainless steel as absorber and Glass Resistive Plates Chambers (GRPC) as\nactive medium, and read out through 1x1 cm2 pads. This prototype aims to\ndemonstrate that this technology fulfills the physics requirements for future\nlinear collider experiments, and also to test the feasibility of building a\nrealistic detector, taking into account design aspects as for instance a fully\nembedded front-end electronics based on power pulsing system, a compact and\nself-supporting mechanical structure, one-side services...", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A new method to search for highly ionizing exotic particles, monopoles\n and beyond, using time projection chamber: Measuring the energy loss and mass of highly ionizing particles predicted by\ntheories from beyond the Standard Model pose considerable challenges to\nconventional detection techniques. Such particles are predicted to experience\nenergy loss to matter they pass through that exceeds the dynamic range\nspecified for most readout chips, leading to saturation of the detectors'\nelectronics. Consequently, achieving precise energy loss and mass measurements\nbecomes unattainable. We present a new approach to detect such highly ionizing\nparticles using time projection chambers that overcomes this limitation and\nprovide a case study for triggering on magnetic monopoles.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Fabrication and Characterisation of Oil-Free Large High Pressure\n Laminate Resistive Plate Chamber: A large (240 cm $\\times$ 120 cm $\\times$ 0.2 cm) oil-free High Pressure\nLaminate (HPL), commonly referred as \"bakelite\", Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC)\nhas been developed at VECC-Kolkata using locally available P-302 OLTC grade\nHPL. The chamber has been operated in streamer mode using Argon, Freon(R134a)\nand Iso-butane in a ratio of 34:57:9 by volume. The electrodes and glue samples\nhave been characterised by measuring their electrical parameters like bulk\nresistivity and surface resistivity. The performance of the chamber has been\nstudied by measuring the efficiency, its uniformity and stability in detection\nof cosmic muons. Timing measurement has been performed at a central location of\nthe chamber. The chamber showed an efficiency $>$95$\\%$ and time resolution\n($\\sigma$), at the point of measurement, $\\sim$0.83 ns at 9000V. Details of the\nmaterial characterisation, fabrication procedure and performance studies have\nbeen discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Electrostatic-lenses position-sensitive TOF MCP detector for beam\n diagnostics and new scheme for mass measurements at HIAF: A foil-microchannel plate (MCP) detector, which uses electrostatic lenses and\npossesses both good position and timing resolutions, has been designed and\nsimulated for beam diagnostics and mass measurements at the next-generation\nheavy-ion-beam facility HIAF in China. Characterized by low energy loss and\ngood performances of timing and position measurements, it would be located at\nfocal planes in fragment separator HFRS for position monitoring, beam turning,\nB${\\rho}$ measurement, and trajectory reconstruction. Moreover, it will benefit\nthe building-up of a magnetic-rigidity-energy-loss-time-of-flight\n(B${\\rho}$-$\\Delta$E-TOF) method at HFRS for high-precision in-flight particle\nidentification (PID) of radioactive isotope (RI) beams on an event-by-event\nbasis. Most importantly, the detector can be utilized for in-ring TOF and\nposition measurements, beam-line TOF measurements at two achromatic foci, and\nposition measurements at a dispersive focus of HFRS, thus making it possible to\nuse two complementary mass measurement methods (isochronous mass spectrometry\n(IMS) at the storage ring SRing and magnetic-rigidity-time-of-flight\n(B${\\rho}$-TOF) at the beam-line HFRS) in one single experimental run.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Nanometer scale elemental analysis in the helium ion microscope using\n time of flight spectrometry: Time of flight backscattering spectrometry (ToF-BS) was successfully\nimplemented in a helium ion microscope (HIM). Its integration introduces the\nability to perform laterally resolved elemental analysis as well as elemental\ndepth profiling on the nm scale. A lateral resolution of $\\leq$ 54 nm and a\ntime resolution of $\\Delta t \\leq$ 17 ns $(\\Delta t/t \\leq 5.4\\%)$ are\nachieved. By using the energy of the backscattered particles for contrast\ngeneration, we introduce a new imaging method to the HIM allowing direct\nelemental mapping as well as local spectrometry. In addition laterally resolved\ntime of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) can be performed with\nthe same setup. Time of flight is implemented by pulsing the primary ion beam.\nThis is achieved in a cost effective and minimal invasive way that does not\ninfluence the high resolution capabilities of the microscope when operating in\nstandard secondary electron (SE) imaging mode. This technique can thus be\neasily adapted to existing devices. The particular implementation of ToF-BS and\nToF-SIMS techniques are described, results are presented and advantages,\ndifficulties and limitations of this new techniques are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Commissioning and first performances of the ALICE MID RPCs: ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) at the CERN Large Hadron Collider\n(LHC) is designed to study p-p and Pb-Pb collisions at ultra-relativistic\nenergies. ALICE is equipped with a Muon Spectrometer (MS) to study the heavy\ncharmonia in p-p and heavy ion collisions via their muonic decay. At first, in\nthe LHC Run 1 and 2 the selection of interesting events for muon physics in the\nMS was performed with a dedicated Muon Trigger system based on Resistive Plate\nChambers (RPCs) operated in maxi-avalanche mode. During the Long Shutdown 2\n(LS2) of LHC ALICE underwent a major upgrade of its apparatus: since Run 3\n(started in July 2022), in order to fully profit from the increased luminosity\nof Pb-Pb collisions (from 20 kHz in Run 2 to 50 kHz in Run 3), the ALICE\nexperiment is running in continuous readout (triggerless) mode and the Muon\nTrigger became the Muon IDentifier (MID). In order to reduce the RPC ageing and\nto increase the rate capability, it was decided to use a new front-end\nelectronics FEERIC with a pre-amplification stage to minimize the charge\nreleased per hit inside the gas gap. A description of the MID upgrades,\ntogether with the results and performances of the RPCs from the commissioning,\nis presented in this talk.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Geometry dependence of TLS noise and loss in a-SiC:H parallel plate\n capacitors for superconducting microwave resonators: Parallel plate capacitors (PPC) significantly reduce the size of\nsuperconducting microwave resonators, reducing the pixel pitch for arrays of\nsingle photon energy-resolving kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs). The\nfrequency noise of KIDs is typically limited by tunneling Two-Level Systems\n(TLS), which originate from lattice defects in the dielectric materials\nrequired for PPCs. How the frequency noise level depends on the PPC's\ndimensions has not been experimentally addressed. We measure the frequency\nnoise of 56 resonators with a-SiC:H PPCs, which cover a factor 44 in PPC area\nand a factor 4 in dielectric thickness. To support the noise analysis, we\nmeasure the TLS-induced, power-dependent, intrinsic loss and\ntemperature-dependent resonance frequency shift of the resonators. From the TLS\nmodels, we expect a geometry-independent microwave loss and resonance frequency\nshift, set by the TLS properties of the dielectric. However, we observe a\nthickness-dependent microwave loss and resonance frequency shift, explained by\nsurface layers that limit the performance of PPC-based resonators. For a\nuniform dielectric, the frequency noise level should scale directly inversely\nwith the PPC area and thickness. We observe that an increase in PPC size\nreduces the frequency noise, but the exact scaling is, in some cases, weaker\nthan expected. Finally, we derive an engineering guideline for the design of\nKIDs based on PPC-based resonators.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A fast and parametric digitization for triple-GEM detectors: Triple-GEM detectors are a well known technology in high energy physics. In\norder to have a complete understanding of their behavior, in parallel with on\nbeam testing, a Monte Carlo code has to be developed to simulate their response\nto the passage of particles. The software must take into account all the\nphysical processes involved from the primary ionization up to the signal\nformation, e.g. the avalanche multiplication and the effect of the diffusion on\nthe electrons. In the case of gas detectors, existing software such as Garfield\nalready perform a very detailed simulation but are CPU time consuming. A\ndescription of a reliable but faster simulation is presented here: it uses a\nparametric description of the variables of interest obtained by suitable\npreliminary Garfield simulations and tuned to the test beam data. It can\nreproduce the real values of the charge measured by the strip, needed to\nreconstruct the position with the Charge Centroid method. In addition,\nparticular attention was put to the simulation of the timing information, which\npermits to apply also the micro-Time Projection Chamber position\nreconstruction, for the first time on a triple-GEM. A comparison between\nsimulation and experimental values of some sentinel variables in different\nconditions of magnetic field, high voltage settings and incident angle will be\nshown.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A large 'Active Magnetic Shield' for a high-precision experiment: We present a novel Active Magnetic Shield (AMS), designed and implemented for\nthe n2EDM experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institute. The experiment will\nperform a high-sensitivity search for the electric dipole moment of the\nneutron. Magnetic-field stability and control is of key importance for n2EDM. A\nlarge, cubic, 5m side length, magnetically shielded room (MSR) provides a\npassive, quasi-static shielding-factor of about 10^5 for its inner sensitive\nvolume. The AMS consists of a system of eight complex, feedback-controlled\ncompensation coils constructed on an irregular grid spanned on a volume of less\nthan 1000m^3 around the MSR. The AMS is designed to provide a stable and\nuniform magnetic-field environment around the MSR, while being reasonably\ncompact. The system can compensate static and variable magnetic fields up to\n+-50muT (homogeneous components) and +-5muT (first-order gradients),\nsuppressing them to a few muT in the sub-Hertz frequency range. The presented\ndesign concept and implementation of the AMS fulfills the requirements of the\nn2EDM experiment and can be useful for other applications, where magnetically\nsilent environments are important and spatial constraints inhibit simpler\ngeometrical solutions.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Scintillation properties of $({\\rm Zn}_{0.9} {\\rm Pb}_{0.1})({\\rm\n W}_{0.9} {\\rm Mo}_{0.1}){\\rm O}_4$ and $({\\rm Zn}_{0.9} {\\rm Cd}_{0.1})({\\rm\n W}_{0.9} {\\rm Mo}_{0.1}){\\rm O}_4$ mixed crystals: Scintillation properties of $({\\rm Zn}_{0.9} {\\rm Pb}_{0.1})({\\rm W}_{0.9}\n{\\rm Mo}_{0.1}){\\rm O}_4$ and $({\\rm Zn}_{0.9} {\\rm Cd}_{0.1})({\\rm W}_{0.9}\n{\\rm Mo}_{0.1}){\\rm O}_4$ mixed crystals with doping of ${\\rm Eu, Sm, Pr, Ce,\nSc, Yt}$ and ${\\rm Nb}$ are studied. Measurements of their light yields\nrelative to pure ${\\rm ZnWO}_4$ at room temperature, decay times and energy\nresolutions at 662 keV are presented. Emission spectra are obtained with\n${}^{239}Pu$ source of alpha particles.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A novel nuclear recoil calibration for liquid noble gas detectors: According to many dark matter models, a potential signal registered in a\ndetector would have the feature of a single-scattering nuclear recoil (NR). So,\nit is crucial to calibrate a dark matter detector's NR response. The\ncalibration conventionally implements $\\sim$ keV to MeV neutrons, which might\nbe produced by an accelerator, a neutron generator, or a radioactive source.\nThe calibrating method can be improved in several ways: (a) the incident\nneutron energy can be more monoenergetic, (b) the calibrating NR energy should\nline up with the ROI (Region Of Interest) of the experiment, (c) the flux of\nthe calibrating beam should be appropriate. In the paper, we introduce a novel\nNR calibration method for liquid helium detectors, in which a helium beam\n($\\alpha$ particles) will be implemented to calibrate the detectors. The helium\nbeam can (i) be tuned precisely to have a jitter of $\\lesssim $ 4\\% (the\n$\\alpha$ beam's kinetic energy is equivalent to the recoil energy in the\nconventional calibrations with fast neutrons); (ii) have an energy between\n$\\sim$ 100 eV and tens of keV; and (iii) have a tunable flux down to\n10$^{10}$/s, which corresponds to $\\sim$ 100 Hz events rate in a liquid helium\ndetector; so the events pileup would be ignorable.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A CUPID Li$_{2}$$^{100}$MoO$_4$ scintillating bolometer tested in the\n CROSS underground facility: A scintillating bolometer based on a large cubic Li$_{2}$$^{100}$MoO$_4$\ncrystal (45 mm side) and a Ge wafer (scintillation detector) has been operated\nin the CROSS cryogenic facility at the Canfranc underground laboratory in\nSpain. The dual-readout detector is a prototype of the technology that will be\nused in the next-generation $0\\nu2\\beta$ experiment CUPID. The measurements\nwere performed at 18 and 12 mK temperature in a pulse tube dilution\nrefrigerator. This setup utilizes the same technology as the CUORE cryostat\nthat will host CUPID and so represents an accurate estimation of the expected\nperformance. The Li$_{2}$$^{100}$MoO$_4$ bolometer shows a high energy\nresolution of 6 keV FWHM at the 2615 keV $\\gamma$ line. The detection of\nscintillation light for each event triggered by the Li$_{2}$$^{100}$MoO$_4$\nbolometer allowed for a full separation ($\\sim$8$\\sigma$) between\n$\\gamma$($\\beta$) and $\\alpha$ events above 2 MeV. The Li$_{2}$$^{100}$MoO$_4$\ncrystal also shows a high internal radiopurity with $^{228}$Th and $^{226}$Ra\nactivities of less than 3 and 8 $\\mu$Bq/kg, respectively. Taking also into\naccount the advantage of a more compact and massive detector array, which can\nbe made of cubic-shaped crystals (compared to the cylindrical ones), this test\ndemonstrates the great potential of cubic Li$_{2}$$^{100}$MoO$_4$ scintillating\nbolometers for high-sensitivity searches for the $^{100}$Mo $0\\nu2\\beta$ decay\nin CROSS and CUPID projects.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Fabrication of polarization-independent waveguides deeply buried in\n crystal using aberration-corrected femtosecond laser direct writing: Writing optical waveguides with femtosecond laser pulses provides the\ncapability of forming three-dimensional photonic circuits for manipulating\nlight fields in both linear and nonlinear manners. To fully explore this\npotential, large depths of the buried waveguides in transparent substrates are\noften desirable to facilitate achieving vertical integration of waveguides in a\nmulti-layer configuration, which, however, is hampered by rapidly degraded\naxial resolution caused by optical aberration. Here, we show that with the\ncorrection of the spherical aberration, polarization-independent waveguides can\nbe inscribed in a nonlinear optical crystal lithium niobate (LN) at depths up\nto 1.4 mm, which is more than one order of magnitude deeper than the waveguides\nwritten with aberration uncorrected femtosecond laser pulses. Our technique is\nbeneficial for applications ranging from miniaturized nonlinear light sources\nto quantum information processing.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A simplified cryogenic optical resonator apparatus providing ultra-low\n frequency drift: A system providing an optical frequency with an instability comparable to\nthat of a hydrogen maser is presented. It consists of a $5$ $\\mathrm{cm}$ long,\nvertically oriented silicon optical resonator operated at temperatures between\n$1.5$ $\\mathrm{K}$ and $3.6$ $\\mathrm{K}$ in a closed-cycle cryostat with\nlow-temperature Joule-Thomson stage. We show that with a standard cryostat, a\nsimple cryogenic optomechanical setup, no active or passive vibration\nisolation, a minimum frequency instability of $2.5\\times10^{-15}$ at\n$\\tau=1500$ $\\mathrm{s}$ integration time can be reached. The influence of\npulse-tube vibrations was minimized by using a resonator designed for low\nacceleration sensitivity. With reduced optical laser power and interrogation\nduty cycle an ultra-low fractional frequency drift of\n$-2.6\\times10^{-19}$/$\\mathrm{s}$ is reached. At $3.5$ $\\mathrm{K}$ the\nresonator frequency exhibits a vanishing thermal sensitivity and an ultra-small\ntemperature derivative $8.5\\times10^{-12}/\\mathrm{K}^{2}$. These are favorable\nproperties that should lead to high performance also in simpler cryostats not\nequipped with a Joule-Thomson stage.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterization of New Silicon Photomultipliers with Low Dark Noise at\n Low Temperature: Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) have a low radioactivity, compact geometry,\nlow operation voltage, and reasonable photo-detection efficiency for vacuum\nultraviolet light (VUV). Therefore it has the potential to replace\nphotomultiplier tubes (PMTs) for future dark matter experiments with liquid\nxenon (LXe). However, SiPMs have nearly two orders of magnitude higher dark\ncount rate (DCR) compared to that of PMTs at the LXe temperature ($\\sim$ 165\nK). This type of high DCR mainly originates from the carriers that are\ngenerated by band-to-band tunneling effect. To suppress the tunneling effect,\nwe have developed a new SiPM with lowered electric field strength in\ncooperation with Hamamatsu Photonics K. K. and characterized its performance in\na temperature range of 153 K to 298 K. We demonstrated that the newly developed\nSiPMs had 6--54 times lower DCR at low temperatures compared to that of the\nconventional SiPMs.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A three-arm current comparator bridge, for impedance comparisons over\n the complex plane: We present here the concept of three-arm current comparator impedance bridge,\nwhich allows comparisons among three unlike impedances. Its purpose is the\ncalibration of impedances having arbitrary phase angles, against calibrated\nnearly-pure impedances. An analysis of the bridge optimal setting and proper\noperation is presented. To test the concept, a two terminal-pair\ndigitally-assisted bridge has been realized; measurements of an air-core\ninductor and of an RC network versus decade resistance and capacitance\nstandards, at kHz frequency, have been performed. The bridge measurements are\ncompatible with previous knowledge of the standards' values with relative\ndeviations in the 10^-5 -- 10^-6 range.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Transport Properties of operational gas mixtures used at LHC: This report summarizes some useful data on the transport characteristics of\ngas mixtures which are required for detection of charged particles in gas\ndetectors. We try to replace Freon used for RPC detector in the CMS experiment\nwith another gas while maintaining the good properties of the Freon gas mixture\nunchanged. We try to switch to freonless gas mixture because Freon is not a\ngreen gas, it is very expensive and its availability is decreasing. Noble gases\nlike Ar, He, Ne and Xe (with some quenchers like carbon dioxide, methane,\nethane and isobutene) are investigated. Transport parameters like drift\nvelocity, diffusion, Townsend coefficient, attachment coefficient and Lorentz\nangle are computed using Garfield software for different gas mixtures and\ncompared with experimental data.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Low Energy Module (LEM): development of a CubeSat spectrometer for\n sub-MeV particles and Gamma Ray Burst detection: Accurate flux measurement of low energy charged particles, trapped in the\nmagnetosphere, is necessary for Space Weather characterization and to study the\ncoupling between the lithosphere and magnetosphere, allowing the investigation\nof the correlations between seismic events and particle precipitation from Van\nAllen Belts. In this work, the project of a CubeSat space spectrometer, the Low\nEnergy Module (LEM), is shown. The detector will be able to perform an\nevent-based measurement of energy, arrival direction, and composition of\nlow-energy charged particles down to 0.1 MeV. Moreover, thanks to a CdZnTe\nmini-calorimeter, the LEM spectrometer also allows photon detection in the\nsub-MeV range, joining the quest for the investigation of the nature of Gamma\nRay Bursts. The particle identification of the LEM relies on the $\\Delta E - E$\ntechnique performed by thin silicon detectors. This multipurpose spectrometer\nwill fit within a 10x10x10 $\\text{cm}^3$ CubeSat frame and it will be\nconstructed as a joining project between the University of Trento, FBK, and\nINFN-TIFPA. To fulfil the size and mass requirements an innovative approach,\nbased on active particle collimation, was designed for the LEM, this avoids\nheavy/bulky passive collimators of previous space detectors. In this paper, we\nwill present the LEM geometry, its detection concept, and the results from the\ndeveloped GEANT4 simulation.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurement of the thermal accommodation coefficient of helium on a\n crystalline silicon surface at low-temperatures: Next-generation gravitational wave observatories are expected to use\ncryogenically cooled, pendulum-suspended 200 kg test mass mirrors from a\ncrystalline material such as crystalline silicon. During operation of the\nobservatories, these mirrors undergo heating due to the absorption of laser\nradiation of up to a watt. Low noise cooling techniques need to be developed.\nLow-pressure helium exchange gas at 5 K might contribute to the challenging\ntask. Here, we report the measurement of the helium accommodation coefficient\n$\\alpha(11\\,\\mathrm{K} 0.7$ for temperatures < 20 K, which increases the\ncooling power compared to recently used assumptions. The idea of free molecular\nflow helium gas cooling is thus supported and might find application in some\nobservatory concepts.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Pulse shape analysis in GERDA Phase II: The GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) collaboration searched for neutrinoless\ndouble-$\\beta$ decay in $^{76}$Ge using isotopically enriched high purity\ngermanium detectors at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso of INFN. After\nPhase I (2011-2013), the experiment benefited from several upgrades, including\nan additional active veto based on LAr instrumentation and a significant\nincrease of mass by point-contact germanium detectors that improved the\nhalf-life sensitivity of Phase II (2015-2019) by an order of magnitude. At the\ncore of the background mitigation strategy, the analysis of the time profile of\nindividual pulses provides a powerful topological discrimination of signal-like\nand background-like events. Data from regular $^{228}$Th calibrations and\nphysics data were both considered in the evaluation of the pulse shape\ndiscrimination performance. In this work, we describe the various methods\napplied to the data collected in GERDA Phase II corresponding to an exposure of\n103.7 kg$\\cdot$yr. These methods suppress the background by a factor of about 5\nin the region of interest around Q$_{\\beta\\beta}$ = 2039 keV, while preserving\n(81$\\pm$3)% of the signal. In addition, an exhaustive list of parameters is\nprovided which were used in the final data analysis.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "DAMA/LIBRA results and perspectives, Bled 2013: The DAMA/LIBRA experiment is composed by about 250 kg of highly radiopure\nNaI(Tl). It is in operation at the underground Gran Sasso National Laboratory\nof the INFN. The main aim of the experiment is to investigate the Dark Matter\n(DM) particles in the Galactic halo by exploiting the model independent DM\nannual modulation signature. The DAMA/LIBRA experiment and the former DAMA/NaI\n(the first generation experiment having an exposed mass of about 100 kg) have\nreleased results corresponding to a total exposure of 1.17 ton $\\times$ yr over\n13 annual cycles; they have provided a model independent evidence of the\npresence of DM particles in the galactic halo at 8.9 $\\sigma$ C.L.. The results\nof a further annual cycle, concluding the DAMA/LIBRA--phase1, have been\nreleased after this Workshop and are not included here. In the fall 2010 an\nimportant upgrade of the experiment have been performed. All the PMTs of the\nNaI(Tl) detectors have been replaced with new ones having higher quantum\nefficiency with the aim to decrease the software energy threshold considered in\nthe data analysis. The perspectives of the running DAMA/LIBRA--phase2 will be\nshortly summarized.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "First FBK Production of 50$\u03bc$m Ultra-Fast Silicon Detectors: Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK, Trento, Italy) has recently delivered its\nfirst 50 $\\mu$m thick production of Ultra-Fast Silicon Detectors (UFSD), based\non the Low-Gain Avalanche Diode design. These sensors use high resistivity\nSi-on-Si substrates, and have a variety of gain layer doping profiles and\ndesigns based on Boron, Gallium, Carbonated Boron and Carbonated Gallium to\nobtain a controlled multiplication mechanism. Such variety of gain layers will\nallow identifying the most radiation hard technology to be employed in the\nproduction of UFSD, to extend their radiation resistance beyond the current\nlimit of $\\phi \\sim$ 10$^{15}$ n$_{eq}$/cm$^2$. In this paper, we present the\ncharacterisation, the timing performances, and the results on radiation damage\ntolerance of this new FBK production.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Application of Geiger-mode photo sensors in Cherenkov detectors: Silicon-based photosensors (SiPMs) working in the Geiger-mode represent an\nelegant solution for the readout of particle detectors working at low-light\nlevels like Cherenkov detectors. Especially the insensitivity to magnetic\nfields makes this kind of sensors suitable for modern detector systems in\nsubatomic physics which are usually employing magnets for momentum resolution.\nIn our institute we are characterizing SiPMs of different manufacturers for\nselecting sensors and finding optimum operating conditions for given\napplications. Recently we designed and built a light concentrator prototype\nwith 8x8 cells to increase the active photon detection area of an 8x8 SiPM\n(Hamamatsu MPPC S10931-100P) array. Monte Carlo studies, measurements of the\ncollection efficiency, and tests with the MPPC were carried out. The status of\nthese developments are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Electron beam test of key elements of the laser-based calibration system\n for the muon $g$ $-$ $2$ experiment: We report the test of many of the key elements of the laser-based calibration\nsystem for muon g - 2 experiment E989 at Fermilab. The test was performed at\nthe Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati's Beam Test Facility using a 450 MeV\nelectron beam impinging on a small subset of the final g - 2 lead-fluoride\ncrystal calorimeter system. The calibration system was configured as planned\nfor the E989 experiment and uses the same type of laser and most of the final\noptical elements. We show results regarding the calorimeter's response\ncalibration, the maximum equivalent electron energy which can be provided by\nthe laser and the stability of the calibration system components.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "CALICE Digital Hadron Calorimeter: Calibration and Response to Hadrons: The large CALICE Digital Hadron Calorimeter prototype (DHCAL) was built in\n2009 - 2010. The DHCAL uses Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) as active media and\nis read out with 1 x 1 cm2 pads and digital (1 - bit) resolution. With a world\nrecord of about 0.5M readout channels, the DHCAL offers the possibility to\nstudy hadronic interactions with unprecedented spatial resolution. This talk\nreports on the results from the analysis of pion events of momenta between 2 to\n60 GeV/c collected in the Fermilab test beam with an emphasis on the intricate\ncalibration procedures.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Low-energy (0.7-74 keV) nuclear recoil calibration of the LUX dark\n matter experiment using D-D neutron scattering kinematics: The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment is a dual-phase liquid xenon\ntime projection chamber (TPC) operating at the Sanford Underground Research\nFacility in Lead, South Dakota. A calibration of nuclear recoils in liquid\nxenon was performed $\\textit{in situ}$ in the LUX detector using a collimated\nbeam of mono-energetic 2.45 MeV neutrons produced by a deuterium-deuterium\n(D-D) fusion source. The nuclear recoil energy from the first neutron scatter\nin the TPC was reconstructed using the measured scattering angle defined by\ndouble-scatter neutron events within the active xenon volume. We measured the\nabsolute charge ($Q_{y}$) and light ($L_{y}$) yields at an average electric\nfield of 180 V/cm for nuclear recoil energies spanning 0.7 to 74 keV and 1.1 to\n74 keV, respectively. This calibration of the nuclear recoil signal yields will\npermit the further refinement of liquid xenon nuclear recoil signal models and,\nimportantly for dark matter searches, clearly demonstrates measured ionization\nand scintillation signals in this medium at recoil energies down to\n$\\mathcal{O}$(1 keV).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Calibration of the momentum scale of a particle physics detector using\n the Armenteros-Podolanski plot: A method for calibrating the momentum scale in a particle physics detector is\ndescribed. The method relies on the determination of the masses of the final\nstate particles in two-body decays of neutral particles, which can then be used\nto obtain corrections in the momentum scale. A modified version of the\nArmenteros-Podolanski plot and the $K_S^0 \\to \\pi^+ \\pi^-$ decay is used as a\nproof of principle for this method.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Certification of ATLAS Thin Gap Chambers Produced in Israel and\n China: Thin gap chambers (TGCs) are used for the muon trigger system in the forward\nregion of the LHC experiment ATLAS. A TGC consists of a plane of closely spaced\nwires maintained at positive high voltage, sandwiched between resistive\ngrounded cathode planes with an anode wire to cathode plane gap distance\nsmaller than the wire-to-wire spacing. The TGCs are expected to provide a\ntrigger signal within 25 ns of the bunch spacing of the LHC accelerator, with\nan efficiency exceeding 95%, while exposed to an effective photon and neutron\nbackground ranging from 30 to 500 Hz/cm2. About 2,500 out of the 3,600 ATLAS\nTGCs are being produced at the Weizmann institute in Israel, and in Shandong\nUniversity in China. Once installed in the ATLAS detector the TGCs will be\ninaccessible. A vigorous production quality control program is therefore\nimplemented at the production sites. Furthermore, after chamber completion, a\nthorough program of quality assurance is implemented to ensure the efficient\nperformance of the chambers during more than ten years of operation in the LHC\nhigh rate environment. This program consists of a detailed mapping of the\ndetectors response using cosmic rays, as well as checking the chambers behavior\nusing a high rate radiation source. An aging test performed on five chambers in\na serial gas connection is presented. Finally the results of the chambers\ncertification tests performed at CERN before the installation in ATLAS are\ndescribed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Data Acquisition and Signal Processing for the Gamma Ray Energy Tracking\n Array (GRETA): The Gamma Ray Energy Tracking Array (GRETA) is a 4-{\\pi} detector system,\ncurrently under development, capable of determining energy, timing and tracking\nof multiple gamma-ray interactions inside germanium crystals as demonstrated in\nthe Gamma Ray Energy Tracking In-Beam Array (GRETINA). Charge sensitive\namplifiers instrument the crystals and their outputs are converted using analog\nto digital converters for real-time digital processing. In this paper, we will\npresent the design of the detector system and data acquisition. We will\ndescribe the real time components of the digital signal-processing path used to\nfind the energy and timing of the gamma rays at low and high rates. We will\ndescribe the performance of the data acquisition system hardware and firmware\nand compare with the requirements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Nanodiamond photocathodes for MPGD-based single photon detectors at\n future EIC: We are developing gaseous photon detectors for Cherenkov imaging applications\nin the experiments at the future Electron Ion Collider. CsI, converting photons\nin the far ultraviolet range, is, so far, the only photoconverter compatible\nwith the operation of gaseous detectors. It is very delicate to handle due to\nits hygroscopic nature: the absorbed water vapour decomposes the CsI molecule.\nIn addition, its quantum efficiency degrades under ion bombardment. These are\nthe key reasons to quest for novel, less delicate materials for photocathodes\nadequate for gaseous photon detectors. Layers of hydrogenated nanodiamond\nparticles have recently been proposed as an alternative material and have shown\npromising characteristics. The performance of nanodiamond photocathodes coupled\nto thick GEM-based detectors is the object of our ongoing R\\&D. The first phase\nof these studies includes the characterization of thick GEM coated with\nnanodiamond layers and the robustness of its photoconverting properties with\nrespect to the bombardment by ions from the multiplication process in the\ngaseous detector. The approach is described in detail as well as all the\nresults obtained so far within these exploratory studies.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A 4p BaF2 detector for (n,g) cross section measurements at a spallation\n neutron source: The quest for improved neutron capture cross sections for advanced reactor\nconcepts, transmutation of radioactive wastes as well as for astrophysical\nscenarios of neutron capture nucleosynthesis has motivated new experimental\nefforts based on modern techniques. Recent measurements in the keV region have\nshown that a 4p BaF2 detector represents an accurate and versatile instrument\nfor such studies. The present work deals with the potential of such a 4p BaF2\ndetector in combination with spallation neutron sources, which offer large\nneutron fluxes over a wide energy range. Detailed Monte Carlo simulations with\nthe GEANT package have been performed to investigate the critical backgrounds\nat a spallation facility, to optimize the detector design, and to discuss\nalternative solutions.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "TCAD Simulation and Design Optimization of Radiation Hard n-MCz and n-Fz\n Si Microstrip Detector for the HL-LHC: A radiation hard Si detector is used in the new CMS tracker detector at\nHL-LHC. It has been observed that n-MCz and n-Fz Si as a material can be used\nfor the Si micro strip detector. The detector design for this material should\nbe simulated and optimized to get high CCE. In order to understand the charge\ncollection behavior of the n-MCz/n-FzSi detector, it is required to simulate\nand compare the radiation damage effects in the mixed irradiated n-MCz Si and\nneutron irradiated n-FzSi micro strip detector equipped with metal overhang and\nmultiple guard rings. In this paper, we have done analysis and optimization of\nthe radiation hard n-MCz Si/n-Fz Si strip detector design for the HL-LHC\nexperiment in order to get high CCE.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Magneto-Optical Spectrum Analyzer: We present a method for the investigation of gigahertz magnetization dynamics\nof single magnetic nano elements. By combining a frequency domain approach with\na micro focus Kerr effect detection, a high sensitivity to magnetization\ndynamics with submicron spatial resolution is achieved. It allows spectra of\nsingle nanostructures to be recorded. Results on the uniform precession in soft\nmagnetic platelets are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "MiniCLEAN Dark Matter Experiment: The MiniCLEAN dark matter experiment will exploit a single-phase liquid-argon\ndetector instrumented with 92 photomultiplier tubes placed in the cryogen\ntemperature with 4-$\\pi$ coverage of a 500 kg (150 kg) target (fiducial) mass.\nThe detector design strategy emphasizes scalability to target masses of order\n10 tons or more. The detector is designed also for a liquid neon target that\nallows for an independent verification of signal and background and a test of\nthe expected dependence of the WIMP-nucleus interaction rate. For MiniCLEAN,\nPMT stability and calibration are essential. The \\textit{In-situ} optical\ncalibration will be able monitor the PMT stability and maintain the\ncalibration. In MiniCLEAN, we use a Light-Emitting Diode(LED)- based light\ninjection system to provide single photons for calibration, the calibration can\nbe performed in near real-time, providing a continuous monitor at the condition\nof the detector. The intrinsic $^{39}$Ar beta emitter provides another way to\ncalibrate the detector thanks to well defined properties and uniformly\ndistributed inside the detector volume. The energy scale can be determined by\nfitting the energy spectrum of experimental $^{39}$Ar data. Moreover, the\npreliminary results from cold gas run shows the best measurement on triplet\nlifetime ($\\sim$ 3.5 $\\mu$ s). The results confirms the high purity of argon is\nattained by MiniCLEAN's purification system. The long triplet lifetime in\ngaseous argon can be exploit to obtain better performance of pulse shape\ndiscrimination (PSD) for future dark matter detector, also the low density of\ngaseous argon reduced the multi-scattering neutron backgrounds. On the other\nhand, by injecting $^{39}$Ar spike, the electronic recoil events due to\n$^{39}$Ar beta decay can be used to test the limit of PSD in liquid argon. The\nresults will be informative for future multi-tonne LAr detector.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A study of decays to strange final states with GlueX in Hall D using\n components of the BaBar DIRC: We propose to enhance the kaon identification capabilities of the GlueX\ndetector by constructing an FDIRC (Focusing Detection of Internally Reflected\nCherenkov) detector utilizing the decommissioned BaBar DIRC components. The\nGlueX FDIRC would significantly enhance the GlueX physics program by allowing\none to search for and study hybrid mesons decaying into kaon final states. Such\nsystematic studies of kaon final states are essential for inferring the quark\nflavor content of hybrid and conventional mesons. The GlueX FDIRC would reuse\none-third of the synthetic fused silica bars that were utilized in the BaBar\nDIRC. A new focussing photon camera, read out with large area photodetectors,\nwould be developed. We propose operating the enhanced GlueX detector in Hall D\nfor a total of 220 days at an average intensity of 5x10^7 {\\gamma}/s, a program\nthat was conditionally approved by PAC39", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Using pulse shape analysis to improve the position resolution of a\n resistive anode microchannel plate detector: Digital signal processing techniques were employed to investigate the joint\nuse of charge division and risetime analyses for the resistive anode (RA)\ncoupled to a microchannel plate detector (MCP). In contrast to the typical\napproach of using the relative charge at each corner of the RA, this joint\napproach results in a significantly improved position resolution. A\nconventional charge division analysis utilizing analog signal processing\nprovides a position measured resolution of 170 $\\mu$m (FWHM). By using the\ncorrelation between risetime and position we were able to obtain a measured\nresolution of 92 $\\mu$m (FWHM), corresponding to an intrinsic resolution of 64\n$\\mu$m (FMHM) for a single Z-stack MCP detector.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A time resolved study of injection backgrounds during the first\n commissioning phase of SuperKEKB: We report on measurements of beam backgrounds during the first commissioning\nphase of the SuperKEKB collider in 2016, performed with the plastic\nscintillator and silicon photomultiplier-based CLAWS detector system. The\nsub-nanosecond time resolution and single particle detection capability of the\nsensors allow bunch-by-bunch measurements, enable CLAWS to perform a novel time\nresolved analysis of beam backgrounds, and make the system uniquely suited for\nthe study of injection backgrounds. We present measurements of various aspects\nof regular beam background and injection backgrounds which include time\nstructure and decay behavior of injection backgrounds, hit-energy spectra and\noverall background rates. These measurements show that the elevated background\nrates following an injection generally last for several milliseconds, with the\nmajority of the background particles typically observed within the first 500\nus. The injection backgrounds exhibit pronounced patterns in time, connected to\nbetatron and synchrotron oscillations in the accelerator rings. The frequencies\nof these patterns are determined from detector data.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The ATLAS Forward Physics Project: We describe the main components of the ATLAS Forward Physics project, namely\nthe movable beam pipe, the tracking and timing detectors which allow to detect\nintact protons in the final state at the LHC. The position detector is composed\non 6 layers of 3D silicon detectors readout by FE-I4 chips developped for\nATLAS. The fast timing detector is built from a quartz-based Cerenkov detector\ncoupled to a microchannel plate photomultiplier tube, followed by the\nelectronic elements that amplify, measure, and record the time of the event\nalong with a stabilized reference clock signal, ensuring a time resolution of\n10-15 picoseconds.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Quantitative and Three-Dimensional Assessment of Holdup Material: Nuclear material deposited in equipment, transfer lines, and ventilation\nsystems of a processing facility is usually referred to as holdup. In this\nwork, we propose to use an array of detectors co-axial to the inspected pipe to\nmeasure the holdup material. This method is implementable into an automated\nsystem capable of crawling on surfaces and pipes of various curvatures, which\nwould enable faster, easier, and more accurate holdup safeguards measurements.\nWe first demonstrated that the current holdup assay procedure could lead to a\nnon-negligible bias in the estimate of special nuclear material mass, due to\nthe simplified assumption of deposited geometry introduced by the Generalized\nGeometry Holdup (GGH) model. The new approach consists of imaging the inner\nholdup material by characterizing the detector array's response and unfolding\nit from the measured light output. Our experimental proof of principle consists\nof three NaI(Tl) detectors surrounding an aluminum pipe containing two\ncesium-137( 137Cs) sources. We derived the source distribution inside the pipe\nby first calculating the detector response matrix using a method adaptive to\nthe surface geometry of the object containing the measured holdup material.\nCreating a matrix of the detector array's measured counts, we then proceed to\nsolve an inverse problem, resulting in an accurately located source position\nand activity distribution within the response matrix's spatial resolution. We\nthen developed a simulated model of the envisioned experimental setup, which\naccurately described both the activity and position of the source in 2D.\nFinally, we extended our model onto a discretized three-dimensional model of\nthe system, encompassing 36 detectors. For the 3D simulation of four different\nsource geometries, the model accurately localized the source position in 3D,\nwhile the activity retained a maximum relative error of +-5.32%.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Improved performance of the LHCb Outer Tracker in LHC Run 2: The LHCb Outer Tracker is a gaseous detector covering an area of $5\\times 6\nm^2$ with 12 double layers of straw tubes. The performance of the detector is\npresented based on data of the LHC Run 2 running period from 2015 and 2016.\nOccupancies and operational experience for data collected in $p p$, pPb and\nPbPb collisions are described. An updated study of the ageing effects is\npresented showing no signs of gain deterioration or other radiation damage\neffects. In addition several improvements with respect to LHC Run 1 data taking\nare introduced. A novel real-time calibration of the time-alignment of the\ndetector and the alignment of the single monolayers composing detector modules\nare presented, improving the drift-time and position resolution of the detector\nby 20\\%. Finally, a potential use of the improved resolution for the timing of\ncharged tracks is described, showing the possibility to identify low-momentum\nhadrons with their time-of-flight.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "LAPPD operation using ToFPETv2 PETSYS ASIC: Single photon sensitive detectors used in high energy physics are, in some\napplications, required to cover areas the size of several m2, and more\nspecifically in very strong demand with15 an ever finer imaging and timing\ncapability for Cherenkov Ring Imaging Detector (RICH) configurations. We are\nevaluating the Large Area Picosecond Photo-detector (LAPPD) produced by INCOM\ncompany, as a possible candidate for future RICH detector upgrades. In this\nwork we perform tests on the second generation device, which is capacitively\ncoupled to a custom designed anode back plane, consisting of various pixels and\nstrips varying in size, that allows for connecting various readout systems such\nas standard laboratory equipment, as well as the TOFPET2 ASIC from PETsys\ncompany. Our aim is to evaluate what can be achieved by merging currently\navailable technology, in order to find directions for future developments\nadapted for specific uses.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "ALICE HLT TPC Tracking of Pb-Pb Events on GPUs: The online event reconstruction for the ALICE experiment at CERN requires\nprocessing capabilities to process central Pb-Pb collisions at a rate of more\nthan 200 Hz, corresponding to an input data rate of about 25 GB/s. The\nreconstruction of particle trajectories in the Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is\nthe most compute intensive step. The TPC online tracker implementation combines\nthe principle of the cellular automaton and the Kalman filter. It has been\naccelerated by the usage of graphics cards (GPUs). A pipelined processing\nallows to perform the tracking on the GPU, the data transfer, and the\npreprocessing on the CPU in parallel. In order for CPU pre- and postprocessing\nto keep step with the GPU the pipeline uses multiple threads. A splitting of\nthe tracking in multiple phases searching for short local track segments first\nimproves data locality and makes the algorithm suited to run on a GPU. Due to\nspecial optimizations this course of action is not second to a global approach.\nBecause of non-associative floating-point arithmetic a binary comparison of GPU\nand CPU tracker is infeasible. A track by track and cluster by cluster\ncomparison shows a concordance of 99.999%. With current hardware, the GPU\ntracker outperforms the CPU version by about a factor of three leaving the\nprocessor still available for other tasks.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Shintake Monitor in ATF2 : Present Status: A beam size monitor so called Shintake monitor, which uses the inverse\nCompton scattering between the laser interference fringe and the electron beam\nwas designed for and installed at ATF2. The commissioning at ATF2 was started\nin the end of 2008 and succeeded in the measurement of the fringe pattern from\nthe scattered gamma-rays. The present status of the Shintake monitor is\ndescribed here.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Description and comparison of algorithms for correcting anisotropic\n magnification in cryo-EM images: Single particle electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) allows for structures of\nproteins and protein complexes to be determined from images of non-crystalline\nspecimens. Cryo-EM data analysis requires electron microscope images of\nrandomly oriented ice-embedded protein particles to be rotated and translated\nto allow for coherent averaging when calculating three-dimensional (3D)\nstructures. Rotation of 2D images is usually done with the assumption that the\nmagnification of the electron microscope is the same in all directions.\nHowever, due to electron optical aberrations, this condition is not met with\nsome electron microscopes when used with the settings necessary for cryo-EM\nwith a direct detector device (DDD) camera. Correction of images by linear\ninterpolation in real space has allowed high-resolution structures to be\ncalculated from cryo-EM images for symmetric particles. Here we describe and\ncompare a simple real space method, a simple Fourier space method, and a\nsomewhat more sophisticated Fourier space method to correct images for a\nmeasured anisotropy in magnification. Further, anisotropic magnification causes\ncontrast transfer function (CTF) parameters estimated from image power spectra\nto have an apparent systematic astigmatism. To address this problem we develop\nan approach to adjust CTF parameters measured from distorted images so that\nthey can be used with corrected images. The effect of anisotropic magnification\non CTF parameters provides a simple way of detecting magnification anisotropy\nin cryo-EM datasets.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "SuperB: a linear high-luminosity B Factory: This paper is based on the outcome of the activity that has taken place\nduring the recent workshop on \"SuperB in Italy\" held in Frascati on November\n11-12, 2005. The workshop was opened by a theoretical introduction of Marco\nCiuchini and was structured in two working groups. One focused on the machine\nand the other on the detector and experimental issues.\n The present status on CP is mainly based on the results achieved by BaBar and\nBelle. Estabilishment of the indirect CP violation in B sector in 2001 and of\nthe direct CP violation in 2004 thanks to the success of PEP-II and KEKB e+e-\nasymmetric B Factories operating at the center of mass energy corresponding to\nthe mass of the Y(4s). With the two B Factories taking data, the Unitarity\nTriangle is now beginning to be overconstrained by improving the measurements\nof the sides and now also of the angles alpha, and gamma. We are also in\npresence of the very intriguing results about the measurements of sin(2 beta)\nin the time dependent analysis of decay channels via penguin loops, where b -->\ns sbar s and b --> s dbar d. Tau physics, in particular LFV search, as well as\ncharm and ISR physics are important parts of the scientific program of a SuperB\nFactory. The physics case together with possible scenarios for the high\nluminosity SuperB Factory based on the concepts of the Linear Collider and the\nrelated experimental issues are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The EEE Project: The new experiment ``Extreme Energy Events'' (EEE) to detect extensive air\nshowers through muon detection is starting in Italy. The use of particle\ndetectors based on Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPC) will allow to\ndetermine with a very high accuracy the direction of the axis of cosmic ray\nshowers initiated by primaries of ultra-high energy, together with a high\ntemporal resolution. The installation of many of such 'telescopes' in numerous\nHigh Schools scattered all over the Italian territory will also allow to\ninvestigate coincidences between multiple primaries producing distant showers.\nHere we present the experimental apparatus and its tasks.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Compressive Sensing of Signals Generated in Plastic Scintillators in a\n Novel J-PET Instrument: The J-PET scanner, which allows for single bed imaging of the whole human\nbody, is currently under development at the Jagiellonian University. The dis-\ncussed detector offers improvement of the Time of Flight (TOF) resolution due\nto the use of fast plastic scintillators and dedicated electronics allowing for\nsam- pling in the voltage domain of signals with durations of few nanoseconds.\nIn this paper we show that recovery of the whole signal, based on only a few\nsamples, is possible. In order to do that, we incorporate the training signals\ninto the Tikhonov regularization framework and we perform the Principal\nComponent Analysis decomposition, which is well known for its compaction\nproperties. The method yields a simple closed form analytical solution that\ndoes not require iter- ative processing. Moreover, from the Bayes theory the\nproperties of regularized solution, especially its covariance matrix, may be\neasily derived. This is the key to introduce and prove the formula for\ncalculations of the signal recovery error. In this paper we show that an\naverage recovery error is approximately inversely proportional to the number of\nacquired samples.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "First observation of liquid xenon electroluminescence with a Microstrip\n Plate: We report on the first observation of electroluminescence amplification with\na Microstrip Plate immersed in liquid xenon. The electroluminescence of the\nliquid, induced by alpha-particles, was observed in an intense non-uniform\nelectric field in the vicinity of 8-$\\mu$m narrow anode strips interlaced with\nwider cathode ones, deposited on the same side of a glass substrate. The\nelectroluminescence yield in the liquid reached a value of $(35.5 \\pm 2.6)$ VUV\nphotons/electron. We propose ways of enhancing this response with more\nappropriate microstructures towards their potential incorporation as sensing\nelements in single-phase noble-liquid detectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Advanced phase retrieval for dispersion scan: a comparative study: Dispersion scan is a self-referenced measurement technique for ultrashort\npulses. Similar to frequency-resolved optical gating, the dispersion scan\ntechnique records the dependence of nonlinearly generated spectra as a function\nof a parameter. For the two mentioned techniques, these parameters are the\ndelay and the dispersion, respectively. While dispersion scan seems to offer a\nnumber of potential advantages over other characterization methods, in\nparticular for measuring few-cycle pulses, retrieval of the spectral phase from\nthe measured traces has so far mostly relied on the Nelder-Mead algorithm,\nwhich has a tendency of stagnation in a local minimum and may produce ghost\nsatellites in the retrieval of pulses with complex spectra. We evaluate three\ndifferent strategies to overcome these retrieval problems, namely\nregularization, use of a generalized-projections algorithm, and an evolutionary\nretrieval algorithm. While all these measures are found to improve the\nprecision and convergence of dispersion scan retrieval, differential evolution\nis found to provide the best performance, enabling the near-perfect retrieval\nof the phase of complex supercontinuum pulses within less than ten seconds,\neven in the presence of strong detection noise and limited phase-matching\nbandwidth of the nonlinear process.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Mean range bunching of exotic nuclei produced by in-flight fragmentation\n and fission -- Stopped-beam experiments with increased efficiency: The novel technique of mean range bunching has been developed and applied at\nthe projectile fragment separator FRS at GSI in four experiments of the FAIR\nphase-0 experimental program. Using a variable degrader system at the final\nfocal plane of the FRS, the ranges of the different nuclides can be aligned,\nallowing to efficiently implant a large number of different nuclides\nsimultaneously in a gas-filled stopping cell or an implantation detector.\nStopping and studying a cocktail beam overcomes the present limitations of\nstopped-beam experiments. The conceptual idea of mean range bunching is\ndescribed and illustrated using simulations. In a single setting of the FRS, 37\ndifferent nuclides were stopped in the cryogenic stopping cell and were\nmeasured in a single setting broadband mass measurement with the\nmultiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer of the FRS Ion Catcher.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Prospects in Analytical Atomic Spectrometry: Tendencies in five main branches of atomic spectrometry (absorption,\nemission, mass, fluorescence and ionization spectrometry) are considered. The\nfirst three techniques are the most widespread and universal, with the best\nsensitivity attributed to atomic mass spectrometry. In the direct elemental\nanalysis of solid samples, the leading roles are now conquered by laser-induced\nbreakdown and laser ablation mass spectrometry, and the related techniques with\ntransfer of the laser ablation products into inductively-coupled plasma.\nAdvances in design of diode lasers and optical parametric oscillators promote\ndevelopments in fluorescence and ionization spectrometry and also in absorption\ntechniques where uses of optical cavities for increased effective absorption\npathlength are expected to expand. Prospects for analytical instrumentation are\nseen in higher productivity, portability, miniaturization, incorporation of\nadvanced software, automated sample preparation and transition to the\nmultifunctional modular architecture. Steady progress and growth in\napplications of plasma- and laser-based methods are observed. An interest\ntowards the absolute (standardless) analysis has revived, particularly in the\nemission spectrometry.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Dark Matter Search with sub-keV Germanium Detectors at the China Jinping\n Underground Laboratory: Germanium detectors with sub-keV sensitivities open a window to search for\nlow-mass WIMP dark matter. The CDEX-TEXONO Collaboration is conducting the\nfirst research program at the new China Jinping Underground Laboratory with\nthis approach. The status and plans of the laboratory and the experiment are\ndiscussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "SNR Spectra as a Quantitative Model for Image Quality in Polychromatic\n X-Ray Imaging: In polychromatic x-ray imaging for nondestructive testing, material science\nor medical applications, image quality is usually a problem of detecting sample\nstructure in noisy data. This problem is typically stated this way: As many\nphotons as possible need to be detected to get a good image quality.\n We instead propose to use the concept of signal detection, which is more\nuniversal. In signal detection, it is the sample properties which are detected.\nPhotons play the role of information carriers for the signal. Signal detection\nfor example allows modeling the effects which polychromaticity has on image\nquality.\n $\\mathit{SNR}$ spectra (= spatial $\\mathit{SNR}$) are used as a quantity to\ndescribe if reliable signal detection is possible. They include modulation\ntransfer and phase contrast in addition to noisiness effects. $\\mathit{SNR}$\nspectra can also be directly measured, which means that theoretical predictions\ncan easily be tested.\n We investigate the effects of signal and noise superposition on the\n$\\mathit{SNR}$ spectrum and show how selectively not detecting photons can\nincrease the image quality.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Radiation Damage Studies of Silicon Photomultipliers: We report on the measurement of the radiation hardness of silicon\nphotomultipliers (SiPMs) manufactured by\n Fondazione Bruno Kessler in Italy (1 mm$^2$ and 6.2 mm$^2$), Center of\nPerspective Technology and Apparatus in Russia (1 mm$^2$ and 4.4 mm$^2$), and\nHamamatsu Corporation in Japan (1 mm$^2$). The SiPMs were irradiated using a\nbeam of 212 MeV protons at Massachusetts General Hospital, receiving fluences\nof up to $3 \\times 10^{10}$ protons per cm$^2$ with the SiPMs at operating\nvoltage. Leakage currents were read continuously during the irradiation. The\ndelivery of the protons was paused periodically to record scope traces in\nresponse to calibrated light pulses to monitor the gains, photon detection\nefficiencies, and dark counts of the SiPMs. The leakage current and dark noise\nare found to increase with fluence. Te leakage current is found to be\nproportional to the mean square deviation of the noise distribution, indicating\nthe dark counts are due to increased random individual pixel activation, while\nSiPMs remain fully functional as photon detectors. The SiPMs are found to\nanneal at room temperature with a reduction in the leakage current by a factor\nof 2 in about 100 days.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Electric Field Measurement by Edge Transient Current Technique on\n Silicon Low Gain Avalanche Detector: A novel methodology, named the diffusion profile method, is proposed in this\nresearch to measure the electric field of a low gain avalanche detector\n(LGAD).The proposed methodology utilizes the maximum of the time derivative of\nthe edge transient current technique (edge-TCT) test waveform to quantify the\ndispersion of the light-induced carriers. This method introduces the estimation\nof the elongation of the carrier cluster caused by diffusion and the divergence\nof the electric field force during its drift along the detector. The\neffectiveness of the diffusion profile method is demonstrated through the\nanalysis of both simulated and measured edge-TCT waveforms. Experimental data\nwas collected from a laser scan performed on an LGAD detector along its\nthickness direction.A simulation procedure has been developed in RASER\n(RAdiation SEmiconductoR) to generate signals from LGAD.An assumption of\nimmediate one-step carrier multiplication is introduced to simplify the\navalanche process.Simulation results were compared with transient current data\nat the waveform level and showed a favorable match. Both simulation and\nexperimental results have shown that the diffusion profile method could be\napplied to certain edge-TCT facilities as an alternative of electric field\nmeasurement.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The discrimination capabilities of Micromegas detectors at low energy: The latest generation of Micromegas detectors show a good energy resolution,\nspatial resolution and low threshold, which make them idoneous in low energy\napplications. Two micromegas detectors have been built for dark matter\nexperiments: CAST, which uses a dipole magnet to convert axion into detectable\nx-ray photons, and MIMAC, which aims to reconstruct the tracks of low energy\nnuclear recoils in a mixture of CF4 and CHF3. These readouts have been\nrespectively built with the microbulk and bulk techniques, which show different\ngain, electron transmission and energy resolutions. The detectors and the\noperation conditions will be described in detail as well as their\ndiscrimination capabilities for low energy photons will be discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Tagging fast neutrons from an 241Am/9Be source: We report on an investigation of the fast-neutron spectrum emitted by\n241Am/9Be. Well-understood shielding, coincidence, and time-of-flight\nmeasurement techniques are employed to produce a continuous, polychromatic,\nenergy-tagged neutron beam.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "$\\texttt{nrCascadeSim}$ -- A simulation tool for nuclear recoil cascades\n resulting from neutron capture: Neutron capture-induced nuclear recoils have emerged as an important tool for\ndetector calibrations in direct dark matter detection and coherent elastic\nneutrino-nucleus scattering (CE${\\nu}$NS). $\\texttt{nrCascadeSim}$ is a\ncommand-line tool for generating simulation data for energy deposits resulting\nfrom neutron capture on pure materials. Presently, silicon, germanium, neon,\nand argon are supported. While the software was developed for solid state\ndetector calibration, it can be used for any application which requires\nsimulated neutron capture-induced nuclear recoil data.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A versatile digital approach to laser frequency comb stabilization: We demonstrate the use of a flexible digital servo system for the optical\nstabilization of both the repetition rate and carrier-envelope offset frequency\nof a laser frequency comb. The servo system is based entirely on a low-cost\nfield programmable gate array, simple electronic components, and existing\nopen-source software. Utilizing both slow and fast feedback actuators of a\ncommercial mode-locked laser frequency comb, we maintain cycle-slip free\nlocking of optically-derived beatnotes over a 30 hour period, and measure\nresidual phase noise at or below ~0.1 rad, corresponding to <100 attosecond\ntiming jitter on the optical phase locks. This stability is sufficient for\nhigh-precision frequency comb applications, and indicates comparable\nperformance to existing frequency control systems. The modularity of this\nsystem allows for it to be easily adapted to suit the servo actuators of a wide\nvariety of laser frequency combs and continuous-wave lasers, reducing cost and\ncomplexity barriers, and enabling digital phase control in a wide range of\nsettings.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "On-orbit alignment and diagnostics for the LISA Technology Package: This paper presents a procedure to perform fully autonomous on-orbit\nalignment of the interferometer on board the LISA Technology Package (LTP). LTP\ncomprises two free-floating test masses as inertial sensors that additionally\nserve as end mirrors of a set of interferometers. From the output signals of\nthe interferometers, a subset has been selected to obtain alignment information\nof the test masses. Based on these signals, an alignment procedure was\ndeveloped and successfully tested on the engineering model of the optical\nbench. Furthermore, operation procedures for the characterization of critical\non-orbit properties of the optical metrology system (e.g. fibre noise) have\nbeen established.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A new method for imaging nuclear threats using cosmic ray muons: Muon tomography is a technique that uses cosmic ray muons to generate three\ndimensional images of volumes using information contained in the Coulomb\nscattering of the muons. Advantages of this technique are the ability of cosmic\nrays to penetrate significant overburden and the absence of any additional dose\ndelivered to subjects under study above the natural cosmic ray flux.\nDisadvantages include the relatively long exposure times and poor position\nresolution and complex algorithms needed for reconstruction. Here we\ndemonstrate a new method for obtaining improved position resolution and\nstatistical precision for objects with spherical symmetry.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An express monitoring procedure for low pressure MWPC efficiency value\n in heavy ion induced complete fusion nuclear reactions: A simple routine is proposed for monitoring the efficiency value of a low\npressure pentane filled multi-wire proportional chamber (MWPC) in long term\nexperiments. The proposed algorithm utilizes a two parameter approximation for\nthe background function. It is based on a linear approximation of the\nbackground in the energy range of 4.8 to 10.0 MeV and an exponential\napproximation of the neutron induced tail in the 1.5 to 4.2 MeV region. This\nspecific energy interval is used to measure the efficiency value. Prior to\ndiscussing the algorithm, a description of the DGFRS-2 setup detection module\nis provided. Additionally, an example of its application is presented for the\ncomplete fusion of a heavy ion induced 232Th+48Ca = Ds complete fusion nuclear\nreaction. Descriptions of two other two-parameter functional dependencies for\nbackground approximations are also provided. A feature of this algorithm is\nthat there is no interruption of the main experiment for a calibration test\n(reaction). An alternative scenario is considered in brief too. In consist of a\nmeasurement of scattered target like ions in 30 to 45 MeV energy interval to\nestimate an efficiency value.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Exploration of the Dark Sector with the Fermilab Dimuon Experiment: Searches for dark-matter particles at the GeV mass scale has been receiving\nmuch attention in the last several years, partly motivated by the failure of\ndirect and indirect searches of heavier candidates to produce a signal. The\nSpinQuest dimuon experiment in the 120-GeV Main-Injector proton beam at\nFermilab, currently in the commissioning stage, is uniquely equipped to search\nfor dark photons and dark Higgs particles produced in a 5-m long iron beam dump\nwith masses in the range 0.2 - 10 GeV, running in a parasitic mode. This only\nrequires a modest upgrade of a displaced-vertex trigger with acceptance for\ndark-sector particles decaying into dimuons inside or downstream of the dump.\nWe discuss the physics reach of such a run, the status, and some additional\nfuture prospects.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neutrino Physics with JUNO: The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), a 20 kton multi-purpose\nunderground liquid scintillator detector, was proposed with the determination\nof the neutrino mass hierarchy as a primary physics goal. It is also capable of\nobserving neutrinos from terrestrial and extra-terrestrial sources, including\nsupernova burst neutrinos, diffuse supernova neutrino background, geoneutrinos,\natmospheric neutrinos, solar neutrinos, as well as exotic searches such as\nnucleon decays, dark matter, sterile neutrinos, etc. We present the physics\nmotivations and the anticipated performance of the JUNO detector for various\nproposed measurements. By detecting reactor antineutrinos from two power plants\nat 53-km distance, JUNO will determine the neutrino mass hierarchy at a 3-4\nsigma significance with six years of running. The measurement of antineutrino\nspectrum will also lead to the precise determination of three out of the six\noscillation parameters to an accuracy of better than 1\\%. Neutrino burst from a\ntypical core-collapse supernova at 10 kpc would lead to ~5000\ninverse-beta-decay events and ~2000 all-flavor neutrino-proton elastic\nscattering events in JUNO. Detection of DSNB would provide valuable information\non the cosmic star-formation rate and the average core-collapsed neutrino\nenergy spectrum. Geo-neutrinos can be detected in JUNO with a rate of ~400\nevents per year, significantly improving the statistics of existing geoneutrino\nsamples. The JUNO detector is sensitive to several exotic searches, e.g. proton\ndecay via the $p\\to K^++\\bar\\nu$ decay channel. The JUNO detector will provide\na unique facility to address many outstanding crucial questions in particle and\nastrophysics. It holds the great potential for further advancing our quest to\nunderstanding the fundamental properties of neutrinos, one of the building\nblocks of our Universe.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Phase-1 Upgrade of the ATLAS Level-1 Endcap Muon Trigger: For Run 3 (from 2021), the LHC will undergo a significant increase in\ninstantaneous luminosity to 1.5 times its current value which will lead to\nlarger collected statistics and an enhanced sensitivity to new physics. The\nPhase-1 upgrade of the ATLAS Level-1 endcap muon trigger is essential to keep\nthe physics acceptance at Run 3. A new trigger logic to take coincidence with\ndetectors inside and outside the magnetic field is described and is shown to\nreduce the trigger rate to lower than the required level in Run 3. A new\ntrigger board, NSL, to integrate all the information from various detectors,\nhas been developed, and the implementation of the new logic on the FPGA has\nbeen successfully demonstrated.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Stray Field Magnetic Resonance Tomography using Ferromagnetic Spheres: The methodology for obtaining two- and three-dimensional magnetic resonance\nimages by using azimuthally symmetric dipolar magnetic fields from\nferromagnetic spheres is described. We utilize the symmetric property of a\ngeometric sphere in the presence of a large externally applied magnetic field\nto demonstrate that a complete two- or three-dimensional structured rendering\nof a sample can be obtained without the motion of the sample relative to the\nsphere. Sequential positioning of the integrated sample-sphere system in an\nexternal magnetic field at various angular orientations provides all the\nrequired imaging slices for successful computerized tomographic image\nreconstruction. The elimination of the requirement to scan the sample relative\nto the ferromagnetic tip in this imaging protocol is a potentially valuable\nsimplification compared to previous scanning probe magnetic resonance imaging\nproposals.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Liquid argon characterization of the X-ARAPUCA with alpha particles,\n gamma rays and cosmic muons: The X-ARAPUCA device is the baseline choice for the photon detection system\nof the first far detector module of the DUNE experiment. We present the results\nof the first complete characterization of a small scale X-ARAPUCA prototype,\nwhich is a slice of a full DUNE module. Its total detection efficiency in\nliquid argon was measured with three different ionizing radiations: $\\alpha$\nparticles, $\\gamma$'s and muons and resulted to be $\\sim$2.2% when the active\nsilicon photomultipliers were biased at +5.0 V of over voltage, corresponding\nto a Photon Detection Efficiency around 50% at room temperature. This value\ncomfortably satisfies the requirements of the first DUNE far detector module\n(detection efficiency $>$2.0%) and allows to achieve an energy resolution\ncomparable to the one achievable with the Time Projection Chambers for energies\nbelow 10 MeV, which is the region relevant for Supernova neutrino detection.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Comparing Instrument Spectral Sensitivity of Dissimilar Electromagnetic\n Haloscopes to Axion Dark Matter and High Frequency Gravitational Waves: It is known that haloscopes that search for dark matter axions via the\naxion-photon anomaly are also sensitive to gravitational radiation through the\ninverse Gertsenshtein effect. Recently this way of searching for high frequency\ngravitational waves has gained momentum as it has been shown that the strain\nsensitivities of such detectors are of the same order of sensitivity to the\naxion-photon theta angle. Thus, after calculating the sensitivity of a\nhaloscope to an axion signal, we also have calculated the order of magnitude\nsensitivity to a gravitational wave signal of the same spectral and temporal\nform. However, it is unlikely that a gravitational wave and an axion signal\nwill be of the same form, since physically the way the signals are generated\nare completely different. For gravitational wave detection, the spectral strain\nsensitivity is in units strain per square root Hz, is the natural way to\ncompare the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors due to its independence\non the gravitational wave signal. In this work, we introduce a systematic way\nto calculate the spectral sensitivity of an axion haloscope, so instrument\ncomparison may be achieved independent of signal assumptions and only depends\non the axion to signal transduction sensitivity and noise in the instrument.\nThus, the calculation of the spectral sensitivity not only allows the\ncomparison of dissimilar axion detectors independent of signal, but also allows\nus to compare the order of magnitude gravitational wave sensitivity in terms of\nspectral strain sensitivity, allowing comparisons to standard gravitational\nwave detectors based on optical interferometers and resonant-mass technology.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A First Comparison of the responses of a He4-based fast-neutron detector\n and a NE-213 liquid-scintillator reference detector: A first comparison has been made between the pulse-shape discrimination\ncharacteristics of a novel $^{4}$He-based pressurized scintillation detector\nand a NE-213 liquid-scintillator reference detector using an Am/Be mixed-field\nneutron and gamma-ray source and a high-resolution scintillation-pulse\ndigitizer. In particular, the capabilities of the two fast neutron detectors to\ndiscriminate between neutrons and gamma-rays were investigated. The NE-213\nliquid-scintillator reference cell produced a wide range of scintillation-light\nyields in response to the gamma-ray field of the source. In stark contrast, due\nto the size and pressure of the $^{4}$He gas volume, the $^{4}$He-based\ndetector registered a maximum scintillation-light yield of 750~keV$_{ee}$ to\nthe same gamma-ray field. Pulse-shape discrimination for particles with\nscintillation-light yields of more than 750~keV$_{ee}$ was excellent in the\ncase of the $^{4}$He-based detector. Above 750~keV$_{ee}$ its signal was\nunambiguously neutron, enabling particle identification based entirely upon the\namount of scintillation light produced.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Spectroscopy Apparatus for the Measurement of The Hyperfine Structure of\n Antihydrogen: The ASACUSA CUSP collaboration at the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) of CERN is\nplanning to measure the ground-state hyperfine splitting of antihydrogen using\nan atomic spectroscopy beamline. We describe here the latest developments on\nthe spectroscopy apparatus developed to be coupled to the antihydrogen\nproduction setup (CUSP).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Heavy Photon Search Experiment at Jefferson Lab: The Heavy Photon Search (HPS) is a new experiment at Jefferson Lab that will\nsearch for heavy U(1) vector bosons (heavy photons or dark photons) in the mass\nrange of 20 MeV/c$^2$ to 1 GeV/c$^2$. Dark photons in this mass range are\ntheoretically favorable and may mediate dark matter interactions. The dark\nphoton couples to electric charge through kinetic mixing with the photon,\nallowing its production through a process analogous to bremsstrahlung\nradiation. HPS will utilize this production mechanism to probe dark photons\nwith relative couplings of ${\\epsilon}^2 = {\\alpha}'/{\\alpha}$ ~ $10^{-5}$ to\n$10^{-10}$ and search for the $e^{+}e^{-}$ or $\\mu^{+}\\mu^{-}$ decay of the\ndark photon via two signatures (invariant mass and displaced vertex). Using\nJefferson Lab's high luminosity electron beam along with a compact large\nacceptance forward spectrometer consisting of a silicon vertex tracker, lead\ntungstate electromagnetic calorimeter and a muon detector, HPS will access\nhitherto unexplored regions in the mass/coupling space.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "New high-sensitivity searches for neutrons converting into antineutrons\n and/or sterile neutrons at the European Spallation Source: The violation of Baryon Number, $\\mathcal{B}$, is an essential ingredient for\nthe preferential creation of matter over antimatter needed to account for the\nobserved baryon asymmetry in the universe. However, such a process has yet to\nbe experimentally observed. The HIBEAM/NNBAR %experiment program is a proposed\ntwo-stage experiment at the European Spallation Source (ESS) to search for\nbaryon number violation. The program will include high-sensitivity searches for\nprocesses that violate baryon number by one or two units: free\nneutron-antineutron oscillation ($n\\rightarrow \\bar{n}$) via mixing,\nneutron-antineutron oscillation via regeneration from a sterile neutron state\n($n\\rightarrow [n',\\bar{n}'] \\rightarrow \\bar{n}$), and neutron disappearance\n($n\\rightarrow n'$); the effective $\\Delta \\mathcal{B}=0$ process of neutron\nregeneration ($n\\rightarrow [n',\\bar{n}'] \\rightarrow n$) is also possible. The\nprogram can be used to discover and characterise mixing in the neutron,\nantineutron, and sterile neutron sectors. The experiment addresses topical open\nquestions such as the origins of baryogenesis, the nature of dark matter, and\nis sensitive to scales of new physics substantially in excess of those\navailable at colliders. A goal of the program is to open a discovery window to\nneutron conversion probabilities (sensitivities) by up to three orders of\nmagnitude compared with previous searches. The opportunity to make such a leap\nin sensitivity tests should not be squandered. The experiment pulls together a\ndiverse international team of physicists from the particle (collider and low\nenergy) and nuclear physics communities, while also including specialists in\nneutronics and magnetics.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A wide swing charge sensitive amplifier for a prototype Si-W EM\n calorimeter: A wide swing charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) has been developed, as a part\nof a front-end electronics (FEE) readout ASIC, for a prototype silicon tungsten\n(Si-W) based electromagnetic (EM) calorimeter. The CSA, designed in 0.35 $\\mu$m\nN-well CMOS technology using 5V MOS transistors, has a wide linear operating\nrange of 2.6 pC w.r.t the input charge with a power dissipation of 2.3 mW. A\nnoise figure (ENC) of 820 e$^-$ at 0 pF of detector capacitance with a noise\nslope of 25 e$^-$/pF has been achieved (when followed by a CR-RC$^2$ filter of\n1.2 $\\mu$s peaking time). This design of CSA provides a dynamic range (ratio of\nmaximum detectable signal to noise floor) of 79 dB for the maximum input charge\nof 2.6 pC when connected to a silicon detector with a capacitance of 40 pF.\nUsing folded cascode architecture-based input stage and low voltage high swing\ncurrent mirrors as the load, the CSA provides an enlarged output swing when\nbiasing the output node towards one supply rail and utilizing the voltage range\ntowards the opposite rail. The design philosophy works for both polarities of a\nlarge input signal. This paper presents the design of CSA with a wide negative\noutput swing for an anticipated input signal of positive polarity in the target\napplication with a known detector biasing scheme.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Simulation-based optimization of a multilayer 10B-RPC thermal neutron\n detector: A Monte Carlo simulation-based optimization of a multilayer 10B-RPC thermal\nneutron detector is performed targeting an increase in the counting rate\ncapability while maintaining high (>50%) detection efficiency for thermal\nneutrons. The converter layer thicknesses of individual RPCs are optimized for\nseveral configurations of a detector containing a stack of 10 double gap RPCs.\nThe results suggest that it is possible to reach a counting rate which is by a\nfactor of eight higher in comparison to the rate of a detector with only one\ndouble-gap RPC. The effect of neutron scattering inside the detector\ncontributing to the background is analyzed and design modifications of the\nfirst detector prototype, tested at neutron beam, are suggested.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Designing Model and Optimization of the Permanent Magnet for Joule\n Balance NIM-2: Permanent magnets with yokes are widely used in the watt and joule balances\nto measure the Planck constant for the forthcoming redefinition of the unit of\nmass, the kilogram. Recently, a permanent magnet system has been in\nconsideration for a further practice of NIM-2, the generalized joule balance.\nIn this paper, an analytical model to design the permanent magnet system is\npresented. The presented model can be solved to obtain the preliminary\nparameters and then is used as guidance for FEA software to optimize the\nparameters of such magnetic system. As an instance for the application of the\ndesigning model, the design of the permanent magnet system for NIM-2 is\ndescribed and the special design of opening shape makes the misalignment of the\ntop and middle yokes has little influence on the vertical component of the\nmagnetic field.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterising a Si(Li) detector element for the SIXA X-ray spectrometer: The detection efficiency and response function of a Si(Li) detector element\nfor the SIXA spectrometer have been determined in the 500 eV to 5 keV energy\nrange using synchrotron radiation emitted at a bending magnet of the electron\nstorage ring BESSY, which is a primary radiation standard. The agreement\nbetween the measured spectrum and the model calculation is better than 2%.\n PACS: 95.55.Ka; 07.85.Nc; 29.40.Wk; 85.30.De\n Keywords: Si(Li) detectors, X-ray spectrometers, detector calibration, X-ray\nresponse, spectral lineshape", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Validation of a model for Radon-induced background processes in\n electrostatic spectrometers: The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment investigating tritium\nbeta-decay close to the endpoint with unprecedented precision has stringent\nrequirements on the background level of less than 10^(-2) counts per second.\nElectron emission during the alpha-decay of Rn-219 and Rn-220 atoms in the\nelectrostatic spectrometers of KATRIN is a serious source of background\nexceeding this limit. In this paper we compare extensive simulations of\nRn-induced background to specific measurements with the KATRIN pre-spectrometer\nto fully characterize the observed Rn-background rates and signatures and\ndetermine generic Rn emanation rates from the pre-spectrometer bulk material\nand its vacuum components.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Real-time Data Acquisition and Processing System for MHz Repetition Rate\n Image Sensors: One of the optimization goals of a particle accelerator is to reach the\nhighest possible beam peak current. For that to happen the electron bunch\npropagating through the accelerator should be kept relatively short along the\ndirection of its travel. In order to obtain a better understanding of the beam\ncomposition it is crucial to evaluate the electric charge distribution along\nthe micrometer-scale packets. The task of the Electro-Optic Detector (EOD) is\nto imprint the beam charge profile on the spectrum of light of a laser pulse.\nThe actual measurement of charge distribution is then extracted with a\nspectrometer based on a diffraction grating.\n The article focuses on developed data acquisition and processing system\ncalled the High-speed Optical Line Detector (HOLD). It is a 1D image\nacquisition system which solves several challenges related to capturing,\nbuffering, processing and transmitting large data streams with use of the FPGA\ndevice. It implements a latency-optimized custom architecture based on the AXI\ninterfaces. The HOLD device is realized as an FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC) carrier\nwith single High Pin-Count connector hosting the KIT KALYPSO detector.\n The solution presented in the paper is probably one of the world fastest line\ncameras. Thanks to its custom architecture it is capable of capturing at least\n10 times more frames per second than fastest comparable commercially available\ndevices.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Calibration of liquid argon detector with $^{83m}Kr$ and $^{22}Na$ in\n different drift field: $^{83m}Kr$ and $^{22}Na$ have been used in calibrating a liquid argon (LAr)\ndetector.$^{83m}Kr$ atoms are produced through the decay of $^{83}Rb$ and\nintroduced into the LAr detector through the circulating purification system.\nThe light yield reaches 7.26$\\pm$0.02 photonelectrons/keV for 41.5keV from\n$^{83m}Kr$ and 7.66$\\pm$0.01 photonelectrons/keV for the 511keV from $^{22}Na$,\nas a comparison. The light yield varies with the drift electric field from 50\nto 200V/cm have been also reported. After stopping fill, the decay rate of\n$^{83m}Kr$ with a fitted half-life of 1.83$\\pm$0.11 h, which is consistent with\nthe reported value of 1.83$\\pm$0.02 h.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Dark matter search in a Beam-Dump eXperiment (BDX) at Jefferson Lab --\n 2018 update to PR12-16-001: This document complements and completes what was submitted last year to PAC45\nas an update to the proposal PR12-16-001 \"Dark matter search in a Beam-Dump\neXperiment (BDX)\" at Jefferson Lab submitted to JLab-PAC44 in 2016. Following\nthe suggestions contained in the PAC45 report, in coordination with the lab, we\nran a test to assess the beam-related backgrounds and validate the simulation\nframework used to design the BDX experiment. Using a common Monte Carlo\nframework for the test and the proposed experiment, we optimized the selection\ncuts to maximize the reach considering simultaneously the signal, cosmic-ray\nbackground (assessed in Catania test with BDX-Proto) and beam-related\nbackgrounds (irreducible NC and CC neutrino interactions as determined by\nsimulation). Our results confirmed what was presented in the original proposal:\nwith 285 days of a parasitic run at 65 $\\mu$A (corresponding to $10^{22}$ EOT)\nthe BDX experiment will lower the exclusion limits in the case of no signal by\none to two orders of magnitude in the parameter space of dark-matter coupling\nversus mass.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measuring the Neutrino Mass Hierarchy with Atmospheric Neutrinos: The proposed PINGU experiment to measure the neutrino mass hierarchy is\npresented, in the context of long-range planning by the U.S. nuclear physics\ncommunity.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A measurement of the absolute neutron beam polarization produced by an\n optically-pumped 3He spin filter: The capability of performing accurate measurements of neutron beam\npolarization opens a number of exciting opportunities in fundamental neutron\nphysics and in neutron scattering. At the LANSCE pulsed neutron source we have\nmeasured the neutron beam polarization with absolute accuracy of 0.3% in the\nneutron energy range from 40 meV to 10 eV using an optically-pumped polarized\n3He spin filter and a relative transmission measurement technique. 3He was\npolarized using the Rb spin-exchange method. We describe the measurement\ntechnique, present our results, and discuss some of the systematic effects\nassociated with the method.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Long distance nu_e -> nu_mu transitions and CP-violation with high\n intensity beta-beams: The recent experimental determinations of a large theta_13 angle have opened\nthe way to a determination of the mass hierarchy and of the CP-violating phase.\nExperiments based on horn produced (anti-)neutrino conventional beams are\npresently under development. The event rates are marginal for a definitive\nsearch, since they require very intense beams and extremely large detector\nmasses. Zucchelli has proposed a method in which pure (anti-)nu_e beams are\ngenerated by the beta-decay of relativistic radio-nuclides stored in a high\nenergy storage ring pointing towards a far away neutrino detector. Since they\nhave a much smaller transverse momentum distribution, the neutrino flux will be\nmuch more narrowly concentrated than with a horn. The isomeric doublet Li-8\n(anti-nu_e, tau_1/2=0.84s) and B-8 (nu_e, tau_1/2=0.77s) has been studied.\nNeutrino and antineutrino beams are produced with an average transverse\nmomentum of about 6.5 MeV/c. Radioactive ions may be generated with a dedicated\ntable-top storage ring to supply a suitable ion source to be accelerated at\nhigh energies either at FNAL or at CERN. Ions should then extracted from the\naccelerator and accumulated in a decay storage ring with a long straight\nsection pointing toward the neutrino detector. A massive detector based on\nliquid Argon technology is probably offering the best opportunities for such\nfuture programme. The present ICARUS LAr-TPC experiment has already collected\nat LNGS events in the relevant neutrino energy region. They should provide a\nfirst evidence for a conclusive experimental study of the competing signals and\nmore generally for the actual feasibility of the beta-beam option in a search\nof the CP violating phase. Additional data may be provided in the near future\nwith the ICARUS and MicroBooNe neutrino experiments located at a short distance\nneutrino beam and that will collect a much larger number of neutrino events.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Laser-driven ultrafast impedance spectroscopy for measuring complex ion\n hopping processes: Superionic conductors, or solid-state ion-conductors surpassing 0.01 S/cm in\nconductivity, can enable more energy dense batteries, robust artificial ion\npumps, and optimized fuel cells. However, tailoring superionic conductors\nrequire precise knowledge of ion migration mechanisms that are still not well\nunderstood, due to limitations set by available spectroscopic tools. Most\nspectroscopic techniques do not probe ion hopping at its inherent picosecond\ntimescale, nor the many-body correlations between the migrating ions, lattice\nvibrational modes, and charge screening clouds--all of which are posited to\ngreatly enhance ionic conduction. Here, we develop an ultrafast technique that\nmeasures the time-resolved change in impedance upon light excitation which\ntriggers selective ion-coupled correlations. We also develop a cost-effective,\nnon-time-resolved laser-driven impedance method that is more accessible for\nlab-scale adoption. We use both techniques to compare the relative changes in\nimpedance of a solid-state Li+ conductor Li0.5La0.5TiO3 (LLTO) before and after\nUV to THz frequency excitations to elucidate the corresponding\nion-many-body-interaction correlations. From our techniques, we determine that\nelectronic screening and phonon-mode interactions dominate the ion migration\npathway of LLTO. Although we only present one case study, our technique can\nextend to O2-, H+, or other charge carrier transport phenomena where ultrafast\ncorrelations control transport. Furthermore, the temporal relaxation of the\nmeasured impedance can distinguish ion transport effects caused by many-body\ncorrelations, optical heating, correlation, and memory behavior.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "In-situ gamma spectrometry measurements of time-dependent Xenon-135\n inventory in the TRIGA Mark II reactor Vienna: In this work, it has been shown that the time dependent Xe-135 inventory in\nthe TRIGA Mark II reactor in Vienna, Austria can be measured via gamma\nspectrometry even in the presence of strong background radiation. It is\nfocussing on the measurement of (but not limited to) the nuclide Xe-135.\n The time dependent Xe-135 inventory of the TRIGA Mark II reactor Vienna has\nbeen measured using a temporary beam line between one fuel element of the core\nplaced onto the thermal column after shutdown and a detector system located\njust above the water surface of the reactor tank. For the duration of one week,\nmultiple gamma ray spectra were recorded automatically, starting each afternoon\nafter reactor shutdown until the next morning. One measurement series has been\nrecorded over the weekend.\n The Xe-135 peaks were extracted from a total of 1227 recorded spectra using\nan automated peak search algorithm and analyzed for their time-dependent\nproperties. Although the background gamma radiation present in the core after\nshutdown was large especially in the lower energy range, the Xe-135 peak\nlocated at 249.8 keV could be extracted from the most spectra where present and\ncould be compared to theoretical calculations.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study and mitigation of spurious electron emission from cathodic wires\n in noble liquid time projection chambers: Noble liquid radiation detectors have long been afflicted by spurious\nelectron emission from their cathodic electrodes. This phenomenon must be\nunderstood and mitigated in the next generation of liquid xenon (LXe)\nexperiments searching for WIMP dark matter or neutrinoless double beta decay,\nand in the large liquid argon (LAr) detectors for the long-baseline neutrino\nprogrammes. We present a systematic study of this spurious emission involving a\nseries of slow voltage-ramping tests on fine metal wires immersed in a\ntwo-phase xenon time projection chamber with single electron sensitivity.\nEmission currents as low as $10^{-18}$ A can thus be detected by electron\ncounting, a vast improvement over previous dedicated measurements. Emission\nepisodes were recorded at surface fields as low as $\\sim$10 kV/cm in some wires\nand observed to have complex emission patterns, with average rates of 10-200\ncounts per second (c/s) and outbreaks as high as $\\sim$10$^6$ c/s. A fainter,\nless variable type of emission was also present in all untreated samples. There\nis evidence of a partial conditioning effect, with subsequent tests yielding on\naverage fewer emitters occurring at different fields for the same wire. We find\nno evidence for an intrinsic threshold particular to the metal-LXe interface\nwhich might have limited previous experiments up to fields of at least 160\nkV/cm. The general phenomenology is not consistent with enhanced field emission\nfrom microscopic filaments, but it appears instead to be related to the quality\nof the wire surface in terms of corrosion and the nature of its oxide layer.\nThis study concludes that some surface treatments, in particular nitric acid\ncleaning for stainless steel wires, can bringing about at least\norder-of-magnitude improvements in overall electron emission rates, and this\nshould help the next generation of detectors achieve the required electrostatic\nperformance.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The AFP Project: AFP is a project to extend the diffractive physics programme of the ATLAS\nexperiment by installing new detectors that will be able to tag forward protons\nscattered at very small angles. This will allow us to study Single Diffraction,\nDouble Pomeron Exchange, Central Exclusive Production and photon-photon\nprocesses. This note presents the physics case for the AFP project and briefly\ndescribes the proposed detector system.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An investigation of avalanche noise in the non local impact ionization\n regime: The probability distribution function (PDF) for avalanche multiplication and\nthe excess noise factor are calculated using non local ionization coefficients.\nThe dead space effect is shown to reduce the excess noise factor for a given\nmultiplication. At higher electric field values a resonance effect is observed\nin addition to the dead space effect. The resonance effect leads to a more\ndeterministic behaviour in the PDF for avalanche multiplication and this gives\nrise to very low excess noise factors for multiplication values of 2, 4, 8 and\n16 if the ionization coefficient ratio is small.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "LFS-3 - new radiation hard scintillator for electromagnetic calorimeters: Radiation damage of new heavy LFS-3 scintillating crystals has been studied\nusing powerful $^{60}Co$ source at the dose rate of 4 Krad/min. No\ndeterioration in optical transmission of LFS-3 crystals was observed after\nirradiation with the dose of 23 Mrad.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of the ALICE muon trigger system in pp and Pb/en-dashPb\n collisions at the LHC: The ALICE muon spectrometer studies the production of quarkonia and open\nheavy- flavour particles. It is equipped with a Trigger System composed of\nResistive Plate Chambers which, by applying a transverse-momentum-based muon\nselection, minimises the background from light-hadron decays. The system has\nbeen continuously taking data throughout the LHC Run I; it has undergone\nmaintenance and consolidation operations during the LHC shutdown period 1. In\nthe first year of the LHC Run II, the system, fully recommissioned, has\nparticipated in data taking in pp and Pb/en-dashPb collisions. The performance\nof the system throughout the last data-taking period is presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "New Preshower detector for DIRAC Experiment: The Preshower (PSh) detector is a component of the DIRAC setup. It is\ndesigned to improve rejection efficiency of e-e+ pairs background in the\n{\\pi}{\\pi} and K{\\pi} pair measurement. To increase the overall efficiency, a\nnew two-layer structure scintillator Preshower detector has been realized in\nthe region where the Nitrogen Cherenkov detector has been shortened to\nintroduce new detectors. The new Preshower-Cherenkov combination ensures the\nelectron rejection efficiency better than 99.9% in momentum region 1-7 GeV/c.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Time-varying tip-sample force measurements confirm steady-state dynamics\n in tapping-mode atomic force microscopy: Direct time-varying tip-sample force measurements by torsional harmonic\ncantilevers facilitate detailed investigations of the cantilever dynamics in\ntapping-mode atomic force microscopy. Here we report experimental evidence that\nthe mathematical relationships describing the steady state dynamics are\nquantitatively satisfied by the independent measurements of tip-sample forces\nover a broad range of experimental conditions. These results confirm the\nexisting understanding of the tapping-mode atomic force microscopy and build\nconfidence on the reliability of time-varying tip-sample force measurements by\nthe torsional harmonic cantilevers.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Upgrading the Inner Tracking System and the Time Projection Chamber of\n ALICE: The ALICE experiment at CERN is undergoing a major upgrade during the Long\nShutdown 2 (LS2) of the LHC during 2019-2020. The key elements regarding the\ncentral barrel are the installation of a new Inner Tracking System (ITS) and\nthe upgrade of the large Time Projection Chamber (TPC). The TPC is currently\nbeing upgraded with a new readout system, including new GEM-based Readout\nChambers and new front-end electronics enabling us to operate it in continuous\nmode. The new ITS based on CMOS Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors will\nsignificantly improve the impact parameter resolution and the tracking\nefficiency, especially for particles with low transverse momenta, as well as\nthe readout-rate capability. In the following, the upgrades and their assembly\nand commissioning status will be outlined. Furthermore, an outlook will be\ngiven on plans for the upgrade of the ITS foreseen for the third long shutdown\nof the LHC in 2025-2026. For this upgrade, the three innermost layers could be\nreplaced by cylindrical detector layers, made of curved wafer-scale-sized CMOS\nsensors, to lower even further the material budget and to improve the pointing\nresolution.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Space-Charge effect in electron time-of-flight analyzer for high-energy\n photoemission spectroscopy: The space-charge effect, due to the instantaneous emission of many electrons\nafter the absorption of a single photons pulse, causes distortion in the\nphotoelectron energy spectrum. Two calculation methods have been applied to\nsimulate the expansion during a free flight of clouds of mono- and bi-energetic\nelectrons generated by a high energy pulse of light and their results have been\ncompared. The accuracy of a widely used tool, such as SIMION(R), in predicting\nthe energy distortion caused by the space-charge has been tested and the\nreliability of its results is verified. Finally we used SIMION(R) to take into\naccount the space-charge effects in the simulation of simple photoemission\nexperiments with a time-of-flight analyzer.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The CMS muon system in Run2: preparation, status and first results: The CMS muon system has played a key role for many physics results obtained\nfrom the LHC Run-1 data. During the Long Shutdown (2013-2014) significant\nupgrades have been carried out on the muon detectors and on the L1 muon\ntrigger. In parallel the algorithms for muon reconstruction and identification\nhave been improved for both the High-Level Trigger and the offline\nreconstruction. Results of studies performed on data and Monte Carlo\nsimulations will be presented, with focus on the improvements aiming to ensure\nan excellent performance in conditions of multiplicity of pileup events and\nbunch spacing expected during the high-luminosity phase of Run-2. The early\nmuon performance results from LHC Run-2 will be shown.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The SABRE project and the SABRE PoP: SABRE aims to directly measure the annual modulation of the dark matter\ninteraction rate with NaI(Tl) crystals. A modulation compatible with the\nstandard hypothesis in which our Galaxy is embedded in a dark matter halo has\nbeen measured by the DAMA experiment in the same target material. Other direct\ndetection experiments, using different target materials, seem to exclude the\ninterpretation of such modulation in the simplest scenario of WIMP-nucleon\nelastic scattering. The SABRE experiment aims to carry out an independent\nsearch with sufficient sensitivity to confirm or refute the DAMA claim. The\nSABRE concept and goal is to obtain a background rate of the order of 0.1\ncpd/kg/keVee in the energy region of interest. This challenging goal is\nachievable by operating high-purity crystals inside a liquid scintillator veto\nfor active background rejection. In addition, twin detectors will be located in\nthe northern and southern hemispheres to identify possible contributions to the\nmodulation from seasonal or site-related effects. The SABRE project includes an\ninitial Proof-of-Principle phase at LNGS (Italy), to assess the radio-purity of\nthe crystals and the efficiency of the liquid scintillator veto. This paper\ndescribes the general concept of SABRE and the expected sensitivity to WIMP\nannual modulation.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neutron Resonance Transmission Analysis with a Compact Deuterium-Tritium\n Neutron Generator: Neutron Resonance Transmission Analysis (NRTA) is a spectroscopic technique\nwhich uses the resonant absorption of neutrons in the epithermal range to infer\nthe isotopic composition of an object. This spectroscopic technique has\nrelevance in many traditional fields of science and nuclear security. NRTA in\nthe past made use of large, expensive accelerator facilities to achieve precise\nneutron beams, significantly limiting its applicability. In this work we\ndescribe a series of NRTA experiments where we use a compact, low-cost\ndeuterium-tritium (DT) neutron generator to produce short neutron beams (2.6~m)\nalong with a $^6$Li-glass neutron detector. The time-of-flight spectral data\nfrom five elements -- silver, cadmium, tungsten, indium, and $^{238}$U --\nclearly show the corresponding absorption lines in the 1-30 eV range. The\nexperiments show the applicability of NRTA in this simplified configuration,\nand prove the feasibility of this compact and low-cost approach. This could\nsignificantly broaden the applicability of NRTA, and make it practical and\napplicable in many fields, such as material science, nuclear engineering, and\narms control.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Coded masks for imaging of neutrino events: The capture of scintillation light emitted by liquid Argon and Xenon under\nmolecular excitations by charged particles is still a challenging task. Here we\npresent a first attempt to design a device able to grab sufficiently high\nluminosity in order to reconstruct the path of ionizing particles. This\npreliminary study is based on the use of masks to encode the light signal\ncombined with single-photon detectors. In this respect, the proposed system is\nable to detect tracks over focal distances of about tens of centimeters. From\nnumerical simulations it emerges that it is possible to successfully decode and\nrecognize signals, even complex, with a relatively limited number of\nacquisition channels. Such innovative technique can be very fruitful in a new\ngeneration of detectors devoted to neutrino physics and dark matter search.\nIndeed the introduction of coded masks combined with SiPM detectors is proposed\nfor a liquid-Argon target in the Near Detector of the DUNE experiment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Construction of Triple-GEM Detectors Using Commercially Manufactured\n Large GEM Foils: Many experiments are currently using or proposing to use large area GEM foils\nin their detectors, which is creating a need for commercially available GEM\nfoils. Currently CERN is the only main distributor of large GEM foils, however\nwith the growing interest in GEM technology keeping up with the increasing\ndemand for GEMs will be difficult. Thus the commercialization of GEMs up to 50\n$\\times$ 50 cm$^2$ has been established by Tech-Etch Inc. of Plymouth, MA, USA\nusing the single-mask technique. The electrical performance and optical quality\nof the single-mask GEM foils have been found to be on par with those produced\nby CERN. The next critical step towards validating the Tech-Etch single-mask\nGEM foils is to test their performance under physics conditions. These\nmeasurements will allow us to quantify and compare the gain and efficiency of\nthe detector to other triple-GEM detectors. This will be done by constructing\nseveral single-mask triple-GEM detectors, using foils manufactured by\nTech-Etch, which follow the design used by the STAR Forward GEM Tracker (FGT).\nThese detectors will investigate ways in which to further decrease the material\nbudget and increase the efficiency of the detector by incorporating perforated\nKapton spacer rings rather than G10 spacing grids to reduce the dead area of\nthe detector. The materials and tooling needed to assemble the triple-GEM\ndetectors have been acquired. The GEM foils have been electrically tested, and\na handful have been optically scanned. We found these results to be consistent\nwith GEM foils produced by CERN. With the success of these initial tests,\nconstruction of the triple-GEM detectors is now under way.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performances of a resistive MicroMegas module for the Time Projection\n Chambers of the T2K Near Detector upgrade: An upgrade of the Near Detector of the T2K long baseline neutrino oscillation\nexperiment, ND280, has been proposed. This upgrade will include two new Time\nProjection Chambers, each equipped with 16 resistive MicroMegas modules for gas\namplification. A first prototype of resistive MicroMegas has been designed,\nbuilt, installed in the HARP field cage, and exposed to a beam of charged\nparticles at CERN. The data have been used to characterize the performances of\nthe resistive MicroMegas module. A spatial resolution of 300 $\\mu m$ and a\ndeposited energy resolution of 9% were observed for horizontal electrons\ncrossing the TPCs at 30 cm from the anode. Such performances fully satisfy the\nrequirements for the upgrade of the ND280 TPC.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Effect of Low Electric Fields on Alpha Scintillation Light Yield in\n Liquid Argon: Measurements were made of scintillation light yield of alpha particles from\nthe $^{222}$Rn decay chain within the DarkSide-50 liquid argon time projection\nchamber. The light yield was found to increase as the applied electric field\nincreased, with alphas in a 200 V/cm electric field exhibiting a 2% increase in\nlight yield compared to alphas in no field.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "NIEL DOSE and DLTS Analyses on Triple and Single Junction solar cells\n irradiated with electrons and protons: Space solar cell radiation hardness is of fundamental importance in view of\nthe future missions towards harsh radiation environment (like the Jupiter\nmissions) and for the new spacecraft using Electrical Propulsion. In this paper\nwe report the radiation data for triple junction (TJ) solar cells and related\ncomponent cells. Triple junction solar cells, InGaP top cells and GaAs middle\ncells degrade after electron radiation as expected. With proton irradiation, a\nhigh spread in the remaining factors was observed, especially for the TJ and Ge\nbottom cells. Radiation results have been analyzed by means of the Displacement\nDamage Dose method and DLTS spectroscopy. In particular with DLTS spectroscopy\nit was possible to analyze the nature of a few defects introduced by\nirradiation inside the GaAs sub cell observing a strong correlation with the\nDisplacement Damage Dose.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "First observation of Cherenkov rings with a large area CsI-TGEM-based\n RICH prototype: We have built a RICH detector prototype consisting of a liquid C6F14 radiator\nand six triple Thick Gaseous Electron Multipliers (TGEMs), each of them having\nan active area of 10x10 cm2. One triple TGEM has been placed behind the liquid\nradiator in order to detect the beam particles, whereas the other five have\nbeen positioned around the central one at a distance to collect the Cherenkov\nphotons. The upstream electrode of each of the TGEM stacks has been coated with\na 0.4 micron thick CsI layer.\n In this paper, we will present the results from a series of laboratory tests\nwith this prototype carried out using UV light, 6 keV photons from 55Fe and\nelectrons from 90Sr as well as recent results of tests with a beam of charged\npions where for the first time Cherenkov Ring images have been successfully\nrecorded with TGEM photodetectors. The achieved results prove the feasibility\nof building a large area Cherenkov detector consisting of a matrix of TGEMs.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Scintillation efficiency of liquid argon in low energy neutron-argon\n scattering: Experiments searching for weak interacting massive particles with noble gases\nsuch as liquid argon require very low detection thresholds for nuclear recoils.\nA determination of the scintillation efficiency is crucial to quantify the\nresponse of the detector at low energy. We report the results obtained with a\nsmall liquid argon cell using a monoenergetic neutron beam produced by a\ndeuterium-deuterium fusion source. The light yield relative to electrons was\nmeasured for six argon recoil energies between 11 and 120 keV at zero electric\ndrift field.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Optimization of a fast rotating target to produce kHz X-ray pulses from\n laser-plasma interaction: We report the development of a fast rotating target to produce ultrashort\nincoherent X-ray pulses from bremsstrahlung. These short X-ray pulses are\nproduced in the laser-plasma interaction of a 35 fs, 1 mJ pulse of a Ti:Sa\nlaser of 1 kHz repetition rate, with a solid metallic target. In this paper, we\nreport our developments to improve the stability of this micron size source of\nultrashort X-rays. As the Rayleigh length is very small (<15 micron), wobbling\nof the rotatory stage can reduce the intensity on target and change the\ncharacteristics of the source. We describe the methods we have developed to\nmeasure and adjust the stability of the focus on target. These advances are\nimportant for the development of sources with high average power and good\nstability. The X-ray source has a broad Maxwellian-like distribution with\ntemperatures of around 10 - 40 KeV and could be used for advanced X-ray imaging\nsuch as absorption or phase contrast tomography.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of silicon interposer: towards an ultralow radioactivity\n background photodetector system: It is of great importance to develop a photodetector system with an ultralow\nradioactivity background in rare event searches. Silicon photomultipliers\n(SiPMs) and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are two ideal\ncandidates for low background photosensors and readout electronics,\nrespectively, because they are mainly composed of silicon, which can achieve\ngood radio-purity without considerable extra effort. However, interposers, used\nto provide mechanical support and signal routes between the photosensor and the\nelectronics, are a bottleneck in building ultralow background photodetectors.\nSilicon and quartz are two candidates to construct the low background\ninterposer because of their good radio-purity; nevertheless, it is non-trivial\nto produce through silicon vias (TSV) or through quartz vias (TQV) on the large\narea silicon or quartz wafer. In this work, based on double-sided TSV\ninterconnect technology, we developed the first prototype of a silicon\ninterposer with a size of 10~cm$\\times$10~cm and a thickness of 320~$\\mu$m. The\nelectrical properties of the interposer are carefully evaluated at room\ntemperature, and its performance is also examined at -110~$^\\circ$C with an\nintegrated SiPM on the interposer. The testing results reveal quite promising\nperformance of the prototype, and the single photoelectron signals can be\nclearly observed from the SiPM. The features of the observed signals are\ncomparable with those from the SiPM mounted on a normal FR4-based PCB. Based on\nthe success of the silicon interposer prototype, we started the follow-up\nstudies that aimed to further improve the performance and yield of the silicon\ninterposer, and eventually to provide a solution for building an ultralow\nbackground photodetector system.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measuring Antimatter Gravity with Muonium: We consider a measurement of the gravitational acceleration of antimatter,\ngbar, using muonium. A monoenergetic, low-velocity, horizontal muonium beam\nwill be formed from a surface-muon beam using a novel technique and directed at\nan atom interferometer. The measurement requires a precision three-grating\ninterferometer: the first grating pair creates an interference pattern which is\nanalyzed by scanning the third grating vertically using piezo actuators.\nState-of-the-art nanofabrication can produce the needed membrane grating\nstructure in silicon nitride or ultrananoscrystalline diamond. With 100 nm\ngrating pitch, a 10% measurement of gbar can be made using some months of\nsurface-muon beam time. This will be the first gravitational measurement of\nleptonic matter, of 2nd-generation matter and, possibly, the first measurement\nof the gravitational acceleration of antimatter.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Hardware Implementation of a Fast Algorithm for the Reconstruction of\n Muon Tracks in ATLAS Muon Drift-Tube Chambers for the First-Level Muon\n Trigger at the HL-LHC: The High-Luminosity LHC will provide the unique opportunity to explore the\nnature of physics beyond the Standard Model of strong and electroweak\ninteractions. Highly selective first level triggers are essential for the\nphysics programme of the ATLAS experiment at the HL-LHC where the instantaneous\nluminosity will exceed the LHC Run 1 instantaneous luminosity by almost an\norder of magnitude. The ATLAS first level muon trigger rate is dominated by low\nmomentum muons, selected due to the moderate momentum resolution of the\nresistive plate and thin gap trigger chambers. This limitation can be overcome\nby including the data of the precision muon drift tube (MDT) chambers in the\nfirst level trigger decision. This requires the fast continuous transfer of the\nMDT hits to the off-detector trigger logic and a fast track reconstruction\nalgorithm performed in the trigger logic.\n In order to demonstrate the feasibility of reconstructing tracks in MDT\nchambers within the short available first-level trigger latency of about\n3~$\\mu$s we implemented a seeded Hough transform on the ARM Cortex A9\nmicroprocessor of a Xilinx Zynq FPGA and studied its performance with test-beam\ndata recorded in CERN's Gamma Irradiation Facility. We could show that by using\nthe ARM processor's Neon Single Instruction Multiple Data Engine to carry out 4\nfloating point operations in parallel the challenging latency requirement can\nbe matched.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Prototype Neutron Veto for Dark Matter Detectors: Neutrons are a particularly dangerous background for direct WIMP dark matter\nsearches; their nuclear recoils with the target nucleus are often\nindistinguishable from nuclear recoils produced by WIMP-nuclear collisions. In\nthis study, we explore the concept of a liquid scintillator neutron veto\ndetector that would allow direct dark matter detectors to potentially reject\nneutrons with greater than 99% efficiency. Here we outline the construction and\ntesting of a small prototype detector and the potential implications of this\ntechnology for future dark matter detectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Resonant feedback for axion and hidden sector dark matter searches: Resonant feedback circuits are proposed as an alternative to normal modes of\nconducting wall cavities or lumped circuits in searches for hidden sector\nparticles. The proposed method offers several potential advantages over the\nmost sensitive axion searches to date, that employ cavity resonators, including\ncoverage of a wider range of axion masses, the ability to probe many axion\nmasses simultaneously, and the elimination of experimentally troublesome\nmechanical tuning rod mechanisms. After an outline of the proposed method, we\npresent a noise budget for a straw-man experiment configuration. We show that\nthe proposed experiment has the potential to probe the axion mass range 2-40\nmicro-eV with 38 days of integration time. Other existing and proposed resonant\nsearches for hidden sector particles may also benefit from this approach to\ndetection.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Self-heating of cryogenic high-electron-mobility transistor amplifiers\n and the limits of microwave noise performance: The fundamental limits of the microwave noise performance of high electron\nmobility transistors (HEMTs) are of scientific and practical interest for\napplications in radio astronomy and quantum computing. Self-heating at\ncryogenic temperatures has been reported to be a limiting mechanism for the\nnoise, but cryogenic cooling strategies to mitigate it, for instance using\nliquid cryogens, have not been evaluated. Here, we report microwave noise\nmeasurements of a packaged two-stage HEMT amplifier immersed in normal and\nsuperfluid $^4$He baths and in vacuum from 1.6 - 80 K. We find that these\nliquid cryogens are unable to mitigate the thermal noise associated with\nself-heating. Considering this finding, we examine the implications for the\nlower bounds of cryogenic noise performance in HEMTs. Our analysis supports the\ngeneral design principle for cryogenic HEMTs of maximizing gain at the lowest\npossible power.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurements of the Lifetime of Orthopositronium in the LAB-Based Liquid\n Scintillator of JUNO: Electron antineutrinos are detected in organic liquid scintillator based\nneutrino experiments by means of the inverse beta decay, producing both a\npositron and a neutron. The positron may form a bound state together with an\nelectron, called positronium (Ps). The longer-lived spin state of Ps,\northopositronium (o-Ps) has a lifetime of about $3\\,\\mathrm{ns}$ in organic\nliquid scintillators (LS). Its formation changes the time distribution of\nphoton emission, which affects positron reconstruction algorithms and allows\nthe application of pulse shape discrimination (PSD) to distinguish electron\nfrom positron events. In this work, we measured the lifetime $\\tau_2$ of o-Ps\nin the linear alkylbenzene (LAB) based LS of the JUNO (Jiangmen Underground\nNeutrino Observatory) experiment including wavelength shifters, obtaining\n$\\tau_2 = 2.97\\,\\mathrm{ns} \\pm 0.04\\,\\mathrm{ns}$. Due to systematics, which\nare not yet completely understood, we are not able to give a final result for\nthe o-Ps formation probability $I_2$. We use a novel type of setup, which\nallows a better background suppression as compared to commonly used PALS\n(positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy) measurements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Ultra-low birefringence dodecagonal vacuum glass cell: We eport on an ultra-low birefringence dodecagonal glass cell for ultra-high\nvacuum applications. The epoxy-bonded trapezoidal windows of the cell are made\nof SF57 glass, which exhibits a very low stress-induced birefringence. We\ncharacterize the birefringence $\\Delta n$ of each window with the cell under\nvacuum conditions, obtaining values around $\\num{e-8}$. After baking the cell\nat $\\SI{150}{\\degreeCelsius}$, we reach a pressure below $\\SI{e-10}{\\milli\n\\bar}$. In addition, each window is antireflection coated on both sides, which\nis highly desirable for quantum optics experiments and precision measurements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "TORCH: Time of Flight Identification with Cherenkov Radiation: TORCH is a time-of-flight detector concept using Cherenkov light to provide\ncharged particle identification up to 10 GeV/c. The concept and design are\ndescribed and performance in simulation is quantified.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "In-beam evaluation of a medium-size Resistive-Plate WELL gaseous\n particle detector: In-beam evaluation of a fully-equipped medium-size 30$\\times$30 cm$^2$\nResistive Plate WELL (RPWELL) detector is presented. It consists here of a\nsingle element gas-avalanche multiplier with Semitron ESD225 resistive plate, 1\ncm$^2$ readout pads and APV25/SRS electronics. Similarly to previous results\nwith small detector prototypes, stable operation at high detection efficiency\n(>98%) and low average pad multiplicity (~1.2) were recorded with 150 GeV muon\nand high-rate pion beams, in Ne/(5%CH$_4$), Ar/(5%CH$_4$) and Ar/(7%CO$_2$).\nThis is an important step towards the realization of robust detectors suitable\nfor applications requiring large-area coverage; among them Digital Hadron\nCalorimetry.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A narrow band neutrino beam with high precision flux measurements: The ENUBET facility is a proposed narrow band neutrino beam where lepton\nproduction is monitored at single particle level in the instrumented decay\ntunnel. This facility addresses simultaneously the two most important\nchallenges for the next generation of cross section experiments: a superior\ncontrol of the flux and flavor composition at source and a high level of\ntunability and precision in the selection of the energy of the outcoming\nneutrinos. We report here the latest results in the development and test of the\ninstrumentation for the decay tunnel. Special emphasis is given to irradiation\ntests of the photo-sensors performed at INFN-LNL and CERN in 2017 and to the\nfirst application of polysiloxane-based scintillators in high energy physics.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The new HADES ToF Forward Detector: The High-Acceptance DiElectron Spectrometer (HADES) at GSI Darmstadt consists\nof a 6-coil toroidal magnet centered on the beam axis and six identical\ndetection sections located between the coils and covering polar angles between\n$18^\\circ$ and $85^\\circ$. The physics aims include the study of the properties\nof hot and dense hadronic matter as well as elementary and pion-induced\nreactions.\n To increase the acceptance of HADES at very low polar angles in the forward\nregion, between $0.5^\\circ$ and $7^\\circ$, a new detector, the Forward Detector\n(FD), has been built. The FD is composed of a tracking and a Time Of Flight\n(TOF) detector based on Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) technology. The TOF\ndetector, covering an area of around $2$ m$^2$, is composed by $128$ strip-like\nshielded RPC cells, with two different widths $22$ mm and $44$ mm and $750$ mm\nlength distributed in four modules symmetrically placed around the beam axis.\nEach cell is composed by four gas gaps, $0.270$ mm, delimited by three ($2$ mm)\naluminum and two ($1$ mm) glass electrodes. In order to cope with an expected\nmaximum particle load of around $400$ Hz/cm$^{2}$, close to the beam axis, the\ndetector is operated above room temperature in order to decrease the\nresistivity of the glass and increase the count rate capability.\n Details of the system construction and results concerning timing precision\nare described in this communication. The detector was operated at $31.5^\\circ$C\nwith a maximum particle load of around $600$ Hz/cm$^2$ during a production beam\ntime for six weeks in early $2022$ showing an average time precision of around\n$80$ ps.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Investigation of antineutrino spectral anomaly with reactor simulation\n uncertainty: Recently, three successful antineutrino experiments (Daya Bay, Double Chooz,\nand RENO) measured the neutrino mixing angle theta_{13}; however, significant\ndiscrepancies were found, both in the absolute flux and spectral shape. Much\neffort has been expended investigating the possible reasons for the\ndiscrepancies. In this study, Monte Carlo-based sampling was used to evaluate\nthe fission fraction uncertainties. We found that fission cross-section\nuncertainties are an important source of uncertainty for $^{235}$U, $^{239}$Pu,\nand $^{241}$Pu, but for $^{238}$U, elastic and inelastic cross-sections are\nmore important. Among uncertainty related to manufacturing parameters, fuel\ndensity is the main uncertainty; however, the total manufacturing uncertainty\nwas very small. The uncertainties induced by burnup were evaluated through the\natomic density uncertainty of the four isotopes. The total fission fraction\nuncertainties from reactor simulation were 0.83%, 2.24%, 1.79%, and 2.59%\nfor235U, 238U, 239Pu, and 241Pu, respectively, at the middle of the fuel cycle.\nThe total fission fraction uncertainty was smaller than the previously derived\nvalue of 5\\%. These results are helpful for studying the reactor antineutrino\nanomaly and precisely measuring the antineutrino spectrum in the Daya Bay\nantineutrino experiment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Multimode characterization of an optical beam deflection setup: Optical beam deflection is a popular method to measure the deformation of\nmicro-mechanical devices. As it measures mostly a local slope, its sensitivity\ndepends on the location and size of the optical spot. We present a method to\nevaluate precisely these parameters, using the relative amplitude of the\nthermal noise induced vibrations. With a case study of a micro-cantilever, we\ndemonstrate the accuracy of the approach, as well as its ability to fully\ncharacterize the sensitivity of the detector, and the parameters (mass,\nstiffness) of the resonator.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Accuracy of Flight Altitude Measured with Low-Cost GNSS, Radar and\n Barometer Sensors: Implications for Airborne Radiometric Surveys: Flight height is a fundamental parameter for correcting the gamma signal\nproduced by terrestrial radionuclides measured during airborne surveys. The\nfrontiers of radiometric measurements with UAV require light and accurate\naltimeters flying at some 10 m from the ground. We equipped an aircraft with\nseven altimetric sensors (three low-cost GNSS receivers, one inertial\nmeasurement unit, one radar altimeter and two barometers) and analyzed $\\sim$ 3\nh of data collected over the sea in the (35-2194) m altitude range. At low\naltitudes (H $<$ 70 m) radar and barometric altimeters provide the best\nperformances, while GNSS data are used only for barometer calibration as they\nare affected by a large noise due to the multipath from the sea. The $\\sim$ 1 m\nmedian standard deviation at 50 m altitude affects the estimation of the ground\nradioisotope abundances with an uncertainty less than 1.3%. The GNSS\ndouble-difference post-processing enhanced significantly the data quality for H\n$>$ 80 m in terms of both altitude median standard deviation and agreement\nbetween the reconstructed and measured GPS antennas distances. Flying at 100 m\nthe estimated uncertainty on the ground total activity due to the uncertainty\non the flight height is of the order of 2%.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A gaseous RICH detector for SiD or ILD: This paper describes a preliminary study of a gaseous Ring Imaging Cherenkov\n(RICH) system capable of discriminating between kaons and pions at high momenta\n-- up to 50 GeV/c -- and thus enhancing particle identification at future\ncolliders. The system possesses a compact design, facilitating easy integration\ninto existing detector concepts. A study of the key contributions to the\nCherenkov angle resolution is also presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Optimization of the Radiation Hardness of Silicon Pixel Sensors for High\n X-ray Doses using TCAD Simulations: The European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) will deliver 27000 fully\ncoherent, high brilliance X-ray pulses per second each with a duration below\n100 fs. This will allow the recording of diffraction patterns of single\nmolecules and the study of ultra-fast processes. One of the detector systems\nunder development for the XFEL is the Adaptive Gain Integrating Pixel Detector\n(AGIPD), which consists of a pixel array with readout ASICs bump-bonded to a\nsilicon sensor with pixels of 200 {\\mu}m \\times 200 {\\mu}m. The particular\nrequirements for the detector are a high dynamic range (0, 1 up to 10E5 12 keV\nphotons/XFEL-pulse), a fast read-out and radiation tolerance up to doses of 1\nGGy of 12 keV X-rays for 3 years of operation. At this X-ray energy no bulk\ndamage in silicon is expected. However fixed oxide charges in the SiO2 layer\nand interface traps at the Si-SiO2 interface will build up. As function of the\n12 keV X-ray dose the microscopic defects in test structures and the macro-\nscopic electrical properties of segmented sensors have been investigated. From\nthe test structures the oxide charge density, the density of interface traps\nand their properties as function of dose have been determined. It is found that\nboth saturate (and even decrease) for doses above a few MGy. For segmented\nsensors surface damage introduced by the X-rays increases the full depletion\nvoltage, the surface leakage current and the inter-pixel capacitance. In\naddition an electron accumulation layer forms at the Si-SiO2 interface which\nincreases with dose and decreases with applied voltage. Using TCAD simulations\nwith the dose dependent damage parameters obtained from the test struc- tures\nthe results of the measurements can be reproduced. This allows the optimization\nof the sensor design for the XFEL requirements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Prototype Scalable Readout System for Micro-pattern Gas Detectors: A scalable readout system (SRS) is designed to provide a general solution for\ndifferent micro-pattern gas detectors. The system mainly consists of three\nkinds of modules: the ASIC card, the Adapter card and the Front-End Card (FEC).\nThe ASIC cards, mounted with particular ASIC chips, are designed for receiving\ndetector signals. The Adapter card is in charge of digitizing the output\nsignals from several ASIC cards. The FEC, edged-mounted with the Adapter, has a\nFPGA-based reconfigurable logic and I/O interfaces, allowing users to choose\nvarious ASIC cards and Adapters for different types of detectors. The FEC\ntransfers data through Gigabit Ethernet protocol realized by a TCP processor\n(SiTCP) IP core in field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA). The readout system\ncan be tailored to specific sizes to adapt to the experiment scales and readout\nrequirements. In this paper, two kinds of multi-channel ASIC chips, VA140 and\nAGET, are applied to verify the concept of this SRS architecture. Based on this\nVA140 or AGET SRS, one FEC covers 8 ASIC (VA140) cards handling 512 detector\nchannels, or 4 ASIC (AGET) cards handling 256 detector channels. More FECs can\nbe assembled in chassis to handle thousands of detector channels.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "CLUE: A Fast Parallel Clustering Algorithm for High Granularity\n Calorimeters in High Energy Physics: One of the challenges of high granularity calorimeters, such as that to be\nbuilt to cover the endcap region in the CMS Phase-2 Upgrade for HL-LHC, is that\nthe large number of channels causes a surge in the computing load when\nclustering numerous digitised energy deposits (hits) in the reconstruction\nstage. In this article, we propose a fast and fully-parallelizable\ndensity-based clustering algorithm, optimized for high occupancy scenarios,\nwhere the number of clusters is much larger than the average number of hits in\na cluster. The algorithm uses a grid spatial index for fast querying of\nneighbours and its timing scales linearly with the number of hits within the\nrange considered. We also show a comparison of the performance on CPU and GPU\nimplementations, demonstrating the power of algorithmic parallelization in the\ncoming era of heterogeneous computing in high energy physics.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of a NbN Deposition Process for Superconducting Quantum\n Sensors: We have carried out a detailed programme to explore the superconducting\ncharacteristics of reactive DC-magnetron sputtered NbN. The basic principle is\nto ignite a plasma using argon, and then to introduce a small additional\nnitrogen flow to achieve the nitridation of a Nb target. Subsequent sputtering\nleads to the deposition of NbN onto the host substrate. The characteristics of\na sputtered film depend on a number of parameters: argon pressure, nitrogen\nflow rate and time-evolution profile, substrate material, etc. Crucially, the\nhysteresis in the target voltage as a function of the nitrogen flow can be used\nto provide a highly effective monitor of nitrogen consumption during the\nreactive process. By studying these dependencies we have been able to achieve\nhighly reproducible film characteristics on sapphire, silicon dioxide on\nsilicon, and silicon nitride on silicon. Intrinsic film stress was minimised by\noptimising the argon pressure, giving NbN films having Tc = 14.65 K. In the\npaper, we report characteristics such as deposition rate, Residual Resistance\nRatio (RRR), film resistivity, transition temperature, and stress, as a\nfunction of deposition conditions. In order to enhance our understanding of the\nmicrowave properties of the films, we fabricated a wide range of microstrip NbN\nresonators (half wavelength, quarter wavelength, ring resonators). In the\npaper, we provide an illustrative result from this work showing a 2.1097 GHz\nresonator having a Q of 15,962 at 3.3 K.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Towards a Unified Formalism of Multivariate Coefficients of Variation --\n Application to the Analysis of Polarimetric Speckle Time Series: This article primarily aims to unify the various formalisms of multivariate\ncoefficients of variation, leveraging advanced concepts of generalized means,\nwhether weighted or not, applied to the eigenvalues of covariance matrices. We\nhighlight the existence of an infinite number of these coefficients and\ndemonstrate that they are bounded. Moreover, we link the various coefficients\nof variation identified in the literature to specific instances within our\nunified formalism. We illustrate the utility of our method by applying it to a\ntime series of polarimetric radar imagery. In this context, the coefficient of\nvariation emerges as a key tool for detecting changes or identifying permanent\nscatterers, which are characterized by their remarkable temporal stability. The\nmultidimensionality arises from the diversity of polarizations. The\nintroduction of the various possible coefficients demonstrates how their\nselection impacts the detection of samples exhibiting specific temporal\nbehaviors and underscores the contribution of polarimetry to dynamic speckle\nanalysis.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Sub-Kelvin Cooling of a Macroscopic Oscillator and femto-Newton Force\n Measurement: Measuring very small forces, particularly those of a gravitational nature,\nhas always been of great interest, as fundamental tests of our understanding of\nthe physical laws. Ultra-long period mechanical oscillators, typically used in\nsuch measurements, will have kT/2 of thermal energy associated with each degree\nof freedom, owing to the equal-partition of energy. Moreover, additional\nseismic fluctuations in the low frequency band can raise this equivalent\ntemperature significantly to 10^5 K. Recently, various methods using\nopto-mechanical forces have been reported to decrease this thermal energy for\nMHz, micro-cantilever oscillators, effectively cooling them. Here we show the\ndirect, dynamical cooling of a gram-size, macroscopic oscillator to 300 mK in\nequivalent temperature - noise reduction by a factor of 10^6. By precisely\nmeasuring the torsional oscillator's position, we dynamically provide an\nexternal 'viscous' damping force. Such an added, dissipative force is\nessentially free of noise, resulting in rapid cooling of the oscillator.\nAdditionally, we observe the time-dependent cooling process, at various cooling\nforce parameters. This parameter dependence agrees well with a simple physical\nmodel which we provide. We further show that the device is sensitive to forces\nas small as <100 fN - a force only a few percent of that typically exerted by a\nsingle biological molecule or that observed in a typical gravity experiment. We\nalso demonstrate the dynamic control of the oscillator's natural frequency,\nover a span of nearly two decades. The method may find important applications\nin precision measurements of very weak forces.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Concept of a novel fast neutron imaging detector based on THGEM for\n fan-beam tomography applications: The conceptual design and operational principle of a novel high-efficiency,\nfast neutron imaging detector based on THGEM, intended for future fan-beam\ntransmission tomography applications, is described. We report on a feasibility\nstudy based on theoretical modeling and computer simulations of a possible\ndetector configuration prototype. In particular we discuss results regarding\nthe optimization of detector geometry, estimation of its general performance,\nand expected imaging quality: it has been estimated that detection efficiency\nof around 5-8% can be achieved for 2.5MeV neutrons; spatial resolution is\naround one millimeter with no substantial degradation due to scattering\neffects. The foreseen applications of the imaging system are neutron tomography\nin non-destructive testing for the nuclear energy industry, including\nexamination of spent nuclear fuel bundles, detection of explosives or drugs, as\nwell as investigation of thermal hydraulics phenomena (e.g., two-phase flow,\nheat transfer, phase change, coolant dynamics, and liquid metal flow).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Observation of the 'head-tail' effect in nuclear recoils of low-energy\n neutrons: Directional detection of dark matter can provide unambiguous observation of\ndark matter interactions even in the presence of background. This article\npresents an experimental method to measure the direction tag (\"head-tail\") of\nthe dark matter wind by detecting the scintillation light created by the\nelastic nuclear recoils in the scattering of dark matter particles with the\ndetector material. The technique is demonstrated by tagging the direction of\nthe nuclear recoils created in the scattering of low-energy neutrons with CF4\nin a low-pressure time-projection chamber that is developed by the DMTPC\ncollaboration. The measurement of the decreasing ionization rate along the\nrecoil trajectory provides the direction tag of the incoming neutrons, and\nproves that the \"head-tail\" effect can be observed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Synchrotron light source X-ray detection with Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes: The response of Low Gain Avalanche Diodes (LGADs), which are a type of thin\nsilicon detector with internal gain, to X-rays of energies between 6-70 keV was\ncharacterized at the SLAC light source (SSRL). The utilized beamline at SSRL\nwas 11-2, with a nominal beam size of 3 cm x 0.5 cm, a repetition rate of 500\nMHz, and very monochromatic. LGADs of different thicknesses and gain layer\nconfigurations were read out using fast amplification boards and digitized with\na fast oscilloscope. Standard PiN devices were characterized as well. The\ndevices' energy resolution and time resolution as a function of X-ray energy\nwere measured. The charge collection and multiplication mechanism were\nsimulated using TCAD Sentaurus, and the results were compared with the\ncollected data.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "CLICTD: A monolithic HR-CMOS sensor chip for the CLIC silicon tracker: The CLIC Tracker Detector (CLICTD) is a monolithic pixelated sensor chip\nproduced in a $180$ nm imaging CMOS process built on a high-resistivity\nepitaxial layer. The chip, designed in the context of the CLIC tracking\ndetector study, comprises a matrix of ${16\\times128}$ elongated pixels, each\nmeasuring ${300\\times30}$ $\\mu$m$^2$. To ensure prompt charge collection, every\nelongated pixel is segmented in eight sub-pixels, each containing a collection\ndiode and a separate analog front-end. A simultaneous $8$-bit time measurement\nwith $10$ ns time bins and $5$-bit energy measurement with programmable range\nis performed in the on-pixel digital logic. The main design aspects as well as\nthe first results from laboratory measurements with the CLICTD chip are\npresented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of a 5 MHz frequency difference pre-multiplier for a short\n term frequency stability bench of the oscillators: This paper reports the realization of a 5 MHz frequency difference x10\npre-multiplier, developed in the laboratory to replace an obsolete one. The\nprinciple we chose is to synthesize a 45 MHz and a 50 MHz from a reference\nsignal and from the signal to be measured, and to subtract one to the other to\ngenerate a 5 MHz, whose precision on the measurement is increased by a factor\n10. Obtained Allan variance y() at 1 s is 5.10-14 and output\nspectral density of phase noise floor is about -160 dBc/Hz at 5 MHz.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study on single-channel signals of water Cherenkov detector array for\n the LHAASO: The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) is planned to be\nbuilt at Daocheng, Sichuan Province, China. The water Cherenkov detector array\n(WCDA), with an area of 78,000 m2 and capacity of 350,000 tons of purified\nwater, is one of the major components of the LHAASO project. A 9-cell detector\nprototype array has been built at the Yangbajing site, Tibet, China to\ncomprehensively understand the water Cherenkov technique and investigate the\nengineering issues of WCDA. In this paper, the rate and charge distribution of\nsingle-channel signals are evaluated using a full detail Monte Carlo\nsimulation. The results are discussed and compared with the prototype array.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Digital Frequency Domain Multiplexer for mm-Wavelength Telescopes: An FPGA based digital signal processing (DSP) system for biasing and reading\nout multiplexed bolometric detectors for mm-wavelength telescopes is presented.\nThis readout system is being deployed for balloon-borne and ground based\ncosmology experiments with the primary goal of measuring the signature of\ninflation with the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation. The system consists\nof analog superconducting electronics running at 250mK and 4K, coupled to\ndigital room temperature backend electronics described here. The digital\nelectronics perform the real time functionality with DSP algorithms implemented\nin firmware. A soft embedded processor provides all of the slow housekeeping\ncontrol and communications. Each board in the system synthesizes\nmulti-frequency combs of 8 to 32 carriers in the MHz band to bias the\ndetectors. After the carriers have been modulated with the sky-signal by the\ndetectors, the same boards digitize the comb directly. The carriers are mixed\ndown to base-band and low pass filtered. The signal bandwidth of 0.050 Hz - 100\nHz places extreme requirements on stability and requires powerful filtering\ntechniques to recover the sky-signal from the MHz carriers.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neutron Time-Of-Flight Spectrometer Based on HIRFL for Studies of\n Spallation Reactions Related to ADS Project: A Neutron Time-Of-Flight (NTOF) spectrometer based on Heavy Ion Research\nFacility in Lanzhou (HIRFL) is developed for studies of neutron production of\nproton induced spallation reactions related to the ADS project. After the\npresentation of comparisons between calculated spallation neutron production\ndouble-differential cross sections and the available experimental one, a\ndetailed description of NTOF spectrometer is given. Test beam results show that\nthe spectrometer works well and data analysis procedures are established. The\ncomparisons of the test beam neutron spectra with those of GEANT4 simulations\nare presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A fully woven touchpad sensor based on soft capacitor fibers: A novel, highly flexible capacitor fiber (with 100 nF m-1 typical capacitance\nper length) having a multilayer periodic structure of dielectric and conductive\npolymer composite films is fabricated by drawing technique. The fiber is used\nto build a woven touchpad sensor. Then, we study the influence of the fiber\nlength, capacitance and volume resistivity on the touch sensing performance. A\ntheoretical ladder network model of a fiber network is developed. A fully woven\ntextile sample incorporating one-dimension array of the capacitor fibers is\nfabricated. Finally we show that such an array functions as a two-dimensional\ntouch sensor.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Calibration sources for the LEGEND-200 experiment: In the search for a monochromatic peak as the signature of neutrinoless\ndouble beta decay an excellent energy resolution and an ultra-low background\naround the $Q$-value of the decay are essential. The LEGEND-200 experiment\nperforms such a search with high-purity germanium detectors enriched in\n$^{76}$Ge immersed in liquid argon. To determine and monitor the stability of\nthe energy scale and resolution of the germanium diodes, custom-made,\nlow-neutron emission $^{228}$Th sources are regularly deployed in the vicinity\nof the crystals. Here we describe the production process of the 17 sources\navailable for installation in the experiment, the measurements of their alpha-\nand gamma-activities, as well as the determination of the neutron emission\nrates with a low-background LiI(Eu) detector operated deep underground. With a\nflux of $\\left( 4.27 \\pm 0.60_{\\rm stat} \\pm 0.92_{\\rm syst} \\right) \\times\n10^{-4} ~\\text{n / (kBq$\\cdot$s)}$, approximately one order of magnitude below\nthat of commercial sources, the neutron-induced background rate, mainly from\nthe activation of $^{76}$Ge, is negligible compared to other background sources\nin LEGEND-200.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Accurate and fast fiber transfer delay measurement based on phase\n discrimination and frequency measurement: An accurate and fast fiber transfer delay measurement method is demonstrated.\nAs a key technique, a simple ambiguity resolving process based on phase\ndiscrimination and frequency measurement is used to overcome the contradiction\nbetween measurement accuracy and system complexity. The optimized system\nachieves a high accuracy of 0.3 ps with a 0.1 ps resolution, and a large\ndynamic range up to 50 km as well as no dead zone.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Muon Tracking with the fastest light in the JUNO Central Detector: The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is a multi-purpose\nneutrino experiment designed to measure the neutrino mass hierarchy using a\ncentral detector (CD), which contains 20 kton liquid scintillator (LS)\nsurrounded by about 18,000 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), located 700~m\nunderground. The rate of cosmic muons reaching the JUNO detector is about 3~Hz\nand the muon induced neutrons and isotopes are major backgrounds for the\nneutrino detection. Reconstruction of the muon trajectory in the detector is\ncrucial for the study and rejection of those backgrounds. This paper will\nintroduce the muon tracking algorithm in the JUNO CD, with a least squares\nmethod of PMTs' first hit time (FHT). Correction of the FHT for each PMT was\nfound to be important to reduce the reconstruction bias. The spatial resolution\nand angular resolution are better than 3~cm and 0.4~degree, respectively, and\nthe tracking efficiency is greater than 90\\% up to 16~m far from the detector\ncenter.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A labVIEW Code for PolSK encoding: We have developed an integrated software module for use in free space Optical\ncommunication using Polarization Shift Keying. The module provides options to\nread the data to be transmitted from a file, convert this data to on/off code\nfor laser diodes as well as measure the state of polarization of the received\noptical pulses. The Software bundle consists of separate transmitter and\nreceiver components. The entire protocol involves handshaking commands, data\ntransmission as well as an error correction based on post-processing Hamming\n7,4 code. The module is developed using \\lv, a proprietary software development\nIDE from National Instruments Inc. USA", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Single-Volume Neutron Scatter Camera for High-Efficiency Neutron Imaging\n and Spectroscopy: Neutron detection provides an effective method to detect, locate, and\ncharacterize sources of interest to nuclear security applications. Current\nneutron imaging systems based on double-scatter kinematic reconstruction\nprovide good signal vs. background discrimination and spectral capability, but\nsuffer from poor sensitivity due to geometrical constraints. This weakness can\nbe overcome if both neutron-proton scattering interactions are detected and\nresolved within one large contiguous active detector volume. We describe here a\nmaximum likelihood approach to event reconstruction in a single-volume system\nwith no optical segmentation and sensitivity to individual optical photons on\nthe surfaces of the scintillator. We present results from a Geant4-based\nsimulation establishing the feasibility of this single-volume neutron scatter\ncamera concept given notional performance of existing photodetector and readout\ntechnologies.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Polychromatic angle resolved IBIC analysis of silicon power diodes: This paper describes both an experimental methodology based on the Ion Beam\nInduced Charge (IBIC) technique and the relevant interpretative model, which\nwere adopted to characterize the electronic features of power diodes. IBIC\nspectra were acquired using different proton energies (from 1.2 to 2.0 MeV),\nangles of incidence, and applied bias voltages. The modulation of the ion probe\nrange, combined with the modulation of the extensions of the depletion layer,\nallowed the charge collection efficiency scale to be accurately calibrated, the\ndead layer beneath the thick (6 micrometer) Al electrode and the minority\ncarrier lifetime to be measured. The analysis was performed by using a\nsimplified model extracted from the basic IBIC theory, which proved to be\nsuitable to interpret the behaviour of the IBIC spectra as a function of all\nthe experimental conditions and to characterize the devices, both for what\nconcerns the electrostatics and the recombination processes.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "TITUS: Visualization of Neutrino Events in Liquid Argon Time Projection\n Chambers: The amount and complexity of data recorded by high energy physics experiments\nare rapidly growing, and with these grow the difficulties in visualizing such\ndata. To study the physics of neutrinos, a type of elementary particle,\nscientists use liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) detectors, among\nother technologies. LArTPCs have a very high spatial resolution and resolve\nmany of the elementary particles that come out of a neutrino interacting within\nthe argon in the detector. Visualizing these neutrino interactions is of\nfundamental importance to understanding the properties of neutrinos, but also\nmonitoring and checking on the detector conditions and operations. From these\nideas, we have developed TITUS, an event display that shows images recorded by\nthese neutrino detectors. TITUS is a piece of software that reads data coming\nfrom LArTPC detectors (as well as the corresponding simulation) and allows\nusers to explore such data in multiple ways. TITUS is flexible to enable fast\nprototyping and customization.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Determining reactor fuel type from continuous antineutrino monitoring: We investigate the ability of an antineutrino detector to determine the fuel\ntype of a reactor. A hypothetical 5t antineutrino detector is placed 25m from\nthe core and measures the spectral shape and rate of antineutrinos emitted by\nfission fragments in the core for a number of 90 day periods. Our results\nindicate that four major fuel types can be differentiated from the variation of\nfission fractions over the irradiation time with a true positive probability of\ndetection at 95%. In addition, we demonstrate that antineutrinos can identify\nthe burn-up at which weapons-grade mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel would be reduced to\nreactor-grade MOX on average, providing assurance that plutonium disposition\ngoals are met. In addition, we investigate removal scenarios where plutonium is\npurposefully diverted from a mixture of MOX and low-enriched uranium (LEU)\nfuel. Finally, we discuss how our analysis is impacted by a spectral distortion\naround 6MeV observed in the antineutrino spectrum measured from commercial\npower reactors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Status of Belle II experiment before the first beams: The Belle II experiment has been preparing for its first e+ e- collisions,\nscheduled in April 2018. With a target luminosity 40 times greater than the\nBelle experiment, the goal of Belle II is to open the door to a panorama of\nmeasurements in heavy flavour physics and much more. The initial beams and the\ncommissioning of the SuperKEKB collider took place earlier in 2016. After\ncompleting most of the detector assembly and performing test runs with cosmic\nrays, the experiment is ready for initial collisions. Soon after in early 2019,\ndata collection with the full Belle II detector will commence and the largest\nB-factory data sample will be collected.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The near neutrino detector for the T2K experiment: The T2K experiment is a second generation long baseline neutrino oscillation\nexperiment designed as a sensitive search for nu_e appearance. The T2K near\nneutrino detector complex is located 280 meters from the pion production target\nand will measure both neutrino beam properties close to the production point\nand interaction cross sections. The main design features, test results and\nstatus of these detectors are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The PROSPECT Physics Program: The Precision Reactor Oscillation and Spectrum Experiment, PROSPECT, is\ndesigned to make a precise measurement of the antineutrino spectrum from a\nhighly-enriched uranium reactor and probe eV-scale sterile neutrinos by\nsearching for neutrino oscillations over meter-long distances. PROSPECT is\nconceived as a 2-phase experiment utilizing segmented $^6$Li-doped liquid\nscintillator detectors for both efficient detection of reactor antineutrinos\nthrough the inverse beta decay reaction and excellent background\ndiscrimination. PROSPECT Phase I consists of a movable 3-ton antineutrino\ndetector at distances of 7 - 12 m from the reactor core. It will probe the\nbest-fit point of the $\\nu_e$ disappearance experiments at 4$\\sigma$ in 1 year\nand the favored region of the sterile neutrino parameter space at $>$3$\\sigma$\nin 3 years. With a second antineutrino detector at 15 - 19 m from the reactor,\nPhase II of PROSPECT can probe the entire allowed parameter space below 10\neV$^{2}$ at 5$\\sigma$ in 3 additional years. The measurement of the reactor\nantineutrino spectrum and the search for short-baseline oscillations with\nPROSPECT will test the origin of the spectral deviations observed in recent\n$\\theta_{13}$ experiments, search for sterile neutrinos, and conclusively\naddress the hypothesis of sterile neutrinos as an explanation of the reactor\nanomaly.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Triggering on electrons and photons with CMS: Throughout the year 2011, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has operated with\nan instantaneous luminosity that has risen continually to around 4x10^33cm-2\ns-1. With this prodigious high-energy proton collisions rate, efficient\ntriggering on electrons and photons has become a major challenge for the LHC\nexperiments. The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment implements a\nsophisticated two-level online selection system that achieves a rejection\nfactor of nearly 106. The first level (L1) is based on coarse information\ncoming from the calorimeters and the muon detectors while the High-Level\nTrigger (HLT) combines fine-grain information from all sub-detectors. In this\nintense hadronic environment, the L1 electron/photon trigger provides a\npowerful tool to select interesting events. It is based upon information from\nthe Electromagnetic Calorimeter (ECAL), a high-resolution detector comprising\n75848 lead tungstate (PbWO4) crystals in a \"barrel\" and two \"endcaps\". The\nperformance as well as the optimization of the electron/photon trigger are\npresented", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of n-in-p pixel detectors irradiated at fluences up to\n 5x10**15 neq/cm**2 for the future ATLAS upgrades: We present the results of the characterization of novel n-in-p planar pixel\ndetectors, designed for the future upgrades of the ATLAS pixel system. N-in-p\nsilicon devices are a promising candidate to replace the n-in-n sensors thanks\nto their radiation hardness and cost effectiveness, that allow for enlarging\nthe area instrumented with pixel detectors. The n-in-p modules presented here\nare composed of pixel sensors produced by CiS connected by bump-bonding to the\nATLAS readout chip FE-I3. The characterization of these devices has been\nperformed with the ATLAS pixel read-out systems, TurboDAQ and USBPIX, before\nand after irradiation with 25 MeV protons and neutrons up to a fluence of\n5x10**15 neq /cm2. The charge collection measurements carried out with\nradioactive sources have proven the feasibility of employing this kind of\ndetectors up to these particle fluences. The collected charge has been measured\nto be for any fluence in excess of twice the value of the FE-I3 threshold,\ntuned to 3200 e. The first results from beam test data with 120 GeV pions at\nthe CERN-SPS are also presented, demonstrating a high tracking efficiency\nbefore irradiation and a high collected charge for a device irradiated at\n10**15 neq /cm2. This work has been performed within the framework of the RD50\nCollaboration.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Status of the CUORE and results from the CUORE-0 neutrinoless double\n beta decay experiments: CUORE is a 741 kg array of TeO2 bolometers for the search of neutrinoless\ndouble beta decay of 130Te. The detector is being constructed at the Laboratori\nNazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy, where it will start taking data in 2015. If\nthe target background of 0.01 counts/keV/kg/y will be reached, in five years of\ndata taking CUORE will have a 1 sigma half life sensitivity of 10E26 y. CUORE-0\nis a smaller experiment constructed to test and demonstrate the performances\nexpected for CUORE. The detector is a single tower of 52 CUORE-like bolometers\nthat started taking data in spring 2013. The status and perspectives of CUORE\nwill be discussed, and the first CUORE-0 data will be presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "AI based Scintillation Detector Calibration: Data set generated from the scintillation detector is used to build a\nmathematical model based on three different algorithms: (a) Multiple Polynomial\nRegression (b) Support Vector Regression (c) Neural Network algorithm. Using\nvisualizations and correlations, it is found that the Median of the data will\ngive accurate results and average time has a major contribution in radiation\nmeasurement.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "GeMSE: a Low-Background Facility for Gamma-Spectrometry at Moderate Rock\n Overburden: The GeMSE (Germanium Material and meteorite Screening Experiment) facility\noperates a low-background HPGe crystal in an underground laboratory with a\nmoderate rock overburden of 620$\\,$m.w.e. in Switzerland. It has been optimized\nfor continuous remote operation. A multi-layer passive shielding, a muon veto,\nand a boil-off nitrogen purge line inside the measurement cavity minimize the\ninstrument's background rate, which decreased by 33% to\n(164$\\pm$2)$\\,$counts/day (100-2700$\\,$keV) after five years of underground\noperation. This agrees with the prediction based on the expected decay of\nshort-lived isotopes. A fit to the known background components, modeled via a\nprecise simulation of the detector, shows that the GeMSE background is now\nmuon-dominated. We also present updates towards a more accurate detection\nefficiency calculation for the screened samples: the thickness of the crystal's\nouter dead-layer is precisely determined and the efficiency can now be easily\ncalculated for any sample geometry. The advantage of this feature is showcased\nvia the determination of the $^{40}$K content in the screening of a\ncomplex-shaped object: a banana.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The replacement system of the JUNO liquid scintillator pilot experiment\n at Daya Bay: The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), a multi-purpose\nneutrino experiment, will use 20 kt liquid scintillator (LS). To achieve the\nphysics goal of determining the neutrino mass ordering, 3$\\%$ energy resolution\nat 1 MeV is required. This puts strict requirements on the LS light yield and\nthe transparency. Four LS purification steps have been designed and mid-scale\nplants have been built at Daya Bay. To examine the performance of the purified\nLS and find the optimized LS composition, the purified LS was injected to the\nantineutrino detector 1 in the experimental hall 1 (EH1-AD1) of the Daya Bay\nneutrino experiment. To pump out the original gadolinium loaded LS and fill the\nnew LS, a LS replacement system has been built in EH1 in 2017. By replacing the\nGd-LS with purified water, then replacing the water with purified LS, the\nreplacement system successfully achieved the designed goal. Subsequently, the\nfluorescence and the wavelength shifter were added to higher concentrations via\nthe replacement system. The data taken at various LS compositions helped JUNO\ndetermine the final LS cocktail. Details of the design, the construction, and\nthe operation of the replacement system are reported in this paper.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of detector active element based on thgem: A thick gas electron multiplier is considered for radiation-hard detectors\n(hadron calorimeter). There was carried out technological and design study to\noptimize the element structure. The measurements results and the next plans are\npresented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Numerical simulation of the response of single gap timing RPCs with the\n space charge effects and Garfield++: In this article, we report the simulated response of timing RPCs of different\ngas gaps. A 3D Montecarlo code was developed and integrated with Garfield++ to\nsimulate the avalanche processes with space charge effects which allow actual\ncharge and timing spectrums. The results of this study are presented with\nexamples of timing RPCs of gas gaps 0.02 cm and 0.03 cm.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance studies of a SiPM-readout system with a pico-second timing\n chip: A pico-second timing (PIST) front-end electronic chip has been developed\nusing $55~\\mathrm{nm}$ CMOS technology for future electron-positron collider\nexperiments (namely Higgs factories). Extensive tests have been performed to\nevaluate the timing performance of a dedicated SiPM-readout system equipped\nwith a PIST chip. The results show that the system timing resolution can\nachieve $45~\\mathrm{ps}$ for SiPM signals at the minimum-ionizing particles\n(MIP) level ($200~\\mathrm{p.e.}$) and better than $ 10~\\mathrm{ps}$ for signals\nlarger than $1200~\\mathrm{p.e.}$, while the PIST intrinsic timing resolution is\n$4.76 \\pm 0.60~\\mathrm{ps}$. The PIST dynamic range has been further extended\nusing the time-over-threshold (ToT) technique, which can cover the SiPM\nresponse spanning from $\\mathrm{\\sim 900~p.e.}$ to $~\\mathrm{\\sim 40000~p.e.}$.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Simple multi-wavelength imaging of birefringence: case study of silk: A polarised light imaging microscopy with an addition of liquid crystal (LC)\nphase retarder was implemented to determine the birefringence of silk fibers\nwith the high 2 micrometers spatial resolution. The measurement was carried out\nwith silk fiber (the optical slow axis) and the slow axis of the LC retarder\nset parallel (a perpendicular alignment can also be used). The direct fit of\nthe transmission data provides a high fidelity determination of birefringence,\n$Dn = 1.63\\times 10^{-2}$ (with 2% uncertainty) of the brown silk fiber\n(Antheraea pernyi) averaged over the wavelength range $l =$ (425-625) nm. By\nmeasuring retardance at four wavelengths it was possible to determine the true\nvalue of the birefringence of a thick sample when an optical path may include\nlarge number of wavelengths ($2p$ cycles in phase). The numerical procedures\nand required hardware are described for the do-it-yourself assembly of the\nimaging polariscope at a fractional budget compared with commercial units.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Noise in stimulated Raman scattering measurement: From basics to\n practice: We revisit laser intensity noise in the context of stimulated Raman\nscattering (SRS), which has recently proved to be a key technique to provide\nlabel free images of chemical bonds in biological and medical samples. Contrary\nto most microscopy techniques, which detect a weak photon flux resulting from\nlight matter interactions, SRS is a pump-probe scheme that works in the high\nflux regime and happens as a weak modulation ($10^{-4}-10^{-6}$) in a strong\nlaser field. As a result, laser noise is a key issue in SRS detection. This\npractical tutorial provides the experimentalists with the tools required to\nassess the amount of noise and the ultimate SRS detection limit in a\nconventional lock-in-based SRS system. We first define the quantities that are\nrelevant when discussing intensity noise, and illustrate them through a\nconventional model of light detection by a photodiode. Stimulated Raman\nScattering is then introduced in its lock-in-based implementation, and the\nmodel presented is adapted in this particular case. The power spectral density\n(PSD), relative intensity noise (RIN), signal to noise ratio (SNR), and\nsensitivity of the system are derived and discussed. Two complementary methods\nare presented that allow measurement of the RIN and assessment of the\nperformance of a SRS system. Such measurements are illustrated on two\ncommercial laser systems. Finally, the consequences of noise in SRS are\ndiscussed, and future developments are suggested. The presentation is made\nsimple enough for under-graduated, graduated students, and newcomers in the\nfield of stimulated Raman, and more generally in pump-probe based schemes.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Can a charged ring levitate a neutral, polarizable object? Can\n Earnshaw's Theorem be extended to such objects?: Stable electrostatic levitation and trapping of a neutral, polarizable object\nby a charged ring is shown to be theoretically impossible. Earnshaw's Theorem\nprecludes the existence of such a stable, neutral particle trap.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Experimentally Validated Bond Graph Model of a Brazed-Plate Heat\n Exchanger (BPHE): The paper deals with the Bond Graph (BG) modeling and the model validation of\na brazed-plate heat exchanger. This device is an important part of a\nmechanically pumped cooling loop. A thermo hydraulic BG model is developed and\ncompared with experimental data. Optimization is performed to determine the\nbest value of the convection heat exchange coefficients to be fixed in the\nmodel.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Simulation Study of Energy Resolution with Changing Pixel Size for Radon\n Monitor Based on \\textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} TPC: In this paper, we study how pixel size influences energy resolution for a\nproposed pixelated detector---a high sensitivity, low cost, and real-time radon\nmonitor based on \\textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} time projection chamber (TPC).\nUsing \\textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} sensors assembled by 0.35 $\\mu$m CMOS\nIntegrated Circuit process, this monitor is designed to improve the spatial\nresolution of detecting radon alpha particles. Concerning small pixel size\nmight has a side effect of worsening energy resolution due to lower signal to\nnoise ratio, a Great4-based simulation is used to figure out energy resolution\ndependence on pixel size ranging from 60 $\\mu$m to 600 $\\mu$m. A non-monotonic\ntrend in this region shows a combination effect of pixel size with threshold on\npixel, and is analyzed by introducing an empirical expression. Noise on pixel\ncontributes 50 keV Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) energy resolution for 400\n$\\mu$m pixel size at 1 $\\sim$ 4 $\\sigma$ threshold, which is comparable to the\nenergy resolution caused by energy fluctuation in ionization process of TPC\n($\\sim$ 20 keV). The total energy resolution after combining both factors is\nestimated to be 54 keV for 400 $\\mu$m pixel size at 1 $\\sim$ 4 $\\sigma$\nthreshold. The analysis presented in this paper is helpful to choosing suitable\npixel size for future pixelated detectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Microchannel plate cross-talk mitigation for spatial autocorrelation\n measurements: Microchannel plates (MCP) are the basis for many spatially-resolved\nsingle-particle detectors such as ICCD or I-sCMOS cameras employing image\nintensifiers (II), MCPs with delay-line anodes for the detection of cold gas\nparticles or Cherenkov radiation detectors. However, the spatial\ncharacterization provided by an MCP is severely limited by cross-talk between\nits microchannels, rendering MCP and II ill-suited for autocorrelation\nmeasurements. Here we present a cross-talk subtraction method experimentally\nexemplified for an I-sCMOS based measurement of pseudo-thermal light\nsecond-order intensity autocorrelation function at the single- photon level.\nThe method merely requires a dark counts measurement for calibration. A\nreference cross- correlation measurement certifies the cross-talk subtraction.\nWhile remaining universal for MCP applications, the presented cross-talk\nsubtraction in particular simplifies quantum optical setups. With the\npossibility of autocorrelation measurement the signal needs no longer to be\ndivided into two camera regions for a cross- correlation measurement, reducing\nthe experimental setup complexity and increasing at least twofold the\nsimultaneously employable camera sensor region.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Status of the DeeMe Experiment, an Experimental Search for $\u03bc$-$e$\n Conversion at J-PARC MLF: The DeeMe experiment is planned to search for muon-to-electron conversion at\nJ-PARC MLF. Our goal is to measure the process with a single event sensitivity\nof $1 \\times 10^{-13}$ or $2 \\times 10^{-14}$ for a graphite or silicon carbide\ntarget. That is one or two orders of magnitude better than the current upper\nlimits, $7 \\times 10^{-13}$ for a gold target by the SINDRUM-II experiment at\nPSI and $4.6 \\times 10^{-12}$ for a titanium target by the experiment at\nTRIUMF. We are in the middle of preparation for the experiment. The\nconstruction of the secondary beamline, H Line, is now in progress. Four\ntracking detectors have been manufactured in 2017, and the optimization study\nof the filling gas is ongoing to improve the performance. After getting the\nbetter hit efficiency, we measured the momentum spectrum of electrons produced\nthrough muon-decay-in-orbit from a carbon target at J-PARC MLF D2 Area in\nMarch, 2019. In this paper, the preparation status of the DeeMe experiment will\nbe presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Real-time data processing with GPUs in high energy physics: As high energy physics experiments reach higher luminosities and intensities,\nthe computing burden for real time data processing and reduction grows.\nFollowing the developments in the computing landscape, multi-core processors\nsuch as graphics processing units (GPUs) are increasingly used for such tasks.\nThese proceedings provide an introduction to the GPU architecture and describe\nhow it maps to common tasks in real time data processing. In addition, specific\nuse cases of GPUs in the trigger systems of five different high energy physics\nexperiments are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "$\u03c4$SPECT: A spin-flip loaded magnetic ultracold neutron trap for a\n determination of the neutron lifetime: The confinement of ultracold neutrons (UCNs) in a three dimensional magnetic\nfield gradient trap allows for a measurement of the free neutron lifetime with\nsuperior control over spurious loss channels and can provide a large kinetic\nenergy acceptance to enhance statistical sensitivity. In this paper, we present\nthe first successful implementation of a pulsed spin-flip based loading scheme\nfor a three-dimensional magnetic UCN trap. The measurements with the\n$\\tau$SPECT experiment were performed at the pulsed UCN source of the research\nreactor TRIGA Mainz. We report on detailed investigations of major systematic\neffects influencing the neutron storage time, statistically limited by the size\nof the recorded data set. The extracted neutron storage time constant of $\\tau\n= 859(16)\\mathrm{s}$ is compatible with, but not to be interpreted as, a\nmeasurement of the free neutron lifetime.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Influence of X-ray Irradiation on the Properties of the Hamamatsu\n Silicon Photomultiplier S10362-11-050C: We have investigated the effects of X-ray irradiation to doses of 0, 200 Gy,\n20 kGy, 2 MGy, and 20 MGy on the Hamamatsu silicon-photomultiplier (SiPM)\nS10362-11-050C. The SiPMs were irradiated without applied bias voltage. From\ncurrent-voltage, capacitance/conductance-voltage, -frequency, pulse-shape, and\npulse-area measurements, the SiPM characteristics below and above breakdown\nvoltage were determined. Significant changes of some SiPM parameters are\nobserved. Up to a dose of 20 kGy the performance of the SiPMs is hardly\naffected by X-ray radiation damage. For doses of 2 and 20 MGy the SiPMs operate\nwith hardly any change in gain, but with a significant increase in dark-count\nrate and cross-talk probability.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Frequency Stability Measurement of Cryogenic Sapphire Oscillators with a\n Multichannel Tracking DDS and the Two-Sample Covariance: This article shows the first measurement of three 100 MHz signals exhibiting\nfluctuations from 2E-16 to parts in 1E-15 for integration time tau between 1 s\nand 1 day. Such stable signals are provided by three Cryogenic Sapphire\nOscillators (CSOs) operating at about 10 GHz, also delivering the 100 MHz\noutput via a dedicated synthesizer. The measurement is made possible by a\n6-channel Tracking DDS (TDDS) and the two-sample covariance tool, used to\nestimate the Allan variance. The use of two TDDS channels per CSO enables high\nrejection of the instrument background noise. The covariance outperforms the\nThree-Cornered Hat (TCH) method in that the background converges to zero \"out\nof the box,\" with no need of the hypothesis that the instrument channels are\nequally noisy, nor of more sophisticated techniques to estimate the background\nnoise of each channel. Thanks to correlation and averaging, the instrument\nbackground (AVAR) rolls off with a slope 1/sqrt(m), the number of measurements,\ndown to 1E-18 tau = 1E4 s. For consistency check, we compare the results to the\ntraditional TCH method beating the 10 GHz outputs down to the MHz region. Given\nthe flexibility of the TDDS, our methods find immediate application to the\nmeasurement of the 250 MHz output of the FS combs.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Selective sensitivity in Kerr microscopy: A new technique for contrast separation in wide-field magneto-optical Kerr\nmicroscopy is introduced. Utilizing the light from eight light emitting diodes,\nguided to the microscope by glass fibers and being switched synchronously with\nthe camera exposure, domain images with orthogonal in-plane sensitivity can be\ndisplayed simultaneously at real-time and images with pure in-plane or polar\ncontrast can be obtained. The benefit of this new method of contrast separation\nis demonstrated for permalloy films, a NdFeB sinter magnet, and a cobalt\ncrystal. Moreover, the new technique is shown to strongly enhance the\nsensitivity of Kerr microscopy by eliminating parasitic contrast contributions\noccurring in conventional setups. A doubling of the in-plane domain contrast\nand a sensitivity to Kerr rotations as low as 0.6~mdeg is demonstrated", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A New Beam Polarimeter at COSY to Search for Electric Dipole Moments of\n Charged Particles: A calorimetric polarimeter based on inorganic LYSO scintillators is\ndescribed. It has been designed for use in a storage ring to search for\nelectric dipole moments (EDM) of charged particles such as the proton and\ndeuteron. Its development and first use was on the Cooler Synchrotron (COSY) at\nthe Forschungszentrum J\\\"ulich with 0.97 GeV/c polarized deuterons, a particle\nand energy suitable for an EDM search. The search requires a polarimeter with\nhigh efficiency, large analyzing power, and stable operating characteristics.\nWith typical beam momenta of about 1 GeV/c, the scattering of protons or\ndeuterons from a carbon target into forward angles becomes a nearly optimal\nchoice of an analyzing reaction. The polarimeter described here consists of 52\nLYSO detector modules, arranged in 4 symmetric blocks (up, down, left, right)\nfor energy determination behind plastic scintillators for particle\nidentification via energy loss. The commissioning results of the current setup\ndemonstrate that the polarimeter is ready to be employed in a first direct\nsearch for an EDM on the deuteron, which is planned at COSY in the next two\nyears.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Accurate GPS-based timestamp facility for Gran Sasso National Laboratory: A new system to assign accurate timestamps to events recorded by experiments\nrunning underground has been designed, installed and tested at INFN Gran Sasso\nNational Laboratory, Italy. This facility is based on a Master unit installed\non surface and receiving time information from a GPS receiver, and Slave units\nplaced underground which get data packet from the Master via optical fiber and\nassign the timestamps. The system is able to provide a time accuracy of 15 ns\n(1 $\\sigma$) and precise reference frequencies to the experiments. It is now\npart of the infrastructure of the Laboratory for all the experimental\nactivities which need accurate timestamps.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A thermal bonding method for manufacturing Micromegas detectors: For manufacturing Micromegas detectors, the \"bulk\" method based on\nphotoetching, was successfully developed and widely used in nuclear and\nparticle physics experiments. However, the complexity of the method requires a\nconsiderable number of advanced instruments and processing, limiting the\naccessibility of this method for production of Micromegas detectors. In view of\nthese limitations with the bulk method, a new method based on thermal bonding\ntechnique (TBM) has been developed to manufacture Micromegas detectors in a\nmuch simplified and efficient way without etching. This paper describes the TBM\nin detail and presents performance of the Micromegas detectors built with the\nTBM. The effectiveness of this method was investigated by testing Micromegas\ndetector prototypes built with the method. Both X-rays and electron beams were\nused to characterize the prototypes in a gas mixture of argon and CO2 (7%). A\ntypical energy resolution of ~16% (full width at half maximum, FWHM) and an\nabsolute gain greater than 10^4 were obtained with 5.9 keV X-rays. Detection\nefficiency greater than 98% and a spatial resolution of ~65 {\\mu}m were\nachieved using a 5 GeV electron beam at the DESY test-beam facility. The gas\ngain of a Micromegas detector could reach up to 10^5 with a uniformity of\nbetter than 10% when the size of the avalanche gap was optimized thanks to the\nflexibility of the TBM in defining the gap. Additionally, the TBM facilitates\nthe exploration of new detector structures based on Micromegas owing to the\nmuch-simplified operation with the method.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Single Molecule Fluorescence Imaging as a Technique for Barium Tagging\n in Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay: Background rejection is key to success for future neutrinoless double beta\ndecay experiments. To achieve sensitivity to effective Majorana lifetimes of\n$\\sim10^{28}$ years, backgrounds must be controlled to better than 0.1 count\nper ton per year, beyond the reach of any present technology. In this paper we\npropose a new method to identify the birth of the barium daughter ion in the\nneutrinoless double beta decay of $^{136}$Xe. The method adapts Single Molecule\nFluorescent Imaging, a technique from biochemistry research with demonstrated\nsingle ion sensitivity. We explore possible SMFI dyes suitable for the problem\nof barium ion detection in high pressure xenon gas, and develop a fiber-coupled\nsensing system with which we can detect the presence of bulk Ba$^{++}$ ions\nremotely. We show that our sensor produces signal-to-background ratios as high\nas 85 in response to Ba$^{++}$ ions when operated in aqueous solution. We then\ndescribe the next stage of this R\\&D program, which will be to demonstrate\nchelation and fluorescence in xenon gas. If a successful barium ion tag can be\ndeveloped using SMFI adapted for high pressure xenon gas detectors, the first\nessentially zero background, ton-scale neutrinoless double beta decay\ntechnology could be realized.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An improved electron beam dynamics design for laboratory\n plasma-astrophysical studies: a technical note: A technical note is given regarding our previous laboratory\nplasma-astrophysical studies [C.-S. Jao et al., High Energy Density Physics 32,\n31-43 (2019) and Y. Chen et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A\n903, 119 (2018)]. In this note, an upgraded accelerator beamline design is\nproposed based on a feasible experimental setup in a realistic laboratory\nenvironment. The improved design aims to provide milliampere (mA)\nmega-electron-volt (MeV) quasi-continuous (cw) electron beams for\nplasma-astrophysical applications. Such a design utilizes a so-called\nmixed-guiding-field magnetic system right after the cut disk structure (CDS)\nbooster cavity to provide a periodic longitudinal focusing field. The\ntransportation of the produced cw beam with large energy spread to the plasma\ncell location is improved. The magnetic field serves as well as a seeding field\nin the plasma environment for the growth of electromagnetic instabilities. In\nconjunction with the appliance of a circular collimator at the exit of the CDS,\nthe new design allows production of quasi-cw beams with a three orders higher\nnumber density at the entrance of the plasma cell compared to the previous\ndesign for a seeding magnetic field of about 50 mT while the locally enhanced\nelectric field at the cathode is up to 8 GV/m. The associated beam dynamics\nsimulation results are presented. As proof of principle studies, the produced\nelectron beams are applied in nonlinear plasma-astrophysical simulations for\nexploring the growth of the instabilities. The extracted parameters and/or\ndistributions from the generated electron beams in the laboratory environment\nare used in these particle-in-cell simulations. The obtained results are\npresented and discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance investigations of two channel readout configurations on the\n cross-strip cadmium zinc telluride detector: Multiple application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) are required for the\ndetectors if their readout channels are larger than that of ASIC channels. For\na system with such a readout scheme, there is a need to configure channels\namong ASICs to achieve the lowest electronics noise and highest count rate. In\nthis work, experiments were performed to investigate the performance of two\ndifferent readout configurations between two ASICs in a cross-strip cadmium\nzinc telluride detector. A lower electronic noise level, better FWHM energy\nresolution performance, and higher count rate was found for the anode electrode\nstrips with each ASIC allocating half of the detector area when compared to\nallocating each ASIC channel to alternate anode channels.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A facility to Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP) at the CERN SPS: A new general purpose fixed target facility is proposed at the CERN SPS\naccelerator which is aimed at exploring the domain of hidden particles and make\nmeasurements with tau neutrinos. Hidden particles are predicted by a large\nnumber of models beyond the Standard Model. The high intensity of the SPS\n400~GeV beam allows probing a wide variety of models containing light\nlong-lived exotic particles with masses below ${\\cal O}$(10)~GeV/c$^2$,\nincluding very weakly interacting low-energy SUSY states. The experimental\nprogramme of the proposed facility is capable of being extended in the future,\ne.g. to include direct searches for Dark Matter and Lepton Flavour Violation.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Testing the Reactor and Gallium Anomalies with Intense (Anti)Neutrino\n Emitters: Several observed anomalies in neutrino oscillation data could be explained by\na hypothetical fourth neutrino separated from the three standard neutrinos by a\nsquared mass difference of a few 0.1 eV$^2$ or more. This hypothesis can be\ntested with MCi neutrino electron capture sources ($^{51}$Cr) or kCi\nantineutrino $\\beta$-source ($^{144}$Ce) deployed inside or next to a large low\nbackground neutrino detector. In particular, the compact size of this source\ncoupled with the localization of the interaction vertex lead to an oscillating\npattern in event spatial (and possibly energy) distributions that would\nunambiguously determine neutrino mass differences and mixing angles.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Multiple species atom source for laser-cooling experiments: We describe the design of a single beam, multiple species atom source in\nwhich the flux of any component can be separately adjusted. Using this design\nwe have developed a 23Na-6Li atom source for ultracold atom experiments. The\nfluxes of lithium and sodium are independently tunable, allowing operation as a\nsingle 23Na or 6Li source as well as a double source with equal atomic fluxes\nin each component.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Detailed analysis of chemical corrosion of ultra-thin wires used in\n drift chamber detectors: Ultra-thin metallic anodic and cathodic wires are frequently employed in\nlow-mass gaseous detectors for precision experiments, where the amount of\nmaterial crossed by charged particles must be minimised. We present here the\nresults of an analysis of the mechanical stress and chemical corrosion effects\nobserved in $40$ and $50~{\\rm{\\mu m}}$ diameter silver plated aluminum wires\nmounted within the volume of the MEG\\,II drift chamber, which caused the\nbreaking of about one hundred wires (over a total of $\\approx 12000$). This\nanalysis is based on the accurate inspection of the broken wires by means of\noptical and electronic microscopes and on a detailed recording of all breaking\naccidents. We present a simple empirical model which relates the number of\nbroken wires to their exposure time to atmospheric humidity and to their\nmechanical tension, which is necessary for mechanical stability in the presence\nof electrostatic fields of several kV/cm. Finally we discuss how wire breakings\ncan be avoided or at least strongly reduced by operating in controlled\natmosphere during the mounting stages of the wires within the drift chamber and\nby choosing a $25\\,\\%$ thicker wire diameter, which has very small effects on\nthe detector resolution and efficiency and can be obtained by using a safer\nfabrication technique.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterization of a Deuterium-Deuterium Plasma Fusion Neutron\n Generator: We characterize the neutron output of a deuterium-deuterium plasma fusion\nneutron generator, model 35-DD-W-S, manufactured by NSD/Gradel-Fusion. The\nmeasured energy spectrum is found to be dominated by neutron peaks at 2.2 MeV\nand 2.7 MeV. A detailed GEANT4 simulation accurately reproduces the measured\nenergy spectrum and confirms our understanding of the fusion process in this\ngenerator. Additionally, a contribution of 14.1 MeV neutrons from\ndeuterium-tritium fusion is found at a level of~$3.5\\%$, from tritium produced\nin previous deuterium-deuterium reactions. We have measured both the absolute\nneutron flux as well as its relative variation on the operational parameters of\nthe generator. We find the flux to be proportional to voltage $V^{3.32 \\pm\n0.14}$ and current $I^{0.97 \\pm 0.01}$. Further, we have measured the angular\ndependence of the neutron emission with respect to the polar angle. We conclude\nthat it is well described by isotropic production of neutrons within the\ncathode field cage.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Charge Sharing Effect on 600 \u03bcm Pitch Pixelated CZT Detector for\n Imaging Applications: We are currently investigating the spatial resolution of highly pixelated\nCadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detector for imaging applications. A 20 mm\n{\\times} 20 mm {\\times} 5 mm CZT substrate was fabricated with 600 {\\mu}m pitch\npixels (500 {\\mu}m anode pixels with 100 {\\mu}m gap) and coplanar cathode.\nCharge sharing between two pixels was studied using collimated 122 keV gamma\nray source. Experiments show a resolution of 125 {\\mu}m FWHM for double-pixel\ncharge sharing events when the 600 {\\mu}m pixelated and 5 mm thick CZT detector\nbiased at -1000 V. In addition, we analyzed the energy response of the 600\n{\\mu}m pitch pixelated CZT detector.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Cluster time measurement with CEPC calorimeter: We have developed an algorithm dedicated to timing reconstruction in highly\ngranular calorimeters (HGC). The performance of this algorithm is evaluated on\nan electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) with geometries comparable to the\nelectromagnetic compartment (CE-E) of the CMS endcap calorimeter upgrade at\nHL-LHC and conceptual Particle Flow oriented ECAL's for future Higgs factories.\nThe time response of individual channel is parameterized according to the CMS\nexperimental result. The particle Time-of-Flight (ToF) can be measured with a\nresolution of $5\\sim20 \\;\\rm{ps}$ for electromagnetic (EM) showers and $80\\sim\n160 \\;\\rm{ps}$ for hadronic showers above 1 GeV. The presented algorithm can\nsignificantly improve the time resolution, compared to a simple averaging of\nthe fast component of the time spectrum. The effects of three detector\nconfigurations are also quantified in this study. ToF resolution depends\nlinearly on the timing resolution of a single silicon sensor and improves\nstatistically with increasing incident particle energy. A clustering algorithm\nthat vetos isolated hits improves ToF resolution.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Estimation of angular sensitivity for X-ray interferometers with\n multiple phase gratings: Recently, X-ray interferometers with more than one phase grating have been\ndeveloped for differential phase contrast (DPC) imaging. In this study, a novel\nframework is developed to predict such interferometers' angular sensitivity\nresponses (the minimum detectable refraction angle). Experiments are performed\non the dual and triple phase grating interferometers, separately. Measurements\nshow strong consistency with the predicted sensitivity values. Using this new\napproach, the DPC imaging performance of X-ray interferometers with multiple\nphase gratings can be further optimized for future biomedical applications.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Ultraviolet, Optical, and Near-IR Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector\n Materials Developments: We have fabricated 2024 pixel microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID)\narrays in the ultraviolet/optical/near-IR (UVOIR) regime that are currently in\nuse in astronomical instruments. In order to make MKIDs desirable for novel\ninstruments, larger arrays with nearly perfect yield need to be fabricated. As\narray size increases, however, the percent yield often decreases due to\nfrequency collisions in the readout. The per-pixel performance must also be\nimproved, namely the energy resolution. We are investigating ways to reduce\nfrequency collisions and to improve the per pixel performance of our devices\nthrough new superconducting material systems and fabrication techniques. There\nare two main routes that we are currently exploring. First, we are attempting\nto create more uniform titanium nitride films through the use of atomic layer\ndeposition rather than the more traditional sputtering method. In addition, we\nare experimenting with completely new material systems for MKIDs, such as\nplatinum silicide.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Assessment of the reliability of Deconvolution Procedures for RCF\n Spectroscopy of Laser-Driven Ion Beams: Laser-driven ion beams are defined by a number of unique features, including\na large spread in energy. A stack configuration of radiochromic film (RCF) can\nbe utilized to characterize such beams through measurements of their energy\nspectra. A spectroscopic procedure is reported that allows the proton energy\ndensity within each active layer of a radiochromic film (RCF) stack to be\nretrieved. This is based upon on a deconvolution algorithm developed through\nGeant4 Monte Carlo simulations to correct the contributions of energy\ndepositions within a given film layer. Through Monte Carlo calculations, the\nspectrum retrieved from a simulated film stack can be retrieved and compared\nwith a known energy spectrum, providing an examination of the efficacy of this\ntool. Application of the developed deconvolution procedure thus offers the\npotential to correctly reconstruct the incident energy spectrum of a\nlaser-driven proton and ion beam from a stack of irradiated RCF.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurement of the bulk radioactive contamination of detector-grade\n silicon with DAMIC at SNOLAB: We present measurements of bulk radiocontaminants in the high-resistivity\nsilicon CCDs from the DAMIC at SNOLAB experiment. We utilize the exquisite\nspatial resolution of CCDs to discriminate between $\\alpha$ and $\\beta$ decays,\nand to search with high efficiency for the spatially-correlated decays of\nvarious radioisotope sequences. Using spatially-correlated $\\beta$ decays, we\nmeasure a bulk radioactive contamination of $^{32}$Si in the CCDs of $140 \\pm\n30$ $\\mu$Bq/kg, and place an upper limit on bulk $^{210}$Pb of $<\n160~\\mu$Bq/kg. Using similar analyses of spatially-correlated bulk $\\alpha$\ndecays, we set limits of $< 11$ $\\mu$Bq/kg (0.9 ppt) on $^{238}$U and of $<\n7.3$ $\\mu$Bq/kg (1.8 ppt) on $^{232}$Th. The ability of DAMIC CCDs to identify\nand reject spatially-coincident backgrounds, particularly from $^{32}$Si, has\nsignificant implications for the next generation of silicon-based dark matter\nexperiments, where $\\beta$'s from $^{32}$Si decay will likely be a dominant\nbackground. This capability demonstrates the readiness of the CCD technology to\nachieve kg-scale dark matter sensitivity.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Data Quality Monitoring of the CMS Tracker: The Data Quality Monitoring (DQM) of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) silicon\ntracking detectors (Tracker) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is a\nsoftware based system designed to monitor the detector and reconstruction\nperformance, to identify problems and to certify the collected data for physics\nanalysis. It uses the framework provided by the central CMS DQM as well as\ntools developed especially for the CMS Tracker DQM. This paper describes aim,\nframework conditions, tools and work flows of the CMS Tracker DQM and shows\nexamples of its successful use during the recent commissioning phase of the CMS\nexperiment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Automatic test system of the back-end card for the JUNO experiment: The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is a medium-baseline\nneutrino experiment under construction in China, with the goal to determine the\nneutrino mass hierarchy. The JUNO electronics readout system consists of an\nunderwater front-end electronics system and an outside-water back-end\nelectronics system. These two parts are connected by 100-meter Ethernet cables\nand power cables. The back-end card (BEC) is the part of the JUNO electronics\nreadout system used to link the underwater boxes to the trigger system is\nconnected to transmit the system clock and triggered signals. Each BEC is\nconnected to 48 underwater boxes, and in total around 150 BECs are needed. It\nis essential to verify the physical layer links before applying real connection\nwith the underwater system. Therefore, our goal is to build an automatic test\nsystem to check the physical link performance. The test system is based on a\ncustom designed FPGA board, in order to make the design general, only JTAG is\nused as the interface to the PC. The system can generate and check different\ndata pattern at different speeds for 96 channels simultaneously. The test\nresults of 1024 continuously clock cycles are automatically uploaded to PC\nperiodically. We describe the setup of the automatic test system of the BEC and\npresent the latest test results.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The LHCb VELO Upgrade: LHCb is a forward spectrometer experiment dedicated to the study of new\nphysics in the decays of beauty and charm hadrons produced in proton collisions\nat the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN.\n The VErtex LOcator (VELO) is the microstrip silicon detector surrounding the\ninteraction point, providing tracking and vertexing measurements. The upgrade\nof the LHCb experiment, planned for 2018, will increase the luminosity up to\n$\\rm 2\\times10^{33}\\ cm^{-2}s^{-1}$ and will perform the readout as a\ntrigger-less system with an event rate of 40 MHz. Extremely non-uniform\nradiation doses will reach up to $\\rm 5 \\times 10^{15}$ 1 MeV$\\rm n_{eq}/cm^2$\nin the innermost regions of the VELO sensors, and the output data bandwidth\nwill be increased by a factor of 40. An upgraded detector is under development\nbased in a pixel sensor of the Timepix/Medipix family, with 55 x 55 $\\rm \\mu\nm^2$ pixels. In addition a microstrip solution with finer pitch, higher\ngranularity and thinner than the current detector is being developed in\nparallel.\n The current status of the VELO upgrade program will be described together\nwith recent testbeam results.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "GEM-based beam profile monitors for the antiproton decelerator: The new beam profile measurement for the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) at CERN\nis based on a single Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) with a 2D readout structure.\nThis detector is very light, ~0.4% X0, as required by the low energy of the\nantiprotons, 5.3 MeV. This overcomes the problems previously encountered with\nmulti-wire proportional chambers (MWPC) for the same purpose, where beam\ninteractions with the detector severely affect the obtained profiles. A\nprototype was installed and successfully tested in late 2010, with another five\ndetectors now installed in the ASACUSA and AEGIS beam lines. We will provide a\ndetailed description of the detector and discuss the results obtained.\n The success of these detectors in the AD makes GEM-based detectors likely\ncandidates for upgrade of the beam profile monitors in all experimental areas\nat CERN. The various types of MWPC currently in use are aging and becoming\nincreasingly difficult to maintain.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "HVDC Surface Flashover in Compressed Air for Various Dielectrics: This study measures the voltage at which flashover occurs in compressed air\nfor a variety of dielectric materials and lengths in a uniform field for DC\nvoltages up to 100 kV. Statistical time lag is recorded and characterized,\ndisplaying a roughly exponential dependence on breakdown voltage. Of the\nmaterials tested, acrylic is observed to be the most resistant to flashover.\nThese data are intended to facilitate the design of compressed-air insulated\nhigh voltage systems as an alternative to SF6 insulated systems.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Upgraded Electronics of the ATLAS Hadronic Tile Calorimeter for the High\n Luminosity LHC: The ATLAS hadronic Tile Calorimeter will undergo major upgrades to the on-\nand off-detector electronics in preparation for the High Luminosity program of\nthe Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) in 2026, so that the system can cope with\nthe HL-LHC increased radiation levels and out-of-time pileup. The on-detector\nelectronics of the upgraded system will continuously digitize and transmit all\nphoto-multiplier signals to the off-detector systems at a 40 MHz rate. The\noff-detector electronics will store the data in pipeline buffers, produce\ndigital hadronic tower sums for the ATLAS Level-0 trigger system, and read out\nselected events. The modular on-detector electronics feature radiation-tolerant\ncommercial off-the-shelf components and redundant design to minimize single\npoints of failure. The timing, control and communication interface with the\noff-detector electronics is implemented with modern Field Programmable Gate\nArrays and high speed fibre optic links running up to 9.6 Gbps.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Argonne Pixel Tracking Telescope at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility: The Argonne Pixel Tracking Telescope is installed at the Fermilab Test Beam\nFacility. The telescope consists of six planar n^{+}-in-n silicon sensors with\na pixel size of 250 {\\times} 50 {\\mu}m^{2}. The instrumentation of the\ntelescope is described including the electrical and mechanical setups. A 120\nGeV proton beam is used to evaluate the telescope performance using criteria\nsuch as the cluster size, pixel tracking efficiency, and spatial resolution.\nThe spatial resolution of the telescope is measured to be 72 {\\mu}m {\\times} 13\n{\\mu}m.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Harmonic calibration of quadrature phase interferometry: The two output signals of quadrature phase interferometers allow to benefit\nboth from the high sensitivity of interferometry (working inside a fringe) and\nfrom an extended input range (counting fringes). Their calibration to reach a\nlinear output is traditionally performed using Heydemann's correction, which\ninvolves fitting one output versus the other by an ellipse. Here we present two\nalternative methods based on the linear response of the measurement to a\nsinusoidal input in time, which enables a direct calibration with an excellent\nlinearity. A ten fold improvement with respect to the usual technique is\ndemonstrated on an optical interferometer measuring the deflection of scanning\nforce microscopy cantilevers.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The ILC DEPFET Prototype: Report of the Test Beam at CERN 2008: The DEPFET Collaboration pursues the development of a high resolution pixel\nvertex detector for future colliders (like ILC), based on the integration of\namplifying transistors into a fully depleted bulk. In August 2008, six DEPFET\nprototypes were tested in a pion beam at SPS complex at CERN, collecting more\nthan 20 million of events. In this contribution, the prototype system, the\nexperimental setup, the analysis software and preliminary results are\npresented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Batch test of MRPC3b for CBM-TOF/STAR-eTOF: The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment is one of the major\nscientific spectrometers of the future Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research\n(FAIR) in Darmstadt. As one of the core sub-systems in CBM experiment for\ncharged hadron identification, the Time-of-Flight (TOF) system is required to\nhave a time resolution better than 80 ps. According to the final state particle\nflux distribution, the CBM-TOF will be constructed with several types of\nMultigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPC). In the outer region of the TOF wall\nwhere the particle fluxes are around 1 kHz/cm2, MRPCs with ultra-thin float\nglass electrodes are considered as a cost effective solution. MRPC3b prototypes\nhave been developed and tested with excellent performance which could meet all\nthe requirements. Before the construction of CBM-TOF, approximately 80 MRPC3bs\nare assembled for the STAR endcap TOF (STAR-eTOF) upgrade at RHIC as part of\nthe FAIR Phase-0 programs for CBM-TOF which provides a valuable opportunity for\ndetector stability test under high flux environments. This paper will introduce\nthe batch test of the MRPC3bs for STAR-eTOF upgrade. Time resolution of better\nthan 70 ps and efficiency of around 95% are achieved. Notably, during the batch\ntest, it has been observed that the noise rates of the two edge strips in each\ncounter are significantly higher than those of the middle strips. Simulations\nwith Computer Simulation Technology (CST)Studio Suite are carried out and\nseveral kinds of MRPC prototypes are designed and tested accordingly. Based on\nthe simulation and test results, the design of the MRPC3b has been further\noptimized, resulting in a significant suppression of noise rates in the edge\nstrips.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Low Gain Avalanche Detectors for the HADES reaction time (T$_0$)\n detector upgrade: Low Gain Avalanche Detector (LGAD) technology has been used to design and\nconstruct prototypes of time-zero detector for experiments utilizing proton and\npion beams with High Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at GSI\nDarmstadt, Germany. LGAD properties have been studied with proton beams at the\nCOoler SYnchrotron (COSY) facility in J\\\"ulich, Germany. We have demonstrated\nthat systems based on a prototype LGAD operated at room temperature and\nequipped with leading-edge discriminators reach a time precision below 50 ps.\nThe application in the HADES, experimental conditions, as well as the test\nresults obtained with proton beams are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Improving the Energy Resolution of the Reactor Antineutrino Energy\n Reconstruction with Positron Direction: The energy resolution is crucial for the reactor neutrino experiments which\naims to determine neutrino mass ordering by precise measurement of the reactor\nantineutrino energy spectrum. A non-negligible effect in the antineutrino\nenergy resolution is the spread of the kinetic energy of the recoiled neutron\nand the corresponding positron when detecting the antineutrinos via Inverse\nBeta-Decay (IBD) reaction. The emission direction of the produced positron in\nIBD reaction can be used to estimate the kinetic energy of neutron and thus the\nreconstructed antineutrino energy resolution can be improved. To demonstrate\nthe feasibility, a simple positron direction reconstruction method is\nimplemented in a toy liquid scintillator detector like the Taishan Antineutrino\nObservatory (TAO) with 4500 photoelectron yield per MeV. A 4% to 26%\nimprovement of energy resolution can be achieved for 5 MeV reactor\nantineutrinos at TAO.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Commissioning of miniBELEN-10A, a moderated neutron counter with a flat\n efficiency for thick-target neutron yields measurements: miniBELEN-10A is a modular and transportable moderated neutron counter with a\nnearly flat detection efficiency up to 8 MeV. The detector was designed to\ncarry out measurements of (alpha, n) reactions in the context of the\nMeasurement of Alpha Neutron Yields (MANY) project. In this work we present the\nresults of the commissioning of miniBELEN-10A using the relatively well-known\nthick-target neutron yields from 27Al(alpha, n)30P.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Cryogenically-Cooled High-Sensitivity Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance\n Spectrometer: The paper describes a radio frequency (RF) spectrometer for 14N nuclear\nquadrupole resonance (NQR) spectroscopy that uses a detector coil cooled to 77\nK to maximize measurement sensitivity. The design uses a minimally-intrusive\nnetwork of active duplexers and mechanical contact switches to realize a\ndigitally reconfigurable series/parallel coil tuning network that allows\ntransmit- and receive-mode performance to be independently optimized. The\ndesign is battery-powered and includes a mixed-signal embedded system to\nmonitor and control secondary processes, thus enabling autonomous operation.\nTests on an acetaminophen sample show that cooling both the detector and sample\nincreases the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) per scan by a factor of approximately\n88 (in power units), in good agreement with theoretical predictions.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Long-Term Stability of Underground Operated CZT Detectors Based on the\n Analysis of Intrinsic $^{113}$Cd \u03b2$^{-}$-Decay: The COBRA collaboration operates a demonstrator setup at the underground\nfacility LNGS (Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, located in Italy) to prove\nthe technological capabilities of this concept for the search for neutrinoless\ndouble beta-decay. The setup consists of 64 $(1\\times\\!1\\times\\!1)$ cm$^{3}$\nCZT detectors in CPG configuration. One purpose of this demonstrator is to test\nif reliable long-term operation of CZT-CPG detectors in such a setup is\npossible. The demonstrator has been operated under ultra low-background\nconditions since more than three years and collected data corresponding to an\nexposure of 218 kg$\\cdot$days. The presented study focuses on the long-term\nstability of CZT detectors by analyzing the intrinsic, fourfold forbidden\nnon-unique $^{113}$Cd single beta-decay. It can be shown that CZT detectors can\nbe operated stably for long periods of time and that the $^{113}$Cd single\nbeta-decay can be used as an internal monitor of the detector performance\nduring the runtime of the experiment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An ultra-stable cryogenic sapphire cavity laser with an instability of\n $1.9\\times10^{-16}$ based on a low vibration level cryostat: Cryogenic ultra-stable lasers have extremely low thermal noise limits and\nfrequency drifts, but they are more seriously affected by vibration noise from\ncryostats. Main material candidates for cryogenic ultra-stable cavities include\nsilicon and sapphire. Although sapphire has many excellent properties at low\ntemperature, the development of sapphire-based cavities is less advanced than\nthat of silicon-based. Using a homemade cryogenic sapphire cavity, we develop\nan ultra-stable laser source with a frequency instability of\n$1.9\\times10^{-16}$. This is the best frequency instability level among similar\nsystems using cryogenic sapphire cavities reported so far. Low vibration\nperformance of the cryostat is demonstrated with a two-stage vibration\nisolation, and the vibration suppression is further improved by different\nmixing ratio of the gas-liquid helium. With this technique, vibrations at\nfrequencies higher than tens of hertz are greatly suppressed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Analysis of Ultra High Energy Muons at the INO-ICAL Using Pair-Meter\n Technique: The proposed ICAL detector at INO is a large sized underground magnetized\niron detector. ICAL is designed to reconstruct muon momentum using magnetic\nspectrometers. Energy measurement using magnets fail for muons in TeV range,\nsince the angular deflection of the muon in the magnetic field is negligible\nand the muon tracks become nearly straight. A new technique for measuring the\nenergy of muons in the TeV range is used by the CCFR neutrino detector, known\nas the Pair-Meter technique. This technique estimates muon energy from\nmeasurements of the energy deposited by the muon in many layers of an\niron-calorimeter through e$^+$ and e$^-$ pair production. In this work we have\nperformed Geant4 based preliminary analysis for iron plates and have\ndemonstrated the observational feasibility of very high energy muons\n(1TeV-1000TeV) in a large mass underground detector operating as a pair-meter.\nThis wide range of energy spectrum will be helpful for studying the cosmic rays\nin the Knee region and an understanding of the atmospheric neutrino flux for\nthe present and future ultra high-energy atmospheric neutrino experiments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "FPGA based High Speed Data Acquisition System for High Energy Physics\n Application: In high energy physics experiments (HEP), high speed and fault resilient data\ncommunication is needed between detectors/sensors and the host PC. Transient\nfaults can occur in the communication hardware due to various external effects\nlike presence of charged particles, noise in the environment or radiation\neffects in HEP experiments and that leads to single/multiple bit error. In\norder to keep the communication system functional in such a radiation\nenvironment where direct intervention of human is not possible, a high speed\ndata acquisition (DAQ) architecture is necessary which supports error recovery.\nThis design presents an efficient implementation of field programmable gate\narray (FPGA) based high speed DAQ system with optical communication link\nsupported by multi-bit error correcting model. The design has been implemented\non Xilinx Kintex-7 board and is tested for board to board communication as well\nas for PC communication using PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect express).\nData communication speed up to 4.8 Gbps has been achieved in board to board and\nboard to PC communication and estimation of resource utilization and critical\npath delay are also measured.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Dealing in practice with hot-spots: The hot-spot phenomenon is a relatively frequent problem occurring in current\nphotovoltaic generators. It entails both a risk for the photovoltaic module's\nlifetime and a decrease in its operational efficiency. Nevertheless, there is\nstill a lack of widely accepted procedures for dealing with them in practice.\nThis paper presents the IES-UPM observations on 200 affected modules. Visual\nand infrared inspection, electroluminescence, peak power and operating voltage\ntests have been accomplished. Hot-spot observation procedures and well defined\nacceptance and rejection criteria are proposed, addressing both the lifetime\nand the operational efficiency of the modules. The operating voltage has come\nout as the best parameter to control effective efficiency losses for the\naffected modules. This procedure is oriented to its possible application in\ncontractual frameworks.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Muon radiography experiments on the subway overburden structure\n detection: Muon radiography is an innovative and non-destructive technique for internal\ndensity structure imaging, based on measuring the attenuation of cosmic-ray\nmuons after they penetrate the target. Due to the strong penetration ability of\nmuons, the detection range of muon radiography can reach the order of hundreds\nof meters or even kilometers. Using a portable muon detector composed of\nplastic scintillators and silicon photomultipliers, we performed a\nshort-duration(1h) flux scanning experiment of the overburden above the\nplatform and tunnel of the Xiaoying West Road subway station under\nconstruction. With the observation direction facing up, the detector is placed\non the north side of the track and moved eastward from the platform section\ninside the station to the tunnel section. The scanning length is 264m and a\ntotal of 21 locations are observed. By comparing the observed and predicted\nvalues of the muon survival ratio at different locations, the experiment\naccurately detects the jump in thickness at the interface of the platform\nsection and tunnel section. Furthermore, unknown anomalies caused by random\nplaced light brick piles and side passage mouth above the observation locations\nare detected and confirmed later. This experiment verifies the feasibility of\nusing natural muons to quickly detect abnormal structures of the overburden of\ntunnel, and shows that muon radiography has broad application prospects in\ntunnel safety and other similar aspects.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Searching for galactic axions through magnetized media: QUAX status\n report: The current status of the QUAX R\\&D program is presented. QUAX is a\nfeasibility study for a detection of axion as dark matter based on the coupling\nto the electrons. The relevant signal is a magnetization change of a magnetic\nmaterial placed inside a resonant microwave cavity and polarized with a static\nmagnetic field.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design and Calibration of the High Energy Particle Monitor onboard the\n Insight-HXMT: Three high energy particle monitors (HPMs) employed onboard the Hard X-ray\nModulation Telescope Insight-HXMT) can detect the charged particles from South\nAtlantic Anomaly (SAA) and hence provide the alert trigger for switch-on/off of\nthe main detectors. Here a typical design of HPM with high stability and\nreliability is adopted by taking a plastic scintillator coupled with a small\nphotomultiplier tube (PMT). The window threshold of HPM is designed as 1 MeV\nand 20 MeV for the incident electron and proton, respectively. Before the\nlaunch of Insight-HXMT, we performed in details the ground calibration of HPM.\nThe measured energy response and its dependence on temperature are taken as\nessential input of Geant4 simulation for estimating the HPM count rate given\nwith an incident particle energy spectrum. This serves as a guidance for\nchoosing a reasonable working range of the PMT high voltage once the real SAA\ncount rate is measured by HPM in orbit. So far the three HPMs have been working\nin orbit for more than two years. Apart from providing reliable alert trigger,\nthe HPMs data are used as well to map the SAA region.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Radiation Campaign of HPK Prototype LGAD sensors for the\n High-Granularity Timing Detector (HGTD): We report on the results of a radiation campaign with neutrons and protons of\nLow Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGAD) produced by Hamamatsu (HPK) as prototypes\nfor the High-Granularity Timing Detector (HGTD) in ATLAS. Sensors with an\nactive thickness of 50~$\\mu$m were irradiated in steps of roughly 2$\\times$ up\nto a fluence of $3\\times10^{15}~\\mathrm{n_{eq}cm^{-2}}$. As a function of the\nfluence, the collected charge and time resolution of the irradiated sensors\nwill be reported for operation at $-30^{\\circ}$.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Back action evading electro-optical transducer: Electro-optical transducers are utilized for upconvertion of radio frequency\n(RF) signals to the optical frequency domain to study the RF signals with\noptical tools. The transducers frequently impact on the RF system and introduce\nadditional noise, including optical shot noise as well as quantum back action\nnoise, limiting the measurement accuracy. In this paper we theoretically study\na technique based on a high efficiency electro-optical phase modulation effect\nthat allows back action evading detection of an RF field quadrature. The main\nidea of proposed method is independent homodyne detection of two (Stokes and\nanti-Stokes) optical modes. It allows subsequent postprocessing of the detected\nsignals, which, in turn, results in a broadband back action evading measurement\nleading to the high sensitivity evaluation of the RF signals.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Single electron multiplication distribution in GEM avalanches: In this paper, measurement results and experimental methodology are presented\non the determination of multiplication distributions of avalanches initiated by\nsingle electron in GEM foils. The measurement relies on the amplification of\nphotoelectrons by the GEM under study, which is subsequently amplified in an\nMWPC for signal enhancement and readout. The intrinsic detector resolution,\nnamely the sigma-over-mean ratio of the multiplication. distribution is also\nelaborated. Small gain dependence of the shape of the avalanche response\ndistribution is observed in the range of net effective gain of 15 to 100. The\ndistribution has an exponentially decaying tail at large amplitudes. At small\namplitudes, the applied working gas is seen to have a well visible effect on\nthe shape of the multiplication distribution. Equivalently, the working gas has\nan influence on the intrinsic detector resolution of GEMs via suppression of\nthe low amplitude responses. A sigma-over-mean ratio of 0.75 was reached using\na neon based mixture, whereas other gases provided an intrinsic detector\nresolution closer to 1, meaning a multiplication distribution closer to the\nlow-field limit exponential case.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "SuperB Progress Reports -- Detector: This report describes the present status of the detector design for SuperB.\nIt is one of four separate progress reports that, taken collectively, describe\nprogress made on the SuperB Project since the publication of the SuperB\nConceptual Design Report in 2007 and the Proceedings of SuperB Workshop VI in\nValencia in 2008. The other three reports relate to Physics, Accelerator and\nComputing.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "keV-Scale Sterile Neutrino Sensitivity Estimation with Time-Of-Flight\n Spectroscopy in KATRIN using Self-Consistent Approximate Monte Carlo: We investigate the sensitivity of the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment\n(KATRIN) to keV-scale sterile neutrinos, which are promising dark matter\ncandidates. Since the active-sterile mixing would lead to a second component in\nthe tritium $\\beta$-spectrum with a weak relative intensity of order\n$\\sin^2\\theta \\lesssim 1\\times10^{-6}$, additional experimental strategies are\nrequired to extract this small signature and to eliminate systematics. A\npossible strategy is to run the experiment in an alternative time-of-flight\n(TOF) mode, yielding differential TOF spectra in contrast to the integrating\nstandard mode. In order to estimate the sensitivity from a reduced sample size,\na new analysis method, called self-consistent approximate Monte Carlo (SCAMC),\nhas been developed. The simulations show that an ideal TOF mode would be able\nto achieve a statistical sensitivity of $\\sin^2\\theta \\sim 5\\times10^{-9}$ at\none $\\sigma$, improving the standard mode by approximately a factor two. This\nrelative benefit grows significantly if additional exemplary systematics are\nconsidered. A possible implementation of the TOF mode with existing hardware,\ncalled gated filtering, is investigated, which, however, comes at the price of\na reduced average signal rate.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "In-situ uniaxial pressure cell for X-ray and neutron scattering\n experiments: We present an in-situ uniaxial pressure device optimized for small angle\nX-ray and neutron scattering experiments at low-temperatures and high magnetic\nfields. A stepper motor generates force, which is transmitted to the sample via\na rod with integrated transducer that continuously monitors the force. The\ndevice has been designed to generate forces up to 200 N in both compressive and\ntensile configurations and a feedback control allows operating the system in a\ncontinuous-pressure mode as the temperature is changed. The uniaxial pressure\ndevice can be used for various instruments and multiple cryostats through\nsimple and exchangeable adapters. It is compatible with multiple sample\nholders, which can be easily changed depending on the sample properties and the\ndesired experiment and allow rapid sample changes.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Hyper-Kamiokande Experiment -- Snowmass LOI: Hyper-Kamiokande is the next generation underground water Cherenkov detector\nthat builds on the highly successful Super-Kamiokande experiment. The detector\nwhich has an 8.4~times larger effective volume than its predecessor will be\nlocated along the T2K neutrino beamline and utilize an upgraded J-PARC beam\nwith 2.6~times beam power. Hyper-K's low energy threshold combined with the\nvery large fiducial volume make the detector unique, that is expected to\nacquire an unprecedented exposure of 3.8~Mton$\\cdot$year over a period of\n20~years of operation. Hyper-Kamiokande combines an extremely diverse science\nprogram including nucleon decays, long-baseline neutrino oscillations,\natmospheric neutrinos, and neutrinos from astrophysical origins. The scientific\nscope of this program is highly complementary to liquid-argon detectors for\nexample in sensitivity to nucleon decay channels or supernova detection modes.\nHyper-Kamiokande construction has started in early 2020 and the experiment is\nexpected to start operations in 2027. The Hyper-Kamiokande collaboration is\npresently being formed amongst groups from 19 countries including the United\nStates, whose community has a long history of making significant contributions\nto the neutrino physics program in Japan. US physicists have played leading\nroles in the Kamiokande, Super-Kamiokande, EGADS, K2K, and T2K programs.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Installation and Commissioning of the GlueX DIRC: The GlueX experiment takes place in experimental Hall D at Jefferson Lab\n(JLab). With a linearly polarized photon beam of up to 12 GeV energy, GlueX is\na dedicated experiment to search for hybrid mesons via photoproduction\nreactions. The low-intensity (Phase I) of GlueX was recently completed; the\nhigh-intensity (Phase II) started in 2020 including an upgraded particle\nidentification system, known as the DIRC (Detection of Internally Reflected\nCherenkov light), utilizing components from the decommissioned BaBar\nexperiment. The identification and separation of the kaon final states will\nsignificantly enhance the GlueX physics program, by adding the capability of\naccessing the strange quark flavor content of conventional (and potentially\nhybrid) mesons. In these proceedings, we report that the installation and\ncommissioning of the DIRC detector has been successfully completed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neutron-optical gratings from nanoparticle-polymer composites: The preparation of neutron-optical phase gratings with light-optical\nholography is reviewed. We compare the relevant concepts of i) Kogelnik's\ntheory for Bragg diffraction of light by thick volume gratings, which can be\nused to analyze holographic gratings with both light and neutrons, and ii) the\ndynamical theory of neutron diffraction. Without going into mathematical\ndetail, we intend to illuminate their correspondence. The findings are\nillustrated by analyzing data obtained from reconstruction of nanoparticle\nholographic gratings with both light and neutrons.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Low-voltage coherent electron imaging based on a single-atom electron: It has been a general trend to develop low-voltage electron microscopes due\nto their high imaging contrast of the sample and low radiation damage.\nAtom-resolved transmission electron microscopes with voltages as low as 15-40\nkV have been demonstrated. However, achieving atomic resolution at voltages\nlower than 10 kV is extremely difficult. An alternative approach is coherent\nimaging or phase retrieval imaging, which requires a sufficiently coherent\nsource and an adequately small detection area on the sample as well as the\ndetection of high-angle diffracted patterns with a sufficient resolution. In\nthis work, we propose several transmission-type schemes to achieve coherent\nimaging of thin materials (less than 5 nm thick) with atomic resolution at\nvoltages lower than 10 kV. Experimental schemes of both lens-less and\nlens-containing designs are presented and the advantages and challenges of\nthese schemes are discussed. Preliminary results based on a highly coherent\nsingle-atom electron source are presented. The image plate is designed to be\nretractable to record the transmission patterns at different positions along\nthe beam propagation direction. In addition, reflection-type coherent electron\nimaging schemes are also proposed as novel methods for characterizing surface\natomic and electronic structures of materials.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Theory of dichroic X-ray tomography and laminography: Dichroic tomography is a 3D imaging technique in which the polarization of\nthe incident beam is used to induce contrast due to the magnetization or\norientation of a sample. The aim is to reconstruct not only the optical density\nbut the dichroism of the sample. The theory of dichroic tomographic and\nlaminographic imaging in the parallel-beam case is discussed as well as the\nproblem of reconstruction of the sample's optical properties. The set of\nprojections resulting from a tomographic/laminographic measurement is not\nsufficient to reconstruct the magnetic moment for magnetic circular dichroism\nunless additional constraints are applied or data are taken at two or more tilt\nangles. For linear dichroism, three polarizations or three tilt angles are\nrequired to provide enough information to reconstruct without constraints.\nPossible means of applying constraints are discussed. Furthermore, it is shown\nthat for linear dichroism, the basic assumption that the absorption through a\nray path is the integral of the absorption coefficient, defined on the volume\nof the sample, along the ray path, is not correct when dichroism or\nbirefringence is strong. This assumption is fundamental to tomographic methods.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Improvement of primary power standard through international comparison\n feedback: The high frequency primary power standard is univocally realized by means of\na coaxial microcalorimeter, at least up to 40 GHz. The coaxial microcalorimeter\nis a broadband measurement system adjusted for effec-tive efficiency\nmeasurement of power sensors both of bolometric and thermoelectric type. The\ncritical point in the power standard realization is in the determination of the\ncalibration constant g of the microcalorimeter, a frequency dependent parameter\nthat has huge impact on the accuracy as-sessment of the standard. The paper\nproposes a simple but powerful way for improving this accuracy by using the\nreference values provided by in-ternational key-comparisons which the\nmicrocalorimeter was involved in.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Phase meter based on zero-crossing counting of digitized signals: We developed a compact and easy-to-use phase meter based on a zero-crossing\ncounting algorithm for digitized signals. Owing to the algorithm, the phase\nmeter has low-noise and wide dynamic range. Low-noise differential phase\nmeasurements can be done for square waves (-204 $\\mathrm{dBrad^{2}/Hz}$ for a\n1-kHz, 1-$\\mathrm{V_{p-p}}$ signal, 10 Hz-1 kHz offset, with cross-correlation)\nas well as sinusoidal waves, with a measurement error of $<1 \\times 10^{-4}$\nrad. We also demonstrated a direct phase measurement of an optical-beat note\nfrom a free-running laser over 10 decades (0.25 mHz-10 MHz) with a wide dynamic\nrange of ~280 dB at 0.25 mHz. The phase meter can be an alternative for\nconventional phase meters and frequency counters in wide range of experiments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design optimization of JUNO-TAO plastic scintillator with WLS-fiber and\n SiPM readout: Plastic scintillators (PSs)embedded with wavelength-shifting fibers are\nwidely used in high-energy particle physics, such as in muon taggers,as well as\nin medical physics and other applications. In this study,a simulation package\nwas built to evaluate the effects of the diameter and layout of optical fibers\non the light yield with different configurations. The optimal optical\nconfiguration was designed based on simulations and validated using two PS\nprototypes under certain experimental conditions. Atop veto tracker (TVT) for\nthe JUNO-TAO experiment, comprising four layers of 160 strips of PS, was\ndesigned and evaluated. The threshold was evaluated when the muon tagging\nefficiency of a PS strip was >99%. The efficiency of three layer out of four\nlayer of TVT is >99%,even with a tagging efficiency of a single strip as low as\n97%, using a threshold of 10 photoelectrons and assuming a 40%silicon PM photon\ndetection efficiency.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Spectrally resolved single-shot wavefront sensing of broadband\n high-harmonic sources: Wavefront sensors are an important tool to characterize coherent beams of\nextreme ultraviolet radiation. However, conventional Hartmann-type sensors do\nnot allow for independent wavefront characterization of different spectral\ncomponents that may be present in a beam, which limits their applicability for\nintrinsically broadband high-harmonic generation (HHG) sources. Here we\nintroduce a wavefront sensor that measures the wavefronts of all the harmonics\nin a HHG beam in a single camera exposure. By replacing the mask apertures with\ntransmission gratings at different orientations, we simultaneously detect\nharmonic wavefronts and spectra, and obtain sensitivity to spatiotemporal\nstructure such as pulse front tilt as well. We demonstrate the capabilities of\nthe sensor through a parallel measurement of the wavefronts of 9 harmonics in a\nwavelength range between 25 and 49 nm, with up to lambda/32 precision.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Radiation hardness of the PIBETA detector components: We have examined long term changes in signal amplitude gain, energy\nresolution and detection efficiency for the active components of the PIBETA\ndetector system. Beam defining plastic scintillation counters were operated in\na ~1 MHz stopped $\\pi^+$ beam for a period of 297 days, accumulating radiation\ndoses of up to 2 Mrad. Detectors in the charged particle tracking system--a\npair of cylindrical multi-wire proportional chambers and a thin plastic\nscintillation barrel-shaped hodoscope array--were irradiated during the same\nrunning period with an average dose of ~40 krad. Individual CsI(undoped\ncrystal) calorimeter detectors received an average dose of ~120 rad, mainly\nfrom photons, positrons and protons originating from $\\pi^+$ hadronic\ninteractions as well as from $\\pi^+$ and $\\mu^+$ weak decays at rest in the\nactive target.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The RED-100 experiment: The RED-100 two-phase xenon emission detector has been deployed at 19-m\ndistance from the reactor core of the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in\n2021 - 2022 for investigation of the possibility to observe reactor\nantineutrinos using the effect of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering\n(CE{\\nu}NS). The performance of the main systems of the RED-100 setup at\noperating nuclear power plant is described. There is no correlation of the\nradioactive background at the experimental setup site with ON and OFF states of\nthe reactor. The data taking run was carried out at the beginning of the year\n2022 and covered both the reactor OFF and ON periods.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Demonstration of a Thermally-Coupled Row-Column SNSPD Imaging Array: While single-pixel superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs)\nhave demonstrated remarkable efficiency and timing performance from the UV to\nnear-IR, scaling these devices to large imaging arrays remains challenging.\nHere, we propose a new SNSPD multiplexing system using thermal coupling and\ndetection correlations between two photosensitive layers of an array. Using\nthis architecture with the channels of one layer oriented in rows and the\nsecond layer in columns, we demonstrate imaging capability in 16-pixel arrays\nwith accurate spot tracking at the few photon level. We also explore the\nperformance tradeoffs of orienting the top layer nanowires parallel and\nperpendicular to the bottom layer. The thermally-coupled row-column scheme is\nreadily able to scale to the kilopixel size with existing readout systems, and\nwhen combined with other multiplexing architectures, has the potential to\nenable megapixel scale SNSPD imaging arrays.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "CAMEA ESS - The Continuous Angle Multi-Energy Analysis Indirect Geometry\n Spectrometer for the European Spallation Source: The CAMEA ESS neutron spectrometer is designed to achieve a high detection\nefficiency in the horizontal scattering plane, and to maximize the use of the\nlong pulse European Spallation Source. It is an indirect geometry\ntime-of-flight spectrometer that uses crystal analysers to determine the final\nenergy of neutrons scattered from the sample. Unlike other indirect gemeotry\nspectrometers CAMEA will use ten concentric arcs of analysers to analyse\nscattered neutrons at ten different final energies, which can be increased to\n30 final energies by use of prismatic analysis. In this report we will outline\nthe CAMEA instrument concept, the large performance gain, and the potential\nscientific advancements that can be made with this instrument.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterizations of GEM detector prototype: At NISER-IoP detector laboratory an initiative is taken to build and test Gas\nElectron Multiplier (GEM) detectors for ALICE experiment. The optimisation of\nthe gas flow rate and the long-term stability test of the GEM detector are\nperformed. The method and test results are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Light Collection in the Prototypes of the ANAIS Dark Matter Project: The ANAIS experiment aims at the confirmation of the DAMA/LIBRA signal using\nthe same target and technique at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC) in\nSpain. ANAIS detectors consist of large NaI crystals coupled to two\nphotomultipliers (PMTs). In this work we present Single Electron Response (SER)\ndata for several units of the Hamamatsu R12669SEL2 PMT model extracted from\nnormal operation data of ANAIS underground prototypes and we compare them with\nPMT SER characterization previously done at surface lab before coupling them to\nNaI crystal. Moreover, total light collection for different ANAIS prototypes\nhas been calculated, producing an excellent average result of 15 phe/keV, which\nhas a good impact in both energy resolution and threshold.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The COSINUS project - perspectives of a NaI scintillating calorimeter\n for dark matter search: The R&D project COSINUS (Cryogenic Observatory for SIgnatures seen in\nNext-generation Underground Searches) aims to develop a cryogenic scintillating\ncalorimeter using NaI as target crystal for direct darkmatter search. Dark\nmatter particles interacting with the detector material generate both a phonon\nsignal and scintillation light. While the phonon signal provides a precise\ndetermination of the deposited energy, the simultaneously measured\nscintillation light allows for a particle identification on an event-by-event\nbasis, a powerful tool to study material-dependent interactions, and to\nsuppress backgrounds. Using the same target material as the DAMA/LIBRA\ncollaboration, the COSINUS technique may offer a unique possibility to\ninvestigate and contribute information to the presently controversial situation\nin the dark matter sector. We report on the dedicated design planned for the\nNaI proof-of-principle detector and the objectives of using this detection\ntechnique in the light of direct dark matter detection.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Comparison of different sources for laboratory X-ray microscopy: This paper describes the setup of two different solutions for laboratory\nX-ray microscopy working with geometric magnification. One setup uses thin-film\ntransmission targets with an optimized tungsten-layer thickness and the\nelectron gun and optics of an electron probe micro analyzer to generate a very\nsmall X-ray source. The other setup is based on a scanning electron microscope\nand uses microstructured reflection targets. We also describe the structuring\nprocess for these targets. In both cases we show that resolutions of 100 nm can\nbe achieved. Also the possibilities of computed tomography for 3D imaging are\nexplored and we show first imaging examples of high-absorption as well as\nlow-absorption specimens to demonstrate the capabilities of the setups.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Quartz Cherenkov Detector for Compton-Polarimetry at Future e+e-\n Colliders: Precision polarimetry is essential for future e+ e- colliders and requires\nCompton polarimeters designed for negligible statistical uncertainties. In this\npaper, we discuss the design and construction of a quartz Cherenkov detector\nfor such Compton polarimeters. The detector concept has been developed with\nregard to the main systematic uncertainties of the polarisation measurements,\nnamely the linearity of the detector response and detector alignment.\nSimulation studies presented here imply that the light yield reachable by using\nquartz as Cherenkov medium allows to resolve in the Cherenkov photon spectra\nindividual peaks corresponding to different numbers of Compton electrons. The\nbenefits of the application of a detector with such single-peak resolution to\nthe polarisation measurement are shown for the example of the upstream\npolarimeters foreseen at the International Linear Collider. Results of a first\ntestbeam campaign with a four-channel prototype confirming simulation\npredictions for single electrons are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Searching for magnetic monopoles trapped in accelerator material at the\n Large Hadron Collider: If produced in high energy particle collisions at the LHC, magnetic monopoles\ncould stop in material surrounding the interaction points. Obsolete parts of\nthe beam pipe near the CMS interaction region, which were exposed to the\nproducts of pp and heavy ion collisions, were analysed using a SQUID-based\nmagnetometer. The purpose of this work is to quantify the performance of the\nmagnetometer in the context of a monopole search using a small set of samples\nof accelerator material ahead of the 2013 shutdown.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "NQontrol: An open-source platform for digital control-loops in\n quantum-optical experiments: Experiments in quantum optics often require a large number of control loops,\ne.g. for length-stabilization of optical cavities and control of phase gates.\nThese control loops are generally implemented using one of three approaches:\ncommercial (digital) controllers, self-built analog circuitry, or custom\nsolutions based on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and microcontrollers.\nEach of these approaches has individual drawbacks, such as high cost, lack of\nscalability and flexibility, or high maintenance effort. Here we present\nNQontrol, a solution based on the ADwin digital control platform that delivers\neight simultaneous locking loops running with 200 kHz sampling frequency, and\noffers five second-order filtering sections per channel for optimal control\nperformance. A comprehensive software package written in Python, together with\na web-based graphical user interface (GUI), makes the system as easy to use as\ncommercial products, while giving the full flexibility of open-source\nplatforms.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of a dedicated beam forming system for material and\n bioscience research with high intensity, small field electron beam of\n LILLYPUT 3 accelerator at Wroclaw Technology Park: The primary use of the LILLYPUT 3 accelerator at the Nondestructive Testing\nLaboratory at Wroclaw Technology Park is X-ray radiography for nondestructive\ntesting, including R&D of novel techniques for industrial and medical imaging.\nThe scope of possible applications could be greatly extended by providing a\nsystem for irradiation with electron beam. The purpose of this work was to\ndesign such a system, especially for high dose rate, small field irradiations\nunder cryogenic conditions for material and bioscience research. In this work,\ntwo possible solutions, based either on beam scanning or scattering and\ncollimation, were studied and compared. It was found that under existing\nconditions efficiency of both systems would be comparable. The latter one was\nadopted due to its simplicity and much lower cost. The system design was\noptimized by means of detailed Monte Carlo modeling. The system is being\ncurrently fabricated at National Centre for Nuclear Research in \\'Swierk.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of silicon photomultipliers for the readout of a\n lead/scintillating-fiber calorimeter: The KLOE electromagnetic calorimeter is expected to be reused in the Near\nDetector complex of the DUNE experiment at Fermilab. The possible substitution\nof traditional Photomultiplier Tubes (PMTs) with Silicon Photomultipliers\n(SiPMs) in the refurbished calorimeter is the object of this investigation. A\nblock of the KLOE lead-scintillating fiber calorimeter has been equipped with\nlight guides and external trigger scintillators. The signals induced by cosmic\nrays and environmental radioactivity have been collected by SiPM arrays on one\nside of the calorimeter, and by conventional PMTs on the opposite side.\nEfficiency, stability, and timing resolution of SiPMs have been studied and\ncompared with KLOE-PMTs performance. Conclusions about the convenience of\nsubstituting PMTs with SiPMs are drawn.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An analysis and visualization of the output mode-matching requirements\n for squeezing in Advanced LIGO and future gravitational wave detectors: The sensitivity of ground-based gravitational wave (GW) detectors will be\nimproved in the future via the injection of frequency-dependent squeezed\nvacuum. The achievable improvement is ultimately limited by losses of the\ninterferometer electromagnetic field that carries the GW signal. The analysis\nand reduction of optical loss in the GW signal chain will be critical for\noptimal squeezed light-enhanced interferometry. In this work we analyze a\nstrategy for reducing output-side losses due to spatial mode mismatch between\noptical cavities with the use of adaptive optics. Our goal is not to design a\ndetector from the top down, but rather to minimize losses within the current\ndesign. Accordingly, we consider actuation on optics already present and one\ntransmissive optic to be added between the signal recycling mirror and the\noutput mode cleaner. The results of our calculation show that adaptive\nmode-matching with the current Advanced LIGO design is a suitable strategy for\nloss reduction that provides less than 2% mean output mode-matching loss. The\nrange of actuation required is +47 uD on SR3, +140 mD on OM1 and OM2, +50 mD on\nthe SRM substrate, and -50 mD on the added new transmissive optic. These\nrequirements are within the demonstrated ranges of real actuators in similar or\nidentical configurations to the proposed implementation. We also present a\nnovel technique that graphically illustrates the matching of interferometer\nmodes and allows for a quantitative comparison of different combinations of\nactuators.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Beam studies of novel THGEM-based potential sampling elements for\n Digital Hadron Calorimetry: Beam studies of thin single- and double-stage THGEM-based detectors are\npresented. Several 10 x 10 cm^2 configurations with a total thickness of 5-6 mm\n(excluding readout electronics), with 1 x 1 cm^2 pads inductively coupled\nthrough a resistive layer to APV-SRS readout electronics, were investigated\nwith muons and pions. Detection efficiencies in the 98% range were recorded\nwith an average pad-multiplicity of ~1.1. The resistive anode resulted in\nefficient discharge damping, with few-volt potential drops; discharge\nprobabilities were ~10^{-7} for muons and 10^{-6} for pions in the double-stage\nconfiguration, at rates of a few kHz/cm^2. These results, together with the\nrobustness of THGEM electrodes against spark damage and their suitability for\neconomic production over large areas make THGEM-based detectors highly\ncompetitive compared to the other technologies considered for the SiD-DHCAL.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Novel Boron Based Multilayer Thermal Neutron Detector: The detector contains four or more layers of natural Boron absorbing thermal\nneutrons. Thickness of a layer is 0.4 - 1.2 mg/cm2. The layers are deposited on\none or on both sides of a metal surface used as contacts. Between the absorbing\nlayers there are gas-filled gaps 3 - 6 mm thick. Electric field of 100 - 200\nV/cm is applied to the gas-filled gaps. Natural Boron contains almost 20% of\n10B isotope. When atoms of 10B capture a thermal neutron, nuclear reaction\noccurs, as a result of which two heavy particles - alpha particle and ion 7Li -\nfrom the thin absorber layer are emitted in opposing sides. One of the two\nparticles penetrates into gas-filled gap between Boron layers and ionizes the\ngas. An impulse of electric current is created in the gas-filled gap actuated\nby the applied electric field. The impulse is registered by an electronic\ncircuit. We have made and tested detectors containing from two to sixteen\nlayers of natural Boron with an efficiency of thermal neutron registration from\n2.9% to 12.5% accordingly.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "FPGA based data acquisition system for COMPASS experiment: This paper discusses the present data acquisition system (DAQ) of the COMPASS\nexperiment at CERN and presents development of a new DAQ. The new DAQ must\npreserve present data format and be able to communicate with FPGA cards. Parts\nof the new DAQ are based on state machines and they are implemented in C++ with\nusage of the QT framework, the DIM library, and the IPBus technology. Prototype\nof the system is prepared and communication through DIM between parts was\ntested. An implementation of the IPBus technology was prepared and tested. The\nnew DAQ proved to be able to fulfill requirements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design of the Readout Electronics for the TRIDENT Pathfinder Experiment: The tRopIcal DEep-sea Neutrino Telescope (TRIDENT) is a future large-scale\nnext-generation neutrino telescope. In September 2021, the TRIDENT pathfinder\nexperiment (TRIDENT EXplorer, T-REX for short) completed in-situ measurements\nof deep-sea water properties in the South China Sea. The T-REX apparatus\nintegrates two independent and complementary systems, a photomultiplier tube\n(PMT) and a camera system, to measure the optical and radioactive properties of\nthe deep-sea water. One light emitter module and two light receiver modules\nwere deployed, which were synchronized by using White Rabbit (WR) technology.\nThe light emitter module generates nanosecond-width LED pulses, while the light\nreceiver module hosts three PMTs and a camera to detect photons. The submerged\napparatus and the data acquisition system (DAQ) perform real-time command and\ndata transmission. We report the design and performance of the readout\nelectronics for T-REX, including hardware modules, firmware design for digital\nsignal processing, and host-computer software.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Generation of a microresonator soliton comb via current modulation of a\n DFB laser: Dissipative Kerr-microresonator soliton combs (hereafter called soliton\ncombs) has been rapidly progressing as compact frequency combs. Comb mode\nscanning of the soliton combs with a large range and fast speed is of paramount\nimportance for applications such as LiDAR and spectroscopy, requiring large and\nrapid frequency scanning of a pump continuous-wave (CW) laser as well as\nresonance frequency of a microresonator. Here, we demonstrate the generation of\na soliton comb by a distributed feedback (DFB) laser toward the comb mode\nscanning with a large range and fast speed. Compared with conventional pump CW\nlasers (i.e. external cavity diode lasers: ECDLs), DFB lasers can be\nfrequency-scanned more largely and rapidly without mode-hopping. In addition,\nbecause of the fast scan speed of the DFB laser, a single soliton comb is\ngenerated simply by controlling the injection current of the DFB laser, greatly\nsimplifying the system without having any additional optical modulators such as\na carrier-suppressed single-sideband modulator (CS-SSB modulator),\nacousto-optic modulator (AOM), and auxiliary CW laser.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Monte Carlo Simulations of Trapped Ultracold Neutrons in the UCN\u03c4\n Experiment: In the UCN{\\tau} experiment, ultracold neutrons (UCN) are confined by\nmagnetic fields and the Earth's gravitational field. Field-trapping mitigates\nthe problem of UCN loss on material surfaces, which caused the largest\ncorrection in prior neutron experiments using material bottles. However, the\nneutron dynamics in field traps differ qualitatively from those in material\nbottles. In the latter case, neutrons bounce off material surfaces with\nsignificant diffusivity and the population quickly reaches a static spatial\ndistribution with a density gradient induced by the gravitational potential. In\ncontrast, the field-confined UCN -- whose dynamics can be described by\nHamiltonian mechanics -- do not exhibit the stochastic behaviors typical of an\nideal gas model as observed in material bottles. In this report, we will\ndescribe our efforts to simulate UCN trapping in the UCN{\\tau}\nmagneto-gravitational trap. We compare the simulation output to the\nexperimental results to determine the parameters of the neutron detector and\nthe input neutron distribution. The tuned model is then used to understand the\nphase space evolution of neutrons observed in the UCN{\\tau} experiment. We will\ndiscuss the implications of chaotic dynamics on controlling the systematic\neffects, such as spectral cleaning and microphonic heating, for a successful\nUCN lifetime experiment to reach a 0.01% level of precision.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The magnetic properties of the hollow cylindrical ideal remanence magnet: We consider the magnetic properties of the hollow cylindrical ideal remanence\nmagnet. This magnet is the cylindrical permanent magnet that generates a\nuniform field in the cylinder bore, using the least amount of magnetic energy\nto do so. The remanence distribution of this magnet is derived and the\ngenerated field is compared to that of a Halbach cylinder of equal dimensions.\nThe ideal remanence magnet is shown in most cases to generate a significantly\nlower field than the equivalent Halbach cylinder, although the field is\ngenerated with higher efficiency. The most efficient Halbach cylinder is shown\nto generate a field exactly twice as large as the equivalent ideal remanence\nmagnet.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Muon g-2 Experiment Overview and Status as of June 2016: The Muon g-2 Experiment at Fermilab will measure the anomalous magnetic\nmoment of the muon to a precision of 140 parts per billion, which is a factor\nof four improvement over the previous E821 measurement at Brookhaven. The\nexperiment will also extend the search for the electric dipole moment (EDM) of\nthe muon by approximately two orders of magnitude, with a sensitivity down to\n$10^{-21}$ e.cm. Both of these measurements are made by combining a precise\nmeasurement of the 1.45T storage ring magnetic field with an analysis of the\nmodulation of the decay rate of higher-energy positrons (from anti-muons),\nrecorded by 24 calorimeters and 3 straw tracking detectors. The recent progress\nin the alignment of the electrostatic quadrapole plates and the trolley rails\ninside the vacuum chambers, and in establishing the uniform storage ring\nmagnetic field will be described.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A dual-trap system for the study of charged rotating graphene\n nanoplatelets in high vacuum: We discuss the design and implementation of a system for generating charged\nmultilayer graphene nanoplatelets and introducing a nanoplatelet into a\nquadrupole ion trap in high vacuum. Levitation decouples the platelet from its\nenvironment and enables sensitive mechanical and magnetic measurements. The\nplatelets are generated via liquid exfoliation of graphite pellets and charged\nvia electrospray ionization. A single platelet is trapped at a pressure of\nseveral hundred millitorr and transferred to a trap in a second chamber, which\nis pumped to UHV pressures for further study.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Overcoming High Energy Backgrounds at Pulsed Spallation Sources: Instrument backgrounds at neutron scattering facilities directly affect the\nquality and the efficiency of the scientific measurements that users perform.\nPart of the background at pulsed spallation neutron sources is caused by, and\ntime-correlated with, the emission of high energy particles when the proton\nbeam strikes the spallation target. This prompt pulse ultimately produces a\nsignal, which can be highly problematic for a subset of instruments and\nmeasurements due to the time-correlated properties, and different to that from\nreactor sources. Measurements of this background have been made at both SNS\n(ORNL, Oak Ridge, TN, USA) and SINQ (PSI, Villigen, Switzerland). The\nbackground levels were generally found to be low compared to natural\nbackground. However, very low intensities of high-energy particles have been\nfound to be detrimental to instrument performance in some conditions. Given\nthat instrument performance is typically characterised by S/N, improvements in\nbackgrounds can both improve instrument performance whilst at the same time\ndelivering significant cost savings. A systematic holistic approach is\nsuggested in this contribution to increase the effectiveness of this.\nInstrument performance should subsequently benefit.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurement and Analysis of Fission Rates in a Spherical Mockup of\n Uranium and Polyethylene: Measurements of the reaction rate distribution were carried out using two\nkinds of Plate Micro Fission Chamber(PMFC). The first is a depleted uranium\nchamber and the second an enriched uranium chamber. The material in the\ndepleted uranium chamber is strictly the same as the material in the uranium\nassembly. With the equation solution to conduct the isotope contribution\ncorrection, the fission rate of 238U and 235U were obtained from the fission\nrate of depleted uranium and enriched uranium. And then, the fission count of\n238U and 235U in an individual uranium shell was obtained. In this work, MCNP5\nand continuous energy cross sections ENDF/BV.0 were used for the analysis of\nfission rate distribution and fission count. The calculated results were\ncompared with the experimental ones. The calculation of fission rate of DU and\nEU were found to agree with the measured ones within 10% except at the\npositions in polyethylene region and the two positions near the outer surface.\nBeacause the fission chamber was not considered in the calculation of the\nfission counts of 238U and 235U, the calculated results did not agree well with\nthe experimental ones.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Tracking and Vertexing with a Thin CMOS Pixel Beam Telescope: We present results of a study of charged particle track and vertex\nreconstruction with a beam telescope made of four layers of 50 micron-thin CMOS\nmonolithic pixel sensors using the 120 GeV protons at the FNAL Meson Test Beam\nFacility. We compare our results to the performance requirements of a future\ne+e- linear collider in terms of particle track extrapolation and vertex\nreconstruction accuracies.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design and simulation of a novel 4H-SiC LGAD timing device: Silicon-based fast time detectors have been widely used in high energy\nphysics, nuclear physics, space exploration and other fields in recent years.\nHowever, silicon detectors often require complex low-temperature systems when\noperating in irradiation environment, and their detection performance decrease\nwith the increase of irradiation dose. Compared with silicon, silicon carbide\n(SiC) has a wider bandgap, higher atomic displacement energy, saturated\nelectron drift velocity and thermal conductivity. Simultaneously, the low gain\navalanche detector avoids crosstalk and high noise from high multiplication due\nto its moderate gain, and thus can maintain a high detector signal without\nincreasing noise. Thus, the 4H-SiC particle detector, especially the low gain\navalanche detector has the potential to detect the minimal ionized particles\n(MIPs) under extreme irradiation and high temperature environments. In this\nwork, the emphasis was placed on the design of a 4H-SiC Low Gain Avalanche\nDetector (LGAD), especially the epitaxial structure and technical process which\nplayed the main roles. In addition, a simulation tool--RASER(RAdiation\nSEmiconductoR) was developed to simulate the performances including the\nelectrical properties and time resolution of the 4H-SiC LGAD we proposed. The\nworking voltage and gain effectiveness of the LGAD were verified by the\nsimulation of electrical performances. The time resolution of the LGAD is (35.0\n$\\pm$ 0.2) ps under the electrical field of -800 V, which is better than that\nof the 4H-SiC PIN detector.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Effect of deep gain layer and Carbon infusion on LGAD radiation hardness: The properties of 50 um thick Low Gain Avalanche Diode (LGAD) detectors\nmanufactured by Hamamatsu photonics (HPK) and Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK)\nwere tested before and after irradiation with 1 MeV neutrons. Their performance\nwere measured in charge collection studies using b-particles from a 90Sr source\nand in capacitance-voltage scans (C-V) to determine the bias to deplete the\ngain layer. Carbon infusion to the gain layer of the sensors was tested by FBK\nin the UFSD3 production. HPK instead produced LGADs with a very thin, highly\ndoped and deep multiplication layer. The sensors were exposed to a neutron\nfluence from 4e14 neq/cm2 to 4e15 neq/cm2. The collected charge and the timing\nresolution were measured as a function of bias voltage at -30C, furthermore the\nprofile of the capacitance over voltage of the sensors was measured.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Muon Detector for Underground Tomography: We utilise muons from cosmic ray to explore hidden underground archaeological\nstructures. Presented here is the design, simulation studies and first\nlaboratory results of a compact, scintillators based, cosmic ray muon telescope\nfor underground muon radiography.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of a Neutron Imaging Sensor using INTPIX4-SOI Pixelated\n Silicon Devices: We have developed a neutron imaging sensor based on an INTPIX4-SOI pixelated\nsilicon device. Neutron irradiation tests are performed at several neutron\nfacilities to investigate sensor's responses for neutrons. Detection efficiency\nis measured to be around $1.5$\\% for thermal neutrons. Upper bound of spatial\nresolution is evaluated to be $4.1 \\pm 0.2 ~\\mu$m in terms of a standard\ndeviation of the line spread function.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "From Counting Electrons to Calibrating Ammeters: Improved Methodologies\n for Traceable Measurements of Small Electric Currents: New technology, the ultrastable low-noise current amplifier and the electron\npump, provide new methods for making traceable measurements of small DC\nelectric currents. We review four traceability routes for small current\nmeasurements and discuss the merits of each one. We present three case studies\nof small current calibrations, highlighting the role of noise and drifting\ninstrument offsets. We show how the Allan deviation is used as a statistical\ntool for designing a calibration cycle to correctly eliminate drifting\ninstrument offsets from calibration data. We also present a simplified noise\nmodel for a low-current ammeter which predicts a lower limit to the achievable\nstatistical uncertainty in a calibration.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of a low-background HPGe detector at Kamioka Observatory: A new ultra-low background high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector has been\ninstalled at the Kamioka underground experimental site. The background count\nrate in the energy range from 40 keV to 2700 keV is about 25% lower than that\nof the first HPGe detector installed in 2016, which has the same detector\nspecification and similar shielding geometry. This paper describes the\nshielding configuration, including the cleaning of the material surface, the\ncomparison of calibration data and simulation, the time variation of the\nbackground spectra, the sample measurement procedure, and some results of the\nradioactivity in the selected samples.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Determination of the Riemann modulus and sheet resistivity by a\n six-point generalization of the van der Pauw method: Six point generalization of the van der Pauw method is presented. The method\nis applicable for two dimensional homogeneous systems with an isolated hole. A\nsingle measurement performed on the contacts located arbitrarily on the sample\nedge allows to determine the specific resistivity and a dimensionless parameter\nrelated to the hole, known as the Riemann modulus. The parameter is invariant\nunder conformal mappings of the sample shape. The hole can be regarded as a\nhigh resistivity defect. Therefore the method can be applied for experimental\ndetermination of the sample inhomogeneity.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Ultra-Intense Gamma-Rays Created Using the Texas Petawatt Laser: In a series of experiments at the Texas Petawatt Laser (TPW) in Austin, TX,\nwe have used attenuation spectrometers, dosimeters, and a new Forward Compton\nElectron Spectrometer (FCES) to measure and characterize the angular\ndistribution, fluence, and energy spectrum of the X-rays and gamma rays\nproduced by the TPW striking multi-millimeter thick gold targets. Our results\nrepresent the first such measurements at laser intensities > 10 21 W*cm-2 and\npulse durations < 150 fs. We obtain a maximum yield of X-ray and gamma ray\nenergy with respect to laser energy of 4% and a mean yield of 2%. We futher\nobtain a Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) of the gamma distribution of 37{\\deg}.\nWe were able to characterize the gamma-ray spectrum from 3 MeV to 90 MeV using\na Forward Compton Electron Spectrometer, with an energy resolution of 0.5 MeV\nand mean kT of ~ 6 MeV.. We were able to characterize the spectrum from 1 to 7\nMeV using a Filter Stack Spectrometer, measuring a mean gamma-ray temperature\nfor the spectrum from 3 to 7 MeV of 2.1 MeV.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of Spatial Resolution of Muon Hodoscopes for Muography\n Applications in Geophysics: Muon radiography, also known as muography, is a non-destructive geophysical\ntechnique for the study of the internal structure of large objects such as\nvolcanoes. This is possible by constructing an image based on the differential\nabsorption of the directional flux of high-energy atmospheric muons produced\nduring the interaction of cosmic rays with the atmosphere. So this no other\nsource of radiation is required for this technique. Many muon telescopes are\nbeing built with crossed scintillator bars and so, the resolution of each panel\nis essentially given by the total surface of the bar crossings. Enhancing the\nresolution may require covering the same area with smaller scintillator bars,\nwhich adds costs and build complexity as more scintillators and fibers are\nrequired. More channels also require more acquisition electronics which have to\nbe synchronized, increasing the complexity of the system, with associated\noperating issues and the final cost. In this work, we propose a novel analysis\napproach to obtain a reliable sub-pixel resolution, by measuring and comparing\nthe average signals measured at each end of the scintillation bar. This\nanalysis approach achieves sub-pixel resolutions, augmenting the spatial\nresolutions of existing designs. To study the feasibility of this technique we\ndesigned a laboratory setup, to emulate muon light pulses with a pulsed laser\nlight located at different points on optical wavelength shifter fiber. By doing\nthis we measured an increase in the spatial resolution when compared with\ntraditional systems. These results enable the design of new prototypes for the\nmuography of natural and artificial structures of strategic interest. We are\ncurrently assembling a prototype detector that will use this methodology.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Scalable Cryogenic Read-out Circuit for a Superconducting Nanowire\n Single-Photon Detector System: The superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD) is a leading\ntechnology for quantum information science applications using photons, and they\nare finding increasing uses in photon-starved classical imaging applications.\nCritical detector characteristics, such as timing resolution (jitter), reset\ntime and maximum count rate, are heavily influenced by the readout electronics\nthat sense and amplify the photon detection signal. We describe a readout\ncircuit for SNSPDs using commercial off-the-shelf amplifiers operating at\ncryogenic temperatures. Our design demonstrates a 35 ps timing resolution and a\nmaximum count rate of over 2x10^7 counts per second while maintaining <3 mW\npower consumption per channel, making it suitable for a multichannel readout.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of new radon monitoring systems in the Kamioka mine: Radioactivity from radon is a major threat for high-precision low energy\nphysics experiments like the ones in the Kamioka Mine. We developed a new high\nsensitive radon monitoring system and conducted systematic radon concentration\nmeasurements for the first time in Kamioka. The system consists of portable\nradon detectors with a capacity of 1 L and new electronics based on Raspberry\nPi. These radon detectors measure the radon in air with electro-static\ncollection and a PIN photodiode. We measured the absolute humidity dependence\nof the 1-L radon detector for air to be $C_{F} (A_{H}) = (12.86 \\pm 0.40) -\n(1.66 \\pm 0.19) \\sqrt{A_{H}}$ $\\mathrm{(counts/day)/(Bq/m^3)}$. The background\nlevel of the 1-L radon detector is $0.65\\pm0.15$ (stat.) count/day. This\ncorresponds to a detection limit of $\\sim0.4$ Bq/m$^3$ in a one-day\nmeasurement. Data was collected for a period of more than one year with twenty\none 1-L radon detectors in the Kamioka mine. They indicate seasonal and\nday-night variations in radon concentration within the mine. These results also\nallow us to confirm the stability of the new Raspberry Pi electronics.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Towards THGEM UV-photon detectors for RICH: on single-photon detection\n efficiency in Ne/CH4 and Ne/CF4: The article deals with the detection efficiency of UV-photon detectors\nconsisting of Thick Gas Electron Multipliers (THGEM) coated with CsI\nphotocathode, operated in atmospheric Ne/CH4 and Ne/CF4 mixtures. We report on\nthe photoelectron extraction efficiency from the photocathode into these gas\nmixtures, and on the photoelectron collection efficiency into the THGEM holes.\nFull collection efficiency was reached in all gases investigated, in some cases\nat relatively low multiplication. High total detector gains for UV photons, in\nexcess of 10^5, were reached at relatively low operation voltages with a single\nTHGEM element. We discuss the photon detection efficiency in the context of\npossible application to RICH.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of a Time-resolved Neutron Imaging Detector Based on the\n \u03bcPIC Micro-Pixel Chamber: We have developed a prototype time-resolved neutron imaging detector\nemploying a micro-pattern gaseous detector known as the micro-pixel chamber\n({\\mu}PIC) coupled with a field-programmable-gate-array-based data acquisition\nsystem. Our detector system combines 100{\\mu}m-level spatial and sub-{\\mu}s\ntime resolutions with a low gamma sensitivity of less than 10^-12 and high data\nrates, making it well suited for applications in neutron radiography at\nhigh-intensity, pulsed neutron sources. In the present paper, we introduce the\ndetector system and present several test measurements performed at NOBORU\n(BL10), J-PARC to demonstrate the capabilities of our prototype. We also\ndiscuss future improvements to the spatial resolution and rate performance.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Improvement studies on neutron-gamma separation in HPGe detectors by\n using neural networks: The neutrons emitted in heavy-ion fusion-evaporation (HIFE) reactions\ntogether with the gamma-rays cause unwanted backgrounds in gamma-ray spectra.\nEspecially in the nuclear reactions, where relativistic ion beams (RIBs) are\nused, these neutrons are serious problem. They have to be rejected in order to\nobtain clearer gamma-ray peaks. In this study, the radiation energy and three\ncriteria which were previously determined for separation between neutron and\ngamma-rays in the HPGe detectors have been used in artificial neural network\n(ANN) for improving of the decomposition power. According to the preliminary\nresults obtained from ANN method, the ratio of neutron rejection has been\nimproved by a factor of 1.27 and the ratio of the lost in gamma-rays has been\ndecreased by a factor of 0.50.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Dark-field light scattering microscope with focus stabilization: We present detailed design and operation instructions for a single-objective\ninverted microscope. Our design is suitable for two dark-field modes of\noperation: 1- total internal reflection scattering, and 2- cross-polarization\nbackscattering. The user can switch between the two modes by exchanging one\nmode-steering element, which is also adapted to the Thorlabs cage system. To\nestablish a stable background speckle for differential microscopy the imaging\nplane is stabilized with active feedback. We validate the stabilization\nefficacy by performing long-term scattering measurement on single\nnanoparticles. This setup can be extended for simultaneous scattering,\nfluorescence, and confocal imaging modes.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A highly granular calorimeter concept for long baseline near detectors: Future long baseline neutrino experiments such as the DUNE experiment under\nconstruction at Fermilab will perform precision measurements of neutrino\noscillations, including the potential for the discovery of CP violation in the\nlepton sector. These measurements require an understanding of the unoscillated\nneutrino beam with unprecedented accuracy. This will be provided by complex\nnear detectors which consist of different subsystems including tracking\nelements and electromagnetic calorimetry. A high granularity in the\ncalorimeter, provided by scintillator tiles with SiPM readout as used in the\nCALICE analog hadron calorimeter, provides the capability for direction\nreconstruction of photon showers, which can be used to determine the decay\npositions of neutral pions. This can enable the association of neutral pions to\nneutrino interactions in the tracker volume, improving the event reconstruction\nof the near detector. Beyond photon and electron reconstruction, the\ncalorimeter also provides sensitivity to neutrons. In this presentation, we\nwill discuss a simulation study exploring the potential of high granularity for\nthe electromagnetic calorimeter of the DUNE near detector. Particular emphasis\nwill be placed on the combination with a high pressure TPC as tracking\ndetector, which puts particularly stringent requirements on the calorimeter.\nThe dependence of the projected detector performance on granularity, absorber\nmaterial and absorber thickness as well as geometric arrangement satisfying the\nconstraints of the TPC are explored.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Radioactivity Backgrounds in ZEPLIN-III: We examine electron and nuclear recoil backgrounds from radioactivity in the\nZEPLIN-III dark matter experiment at Boulby. The rate of low-energy electron\nrecoils in the liquid xenon WIMP target is 0.75$\\pm$0.05 events/kg/day/keV,\nwhich represents a 20-fold improvement over the rate observed during the first\nscience run. Energy and spatial distributions agree with those predicted by\ncomponent-level Monte Carlo simulations propagating the effects of the\nradiological contamination measured for materials employed in the experiment.\nNeutron elastic scattering is predicted to yield 3.05$\\pm$0.5 nuclear recoils\nwith energy 5-50 keV per year, which translates to an expectation of 0.4 events\nin a 1-year dataset in anti-coincidence with the veto detector for realistic\nsignal acceptance. Less obvious background sources are discussed, especially in\nthe context of future experiments. These include contamination of scintillation\npulses with Cherenkov light from Compton electrons and from $\\beta$ activity\ninternal to photomultipliers, which can increase the size and lower the\napparent time constant of the scintillation response. Another challenge is\nposed by multiple-scatter $\\gamma$-rays with one or more vertices in regions\nthat yield no ionisation. If the discrimination power achieved in the first run\ncan be replicated, ZEPLIN-III should reach a sensitivity of $\\sim 1 \\times\n10^{-8}$ pb$\\cdot$year to the scalar WIMP-nucleon elastic cross-section, as\noriginally conceived.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Prototype of Trigger Electronics for LAWCA Experiment: The Large Area Water Cherenkov Array (LAWCA) experiment focuses on high\nenergy gamma astronomy between 100 GeV and 30 TeV. Invoked by the idea of\nhardware triggerless structure, a prototype of LAWCA trigger electronics is\nimplemented in one single VME-9U module which obtains all the data from the 100\nFront End Electronic (FEE) endpoints. Since the trigger electronics accumulates\nall the information, the flexibility of trigger processing can be improved.\nMeanwhile, the dedicated hardware trigger signals which are fed back to front\nend are eliminated; this leads to a system with better simplicity and\nstability. To accommodate the 5.4 Gbps system average data rate, the fiber\nbased high speed serial data transmission is adopted. Based on the logic design\nin one single FPGA device, real-time trigger processing is achieved; the\nreprogrammable feature of the FPGA device renders a reconfigurable structure of\ntrigger electronics. Simulation and initial testing results indicate that the\ntrigger electronics prototype functions well.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Large Area Timing RPC: A large area Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) with a total active surface of\n160x10 cm2 was built and tested. The surface was segmented in two 5 cm wide\nstrips readout on both ends with custom, very high frequency, front end\nelectronics.\n A timing resolution between 50 and 75 ps sigma with an efficiency for Minimum\nIonizing Particles (MIPs) larger than 95% was attained over the whole active\narea, in addition with a position resolution along the strips of 1.2 cm.\n Despite the large active area per electronic channel, the observed timing\nresolution is remarkably close to the one previously obtained (50 ps sigma)\nwith much smaller chambers of about 10 cm2 area. These results open\nperspectives of extending the application of timing RPCs to large area arrays\nexposed to moderate particle multiplicities, where the low cost, good time\nresolution, insensitivity to the magnetic field and compact mechanics may be\nattractive when compared with the standard scintillator-based Time-of-Flight\n(TOF) technology.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Front-End Board with Cyclone V as a Test High-Resolution Platform for\n the Auger-Beyond-2015 Front End Electronics: The surface detector (SD) array of the Pierre Auger Observatory containing at\npresent 1680 water Cherenkov detectors spread over an area of 3000 km^2 started\nto operate since 2004. The currently used Front-End Boards are equipped with\nno-more produced ACEX and obsolete Cyclone FPGA (40 MSps/15-bit of dynamic\nrange).\n Huge progress in electronics and new challenges from physics impose a\nsignificant upgrade of the SD electronics either to improve a quality of\nmeasurements (much higher sampling and much wider dynamic range) or pick-up\nfrom a background extremely rare events (new FPGA algorithms based on\nsophisticated approaches like e.g. spectral triggers or neural networks). Much\nhigher SD sensitivity is necessary to confirm or reject hypotheses critical for\na modern astrophysics.\n The paper presents the Front-End Board (FEB) with the biggest Cyclone V E\nFPGA 5CEFA9F31I7N, supporting 8 channels sampled with max. 250 MSps @ 14-bit\nresolution. Considered sampling for the SD is 120 MSps, however, the FEB has\nbeen developed with external anti-aliasing filters to keep a maximal\nflexibility. Six channels are targeted to the SD, two the rest for other\nexperiments like: Auger Engineering Radio Array and additional muon counters.\n The FEB is an intermediate design pluged-in the actually used Unified Board\ncommunicating with micro-controller at 40 MHz, however providing even 250 MSPs\nsampling with 20-bit dynamic range, equipped in a virtual NIOS processor and\nsupporting 256 MB of SDRAM as well as with an implemented spectral trigger\nbased on the Discrete Cosine Transform for a detection of very inclined \"old\"\nshowers. The FEB can also support a neural network developing for a detection\nof \"young\" showers, potentially generated by neutrinos.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of the front-end electronics for a cost-effective PET-like\n detector system: Most detector systems used for positron emission particle tracking (PEPT) are\nvery expensive due to the use of inorganic plastic scintillators combined with\na high number of readout electronic channels. This work aims to reduce the\noverall cost of a PEPT-capable detector system by using large and\ncost-effective plastic scintillators and developing custom 2 x 2 silicon\nphotomultiplier (SiPM) arrays, preamplifiers, and discriminators. The use of\nlong (20 mm x 20 mm x 1000 mm) plastic scintillator bars read out with\nphotodetectors only at their respective ends allows an overall smaller number\nof photodetectors and associated readout electronics, which in turn reduces the\noverall cost of the system. In addition, the development of a custom SiPM array\nand preamplifier allows a free selection of interconnection and readout, as\nmost commercial producers only offer specific types of interconnections and\ntherefore lack other connections such as serial or hybrid. Thus, several common\ncircuit types for SiPMs and preamplifiers were tested and compared in this\nwork, and it was found that a serial connection implemented in a hybrid\ninterconnection for the SiPMs and an inverting preamplifier based on a\nhigh-frequency operational amplifier provided the best results for the proposed\ndetector system. Measured with a Na-22 source, the combination of SiPM array\nand preamplifier led to a rise time of 3.7 ns and a signal amplitude of 175 mV.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Practical Concepts for Design, Construction and Application of Halbach\n Magnets in Magnetic Resonance: This review is a compilation of relevant concepts in designing Halbach\nmultipoles for magnetic resonance applications. The main focus is on providing\npractical guidelines to plan, design and build such magnets. Therefore,\nanalytical equations are presented for estimating the magnetic field from ideal\nto realistic systems. Various strategies of homogenizing magnetic fields are\ndiscussed together with concepts of opening such magnets without force, or\ncombining them for variable fields. Temperature compensation and other\npractical aspects are also reviewed. For magnetic resonance two polarities (di-\nand quadrupole) are of main interest, but higher polarities are also included.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A new model with Serpent for the first criticality benchmarks of the\n TRIGA Mark II reactor: We present a new model, developed with the Serpent Monte Carlo code, for\nneutronics simulation of the TRIGA Mark II reactor of Pavia (Italy). The\ncomplete 3D geometry of the reactor core is implemented with high accuracy and\ndetail, exploiting all the available information about geometry and materials.\nThe Serpent model of the reactor is validated in the fresh fuel configuration,\nthrough a benchmark analysis of the first criticality experiments and control\nrods calibrations. The accuracy of simulations in reproducing the reactivity\ndifference between the low power (10 W) and full power (250 kW) reactor\ncondition is also tested. Finally, a direct comparison between Serpent and MCNP\nsimulations of the same reactor configurations is presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A 15 GSa/s, 1.5 GHz Bandwidth Waveform Digitizing ASIC: The PSEC4 custom integrated circuit was designed for the recording of fast\nwaveforms for use in large-area time-of-flight detector systems. The ASIC has\nbeen fabricated using the IBM-8RF 0.13 micron CMOS process. On each of 6 analog\nchannels, PSEC4 employs a switched capacitor array (SCA) 256 samples deep, a\nramp-compare ADC with 10.5 bits of DC dynamic range, and a serial data readout\nwith the capability of region-of-interest windowing to reduce dead time. The\nsampling rate can be adjusted between 4 and 15 Gigasamples/second [GSa/s] on\nall channels and is servo-controlled on-chip with a low-jitter delay-locked\nloop (DLL). The input signals are passively coupled on-chip with a -3 dB analog\nbandwidth of 1.5 GHz. The power consumption in quiescent sampling mode is less\nthan 50 mW/chip; at a sustained trigger and readout rate of 50 kHz the chip\ndraws 100 mW. After fixed-pattern pedestal subtraction, the uncorrected\nintegral non-linearity is 0.15% over an 750 mV dynamic range. With a linearity\ncorrection, a full 1 V signal voltage range is available.The sampling timebase\nhas a fixed-pattern non-linearity with an RMS of 13%, which can be corrected\nfor precision waveform feature extraction and timing.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Differentiation of Bulk and Surface Events in p-type Point-Contact\n Germanium Detectors for Light WIMP Searches: The p-type point-contact germanium detectors are novel techniques offering\nkg-scale radiation sensors with sub-keV sensitivities. They have been used for\nlight Dark Matter WIMPs searches and may have potential applications in\nneutrino physics. There are, however, anomalous surface behaviour which needs\nto be characterized and understood. We describe the methods and results of a\nresearch program whose goals are to identify the bulk and surface events via\nsoftware pulse shape analysis techniques, and to devise calibration schemes to\nevaluate the selection efficiency factors. Efficiencies-corrected background\nspectra from the low-background facility at Kuo-Sheng Neutrino Laboratory are\nderived.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The COMPASS Setup for Physics with Hadron Beams: The main characteristics of the COMPASS experimental setup for physics with\nhadron beams are described. This setup was designed to perform exclusive\nmeasurements of processes with several charged and/or neutral particles in the\nfinal state. Making use of a large part of the apparatus that was previously\nbuilt for spin structure studies with a muon beam, it also features a new\ntarget system as well as new or upgraded detectors. The hadron setup is able to\noperate at the high incident hadron flux available at CERN. It is characterised\nby large angular and momentum coverages, large and nearly flat acceptances, and\ngood two and three-particle mass resolutions. In 2008 and 2009 it was\nsuccessfully used with positive and negative hadron beams and with liquid\nhydrogen and solid nuclear targets. This article describes the new and upgraded\ndetectors and auxiliary equipment, outlines the reconstruction procedures used,\nand summarises the general performance of the setup.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Signal Processing Based Pile-up Compensation for Gated Single-Photon\n Avalanche Diodes: Single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) based transient imaging suffers from an\naberration called pile-up. When multiple photons arrive within a single\nrepetition period of the illuminating laser, the SPAD records only the arrival\nof the first photon; this leads to a bias in the recorded light transient\nwherein the transient response at later time-instants are under-estimated. An\nunfortunate consequence of this is the need to operate the illumination at\nlow-power levels to reduce the probability of multiple photons returning in a\nsingle period. Operating the laser at low power results in either low\nsignal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the measured transients or reduced frame rate\ndue to longer exposure durations to achieve a high SNR. In this paper, we\npropose a signal processing-based approach to compensate pile-up in\npost-processing, thereby enabling high power operation of the illuminating\nlaser. While increasing illumination does cause a fundamental information loss\nin the data captured by SPAD, we quantify this information loss using\nCramer-Rao bound and show that the errors in our framework are only limited to\nthis information loss. We experimentally validate our hypotheses using real\ndata from a lab prototype.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Front-end Multiplexing - applied to SQUID multiplexing : Athena X-IFU\n and QUBIC experiments: As we have seen for digital camera market and a sensor resolution increasing\nto \"megapixels\", all the scientific and high-tech imagers (whatever the wave\nlength - from radio to X-ray range) tends also to always increases the pixels\nnumber. So the constraints on front-end signals transmission increase too. An\nalmost unavoidable solution to simplify integration of large arrays of pixels\nis front-end multiplexing. Moreover, \"simple\" and \"efficient\" techniques allow\nintegration of read-out multiplexers in the focal plane itself. For instance,\nCCD (Charge Coupled Device) technology has boost number of pixels in digital\ncamera. Indeed, this is exactly a planar technology which integrates both the\nsensors and a front-end multiplexed readout. In this context, front-end\nmultiplexing techniques will be discussed for a better understanding of their\nadvantages and their limits. Finally, the cases of astronomical instruments in\nthe millimeter and in the X-ray ranges using SQUID (Superconducting QUantum\nInterference Device) will be described.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Radiopurity of NaI(Tl) crystals for PICOLON dark matter experiment: The dark matter observation claim by the DAMA/LIBRA collaboration has been a\nlong-standing puzzle within the particle physics community. Efforts of other\nresearch groups to verify the claim have been insufficient by significant\nradioactivity of present NaI(Tl) crystals. PICOLON (Pure Inorganic Crystal\nObservatory for LOw-energy Neut(ra)lino) experiment conducts independent search\nfor Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) using NaI(Tl) crystals. Our\nNaI(Tl) crystal manufactured in 2020 (Ingot #85) reached the same purity level\nas DAMA/LIBRA crystals. In this report, we describe the radiopurity of the new\nIngot #94 crystal produced using the same purification technique as Ingot #85.\nThe $\\alpha$-ray events were selected by pulse-shape discrimination method. The\nimpurities in the Ingot #94, $^{232}$Th, $^{226}$Ra and $^{210}$Po\nradioactivity were $4.6\\pm 1.2~\\mathrm{\\mu Bq/kg}$, $7.9\\pm 4.4~\\mathrm{\\mu\nBq/kg}$, and $19\\pm 6~\\mathrm{\\mu Bq/kg}$, which are equivalent to those of the\nDAMA/LIBRA crystals. The background rate in the energy region of 2-6 keV , was\n2-5 events/d/kg/keV without applying a veto trigger.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design of the Tsinghua Tabletop Kibble Balance: The Kibble balance is a precision instrument for realizing the mass unit, the\nkilogram, in the new international system of units (SI). In recent years, an\nimportant trend for Kibble balance experiments is to go tabletop, in which the\ninstrument's size is notably reduced while retaining a measurement accuracy of\n$10^{-8}$. In this paper, we report a new design of a tabletop Kibble balance\nto be built at Tsinghua University. The Tsinghua Kibble balance aims to deliver\na compact instrument for robust mass calibrations from 10 g to 1 kg with a\ntargeted measurement accuracy of 50 $\\mu$g or less. Some major features of the\nTsinghua Kibble balance system, including the design of a new magnet, one-mode\nmeasurement scheme, the spring-compensated magnet moving mechanism, and\nmagnetic shielding considerations, are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Ce:LaBr$_3$ crystals with SiPM array readout and temperature control for\n the FAMU experiment at RAL: Compact X-rays detectors made of 1/2 inch Ce:LaBr3 crystals of cubic shape\nwith SiPM array readout have been developed for the FAMUexperiment at\nRIKEN-RAL, to instrument regions of difficult access. Due to the high photon\nyield of Ce:LaBr3 it was possible to use a simple readout scheme based on CAEN\nV1730 digitizers, without a dedicated amplification stage. The drift with\ntemperature of SiPM gain was corrected by using CAEN A7885D regulated power\nsupply chips with temperature feedback. Energy resolutions (FWHM) around 3:5%\nat the 137Cs peak and around 9% at the 57Co peak were obtained.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A performance study of an electron-tracking Compton camera with a\n compact system for environmental gamma-ray observation: An electron-tracking Compton camera (ETCC) is a detector that can determine\nthe arrival direction and energy of incident sub-MeV/MeV gamma-ray events on an\nevent-by-event basis. It is a hybrid detector consisting of a gaseous time\nprojection chamber (TPC), that is the Compton-scattering target and the tracker\nof recoil electrons, and a position-sensitive scintillation camera that absorbs\nof the scattered gamma rays, to measure gamma rays in the environment from\ncontaminated soil. To measure of environmental gamma rays from soil\ncontaminated with radioactive cesium (Cs), we developed a portable\nbattery-powered ETCC system with a compact readout circuit and data-acquisition\nsystem for the SMILE-II experiment. We checked the gamma-ray imaging ability\nand ETCC performance in the laboratory by using several gamma-ray point\nsources. The performance test indicates that the field of view (FoV) of the\ndetector is about 1$\\;$sr and that the detection efficiency and angular\nresolution for 662$\\;$keV gamma rays from the center of the FoV is $(9.31 \\pm\n0.95) \\times 10^{^-5}$ and $5.9^{\\circ} \\pm 0.6^{\\circ}$, respectively.\nFurthermore, the ETCC can detect 0.15$\\;\\mu\\rm{Sv/h}$ from a $^{137}$Cs\ngamma-ray source with a significance of 5$\\sigma$ in 13 min in the laboratory.\nIn this paper, we report the specifications of the ETCC and the results of the\nperformance tests. Furthermore, we discuss its potential use for environmental\ngamma-ray measurements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Fine-tuning the etch depth profile via dynamic shielding of ion beam: We introduce a method for finely adjusting the etch depth profile by dynamic\nshielding in the course of ion beam etching (IBE), which is crucial for the\nultra-precision fabrication of large optics. We study the physical process of\ndynamic shielding and propose a parametric modeling method to quantitatively\nanalyze the shielding effect on etch depths, or rather the shielding rate,\nwhere a piecewise Gaussian model is adopted to fit the shielding rate profile.\nWe have conducted two experiments. In the experiment on parametric modeling of\nshielding rate profiles, its result shows that the shielding rate profile is\nsignificantly influenced by the rotary angle of the leaf. And the experimental\nresult of fine-tuning the etch depth profile shows good agreement with the\nsimulated result, which preliminarily verifies the feasibility of our method.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The WA105-3x1x1 m3 dual phase LAr-TPC demonstrator: The dual phase Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LAr TPC) is the\nstate-of-art technology for neutrino detection thanks to its superb 3D tracking\nand calorimetry performance. Its main feature is the charge amplification in\ngas argon which provides excellent signal-to-noise ratio. Electrons produced in\nthe liquid argon are extracted in the gas phase. Here, a readout plane based on\nLarge Electron Multiplier detectors provides amplification of the charges\nbefore its collection onto an anode with strip readout. The charge\namplification enables constructing fully homoge- nous giant LAr-TPCs with\ntuneable gain, excellent charge imaging performance and increased sensitivity\nto low energy events. Following a staged approach the WA105 collaboration is\ncon- structing a dual phase LAr-TPC with an active volume of 3x1x1m3 that will\nsoon be tested with cosmic rays. Its construction and operation aims to test\nscalable solutions for the crucial aspects of this technology: ultra high argon\npurity in non-evacuable tank, large area dual phase charge readout system in\nseveral square meter scale, and accessible cold front-end electronics. A mile-\nstone was achieved last year in the completion of the 24 m3 cryostat that hosts\nthe TPC. This is the first cryostat based on membrane technology to be\nconstructed at CERN and is therefore also an important step towards the\nrealisation of the upcoming protoDUNE detectors. The 3x1x1m3 dual phase LAr-TPC\nwill be described in and we will report on the latest construction progress.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Effect of electrical properties of glass electrodes on the performance\n of RPC detectors for the INO-ICAL experiment: The India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) collaboration has chosen glass\nResistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) as the active detector elements for the Iron\nCalorimeter (ICAL) experiment. In the present work, we study the electrical\nproperties such as bulk resistivity and relative permittivity of the glasses\nfrom two different manufacturers and compared the performances of RPCs built\nusing these glasses. We conclude that the glass electrodes with larger bulk\nresistivy and permittivity are better suited for manufacturing RPCs for the\nICAL experiment, as these detectors could be operated at lower bias currents\nand voltages, and produce better time resolutions compared to those built with\nglass electrodes of smaller bulk resistivity and permittivity.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of the Unified Readout System of Belle II: The Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB collider at KEK, Tsukuba, Japan has\nsuccessfully started taking data with the full detector in March 2019. Belle II\nis a luminosity frontier experiment of the new generation to search for physics\nbeyond the Standard Model of elementary particles, from precision measurements\nof a huge number of B and charm mesons and tau leptons. In order to read out\nthe events at a high rate from the seven subdetectors of Belle II, we adopt a\nhighly unified readout system, including a unified trigger timing distribution\nsystem (TTD), a unified high speed data link system (Belle2link), and a common\nbackend system to receive Belle2link data. Each subdetector frontend readout\nsystem has a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) in which unified firmware\ncomponents of the TTD receiver and Belle2link transmitter are embedded. The\nsystem is designed for data taking at a trigger rate up to 30 kHz with a\ndead-time fraction of about 1% in the frontend readout system. The trigger rate\nis still much lower than our design. However, the background level is already\nhigh due to the initial vacuum condition and other accelerator parameters, and\nit is the most limiting factor of the accelerator and detector operation. Hence\nthe occupancy and radiation effects to the frontend electronics are rather\nsevere, and they cause various kind of instabilities. We present the\nperformance of the system, including the achieved trigger rate, dead-time\nfraction, stability, and discuss the experience gained during the operation.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Swept-wavelength mid-infrared fiber laser for real-time ammonia gas\n sensing: The mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral region holds great promise for new\nlaser-based sensing technologies, based on measuring strong mid-IR molecular\nabsorption features. Practical applications have been limited to date, however,\nby current low-brightness broadband mid-IR light sources and slow\nacquisition-time detection systems. Here, we report a new approach by\ndeveloping a swept-wavelength mid-infrared fiber laser, exploiting the broad\nemission of dysprosium and using an acousto-optic tunable filter to achieve\nelectronically controlled swept-wavelength operation from 2.89 to 3.25 {\\mu}m\n(3070-3460 cm^-1). Ammonia (NH3) absorption spectroscopy is demonstrated using\nthis swept source with a simple room-temperature single-pixel detector, with\n0.3 nm resolution and 40 ms acquisition time. This creates new opportunities\nfor real-time high-sensitivity remote sensing using simple, compact mid-IR\nfiber-based technologies.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Background Rejection in Highly Pixelated Solid-State Detectors: Highly pixelated solid-state detectors offer outstanding capabilities in the\nidentification and suppression of backgrounds from natural radioactivity. We\npresent the background-identification strategies developed for the DAMIC\nexperiment, which employs silicon charge-coupled devices to search for dark\nmatter. DAMIC has demonstrated the capability to disentangle and measure the\nactivities of every $\\beta$ emitter from the $^{32}$Si, $^{238}$U and\n$^{232}$Th decay chains in the silicon target. Similar strategies will be\nadopted by the Selena Neutrino Experiment, which will employ hybrid amorphous\n$^{82}$Se/CMOS imagers to perform spectroscopy of $\\beta\\beta$ decay and solar\nneutrinos. We present the proposed experimental strategy for Selena to achieve\nzero-background in a 100-ton-year exposure.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "RD53A pixel module assembly and testing experience: The entire tracking system of the ATLAS experiment will be replaced during\nthe LHC Phase-II shutdown. A new silicon Inner Tracker (ITk) will contain five\npixel layers equipped with new sensors and readout electronics capable to\nimprove the tracking performance, cope with the high particle multiplicity and\nwork in a high-luminosity environment. In order to standardize modules of the\nInner Tracker, the idea of a common hybrid pixel module was introduced to be\nused in all regions of the detector. The common hybrid module assembly and\ntesting techniques will be presented. The module construction, metrology and\nelectrical testing results will be discussed. The work was done with the RD53A\npixel modules - prototype modules towards the final ITk pixel detector.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A one-piece 3D printed flexure translation stage for open-source\n microscopy: Open source hardware has the potential to revolutionise the way we build\nscientific instruments; with the advent of readily-available 3D printers,\nmechanical designs can now be shared, improved and replicated faster and more\neasily than ever before. However, printed parts are typically plastic and often\nperform poorly compared to traditionally machined mechanisms. We have overcome\nmany of the limitations of 3D printed mechanisms by exploiting the compliance\nof the plastic to produce a monolithic 3D printed flexure translation stage,\ncapable of sub-micron-scale motion over a range of $8\\times8\\times4\\,$mm. This\nrequires minimal post-print clean-up, and can be automated with\nreadily-available stepper motors. The resulting plastic composite structure is\nvery stiff and exhibits remarkably low drift, moving less than $20\\,\\mu$m over\nthe course of a week, without temperature stabilisation. This enables us to\nconstruct a miniature microscope with excellent mechanical stability, perfect\nfor timelapse measurements in situ in an incubator or fume hood. The ease of\nmanufacture lends itself to use in containment facilities where disposability\nis advantageous, and to experiments requiring many microscopes in parallel.\nHigh performance mechanisms based on printed flexures need not be limited to\nmicroscopy, and we anticipate their use in other devices both within the\nlaboratory and beyond.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Progress in the Development of Plasma Panel Radiation Detectors: Plasma Display Panels (PDP), the underlying engine of panel plasma television\ndisplays, are being investigated for their utility as radiation detectors\ncalled Plasma Panel Sensors (PPS). The PPS a novel variant of a micropattern\nradiation detector, is intended to be a fast, high resolution detector\ncomprised of an array of plasma discharge cells operating in a hermetically\nsealed gas mixture. We report on the PPS development effort, including recent\nlaboratory measurements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An Accelerometer Based Instrumentation of the Golf Club: Comparative\n Analysis of Golf Swings: The motion of the golf club is measured using two accelerometers mounted at\ndifferent points along the shaft of the golf club, both sensitive to\nacceleration along the axis of the shaft. The resulting signals are resolved\ninto differential and common mode components. The differential mode, a measure\nof the centripetal acceleration of the golf club, is a reasonable proxy for\nclub speed and can be used to understand details of tempo, rhythm, and timing.\nThe common mode, related to the acceleration of the hands, allows insight into\nthe torques that generate speed in the golf swing. This measurement scheme is\nused in a comparative study of twenty-five golfers in which it is shown that\nclub head speed is generated in the downswing as a two step process. The first\nphase involves impulsive acceleration of the hands and club. This is followed\nby a second phase where the club is accelerated while the hands decelerate.\nThis study serves to emphasize that the measurement scheme yields a robust data\nset which provides deep insight into the tempo, rhythm, timing and the torques\nthat generate power in the golf swing.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Track Based Alignment of the ATLAS Silicon Detectors with the Robust\n Alignment Algorithm: The Robust Alignment algorithm for the ATLAS silicon detectors is presented.\nIt is an iterative method based on centering residual and overlap residual\ndistributions. Tests on simulated and real data are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Innovative design and construction technique for the Cylindrical GEM\n detector for the BESIII experiment: Gas detector are very light instrument used in high energy physics to measure\nthe particle properties: position and momentum. Through high electric field is\npossible to use the Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology to detect the\nparticles and to exploit the its properties to construct a large area detector,\nsuch as the new IT for BESIII. The state of the art in the GEM production allow\nto create very large area GEM foils (up to 50x100 cm2) and thanks to the small\nthickness of these foil is it possible to shape it to the desired form: a\nCylindrical Gas Electron Multiplier (CGEM) is then proposed. The innovative\nconstruction technique based on Rohacell, a PMI foam, will give solidity to\ncathode and anode with a very low impact on material budget. The entire\ndetector is sustained by permaglass rings glued at the edges. These rings are\nuse to assembly the CGEM together with a dedicated Vertical Insertion System\nand moreover there is placed the On-Detector electronic. The anode has been\nimproved w.r.t. the state of the art through a jagged readout that minimize the\ninter-strip capacitance. The mechanical challenge of this detector requires a\nprecision of the entire geometry within few hundreds of microns in the whole\narea. In this presentation will be presented an overview of the construction\ntechnique and the validation of this technique through the realization of a\nCGEM and its first tests. These activities are performed within the framework\nof the BESIIICGEM Project (645664), funded by the European Commission in the\naction H2020-RISE-MSCA-2014.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Suitability of Magnetic Microbolometers based on Paramagnetic\n Temperature Sensors for CMB Polarization Measurements: High resolution maps of polarization anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave\nBackground (CMB) are in high demand, since the discovery of primordial B-Modes\nin the polarization patterns would confirm the inflationary phase of the\nUniverse that would have taken place before the last scattering of the CMB at\nthe recombination epoch. Transition Edge Sensors (TES) and Microwave Kinetic\nInductance Detectors (MKID) are the predominant detector technologies of\ncryogenic detector array based CMB instruments that search for primordial\nB-Modes. In this paper we propose another type of cryogenic detector to be used\nfor CMB survey: A magnetic microbolometer (MMB) that is based on a paramagnetic\ntemperature sensor. It is an adaption of state-of-the-art metallic magnetic\ncalorimeters (MMCs) that are meanwhile a key technology for high resolution\n$\\alpha$, $\\beta$, $\\gamma$ and X-ray spectroscopy as well as the study of\nneutrino mass. The effort to adapt MMCs for CMB surveys is triggered by their\nlack of Johnson noise associated with the detector readout, the possibility of\nstraightforward calibration and higher dynamic range given it possesses a broad\nand smooth responsivity dependence with temperature and the absence of Joule\ndissipation which simplifies the thermal design. A brief proof of concept case\nstudy is analyzed, taking into account typical constraints in CMB measurements\nand reliable microfabrication processes. The results show that MMBs provide a\npromising technology for CMB polarization survey as their sensitivity can be\ntuned for background limited detection of the sky while simultaneously\nmaintaining a low time response to avoid distortion of the point-source\nresponse of the telescope. As the sensor technology and its fabrication\ntechniques are compatible with TES based bolometric detector arrays, a change\nof detector technology would even come with very low cost.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterization of SABRE crystal NaI-33 with direct underground\n counting: Ultra-pure NaI(Tl) crystals are the key element for a model-independent\nverification of the long standing DAMA result and a powerful means to search\nfor the annual modulation signature of dark matter interactions. The SABRE\ncollaboration has been developing cutting-edge techniques for the reduction of\nintrinsic backgrounds over several years. In this paper we report the first\ncharacterization of a 3.4 kg crystal, named NaI-33, performed in an underground\npassive shielding setup at LNGS. NaI-33 has a record low $^{39}$K contamination\nof 4.3$\\pm$0.2 ppb as determined by mass spectrometry. We measured a light\nyield of 11.1$\\pm$0.2 photoelectrons/keV and an energy resolution of 13.2%\n(FWHM/E) at 59.5 keV. We evaluated the activities of $^{226}$Ra and $^{228}$Th\ninside the crystal to be $5.9\\pm0.6 \\mu$Bq/kg and $1.6\\pm0.3 \\mu$Bq/kg,\nrespectively, which would indicate a contamination from $^{238}$U and\n$^{232}$Th at part-per-trillion level. We measured an activity of 0.51$\\pm$0.02\nmBq/kg due to $^{210}$Pb out of equilibrium and a $\\alpha$ quenching factor of\n0.63$\\pm$0.01 at 5304 keV. We illustrate the analyses techniques developed to\nreject electronic noise in the lower part of the energy spectrum. A cut-based\nstrategy and a multivariate approach indicated a rate, attributed to the\nintrinsic radioactivity of the crystal, of $\\sim$1 count/day/kg/keV in the\n[5-20] keV region.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "CSHINE for studies of HBT correlation in Heavy Ion Reactions: The Compact Spectrometer for Heavy Ion Experiment (CSHINE) is under\nconstruction for the study of isospin chronology via the Hanbury Brown$-$Twiss\n(HBT) particle correlation function and the nuclear equation of state of\nasymmetrical nuclear matter. The CSHINE consists of silicon strip detector\n(SSD) telescopes and large-area parallel plate avalanche counters, which\nmeasure the light charged particles and fission fragments, respectively. In\nphase I, two SSD telescopes were used to observe 30 MeV/u $^{40}$Ar +$^{197}$Au\nreactions. The results presented here demonstrate that hydrogen and helium were\nobserved with high isotopic resolution, and the HBT correlation functions of\nlight charged particles could be constructed from the obtained data.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Transition-Edge Sensors for Particle Induced X-ray Emission Measurements: In this paper we present a new measurement setup, where a transitionedge\nsensor detector array is used to detect X-rays in particle induced X-ray\nemission measurements with a 2 MeV proton beam. Transition-edge sensors offer\norders of magnitude improvement in energy resolution compared to conventional\nsilicon or germanium detectors, making it possible to recognize spectral lines\nin materials analysis that have previously been impossible to resolve, and to\nget chemical information from the elements. Our sensors are cooled to the\noperation temperature (65 mK) with a cryogen-free adiabatic demagnetization\nrefrigerator, which houses a specially designed X-ray snout that has a vacuum\ntight window to couple in the radiation. For the best pixel, the measured\ninstrumental energy resolution was 3.06 eV full width at half maximum at 5.9\nkeV.We discuss the current status of the project, benefits of transition-edge\nsensors when used in particle induced X-ray emission spectroscopy, and the\nresults from the first measurements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High-speed fluorescent thermal imaging of quench propagation in high\n temperature superconductor tapes: Fluorescent Microthermographic Imaging, a method using rare-earth fluorescent\ncoatings with temperature-dependent light emission, was used for quench\ninvestigation in high temperature superconductors (HTS). A fluorophore was\nembedded in a polymer matrix and used as a coating on top of an HTS tape, while\nbeing excited with UV light and recorded with a high-speed camera.\nSimultaneously, the tape was pulsed with high amplitude, short duration DC\ncurrent, and brought to quench with the help of a localized defect. The joule\nheating during a quench influences the fluorescent light intensity emitted from\nthe coating, and by recording the local variations in this intensity over time,\nthe heating of the tape can be visualized and the developed temperatures can be\ncalculated. In this paper, the fluorophore Europium\ntris[3-(trifluoromethylhydroxymethylene)- (+)-camphorate] (EuTFC) provided\nsufficient temperature sensitivity and a usable temperature range from 77 K to\n260 K. With the help of high-speed recordings, the normal zone development was\nimaged in a 20 \\mu m copper stabilized HTS tape held in a liquid nitrogen bath,\nand using a calibration curve, the temperatures reached during the quench have\nbeen calculated.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "On the Analytic Estimation of Radioactive Contamination from Degraded\n Alphas: The high energy spectrum of alpha particles emitted from a single isotope\nuniformly contaminating a bulk solid has a flat energy spectrum with a high end\ncutoff energy equal to the maximal alpha kinetic energy ($T_{\\alpha}$) of the\ndecay. In this flat region of the spectrum, we show the surface rate\n$r_b\\text{\\,(Bq/keV-cm}^{2})$ arising from a bulk alpha contamination $\\rho_b$\n(Bq/cm$^3$) from a single isotope is given by $r_b =\\rho_b \\Delta R/ 4 \\Delta E\n$, where $\\Delta E = E_1-E_2>0\\ $ is the energy interval considered (keV) in\nthe flat region of the spectrum and $\\Delta R = R_2-R_1$, where $R_2$ ($R_1$)\nis the amount of the bulk material (cm) necessary to degrade the energy of the\nalpha from $T_{\\alpha}$ to $E_2$ ($E_1$). We compare our calculation to a rate\nmeasurement of alphas from $^{147}$Sm, ($15.32\\%\\,\\pm\\,0.03\\%$ of Sm($nat$) and\nhalf life of $(1.06\\,\\pm\\,0.01)\\times\\,10^{11} \\text{yr}$, and find good\nagreement, with the ratio between prediction to measurement of $100.2\\%\\pm\n1.6\\%\\,\\text{(stat)}\\pm 2.1\\%\\,\\text{(sys)}$. We derive the condition for the\nflat spectrum, and also calculate the relationship between the decay rate\nmeasured at the surface for a [near] surface contamination with an exponential\ndependence on depth and an a second case of an alpha source with a thin\novercoat. While there is excellent agreement between our implementation of the\nsophisticated Monte Carlo program SRIM and our intuitive model in all cases,\nboth fail to describe the measured energy distribution of a $^{148}$Gd alpha\nsource with a thin ($\\sim200\\mu$g/cm$^2$) Au overcoat. We discuss possible\norigins of the disagreement and suggest avenues for future study.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Optical Calibration System for the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Outer Detector: The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment will search for dark matter particle interactions\nwith a detector containing a total of 10 tonnes of liquid xenon. Surrounding\nthe liquid xenon cryostat is an outer detector veto system with the primary aim\nof vetoing neutron single-scatter events in the liquid xenon that could mimic a\nweakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter signal. The outer\ndetector consists of approximately 17 tonnes of gadolinium-loaded liquid\nscintillator confined to 10 acrylic tanks surrounding the cryostat and 228,000\nlitres of water as the outermost layer. It will be monitored by 120\ninward-facing 8-inch photomultiplier tubes. An optical calibration system has\nbeen designed and built to calibrate and monitor these photomultiplier tubes\nallowing the veto system to reach its required efficiency and thus ensuring\nthat LUX-ZEPLIN meets its target sensitivity.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Analysis of 90 days operation of the gyroscope GINGERINO: GINGERINO is a square ring-laser prototype, which has been built to\ninvestigate the level of noise inside the Gran Sasso underground laboratory. It\nIs meant for fundamental physics, but it provides suitable data for geophysics\nand seismology. Since May 2017 it is continuously acquiring data. The analysis\nof the first $90$ days shows that the duty cycle is higher than $95\\%$, and the\nquantum shot noise limit is of the order of $\n10^{-10}(\\mathrm{rad}/s)/\\sqrt{\\mathrm{Hz}}$. It is located in a seismically\nactive area, and it recorded part of the of central Italy earthquakes. Its high\nsensitivity in the frequency band of fraction of Hz makes it suitable for\nseismology studies. The main purpose of the present analysis is to investigate\nthe long term response of the apparatus. Simple and fast routines to eliminate\nthe disturbances coming from the laser have been developed. The Allan deviation\nof the raw data reaches $10^{-7}$ after about $10^6s$ of integration time,\nwhile the processed data shows an improvement of one order of magnitude.\nDisturbances at the daily time scale are present in the processed data and the\nexpected signal induced by polar motion and solid Earth tide is covered by\nthose disturbances.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Ultra-low vibration closed-cycle cryogenic surface-electrode ion trap\n apparatus: We describe the design, commissioning and operation of an ultra-low-vibration\nclosed-cycle cryogenic ion trap apparatus. One hundred lines for low-frequency\nsignals and eight microwave / radio frequency coaxial feed lines offer the\npossibility of implementing a small-scale ion-trap quantum processor or\nsimulator. With all supply cables attached, more than 1.3 W of cooling power at\n5 K is still available for absorbing energy from electrical pulses introduced\nto control ions. The trap itself is isolated from vibrations induced by the\ncold head using a helium exchange gas interface. The performance of the\nvibration isolation system has been characterized using a Michelson\ninterferometer, finding residual vibration amplitudes on the order of 10 nm\nrms. Trapping of $^9$Be$^+$ ions has been demonstrated using a combination of\nlaser ablation and photoionization.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Calorimetry for Lepton Collider Experiments - CALICE results and\n activities: The CALICE collaboration conducts calorimeter R&D for highly granular\ncalorimeters, mainly for their application in detectors for a future lepton\ncollider at the TeV scale. The activities ranges from generic R&D with small\ndevices up to extensive beam tests with prototypes comprising up to several\n100000 calorimeter cells. CALICE has validated the performance of particle flow\nalgorithms with test beam data and delivers the proof of principle that highly\ngranular calorimeters can be built, operated and understood. The successes\nachieved in the past years allows the step from prototypes to calorimeter\nsystems for particle physics detectors to be addressed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Hydrogenated amorphous silicon detector for Space Weather Applications: The characteristics of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) detector are\npresented here for monitoring in space solar flares and the evolution of large\nenergetic proton events up to hundreds of MeV. The a-Si:H presents an excellent\nradiation hardness and finds application in harsh radiation environments for\nmedical purposes, for particle beam characterization and in space weather\nscience and applications. The critical flux detection threshold for solar X\nrays, soft gamma rays, electrons and protons is discussed in detail.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Integrated collinear refractive index sensor with Ge PIN photodiodes: Refractive index sensing is a highly sensitive and label-free detection\nmethod for molecular binding events. Commercial implementations of biosensing\nconcepts based on plasmon resonances typically require significant external\ninstrumentation such as microscopes and spectrometers. Few concepts exist that\nare based on direct integration of plasmonic nanostructures with optoelectronic\ndevices for on-chip integration. Here, we present a CMOS-compatible refractive\nindex sensor consisting of a Ge heterostructure PIN diode in combination with a\nplasmonic nanohole array structured directly into the diode Al contact\nmetallization. In our devices, the photocurrent can be used to detect surface\nrefractive index changes under simple top illumination and without the aid of\nsignal amplification circuitry. Our devices exhibit large sensitivities > 1000\nnm per refractive index unit in bulk refractive index sensing and could serve\nas prototypes to leverage the cost-effectiveness of the CMOS platform for\nultra-compact, low-cost biosensors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "AXEL: High-pressure Xe gas TPC for BG-free $0\\nu2\u03b2$ decay search: AXEL is a high-pressure xenon gas time projection chamber for neutrinoless\ndouble-beta decay (0n2b) search. The AXEL has a unique readout system called\nELCC which has a cellular structure and photosensors to detect\nelectroluminescence light produced by ionization electrons. We demonstrated the\nperformance of the ELCC with a small prototype detector (AXEL-HP10L). The\nobtained energy resolution corresponds to 0.82 -- 1.74% (FWHM) at the 0n2b\nQ-value. We are constructing a new prototype (AXEL-HP180L) in order to study\nthe energy resolution at the Q-value of 0n2b with a new design of ELCC with\nunit structure, newly developed electronics board, field-shaping electrodes,\nand Cockcroft-Walton-type high voltage power supply. For a future 1-ton scale\nlarge AXEL detector, we are developing new background-reduction techniques;\ntopology identification with machine learning, positive-ion detection, and\nactive-shield options.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Energy Reconstruction Methods in the IceCube Neutrino Telescope: Accurate measurement of neutrino energies is essential to many of the\nscientific goals of large-volume neutrino telescopes. The fundamental\nobservable in such detectors is the Cherenkov light produced by the transit\nthrough a medium of charged particles created in neutrino interactions. The\namount of light emitted is proportional to the deposited energy, which is\napproximately equal to the neutrino energy for $\\nu_e$ and $\\nu_\\mu$\ncharged-current interactions and can be used to set a lower bound on neutrino\nenergies and to measure neutrino spectra statistically in other channels. Here\nwe describe methods and performance of reconstructing charged-particle energies\nand topologies from the observed Cherenkov light yield, including techniques to\nmeasure the energies of uncontained muon tracks, achieving average\nuncertainties in electromagnetic-equivalent deposited energy of $\\sim 15\\%$\nabove 10 TeV.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "MPGD Optical Read Out for Directional Dark Matter Search: The Time Projection method is an ideal candidate to track low energy release\nparticles. Large volumes can be readout by means of a moderate number of\nchannels providing a complete 3D reconstruction of the charged tracks within\nthe sensitive volume. It allows the measurement not only of the total released\nenergy but also of the energy release density along the tracks that can be very\nuseful for particle identification and to solve the head-tail ambiguity of the\ntracks. Moreover, gas represents a very interesting target to study Dark Matter\ninteractions. In gas, nuclear recoils can travel enough to give rise to tracks\nlong enough to be acquired and reconstructed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope capable of microscopy\n and spectroscopy in a Bitter magnet at up to 34 T: We present the design and performance of a cryogenic scanning tunneling\nmicroscope (STM) which operates inside a water-cooled Bitter magnet, which can\nattain a magnetic field of up to 38 T. Due to the high vibration environment\ngenerated by the magnet cooling water, a uniquely designed STM and vibration\ndamping system are required. The STM scan head is designed to be as compact and\nrigid as possible, to minimize the effect of vibrational noise as well as fit\nthe size constraints of the Bitter magnet. The STM uses a differential screw\nmechanism for coarse tip - sample approach, and operates in helium exchange gas\nat cryogenic temperatures. The reliability and performance of the STM are\ndemonstrated through topographic imaging and scanning tunneling spectroscopy\n(STS) on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) at T = 4.2 K and in magnetic\nfields up to 34 T.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of systematic effects in beta decay measurements with AgReO4\n calorimeters: AgReO4 microcalorimeters are planned to be used again in the next generation\nof calorimetric neutrino mass experiments with sensitivity down to 0.2 eV. The\nunderstanding and characterization of all possible sources of systematic\nuncertainties is crucial. In this work we focus on two of these sources, which\nhave been studied in the 10 detectors of the Milano AgReO4 array experiment\n(MIBETA): a) the solid-state Beta Environmental Fine Structure (BEFS) observed\nfor the first time in AgReO4; b) the detector energy response for internal beta\nevents, which has been investigated with a dedicated measurement using a 44Ti\ngamma source. The possible effects on neutrino mass experiments due to the\nincomplete understanding of these two aspects are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Calibrating coordinate system alignment in a scanning transmission\n electron microscope using a digital twin: In four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D STEM) a\nfocused beam is scanned over a specimen and a diffraction pattern is recorded\nat each position using a pixelated detector. During the experiment, it must be\nensured that the scan coordinate system of the beam is correctly calibrated\nrelative to the detector coordinate system. Various simplified and approximate\nmodels are used implicitly and explicitly for understanding and analyzing the\nrecorded data, requiring translation between the physical reality of the\ninstrument and the abstractions used in data interpretation. Here, we introduce\na calibration method where interactive live data processing in combination with\na digital twin is used to match a set of models and their parameters with the\naction of a real-world instrument.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The CMS magnet test and cosmic challenge: The CMS detector is under construction for imminent operation at the Large\nHadron Collider at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland. The installation and\ncommissioning is performed in a surface hall. Thereafter, all the main heavy\nelements of the detector, the disks and wheels, are lowered in the experimental\ncavern starting at the end of 2006. The superconducting magnet of CMS requires\ntesting before lowering, providing a unique opportunity to operate all the\nsub-detectors and sub-systems together and to take data with cosmic muons as an\nimportant commissioning test. This is called the MTCC - Magnet Test and Cosmic\nChallenge. The participating systems include a 60 degree sector of the Muon\nSystem comprising gas detectors like the drift tubes (DTs), Cathode Strip\nChambers (CSCs) and Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs), both in the Barrel and\nEndcaps. The tracking system comprises elements of the Silicon-Strip Tracker,\nand parts of the Electromagnetic and Hadronic Calorimeter detected energy\ndepositions of the traversing muons. In this article, a description of the\noperational experience and the lessons learnt are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The CMS Magnetic Field Measuring and Monitoring Systems: This review article describes the performance of the magnetic field measuring\nand monitoring systems for the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector. To\ncross-check the magnetic flux distribution obtained with the CMS magnet model,\nfour systems for measuring the magnetic flux density in the detector volume\nwere used. The magnetic induction inside the 6 m diameter superconducting\nsolenoid was measured and is currently monitored by four nuclear magnetic\nresonance (NMR) probes installed using special tubes outside the barrel hadron\ncalorimeter. Two more NRM probes were installed at the faces of the tracking\nsystem. The field inside the superconducting solenoid was precisely measured in\n2006 in a cylindrical volume of 3.448 m in diameter and 7 m in length using 10\nthree-dimensional (3D) B-sensors based on the Hall effect. These B-sensors were\ninstalled on each of the two propeller arms of an automated field-mapping\nmachine. In addition to these measurement systems, a system for monitoring the\nmagnetic field during the CMS detector operation has been developed. Inside the\nsolenoid in the horizontal plane, 4 3D B-sensors were installed at the faces of\nthe tracking detector. Twelve 3D B-sensors were installed on the surfaces of\nthe flux-return yoke nose disks. Seventy 3D B-sensors were installed in the air\ngaps of the CMS magnet yoke. A specially developed flux loop technique was used\nfor the most complex measurements of the magnetic flux density inside the steel\nblocks of the CMS magnet yoke. The flux loops are installed in 22 sections of\nthe flux-return yoke blocks. The areas enclosed by these coils varied from 0.3\nto 1.59 m$^{2}$ in the blocks of the barrel wheels and from 0.5 to 1.12 m$^{2}$\nin the blocks of the yoke endcap disks. The development of these systems and\nthe results of the magnetic flux density measurements across the CMS magnet are\npresented and discussed in this review article.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Operation and performance of the ICARUS-T600 cryogenic plant at Gran\n Sasso underground Laboratory: ICARUS T600 liquid argon time projection chamber is the first large mass\nelectronic detector of a new generation able to combine the imaging\ncapabilities of the old bubble chambers with the excellent calorimetric energy\nmeasurement. After the three months demonstration run on surface in Pavia\nduring 2001, the T600 cryogenic plant was significantly revised, in terms of\nreliability and safety, in view of its long-term operation in an underground\nenvironment. The T600 detector was activated in Hall B of the INFN Gran Sasso\nLaboratory during Spring 2010, where it was operated without interruption for\nabout three years, taking data exposed to the CERN to Gran Sasso long baseline\nneutrino beam and cosmic rays. In this paper the T600 cryogenic plant is\ndescribed in detail together with the commissioning procedures that lead to the\nsuccessful operation of the detector shortly after the end of the filling with\nliquid Argon. Overall plant performance and stability during the long-term\nunderground operation are discussed. Finally, the decommissioning procedures,\ncarried out about six months after the end of the CNGS neutrino beam operation,\nare reported.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Moli\u00e8re radius measurement using a compact prototype of LumiCal in a\n test set-up: The FCAL collaboration has performed a design study for luminometers at\nfuture electronpositron colliders. Compact sampling calorimeters with precisely\npositioned silicon sensors and a fast readout will reach the necessary\nperformance even in the presence of background from beamstrahlung and\ntwo-photon processes. A prototype calorimeter has been built with special focus\non ultra-thin fully instrumented sensor planes to ensure a very small effective\nMoli\\`ere radius. Preliminary results of measurements in a 5 GeV electron beam\nare presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Avalanche gain and its effect on energy resolution in GEM-based\n detectors: We present avalanche gain and associated resolution measurements recorded\nwith a $^4$He:CO$_2$ (70:30) gas mixture and pure SF$_6$, a Negative Ion (NI)\ngas. SF$_6$ is of particular interest to the directional dark matter detection\ncommunity, as its low thermal diffusion helps to retain recoil ionization track\nfeatures over long drift lengths. With the aid of a general form of the reduced\nfirst Townsend coefficient (RFTC), multiple GEM-based detector data sets are\nused to study the high-gain behavior of the $^4$He:CO$_2$ gas mixture. The\nhigh-gain data is well described purely in terms of the reduced electric field\nstrength and the number of GEMs, and the robust relationship between the RFTC\nand the average, reduced, electric field strength across the GEMs is\nemphasized. The associated (pulse-height) resolution measurements are used to\ndiscuss the variance of the avalanche distribution and to describe and estimate\nthe lower limits of energy resolution one should expect to measure using a\nsimple relationship with the RFTC. In the end, a description of avalanche gain,\nits effect on energy resolution, and the contributing experimental parameters\nin GEM-based detectors is developed over a broad parameter space for further\nuse.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "10 Gbit/s free space data transmission at 9 $\u03bc$m wavelength with\n unipolar quantum optoelectronics: The realization of high-frequency unipolar quantum optoelectronic devices\nenables the demonstration of high bitrate free space data transmission in the\nsecond atmospheric window. Data-bits are written onto the laser emission using\na large bandwidth amplitude modulator that operates by shifting the absorption\nof an optical transition in and out of the laser frequency.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Monte Carlo simulations of the S-shaped neutron guides with asymmetric\n concave and convex surface coatings: During the last decades, neutron beam transportation has been a well-known\nand established subject for designing proper neutron guides. However, sometimes\nunusual adaptation or adjustments are required out of original projects and\nafter operation beginning of facilities. Inter-center transferring of\ninstrument locations also requires a new approach that is not necessarily\ndescribed in the literature. Inside these situations, the use of S-shaped\nguides has not been fully discussed in the literature. From a geometrical\nanalysis, we develop a formalism of construction of a minimal S-shaped guide by\nonly considering the exclusion of the Line-of-Sight. We study this guide model\nthrough the wavelength cutoff and the neutron transport efficiency analysis.\nHere, Monte Carlo simulations using MCSTAS software are applied. By intending\nto optimize these guide systems, simulations of this study also consider\nscenarios that have different supermirrors. A formalism to determine wavelength\ncutoff for unique and variable index guide systems is also developed.\nSimulation results show a good agreement between theoretical and simulated\nwavelength cutoff values. In addition, we have found specific configurations\nthat combine efficient neutron transport and lower index values on the convex\nsurfaces of curved guides that form the S-shaped guide.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Hardware-based Tracking at Trigger Level for ATLAS: The Fast TracKer\n (FTK) Project: Physics collisions at 13 TeV are expected at the LHC with an average of 40-50\nproton-proton collisions per bunch crossing under nominal conditions. Tracking\nat trigger level is an essential tool to control the rate in high-pileup\nconditions while maintaining a good efficiency for relevant physics processes.\nThe Fast TracKer is an integral part of the trigger upgrade for the ATLAS\ndetector. For every event passing the Level-1 trigger (at a maximum rate of 100\nkHz) the FTK receives data from all the channels of the silicon detectors,\nproviding tracking information to the High Level Trigger in order to ensure a\nselection robust against pile-up. The FTK performs a hardware-based track\nreconstruction, using associative memory that is based on the use of a custom\nchip, designed to perform pattern matching at very high speed. It finds track\ncandidates at low resolution (roads) that seed a full-resolution track fitting\ndone by FPGAs. An overview of the FTK system with focus on the pattern matching\nprocedure will be presented. Furthermore, the expected performance and the\nintegration of FTK within the ATLAS trigger system will be discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "COHERENT Collaboration data release from the measurements of CsI[Na]\n response to nuclear recoils: Description of the data release 10.13139/OLCF/1969085\n(https://doi.ccs.ornl.gov/ui/doi/426) from the measurements of the CsI[Na]\nresponse to low energy nuclear recoils by the COHERENT collaboration. The\nrelease corresponds to the results published in \"D. Akimov et al 2022 JINST 17\nP10034\". We share the data in the form of raw ADC waveforms, provide benchmark\nvalues, and share plots to enhance the transparency and reproducibility of our\nresults. This document describes the contents of the data release as well as\nguidance on the use of the data.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of CMS Hadron Calorimeter Timing and Synchronization using\n Test Beam, Cosmic Ray, and LHC Beam Data: This paper discusses the design and performance of the time measurement\ntechnique and of the synchronization systems of the CMS hadron calorimeter.\nTime measurement performance results are presented from test beam data taken in\nthe years 2004 and 2006. For hadronic showers of energy greater than 100 GeV,\nthe timing resolution is measured to be about 1.2 ns. Time synchronization and\nout-of-time background rejection results are presented from the Cosmic Run At\nFour Tesla and LHC beam runs taken in the Autumn of 2008. The inter-channel\nsynchronization is measured to be within 2 ns.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Initial results of NEXT-DEMO, a large-scale prototype of the NEXT-100\n experiment: NEXT-DEMO is a large-scale prototype of the NEXT-100 detector, an\nelectroluminescent time projection chamber that will search for the\nneutrinoless double beta decay of Xe-136 using 100 to 150 kg of enriched xenon\ngas. NEXT-DEMO was built to prove the expected performance of NEXT-100, namely,\nenergy resolution better than 1% FWHM at 2.5 MeV and event topological\nreconstruction. In this paper we describe the prototype and its initial\nresults. A resolution of 1.75% FWHM at 511 keV (which extrapolates to 0.8% FWHM\nat 2.5 MeV) was obtained at 10 bar pressure using a gamma-ray calibration\nsource. Also, a basic study of the event topology along the longitudinal\ncoordinate is presented, proving that it is possible to identify the distinct\ndE/dx of electron tracks in high-pressure xenon using an electroluminescence\nTPC.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Geant4 Systematic Study of the FRACAS Apparatus for Hadrontherapy Cross\n Section Measurements: In this work, we report on systematic Monte Carlo (MC) studies for the FRACAS\napparatus, a large acceptance mass spectrometer that will be used to measure\nthe fragmentation cross sections of $^{12}$C ions for hadrontherapy. The\napparatus placed, in a 100 mbar reaction chamber, will be made of a beam\nmonitor, trackers surrounding a magnet and a Time-Of-Flight (TOF) wall. In\norder to determine the required performances of the trackers, Geant4\nsimulations of the whole system and in-house developed algorithms were used.\nWhile keeping the beam monitor and TOF-wall positions fixed, the effects of the\ntracker positions and spatial resolutions on the trajectory reconstruction and\nmass identification efficiencies have been extracted. An optimal configuration\nwas found where the upstream trackers should be located 6 cm away from the\ntarget and spaced 4 cm apart whereas their spatial resolutions should be close\nto 100 $\\mu$m. The positions of the downstream trackers will have to be changed\naccording to the beam energy to preserve high identification efficiencies.\nTheir spatial resolutions, even though of a lesser importance compared to the\nupstream trackers, should be around 1 mm or better. In this optimal\nconfiguration, an overall fragment identification efficiency above 90% has been\nobtained for beam energies ranging from 100 to 400 MeV/nucleon.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Proposal of Readout Electronics for CSNS-WNS BaF2 Detector: BaF2 (Barium fluoride) detector is one of the experiment facilities at the\nunder construction CSNS-WNS (White Neutron Source at China Spallation Neutron\nSource). It is designed for precisely measuring (n,gamma) cross section with\ntotal 92 crystal elements and completely 4 pi steradian coverage. In this\nproposal for readout electronics, waveform digitizing technique with 1GSps\nsampling rate and 12-bit resolution is adopted to precisely capture the\ndetector signal. To solve the problem of massive data readout and processing,\nthe readout electronics system is designed into a distributed architecture with\n4 PXIe crates. The digitized detector's signal is concentrated to PXIe crate\ncontroller through PCIe bus on backplane and transmitted to data acquisition\nsystem over Gigabit Ethernet in parallel. Besides, clock and trigger can be\nfanned out synchronously to each electronic channel over a high-precision\ndistributing network. Test results showed that the prototype of the readout\nelectronics system achieved good performance and cooperated well.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High refractive index Fresnel lens on a fiber fabricated by nanoimprint\n lithography for immersion applications: In this Letter we present a Fresnel lens fabricated on the end of an optical\nfiber. The lens is fabricated using nanoimprint lithography of a functional\nhigh refractive index material, which is suitable for mass production. The main\nadvantage of the presented Fresnel lens compared to a conventional fiber lens\nis its high refractive index (n=1.69), which enables efficient light focusing\neven inside other media such as water or adhesive. Measurement of the lens\nperformance in an immersion liquid (n=1.51) shows a near diffraction limited\nfocal spot of 810 nm in diameter at the 1/e2 intensity level for a wavelength\nof 660 nm. Applications of such fiber lenses include integrated optics, optical\ntrapping and fiber probes.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of Yttrium alloy ion source and its application in\n nanofabrication: We present a new YAuSi Liquid Metal Alloy Ion Source (LMAIS), generating\nfocused ion beams of yttrium ions, and its prospective applications for\nnanofabrication, sample preparation, lithographic and implantation processes.\nWorking parameters of the AuSiY LMAIS are similar to other gold-silicon based\nLMAIS. We found anomalously high emission current of triple charged Yttrium\nions. Influence of Yttrium implantation on optical qualities of the implanted\nion-ensembles is shown in luminescence of co-implanted Erbium ions.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Identification of radiopure tungsten for low background applications: In this article we explore the availability of radiopure tungsten and its\npotential as high density shield material for low background applications. For\ncompact shield designs, conventionally, lead is used. Metallic tungsten and\ntungsten pseudo-alloys reach higher densities up to 19.3 gcm$^{-3}$ and do not\nexhibit a significant $^{210}$Pb activity, which is a typical intrinsic\ncontamination in lead. Within several $\\gamma$-ray screening campaigns we were\nable to identify tungsten samples with activities similar or better than 1\nmBqkg$^{-1}$ in $^{232}$Th, $^{40}$K, $^{60}$Co and the second part of the\n$^{238}$U decay chain. In cooperation with a manufacturer we further reduced a\npersisting contamination in the first part of the $^{238}$U decay chain by a\nfactor of $\\sim$2.5 down to (305$\\pm$30) mBqkg$^{-1}$. With Monte Carlo\nsimulations, the construction of prototype tungsten-based setups and dedicated\nmeasurements, the shield capability of tungsten in comparison to lead was\nextensively studied. Specifically, the impact of cosmogenic radiation on the\nbackground at shallow depth was investigated. We showed that a 6-40% reduction\n(depending on the exact shield configuration) in the muon-induced neutron\nfluence is achievable by replacing lead with an equivalent amount of tungsten\nregarding the suppression of external $\\gamma$-radiation. Overall, many\nbenefits using tungsten especially for low energy applications below a few 100\nkeV are found. The pseudo-tungsten alloy presented in this work paves the way\nfor several applications especially regarding background suppression in\nparticle and astroparticle physics search programs.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A 3D-printed alkali metal dispenser: We demonstrate and characterize a source of Li atoms made from direct metal\nlaser sintered titanium. The source's outgassing rate is measured to be $5\n\\,(2)\\cdot 10^{-7}$\\,$\\rm{Pa}~ \\rm{L}~ \\rm{s}^{-1}$ at a temperature\n$T=330\\,^\\circ$C, which optimizes the number of atoms loaded into a\nmagneto-optical trap. The source loads $\\approx 10^7$ $^7$Li atoms in the trap\nin $\\approx 1$\\,s. The loaded source weighs 700\\,mg and is suitable for a\nnumber of deployable sensors based on cold atoms.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The upgraded Pixel detector and the commissioning of the Inner Detector\n tracking of the ATLAS experiment for Run-2 at the Large Hadron Collider: Run-2 of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will provide new challenges to track\nand vertex reconstruction with higher energies, denser jets and higher rates.\nTherefore the ATLAS experiment has constructed the first 4-layer Pixel Detector\nin HEP, installing a new pixel layer, also called Insertable B-Layer (IBL). The\nIBL is a fourth layer of pixel detectors, and has been installed in May 2014 at\na radius of 3.3 cm between the existing Pixel Detector and a new smaller radius\nbeam-pipe. The new detector, built to cope with the high radiation and expected\noccupancy, is the first large scale application of 3D sensors and CMOS 130~nm\nreadout electronics. In addition, the Pixel Detector was improved with a new\nservice quarter panel to recover about 3\\% of defective modules lost during\nRun-1 and a new optical readout system to readout the data at higher speed\nwhile reducing the occupancy when running with increased luminosity.\n Complementing detector improvements, many improvements to Inner Detector\ntrack and vertex reconstruction were developed during the two-year shutdown of\nthe LHC. These include novel techniques developed to improve the performance in\nthe dense cores of jets, optimisation for the expected conditions, and a\nsoftware campaign which lead to a factor of three decrease in the CPU time\nneeded to process each recorded event.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The GEM QA Protocol of the ALICE TPC Upgrade Project: The ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN is upgrading its\ncentral tracking detector, the Time Projection Chamber (TPC). The installation\nis foreseen during the second long shutdown of the Large Hadron Collider. The\nupgrade includes the complete exchange of the present MWPC readout chambers\n(ROC) with new ones based on Gas Electron Multiplier detectors. This is\nnecessary due to the higher LHC luminosity and thus higher interaction rate.\nThe new ROCs allow for continuous readout at 50 kHz compared to 500 Hz of the\ngated MWPC readout, while maintaining the particle identification capability of\nthe present system. A thorough quality assurance scheme was developed to build\na strict QA protocol. The QA consists of two stages. The first stage, the basic\nQA is done close to the GEM production workshop at CERN and later at the\nframing and assembly centers. The second stage, the advanced QA is done at\ndedicated QA centers. Full traceability of detector components will be\nmaintained throughout the process. A detailed description of the protocol will\nbe given with emphasis on the high definition optical scanning and gain\nmeasurements of individual GEM foils. The production of the new ALICE TPC ROCs\nhas finally started. First QA experience under production conditions and\nworkload will be presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Magnet system for the Quantum Electro-Mechanical Metrology Suite: The design of the permanent magnet system for the new Quantum\nElectro-Mechanical Metrology Suite (QEMMS) is described. The QEMMS, developed\nat the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), consists of a\nKibble balance, a programmable Josephson voltage standard, and a quantum Hall\nresistance standard. It will be used to measure masses up to $100\\,\\mathrm{g}$\nwith relative uncertainties below $2\\times 10^{-8}$. The magnet system is based\non the design of the NIST-4 magnet system with significant changes to adopt to\na smaller Kibble balance and to overcome known practical limitations.\nAnalytical models are provided to describe the coil-current effect and model\nthe forces required to split the magnet in two parts to install the coil. Both\nmodels are compared to simulation results obtained with finite element analysis\nand measurement results. Other aspects, such as the coil design and flatness of\n$Bl$ profile are considered.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Ionization Electron Signal Processing in Single Phase LArTPCs I.\n Algorithm Description and Quantitative Evaluation with MicroBooNE Simulation: We describe the concept and procedure of drifted-charge extraction developed\nin the MicroBooNE experiment, a single-phase liquid argon time projection\nchamber (LArTPC). This technique converts the raw digitized TPC waveform to the\nnumber of ionization electrons passing through a wire plane at a given time. A\nrobust recovery of the number of ionization electrons from both induction and\ncollection anode wire planes will augment the 3D reconstruction, and is\nparticularly important for tomographic reconstruction algorithms. A number of\nbuilding blocks of the overall procedure are described. The performance of the\nsignal processing is quantitatively evaluated by comparing extracted charge\nwith the true charge through a detailed TPC detector simulation taking into\naccount position-dependent induced current inside a single wire region and\nacross multiple wires. Some areas for further improvement of the performance of\nthe charge extraction procedure are also discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Synthesis of neutron-rich transuranic nuclei in fissile spallation\n targets: A possibility of synthesizing neutron-reach super-heavy elements in\nspallation targets of Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS) is considered. A\ndedicated software called Nuclide Composition Dynamics (NuCoD) was developed to\nmodel the evolution of isotope composition in the targets during a long-time\nirradiation by intense proton and deuteron beams. Simulation results show that\ntransuranic elements up to Bk-249 can be produced in multiple neutron capture\nreactions in macroscopic quantities. However, the neutron flux achievable in a\nspallation target is still insufficient to overcome the so-called fermium gap.\nFurther optimization of the target design, in particular, by including\nmoderating material and covering it by a reflector will turn ADS into an\nalternative source of transuranic elements in addition to nuclear fission\nreactors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of muon scattering tomography for a detection of\n reinforcement in concrete: Inspection of ageing, reinforced concrete structures is a world-wide\nchallenge. Existing non-destructive evaluation techniques in civil and\nstructural engineering have limited penetration depth and don't allow to\nprecisely ascertain the configuration of reinforcement within large concrete\nobjects. The big challenge for critical infrastructure (bridges, dams, dry\ndocks, nuclear bioshields etc.) is understanding the internal condition of the\nconcrete and steel, not just the location of the reinforcement. In most new\nconstructions the location should be known and recorded in the as-built\ndrawings, where these might not exist due to poor record keeping for older\nstructures. Muon scattering tomography is a non-destructive and non-invasive\ntechnique which shows great promise for high-depth 3D concrete imaging.\nPreviously, we have demonstrated that individual bars with a diameter of 33.7\n+- 7.3 mm at 50 cm depth can be located using muon scattering tomography. Here\nwe present an improved method that exploits the periodicity of bar structures.\nWith this new method, reinforcement with bars down to 6 mm thickness can be\ndetected and imaged.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Enhancing sensitivity in atomic force microscopy for planar tip-on-chip\n probes: We present a new approach to tuning fork-based atomic force microscopy for\nutilizing advanced \"tip-on-chip\" probes with high sensitivity and broad\ncompatibility. Usually, such chip-like probes with a size reaching 2 mm x 2 mm\ndrastically perturb the oscillation of the tuning fork, resulting in poor\nperformance in its intrinsic force sensing. Therefore, restoring initial\noscillatory characteristics is necessary for regaining high sensitivity. To\nthis end, we developed a new approach consisting of three basic steps: tuning\nfork rebalancing, revamping holder-sensor fixation, and electrode\nreconfiguration. Mass rebalancing allows the tuning fork to recover the\nfrequency and regain high Q-factor values up to 10E4 in air and up to 4 x 10E4\nin ultra-high vacuum conditions. The floating-like holder-fixation using soft\nwires significantly reduces energy dissipation from the mounting elements.\nCombined with the soft wires, reconfigured electrodes provide electrical access\nto the chip-like probe without intervening in the force-sensing signal.\nFinally, our easy-to-implement approach allows converting the atomic force\nmicroscopy-tip from a passive tool to a dedicated microdevice with extended\nfunctionality.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Carrier-envelope phase stabilization of an Er:Yb:glass laser via\n feed-forward technique: Few-cycle pulsed laser technology highlights the need for control and\nstabilization of the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) for applications requiring\nshot-to-shot timing and phase consistency. This general requirement has been\nachieved successfully in a number of free space and fiber lasers via feedback\nand feed-forward methods. Expanding upon existing results, we demonstrate CEP\nstabilization through the feed-forward method applied to a SESAM mode-locked\nEr:Yb:glass laser at 1.55 um with a measured ultralow timing jitter of 2.9 as\n(1 Hz - 3 MHz) and long-term stabilization over a duration of eight hours.\nSingle-digit attosecond stabilization at telecom wavelengths opens a new\ndirection in applications requiring ultra-stable frequency and time precision\nsuch as high-resolution spectroscopy and fiber timing networks.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The low energy spectrum of TeO2 bolometers: results and dark matter\n perspectives for the CUORE-0 and CUORE experiments: We collected 19.4 days of data from four 750 g TeO2 bolometers, and in three\nof them we were able to set the energy threshold around 3 keV using a new\nanalysis technique. We found a background rate ranging from 25 cpd/keV/kg at 3\nkeV to 2 cpd/keV/kg at 25 keV, and a peak at 4.7 keV. The origin of this peak\nis presently unknown, but its presence is confirmed by a reanalysis of 62.7\nkg.days of data from the finished CUORICINO experiment. Finally, we report the\nexpected sensitivities of the CUORE0 (52 bolometers) and CUORE (988 bolometers)\nexperiments to a WIMP annual modulation signal.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Fabrication of a Silicon Electron Multiplier sensor using Metal Assisted\n Chemical Etching and its characterisation: The Silicon Electron Multiplier (SiEM) sensor is a novel sensor concept that\nenables charge multiplication by high electric fields generated by embedded\nmetal electrodes within the sensor bulk. Metal assisted chemical etching\n(MacEtch) in gas phase with platinum as a catalyst has been used to fabricate\ntest structures consisting of vertically aligned silicon pillars and strips on\ntop of a silicon bulk. The pillars exceed 10 $\\mu m$ in height with a diameter\nof 1.0 $\\mu m$ and are arranged as a hexagonal lattice with a pitch of 1.5 $\\mu\nm$. Electrical characterisations through current $-$ voltage measurements\ninside a scanning electron microscope and a climate chamber have demonstrated\nthat the MacEtch process is compatible with active media and p-n junctions.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Resolution studies with the DATURA beam telescope: Detailed studies of the resolution of a EUDET-type beam telescope are carried\nout using the DATURA beam telescope as an example. The EUDET-type beam\ntelescopes make use of CMOS MIMOSA 26 pixel detectors for particle tracking\nallowing for precise characterisation of particle sensing devices. A profound\nunderstanding of the performance of the beam telescope as a whole is obtained\nby a detailed characterisation of the sensors themselves. The differential\nintrinsic resolution as measured in a MIMOSA 26 sensor is extracted using an\niterative pull method and various quantities that depend on the size of the\ncluster are discussed: the residual distribution, the intra-pixel\nresidual-width distribution and the intra-pixel density distribution of track\nincident positions.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Initial performance of the CUORE-0 experiment: CUORE-0 is a cryogenic detector that uses an array of tellurium dioxide\nbolometers to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of ^{130}Te. We present\nthe first data analysis with 7.1 kg y of total TeO_2 exposure focusing on\nbackground measurements and energy resolution. The background rates in the\nneutrinoless double-beta decay region of interest (2.47 to 2.57 MeV) and in the\n{\\alpha} background-dominated region (2.70 to 3.90 MeV) have been measured to\nbe 0.071 \\pm 0.011 and 0.019 \\pm 0.002 counts/keV/kg/y, respectively. The\nlatter result represents a factor of 6 improvement from a predecessor\nexperiment, Cuoricino. The results verify our understanding of the background\nsources in CUORE-0, which is the basis of extrapolations to the full CUORE\ndetector. The obtained energy resolution (full width at half maximum) in the\nregion of interest is 5.7 keV. Based on the measured background rate and energy\nresolution in the region of interest, CUORE-0 half-life sensitivity is expected\nto surpass the observed lower bound of Cuoricino with one year of live time.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Tip Avalanche Photodiode -- A new generation Silicon Photomultiplier\n based on non-planar technology: The Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is a mature photodetector concept that is\napplied in a variety of applications ranging from medical imaging to automotive\nLiDAR systems. Over the last few years, improvements of the sensor performance\nare gradually approaching to a saturation. In this work we present our new\nconcept to overcome the intrinsic limitations of planar configurations of\nelectrodes. Our non-planar technology is based on focusing and enhancing the\nelectric fields by tip-like electrodes. The shape of the electric field and the\nlack of typical micro-cell edges, allows us to exclude cell separation\nboundaries and eliminate dead space around active cell areas. Our design\nprovides a high-density micro-cell layout with a high geometric efficiency. It\nresolves the well-known trade-off between the detection efficiency and the\ndynamic range. The first \"Tip Avalanche Photodiode\" (TAPD) prototypes show a\nremarkable geometric efficiency above 80% for a micro-cell pitch of\n15$\\mathrm{\\mu}$m. This directly translates into a photon detection efficiency\n(PDE) record peak value of 73% at 600nm with respect to the state-of-the-art\nSiPMs. Moreover, the PDE remains above a value of 45% up to a wavelength of\n800nm with another record value of 22% at 905nm. The reduced micro-cell\ncapacity allows for a fast recovery time below 4ns, which improves the\noperation at high photon rates. Overall, the TAPD is anticipated to be a very\npromising SiPM generation for various wide-spectral and high-dynamic-range\napplications in health science, biophysics, particle physics and LiDARs.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Expression of Interest for a Novel Search for CP Violation in the\n Neutrino Sector: DAEdALUS: DAEdALUS, a Decay-At-rest Experiment for delta_CP studies At the Laboratory\nfor Underground Science, provides a new approach to the search for CP violation\nin the neutrino sector. The design utilizes low-cost, high-power proton\naccelerators under development for commercial uses. These provide neutrino\nbeams with energy up to 52 MeV from pion and muon decay-at-rest. The experiment\nsearches for aninu_mu to antinu_e at short baselines corresponding to the\natmospheric Delta m^2 region. The antinu_e will be detected, via inverse beta\ndecay, in the 300 kton fiducial-volume Gd-doped water Cherenkov neutrino\ndetector proposed for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory\n(DUSEL). DAEdALUS opens new opportunities for DUSEL. It provides a\nhigh-statistics, low-background alternative for CP violation searches which\nmatches the capability of the conventional long-baseline neutrino experiment,\nLBNE. Because of the complementary designs, when DAEdALUS antineutrino data are\ncombined with LBNE neutrino data, the sensitivity of the CP-violation search\nimproves beyond any present proposals, including the proposal for Project X.\nAlso, the availability of an on-site neutrino beam opens opportunities for\nadditional physics, both for the presently planned DUSEL detectors and for new\nexperiments at a future 300 ft campus.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Three topologies of deep neural networks for pulse height extraction: Pulse shaping is a common technique for optimizing signal-to-noise ratio\n(SNR) in particle detectors. Although analog or digital linear shapers are\ntypically used for this purpose, there are nonlinear approaches, such as neural\nnetworks (NN), which have demonstrated their potential to outperform linear\nones. Their nonlinear nature makes it possible to optimize the SNR of incoming\npulses and extract diverse information, such as particle type and energy, with\nextremely short shaping time to avoid crowding. This paper shows three\ndifferent NNs for shaping pulses: (a) convolutional NN (CNN); (b) recurrent NN\n(RNN); (c) self-attenuating NN. These NNs shape the pulses and return them\nunfolded avoiding stacking, and even estimate the height of the pulses when\nthere has been saturation in the preamplifier. In this work we show the\narchitectures of the NNs and their results using CR--RC pulses with Brownian\nand white noise, but they could be extrapolated to any shape and type of noise.\nThe results obtained show that when the noise level is low and the frequency is\nlow, all the topologies presented are a valid solution, but with white noise\nand high pulse arrival frequency, CNN is a better solution than the others. In\nthe case of Brownian noise, the three topologies presented give similar\nresults.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Towards implementing multi-channels, ring-oscillator-based, Vernier\n time-to-digital converter in FPGAs: key design points and construction method: For TOF positron emission tomography (TOF PET) detectors, time-to-digital\nconverters (TDCs) are essential to resolve the coincidence time of the photon\npairs. Recently, an efficient TDC structure called ring-oscillator-based\n(RO-based) Vernier TDC using carry chains was reported by our team. The method\nis very promising due to its low linearity error and low resource cost.\nHowever, the implementation complexity is rather high especially when moving to\nmulti-channels TDC designs, since this method calls for a manual intervention\nto the initial fitting results of the compilation software. In this paper, we\nelaborate the key points toward implementing high performance multi-channels\nTDCs of this kind while keeping the least implementation complexity.\nFurthermore, we propose an efficient fine time interpolator construction method\ncalled the period difference recording which only needs at most 31 adjustment\ntrials to obtain a targeted TDC resolution. To validate the techniques proposed\nin this paper, we built a 32-channels TDC on a Stratix III FPGA chip and fully\nevaluated its performance. Code density tests show that the obtained resolution\nresults lie in the range of (23 ps ~ 37 ps), the differential nonlinearity\n(DNL) results lie in the range of (-0.4 LSB ~ 0.4 LSB) and the integral\nnonlinearity (INL) results lie in the range of (-0.7 LSB ~ 0.7 LSB) for each of\nthe 32 TDC channels. This paper greatly eases the designing difficulty of the\ncarry chain RO-based TDCs and can significantly propel their development in\npractical use.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Plasma Temperature Inference from DT/DD Neutron Discrimination: DD and DT reaction rates may be compared to determine plasma temperatures in\nthe 10--200 eV range. Distinguishing neutrons from these two reactions is\ndifficult when yields are low or unpredictable. Time of flight methods fail if\nthe source is extended in time. These neutrons may be distinguished because\ninelastic scattering of more energetic neutrons by carbon produces a 4.44 Mev\ngamma-ray, and because hydrogenous material preferentially attenuates lower\nenergy neutrons. We describe a detector system that can discriminate between\nlower and higher energy neutrons for fluences as low as $\\mathcal{O}(10^2)$\nneutrons/sterad even when time of flight methods fail, define a figure of merit\nand calculate its performance over a broad range of parameters.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Cavallo's Multiplier for in situ Generation of High Voltage: A classic electrostatic induction machine, Cavallo's multiplier, is suggested\nfor in situ production of very high voltage in cryogenic environments. The\ndevice is suitable for generating a large electrostatic field under conditions\nof very small load current. Operation of the Cavallo multiplier is analyzed,\nwith quantitative description in terms of mutual capacitances between\nelectrodes in the system. A demonstration apparatus was constructed, and\nmeasured voltages are compared to predictions based on measured capacitances in\nthe system. The simplicity of the Cavallo multiplier makes it amenable to\nelectrostatic analysis using finite element software, and electrode shapes can\nbe optimized to take advantage of a high dielectric strength medium such as\nliquid helium. A design study is presented for a Cavallo multiplier in a\nlarge-scale, cryogenic experiment to measure the neutron electric dipole\nmoment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Dark Matter Directionality Detection performance of the Micromegas-based\n $\u03bc$TPC-MIMAC detector: Directional Dark Matter Detection (DDMD) can open a new signature for Weakly\nMassive Interacting Particles (WIMPs) Dark Matter. The directional signature\nprovides in addition, an unique way to overcome the neutron and neutrino\nbackgrounds. In order to get the directional signature, the DDM detectors\nshould be sensitive to low nuclear energy recoils in the keV range and have an\nangular resolution better than $20^{\\circ}$. We have performed experiments with\nlow energy ($<30\\,\\mathrm{keV}$) ion beam facilities to measure the angular\ndistribution of nuclear recoil tracks in a MIMAC detector prototype. In this\npaper, we study angular spreads with respect to the electron drift direction\n($0^{\\circ}$ incident angle) of Fluorine nuclear tracks in this low energy\nrange, and show nuclear recoil angle reconstruction produced by a monoenergetic\nneutron field experiment. We find that a high-gain systematic effect leads to a\nhigh angular resolution along the electron drift direction. The measured\nangular distribution is impacted by diffusion, and space charge or ion feedback\neffects, which can be corrected for by an asymmetry factor observed in the\nflash-ADC profile. The estimated angular resolution of the $0^{\\circ}$ incident\nion is better than $15^{\\circ}$ at $10$ keV kinetic energy and agrees with the\nsimulations within $20$%. The distributions from the nuclear recoils have been\ncompared with simulated results based on a modified Garfield++ code. Our study\nshows that protons would be a more adapted target than heavier nuclei for DDMD\nof light WIMPs. We demonstrate that directional signature from the Galactic\nhalo origin of a Dark Matter WIMP signal is experimentally achievable, with a\ndeep understanding of the operating conditions of a low pressure detector with\nits diffusion mechanism.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Upgrade of the ALICE Inner Tracking System: During the Long Shutdown 2 of the LHC in 2018/2019, the ALICE experiment\nplans the installation of a novel Inner Tracking System. It will replace the\ncurrent six layer detector system with a seven layer detector using Monolithic\nActive Pixel Sensors. The upgraded Inner Tracking System will have\nsignificantly improved tracking and vertexing capabilities, as well as readout\nrate to cope with the expected increased Pb-Pb luminosity of the LHC. The\nchoice of Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors has been driven by the specific\nrequirements of ALICE as a heavy ion experiment dealing with rare processes at\nlow transverse momenta. This leads to stringent requirements on the material\nbudget of 0.3$% X/X_{0}$ per layer for the three innermost layers. Furthermore,\nthe detector will see large hit densities of $\\sim 19\n\\mathrm{cm}^{-2}/\\mathrm{event}$ on average for minimum-bias events in the\ninner most layer and has to stand moderate radiation loads of 700 kRad TID and\n$1\\times 10^{13}$ 1 MeV n$_\\mathrm{eq}/\\mathrm{cm}^{2}$ NIEL at maximum. The\nMonolithic Active Pixel Sensor detectors are manufactured using the TowerJazz\n0.18 $\\mu$m CMOS Imaging Sensor process on wafers with a high-resistivity\nepitaxial layer. This contribution summarises the recent R&D activities and\nfocuses on results on the large-scale pixel sensor prototypes.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Online Bayesian Optimization for Beam Alignment in the SECAR Recoil Mass\n Separator: The SEparator for CApture Reactions (SECAR) is a next-generation recoil\nseparator system at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) designed for the\ndirect measurement of capture reactions on unstable nuclei in inverse\nkinematics. To maximize the performance of the device, careful beam alignment\nto the central ion optical axis needs to be achieved. This can be difficult to\nattain through manual tuning by human operators without potentially leaving the\nsystem in a sub-optimal and irreproducible state. In this work, we present the\nfirst development of online Bayesian optimization with a Gaussian process model\nto tune an ion beam through a nuclear astrophysics recoil separator. We show\nthat the method achieves small incoming angular deviations (0-1 mrad) in an\nefficient and reproducible manner that is at least 3 times faster than standard\nhand-tuning. This method is now routinely used for all separator tuning.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Large-Volume Centimeter-Wave Cavities for Axion Searches: The scan rate of an axion haloscope is proportional to the square of the\ncavity volume. In this paper, a new class of thin-shell cavities are proposed\nto search for axionic dark matter. These cavities feature active volume much\nlarger (>20X) than that of a conventional cylindrical haloscope, comparable\nquality factor Q, and a similar frequency tuning range. Full 3D numerical\nfinite-element analyses have been used to show that the TM_010 eigenmodes are\nsingly polarized throughout the volume of the cavity and can facilitate\naxion-photon conversion in uniform magnetic field produced by a superconducting\nsolenoid. To mitigate spurious mode crowding and volume loss due to\nlocalization, a pre-amplification binary summing network will be used for\ncoupling. Because of the favorable frequency-scaling, the new cavities are most\nsuitable for centimeter-wavelength (~ 10-100 GHz), corresponding to the\npromising post-inflation axion production window. In this frequency range, the\ntight machining tolerances required for high-Q thin-shell cavities are\nachievable with standard machining techniques for near-infrared mirrors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The aerogel threshold Cherenkov detector for the High Momentum\n Spectrometer in Hall C at Jefferson Lab: We describe a new aerogel threshold Cherenkov detector installed in the HMS\nspectrometer in Hall C at Jefferson Lab. The Hall C experimental program in\n2003 required an improved particle identification system for better\nidentification of pi/K/P, which was achieved by installing an additional\nthreshold Cherenkov counter. Two types of aerogel with n=1.03 and n=1.015 allow\none to reach 10^{-3} proton and 10^{-2} kaon rejection in the 1-5 GeV/c\nmomentum range with pion detection efficiency better than 99% (97%). The\ndetector response shows no significant position dependence due to a diffuse\nlight collection technique. The diffusion box was equipped with 16 Photonis\nXP4572 PMT's. The mean number of photoelectrons in saturation was ~16 and ~8,\nrespectively. Moderate particle identification is feasible near threshold.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "First results on FHM -- a Floating Hole Multiplier: A proof of principle of a novel concept for event recording in dual-phase\nliquid xenon detectors -- the Floating Hole Multiplier (FHM) -- is presented.\nIt is shown that a standard Thick Gaseous Electron Multiplier (THGEM), freely\nfloating on the liquid xenon surface permits extraction of electrons from the\nliquid to the gas. Secondary scintillation induced by the extracted electrons\nin the THGEM holes as well as in the uniform field above it was observed. The\nfirst results with the FHM indicate that the concept of floating electrodes may\noffer new prospects for large-scale dual-phase detectors, for dark matter\nsearches in particular.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Numerical study of effects of electrode parameters and image charge on\n the electric field configuration of RPCs: The working of a resistive plate chamber depends on the electric field\napplied inside the gas gap. The strength of this electric field inside the gas\ngap depends on parameters like electrode thickness, permittivity, gas gap,\namong others. The applied electric field can get significantly modified by\nspace charge effect. This can be a major concern while working in high rate\nparticle physics experiments. Accumulation of space charge generated due to\nconsecutive avalanches can distort the applied field. During this\ninvestigation, we have observed that the strength of this perturbation in\nelectric field is a function of the amount of charge, electrode thickness,\npermittivity, and gas gap.\n In this paper, we have studied the dependence of the applied field on\nparameters linked to RPC fabrication, mentioned above. In addition, we have\nused the method of image to calculate the additional polarisation field due to\nspace charge for a basic five layers of the geometry of an RPC. The variation\nof the perturbation in electric field with the same three parameters electrode\nthickness, permittivity, gas gap has also been discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "ATLAS silicon module assembly and qualification tests at IFIC Valencia: ATLAS experiment, designed to probe the interactions of particles emerging\nout of proton proton collisions at energies of up to 14 TeV, will assume\noperation at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in 2007. This paper\ndiscusses the assembly and the quality control tests of forward detector\nmodules for the ATLAS silicon microstrip detector assembled at the Instituto de\nFisica Corpuscular (IFIC) in Valencia. The construction and testing procedures\nare outlined and the laboratory equipment is briefly described. Emphasis is\ngiven on the module quality achieved in terms of mechanical and electrical\nstability.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A new geometry of scintillating crystals with Strip SiPMs: a PET\n detector with precise position and time determination: Measurement of the Time-of-Flight (TOF) of the 511 keV gammas brings an\nimportant reduction of statistical noise in the PET image, with higher\nprecision time measurements producing clearer images. Scintillating crystals\nare used to convert the 511 keV annihilation photon to an electron of ~511 KeV\nenergy via the photoelectric effect; it is necessary to determine with\nprecision the position and time of this conversion within the scintillating\ncrystal. We propose using an array of crystals cut into a specific geometry\ndiscussed below; these crystals are read out by an array of strip SiPMs. This\ntechnique allows individual time measurements of the first arriving\nphoto-electrons and to extract the best time resolution using a specific\nalgorithm. The final result is a precise determination of the 3D position (that\nincludes the depth of interaction) of the photoelectric interaction and an\nimproved time measurement.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Energy Production Demonstrator for Megawatt Proton Beams: A preliminary study of the Energy Production Demonstrator (EPD) concept - a\nsolid heavy metal target irradiated by GeV-range intense proton beams and\nproducing more energy than consuming - is carried out. Neutron production,\nfission, energy deposition, energy gain, testing volume and helium production\nare simulated with the MARS15 code for tungsten, thorium, and natural uranium\ntargets in the proton energy range 0.5 to 120 GeV. This study shows that the\nproton energy range of 2 to 4 GeV is optimal for both a natU EPD and the\ntungsten-based testing station that would be the most suitable for proton\naccelerator facilities. Conservative estimates, not including breeding and\nfission of plutonium, based on the simulations suggest that the proton beam\ncurrent of 1 mA will be sufficient to produce 1 GW of thermal output power with\nthe natU EPD while supplying < 8% of that power to operate the accelerator. The\nthermal analysis shows that the concept considered has a problem due to a\npossible core meltdown; however, a number of approaches (a beam rastering, in\nfirst place) are suggested to mitigate the issue. The efficiency of the\nconsidered EPD as a Materials Test Station (MTS) is also evaluated in this\nstudy.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development and characterization of detectors for large area application\n in neutron scattering and small area application in neutron reflectometry: Neutron scattering techniques offer a unique combination of structural and\nthe dynamic information of atomic and molecular systems over a wide range of\ndistances and times. The increasing complexity in science investigations driven\nby technological advances is reflected in the studies of neutron scattering\nscience, which enforces a diversification and an improvement of experimental\ntools, from the instrument design to the detector performance. It calls as well\nfor more advanced data analysis and modelling. The improvements in resolution,\ncount rate and signal-to-background ratio, achievable with the new\ninstrumentations, also drive the research of alternative technologies to\nreplace the 3He-based detector technology unable to fulfil the requirement of\nincreasing performance. Two solution have been studied: a boron-10-based\ngaseous detector, the Multi-Blade and a solid-state Si-Gd detector. Both\nsolution are suitable alternatives for neutron detection, able to meet the\ndemands of high performance. It has been shown not only the technical\ncharacteristic of the devices, but how the science can profit from the better\nperformance of these new detector technologies in real experimental condition.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Silicon vertex and tracking detector R&D for CLIC: The physics aims at the proposed future high-energy linear $e^+e^-$ collider\nCLIC pose challenging demands on the performance of the detector system. In\nparticular, the vertex and tracking detectors have to combine a spatial\nresolution of a few micrometres and a low material budget with a time-stamping\naccuracy of a few nanoseconds. For the vertex detector, fine-pitch sensors,\ndedicated 65nm readout ASICs, fine-pitch bonding techniques using solder bumps\nor anisotropic conductive films as well as monolithic devices based on\nSilicon-On-Insulator technology are explored. Fully monolithic CMOS sensors\nwith large and small collection electrodes are under investigation for the\nlarge surface CLIC tracker. This contribution gives an overview of the CLIC\nvertex and tracking detector R&D, focusing on recent results from test-beam\ncampaigns and simulation-based sensor optimisation studies.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Investigation of low gain avalanche detectors exposed to proton fluences\n beyond 10$^{15}$ n$_\\mathrm{eq}$cm$^{-2}$: Low gain avalanche detectors (LGADs) deliver excellent timing resolution,\nwhich can mitigate mis-assignment of vertices associated with pileup at the\nHigh Luminosity LHC and other future hadron colliders. The most highly\nirradiated LGADs will be subject to $2.5 \\times10^{15} \\mathrm{n}_\\mathrm{eq}\n\\mathrm{cm}^{-2}$ of hadronic fluence during HL-LHC operation; their\nperformance must tolerate this. Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. and Fondazione Bruno\nKessler LGADs have been irradiated with 400 and 500 MeV protons respectively in\nseveral steps up to $1.5 \\times10^{15} \\mathrm{n}_\\mathrm{eq}\n\\mathrm{cm}^{-2}$. Measurements of the acceptor removal constants of the gain\nlayers, evolution of the timing resolution and charge collection with damage,\nand inter-channel isolation characteristics, for a variety of design options,\nare presented here.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Remote Configuration of the ProASIC3 on the ALICE Inner Tracking System\n Readout Unit: A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) is one of the four major experiments\nconducted at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The ALICE detector is\ncurrently undergoing an upgrade for the upcoming Run 3 at the LHC. The new\nInner Tracking System (ITS) sub-detector is part of this upgrade. The front-end\nelectronics of the ITS is composed by 192 Readout Units, installed in a\nradiation environment. Single Event Upsets (SEUs) in the SRAM-based Xilinx\nKintex Ultrascale FPGAs used in the ITS readout represent a real concern. To\nclear SEUs affecting the Kintex configuration memory, a secondary Flash-based\nMicrosemi ProASIC3E (PA3) FPGA is used. This device configures and continuously\nscrubs the Xilinx FPGA while data-taking is ongoing, which avoids accumulation\nof SEUs. The communication path to the RUs is via the radiation hard Gigabit\nTransceiver (GBT) system on 100 m long optical links. The PA3 is reachable via\nthe GBT Slow Control Adapter (GBT-SCA) ASIC using a dedicated JTAG bus driving\nchannel. During the course of Run 3, it is foreseeable that the FPGA design of\nthe PA3 will require upgrades to correct possible issues and add new\nfunctionality. It is therefore mandatory that the PA3 itself can be configured\nremotely, for which a dedicated software tool is needed. This paper presents\nthe design and implementation of the distributed tools to re-configure remotely\nthe PA3 FPGAs.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Kaon identification system at the NA62 experiment at CERN: The NA62 experiment at CERN SPS aims to measure the branching ratio of the\nultra-rare kaon decay $K^+\\to\\pi^+\\nu\\bar{\\nu}$ with 10\\% precision, collecting\n$\\sim 100$ events, assuming the Standard Model~(SM) branching ratio of $8.4\n\\times 10^{-11}$, starting in 2016. The NA62 experiment uses a kaon\ndecay-in-flight technique and is exposed to a 750~MHz high-energy unseparated\ncharged hadron beam, in which kaons are a minor component (6\\%). Kaon\nidentification is therefore mandatory to reduce the interference of the\ndominant non-kaon component with the experimental measurements. The NA62 kaon\nidentification system and its performances are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Optimization of thin n-in-p planar pixel modules for the ATLAS upgrade\n at HL-LHC: The ATLAS experiment will undergo around the year 2025 a replacement of the\ntracker system in view of the high luminosity phase of the LHC (HL-LHC) with a\nnew 5-layer pixel system. Thin planar pixel sensors are promising candidates to\ninstrument the innermost region of the new pixel system, thanks to the reduced\ncontribution to the material budget and their high charge collection efficiency\nafter irradiation. The sensors of 50-150 $\\mu$m thickness, interconnected to\nFE-I4 read-out chips, have been characterized with radioactive sources and beam\ntests. In particular active edge sensors have been investigated. The\nperformance of two different versions of edge designs are compared: the first\nwith a bias ring, and the second one where only a floating guard ring has been\nimplemented. The hit efficiency at the edge has also been studied after\nirradiation at a fluence of $10^{15}$ \\neqcm. Highly segmented sensors will\nrepresent a challenge for the tracking in the forward region of the pixel\nsystem at HL-LHC. In order to reproduce the performance of 50x50 $\\mu$m$^2$\npixels at high pseudo-rapidity values, FE-I4 compatible planar pixel sensors\nhave been studied before and after irradiation in beam tests at high incidence\nangles with respect to the short pixel direction. Results on the hit efficiency\nin this configuration are discussed for different sensor thicknesses.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "On the gallium experiment BEST-2 with a $^{65}$Zn source to search for\n neutrino oscillations on a short baseline: In the paper is considered the use of a , $^{65}$Zn source in the BEST-2\ngallium experiment to constrain the regions of the allowed oscillation\nparameters. The required activity of the $^{65}$Zn source for the BEST-2\nexperiment, its size, effect on the results of oscillatory measurements, as\nwell as the possibility of production such a source are calculated. Schemes of\nmeasurements execution are considered.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Working principle and demonstrator of microwave-multiplexing for the\n HOLMES experiment microcalorimeters: The determination of the neutrino mass is an open issue in modern particle\nphysics and astrophysics. The direct mass measurement is the only\ntheory-unrelated experimental tool capable to probe such quantity. The HOLMES\nexperiment aims to measure the end-point energy of the electron capture (EC)\ndecay of $^{163}$Ho with a statistical sensitivity on the neutrino mass as low\nas $\\sim 1$ eV/c$^2$. In order to acquire the large needed statistics, by\nkeeping the pile-up contribution as low as possible, 1024 transition edge\nsensors (TESs) with high energy and time resolutions will be employed.\nMicrocalorimeter and bolometer arrays based on transition edge sensor with\nthousands of pixels are under development for several space-based and\nground-based applications, including astrophysics, nuclear and particle\nphysics, and materials science. The common necessary challenge is to develop\npratical multiplexing techniques in order to simplify the cryogenics and\nreadout systems. Despite the various multiplexing variants which are being\ndeveloped have been successful, new approaches are needed to enable scaling to\nlarger pixel counts and faster sensors, as requested for HOLMES, reducing also\nthe cost and complexity of readout. A very novel technique that meets all of\nthese requirements is based on superconducting microwave resonators coupled to\nradio-frequency Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices, in which the the\nchanges in the TES input current is tranduced to a change in phase of a\nmicrowave signal. In this work we introduce the basics of this technique, the\ndesign and development of the first two-channel read out system and its\nperformances with the first TES detectors specifically designed for HOLMES. In\nthe last part we explain how to extend this approach scaling to 1024 pixels.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Experiments with Parametric X-Ray Radiation (PXR) from Non-Relativistic\n Electrons: Interaction of non-relativistic electrons with single crystal target may\nproduce coherent x-rays. That is the result of interference between two known\nx-ray generation mechanisms having orientational behavior, namely parametric\nx-rays and coherent {\\it Bremsstrahlung}. Experiments aimed to PXR research\nwere performed with 50-100 keV electrons and its distinctive features were\nobserved. Requirements to the experimental set-up, detector instrumental\nresponse, and targets as well as experiment geometry are discussed in detail.\nSeries of PXR spectra in various conditions were recorded and their distinctive\nfeatures were observed. Tuning of radiation frequency with crystal-target\nrotation was observed for the first time for low energy electrons. Dependence\nof the x-ray frequency on the beam energy was detected. Soft PXR peak with\nenergy below 1 keV was observed for the first time. Possible applications of\nPXR for structure analysis and crystallography are discussed. These results are\nobtained in the framework of ISTC project {#}B626", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Dynamics of Ions on Phased Radio-frequency Carpets in High Pressure\n Gases and Application for Barium Tagging in Xenon Gas Time Projection\n Chambers: Radio-frequency (RF) carpets with ultra-fine pitches are examined for ion\ntransport in gases at atmospheric pressures and above. We develop new analytic\nand computational methods for modeling RF ion transport at densities where\ndynamics are strongly influenced by buffer gas collisions. An analytic\ndescription of levitating and sweeping forces from phased arrays is obtained,\nthen thermodynamic and kinetic principles are used to calculate ion loss rates\nin the presence of collisions. This methodology is validated against detailed\nmicroscopic SIMION simulations. We then explore a parameter space of special\ninterest for neutrinoless double beta decay experiments: transport of barium\nions in xenon at pressures from 1 to 10 bar. Our computations account for\nmolecular ion formation and pressure dependent mobility as well as finite\ntemperature effects. We discuss the challenges associated with achieving\nsuitable operating conditions, which lie beyond the capabilities of existing\ndevices, using presently available or near-future manufacturing techniques.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A 10 Gbps Driver/Receiver ASIC and Optical Modules for Particle Physics\n Experiments: We present the design and test results of a Drivers and Limiting AmplifierS\nASIC operating at 10 Gbps (DLAS10) and three Miniature Optical\nTransmitter/Receiver/Transceiver modules (MTx+, MRx+, and MTRx+) based on\nDLAS10. DLAS10 can drive two Transmitter Optical Sub-Assemblies (TOSAs) of\nVertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs), receive the signals from two\nReceiver Optical Sub-Assemblies (ROSAs) that have no embedded limiting\namplifiers, or drive a VCSEL TOSA and receive the signal from a ROSA,\nrespectively. Each channel of DLAS10 consists of an input Continuous Time\nLinear Equalizer (CTLE), a four-stage limiting amplifier (LA), and an output\ndriver. The LA amplifies the signals of variable levels to a stable swing. The\noutput driver drives VCSELs or impedance-controlled traces. DLAS10 is\nfabricated in a 65 nm CMOS technology. The die is 1 mm x 1 mm. DLAS10 is\npackaged in a 4 mm x 4 mm 24-pin quad-flat no-leads (QFN) package. DLAS10 has\nbeen tested in MTx+, MRx+, and MTRx+ modules. Both measured optical and\nelectrical eye diagrams pass the 10 Gbps eye mask test. The input electrical\nsensitivity is 40 mVp-p, while the input optical sensitivity is -12 dBm. The\ntotal jitter of MRx+ is 29 ps (P-P) with a random jitter of 1.6 ps (RMS) and a\ndeterministic jitter of 9.9 ps. Each MTx+/MTRx+ module consumes 82 mW/ch and\n174 mW/ch, respectively.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "TES Detector for ALPS II: The application of cryogenic single photon detectors has found great use in\nhigh precision particle physics experiments such as ALPS (Any Light Particle\nSearch) II, which implements it for fundamental studies to search for new\nparticles. ALPS II is a light-shining-through-a-wall experiment searching for\naxion-like-particles, which couple to photons. The extremely low rate of\nphotons generated by the conversion of such axion-like-particles necessitates a\ndetector setup capable of low energy (~ 1 eV; as dictated by cavity optics)\nsingle photon detection with high efficiency and an ultra-low background level,\nwith long-term stability. This can be realised by a Transition Edge Sensor\n(TES) setup with low-temperature SQUID readout.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Monitoring System of the End-Cap Calorimeter in the Belle II\n experiment: The Belle II experiment is presently in phase-2 operation at the SuperKEKB\nelectron-positron collider in KEK (Tsukuba, Japan). The detector is an upgrade\nof the Belle experiment at the KEKB collider and it is optimized for the study\nof rare B decays, being also sensitive to signals of New Physics beyond the\nStandard Model. The Electromagnetic Calorimeter (ECL) is based on CsI(Tl)\nscintillation crystals. It splits in a barrel and two annular end-cap regions,\nthese latter named Forward and Backward, according to the asymmetric design of\nthe collider. CsI(Tl) crystals deliver a high light output at an affordable\ncost, however their yield changes with temperature and can be permanently\ndamaged by humidity, due to the strong chemical affinity for moisture. Each ECL\nregion is then equipped with thermistors and humidity probes to monitor\nenvironmental data. While sensors and cabling have been inherited from the\noriginal Belle design, the ECL monitoring system has been fully redesigned. In\nthis paper, we present hardware and software architecture deployed for the 2112\nCsI(Tl) crystals arranged in the Forward and Backward end-caps. Single-Board\nComputers (SBCs) have been designed ad-hoc for embedded applications. For\nsensor read-out, a data-acquisition system based on 24-bit ADCs with local\nprocessing capability has been realized and interfaced with the SBCs. EPICS\napplications send data across the Local Area Network for remote control and\ndisplay.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of microwave-multiplexed superconductive detectors for the\n HOLMES experiment: In recent years, the progress on low temperature detector technologies has\nallowed design of large scale experiments aiming at pushing down the\nsensitivity on the neutrino mass below 1\\,eV. Even with outstanding\nperformances in both energy ($\\sim$eV on keV) and time resolution ($\\sim\n1\\,\\mu$s) on the single channel, a large number of detectors working in\nparallel is required to reach a sub-eV sensitivity. HOLMES is a new experiment\nto directly measure the neutrino mass with a sensitivity as low as 2\\,eV.\nHOLMES will perform a calorimetric measurement of the energy released in the\nelectron capture (EC) decay of 163Ho. In its final configuration, HOLMES will\ndeploy 1000 detectors of low temperature microcalorimeters with implanted 163Ho\nnuclei. The baseline sensors for HOLMES are Mo/Cu TESs (Transition Edge\nSensors) on SiN\\textsubscript{x} membrane with gold absorbers. The readout is\nbased on the use of rf-SQUIDs as input devices with flux ramp modulation for\nlinearization purposes; the rf-SQUID is then coupled to a superconducting\nlambda/4-wave resonator in the GHz range, and the modulated signal is finally\nread out using the homodyne technique. The TES detectors have been designed\nwith the aim of achieving an energy resolution of a few eV at the spectrum\nendpoint and a time resolution of a few micro-seconds, in order to minimize\npile-up artifacts.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Operating the GridPix detector with helium-isobutane gas mixtures for a\n high-precision, low-mass Time Projection Chamber: High precision experiments with muons and pions often require tracking\ncharged particles with $O(100~\\mu\\mathrm{m})$ single-hit resolution, possibly\nwith particle identification capabilities, down to very low momenta ($p\n\\lesssim 100$~MeV/$c$). In such conditions, the particle trajectories are\nstrongly affected by the interaction with the detector material, and the\nreconstruction of the kinematic observables consequently deteriorates. A good\ncompromise between resolution and material budget can be obtained with a Time\nProjection Chamber (TPC), if very light gases and a high-granularity readout\nare used. In this paper, we present a characterization of the GridPix detector\nin helium-isobutane gas mixtures, within a TPC with 9~cm maximum drift.\nMeasurements of the main electron drift properties for these gas mixtures are\nalso presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Cryogenic avalanche detectors based on gas electron multipliers: We study the performances of gaseous and two-phase (liquid-gas) cryogenic\ndetectors of ionizing radiation based on gas electron multipliers (GEMs) and\noperated in an avalanche mode in pure noble gases. The gas amplification in He,\nAr and Kr is systematically studied at low temperatures, using triple-GEM\nmultipliers. High gains, exceeding 10^4, were obtained in these gases in the\nrange of 120-300 K. Stable electron avalanching was demonstrated in a saturated\nKr vapor in the two-phase mode. These results are relevant for understanding\nbasic mechanisms of electron avalanching at low temperatures and for\napplications in cryogenic particle detectors, in particular in dark matter and\nsolar neutrino detectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Automated Rain Sampler for Real time pH and Conductivity Measurements: To monitor the acidity of rain water in real time, a rain water sampling\nsystem was developed. The rain sampler detects the initial rain after a dry\nspell and collects a water sample. Before performing the measurements, the pH\nprobe is calibrated using a standard buffer solution whereas the conductivity\nprobe is calibrated using deionized water. After calibrating the probes the pH\nand the conductivity of the collected rain water sample are measured using the\npH and the conductivity probe. Weather parameters such as air temperature,\nhumidity and pressure are also recorded simultaneously. The pH and conductivity\nmeasurement data including weather parameters are transmitted to central\nstation using a GSM modem for further analysis. The collected rain water sample\nis preserved at the remote monitoring station for post chemical analysis. A\nprogrammable logic controller controls the entire process.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "First Results on 3D Pixel Sensors Interconnected to the RD53A Readout\n Chip after Irradiation to $1\\times$$10^{16}$neq cm$^{-2}$: Results obtained with 3D columnar pixel sensors bump-bonded to the RD53A\nprototype readout chip are reported. The interconnected modules have been\ntested in a hadron beam before and after irradiation to a fluence of about\n$1\\times$$10^{16}$neq cm$^{-2}$ (1MeV equivalent neutrons). All presented\nresults are part of the CMS R&D activities in view of the pixel detector\nupgrade for the High Luminosity phase of the LHC at CERN (HL-LHC). A\npreliminary analysis of the collected data shows hit detection efficiencies\naround 97% measured after proton irradiation.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterisation of the Spatial Resolution and the Gamma-ray\n Discrimination of Helium-3 Proportional Counters: We discuss over the energy resolution we measured for several Helium-3\nproportional tubes. The energy resolution of a Helium-3 detector is strictly\nrelated to the discrimination between gamma-rays and neutrons that can be\nachieved. We also discuss the different contributions to the energy resolution;\nthese provide information about how the helium-3 counters operate. We measured\nthe spatial resolution of position sensitive Helium-3 detectors in order to\nquantify and understand the limit that can be achieved with this technology.\nThe gamma-ray sensitivity is the efficiency for miscounting a gamma-ray pulse\nas a neutron pulse. This quantity is crucial to determine the performance of\nthe detectors.None of the gamma-ray sensitivity measurements described in the\nliterature involves Helium-3 detectors. We measured the gamma-ray sensitivity\nfor several Helium-3 detectors, providing a useful term of comparison for the\nalternative technologies. We investigated the different contributions that give\nrise to the gamma-ray sensitivity in a detector. In order to better understand\nthese contributions we performed several Monte Carlo simulations. In order to\nimprove the gamma-ray sensitivity, we tested the feasibility of gamma-ray pulse\nrejection via Pulse Shape Discrimination (PSD). While proving its feasibility,\nwe quantify the magnitude of the gamma-ray rejection in Helium-3 tubes. The\nimplementation of the PSD technique on Helium-3 detectors was also investigated\nin order to set a possible starting point for the PSD implementation on\nBoron-10 detectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Towards quasi-biological nanodosimetry: The increasing utilization of charged particle beams for therapeutic purposes\nrequires designing novel detector systems which shall be capable of assessing\nradiation quality for a diversity of ion species. It is shown that the pattern\nof energy deposition in thermoluminescent phosphors and biological tissue\ncontains conceptual parallels. The correlation of physical and radiobiological\nparameters observed experimentally for specific endpoints (single- and\ndouble-strand breaks of DNA) opens the possibility of realizing successfully\nquasi-biological solid-state nanodosimetry on the basis of thermoluminescence.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Muon Counter System for the MicroBooNE experiment: The MicroBooNE experiment is a liquid argon TPC experiment designed for\nshort-baseline neutrino physics, currently running at Fermilab. Due to its\nlocation near the surface, cosmic muons can be a source of backgrounds to many\nanalyses and having a good understanding of the cosmic rays will be very\nvaluable for the experiment. These proceedings describe the physics motivation,\nsetup, and performance of a small external muon counter system, which will\nprovide improved calibration for the liquid argon TPC and better understanding\nof the cosmogenic background.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Deep Learning Based Event Reconstruction for Cyclotron Radiation\n Emission Spectroscopy: The objective of the Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES)\ntechnology is to build precise particle energy spectra. This is achieved by\nidentifying the start frequencies of charged particle trajectories which, when\nexposed to an external magnetic field, leave semi-linear profiles (called\ntracks) in the time-frequency plane. Due to the need for excellent instrumental\nenergy resolution in application, highly efficient and accurate track\nreconstruction methods are desired. Deep learning convolutional neural networks\n(CNNs) - particularly suited to deal with information-sparse data and which\noffer precise foreground localization - may be utilized to extract track\nproperties from measured CRES signals (called events) with relative\ncomputational ease. In this work, we develop a novel machine learning based\nmodel which operates a CNN and a support vector machine in tandem to perform\nthis reconstruction. A primary application of our method is shown on simulated\nCRES signals which mimic those of the Project 8 experiment - a novel effort to\nextract the unknown absolute neutrino mass value from a precise measurement of\ntritium $\\beta^-$-decay energy spectrum. When compared to a point-clustering\nbased technique used as a baseline, we show a relative gain of 24.1% in event\nreconstruction efficiency and comparable performance in accuracy of track\nparameter reconstruction.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "RF Electronics: For many decades High Energy Physics (HEP) instrumentation has been\nconcentrated on detectors of ionizing radiation -- where the energy of incident\nparticles or photons is sufficient to create mobile charge in gas, liquid, or\nsolid material, which can be processed by front end electronics (FEE) to\nprovide information about the position, energy, and timing of the incident\nradiation. However, recently-proposed HEP experiments need to sense or control\nEM radiation in the radiofrequency (RF) range, where ionization detectors are\nunavailable. These experiments can take advantage of emerging microelectronics\ndevelopments fostered by the explosive growth of wireless data communications\nin the commercial sector.\n Moore's Law advances in semiconductor technology have brought about the\nrecent development of advanced microelectronic components with groundbreaking\nlevels of analog-digital integration and processing speed. In particular, RF\n\"System-on-Chip\" (RFSoC) platforms offer multiple data converter interfaces to\nthe analog world (ADCs and DACs) having bandwidths approaching 10GHz and\nabundant digital signal processing resources on the same silicon die. Such\ndevices eliminate the complex PC board interfaces that have long been used to\ncouple discrete ADCs and DACs to FPGA processors, thus radically reducing power\nconsumption, impedance mismatch, and footprint area, while allowing analog\npreconditioning circuits to be eliminated in favor of digital processing.\nCosted for wide deployment, these devices are helping to accelerate the trend\ntowards \"software defined radio\" in several high-volume commercial markets. In\nthis whitepaper we highlight some HEP applications where leading-edge RF\nmicroelectronics can be a key enabler.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Method for control gas diffusion and bubbles formation in liquid\n porosimetry: The main problem in liquid porosimetry, which prevents to see the pore sizes\nsmaller than 2 microns in diameter, is direct gas diffusion flow through a\nmicro-porous membrane. This diffusion causes bubbles formation below the\nmembrane and that spoils extrusion (intrusion) data, as one cannot distinguish\nthe volume of extrusion (intrusion) liquid from the volume of formatted\nbubbles. The suggested below method cures the problem by creating the liquid\nflow below the membrane. The flow washes out all of the small bubbles\npreventing them to grow. That allows using the membrane at higher differential\npressures, even higher than minimum bubble point of the membrane, without\nspoiling data.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of a multifunction module for the neutron electric dipole\n moment experiment at PSI: Experiments aiming at measuring the neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) are\nat the forefront of precision measurements and demand instrumentation of\nincreasing sensitivity and reliability. In this paper, we report on the\ndevelopment of a dedicated acquisition and control electronics board for the\nnEDM experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland. This\nmultifunction module is based on a FPGA (Field-programmable gate array) which\nallows an optimal combination of versatility and evolution capacities.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Coherent feedback for quantum expander in gravitational wave\n observatories: The observation of gravitational waves from binary neutron star mergers\noffers insights into properties of extreme nuclear matter. However, their\nhigh-frequency signals in the kHz range are often masked by quantum noise of\nthe laser light used. Here, we propose the \"quantum expander with coherent\nfeedback\", a new detector design that features an additional optical cavity in\nthe detector output and an internal squeeze operation. This approach allows to\nboost the sensitivity at high frequencies, at the same time providing a compact\nand tunable design for signal extraction. It allows to tailor the sensitivity\nof the detector to the specific signal frequency range. We demonstrate that our\ndesign allows to improve the sensitivity of the high-frequency detector concept\nNEMO (neutron star extreme matter observatory), increasing the detection rates\nby around 15%. Our approach promises new level of flexibility in designing the\ndetectors aiming at high-frequency signals.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Ultra-Low Noise Mechanically Cooled Germanium Detector: Low capacitance, large volume, high purity germanium (HPGe) radiation\ndetectors have been successfully employed in low-background physics\nexperiments. However, some physical processes may not be detectable with\nexisting detectors whose energy thresholds are limited by electronic noise. In\nthis paper, methods are presented which can lower the electronic noise of these\ndetectors. Through ultra-low vibration mechanical cooling and wire bonding of a\nCMOS charge sensitive preamplifier to a sub-pF p-type point contact HPGe\ndetector, we demonstrate electronic noise levels below 40 eV-FWHM.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Energy and time measurements with high-granular silicon devices: This note is a short summary of the workshop on \"Energy and time measurements\nwith high-granular silicon devices\" that took place on the 13/6/16 and the\n14/6/16 at DESY/Hamburg in the frame of the first AIDA-2020 Annual Meeting.\nThis note tries to put forward trends that could be spotted and to emphasise in\nparticular open issues that were addressed by the speakers.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "First Results for the pLGAD Sensor for Low-Penetrating Particles: Silicon sensors are the go-to technology for high-precision sensors in\nparticle physics. But only recently low-noise silicon sensors with internal\namplification became available. The so-called Low Gain Avalanche Detector\n(LGAD) sensors have been developed for applications in High Energy Physics, but\nlack two characteristics needed for the measurement of low-energy protons (<60\nkeV): a thin entrance window (in the order of tens of nm) and the efficient\namplification of signals created near the sensor's surface (in a depth below 1\num). In this paper we present the so-called proton Low Gain Avalanche Detector\n(pLGAD) sensor concept and some results from characterization of the first\nprototypes of the sensor. The pLGAD is specifically designed to detect\nlow-energy protons, and other low-penetrating particles. It will have a higher\ndetection efficiency than non-silicon technologies, and promises to be a lot\ncheaper and easier to operate than competing silicon technologies.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurement of nuclear spin relaxation time in lanthanum aluminate for\n development of polarized lanthanum target: The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation time ($T_1$) of lanthanum and aluminum\nnuclei in a single crystal of lanthanum aluminate doped with neodymium ions is\nstudied to estimate the feasibility of the dynamically polarized lanthanum\ntarget applicable to beam experiments. The application of our interest is the\nstudy of fundamental discrete symmetries in the spin optics of epithermal\nneutrons. This study requires a highly flexible choice of the applied magnetic\nfield for neutron spin control and favors longer $T_1$ under lower magnetic\nfield and at higher temperature. The $T_1$ of $^{139}{\\rm La}$ and ${}^{27}{\\rm\nAl}$ was measured under magnetic fields of $0.5$-$2.5$ T and at temperatures of\n$0.1$-$1.5$ K and found widely distributed up to 100 h. The result suggests\nthat the $T_1$ can be as long as $T_1 \\sim$ 1 h at $0.1$ K with a magnetic\nfield of $0.1$ T, which partially fulfills the requirement of the neutron beam\nexperiment. Possible improvements to achieve a longer $T_1$ are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterising encapsulated nuclear waste using cosmic-ray muon\n tomography: Tomographic imaging techniques using the Coulomb scattering of cosmic-ray\nmuons have been shown previously to successfully identify and characterise low-\nand high-Z materials within an air matrix using a prototype scintillating-fibre\ntracker system. Those studies were performed as the first in a series to assess\nthe feasibility of this technology and image reconstruction techniques in\ncharacterising the potential high-Z contents of legacy nuclear waste containers\nfor the UK Nuclear Industry. The present work continues the feasibility study\nand presents the first images reconstructed from experimental data collected\nusing this small-scale prototype system of low- and high-Z materials\nencapsulated within a concrete-filled stainless-steel container. Clear\ndiscrimination is observed between the thick steel casing, the concrete matrix\nand the sample materials assayed. These reconstructed objects are presented and\ndiscussed in detail alongside the implications for future industrial scenarios.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Simulation of particle identification with the cluster counting\n technique: In this paper we show the potential of the cluster counting technique for\nparticle identification. Simulations based on Garfield++ software prove that\nthis technique improves the particle separation capabilities with respect to\nthe ones obtained with the traditional method of dE/dx. Moreover three\ndifferent algorithms to reproduce the clusters number and the cluster size\ndistribution with Geant4 software are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Efficient and Versatile Toolbox for Analysis of Time-Tagged Measurements: Acquisition and analysis of time-tagged events is a ubiquitous tool in\nscientific and industrial applications. With increasing time resolution, number\nof input channels, and acquired events, the amount of data can be overwhelming\nfor standard processing techniques. We developed the Extensible Time-tag\nAnalyzer (ETA), a powerful and versatile, yet easy to use software to\nefficiently analyze and display time-tagged data. Our tool allows for flexible\nextraction of correlation from time-tagged data beyond start-stop measurements\nthat were traditionally used. A combination of state diagrams and simple code\nsnippets allows for analysis of arbitrary complexity while keeping\ncomputational efficiency high.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design and characterization of the SiPM tracking system of NEXT-DEMO, a\n demonstrator prototype of the NEXT-100 experiment: NEXT-100 experiment aims at searching the neutrinoless double-beta decay of\nthe Xe-136 isotope using a TPC filled with a 100 kg of high-pressure gaseous\nxenon, with 90% isotopic enrichment. The experiment will take place at the\nLaboratorio Subterr\\'aneo de Canfranc (LSC), Spain. NEXT-100 uses\nelectroluminescence (EL) technology for energy measurement with a resolution\nbetter than 1% FWHM. The gaseous xenon in the TPC additionally allows the\ntracks of the two beta particles to be recorded, which are expected to have a\nlength of up to 30 cm at 10 bar pressure. The ability to record the topological\nsignature of the neutrinoless double-beta events provides a powerful background\nrejection factor for the double-beta experiment.\n In this paper, we present a novel 3D imaging concept using SiPMs coated with\ntetraphenyl butadiene (TPB) for the EL read out and its first implementation in\nNEXT-DEMO, a large-scale prototype of the NEXT-100 experiment. The design and\nthe first characterization measurements of the NEXT-DEMO SiPM tracking system\nare presented. The SiPM response uniformity over the tracking plane drawn from\nits gain map is shown to be better than 4%. An automated active control system\nfor the stabilization of the SiPMs gain was developed, based on the voltage\nsupply compensation of the gain drifts. The gain is shown to be stabilized\nwithin 0.2% relative variation around its nominal value, provided by Hamamatsu,\nin a temperature range of 10 degree C. The noise level from the electronics and\nthe SiPM dark noise is shown to lay typically below the level of 10\nphotoelectrons (pe) in the ADC. Hence, a detection threshold at 10 pe is set\nfor the acquisition of the tracking signals. The ADC full dynamic range (4096\nchannels) is shown to be adequate for signal levels of up to 200\npe/microsecond, which enables recording most of the tracking signals.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "NEST: A Comprehensive Model for Scintillation Yield in Liquid Xenon: A comprehensive model for explaining scintillation yield in liquid xenon is\nintroduced. We unify various definitions of work function which abound in the\nliterature and incorporate all available data on electron recoil scintillation\nyield. This results in a better understanding of electron recoil, and\nfacilitates an improved description of nuclear recoil. An incident gamma energy\nrange of O(1 keV) to O(1 MeV) and electric fields between 0 and O(10 kV/cm) are\nincorporated into this heuristic model. We show results from a Geant4\nimplementation, but because the model has a few free parameters, implementation\nin any simulation package should be simple. We use a quasi-empirical approach,\nwith an objective of improving detector calibrations and performance\nverification. The model will aid in the design and optimization of future\ndetectors. This model is also easy to extend to other noble elements. In this\npaper we lay the foundation for an exhaustive simulation code which we call\nNEST (Noble Element Simulation Technique).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A 26 ps RMS time-to-digital converter core for Spartan-6 FPGAs: We have designed, implemented and tested a time-to-digital converter core in\na low-cost Spartan-6 FPGA. Our design exploits the finite propagation speed in\ncarry chains to realize a delay line in which the propagation distance of the\nincoming signal's edges is measured using hundreds of taps. This technique\nenables the core to reach a precision far better than the minimum switching\nperiod of the FPGA flip-flops. To compensate for process, voltage and\ntemperature (PVT) effects, our design uses a combination of two techniques:\nstartup calibration and online calibration. The startup calibration uses a\nstatistical method to estimate the delay between the taps of the delay line and\nhelps eliminate the effect of process variations. The online calibration, which\ntakes place without disruption of the core's operation, uses a ring oscillator\nwhose frequency instability is measured and used to compensate for subsequent\nvoltage and temperature effects on the delay line. Our tests show that our\ndesign reaches a precision of 26 ps RMS over a temperature range of 37C to 48C.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Non-contact in situ multi-diagnostic NMR/dielectric spectroscopy: Introduction of a dielectric material in an NMR probe head modifies the\nfrequency response of the probe circuit, a phenomenon revealed by the detuning\nof the probe. For NMR spectroscopy, this detuning is corrected for by tuning\nand matching the probe head prior to the NMR measurement. The magnitude of the\nprobe detuning - the dielectric shift - provides direct access to the\ndielectric properties of the sample, enabling NMR spectrometers to\nsimultaneously perform both dielectric and NMR spectroscopy. By measuring\nsample permittivity as function of frequency, permittivity spectroscopy can be\nperformed using the new methodology. As a proof concept, this was evaluated on\nmethanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 1-pentanol and 1-octanol using a commercial\nCPMAS NMR probe head. The results accurately match literature data collected by\nstandard dielectric spectroscopy techniques. Subsequently, the method was also\napplied to investigate the solvent-surface interactions of water confined in\nthe micropores of an MFI-type, hydrophilic zeolite with Si/Al ratio of 11.5. In\nthe micropores, water adsorbs to Br{\\o}nsted acid sites and defect sites,\nresulting in a drastically decreased dielectric permittivity of the\nnano-confined water. A theoretical background for the new methodology is\nprovided using an effective electric circuit model of a CPMAS probe head with\nsolenoid coil, describing the detuning resulting from insertion of dielectric\nsamples in the probe head.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Sanford Underground Research Facility: The former Homestake gold mine in Lead, South Dakota, has been transformed\ninto a dedicated facility to pursue underground research in rare-process\nphysics, as well as offering unique research opportunities in other\ndisciplines. The Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) includes two main\ncampuses at the 4850-foot level (4300 m.w.e.) -- the Davis Campus and the Ross\nCampus -- that host a range of significant physics projects: the LUX dark\nmatter experiment, the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR neutrinoless double-beta decay\nexperiment and the CASPAR nuclear astrophysics accelerator. Furthermore, the\nBHUC Ross Campus laboratory dedicated to critical material assays for current\nand future experiments has been operating since Fall 2015. Research efforts in\nbiology, geology and engineering have been underway at SURF for 10 years and\ncontinue to be a strong component of the SURF research program. Plans to\naccommodate future experiments at SURF are well advanced and include\ngeothermal-related projects, the next generation direct-search dark matter\nexperiment LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) and the Fermilab-led international Deep Underground\nNeutrino Experiment (DUNE) at the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF). SURF\nis a dedicated research facility with significant expansion capability, and\napplications from other experiments are welcome.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of the CMS High Granularity Calorimeter prototype to charged\n pion beams of 20$-$300 GeV/c: The upgrade of the CMS experiment for the high luminosity operation of the\nLHC comprises the replacement of the current endcap calorimeter by a high\ngranularity sampling calorimeter (HGCAL). The electromagnetic section of the\nHGCAL is based on silicon sensors interspersed between lead and copper (or\ncopper tungsten) absorbers. The hadronic section uses layers of stainless steel\nas an absorbing medium and silicon sensors as an active medium in the regions\nof high radiation exposure, and scintillator tiles directly readout by silicon\nphotomultipliers in the remaining regions. As part of the development of the\ndetector and its readout electronic components, a section of a silicon-based\nHGCAL prototype detector along with a section of the CALICE AHCAL prototype was\nexposed to muons, electrons and charged pions in beam test experiments at the\nH2 beamline at the CERN SPS in October 2018. The AHCAL uses the same technology\nas foreseen for the HGCAL but with much finer longitudinal segmentation. The\nperformance of the calorimeters in terms of energy response and resolution,\nlongitudinal and transverse shower profiles is studied using negatively charged\npions, and is compared to GEANT4 predictions. This is the first report\nsummarizing results of hadronic showers measured by the HGCAL prototype using\nbeam test data.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Intrinsic time resolution of 3D-trench silicon pixels for charged\n particle detection: In the last years, high-resolution time tagging has emerged as the tool to\ntackle the problem of high-track density in the detectors of the next\ngeneration of experiments at particle colliders. Time resolutions below 50ps\nand event average repetition rates of tens of MHz on sensor pixels having a\npitch of 50$\\mu$m are typical minimum requirements. This poses an important\nscientific and technological challenge on the development of particle sensors\nand processing electronics. The TIMESPOT initiative (which stands for TIME and\nSPace real-time Operating Tracker) aims at the development of a full prototype\ndetection system suitable for the particle trackers of the next-to-come\nparticle physics experiments. This paper describes the results obtained on the\nfirst batch of TIMESPOT silicon sensors, based on a novel 3D MEMS (micro\nelectro-mechanical systems) design. Following this approach, the performance of\nother ongoing silicon sensor developments has been matched and overcome, while\nusing a technology which is known to be robust against radiation degradation. A\ntime resolution of the order of 20ps has been measured at room temperature\nsuggesting also possible improvements after further optimisations of the\nfront-end electronics processing stage.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design and construction of a multi-layer CsI(Tl) telescope for\n high-energy reaction studies: A prototype of a new CsI(Tl) telescope, which will be used in the reaction\nstudies of light isotopes with energy of several hundred AMeV, has been\nconstructed and tested at the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of\nSciences. The telescope has a multi-layer structure and the range information\nwill be obtained to improve the particle identification performance. This\nprototype has seven layers of different thickness. A 5.0% (FWHM) energy\nresolution has been extracted for one of the layers in a beam test experiment.\nObvious improvement for the identification of $^{14}$O and $^{15}$O isotopes\nwas achieved by using the range information.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Towards a two-dimensional readout of the improved CMS Resistive Plate\n Chamber with a new front-end electronics: As part of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment Phase-II upgrade program, new\nResistive Plate Chambers will be installed in the forward region. High\nbackground conditions are expected in this region during the high-luminosity\nphase of the Large Hadron Collider, therefore an improved RPC design has been\nproposed with a new front-end electronics to sustain a higher rate capability\nand better time resolution. A new technology is used in the front-end\nelectronics resulting in very low achievable thresholds of the order of several\nfC. Crucial in the design of the improved RPC is the capability of a\ntwo-dimensional readout in order to improve the spatial resolution, mainly\nmotivated by trigger requirements. In this work, the first performance results\ntowards this two-dimensional readout are presented, based on data taken on a\nreal-size prototype chamber with two embedded orthogonal readout strips.\nFurthermore, dedicated studies of the muon cluster size as a function of the\ngraphite resistivity are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Code-division multiplexing for x-ray microcalorimeters: We demonstrate the code-division multiplexed (CDM) readout of eight\ntransition-edge sensor microcalorimeters. The energy resolution is 3.0 eV (full\nwidth at half-maximum) or better at 5.9 keV, with a best resolution of 2.3 eV\nand a mean of 2.6 eV over the seven modulated detectors. The flux-summing CDM\nsystem is described and compared with similar time-division multiplexed (TDM)\nreadout. We show that the sqrt(Npixels) multiplexing disadvantage associated\nwith TDM is not present in CDM. This demonstration establishes CDM as both a\nsimple route to higher performance in existing TDM microcalorimetric\nexperiments and a long-term approach to reaching higher multiplexing factors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Qualification study of SiPMs on a large scale for the CMVD Experiment: A Cosmic Muon Veto (CMV) detector using extruded plastic scintillators is\nbeing designed around the mini-Iron Calorimeter (mini-ICAL) detector at the\ntransit campus of the India based Neutrino Observatory, Madurai for the\nfeasibility study of shallow depth underground experiments. The scintillation\nsignals that are produced in the plastic due to muon trajectories are absorbed\nby wavelength shifting (WLS) fibres. The WLS fibres re-emit photons of longer\nwavelengths and propagate those to silicon photo-multipliers (SiPMs). The SiPMs\ndetect these photons, producing electronic signals. The CMV detector will use\nmore than 700 scintillators to cover the mini-ICAL detector and will require\naround 3000 SiPMs. The design goal for the cosmic muon veto efficiency of the\nCMV is >99.99%. Hence, every SiPM used in the detector needs to be tested and\ncharacterised to satisfy the design goal of CMV. A mass testing system was\ndeveloped for the measurement of gain and choice of the overvoltage ($V_{ov}$)\nof each SiPMs using an LED driver. The $V_{ov}$ is obtained by studying the\nnoise rate, the gain of the SiPM. This paper describes the experimental setup\nused to test the SiPMs characteristics along with detailed studies of those\ncharacteristics as a function of temperature.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Controlling $T_c$ of Iridium films using interfacial proximity effects: High precision calorimetry using superconducting transition edge sensors\nrequires the use of superconducting films with a suitable $T_c$, depending on\nthe application. To advance high-precision macrocalorimetry, we require\nlow-$T_c$ films that are easy to fabricate. A simple and effective way to\nsuppress $T_c$ of superconducting Iridium through the proximity effect is\ndemonstrated by using Ir/Pt bilayers as well as Au/Ir/Au trilayers. While Ir/Au\nfilms fabricated by applying heat to the substrate during Ir deposition have\nbeen used in the past for superconducting sensors, we present results of $T_c$\nsuppression on Iridium by deposition at room temperature in Au/Ir/Au trilayers\nand Ir/Pt bilayers in the range of $\\sim$20-100~mK. Measurements of the\nrelative impedance between the Ir/Pt bilayers and Au/Ir/Au trilayers fabricated\nshow factor of $\\sim$10 higher values in the Ir/Pt case. These new films could\nplay a key role in the development of scalable superconducting transition edge\nsensors that require low-$T_c$ films to minimize heat capacity and maximize\nenergy resolution, while keeping high-yield fabrication methods.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The environmental monitoring system at the COSINE-100 experiment: The COSINE-100 experiment is designed to test the DAMA experiment which\nclaimed an observation of a dark matter signal from an annual modulation in\ntheir residual event rate. To measure the 1 %-level signal amplitude, it is\ncrucial to control and monitor nearly all environmental quantities that might\nsystematically mimic the signal. The environmental monitoring also helps ensure\na stable operation of the experiment. Here, we describe the design and\nperformance of the centralized environmental monitoring system for the\nCOSINE-100 experiment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "R&D towards the CMS RPC Phase-2 upgrade: The high pseudo-rapidity region of the CMS muon system is covered by Cathode\nStrip Chambers (CSC) only and lacks redundant coverage despite the fact that it\nis a challenging region for muons in terms of backgrounds and momentum\nresolution. In order to maintain good efficiency for the muon trigger in this\nregion additional RPCs are planned to be installed in the two outermost\nstations at low angle named RE3/1 and RE4/1. These stations will use RPCs with\nfiner granularity and good timing resolution to mitigate background effects and\nto increase the redundancy of the system.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of Beam Profile Measurement at Interaction Point in International\n Linear Collider: At the international linear collider, measurement of the beam profile at the\ninteraction point is a key issue to achieve high luminosity. We report a\nsimulation study on a new beam profile monitor, called the pair monitor, which\nuses the hit distribution of the electron-positron pairs generated at the\ninteraction point. We obtained measurement accuracies of 5.1%, 10.0%, and 4.0%\nfor the horizontal, vertical, and longitudinal beam size, respectively, for 50\nbunch crossings.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A multi-isotope $0\\nu2\u03b2$ bolometric experiment: There are valuable arguments to perform neutrinoless double beta\n($0\\nu2\\beta$) decay experiments with several nuclei: the uncertainty of\nnuclear-matrix-ele\\-ment calculations; the possibility to test these\ncalculations by using the ratio of the measured lifetimes; the unpredictability\nof possible breakthroughs in the detection technique; the difficulty to foresee\nbackground in $0\\nu2\\beta$ decay searches; the limited amount of isotopically\nenriched materials. We propose therefore approaches to estimate the Majorana\nneutrino mass by combining experimental data collected with different\n$0\\nu2\\beta$ decay candidates. In particular, we apply our methods to a\nnext-generation experiment based on scintillating and Cherenkov-radiation\nbolometers. Current results indicate that this technology can effectively study\nup to four different isotopes simultaneously ($^{82}$Se, $^{100}$Mo, $^{116}$Cd\nand $^{130}$Te), embedded in detectors which share the same concepts and\nenvironment. We show that the combined information on the Majorana neutrino\nmass extracted from a multi-candidate bolometric experiment is competitive with\nthat achievable with a single isotope, once that the cryogenic experimental\nvolume is fixed. The remarkable conceptual and technical advantages of a\nmulti-isotope investigation are discussed. This approach can be naturally\napplied to the proposed CUPID project, follow-up of the CUORE experiment that\nis currently taking data in the Gran Sasso underground laboratory.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Unifying positioning corrections and random number generations in\n silicon micro-strip trackers: The optimizations of the track fittings require complex simulations of\nsilicon strip detectors to be compliant with the fundamental properties of the\nhit heteroscedasticity. Many different generations of random numbers must be\navailable with distributions as similar as possible to the test-beam data. A\nfast way to solve this problem is an extension of an algorithm of frequent use\nfor the center of gravity positioning corrections. Such extension gives a\nsingle method to generate the required types of random numbers. Actually, the\nstarting algorithm is a random number generator, useful in a reverse mode: from\nnon uniform sets of data to uniform ones. The inversion of this operation\nproduces random numbers of given distributions. Many methods have been\ndeveloped to generate random numbers, but none of those methods is directly\nconnected with this positioning corrections. Hence, the adaptation of the\ncorrection algorithm to operate in both mode is illustrated. A sample\ndistribution is generated and its consistency is verified with the\nKolmogorov-Smirnov test. As final step, the elimination of the noise is\nexplored, in fact, simulations require noiseless distributions to be modified\nby given noise models.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Experiment Simulation Configurations Used in DUNE CDR: The LBNF/DUNE CDR describes the proposed physics program and experimental\ndesign at the conceptual design phase. Volume 2, entitled The Physics Program\nfor DUNE at LBNF, outlines the scientific objectives and describes the physics\nstudies that the DUNE collaboration will perform to address these objectives.\nThe long-baseline physics sensitivity calculations presented in the DUNE CDR\nrely upon simulation of the neutrino beam line, simulation of neutrino\ninteractions in the far detector, and a parameterized analysis of detector\nperformance and systematic uncertainty. The purpose of this posting is to\nprovide the results of these simulations to the community to facilitate\nphenomenological studies of long-baseline oscillation at LBNF/DUNE.\nAdditionally, this posting includes GDML of the DUNE single-phase far detector\nfor use in simulations. DUNE welcomes those interested in performing this work\nas members of the collaboration, but also recognizes the benefit of making\nthese configurations readily available to the wider community.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "MPGDs for TPCs at future lepton colliders: This submission will focus on advancements and advantages of Micro Pattern\nGas Detector (MPGD) technologies and their applications to the construction of\na dedicated Time Projection Chamber (TPC) that can serve as an excellent main\ntracker for any multipurpose detector that can be foreseen to operate at a\nfuture lepton collider. The first portion of the report will be the executive\nsummary. It will be followed by sections detailing the applications of MPGDs\nspecifically to the construction of the LCTPC for the ILD at ILC, for a\npossible upgrade of the Belle II detector at SuperKEKB and for the design of a\nTPC for a detector at CEPC. MPGD technologies offer synergies with other\ndetector R&D and several application domains; a few examples will be provided\nin the context of the ongoing Snowmass long range planning exercise in the USA.\nLinks to industrial partnership and work with institutions in the USA will be\nhighlighted when appropriate.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Scintillation and Ionization Responses of Liquid Xenon to Low Energy\n Electronic and Nuclear Recoils at Drift Fields from 236 V/cm to 3.93 kV/cm: We present new measurements of the scintillation and ionization yields in\nliquid xenon for low energy electronic (about 3--7 keV$_{ee}$) and nuclear\nrecoils (about 8--20 keV$_{nr}$) at different drift fields from 236 V/cm to\n3.93 kV/cm, using a three-dimensional sensitive liquid xenon time projection\nchamber with high energy and position resolutions. Our measurement of signal\nresponses to nuclear recoils agrees with predictions from the NEST model.\nHowever, our measured ionization (scintillation) yields for electronic recoils\nare consistently higher (lower) than those from the NEST model by about 5\ne$^-$/keV$_{ee}$ (ph/keV$_{ee}$) at all scanned drift fields. New recombination\nparameters based on the Thomas-Imel box model are derived from our data. Given\nthe lack of precise measurement of scintillation and ionization yields for low\nenergy electronic recoils in liquid xenon previously, our new measurement\nprovides so far the best available data covering low energy region at different\ndrift fields for liquid xenon detectors relevant to dark matter searches.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Scintillation and Ionization Ratio of Liquid Argon for Electronic and\n Nuclear Recoils at Drift-Fields up to 3 kV/cm: A two-phase argon detector has high discrimination power between electron\nrecoil and nuclear recoil events based on the pulse shape discrimination and\nthe ionization/scintillation ratio (S2/S1). This character is very suitable for\nthe dark matter search to establish the low background experiment. However, the\nbasic properties of S2/S1 of argon are not well known, as compared with xenon.\nWe report the evaluation of S2/S1 properties with a two-phase detector at\ndrift-fields of 0.2-3.0 kV/cm. Finally, the discrimination power against\nelectron recoil background of S2/S1 is discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Mitigation of Backgrounds from Cosmogenic $^{137}$Xe in Xenon Gas\n Experiments using $^{3}$He Neutron Capture: \\Xe{136} is used as the target medium for many experiments searching for\n\\bbnonu. Despite underground operation, cosmic muons that reach the laboratory\ncan produce spallation neutrons causing activation of detector materials. A\npotential background that is difficult to veto using muon tagging comes in the\nform of \\Xe{137} created by the capture of neutrons on \\Xe{136}. This isotope\ndecays via beta decay with a half-life of 3.8 minutes and a \\Qb\\ of $\\sim$4.16\nMeV. This work proposes and explores the concept of adding a small percentage\nof \\He{3} to xenon as a means to capture thermal neutrons and reduce the number\nof activations in the detector volume. When using this technique we find the\ncontamination from \\Xe{137} activation can be reduced to negligible levels in\ntonne and multi-tonne scale high pressure gas xenon neutrinoless double beta\ndecay experiments running at any depth in an underground laboratory.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Progress and outlook on advanced fly scans based on Mamba: Development related to PandABox-based fly scans is an important part of the\nactive work on Mamba, the software framework for beamline experiments at the\nHigh Energy Photon Source (HEPS); presented in this paper is the progress of\nour development, and some outlook for advanced fly scans based on knowledge\nlearned during the process. By treating fly scans as a collaboration between a\nfew loosely coupled subsystems - motors / mechanics, detectors / data\nprocessing, sequencer devices like PandABox - systematic analyses of issues in\nfly scans are conducted. Interesting products of these analyses include a\ngeneral-purpose software-based fly-scan mechanism, a general way to design\nundulator-monochromator fly scans, a sketch of how to practically implement\nonline tuning of fly-scan behaviours based on processing of the data acquired,\nand many more. Based on the results above, an architectural discussion on\n>=10kHz fly scans is given.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design of TDC ASIC based on Temperature Compensation: .On the basis of requirement of CSNS, we designed a TDC chip with temperature\ncompensation function in this paper, which employed TSMC 180nm process. Using\ndelay unit bufx8 as the major method, delay lines in each level delayed input\nsignal line through the bufx8 unit to realize fundamental measurement function.\nThe time intervals of two fixed delay standard pulses did not change with\ntemperature variation via intra-chip phase-locked loop. After that, the two\nstandard pulses were sent to TDC internal delay line and measured their values.\nThen the measured values and standard values were compared. According to the\nresult of comparing and decision switch, the structure of delay lines was\nreconstructed and their levels were recorded at the same time. We could ensure\nthat the total length of the effective delay line were close to clock cycle as\nmuch as possible under the current temperature. The chip was tested after the\ncompletion of design. It was found that the time resolution of TDC ASIC was\n73ps under 1.8V power supply at room temperature while the time resolutions\nwere 103ps and 62ps at 85$^\\circ$ and 0$^\\circ$, respectively.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Time resolution and characteristic study of MWPC detectors with\n different Argon based gas: A prototype of Multi-Wire Proportional Chambers (MWPC) has been fabricated\nfor the study of its various characteristics. The detector contains gold-coated\ntungsten wires (20 $\\mu m$ diameter) on the anode frame, with a pitch of 2.8\nmm. The gap between the anode and the cathode is 3 mm and the gap between anode\nand read-out is also 3 mm. Detailed study of MWPC in terms of gain, energy and\ntiming resolution and efficiency measurements have been performed. The detector\nhas been operated using Ar/CO$_{2}$ gas mixtures with 70:30 and 90:10 ratio.\nEnergy spectrum of $^{55}$Fe X-ray source is obtained for the detector. The\ngain and energy resolution of the detector were calculated using X-ray\nspectrum. Time resolution is obtained $\\sim$10 ns.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Radioactive contamination of SrI2(Eu) crystal scintillator: A strontium iodide crystal doped by europium (SrI2(Eu)) was produced by using\nthe Stockbarger growth technique. The crystal was subjected to a\ncharacterization that includes relative photoelectron output and energy\nresolution for gamma quanta. The intrinsic radioactivity of the SrI2(Eu)\ncrystal scintillator was tested both by using it as scintillator at sea level\nand by ultra-low background HPGe gamma spectrometry deep underground. The\nresponse of the SrI2(Eu) detector to alpha particles (alpha/beta ratio and\npulse shape) was estimated by analysing the 226Ra internal trace contamination\nof the crystal. We have measured: alpha/beta=0.55 at E_alpha=7.7 MeV, and no\ndifference in the time decay of the scintillation pulses induced by alpha\nparticles and gamma quanta. The application of the obtained results in the\nsearch for the double electron capture and electron capture with positron\nemission in 84Sr has been investigated at a level of sensitivity: T_1/2 \\sim\n10^{15}-10^{16} yr. The results of these studies demonstrate the potentiality\nof this material for a variety of scintillation applications, including\nlow-level counting experiments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Wavelength and Refractive Indices from Interferometry: PASCO scientific 012-05187C Precision Interferometer is used in Michelson\nmode to investigate wavelengths and refractive indices. From varying the\ndistance of the movable mirror in the Michelson setup the wavelength of the\nHeNe laser beam is found to be $630.6\\pm7.9~\\mathrm{nm}$; $0.28$ sigmas away\nfrom the accepted $632.8~\\mathrm{nm}$ and agreeing with it. Then after\nconsidering the fact that the index of refraction for low pressure gasses\nvaries linearly with pressure we place a vacuum cell in front of the movable\nmirror and pump out the air within it to find the individual slopes. By\nextrapolating the average slope we calculate the index of refraction for air to\nbe $n=1.000226\\pm0.000026$. This is $1.44$ sigmas away from the manufacturer's\nmeasured $1.000263$ and barely agreeing with it as we underestimated our error\nin the fringe count (which is caused by the change in pressure). Furthermore,\nthe vacuum cell is replaced by a crown glass plate which is rotated to vary the\nlength at which the EM wave travels in the Michelson interferometer. The angle\nof rotation is measured and utilized to find the refractive index of glass to\nbe $1.514\\pm0.006$; agreeing with the accepted value of $1.515$ as it is\n$0.125$ sigmas away from it. Thus, along with the wavelength observation this\nexperiment is conducted successfully. Although the experiment to find the\nrefractive index of air is conducted less successfully, it is also prosperous\nas the measured value is close to the accepted.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "SABRE: WIMP modulation detection in the northern and southern hemisphere: Measuring an annual modulation in a direct Dark Matter detection experiment\nis not only a proof of the existence of WIMPs but can also tell us more about\ntheir interaction with standard matter and maybe even their density and\nvelocity in the halo. Such a modulation has been measured by the DAMA/LIBRA\nexperiment in NaI(Tl) crystals. However, the interpretation as WIMP signal is\ncontroversial due to contradicting results by other experiments. The SABRE\nexperiment aims to shed light on this controversy by detecting the annual\nmodulation in the same target material as DAMA with twin detectors at LNGS in\nItaly and at SUPL in Australia. The two locations in the northern and southern\nhemisphere allow to verify if other seasonal effects or the site have an\ninfluence on the measurement, thus reducing systematic effects. This paper will\ngive an overview on the experimental design, the current status of the proof of\nprinciple phase mainly devoted to high-purity crystal growing, and an outlook\non future plans.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A photomultiplier tube test stand and on-site measurements to\n characterise the performance of Photonis XP3062 photomultiplier tubes at\n increased background light conditions and lower gain: Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are widely used in astroparticle physics\nexperiments to detect light flashes (e.g. fluorescence or Cherenkov light) from\nextensive air showers (EASs) initiated by statistically rare very high energy\ncosmic particles when travelling through the atmosphere. Their high\namplification factor (gain) allows the detection of very low photon fluxes down\nto single photons. At the same time this sensitivity causes the gain and\nsignal-to-noise ratio to decrease with collected charge over the lifetime of\nthe PMT (referred to as \"ageing\"). To avoid fast ageing, many experiments limit\nthe PMT operation to reasonably low night sky background (NSB) conditions.\nHowever, in order to collect more event statistics at the highest energies, it\nis desirable to extend the measurement cycle into (part of) nights with higher\nNSB levels. In case the signal-to-noise ratio remains large enough in the\nsubsequent reconstruction of the EAS events, lowering the PMT gain in such\nconditions can be an option to avoid faster ageing. In this paper, performance\nstudies under high NSB with Photonis XP3062 PMTs, as used in the fluorescence\ndetector of the Pierre Auger Observatory, are presented. The results suggest\nthat lowering the PMT gain by a factor of 10 while increasing the NSB level by\na similar factor does not significantly affect the PMT performance and ageing\nbehaviour so that detection and offline reconstruction of EASs are still\npossible. Adjusting the PMT gain according to a changing NSB level throughout a\nnight has been shown to be possible and it follows a predictable behaviour.\nThis allows to extend the measurement cycles of experiments, based on PMTs of\ntype Photonis XP3062 or comparable and exposed to the NSB, to enhance the\nsensitivity especially at the highest energies where events are very rare.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Plastic scintillator detector with the readout based on an array of\n large-area SiPMs for the ND280/T2K upgrade and SHiP experiments: Plastic scintillator detectors have been extensively used in particle physics\nexperiments for decades. A large-scale detector is typically arranged as an\narray of staggered long bars which provide a fast trigger signal and/or\nparticle identification via time-of-flight measurements. Scintillation light is\ncollected by photosensors coupled to both ends of every bar. In this article,\nwe present our study on a direct replacement of commonly used vacuum\nphotomultiplier tubes (PMTs) by arrays of large-area silicon photomultipliers\n(SiPMs). An SiPM array which is directly coupled to the scintillator bulk, has\na clear advantage with respect to a PMT: compactness, mechanical robustness,\nhigh PDE, low operation voltage, insensitivity to magnetic field, low material\nbudget, possibility to omit light-guides. In this study, arrays of eight 6 x 6\nmm2 area SiPMs were coupled to the ends of plastic scintillator bars with 1.68\nm and 2.3 m lengths. An 8 channel SiPM anode readout ASIC (eMUSIC) was used for\nthe readout, amplification and summation of signals of individual SiPMs. Timing\ncharacteristics of a large-scale detector prototype were studied in test-beams\nat the CERN PS. This technology is proposed for the ToF system of the ND280/T2K\nII upgrade at J-PARC and the timing detector of the SHiP experiment at the CERN\nSPS.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Solar neutrinos with the JUNO experiment: The JUNO liquid scintillator-based experiment, construction of which is\non-going in Jiangmen (China), will start operations in 2020 and will detect\nanti-neutrinos from nearby reactors; but also solar neutrinos via elastic\nscattering on electrons. Its physics goals are broad; its primary aim to\nmeasure the neutrino mass ordering demands to collect large statistics, which\nrequires JUNO's 20 kt sensitive mass, and achieve an unprecedented energy\nresolution (3$\\%/\\sqrt{E}$). Thanks to these characteristics, JUNO is in a very\ngood position to contribute to the solar neutrino studies in the line of\nprevious experiments of similar technology. It will collect a large sample of\nneutrinos from $^7$Be and $^8$B. In particular, for $^7$Be the target energy\nresolution will provide a powerful tool to isolate the electron energy end\npoint from backgrounds like $^{210}$Bi and $^{85}$Kr. At the same time,\nchallenges will have to be faced mainly related to the reduction and estimation\nof the backgrounds. While a thorough LS purification campaign is being planned,\nthe desired level of purification is less aggressive than e.g. in Borexino.\nAlso, cosmogenic backgrounds such as cosmic ray muons traversing the relatively\nthin layer of ground above JUNO (700 m) and crossing the detector will need to\nbe vetoed with dedicated techniques for the extraction of $^8$B. In my talk I\nreviewed JUNO's preliminary analysis strategy and challenges in the solar\nneutrino sector; and provided the current estimates of its solar neutrino and\nbackground yields, with related energy spectra, assuming two benchmark\nscenarios of scintillator radio-purity.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Variable Energy X-ray Fluorescence Source: We detail the design of a variable energy, x-ray fluorescence source using a\nlow activity (1.8$\\times10^6$~dpm) \\nuc{99}{Tc} $\\beta$ source that irradiates\nthin foils. By rotating the source among foils of Ti, Zn, Nb, Ag, and Au, the\ndevice produces x rays between 4 and 70 keV at a rate near 1 Hz. When the\nsource is placed in a storage position, the external radiation is\nnon-detectable. The design of the shielding and rotation mechanism permits use\nin vacuum and at liquid nitrogen temperature. The design is intended for the\nstudy of the low energy response to radiation impinging upon Ge detector\nsurfaces. The source will be useful for understanding the detector response in\nlarge-scale Ge arrays such as \\textsc{Majorana} and LEGEND.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Light output simulation of LYSO single crystal: We used the Geant4 simulation toolkit to estimate the light collection in a\nLYSO crystal by using cosmic muons and E=105 MeV electrons. The light output as\na function of the crystal length is studied. Significant influence of the\ncrystal wrapping in the reflective paper and optical grease coupling to the\nphotodetectors on the light output is demonstrated.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Sterile Neutrino Search at compact materials irradiation facility: The compact material irradiation facility (CMIF) is a current project in\nChina that will provide a compact deuteron-beryllium neutron source. The target\nof this facility will be an intense and compact Isotope Decay-At-Rest (IsoDAR)\nneutrino source. In this paper, we propose to test the sterile neutrino\nhypothesis using CMIF as the neutrino source. At CMIF platform, the electron\nantineutrino production rate can be up to $2.0\\times 10^{19}$ per day. When\npaired with an 80 t liquid scintillator detector to study short baseline\nelectron antineutrino disappearance, the inverse beta decay (IBD) event rate is\nlarge enough to investigate the parameter ranges of interest for neutrino\nanomalies. Our sensitivity analysis shows that a short baseline experiment at\nthis platform will provide a very competitive sterile neutrino search,\nespecially in the high-$\\Delta m^2$ region ($\\Delta m^2 >10\\,\\text{eV}^2$).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A 3.5-THz, x6-Harmonic, Single-Ended Schottky Diode Mixer for Frequency\n Stabilization of Quantum-Cascade Lasers: Efficient and compact frequency converters are essential for frequency\nstabilization of terahertz sources. In this paper, we present a 3.5-THz,\nx6-harmonic, integrated Schottky diode mixer operating at room temperature. The\ndesigned frequency converter is based on a single-ended, planar Schottky diode\nwith a sub-micron anode contact area defined on a suspended 2-$\\mu$m ultra-thin\nGaAs substrate. The dc-grounded anode pad was combined with the radio frequency\nE-plane probe, which resulted in an electrically compact circuit. At 200 MHz\nintermediate frequency, a mixer conversion loss of about 59 dB is measured and\nresulting in a 40 dB signal-to-noise ratio for phase locking 3.5-THz\nquantum-cascade laser. Using a quasi-static diode model combined with\nelectromagnetic simulations, good agreement with the measured results was\nobtained. Harmonic frequency converters without the need of cryogenic cooling\nwill help in the realization of highly sensitive space and air-borne heterodyne\nreceivers.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Haloscope searches for dark matter axions at the Center for Axion and\n Precision Physics Research: The Center for Axion and Precision Physics Research (CAPP) was founded in\n2013, with the ambition of shedding light on the strong CP problem and the\nproposed existence of axions. Much of CAPP's effort focuses on the direct\ndetection of dark matter candidate axions with a series of local haloscope\nexperiments, which endeavour to expand dramatically the coverage on the\n\"invisible axion\" mass range. The first two of them plan experimental runs\nduring this year, tapping into ultra-low cryogenics and toroidal cavity\ngeometries. The overall programme builds on cutting-edge technology, including\ndevelopments in superconducting films, SQUID amplifiers and novel magnets. This\narticle presents the planned advancements and the status of the programme,\nwhile it can also be considered a pedagogical introduction to haloscope\nexperiments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "advligorts: The Advanced LIGO Real-Time Digital Control and Data\n Acquisition System: The Advanced LIGO detectors are sophisticated opto-mechanical devices. At the\ncore of their operation is feedback control. The Advanced LIGO project\ndeveloped a custom digital control and data acquisition system to handle the\nunique needs of this new breed of astronomical detector. The advligorts is the\nsoftware component of this system. This highly modular and extensible system\nhas enabled the unprecedented performance of the LIGO instruments, and has been\na vital component in the direct detection of gravitational waves.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "GeMSE: A new Low-Background Facility for Meteorite and Material\n Screening: We are currently setting up a facility for low-background gamma-ray\nspectrometry based on a HPGe detector. It is dedicated to material screening\nfor the XENON and DARWIN dark matter projects as well as to the\ncharacterization of meteorites. The detector will be installed in a medium\ndepth ($\\sim$620 m.w.e.) underground laboratory in Switzerland with several\nlayers of shielding and an active muon-veto. The GeMSE facility will be\noperational by fall 2015 with an expected background rate of $\\sim$250\ncounts/day (100-2700 keV).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Search for Dark Matter Axions with the Orpheus Experiment: Axions are well motivated particles that could make up most or all of the\ndark matter if they have masses below 100 $\\mu$eV. Microwave cavity techniques\ncomprised of closed resonant structures immersed in solenoid magnets are\nsensitive to dark matter axions with masses of a few $\\mu$eV, but face\ndifficulties scaling to higher masses. We present the a novel detector\narchitecture consisting of an open, Fabry-P\\'{e}rot resonator and a series of\ncurrent-carrying wire planes, and demonstrate this technique with a search for\ndark matter axion-like particles called Orpheus. This search excludes dark\nmatter axion-like particles with masses between 68.2 and 76.5 $\\mu$eV and\naxion-photon couplings greater than $4\\times10^{-7} \\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$. We\nproject that the fundamental sensitivity of this technique could be extended to\nbe sensitive to couplings below $1\\times10^{-15} \\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$, consistent\nwith the DFSZ model of QCD axions.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design and Development of the Core Software for STCF Offline Data\n Processing: The Super Tau Charm Facility (STCF) is a proposed electron-positron collider\nworking at $\\sqrt{s}=2\\sim 7$ GeV, and the peak luminosity is designed to be\nabove $0.5 \\times 10^{35}cm^{-2}s^{-1}$. The huge amount of scientific data\nbrings great challenges to the offline data processing software, including the\nMonte Carlo simulation, calibration, reconstruction as well as the data\nanalysis. To facilitate efficient offline data processing, the offline software\nof Super Tau Charm Facility (OSCAR) is developed based on SNiPER, a lightweight\nframework designed for HEP experiments, as well as a few state-of-art software\nin the HEP community, such as podio and DD4hep.\n This paper describes the design and implementation of the core software of\nthe OSCAR, which provides the foundation for the development of complex\nalgorithms to be applied on the large data sets produced by STCF, particularly\nthe way to integrate the common HEP software toolkits, such as Geant4, DD4hep\nand podio, into SNiPER. The software framework also provides a potential\nsolution for other lightweight HEP experiments as well.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Charge and temporal characterisation of silicon sensors using a\n two-photon absorption laser: First measurements are presented from a newly commissioned two-photon\nabsorption (TPA) setup at Nikhef. The characterisation of the various\ncomponents of the system is discussed. Two planar silicon sensors, one being\nelectron collecting and one hole collecting, are characterised with detailed\nmeasurements of the charge collection and time resolution. The TPA spot is\ndetermined to have a radius of 0.975(11) $\\mu\\text{m}$ and length of 23.8\n$\\mu\\text{m}$ in silicon. The trigger time resolution of the system is shown to\nbe maximally 30.4 ps. For both sensors, uniform charge collection is observed\nover the pixels, and the pixel side metallisation is imaged directly using the\nTPA technique. The best time resolution for a single pixel is found to be 600\nps and 560 ps for the electron and hole collecting sensors respectively, and is\ndominated by ASIC contributions. Further scans at different depths in the\nsensor and positions within the pixels have been performed and show a uniform\nresponse. It is concluded that the TPA setup is a powerful tool to investigate\nthe charge collection and temporal properties of silicon sensors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Optomechanical Resonating Probe for Very High Speed Sensing of Atomic\n Forces: Atomic force spectroscopy and microscopy (AFM) are invaluable tools to\ncharacterize nanostructures and biological systems. Most experiments, including\nstate-of-the-art images of molecular bonds, are achieved by driving probes at\ntheir mechanical resonance. This resonance reaches the MHz for the fastest AFM\nmicro-cantilevers, with typical motion amplitude of a few nanometres.\nNext-generation investigations of molecular scale dynamics, including faster\nforce imaging and higher-resolution spectroscopy of dissipative interactions,\nrequire more bandwidth and vibration amplitudes below interatomic distance, for\nnon-perturbative short-range tip-matter interactions. Probe frequency is a key\nparameter to improve bandwidth while reducing Brownian motion, allowing large\nsignal-to-noise for exquisite resolution. Optomechanical resonators reach\nmotion detection at 10^(-18) m.(Hz)^(-1/2), while coupling light to bulk\nvibration modes whose frequencies largely surpass those of cantilevers. Here we\nintroduce an optically operated resonating optomechanical atomic force probe of\nfrequency 2 decades above the fastest functional AFM cantilevers while Brownian\nmotion is 4 orders below. Based on a Silicon-On-Insulator technology, the probe\ndemonstrates high-speed sensing of contact and non-contact interactions with\nsub-picometre driven motion, breaking open current locks for faster and finer\natomic force spectroscopy.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Fabrication of a simple apparatus for the Seebeck coefficient\n measurement in high temperature region: A simple apparatus for the measurement of Seebeck coefficient ($\\alpha$) in\nthe temperature range 300-620 K has been fabricated. Our design is appropriate\nfor the characterization of samples with different geometries like disk and rod\nshaped. The sample holder assembly of the apparatus has been designed in such a\nway that, single heater used for sample heating purpose is enough to provide a\nself maintain temperature gradient (1-10 K) across the sample. The value of\n$\\alpha$ is obtained without explicit measurement of temperature gradient. The\nwhole apparatus is fabricated from the materials, which are commonly available,\nso that any part can be replaced in case of any damage. Commercially available\nstandard Nickel (Ni) metal sample has been used as a reference material for\ncalibration of the instrument. The experimentally observed value of $\\alpha$ by\nour apparatus gives the similar temperature dependent behavior as reported in\nthe literature. In order to study the thermoelectric behavior of oxide\nmaterials, we have synthesized polycrystalline LaCoO$_{3}$ powder samples by\nusing solution combustion method and investigated the thermoelectric\nproperties. Temperature dependent thermoelectric behavior of these samples were\ncharacterized in the temperature range 300-600 K.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High performance cryogen-free microkelvin platform: Improved accessibility to the microkelvin temperature regime is important for\nfuture research in quantum materials; for quantum information science; and for\napplications of quantum sensors. Here we report the design and performance of a\nmicrokelvin platform based on a nuclear demagnetization stage, engineered and\nwell optimized for operation on a standard cryogen-free dilution refrigerator.\nPrNi5 is used as the dominant refrigerant. The platform provides a large area\nfor mounting experiments in an ultralow temperature, low electromagnetic noise\nenvironment. The performance is characterized using current sensing noise\nthermometry. Temperatures as low as 395 $\\mu$K have been reached, and a\nprotocol has been established in which it is possible to operate experiments\nbelow 1 mK for 95% of the time, providing an efficient cryogen-free microkelvin\nenvironment for a wide range of science applications", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Time and Position Resolution of the Scintillator Strips for a Muon\n System at Future Colliders: Prototype scintilator+WLS strips with SiPM readout for a muon system at\nfuture colliders were tested for light yield, time resolution and position\nresolution. Depending on the configuration, light yield of up to 36\nphotoelectrons per muon per SiPM has been observed, as well as time resolution\nof 0.45 ns and position resolution along the strip of 7.7 cm.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A novel method for reconstruction of collision vertices at\n high-intensity hadron colliders: This paper presents a novel method for the reconstruction of interaction\nvertices in particle collision data. The algorithm is an agglomerative\nclustering technique designed for high-luminosity environments in current and\nfuture proton-proton colliders. Studies are presented in benchmark scenarios\nreproducing the LHC data-taking conditions and showing the performance as a\nfunction of the number of interactions per bunch crossing. Particular focus\nwill be given to the foreseen data-taking conditions at the Run 3 of the LHC.\nThe proposed algorithm is found to significantly improve the position\nresolution on the hard-scatter interaction by limiting the contamination of\ntracks from additional interactions in the vertex fit.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Calculations of the Efficiency of Registration of Thermal Neutrons by\n Complex Converters Constructed on the Basis of Gadolinium Foils: We consider the results of modeling of the efficiency of registration of\nthermal neutrons by the converters, which are made from natural gadolinium and\nits 157 isotope foils. Efficiency for a case of falling of neutrons under\nvarious angles to a plane of converters is calculated. It is shown, that at\nsmall angles of falling of neutrons to a plane of converters it is possible to\nreceive the efficiency of registration close to a theoretical limit. Efficiency\nof the complex converter made of kapton supporting film with gadolinium\nconverters layered on both its sides is considered. All calculations are\ncarried out for four fixed neutron energies, which correspond to the\nwavelengths of 1, 1.8, 3 and 4 $\\AA$.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A cylindrical GEM detector for BES III: BESIII is a particle physics experiment located at the Institute of\nHigh-Energy Physics (BEPC-II) e+e- collider at IHEP in Beijing. The Italian\ncollaboration is leading the effort for the development of a cylindrical GEM\n(CGEM) detector with analog readout to upgrade the current inner drift chamber\nthat is suffering early ageing due to the increase of the machine luminosity.\nWithin the CGEM project, this work aims to perform full detector simulation for\nthe optimisation of the tracker geometry and its operational parameters. The\ngoal is achieved by means of three different, but well connected, studies: a\nbackground estimation, a simulation of the detection elements and the data\nanalysis of a beam test. I participated to the construction of the cathode\nelectrode, that was produced in Ferrara, helping during the assembling and\nmanufacturing procedures. For the background studies and the detector\nsimulation I took care both of the framework development and of the data\nanalysis. Finally, I participated to installation and data taking of the beam\ntest at CERN, and I was involved in the production of the reconstruction and\nanalysis software. During and after the beam test I participated to the\nprocessing and analysis of the data.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A study of radiation tolerance in optical cements: We study the effect ionizing radiation has on light transmission in the\nwavelength range 190--1100~nm for a number of optically clear epoxies. We find\nthat the transmittance of traditional, commercially available, optical epoxies\nshow significant degradation for exposures of $1\\times10^{12}$~MIPs/cm$^2$.\nDegradation of light transmission progresses from the shortest wavelengths at\nlow doses to longer wavelengths as the dose increases. In epoxy joints that are\n0.1~mm thick, we observe that more than 5\\% of the light is lost for\nwavelengths less than 400~nm for traditional optical epoxies. Our studies have\nidentified an optically clear epoxy that shows little degradation for radiation\nexposures up to $5.9\\times 10^{14}$~MIPs/cm$^2$ ($\\approx 220$~kGy).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The performance of a combined solar photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric\n generator (TEG) system: The performance of a combined solar photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric\ngenerator (TEG) system is examined using an analytical model for four different\ntypes of commercial PVs and a commercial bismuth telluride TEG. The TEG is\napplied directly on the back of the PV, so that the two devices have the same\ntemperature. The PVs considered are crystalline Si (c-Si), amorphous Si (a-Si),\ncopper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) cells.\nThe degradation of PV performance with temperature is shown to dominate the\nincrease in power produced by the TEG, due to the low efficiency of the TEG.\nFor c-Si, CIGS and CdTe PV cells the combined system produces a lower power and\nhas a lower efficiency than the PV alone, whereas for an a-Si cell the total\nsystem performance may be slightly increased by the TEG.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Laboratory studies of THGEM-based WELL structures with resistive anodes: In this work we investigate three variants of single amplification-stage\ndetector elements; they comprise THGEM electrodes closed at their bottom with\nmetallic or resistive anodes to form WELL-type configurations. We present the\nresults of a comparative study of the Thick-WELL (THWELL), Resistive-WELL\n(RWELL) and Segmented Resistive WELL (SRWELL), focusing on their performance in\nterms of spark-quenching capability, gain variation with position and counting\nrate, pulse shapes and signal propagation to neighboring readout pads; the\nstudy included both 30x30 and 100x100 mm$^2$ detectors. It was shown that the\nWELL structures with resistive anodes offer stable operation even in a highly\nionizing environment, with effective spark quenching, as well as higher gain\nthan the standard THGEM/induction-gap configuration. Cross talk between\nneighboring readout pads was shown to be effectively eliminated in the\nsegmented detector with a conductive grid underneath the resistive layer. The\nlatter multiplier should allow for the design of very thin detectors, e.g.\nsampling elements in digital hadronic calorimeters planned for experiments in\nfuture linear colliders.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Performance of the Thin NaI(Tl) Detector Pico-Lon for Dark Matter\n Search: Thin and large area NaI(Tl) scintillator to search for WIMPs dark matter was\ndeveloped. The performance of thin and wide area NaI(Tl) showed good enough to\nsearch for dark matter. The energy threshold was as low as 2keV and the energy\nresolution was about 24% in FWHM at 60keV.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A modular mini-pad photon detector prototype for RICH application at the\n Electron Ion Collider: Experiments at the future Electron Ion Collider require excellent hadron\nidentification in a broad momentum range, in harsh conditions. A RICH capable\nto fulfill the PID requirements of the EIC could use MPGD-based photon\ndetectors with solid photocathodes for covering large surfaces at affordable\ncost, providing good efficiency, high resolution and compatibility with\nmagnetic field. Photon detectors realized by coupling THGEMs and Micromegas\nhave been successfully operated at the RICH-1 detector of the COMPASS\nExperiment at CERN since 2016. A similar technology could be envisaged for an\nEIC RICH, provided a large improvement in the photon position resolution is\nachieved. An R\\&D effort in this direction is ongoing at INFN Trieste. Few\nprototypes with smaller pixel size (down to 3 mm x 3 mm) have been built and\ntested in the laboratory with X-Ray and UV LED light sources. A modular\nmini-pad detector prototype has also been tested at the CERN SPS H4 beamline.\nNew data acquisition and analysis software called Raven DAQ and Raven Decoder\nhave been developed and used with the APV-25 based Scalable Readout System\n(SRS), for the modular mini-pad prototype tests.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Theoretical comparison of real-time feedback-driven single-particle\n tracking techniques: Real-time feedback-driven single-particle tracking is a technique that uses\nfeedback control to enable single-molecule spectroscopy of freely diffusing\nparticles in native or near-native environments. A number of different\nRT-FD-SPT approaches exist, and comparisons between methods based on\nexperimental results are of limited use due to differences in samples and\nsetups. In this study, we used statistical calculations and dynamical\nsimulations to directly compare the performance of different methods. The\nmethods considered were the orbital method, the Knight`s Tour (grid scan)\nmethod and MINFLUX, and we considered both fluorescence-based and\ninterferometric scattering (iSCAT) approaches. There is a fundamental trade-off\nbetween precision and speed, with the Knight`s Tour method being able to track\nthe fastest diffusion but with low precision, and MINFLUX being the most\nprecise but only tracking slow diffusion. To compare iSCAT and fluorescence,\ndifferent biological samples were considered, including labeled and\nintrinsically fluorescent samples. The success of iSCAT as compared to\nfluorescence is strongly dependent on the particle size and the density and\nphotophysical properties of the fluorescent particles. Using a wavelength for\niSCAT that is negligibly absorbed by the tracked particle allows an increased\nillumination intensity, which results in iSCAT providing better tracking for\nmost samples. This work highlights the fundamental aspects of performance in\nRT-FD-SPT and should assist with the selection of an appropriate method for a\nparticular application. The approach used can easily be extended to other\nRT-FD-SPT methods.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A data acquisition system based on ROOT and waveform digital technology\n for Photo-Neutron Source: The data acquisition system is based on ROOT and waveform digital technology,\nincluding neutron detector, waveform digitizer, PCI card, optical fiber,\ncomputer, reaction target device, stepper motor, data acquisition software and\ncontrol target software. It achieves to acquire and record the waveform\ninformation of signal measured by the detector using a waveform digitizer. The\nspecific target position is changed by the stepper motor which is remotely\ncontrolled by the data acquisition software and control target software. It is\nimplemented by the exchange of information between the data acquisition\nsoftware and the control target software. The system realizes to automatically\nopen files and change targets at fixed intervals. It is capable of data\ncompression by removing the data those are not signals, and automatic alarm\nwhen the beam is lost.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Perspectives on the Calibration of CNN Energy Reconstruction in Highly\n Granular Calorimeters: We present a study which shows encouraging stability of the response\nlinearity for a simulated high granularity calorimeter module reconstructed by\na CNN model to miscalibration, bias, and noise effects. Our results also show\nan intuitive, quantifiable relationship between these factors and the\ncalibration parameters. We trained a CNN model to reconstruct energy in the\ncalorimeter module using simulated single-pion events; we then observed the\nresponse of the model under various miscalibration, bias, and noise conditions\nthat affected the model input. From these data, we estimated linear response\nmodels to calibrate the CNN. We also quantified the relationship between these\nfactors and the calibration parameters by regression analysis.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "CDMSlite: A Search for Low-Mass WIMPs using Voltage-Assisted\n Calorimetric Ionization Detection in the SuperCDMS Experiment: SuperCDMS is an experiment designed to directly detect Weakly Interacting\nMassive Particles (WIMPs), a favored candidate for dark matter ubiquitous in\nthe Universe. In this paper, we present WIMP-search results using a\ncalorimetric technique we call CDMSlite, which relies on voltage- assisted\nLuke-Neganov amplification of the ionization energy deposited by particle\ninteractions. The data were collected with a single 0.6 kg germanium detector\nrunning for 10 live days at the Soudan Underground Laboratory. A low energy\nthreshold of 170 eVee (electron equivalent) was obtained, which allows us to\nconstrain new WIMP-nucleon spin-independent parameter space for WIMP masses\nbelow 6 GeV/c2.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Lead fluoride Cherenkov detector read out by avalanche photodiodes for\n measuring the intensities of pulsed antiproton beams: A Cherenkov detector based on an array of five lead fluoride\n($\\beta$-PbF$_2$) crystals of size 30 mm$\\times$30 mm$\\times$160 mm read out by\nreverse-type avalanche photodiodes (APD's) of active area 10 mm$\\times$10 mm\nwas used to measure the flux of secondary particles emerging from the\nannihilation of pulsed beams of antiprotons at the Antiproton Decelerator of\nCERN. We compared the relative photon yields of radiators made of\n$\\beta$-PbF$_2$, fused silica, UV-transparent acrylic, lead glass, and a\nlead-free, high-refractive-index glass. Some {\\it p-i-n} photodiodes were also\nused for the readout, but the output signals were dominated by the nuclear\ncounter effect (NCE) of secondary particles traversing the 300 $\\mu{\\rm m}$\nthick depletion regions of the photodiodes. Smaller NCE were observed with the\nAPD's, as the maximum electronic gain in them occurred predominately for\nelectron-ion pairs that were generated in the thin ${\\it p}$-type semiconductor\nlayer that proceeded the {\\it p-n} junction of high electric field where\namplification took place.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "First test of an enriched $^{116}$CdWO$_4$ scintillating bolometer for\n neutrinoless double-beta-decay searches: For the first time, a cadmium tungstate crystal scintillator enriched in\n$^{116}$Cd has been succesfully tested as a scintillating bolometer. The\nmeasurement was performed above ground at a temperature of 18 mK. The crystal\nmass was 34.5 g and the enrichment level ~82 %. Despite a substantial pile-up\neffect due to above-ground operation, the detector demonstrated a high energy\nresolution (2-7 keV FWHM in 0.2-2.6 MeV $\\gamma$ energy range), a powerful\nparticle identification capability and a high level of internal radiopurity.\nThese results prove that cadmium tungstate is an extremely promising detector\nmaterial for a next-generation neutrinoless double-beta decay bolometric\nexperiment, like that proposed in the CUPID project (CUORE Upgrade with\nParticle IDentification).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Intrinsic resolving power of XUV diffraction gratings measured with\n Fizeau interferometry: We introduce a method for using Fizeau interferometry to measure the\nintrinsic resolving power of a diffraction grating. This method is more\naccurate than traditional techniques based on a long-trace profiler (LTP),\nsince it is sensitive to long-distance phase errors not revealed by a d-spacing\nmap. We demonstrate 50,400 resolving power for a mechanically ruled XUV grating\nfrom Inprentus, Inc.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Tracking within Hadronic Showers in the CALICE SDHCAL prototype using a\n Hough Transform Technique: The high granularity of the CALICE Semi-Digital Hadronic CALorimeter (SDHCAL)\nprovides the capability to reveal the track segments present in hadronic\nshowers. These segments are then used as a tool to probe the behaviour of the\nactive layers in situ, to better reconstruct the energy of these hadronic\nshowers and also to distinguish them from electromagnetic ones. In addition,\nthe comparison of these track segments in data and the simulation helps to\ndiscriminate among the different shower models used in the simulation. To\nextract the track segments in the showers recorded in the SDHCAL, a Hough\nTransform is used after being adapted to the presence of the dense core of the\nhadronic showers and the SDHCAL active medium structure.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design and characterization of a W-band system for modulated DNP\n experiments: Magnetic-field and microwave-frequency modulated DNP experiments have been\nshown to yield improved enhancements over conventional DNP techniques, and even\nto shorten polarization build-up times. The resulting increase in\nsignal-to-noise ratios can lead to significantly shorter acquisition times in\nsignal-limited multi-dimensional NMR experiments and pave the way to the study\nof even smaller sample volumes. In this paper we describe the design and\nperformance of a broadband system for microwave frequency- and\namplitude-modulated DNP that has been engineered to minimize both microwave and\nthermal losses during operation at liquid helium temperatures. The system\nincorporates a flexible source that can generate arbitrary waveforms at 94 GHz\nwith a bandwidth greater than 1 GHz, as well as a probe that efficiently\ntransmits the millimeter waves from room temperature outside the magnet to a\ncryogenic environment inside the magnet. Using a thin-walled brass tube as an\novermoded waveguide to transmit a hybrid HE11 mode, it is possible to limit the\nlosses to 1 dB across a 2 GHz bandwidth. The loss is dominated by the presence\nof a quartz window used to isolate the waveguide pipe. This performance is\ncomparable to systems with corrugated waveguide or quasi-optical components.\nThe overall excitation bandwidth of the probe is seen to be primarily\ndetermined by the final antenna or resonator used to excite the sample and its\ncoupling to the NMR RF coil. Understanding the instrumental limitations imposed\non any modulation scheme is key to understanding the observed DNP results and\npotentially identifying the underlying mechanisms. We demonstrate the utility\nof our design with a set of triangular frequency-modulated DNP experiments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Common mode noise rejection properties of amplitude and phase noise in a\n heterodyne interferometer: High precision metrology systems based on heterodyne interferometry can\nmeasure position and attitude of objects to accuracies of picometer and\nnanorad, respectively. A frequently found feature of the general system design\nis the subtraction of a reference phase from the phase of the position\ninterferometer, which suppresses low frequency common mode amplitude and phase\nfluctuations occurring in volatile optical path sections shared by both, the\nposition and reference interferometer. Spectral components of the noise at\nfrequencies around or higher than the heterodyne frequency, however, are\ngenerally transmitted into the measurement band and may limit the measurement\naccuracy. Detailed analytical calculations complemented with Monte Carlo\nsimulations show that high frequency noise components may also be entirely\nsuppressed, depending on the relative difference of measurement and reference\nphase, which may be exploited by corresponding design provisions. Whilst these\nresults are applicable to any heterodyne interferometer with certain design\ncharacteristics, specific calculations and related discussions are given for\nthe example of the optical metrology system of the LISA Pathfinder mission to\nspace.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "MWPC prototyping and performance test for the STAR inner TPC upgrade: A new prototype of STAR inner Time Projection Chamber (iTPC) MWPC sector has\nbeen fabricated and tested in an X-ray test system. The wire chamber built at\nShandong University has a wire tension precision better than 6$\\%$ and wire\npitch precision better than 10 $\\mu$m. The gas gain uniformity and energy\nresolution are measured to be better than 1$\\%$ (RMS) and 20$\\%$ (FWHM),\nrespectively, using an $^{55}$Fe X-ray source. The iTPC upgrade project is to\nreplace all 24 STAR TPC inner sectors as a crucial detector upgrade for the\nRHIC beam energy scan phase II program. The test results show that the\nconstructed iTPC prototype meets all project requirements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of radon reduction in gases for rare event search experiments: The noble elements, argon and xenon, are frequently employed as the target\nand event detector for weakly interacting particles such as neutrinos and Dark\nMatter. For such rare processes, background radiation must be carefully\nminimized. Radon provides one of the most significant contaminants since it is\nan inevitable product of trace amounts of natural uranium. To design a\npurification system for reducing such contamination, the adsorption\ncharacteristics of radon in nitrogen, argon, and xenon carrier gases on various\ntypes of charcoals with different adsorbing properties and intrinsic\nradioactive purities have been studied in the temperature range of 190-295 K at\nflow rates of 0.5 and 2 standard liters per minute. Essential performance\nparameters for the various charcoals include the average breakthrough times\n($\\tau$), dynamic adsorption coefficients (k$_a$) and the number of theoretical\nstages (n). It is shown that the k$_a$-values for radon in nitrogen, argon, and\nxenon increase as the temperature of the charcoal traps decreases, and that\nthey are significantly larger in nitrogen and argon than in xenon gas due to\nadsorption saturation effects. It is found that, unlike in xenon, the dynamic\nadsorption coefficients for radon in nitrogen and argon strictly obey the\nArrhenius law. The experimental results strongly indicate that nitric acid\netched Saratech is the best candidate among all used charcoal brands. It allows\nreducing total radon concentration in the LZ liquid Xe detector to meet the\nultimate goal in the search for Dark Matter.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Microstructured Plastic Scintillators For Beam Profiling In Medical\n Accelerators: A novel beam profiler based on microstructured scintillation resin is\npresented. The detector consists of a bundle of waveguides, with an active area\nof 30 x 30 mm$^2$ and a pitch of 400 $\\mu$m, obtained by molding a\nscintillating resin into a microfabricated PDMS mold. A first prototype,\ncoupled to an array of photodiodes and readout electronics, which potentially\nallows profile rates of more than 7 kHz, has been tested using both a UV source\nand a proton beam accelerated at different energies, such as those typically\nused in proton therapy. The results obtained during the experimental test\ncampaigns were compared with theoretical simulations showing a good agreement\nwith the modeling expectations, thus confirming the validity of this novel\ndesign for microstructured scintillating detectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Random coincidence of $2\\nu2\u03b2$ decay events as a background source\n in bolometric $0\\nu2\u03b2$ decay experiments: Two neutrino double $\\beta$ decay can create irremovable background even in\nhigh energy resolution detectors searching for neutrinoless double $\\beta$\ndecay due to random coincidence of $2\\nu2\\beta$ events in case of poor time\nresolution. Possibilities to suppress this background in cryogenic\nscintillating bolometers are discussed. It is shown that the present bolometric\ndetector technologies enable to control this form of background at the level\nrequired to explore the inverted hierarchy of the neutrino mass pattern,\nincluding the case of bolometers searching for the neutrinoless double $\\beta$\ndecay of $^{100}$Mo, which is characterized by a relatively short two neutrino\ndouble $\\beta$ decay half-life.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Majorana Demonstrator Radioassay Program: The MAJORANA collaboration is constructing the MAJORANA DEMONSTATOR at the\nSanford Underground Research Facility at the Homestake gold mine, in Lead, SD.\nThe apparatus will use Ge detectors, enriched in isotope \\nuc{76}{Ge}, to\ndemonstrate the feasibility of a large-scale Ge detector experiment to search\nfor neutrinoless double beta decay. The long half-life of this postulated\nprocess requires that the apparatus be extremely low in radioactive isotopes\nwhose decays may produce backgrounds to the search. The radioassay program\nconducted by the collaboration to ensure that the materials comprising the\napparatus are sufficiently pure is described. The resulting measurements of the\nradioactive-isotope contamination for a number of materials studied for use in\nthe detector are reported.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Readout Technologies for Future Detectors: It is essential to develop novel cost-effective readout technologies to\nmaximize the discovery potential of future HEP experiments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "First demonstration of 200, 100, and 50 um pitch Resistive AC-Coupled\n Silicon Detectors (RSD) with 100% fill-factor for 4D particle tracking: We designed, produced, and tested RSD (Resistive AC-Coupled Silicon\nDetectors) devices, an evolution of the standard LGAD (Low-Gain Avalanche\nDiode) technology where a resistive n-type implant and a coupling dielectric\nlayer have been implemented. The first feature works as a resistive sheet,\nfreezing the multiplied charges, while the second one acts as a capacitive\ncoupling for readout pads. We succeeded in the challenging goal of obtaining\nvery fine pitch (50, 100, and 200 um) while maintaining the signal waveforms\nsuitable for high timing and 4D-tracking performances, as in the standard\nLGAD-based devices.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Constraining Radon Backgrounds in LZ: The LZ dark matter detector, like many other rare-event searches, will suffer\nfrom backgrounds due to the radioactive decay of radon daughters. In order to\nachieve its science goals, the concentration of radon within the xenon should\nnot exceed $2\\mu$Bq/kg, or 20 mBq total within its 10 tonnes. The LZ\ncollaboration is in the midst of a program to screen all significant components\nin contact with the xenon. The four institutions involved in this effort have\nbegun sharing two cross-calibration sources to ensure consistent measurement\nresults across multiple distinct devices. We present here five preliminary\nscreening results, some mitigation strategies that will reduce the amount of\nradon produced by the most problematic components, and a summary of the current\nestimate of radon emanation throughout the detector. This best estimate totals\n$<17.3$ mBq, sufficiently low to meet the detector's science goals.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Improved Fast Neutron Spectroscopy via Detector Segmentation: Organic scintillators are widely used for fast neutron detection and\nspectroscopy. Several effects complicate the interpretation of results from\ndetectors based upon these materials. First, fast neutrons will often leave a\ndetector before depositing all of their energy within it. Second, fast neutrons\nwill typically scatter several times within a detector, and there is a\nnon-proportional relationship between the energy of, and the scintillation\nlight produced by, each individual scatter; therefore, there is not a\ndeterministic relationship between the scintillation light observed and the\nneutron energy deposited. Here we demonstrate a hardware technique for reducing\nboth of these effects. Use of a segmented detector allows for the\nevent-by-event correction of the light yield non-proportionality and for the\npreferential selection of events with near-complete energy deposition, since\nthese will typically have high segment multiplicities.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The FAZIA setup: a review on the electronics and the mechanical mounting: In this paper the technological aspects of the FAZIA array will be explored.\nAfter a productive commissioning phase, FAZIA blocks started to measure and\ngive very useful data to explore the physics of Fermi energy heavy-ion\nreactions. This was possible thanks to many technical measures and innovations\ndeveloped in the commissioning phase and tuned during the first experimental\ncampaigns. This paper gives a detailed description of the present status of the\nFAZIA setup from the electronic and mechanical point of view, trying also to\ntrace a path for new improvements and refinements of the apparatus.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Tracked pellets - a way to improve the efficiency of charmonium studies: We investigate the possibility of tracking individual hydrogen micro-spheres\nfrom an internal pellet target. Such a method aims to provide the primary\nvertex of a reaction to within about 100 micrometres, without utilizing any\ndetector response. Apart from background considerations the knowledge of the\nreaction vertex may be essential for the reconstruction of many physics\nchannels. This is in particular true for the study of the Psi(3770) decay into\nD-mesons planned at the PANDA detector at the future FAIR facility. Here, the\nreconstruction of displaced vertices is especially difficult since neutral\nparticles are involved.\n Studies with a pellet target at The Svedberg Laboratory, Uppsala, show the\ntechnical feasibility of a tracking system utilizing fast CCD line-scan\ncameras. Simulations for the reaction p-bar p to Psi(3770) to D+ D- prove the\nlarge impact such a system would have on the data taking and reconstruction at\nPANDA.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Electron Spectroscopy using Transition-Edge Sensors: Transition-edge sensors (TESs) have the potential to perform electron\nspectroscopic measurements with far greater measurement rates and efficiencies\nthan can be achieved using existing electron spectrometers. Existing\nspectrometers filter electrons by energy before detecting a narrow energy band\nat a time, discarding the vast majority of electrons available for measurement.\nIn contrast, transition-edge sensors (TES) have intrinsic energy sensitivity\nand so do not require prior filtering to perform energy-resolved measurements.\nDespite this fundamental advantage, TES electron spectroscopy has not, to our\nknowledge, previously been reported in the literature. We present the results\nof a set of proof-of-principle experiments demonstrating TES electron\nspectroscopy experiments using Mo/Au TESs repurposed for electron calorimetry.\nUsing these detectors, we successfully measured the electron spectrum generated\nby an electron beam striking a graphite target with energies between 750 and\n2000 eV, at a noise-limited energy resolution of 4 eV. Based on the findings of\nthese experiments, we suggest improvements that could be made to TES design to\nenhance their electron detection capabilities through the use of of a dedicated\nelectron absorber in the device with integrated electron optics.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurement of the scintillation and ionization response of liquid xenon\n at MeV energies in the EXO-200 experiment: Liquid xenon (LXe) is employed in a number of current and future detectors\nfor rare event searches. We use the EXO-200 experimental data to measure the\nabsolute scintillation and ionization yields generated by $\\gamma$ interactions\nfrom $^{228}$Th (2615~keV), $^{226}$Ra (1764~keV) and $^{60}$Co (1332~keV and\n1173~keV) calibration sources, over a range of electric fields. The $W$-value\nthat defines the recombination-independent energy scale is measured to be\n$11.5~\\pm~0.5$~(syst.)~$\\pm~0.1$~(stat.) eV. These data are also used to\nmeasure the recombination fluctuations in the number of electrons and photons\nproduced by the calibration sources at the MeV-scale, which deviate from\nextrapolations of lower-energy data. Additionally, a semi-empirical model for\nthe energy resolution of the detector is developed, which is used to constrain\nthe recombination efficiency, i.e., the fraction of recombined electrons that\nresult in the emission of a detectable photon. Detailed measurements of the\nabsolute charge and light yields for MeV-scale electron recoils are important\nfor predicting the performance of future neutrinoless double beta decay\ndetectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A laserball calibration device for the SNO+ scintillator phase: Located 2 km underground in SNOLAB, Sudbury, Canada, SNO+ is a large scale\nliquid scintillator experiment that primarily aims to search for neutrinoless\ndouble beta decay. Whilst SNO+ has light and radioactive calibration sources\nexternal to the inner volume, an internally deployed optical source is\nnecessary for the full characterization of the detector model. A laser diffuser\nball developed for SNO has previously demonstrated to be an effective optical\ncalibration device for both SNO and SNO+ water phase. Since the introduction of\nliquid scintillator for SNO+, the material compatibility, cleanliness, and\nradiopurity requirements of any materials in contact with the internal medium\nhave increased. Improving on the original SNO laserball design, a new laserball\ncalibration device has been developed for the SNO+ scintillator phase with the\ngoal of measuring the optical properties of the detector and performing routine\nPMT gain and timing calibrations. Simulations have been written to model the\ndiffusion properties to optimise optical and temporal performance for\ncalibration. Prototype laserballs have been built and characterised,\ndemonstrating sub-ns timing resolution and a quasi-isotropic light distribution", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Heavy Ion Induced SEU Sensitivity Evaluation of 3D Integrated SRAMs: Heavy ions induced single event upset (SEU) sensitivity of three-dimensional\nintegrated SRAMs are evaluated by using Monte Carlo sumulation methods based on\nGeant4. The cross sections of SEUs and Multi Cell Upsets (MCUs) for 3D SRAM are\nsimulated by using heavy ions with different energies and LETs. The results\nshow that the sensitivity of different die of 3D SRAM has obvious discrepancies\nat low LET. Average percentage of MCUs of 3D SRAMs rises from 17.2% to 32.95%\nwhen LET increases from 42.19 MeV cm2/mg to 58.57MeV cm2/mg. As for a certain\nLET, the percentage of MCUs shows a notable distinction between face-to-face\nstructure and back-to-face structure. For back-to-face structure, the\npercentage of MCUs increases with the deeper die. However, the face-to-face die\npresents the relatively low percentage of MCUs. The comparison of SEU cross\nsections for planar SRAMs and experiment data are conducted to indicate the\neffectiveness of our simulation method. Finally, we compare the upset cross\nsections of planar process and 3D integrated SRAMs. Results demonstrate that\nthe sensitivity of 3D SRAMs is not more than that of planar SRAMs and the 3D\nstructure can be become a great potential application for aerospace and\nmilitary domain.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "AC/DC characterization of a Ti/Au TES with Au/Bi absorber for X-ray\n detection: Transition-edge sensors (TESs) are used as very sensitive thermometers in\nmicrocalorimeters aimed at detection of different wavelengths. In particular,\nfor soft X-ray astrophysics, science goals require very high resolution\nmicrocalorimeters which can be achieved with TESs coupled to suitable\nabsorbers. For many applications there is also need for a high number of pixels\nwhich typically requires multiplexing in the readout stage. Frequency Domain\nMultiplexing (FDM) is a common scheme and is the baseline proposed for the\nATHENA mission. FDM requires biasing the TES in AC at MHz frequencies. Recently\nthere has been reported degradation in performances under AC with respect to DC\nbias. In order to assess the performances of TESs to be used with FDM, it is\nthus of great interest to compare the performances of the same device both\nunder AC and DC bias. This requires two different measurement setups with\ndifferent processes for making the characterization. We report in this work the\npreliminary results of a single pixel characterization performed on a TiAu TES\nunder AC and afterwards under DC bias in different facilities. Extraction of\ndynamical parameters and noise performances are compared in both cases as a\nfirst stage for further AC/DC comparison of these devices.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The FASER Detector: FASER, the ForwArd Search ExpeRiment, is an experiment dedicated to searching\nfor light, extremely weakly-interacting particles at CERN's Large Hadron\nCollider (LHC). Such particles may be produced in the very forward direction of\nthe LHC's high-energy collisions and then decay to visible particles inside the\nFASER detector, which is placed 480 m downstream of the ATLAS interaction\npoint, aligned with the beam collisions axis. FASER also includes a\nsub-detector, FASER$\\nu$, designed to detect neutrinos produced in the LHC\ncollisions and to study their properties. In this paper, each component of the\nFASER detector is described in detail, as well as the installation of the\nexperiment system and its commissioning using cosmic-rays collected in\nSeptember 2021 and during the LHC pilot beam test carried out in October 2021.\nFASER will start taking LHC collision data in 2022, and will run throughout LHC\nRun 3.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Exploring low-energy neutrino physics with the Coherent Neutrino Nucleus\n Interaction Experiment (CONNIE): The Coherent Neutrino-Nucleus Interaction Experiment (CONNIE) uses low-noise\nfully depleted charge-coupled devices (CCDs) with the goal of measuring\nlow-energy recoils from coherent elastic scattering (CE$\\nu$NS) of reactor\nantineutrinos with silicon nuclei and testing nonstandard neutrino interactions\n(NSI). We report here the first results of the detector array deployed in 2016,\nconsidering an active mass 47.6 g (8 CCDs), which is operating at a distance of\n30 m from the core of the Angra 2 nuclear reactor, with a thermal power of 3.8\nGW. A search for neutrino events is performed by comparing data collected with\nreactor on (2.1 kg-day) and reactor off (1.6 kg-day). The results show no\nexcess in the reactor-on data, reaching the world record sensitivity down to\nrecoil energies of about 1 keV (0.1 keV electron-equivalent). A 95% confidence\nlevel limit for new physics is established at an event rate of 40 times the one\nexpected from the standard model at this energy scale. The results presented\nhere provide a new window to low-energy neutrino physics, allowing one to\nexplore for the first time the energies accessible through the low threshold of\nCCDs. They will lead to new constrains on NSI from the CE$\\nu$NS of\nantineutrinos from nuclear reactors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Stable, high-performance operation of a fiber-coupled superconducting\n nanowire avalanche photon detector: We present a stable and high-performance fiber-coupled NbTiN superconducting\nnanowire avalanche photon detector (SNAP). We demonstrate afterpulse-free\noperation in serially connected two SNAPs (SC-2SNAP), even in the absence of a\nchoke inductor, achieving a 7.7 times faster response speed than standard\nSSPDs. The SC-2SNAP device showed a system detection efficiency (SDE) of 81.0%\nwith wide bias current margin, a dark count rate of 6.8 counts/s, and full\nwidth at half maximum timing jitter of 68 ps, operating at 2.3 K.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Analysis of Kelvin Probe Operational Models: We present a study of several models on which Kelvin Probe instruments with\nflat and spherical tips rely for operation and for the determination of the\ncontact potential difference. Using covariance analysis, we have investigated\nthe precision limits of each model as imposed by the Cramer-Rao bound. Where\nthe situation demanded, we have evaluated the bias introduced by the method in\nthe estimation of the contact potential difference.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Energy loss due to defect creation in solid state detectors: The threshold displacement energy in solid state detector materials varies\nfrom several eV to ~100 eV. If a stable or long lived defect is created as a\nresult of a nuclear recoil event, some part of the recoil energy is stored in\nthe deformed lattice and is therefore not observable in a phonon detector.\nThus, an accurate model of this effect is necessary for precise calibration of\nthe recoil energy measurement in low threshold phonon detectors. Furthermore,\nthe sharpness of the defect creation threshold varies between materials. For a\nhard material such as diamond, the sharp threshold will cause a sudden onset of\nthe energy loss effect, resulting in a prominent peak in the observed recoil\nspectrum just below the threshold displacement energy. We describe how this\neffect can be used to discriminate between nuclear and electron recoils using\njust the measured recoil spectrum.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High rate tests of the photon detection system for the LHCb RICH Upgrade: The photon detection system for the LHCb RICH Upgrade consists of an array of\nmultianode photomultiplier tubes (MaPMTs) read out by custom-built modular\nelectronics. The behaviour of the whole chain was studied at CERN using a\npulsed laser. Threshold scans were performed in order to study the MaPMT\npulse-height spectra at high event rates and different photon intensities. The\nresults show a reduction in photon detection efficiency at 900 V bias voltage,\nmarked by a 20 % decrease in the single-photon peak height, when increasing the\nevent rate from 100 kHz to 20 MHz. This reduction was not observed at 1000 V\nbias voltage.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High-resolution timing electronics for fast pixel sensors: Detectors based on pixels with timing capabilities are gaining increasing\nimportance in the last years. Next-to-come high-energy physics experiments at\ncolliders requires the use of time information in tracking, due to the\nincreasing levels of track densities in the foreseen experimental conditions.\nVarious different developments are ongoing on solid state sensors to gain\nhigh-resolution performance at the sensor level, as for example LGAD sensors or\n3D sensors. Intrinsic sensor time resolution around 20 ps have been recently\nobtained. The increasing performance on the sensor side strongly demands an\nadequate development on the front-end electronics side, which now risks to\nbecome the performance bottle-neck in a tracking or vertex-detecting system.\nThis paper aims to analyse the ultimate possible performance in timing of a\ntypically-used front-end circuit, the Trans-Impedance Amplifier, considering\ndifferent possible circuit configurations. Evidence to the preferable modes of\noperation in sensor read-out for timing measurement will be given.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of a First Microhexcavity Plasma Panel Detector with Muons: The microhexcavity plasma panel detector is a type of gaseous particle\ndetector consisting of a close-packed array of millimeter-size hexagonal cells.\nThe cells are biased to operate in Geiger mode where each cell functions as an\nindependent detection unit. The response of the detector to ionizing radiation\nwas investigated using low-energy radioactive $ \\beta $ sources and cosmic ray\nmuons. Efficiency measurements were conducted with cosmic ray muons in\nconjunction with a scintillator hodoscope. The rate response and signals\nobtained from the microhexcavity detector filled with Penning gas mixture at\natmospheric pressure are herein described. The relative pixel efficiency, after\nallowing for ion-pair formation in the gas volume, is 96.8 $ \\pm $ 4.4$ \\% $\nfor operation of the detector above an applied high voltage of 1000 V.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design of a Littrow-type diode laser with independent control of cavity\n length and grating rotation: We present a novel extended-cavity diode laser (ECDL) based on a modified\nLittrow configuration. The coarse wavelength adjustment via the rotation of a\ndiffraction grating is decoupled from the fine tuning of the external cavity\nmodes by positioning a piezo transducer behind the diode laser, making the\nlaser robust against misalignment and hysteresis even with long external\ncavities. Two laser prototypes with external cavities of different lengths were\ntested with a 780 nm laser diode, and locked to an atomic reference. We observe\na mode-hop-free frequency tunability broader than the free spectral range of\nthe external cavity upon changes of its length. The design is well suited to\natomic and molecular experiments demanding a high level of stability over time.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Status of the SIMP Project: Toward the Single Microwave Photon Detection: The Italian institute for nuclear physics (INFN) has financed the SIMP\nproject (2019-2021) in order to strengthen its skills and technologies in the\nfield of meV detectors with the ultimate aim of developing a single microwave\nphoton detector. This goal will be pursued by improving the sensitivity and the\ndark count rate of two types of photodetectors: current biased Josephson\nJunction (JJ) for the frequency range 10-50 GHz and Transition Edge Sensor\n(TES) for the frequency range 30-100 GHz. Preliminary results on materials and\ndevices characterization are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Radiation length imaging with high resolution telescopes: The construction of low mass vertex detectors with a high level of system\nintegration is of great interest for next generation collider experiments.\nRadiation length images with a sufficient spatial resolution can be used to\nmeasure and disentangle complex radiation length $X$/$X_0$ profiles and\ncontribute to the understanding of vertex detector systems. Test beam\nexperiments with multi GeV particle beams and high-resolution tracking\ntelescopes provide an opportunity to obtain precise 2D images of the radiation\nlength of thin planar objects. At the heart of the $X$/$X_0$ imaging is a\nspatially resolved measurement of the scattering angles of particles traversing\nthe object under study. The main challenges are the alignment of the reference\ntelescope and the calibration of its angular resolution. In order to\ndemonstrate the capabilities of $X$/$X_0$ imaging, a test beam experiment has\nbeen conducted. The devices under test were two mechanical prototype modules of\nthe Belle II vertex detector. A data sample of 100 million tracks at $4\\,\n\\mathrm{GeV}$ has been collected, which is sufficient to resolve complex\nmaterial profiles on the $30\\,\\mu$m scale.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Radiogenic Neutron Yield Calculations for Low-Background Experiments: Nuclear recoil backgrounds are one of the most dangerous backgrounds for many\ndark matter experiments. A primary source of nuclear recoils is radiogenic\nneutrons produced in the detector material itself. These neutrons result from\nfission and $(\\alpha,n)$ reactions originating from uranium and thorium\ncontamination. In this paper, we discuss neutron yields from these sources. We\ncompile a list of $(\\alpha,n)$ yields for many materials common in\nlow-background detectors, calculated using NeuCBOT, a new tool introduced in\nthis paper, available at https://github.com/shawest/neucbot. These calculations\nare compared to computations made using data compilations and SOURCES-4A", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Multigap RPC time resolution to 511 keV annihilation photons: The time resolution of Multigap Resistive Plate Counters (MRPCs) to $511$ keV\ngamma rays has been investigated using a $^{22}$Na source and four detectors.\nThe MRPCs time resolution has been derived from the Time-of-Flight information,\nmeasured from pairs of space correlated triggered events. A GEANT4 simulation\nhas been performed to analyze possible setup contributions and to support\nexperimental results. A time resolution (FWHM) of $376$ ps and $312$ ps has\nbeen measured for a single MRPC with four $250$ $\\mu$m gas gaps by considering\nrespectively one and two independent pairs of detectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Radiation Tolerant Proton Detector Based on MAPbBr3 single crystal: The performance and radiation tolerance of the proton detector based on\nMAPbBr3 perovskite single crystal are investigated here with 3MeV protons. The\ndetector can monitor fluence rate and dose quantificationally at a low applied\nbias electric field(0.01$V/{\\mu}m$) within a dose range of 45 kGy. The detector\ncan also be worked at zero bias due to the Dember effect. The dark current of\nthe detector reduced to 20% of the initial value after being irradiated with\nprotons to a total fluence of $7.3\\times 10^{13} p/cm^2$ (1 MGy), however, it\ncan be recovered at room temperature within hours. These results suggest that\nthis kind of detector has a promising application in proton therapy and proton\nimaging etc.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measuring the absolute non-gravitational acceleration of a spacecraft:\n goals, devices, methods, performances: Space provides unique opportunities to test gravitation. By using an\ninterplanetary spacecraft as a test mass, it is possible to test General\nRelativity at the Solar System distance scale. This requires to compute\naccurately the trajectory of the spacecraft, a process which relies on radio\ntracking and is limited by the uncertainty on the spacecraft non-gravitational\nacceleration.\n The Gravity Advanced Package (GAP) is designed to measure the\nnon-gravitational acceleration without bias. It is composed of an electrostatic\naccelerometer supplemented by a rotating stage. This article presents the\ninstrument and its performances, and describes the method to make unbiased\nmeasurements. Finally, it addresses briefly the improvement brought by the\ninstrument as far as orbit reconstruction is concerned.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Positioning Error Probabilities for Some Forms of Center-of-Gravity\n Algorithm Calculated with the Cumulative Distributions. Part II: To complete a previous work, the probability density functions for the errors\nin the center-of-gravity as positioning algorithm are derived with the usual\nmethods of the cumulative distribution functions. These methods introduce\nsubstantial complications compared to the approaches used in a previous\npublication on similar problems. The combinations of random variables\nconsidered are: $X_{g3}=\\theta(x_2-x_1) (x_1-x_3)/(x_1+x_2+x_3) +\n\\theta(x_1-x_2)(x_1+2x_4)/(x_1+x_2+x_4)$ and\n$X_{g4}=(\\theta(x_4-x_5)(2x_4+x_1-x_3)/(x_1+x_2+x_3+x_4)+\n\\theta(x_5-x_4)(x_1-x_3-2x_5)/(x_1+x_2+x_3+x_5)$ The complete and partial forms\nof the probability density functions of these expressions of the\ncenter-of-gravity algorithms are calculated for general probability density\nfunctions of the observation noise. The cumulative probability distributions\nare the essential steps in this study, never calculated elsewhere.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Background-Free Direction-Sensitive Neutron Detector2 A\n Background-Free Direction-Sensitive Neutron Detector: We show data from a new type of detector that can be used to determine\nneutron flux, energy distribution, and direction of neutron motion for both\nfast and thermal neutrons. Many neutron detectors are plagued by large\nbackgrounds from x-rays and gamma rays, and most current neutron detectors lack\nsingle-event energy sensitivity or any information on neutron directionality.\nEven the best detectors are limited by cosmic ray neutron backgrounds. All\napplications (neutron scattering and radiography, measurements of solar and\ncosmic ray neutron flux, measurements of neutron interaction cross sections,\nmonitoring of neutrons at nuclear facilities, oil exploration, and searches for\nfissile weapons of mass destruction) will benefit from the improved neutron\ndetection sensitivity and improved measurements of neutron properties made\npossible by this detector. The detector is free of backgrounds from x-rays,\ngamma rays, beta particles, relativistic singely charged particles and cosmic\nray neutrons. It is sensitive to thermal neutrons, fission neutrons, and high\nenergy neutrons, with detection features distinctive for each energy range. It\nis capable of determining the location of a source of fission neutrons based on\ncharacteristics of elastic scattering of neutrons by helium nuclei. The\ndetector we have constructed could identify one gram of reactor grade\nplutonium, one meter away, with less than one minute of observation time.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Three dimensional spectrometer: We present a novel design of 3D spectrometer that can retrieve 3D spectral\nprofile in a single measurement. The 3D spectrometer design is built upon the\nconcept of compressed sensing to make it possible to retrieve 3D information\nfrom 2D data from a screen/camera. In contrast to common spectrometers, the 3D\nspectrometer uses a wide slit instead of a narrow slit and retrieve the 3D\ndatacube that consists of 2D spatial and 1D spectral information. Numerical\ntests were performed to simulate the retrieval of spectral profiles. The\nresults show that the retrieved profiles match well the original profiles. It\nis also shown that the retrieved signal from the 3D spectrometer is robust\nenough for a further post-processing analysis.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Versatile systems for characterization of large-area silicon pad sensors\n for highly-granular calorimetry: High-granularity calorimeters utilizing silicon pad sensors as main active\nmaterial are being designed for the CMS endcap calorimeter upgrade and have\nbeen proposed for the electromagnetic calorimeters at CLIC, ILC and FCC-ee. The\nsilicon sensors in such experiments are foreseen to cover a very large area of\nO(1000 $\\mathrm{m^2}$). They are typically produced from 6- or 8-inch wafers\nand consist of a few hundred smaller cells, each with an area of O(0.1 to 1.1\n$\\mathrm{cm^2}$). Currently the CMS endcap calorimeter upgrade is in a\nprototyping phase with the aim of choosing the final sensor design. Flexible\nsystems are needed for quick sensor characterization as close as possible to\noperating conditions, for testing different prototypes and for quality control\nduring mass production. The ARRAY system consists of an active switching matrix\nPCB with 512 input channels and a passive probe card specific for each sensor\nlayout prototype. The probe card makes contact with each individual pad through\nspring-loaded pins. ARRAY is designed to measure the leakage current and\ncapacitance per-cell for different bias voltages, keeping the entire sensor\narea under bias. The Hexaboard probe card follows a similar principle: readout\nelectronics foreseen to be used in the final CMS detector are mounted on a PCB\nthat makes contact with the sensor through spring-loaded pins. It is used to\nperform noise and charge collection efficiency measurements with irradiated\nsensors without the need for module assembly. We present the design of the\nARRAY and Hexaboard systems as well as measurements performed on different CMS\nprototype silicon sensors. We also compare the results with alternative\nmulti-needle setups.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Preliminary results of ANAIS-25: The ANAIS (Annual Modulation with NaI(Tl) Scintillators) experiment aims at\nthe confirmation of the DAMA/LIBRA signal using the same target and technique\nat the Canfranc Underground Laboratory. 250 kg of ultrapure NaI(Tl) crystals\nwill be used as a target, divided into 20 modules, each coupled to two\nphotomultipliers. Two NaI(Tl) crystals of 12.5 kg each, grown by Alpha Spectra\nfrom a powder having a potassium level under the limit of our analytical\ntechniques, form the ANAIS-25 set-up. The background contributions are being\ncarefully studied and preliminary results are presented: their natural\npotassium content in the bulk has been quantified, as well as the uranium and\nthorium radioactive chains presence in the bulk through the discrimination of\nthe corresponding alpha events by PSA, and due to the fast commissioning, the\ncontribution from cosmogenic activated isotopes is clearly identified and their\ndecay observed along the first months of data taking. Following the procedures\nestablished with ANAIS-0 and previous prototypes, bulk NaI(Tl) scintillation\nevents selection and light collection efficiency have been also studied in\nANAIS-25.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "SiPM cross-talk in liquid argon detectors: SiPM-based readouts are becoming the standard for light detection in particle\ndetectors given their superior resolution and ease of use with respect to\nvacuum tube photo-multipliers. However, the contributions of detection noise\nsuch as the dark rate, cross-talk, and after-pulsing may impact significantly\ntheir performance. In this work, we present the development of highly\nreflective single-phase argon chambers capable of light yields up to 32\nphoto-electrons per keV, with roughly 12 being primary photo-electrons\ngenerated by the argon scintillation, while the rest are accounted by optical\ncross-talk. Furthermore, the presence of compound processes results in a\ngeneralized Fano factor larger than 2 already at an over-voltage of 5 V.\nFinally, we present a parametrization of the optical cross-talk for the FBK\nNUV-HD-Cryo SiPMs at 87 K that can be extended to future detectors with\ntailored optical simulations.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "On the Exclusive Jet Measurements at the LHC: Properties of the exclusive jet production process are briefly described. A\nneed for a dedicated trigger algorithms for studies of such process in the LHC\nexperiments is explained. Influence of the machine luminosity leveling -- a\nchange of the betatron function and crossing angle -- on the scattered proton\nposition in the AFP is discussed. Finally, impact of pile-up and optics on the\nexpected algorithm efficiency is estimated.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An ultrahigh-vacuum cryostat for simultaneous scanning tunneling\n microscopy and magneto-transport measurements down to 400mK: We present the design and calibration measurements of a scanning tunneling\nmicroscope setup in a 3He ultrahigh-vacuum cryostat operating at 400 mK with a\nhold time of 10 days. With 2.70 m in height and 4.70 m free space needed for\nassembly, the cryostat fits in a one-story lab building. The microscope\nfeatures optical access, an xy table, in situ tip and sample exchange, and\nenough contacts to facilitate atomic force microscopy in tuning fork operation\nand simultaneous magneto-transport measurements on the sample. Hence, it\nenables scanning tunneling spectroscopy on microstructured samples which are\ntuned into preselected transport regimes. A superconducting magnet provides a\nperpendicular field of up to 14 T. The vertical noise of the scanning tunneling\nmicroscope amounts to 1 pmrms within a 700 Hz bandwidth. Tunneling spectroscopy\nusing one superconducting electrode revealed an energy resolution of 120 mueV.\nData on tip-sample Josephson contacts yield an even smaller feature size of 60\nmueV, implying that the system operates close to the physical noise limit.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "CLIC Background Studies and optimization of the innermost tracker\n elements: The harsh machine background at the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) forms a\nstrong constraint on the design of the innermost part of the tracker. For the\nCLIC Conceptual Design Report, the detector concepts developed for the\nInternational Linear Collider (ILC) were adapted to the CLIC environment. We\npresent the new layout for the Vertex Detector and the Forward Tracking Disks\nof the CLIC detector concepts, as well as the background levels in these\ndetectors. We also study the dependence of the background rates on technology\nparameters like thickness of the active layer and detection threshold.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "XML for Detector Description at GLAST: The problem of representing a detector in a form which is accessible to a\nvariety of applications, allows retrieval of information in ways which are\nnatural to those applications, and is maintainable has been vexing physicists\nfor some time. Although invented to address an entirely different problem\ndomain, the document markup meta-language XML is well-suited to detector\ndescription. This paper describes its use for a GLAST detector.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Spectrometer System for Measuring ZEUS Luminosity at HERA: The upgrade of the HERA accelerator has provided much increased collider\nluminosity. In turn, the improvements have necessitated a new design for the\nZEUS luminosity measurements. The intense synchrotron radiation field, as well\nas the high probability of a bremsstrahlung photon in each bunch crossing,\nposed new experimental constraints. In this report, we describe how these\nchallenges were met with the ZEUS luminosity spectrometer system. The design,\ntesting and commissioning of the device are described, and the results from the\ninitial operational experience are reported.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Combining fiber Brillouin amplification with a repeater laser station\n for fiber-based optical frequency dissemination over 1400 km: We investigate optical frequency dissemination over a 1400 km long fiber link\nin looped configuration over a pair of underground fibers between Braunschweig\nand Strasbourg. This fiber link is the first to combine fiber Brillouin\namplifiers with a repeater laser station. Phase-coherent operation over more\nthan five days is demonstrated. We analyze the repeatability of the performance\nover four campaigns and present results of 65 days in total. The weighted mean\nof the fractional frequency offset of the transferred optical frequency over\nthe complete data set is $(-1.1 \\pm 0.4) \\times 10^{-20}$. By analyzing the\nstabilization signals of the two individual fibers, the correlation of the\nphase noise on the two fibers is shown to be >98%.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Experimental study of THGEM detector with mini-rim: The gas gain and energy resolution of single and double THGEM detectors\n(5{\\times}5cm2 effective area) with mini-rims (rim is less than 10{\\mu}m) were\nstudied. The maximum gain can reach 5{\\times}103 and 2{\\times}105 for single\nand double THGEM respectively, while the energy resolution of 5.9 keV X-ray\nvaried from 18% to 28% for both single and double THGEM detectors of different\nhole sizes and thicknesses.All the experiments were investigated in mixture of\nnoble gases(argon,neon) and small content of other gases(iso-butane,methane) at\natmospheric pressure.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Monte Carlo simulation of a very high resolution thermal neutron\n detector composed of glass scintillator microfibers: In order to develop a high spatial resolution (micron level) thermal neutron\ndetector, a detector assembly composed of cerium doped lithium glass\nmicrofibers, each with a diameter of 1\\,$\\mu$m, is proposed, where the neutron\nabsorption location is reconstructed from the observed charged particle\nproducts that result from neutron absorption. To suppress the cross talk of the\nscintillation light, each scintillating fiber is surrounded by air-filled glass\ncapillaries with the same diameter as the fiber. This pattern is repeated to\nform a bulk microfiber detector. On one end, the surface of the detector is\npainted with a thin optical reflector to increase the light collection\nefficiency at the other end. Then the scintillation light emitted by any\nneutron interaction is transmitted to one end, magnified, and recorded by an\nintensified CCD camera. A simulation based on the Geant4 toolkit was developed\nto model this detector. All the relevant physics processes including neutron\ninteraction, scintillation, and optical boundary behaviors are si\\-mulated.\nThis simulation was first validated through measurements of neutron response\nfrom lithium glass cylinders. With good expected light collection, an algorithm\nbased upon the features inherent to alpha and triton particle tracks is\nproposed to reconstruct the neutron reaction position in the glass fiber array.\nGiven a 1\\,$\\mu$m fiber diameter and 0.1\\,mm detector thickness, the neutron\nspatial resolution is expected to reach $\\sigma\\sim 1\\, \\mu$m with a Gaussian\nfit in each lateral dimension. The detection efficiency was estimated to be\n3.7\\% for a glass fiber assembly with thickness of 0.1\\,mm. When the detector\nthickness increases from 0.1\\,mm to 1\\,mm, the position resolution is not\nexpected to vary much, while the detection efficiency is expected to increase\nby about a factor of ten.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "CMS pixel upgrade project: The LHC machine at CERN finished its first year of pp collisions at a center\nof mass energy of 7 TeV. While the commissioning to exploit its full potential\nis still ongoing, there are plans to upgrade its components to reach\ninstantaneous luminosities beyond the initial design value after 2016. A\ncorresponding upgrade of the innermost part of the CMS detector, the pixel\ndetector, is needed. A full replacement of the pixel detector is planned in\n2016. It will not only address limitations of the present system at higher data\nrates, but will aggressively lower the amount of material inside the fiducial\ntracking volume which will lead to better tracking and b-tagging performance.\nThis article gives an overview of the project and illuminates the motivations\nand expected improvements in the detector performance.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Realization of a high quality factor resonator with hollow dielectric\n cylinders for axion searches: The realization and characterization of a high quality factor resonator\ncomposed of two hollow-dielectric cylinders with its pseudo-TM$_{030}$ mode\nresonating at 10.9 GHz frequency is discussed. The quality factor was measured\nat the temperatures 300 K and 4 K obtaining $\\mbox{Q}_{300\\mbox{K}}=(150,000\\pm\n2,000)$ and $\\mbox{Q}_{4\\mbox{K}}=(720,000\\pm 10,000)$respectively, the latter\ncorresponding to a gain of one order of magnitude with respect to a traditional\ncopper cylindrical-cavity with the corresponding TM$_{010}$ mode resonating at\nthe same frequency. The implications to dark-matter axion-searches with cavity\nexperiments are discussed showing that the gain in quality factor is not\nspoiled by a reduced geometrical coupling $C_{030}$ of the cavity mode to the\naxion field. This reduction effect is estimated to be at most 20%. Numerical\nsimulations show that frequency tuning of several hundreds MHz is feasible.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Enhancing spatial resolution of soft x-ray CCD detectors by\n single-photon centroid determination: In Charge Coupled Device (CCD) detectors the electrons excited upon\nabsorption of a single x-ray photon quickly diffuse and generate charge-spots\noften larger than pixel dimensions. In the soft x-ray range this phenomenon\ndrastically limits the effective spatial resolution to approximately 25\\mu m,\nirrespective of the pixel size. For very low fluence the charge-cloud centroid\ndetermination can be used, on each individual spot, to estimate the actual\nphoton impact position with sub-pixel precision. The readout noise and speed,\ntogether with the charge and spatial undersampling, are the main factors\nlimiting the accuracy of this procedure in commercial devices. We have\ndeveloped and extensively tested an algorithm for efficient centroid\nreconstruction on images acquired by low noise detectors not designed for\nsingle photon counting. We have thus measured a position uncertainty of 6-7\\mu\nm in CCDs with 13.5\\mu m and 20.0\\mu m pixel size, around 1 keV photon energy.\nWe have analyzed the centroid calculation performances by modelling the spot\ngeneration process. We show how the resolution is affected by both random\nuncertainty, mainly ascribed to the readout noise, and systematic error, due to\nthe undersampling of the charge spot. This study was motivated by the growing\nneed of of high-resolution high-sensitivity 2D position sensitive detectors in\nresonant inelastic (soft) x-ray scattering (RIXS), an emergent synchrotron\nradiation based spectroscopy.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "$^{163}$Ho based experiments: The analysis of the endpoint region of the calorimetrically measured\n$^{163}$Ho electron capture spectrum is a very promising way to determine the\nmass of the electron neutrino. The achievable sensitivity of $^{163}$Ho-based\nexperiments and the experimental challenges will be presented. Three large\ncollaborations aim to develop large scale experiments able to reach sub-eV\nsensitivity. Presently pilot experiments are performed to demonstrate the\npossibility to calorimetrically measure high precision and high statistics\n$^{163}$Ho spectra. The different approaches as well as the state of the art of\nthe experimental efforts for the three collaborations will be discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of the ALICE secondary vertex b-tagging algorithm: The identification of jets originating from beauty quarks in heavy-ion\ncollisions is important to study the properties of the hot and dense matter\nproduced in such collisions. A variety of algorithms for b-jet tagging was\nelaborated at the LHC experiments. They rely on the properties of B hadrons,\ni.e. their long lifetime, large mass and large multiplicity of decay products.\nIn this work, the b-tagging algorithm based on displaced secondary-vertex\ntopologies is described. We present Monte Carlo based performance studies of\nthe algorithm for charged jets reconstructed with the ALICE tracking system in\np-Pb collisions at $\\sqrt{s_\\text{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV. The tagging efficiency,\nrejection rate and the correction of the smearing effects of non-ideal detector\nresponse are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design Study for a SuperB Pixel Vertex Detector: We present a conceptual design for a low-mass, all pixel vertex detector\nusing the CMOS quadruple well INMAPS process, capable of working in the very\nhigh luminosities exceeding 10^36 /cm^2 /sec that can be expected at the next\ngeneration e+e- B factories. We concentrate on the vertexing requirements\nnecessary for time-dependent measurements that are also relevant to searches\nfor new physics beyond the Standard Model. We investigate different\nconfigurations and compare with the baseline designs for the SuperB and BaBar\nexperiments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Positional Dependence of Pulse Shape Discrimination (PSD) in a\n Monolithic CLLB Crystal: We report on the results of the positional-dependent pulse shape\ndiscrimination (PSD) parameter observed within a monolithic CLLB scintillation\ncrystal. CLLB, a relatively novel inorganic scintillation crystal, is capable\nof PSD between gamma rays, neutrons, and alpha particles. In this work, we\nobserved distinguishable differences in the pulse shapes for gamma-ray-induced\nevents. The CLLB crystals used for this experiment are 5 cm (diameter) by 10 cm\n(length). By using monoenergetic 2.614 MeV photons from a set of thoriated\nwelding rods and performing collimated scans along the length of the crystal,\nwe found that the centroid of the PSD distribution shifted as a function of\nposition. With positional-dependent PSD, one can obtain more accurate knowledge\nof the interaction location within a monolithic scintillation crystal. These\nresults could lead to improved angular resolution in imaging systems employing\nscintillation crystals that exhibit this behavior. Lastly, an understanding of\nthe dependence of the PSD as a function of position could give manufacturers a\nbetter understanding of the crystal properties and provide insight to the\ndistribution of internal contaminants and dopants within the crystal.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Calorimetric Measurement of Multi-TeV Muons via Deep Regression: The performance demands of future particle-physics experiments investigating\nthe high-energy frontier pose a number of new challenges, forcing us to find\nimproved solutions for the detection, identification, and measurement of\nfinal-state particles in subnuclear collisions. One such challenge is the\nprecise measurement of muon momentum at very high energy, where an estimate of\nthe curvature provided by conceivable magnetic fields in realistic detectors\nproves insufficient for achieving good momentum resolution when detecting,\ne.g., a narrow, high mass resonance decaying to a muon pair.\n In this work we study the feasibility of an entirely new avenue for the\nmeasurement of the energy of muons based on their radiative losses in a dense,\nfinely segmented calorimeter. This is made possible by exploiting spatial\ninformation of the clusters of energy from radiated photons in a regression\ntask. The use of a task-specific deep learning architecture based on\nconvolutional layers allows us to treat the problem as one akin to image\nreconstruction, where images are constituted by the pattern of energy released\nin successive layers of the calorimeter. A measurement of muon energy with\nbetter than 20% relative resolution is shown to be achievable for ultra-TeV\nmuons.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurement of shower development and its Moli\u00e8re radius with a\n four-plane LumiCal test set-up: A prototype of a luminometer, designed for a future e+e- collider detector,\nand consisting at present of a four-plane module, was tested in the CERN PS\naccelerator T9 beam. The objective of this beam test was to demonstrate a\nmulti-plane tungsten/silicon operation, to study the development of the\nelectromagnetic shower and to compare it with MC simulations. The Moli\\`ere\nradius has been determined to be 24.0 +/- 0.6 (stat.) +/- 1.5 (syst.) mm using\na parametrization of the shower shape. Very good agreement was found between\ndata and a detailed Geant4 simulation.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Modeling crosstalk in silicon photomultipliers: Optical crosstalk seriously limits the photon-counting resolution of silicon\nphotomultipliers. In this work, realistic analytical models to describe the\ncrosstalk effects on the response of these photodetectors are presented and\ncompared with experimental data. The proposed models are based on the\nhypothesis that each pixel of the array has a finite number of available\nneighboring pixels to excite via crosstalk. Dead-time effects and geometrical\naspects of the propagation of crosstalk between neighbors are taken into\naccount in the models for different neighborhood configurations. Simple\nexpressions to account for crosstalk effects on the pulse-height spectrum as\nwell as to evaluate the excess noise factor due to crosstalk are also given.\nDedicated measurements were carried out under both dark-count conditions and\npulsed illumination. Moreover, the influence of afterpulsing on the measured\npulse-height spectrum was studied, and a measurement of the recovery time of\npixels was reported. High-resolution pulse-height spectra were obtained by\nmeans of a detailed waveform analysis, and the results have been used to\nvalidate our crosstalk models.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Production of clean rare isotope beams at TRIUMF Ion guide laser ion\n source: Hot cavity resonant ionization laser ion sources (RILIS) provide a multitude\nof radioactive ion beams with high ionization efficiency and element selective\nionization. However, in hot cavity RILIS there still remains isobaric\ncontaminations in the extracted beam from surface ionized species. An ion\nguide-laser ion source (IG-LIS) has been implemented that decouples the hot\nisotope production region from the laser ionization volume. A number of IG-LIS\nruns have been conducted to provide isobar free radioactive ion beams for\nexperiments. Isobar suppression of up to 106 has been achieved, however, IG-LIS\nstill suffers from an intensity loss of 50-100X as compared to hot cavity\nRILIS. Operating parameters for IG-LIS are being optimized and design\nimprovements are being implemented into the prototype for robust and efficient\non-line operation. Recent SIMION ion optics simulation results and the ongoing\ndevelopment status of the IG-LIS are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "X-ray imaging with Micromegas detectors with optical readout: In the last years, optical readout of Micromegas gaseous detectors has been\nachieved by implementing a Micromegas detector on a glass anode coupled to a\nCMOS camera. Effective X-ray radiography was demonstrated using integrated\nimaging approach. High granularity values have been reached for low-energy\nX-rays from radioactive sources and X-ray generators.\n Detector characterization with X-ray radiography has led to two applications:\nneutron imaging for non-destructive examination of highly gamma-ray emitting\nobjects and beta imaging for the single cell activity tagging in the field of\noncology drug studies.\n First measurements investigating the achievable spatial resolution of the\nglass Micromegas detector at the SOLEIL synchrotron facility with a\nhigh-intensity and flat irradiation field will be shown in this article.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A large facility for photosensors test at cryogenic temperature: Current generation of detectors using noble gases in liquid phase for direct\ndark matter search and neutrino physics need large area photosensors. Silicon\nbased photo-detectors are innovative light collecting devices and represent a\nsuccessful technology in these research fields. The DarkSide collaboration\nstarted a dedicated development and customization of SiPM technology for its\nspecific needs resulting in the design, production and assembly of large\nsurface modules of 20x20 cm^2 named Photo Detection Unit for the DarkSide-20k\nexperiment. Production of a large number of such devices, as needed to cover\nabout 20 m^2 of active surface inside the DarkSide-20k detector, requires a\nrobust testing and validation process. In order to match this requirement a\ndedicated test facility for the photosensor test was designed and commissioned\nat INFN-Naples laboratory. The first commissioning test was successfully\nperformed in 2021. Since then a number of testing campaigns were performed.\nDetailed description of the facility is reported as well as results of some\ntests.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The ATLAS Pixel Detector: The contruction of the ATLAS Pixel Detector which is the innermost layer of\nthe ATLAS tracking system is prgressing well. Because the pixel detector will\ncontribute significantly to the ATLAS track and vertex reconstruction. The\ndetector consists of identical sensor-chip-hybrid modules, arranged in three\nbarrels in the centre and three disks on either side for the forward region.\nThe position of the detector near the interaction point requires excellent\nradiation hardness, mechanical and thermal robustness, good long-term stability\nfor all parts, combined with a low material budget. The final detector layout,\nnew results from production modules and the status of assembly are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Reconstructing the direction of reactor antineutrinos via electron\n scattering in Gd-doped water Cherenkov detectors: The potential of elastic antineutrino-electron scattering in a Gd-doped water\nCherenkov detector to determine the direction of a nuclear reactor antineutrino\nflux was investigated using the recently proposed WATCHMAN antineutrino\nexperiment as a baseline model. The expected scattering rate was determined\nassuming a 13-km standoff from a 3.758-GWt light water nuclear reactor and the\ndetector response was modeled using a Geant4-based simulation package.\nBackground was estimated via independent simulations and by scaling published\nmeasurements from similar detectors. Background contributions were estimated\nfor solar neutrinos, misidentified reactor-based inverse beta decay\ninteractions, cosmogenic radionuclides, water-borne radon, and gamma rays from\nthe photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), detector walls, and surrounding rock. We show\nthat with the use of low background PMTs and sufficient fiducialization,\nwater-borne radon and cosmogenic radionuclides pose the largest threats to\nsensitivity. Directional sensitivity was then analyzed as a function of radon\ncontamination, detector depth, and detector size. The results provide a list of\nexperimental conditions that, if satisfied in practice, would enable\nantineutrino directional reconstruction at 3$\\sigma$ significance in large\nGd-doped water Cherenkov detectors with greater than 10-km standoff from a\nnuclear reactor.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterization of Three High Efficiency and Blue Sensitive Silicon\n Photomultipliers: We report about the optical and electrical characterization of three high\nefficiency and blue sensitive Silicon photomultipliers from FBK, Hamamatsu, and\nSensL. Key features of the tested devices when operated at 90% breakdown\nprobability are peak photon detection efficiencies between 40% and 55%,\ntemperature dependencies of gain and PDE that are less than 1%/$^{\\circ}$C,\ndark rates of $\\sim$50\\,kHz/mm$^{2}$ at room temperature, afterpulsing of about\n2%, and direct optical crosstalk between 6% and 20%. The characteristics of all\nthree devices impressively demonstrate how the Silicon-photomultiplier\ntechnology has improved over the past ten years. It is further demonstrated how\nthe voltage and temperature characteristics of a number of quantities can be\nparameterized on the basis of physical models. The models provide a deeper\nunderstanding of the device characteristics over a wide bias and temperature\nrange. They also serve as examples how producers could provide the\ncharacteristics of their SiPMs to users. A standardized parameterization of\nSiPMs would enable users to find the optimal SiPM for their application and the\noperating point of SiPMs without having to perform measurements thus\nsignificantly reducing design and development cycles.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Z-scan confocal method for indirect focusing location: We present a new technique that we have defined as the z-scan confocal method\nto determine the absolute location and size of the focal spot in a tight\nfocused ultrashort laser pulse. The method permits to accurately position a\ntarget in the focal spot with a fast response. The technique is designed to\nhelp to automatize the location of an overdense target in focus in a laser\nplasma experiment. The method allows for a fast localization of the focal\nposition and the relative motion of the target with respect to it. As an\nexample of the capacities we measure the defocusing of a fast rotating disc in\nseveral radius to reconstruct the motion of the disc at focus.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Test beam measurement of the first prototype of the fast silicon pixel\n monolithic detector for the TT-PET project: The TT-PET collaboration is developing a PET scanner for small animals with\n30 ps time-of-flight resolution and sub-millimetre 3D detection granularity.\nThe sensitive element of the scanner is a monolithic silicon pixel detector\nbased on state-of-the-art SiGe BiCMOS technology. The first ASIC prototype for\nthe TT-PET was produced and tested in the laboratory and with minimum ionizing\nparticles. The electronics exhibit an equivalent noise charge below 600 e- RMS\nand a pulse rise time of less than 2 ns, in accordance with the simulations.\nThe pixels with a capacitance of 0.8 pF were measured to have a detection\nefficiency greater than 99% and, although in the absence of the\npost-processing, a time resolution of approximately 200 ps.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Conception of an enhanced mechanism for a new Kibble balance directly\n traceable to the quantum SI: The ``Quantum Electro-Mechanical Metrology Suite'' (QEMMS) is being designed\nand built at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It includes a\nKibble balance, a Graphene quantum Hall resistance array and a Josephson\nvoltage system, so that it is a new primary standard for the unit of mass, the\nkilogram, directly traceable to the International System of Units (SI) based on\nquantum constants. We are targeting a measurement range of 10 g to 200 g and\noptimize the design for a relative combined uncertainty of $2\\times 10^{-8}$\nfor masses of 100 g. QEMMS will be developed as an open hardware and software\ndesign. In this article, we explain the design of the moving and weighing\nmechanism in the QEMMS.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Pulse-Shape discrimination with the Counting Test Facility: Pulse shape discrimination (PSD) is one of the most distinctive features of\nliquid scintillators. Since the introduction of the scintillation techniques in\nthe field of particle detection, many studies have been carried out to\ncharacterize intrinsic properties of the most common liquid scintillator\nmixtures in this respect. Several application methods and algorithms able to\nachieve optimum discrimination performances have been developed. However, the\nvast majority of these studies have been performed on samples of small\ndimensions. The Counting Test Facility, prototype of the solar neutrino\nexperiment Borexino, as a 4 ton spherical scintillation detector immersed in\n1000 tons of shielding water, represents a unique opportunity to extend the\nsmall-sample PSD studies to a large-volume setup. Specifically, in this work we\nconsider two different liquid scintillation mixtures employed in CTF,\nillustrating for both the PSD characterization results obtained either with the\nprocessing of the scintillation waveform through the optimum Gatti's method, or\nvia a more conventional approach based on the charge content of the\nscintillation tail. The outcomes of this study, while interesting per se, are\nalso of paramount importance in view of the expected Borexino detector\nperformances, where PSD will be an essential tool in the framework of the\nbackground rejection strategy needed to achieve the required sensitivity to the\nsolar neutrino signals.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Application of the VMM ASIC for SiPM-based calorimetry: Highly integrated multichannel readout electronics is crucial in contemporary\nparticle physics experiments. A novel silicon photomultiplier readout system\nbased on the VMM3a ASIC was developed, for the first time exploiting this chip\nfor calorimetric purposes. To extend the dynamic range the signal from each\nSiPM channel was processed by two electronics channels with different gain. A\nfully operational prototype system with 256 SiPM readout channels allowed the\ncollection of data from a prototype of the ALICE Forward Hadron Calorimeter\n(FoCal-H). The design and the test beam results using high energy hadron beams\nare presented and discussed, confirming the applicability of VMM3a-based\nsolutions for energy measurements in a high rate environment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Z-scan applied to phosphate glasses doped with Er$^{3+}$-Yb$^{3+}$ and\n silver nanoparticles: We report on the use of Z-scan technique with a beam composed with two modes,\nto probe the nonlinear optical properties of phosphate glasses doped with\nEr$^{3+}$-Yr$^{3+}$ and silver nanoparticles. Understanding the linear and\nnonlinear properties of these materials is crucial to evaluate if they are\ncandidates to be used as gain media in lasers or optical amplifiers.\nExperiments are carried out by implementing the open-aperture Z-scan technique\nwith bimodal laser pumping ($LG_{00}$ and $LG_{20}$) at 908.6 nm. The analysis\nis performed using a simplifiedmodel that incorporates nonlinear absorption and\nsaturation intensity of the samples. The advantage of using a beam with a\nbimodal structure is that it allows us to evaluate the energy transfer between\nthe modes, which is relevant since the optical active media act as an\nintermediary. This process is incorporated through an effective\nphenomenological parameter in the model that we use in our analysis.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Nonlinearities in Long-Range Compact Michelson Interferometers: Compact Michelson interferometers are well positioned to replace existing\ndisplacement sensors in the readout of seismometers and suspension systems,\nsuch as those used in contemporary gravitational-wave detectors. Here, we\ncontinue our previous investigation of a customised compact displacement sensor\nbuilt by SmarAct, which operated on the principle of deep frequency modulation.\nThe focus of this paper is on the linearity of this device. We show the three\nprimary sources of nonlinearity that arise in the sensor -- residual\nellipticity, intrinsic distortion of the Lissajous figure, and distortion\ncaused by exceeding the velocity limit imposed by the demodulation algorithm.\nWe verify the theoretical models through an experimental demonstration designed\nto maximise the nonlinear noise to dominate regions of the readout's power\nspectrum. We finally simulate the effect that these nonlinearities are likely\nto have if implemented in the readout of the Advanced LIGO suspensions and show\nthat the noise nonlinearities should not dominate across the key\nsub-\\SI{10}{\\Hz} frequency band.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Improvement of EAST Data Acquisition Configuration Management: The data acquisition console is an important component of the EAST data\nacquisition system which provides unified data acquisition and long-term data\nstorage for diagnostics. The data acquisition console is used to manage the\ndata acquisition configuration information and control the data acquisition\nworkflow. The data acquisition console has been developed many years, and with\nincreasing of data acquisition nodes and emergence of new control nodes, the\nfunction of configuration management has become inadequate. It is going to\nupdate the configuration management function of data acquisition console. The\nupgraded data acquisition console based on LabVIEW should be oriented to the\ndata acquisition administrator, with the functions of managing data acquisition\nnodes, managing control nodes, setting and publishing configuration parameters,\nbatch management, database backup, monitoring the status of data acquisition\nnodes, controlling the data acquisition workflow, and shot simulation data\nacquisition test. The upgraded data acquisition console has been designed and\nunder testing recently.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Bias voltage Control of Avalanche Photo-Diode Using a Window Comparator: This work aims at controlling the bias voltage of APDs, used for single\nphoton detection, with a micro-controller through pulse height comparison.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Resonance frequency dependence on out-of-plane forces for square silicon\n membranes: applications to a MEMS gradiometer: The dynamic properties of membranes have been object of many researches since\nthey can be used as sensor heads in different devices. Some methods have been\nproposed to solve the problem of determining the resonance frequencies and\ntheir dependence on the stress caused by forces applied on the membrane\nsurface. The problem of the vibrating rectangular membrane under a stress\ncaused by a uniform in-plane force is well known. However, the resonance\nfrequency behaviour when the force is out-of-plane instead of in-plane, is not\nso well understood and documented. A gradiometer which uses a silicon square\nmembrane with a magnet fixed on it as a sensor head has been developed in a\nprevious work. This device reports a quadratic dependence of the frequency on\nthe out-of-plane magnetic force. In this work, simulations to obtain the\ndependence of the frequency of the fundamental flexural mode on the stress have\nbeen performed. It has been studied the influence of in-plane and out-of-plane\nforces applied to the membrane. As expected, a square root dependence has been\nfound for in-plane forces. Nevertheless, the problem is more complex when\nout-of plane forces are considered. Out-of-plane forces gives rise to an\ninitial quadratic dependence which turns into a square root dependence from a\ncertain stress value. The quadratic range increases and the rate of change of\nthe frequency decreases as the surface of the magnet fixed on the membrane\nincreases. The study has addressed these problems and both, experimental and\nsimulated results have been compared and a good agreement between experimental\nand simulated results has been found", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Alignment of the CLAS12 central hybrid tracker with a Kalman Filter: Several factors can contribute to the difficulty of aligning the sensors of\ntracking detectors, including a large number of modules, multiple types of\ndetector technologies, and non-linear strip patterns on the sensors. All three\nof these factors apply to the CLAS12 CVT, which is a hybrid detector consisting\nof planar silicon sensors with non-parallel strips, and cylindrical micromegas\nsensors with longitudinal and arc-shaped strips located within a 5~T\nsuperconducting solenoid. To align this detector, we used the Kalman Alignment\nAlgorithm, which accounts for correlations between the alignment parameters\nwithout requiring the time-consuming inversion of large matrices. This is the\nfirst time that this algorithm has been adapted for use with hybrid\ntechnologies, non-parallel strips, and curved sensors. We present the results\nfor the first alignment of the CLAS12 CVT using straight tracks from cosmic\nrays and from a target with the magnetic field turned off. After running this\nprocedure, we achieved alignment at the level of 10~$\\mu$m, and the widths of\nthe residual spectra were greatly reduced. These results attest to the\nflexibility of this algorithm and its applicability to future use in the CLAS12\nCVT and other hybrid or curved trackers, such as those proposed for the future\nElectron-Ion Collider.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Attenuation length measurements of liquid scintillator with LabVIEW and\n reliability evaluation of the device: The attenuation length measuring device was constructed by using oscilloscope\nand LabVIEW for signal acquisition and processing. The performance of the\ndevice has been tested with a variety of ways, the test results show that the\nset-up has a good stability and high precision (sigma/mean reached 0.4\npercent). Besides, the accuracy of the measurement system will decrease by\nabout 17 percent if a filter is used. The attenuation length of\ngadolinium-loaded liquid scintillator (Gd-LS) was measured as 15.10 plus or\nminus 0.35 m where Gd-LS was heavily used in Daya Bay Neutrino Experiment. In\naddition, one method based on the Beer-Lambert law was proposed to investigate\nthe reliability of the measurement device, the R-square reached 0.9995.\nMoreover, three purification methods for Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB) production\nwere compared in the experiment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Large Acceptance Spectrometers for Invariant Mass Spectroscopy of Exotic\n Nuclei and Future Development: Large acceptance spectrometers at in-flight RI separators have played\nsignificant roles in investigating the structure of exotic nuclei. Such\nspectrometers are in particular useful for probing unbound states of exotic\nnuclei, using invariant mass spectroscopy with reactions at intermediate and\nhigh energies. We discuss here the key characteristic features of such\nspectrometers, by introducing the recently commissioned SAMURAI facility at the\nRIBF, RIKEN. We also explore the issue of cross talk in the detection of\nmultiple neutrons, which has become crucial for exploring further unbound\nstates and nuclei beyond the neutron drip line. Finally we discuss future\nperspectives for large acceptance spectrometers at the new-generation RI-beam\nfacilities.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Cerenkov light identification with Si low-temperature detectors with\n Neganov-Luke effect-enhanced sensitivity: A new generation of cryogenic light detectors exploiting Neganov-Luke effect\nto enhance the thermal signal has been used to detect the Cherenkov light\nemitted by the electrons interacting in TeO$_{2}$ crystals. With this mechanism\na high significance event-by-event discrimination between alpha and beta/gamma\ninteractions at the $^{130}$Te neutrino-less double beta decay Q-value -\n(2527.515 $\\pm$ 0.013) keV - has been demonstrated. This measurement opens the\npossibility of drastically reducing the background in cryogenic experiments\nbased on TeO$_{2}$.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "EUTelescope: A modular reconstruction framework for beam telescope data: EUTelescope is a modular, comprehensive software framework for the\nreconstruction of particle trajectories recorded with beam telescopes. Its\nmodularity allows for a flexible usage of processors each fulfilling separate\ntasks of the reconstruction chain such as clustering, alignment and track\nfitting. %The reconstruction chain is directed via XML steering files. The\nframework facilitates the usage of any position sensitive device for both the\nbeam telescope sensors as well as the device under test and supports a wide\nrange of geometric arrangements of the sensors.\n In this work, the functionality of the EUTelescope framework as released in\nv2.2 and its underlying dependencies are discussed. Various use cases with\nemphasis on the General Broken Lines advanced track fitting methods give\nexamples of the work flow and capabilities of the framework.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Reconstruction of charged tracks with Timepix4 ASICs: The design of a detector system comprised of four silicon sensors bump-bonded\nto Timepix4 ASICs is described together with its data acquisition system,\noperational infrastructure, and dedicated software. The spatial and temporal\nperformance of the system are assessed with a 180 GeV/c mixed hadron beam at\nthe CERN SPS and reported in detail. Particle tracks are reconstructed using\ntime-space measurements from the four detector planes. The spatial hit\nresolution is assessed to be $(15.5\\pm 0.5)$ $\\mu$m and $(4.5\\pm0.3)$ $\\mu$m\nfor 100 and 300 $\\mu$m thick sensors, respectively. The timestamps from the\ndetectors are also measured with fine precision, yielding time resolutions of\n$(452\\pm10)$ ps, $(420\\pm10)$ ps, $(639\\pm10)$ ps, $(631\\pm10)$ ps for the two\n100 and two 300 $\\mu$m thick sensors respectively. These measurements are\ncombined to a track time resolution of $(340\\pm 5)$ ps.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neutron-gamma discrimination by pulse analysis with superheated drop\n detector: Superheated drop detector (SDD) consisting of drops of superheated liquid of\nhalocarbon is irradiated to neutrons and gamma-rays from 252Cf fission neutron\nsource and 137Cs gamma source separately. The analysis of pulse height of the\nsignals in the neutron and gamma-ray sensitive temperature provides strong\ninformation on the identification of neutron and gamma-ray induced events.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Scintillation light production, propagation, and detection in the 4-ton\n dual-phase LAr-TPC demonstrator (data analysis and simulations): The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) Far Detector (FD) will be\nformed by four 10-kton Liquid Argon (LAr) Time Projection Chambers (TPC) using\nboth single and dual-phase technology. The dual-phase technology foreseen the\ncharge amplification in the gas phase before the signal collection and is\nfollowing a staged approach to demonstrate its feasibility at the DUNE FD\nscale. In 2017, a 4-ton demonstrator of 3x1x1 m$^3$ volume was exposed to\ncosmic muons and demonstrated expected performance in terms of charge\nextraction and light collection. A bigger prototype (ProtoDUNE-DP), with an\nactive volume of 6x6x6 m$^3$, is currently under commissioning at CERN. The\nphoton detection system in these detectors is crucial to provide the trigger\nsignal giving an absolute time reference for the charge acquisition system of\nrare non-beam events, and to provide complementary calorimetry. An overview of\nthe analysis of the light collected in the 4-ton demonstrator has been\npresented. These prototypes confirmed the performance of the light detection\nsystem to provide trigger based on the scintillation light signal, to\ncharacterize the LAr response to the crossing muons and to monitor the LAr\npurity. The analyzed data are compared with MC simulations to improve the\nvalues of less understood LAr optical parameters such as the Rayleigh\nscattering length.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Time-of-flight laser ranging and imaging at 1550 nm using low-jitter\n superconducting nanowire single-photon detection system: We developed a time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) system based on\nthe low-jitter superconducting nanowire single-photon detection (SNSPD)\ntechnology. The causes of jitters in the TCSPC system were analyzed. Owing to\nthe low jitter of the SNSPD technology, a system jitter of 26.8 ps full-width\nat half-maximum was achieved after optimizing the system. We demonstrated\ntime-of-flight laser ranging at 1550 nm wavelength at a stand-off distance of\n115 m, based on this TCSPC system. A depth resolution of 4 mm was achieved\ndirectly by locating the centroids of each of the two return signals. Laser\nimaging was also performed using the TCSPC system. This low-jitter TCSPC system\nusing the SNSPD technology presents great potential in long-range measurements\nand imaging applications for low-energy-level and eye-safe laser systems", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Frequency-independent voltage amplitude across a tunnel junction: Radio-frequency (rf) scanning tunneling microscopy has recently been advanced\nto methods such as single-atom spin resonance. Such methods benefit from a\nfrequency-independent rf voltage amplitude across the tunnel junction, which is\nchallenging to achieve due to the strong frequency dependence of the rf\nattenuation in a transmission line. Two calibration methods for the rf\namplitude have been reported to date. In this Note, we present an alternative\nmethod to achieve a frequency-independent rf voltage amplitude across the\ntunnel junction and show the results of this calibration. The presented\nprocedure is applicable to devices that can deliver rf voltage to a tunnel\njunction.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Super-FRS GEM-TPC Prototype Development Based on n-Xyter Asic for the\n FAIR Facility: The FAIR facility is an international accelerator centre for research with\nion and antiproton beams. It is being built at Darmstadt, Germany as an\nextension to the current GSI research institute. One major part of the facility\nwill be the Super-FRS separator, which will be include in phase one of the\nproject construction. The NUSTAR experiments will benefit from the Super-FRS,\nwhich will deliver an unprecedented range of radioactive ion beams (RIB). These\nexperiments will use beams of different energies and characteristics in three\ndifferent branches; the high-energy which utilizes the RIB at relativistic\nenergies 300-1500 MeV /u as created in the production process, the low energy\nbranch aims to use beams in the range of 0-150 MeV/u whereas the ring branch\nwill cool and store beams in the NESR ring. The main tasks for the Super-FRS\nbeam diagnostics chambers will be for the set up and adjustment of the\nseparator as well as to provide tracking and event-by-event particle\nidentification. The Helsinki Institute of Physics, the Comenius University, and\nthe Detector Laboratory and Experimental electronics at GSI are in a joint R&D\nphase of a GEM-TPC detector which could satisfy the requirements of such\ndiagnostics and tracking chambers in terms of tracking efficiency, space\nresolution, count rate capability and momenta resolution. The current status of\nthe first prototype and the preliminary results from the test beam campaign\nS417 using the n-Xyter chips mounted on GEMEX cards will be shown.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A low cost hybrid detection system of high energy air showers: We report on the design and the expected performance of a low cost hybrid\ndetection system suitable for operation as an autonomous unit in strong\nelectromagnetic noise environments. The system consists of three particle\ndetectors (scintillator modules) and one or more RF antennas. The particle\ndetector units are used to detect air showers and to supply the trigger to the\nRF Data acquisition electronics. The hardware of the detector as well as the\nexpected performance in detecting and reconstructing the angular direction for\nthe shower axis is presented. Calibration data are used to trim the simulation\nparameters and to investigate the response to high energy ($E>10^{15} eV$)\nextensive air showers.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A broadband pulse amplifier for Joule heating experiments in diamond\n anvil cells: Decades of measurements of the thermophysical properties of hot metals show\nthat pulsed Joule heating is an effective method to heat solid and liquid\nmetals that are chemically reactive or difficult to contain. In order to extend\nsuch measurements to megabar pressures, pulsed heating methods must be\nintegrated with diamond anvil cells. We report the design and characterization\nof a new pulse amplifier that can heat $\\sim 5$ to $50$ $\\mu$m-diameter metal\nwires to 1000s of kelvin at megabar pressures using diamond anvil cells. Pulse\ndurations and peak currents can each be varied over 3 orders of magnitude, from\n5 $\\mu$s to 10 ms and 0.2 to 200 A. The pulse amplifier is integrated with a\ncurrent probe. Two voltage probes attached to the body of a diamond anvil cell\ncan be used to measure voltage in a four point probe geometry. The accuracy of\nfour point probe resistance measurements for a dummy sample with 0.1 $\\Omega$\nresistance are typically better than $5 \\%$ at all times from 2 $\\mu$s to 10 ms\nafter the beginning of the pulse.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Sensitivity of a tonne-scale NEXT detector for neutrinoless double beta\n decay searches: The Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC (NEXT) searches for the neutrinoless\ndouble-beta decay of Xe-136 using high-pressure xenon gas TPCs with\nelectroluminescent amplification. A scaled-up version of this technology with\nabout 1 tonne of enriched xenon could reach in less than 5 years of operation a\nsensitivity to the half-life of neutrinoless double-beta decay decay better\nthan 1E27 years, improving the current limits by at least one order of\nmagnitude. This prediction is based on a well-understood background model\ndominated by radiogenic sources. The detector concept presented here represents\na first step on a compelling path towards sensitivity to the parameter space\ndefined by the inverted ordering of neutrino masses, and beyond.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Cryogenic Microwave Filter Cavity with a Tunability Greater than 5 GHz: A wide variety of applications of microwave cavities, such as measurement and\ncontrol of superconducting qubits, magnonic resonators, and phase noise\nfilters, would be well served by having a highly tunable microwave resonance.\nOften this tunability is desired in situ at low temperatures, where one can\ntake advantage of superconducting cavities. To date, such cryogenic tuning\nwhile maintaining a high quality factor has been limited to $\\sim500$ MHz. Here\nwe demonstrate a three-dimensional superconducting microwave cavity that shares\none wall with a pressurized volume of helium. Upon pressurization of the helium\nchamber the microwave cavity is deformed, which results in in situ tuning of\nits resonant frequency by more than 5 GHz, greater than 60% of the original 8\nGHz resonant frequency. The quality factor of the cavity remains approximately\nconstant at $\\approx7\\times 10^{3}$ over the entire range of tuning. As a\ndemonstration of its usefulness, we implement a tunable cryogenic phase noise\nfilter, which reduces the phase noise of our source by approximately 10 dB\nabove 400 kHz.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A High Position Resolution X-ray Detector: an Edge on Illuminated\n Capillary Plate Combined with a Gas Amplification Structure: We have developed and successfully tested a prototype of a new type of high\nposition resolution hybrid X-ray detector. It contains a thin wall lead glass\ncapillary plate converter of X-rays combined with a microgap parallel-plate\navalanche chamber filled with gas at 1 atm. The operation of these converters\nwas studied in a wide range of X-ray energies (from 6 to 60 keV) at incident\nangles varying from 0-90 degree. The detection efficiency, depending on the\ngeometry, photon energy, incident angle and the mode of operation, was between\n5-30 percent in a single step mode and up to 50 percent in a multi-layered\ncombination. Depending on the capillary geometry, the position resolution\nachieved was between 0.050-0.250 mm in digital form and was practically\nindependent of the photon energy or gas mixture. The usual lead glass capillary\nplates operated without noticeable charging up effects at counting rates of 50\nHz/mm2, and hydrogen treated capillaries up to 10E5 Hz/mm2. The developed\ndetector may open new possibilities for medical imaging, for example in\nmammography, portal imaging, radiography (including security devices),\ncrystallography and many other applications.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "RNA Detection in air by means of Cosmic Rays interactions: The study research presented hereafter shows a new methodology to reveal\ntraces of Viral particles thanks to their own chemical structure such as P31,\nan element making up part of the structure of RNA, a type of nucleic acid, such\nas in a virus, in an open space or a closed ambient ( typically an airport\nhall) detecting sub-atomic particles interactions with the air due to Cosmic\nRays , an Outer Space free source .This is constructed with the use of adequate\ndetectors (under development) looking in particular at the peculiar\ninteractions of muons, cosmic rays relativistic particle segment, with the no\nliving matter present as aerosol in the air.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The SHiP experiment at CERN: The current status of the proposed SHiP experiment at the CERN Beam Dump\nFacility is presented. SHiP is a general-purpose fixed-target experiment. The\n400 GeV/$c$ proton beam extracted from the SPS will be dumped on a heavy target\nto integrate $2 \\times 10^{20}$ protons on target in five years. The detector,\nbased on a long vacuum tank followed by a spectrometer and particle\nidentification detectors, will allow to probe a variety of models with light\nlong-lived exotic particles and masses below ${\\cal O}(10)$ GeV/$c^2$. The main\nfocus will be the physics of the so-called hidden portals, i.e. the search for\ndark photons, light scalars and pseudo-scalars, and heavy neutrinos. The\nsensitivity to heavy neutrinos will allow to probe, in the mass range between\nthe kaon and the charm meson mass, a coupling range for which baryogenesis and\nactive neutrino masses could also be explained. A second dedicated detector\nwill study neutrinos and explore light dark matter.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Understanding deformation with high angular resolution electron\n backscatter diffraction (HR-EBSD): High angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction (HR-EBSD) affords an\nincrease in angular resolution, as compared to 'conventional' Hough transform\nbased EBSD, of two orders of magnitude, enabling measurements of relative\nmisorientations of 1E-4 rads (~ 0.006 {\\deg}) and changes in (deviatoric)\nlattice strain with a precision of 1E-4. This is achieved through direct\ncomparison of two or more diffraction patterns using sophisticated\ncross-correlation based image analysis routines. Image shifts between zone axes\nin the two-correlated diffraction pattern are measured with sub-pixel precision\nand this realises the ability to measure changes in interplanar angles and\nlattice orientation with a high degree of sensitivity. These shifts are linked\nto strains and lattice rotations through simple geometry. In this manuscript,\nwe outline the basis of the technique and two case studies that highlight its\npotential to tackle real materials science challenges, such as deformation\npatterning in polycrystalline alloys.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Infrared electric-field sampled frequency comb spectroscopy: Molecular spectroscopy in the mid-infrared portion of the electromagnetic\nspectrum (3--25 um) has been a cornerstone interdisciplinary analytical\ntechnique widely adapted across the biological, chemical, and physical\nsciences. Applications range from understanding mesoscale trends in climate\nscience via atmospheric monitoring to microscopic investigations of cellular\nbiological systems via protein characterization. Here, we present a compact and\ncomprehensive approach to infrared spectroscopy incorporating the development\nof broadband laser frequency combs across 3--27 um, encompassing the entire\nmid-infrared, and direct electric-field measurement of the corresponding near\nsingle-cycle infrared pulses of light. Utilizing this unified apparatus for\nhigh-resolution and accurate frequency comb spectroscopy, we present the\ninfrared spectra of important atmospheric compounds such as ammonia and carbon\ndioxide in the molecular fingerprint region. To further highlight the ability\nto study complex biological systems, we present a broadband spectrum of a\nmonoclonal antibody reference material consisting of more than 20,000 atoms.\nThe absorption signature resolves the amide I and II vibrations, providing a\nmeans to study secondary structures of proteins. The approach described here,\noperating at the boundary of ultrafast physics and precision spectroscopy,\nprovides a table-top solution and a widely adaptable technique impacting both\napplied and fundamental scientific studies.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of the triple-GEM detector with optimized 2-D readout in\n high intensity hadron beam: Multiple-GEM detectors are considered to be good candidates for tracking\ndevices in experiments with high hadronic background. We present the results of\nthe triple-GEM detectors beam test in a high intensity pion beam. The detectors\nhad an optimized two-dimensional readout with minimized strip capacitance. Such\noptimization permitted the starting point of the efficiency plateau down to a\ngain of 5000. The probability of GEM discharges induced by heavily ionizing\nparticles has been measured as a function of gain: at a gain of 20000 it\namounts to 10^(-11) per incident particle. Such a value will ensure safe\noperation of the detector in the conditions of forward region of the LHC\nexperiments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of Thin Iron Films for Polarization Analysis of Ultracold Neutrons: The TUCAN (TRIUMF Ultra-Cold Advanced Neutron) collaboration aims to search\nfor the neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) with unprecedented precision. One\nof the essential elements for the nEDM measurement is a polarization analyzer\nof ultracold neutrons (UCNs), whose main component is a magnetized thin iron\nfilm. Several thin iron films were deposited on aluminum and silicon ubstrates\nand were characterized by vibrating sample magnetometry and cold-neutron\nreflectometry. A magnetic field required to saturate the iron film is $\\sim$12\nkA/m for those on the aluminum substrates and 6.4 kA/m for the silicon\nsubstrates. The magnetic potential of the iron films on the Si substrate was\nestimated to be 2 T by the neutron reflectometry, which is sufficient\nperformance for an UCN polarization analyzer of the nEDM measurement.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neganov-Luke amplified cryogenic light detectors for the background\n discrimination in neutrinoless double beta decay search with TeO$_{2}$\n bolometers: We demonstrate that Neganov-Luke amplified cryogenic light detectors with\nTransition Edge Sensor read-out can be applied for the background suppression\nin cryogenic experiments searching for the neutrinoless double beta decay of\n$^{130}\\text{Te}$ with TeO$_{2}$ based bolometers. Electron and gamma induced\nevents can be discriminated from $\\alpha$ events by detecting the Cherenkov\nlight produced by the $\\beta$ particles emitted in the decay. We use the\nCherenkov light produced by events in the full energy peak of $^{208}\\text{Tl}$\nand by events from a $^{147}\\text{Sm}$ source to show that at the Q-value of\nthe neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{130}\\text{Te}$ ($Q_{\\beta \\beta} =\n2.53 \\,\\text{MeV}$), a separation of $e^{-}/\\gamma$ events from $\\alpha$ events\ncan be achieved on an event-by-event basis with practically no reduction in\nsignal acceptance.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Setup of a photomultiplier tube test bench for use at LHAASO-KM2A: To fulfill the requirements for testing the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) of\nthe electromagnetic detec- tor at the Large High Altitude Air Shower\nObservatory (LHAASO), a multi-functional PMT test bench with a two dimensional\nscanning system has been developed. With this 2D scanning system, 16 PMTs can\nbe scanned simultaneously for characteristics tests, including uniformity,\ncathode transit time difference, single photo-electron spectrum, gain vs. high\nvoltage, linear behavior and dark noise. The programmable hardware and\nintelligent software of the test bench make it convenient to use and provide\nreliable results. The test methods are described in detail and primary results\nare presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The JUNO experiment and its electronics readout system: The main goal of the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) under\nconstruction in China is to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and to\nmeasure oscillation parameters to the sub-percent level. The detector consists\nof 20 ktons of liquid scintillator instrumented by 17612 20-inch\nphoto-multiplier tubes, and 25600 3-inch small PMTs, with photo-cathode\ncoverage of 77%. The electronics system is separated into two main parts. The\nfront-end system, sitting under water, performs analog signal processing. The\nback-end electronics system, sitting outside water, consists of the DAQ and the\ntrigger. The current production status of the experiment as well as the design\nof the electronics system will be reported in the presentation.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A 16-ch module for thermal neutron detection using ZnS:${}^6$LiF\n scintillator with embedded WLS fibers coupled to SiPMs and its dedicated\n readout electronics: A scalable 16-ch thermal neutron detection system has been developed in the\nframework of the upgrade of a neutron diffractometer. The detector is based on\nZnS:${}^6$LiF scintillator with embedded WLS fibers which are read out with\nSiPMs. In this paper, we present the 16-ch module, the dedicated readout\nelectronics, a direct comparison between the performance of the diffractometer\nobtained with the current ${}^3$He detector and with the 16-ch detection\nmodule, and the channel-to-channel uniformity.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A data analysis method for isochronous mass spectrometry using two\n time-of-flight detectors at CSRe: The concept of isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS) applying two\ntime-of-flight (TOF) detectors originated many years ago at GSI. However, the\ncorresponding method for data analysis has never been discussed in detail.\nRecently, two TOF detectors have been installed at CSRe and the new working\nmode of the ring is under test. In this paper, a data analysis method for this\nmode is introduced and tested with a series of simulations. The results show\nthat the new IMS method can significantly improve mass resolving power via the\nadditional velocity information of stored ions. This improvement is especially\nimportant for nuclides with Lorentz factor $\\gamma$-value far away from the\ntransition point $\\gamma _t$ of the storage ring CSRe.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Containment and resolution of hadronic showers at the FCC: The particles produced at a potential Future Circular Collider with\n$\\sqrt{s}$ = 100 TeV are of unprecented energies. In this document we present\nthe hadronic shower containment and resolution parametrizations based on Geant4\nsimulations for the Hadronic calorimetry needed for conceptual detector design\nat this energy. The Geant4 toolkit along with FTFP\\_BERT physics list are used\nin this study. Comparisons are made with test-beam data from the ATLAS Tile\nhadronic calorimeter. These simulations motivate a 12 $\\lambda$ calorimeter in\norder to contain at 98% level TeV single hadron showers and multi-TeV jets and\nkeep a pion energy resolution constant term of 3%.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of a proton Computed Tomography (pCT) scanner at NIU: We describe the development of a proton Computed Tomography (pCT) scanner at\nNorthern Illinois University (NIU) in collaboration with Fermilab and Delhi\nUniversity. This paper provides an overview of major components of the scanner\nand a detailed description of the data acquisition system (DAQ).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Complex impedance of TESs under AC bias using FDM readout system: The next generation of Far-infrared and X-ray space observatories will\nrequire detector arrays with thousands of transition edge sensor (TES) pixel.\nIt is extremely important to have a tool that is able to characterize all the\npixels and that can give a clear picture of the performance of the devices. In\nparticular, we refer to those aspects that can affect the global energy\nresolution of the array: logarithmic resistance sensitivity with respect to\ntemperature and current ($\\alpha$ and $\\beta$ parameters, respectively),\nuniformity of the TESs and the correct understanding of the detector thermal\nmodel. Complex impedance measurement of a TES is the only technique that can\ngive all this information at once, but it has been established only for a\nsingle pixel under DC bias. We have developed a complex impedance measurement\nmethod for TESs that are AC biased since we are using a MHz frequency domain\nmultiplexing (FDM) system to readout an array. We perform a complete set of AC\nimpedance measurements for different X-ray TES microcalorimeters based on\nsuperconducting TiAu bilayers with or without normal metal Au bar structures.\nWe discuss the statistical analysis of the residual between impedance data and\nfitting model to determine the proper calorimeter thermal model for our\ndetectors. Extracted parameters are used to improve our understanding of the\ndifferences and capabilities among the detectors and additionally the quality\nof the array. Moreover, we use the results to compare the calculated noise\nspectra with the measured data.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Material screening and selection for XENON100: Results of the extensive radioactivity screening campaign to identify\nmaterials for the construction of XENON100 are reported. This Dark Matter\nsearch experiment is operated underground at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran\nSasso (LNGS), Italy. Several ultra sensitive High Purity Germanium detectors\n(HPGe) have been used for gamma ray spectrometry. Mass spectrometry has been\napplied for a few low mass plastic samples. Detailed tables with the\nradioactive contaminations of all screened samples are presented, together with\nthe implications for XENON100.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Silicon Vertex Detector of the Belle II Experiment: In 2019 the Belle II experiment started data taking at the asymmetric\nSuperKEKB collider (KEK, Japan) operating at the Y(4S) resonance. Belle II will\nsearch for new physics beyond the Standard Model by collecting an integrated\nluminosity of 50~ab$^{-1}$. The silicon vertex detector (SVD), consisting of\nfour layers of double-sided silicon strip sensors, is one of the two vertex\nsub-detectors. The SVD extrapolates the tracks to the inner pixel detector\n(PXD) with enough precision to correctly identify hits in the PXD belonging to\nthe track. In addition the SVD has standalone tracking capability and utilizes\nionization to enhance particle identification in the low momentum region. The\nSVD is operating reliably and with high efficiency, despite exposure to the\nharsh beam background of the highest peak-luminosity collider ever built. High\nsignal-to-noise ratio and hit efficiency have been measured, as well as the\nspatial resolution; all these quantities show excellent stability over time.\nData-simulation agreement on cluster properties has recently been improved\nthrough a careful tuning of the simulation. The precise hit-time resolution can\nbe exploited to reject out-of-time hits induced by beam background, which will\nmake the SVD more robust against higher levels of background. During the first\nthree years of running, radiation damage effects on strip noise, sensor\ncurrents and depletion voltage have been observed, as well as some coupling\ncapacitor failure due to intense radiation bursts. None of these effects cause\nsignificant degradation in the detector performance.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterization of the first prototype CMOS pixel sensor developed for\n the CEPC vertex detector: Purpose: CMOS pixel sensors have become extremely attractive for future high\nperformance tracking devices. Initial R\\&D work has been conducted for the\nvertex detector for the proposed Circular Electron Positron Collider that will\nallow precision Higgs measurements. It is critical to achieve low power\nconsumption to minimize the material budget. This requires careful optimization\nof the sensor diode geometry to reach high charge-over-capacitance that allows\nreduction in analog power consumption.\n Methods: The electrode area and footprint are two critical elements in sensor\ndiode geometry and have deciding impacts on the sensor charge collection\nperformance. Prototype CMOS pixel sensor JadePix-1 has been developed with\npixel sectors implementing different electrode area and footprint and their\ncharge collection performance has been characterized with radioactive\nresources.\n Results: Charge-to-voltage conversion gains are calibrated with low energy\nX-ray. Noise, charge collection efficiency, charge-over-capacitance and\nsignal-to-noise ratio are obtained for pixel sectors of different electrode\narea and footprint.\n Conclusion: Small electrode area and large footprint are preferred to achieve\nhigh charge-over-capacitance that promises low analog power consumption.\nOngoing studies on sensor performance before and after irradiation, combined\nwith this work, will conclude on the diode geometry optimization.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A High Efficiency Photon Veto for the Light Dark Matter eXperiment: Fixed-target experiments using primary electron beams can be powerful\ndiscovery tools for light dark matter in the sub-GeV mass range. The Light Dark\nMatter eXperiment (LDMX) is designed to measure missing momentum in high-rate\nelectron fixed-target reactions with beam energies of 4 GeV to 16 GeV. A\nprerequisite for achieving several important sensitivity milestones is the\ncapability to efficiently reject backgrounds associated with few-GeV\nbremsstrahlung, by twelve orders of magnitude, while maintaining high\nefficiency for signal. The primary challenge arises from events with\nphoto-nuclear reactions faking the missing-momentum property of a dark matter\nsignal. We present a methodology developed for the LDMX detector concept that\nis capable of the required rejection. By employing a detailed GEANT4-based\nmodel of the detector response, we demonstrate that the sampling calorimetry\nproposed for LDMX can achieve better than $10^{-13}$ rejection of few-GeV\nphotons. This suggests that the luminosity-limited sensitivity of LDMX can be\nrealized at 4 GeV and higher beam energies.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Experimental Study of Boron-coated Straws with a Neutron Source: Multiple types of high quality neutron detectors are proposed for the first\nphase of the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), which will be commissioned\nin 2018. Considering the shortage of 3He supply, a detector module composed of\n49 boron-coated straws (BCS) was developed by Proportional Technologies Inc.\n(PTI). Each straw has a length of 1000 mm and a diameter of 7.5 mm. Seven\nstraws are tightly packed in a tube, and seven tubes are organized in a row to\nform a detector module. The charge division method is used for longitudinal\npositioning. A specific readout system was utilized to output the signal and\nsimultaneously encode each straw. The performance of this detector module was\nstudied using a moderated 252Cf source at the Institute of High Energy Physics\n(IHEP). The signal amplitude spectrum indicates its n-gamma discrimination\ncapability. Despite the complex readout method, a longitudinal resolution of\n6.1-0.5 mm was obtained. The three-dimensional positioning ability qualifies\nthis BCS detector module as a promising neutron scattering spectrometer\ndetector.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Low-energy antiproton physics and the FLAIR facility: FLAIR, the Facility for Low-energy Antiproton and Ion Research has been\nproposed in 2004 as an extension of the planned FAIR facility at Darmstadt,\nGermany. FLAIR was not included into the Modularized Start Version of FAIR, but\nthe recent installation of the CRYRING storage ring at GSI Darmstadt has opened\nnew perspectives for physics with low-energy antiprotons at FAIR.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of CVD diamond detectors for single ion beam-tagging\n applications in hadrontherapy monitoring: In the context of online ion range verification in particle therapy, the\nCLaRyS collaboration is developing Prompt-Gamma (PG) detection systems. The\noriginality in the CLaRyS approach is to use a beam-tagging hodoscope in\ncoincidence with the gamma detectors to provide both temporal and spatial\ninformation of the incoming ions. The ion range sensitivity of such PG\ndetection systems could be improved by detecting single ions with a 100 ps\n($\\sigma$) time resolution, through a quality assurance procedure at low beam\nintensity at the beginning of the treatment session. This work presents the\ninvestigations led to assess the performance of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)\ndiamond detectors to fulfill these requirements. A $^{90}$Sr beta source, 68\nMeV protons, 95 MeV/u carbon ions and a synchrotron X-ray pulsed beam were used\nto measure the time resolution, single ion detection efficiency and proton\ncounting capability of various CVD diamond samples. An offline technique, based\non double-sided readout with fast current preamplifiers and used to improve the\nsignal-to-noise ratio, is also presented. The different tests highlighted\nTime-Of-Flight resolutions ranging from 13 ps ($\\sigma$) to 250 ps ($\\sigma$),\ndepending on the experimental conditions. The single 68 MeV proton detection\nefficiency of various large area polycrystalline (pCVD) samples was measured to\nbe $>$96% using coincidence measurements with a single-crystal reference\ndetector. Single-crystal CVD (sCVD) diamond proved to be able to count a\ndiscrete number of simultaneous protons while it was not achievable with a\npolycrystalline sample. Considering the results of the present study, two\ndiamond hodoscope demonstrators are under development: one based on sCVD, and\none of larger size based on pCVD. They will be used for the purpose of single\nion as well as ion bunches detection, either at reduced or clinical beam\nintensities.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Energy Loss Due to Defect Formation from $^{206}$Pb Recoils in SuperCDMS\n Germanium Detectors: The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search experiment (SuperCDMS) at the Soudan\nUnderground Laboratory studied energy loss associated with Frenkel defect\nformation in germanium crystals at mK temperatures using in situ $^{210}$Pb\nsources. We examine the spectrum of $^{206}$Pb nuclear recoils near its\nexpected 103 keV endpoint energy and determine an energy loss of\n$\\left(6.08\\pm0.18\\right)$ %, which we attribute to defect formation. From this\nresult and using TRIM simulations, we extract the first experimentally\ndetermined average displacement threshold energy of\n$\\left(19.7^{+0.6}_{-0.5}\\right)$ eV for germanium. This has implications for\nthe analysis thresholds of future germanium-based dark matter searches.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Artificial Intelligence for Imaging Cherenkov Detectors at the EIC: Imaging Cherenkov detectors form the backbone of particle identification\n(PID) at the future Electron Ion Collider (EIC). Currently all the designs for\nthe first EIC detector proposal use a dual Ring Imaging CHerenkov (dRICH)\ndetector in the hadron endcap, a Detector for Internally Reflected Cherenkov\n(DIRC) light in the barrel, and a modular RICH (mRICH) in the electron endcap.\nThese detectors involve optical processes with many photons that need to be\ntracked through complex surfaces at the simulation level, while for\nreconstruction they rely on pattern recognition of ring images. This proceeding\nsummarizes ongoing efforts and possible applications of AI for imaging\nCherenkov detectors at EIC. In particular we will provide the example of the\ndRICH for the AI-assisted design and of the DIRC for simulation and particle\nidentification from complex patterns and discuss possible advantages of using\nAI.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Technical Design Report for the AMoRE $0\u03bd\u03b2\u03b2$ Decay Search\n Experiment: The AMoRE (Advanced Mo-based Rare process Experiment) project is a series of\nexperiments that use advanced cryogenic techniques to search for the\nneutrinoless double-beta decay of \\mohundred. The work is being carried out by\nan international collaboration of researchers from eight countries. These\nsearches involve high precision measurements of radiation-induced temperature\nchanges and scintillation light produced in ultra-pure \\Mo[100]-enriched and\n\\Ca[48]-depleted calcium molybdate ($\\mathrm{^{48depl}Ca^{100}MoO_4}$) crystals\nthat are located in a deep underground laboratory in Korea. The \\mohundred\nnuclide was chosen for this \\zeronubb decay search because of its high\n$Q$-value and favorable nuclear matrix element. Tests have demonstrated that\n\\camo crystals produce the brightest scintillation light among all of the\nmolybdate crystals, both at room and at cryogenic temperatures.\n$\\mathrm{^{48depl}Ca^{100}MoO_4}$ crystals are being operated at milli-Kelvin\ntemperatures and read out via specially developed metallic-magnetic-calorimeter\n(MMC) temperature sensors that have excellent energy resolution and relatively\nfast response times. The excellent energy resolution provides good\ndiscrimination of signal from backgrounds, and the fast response time is\nimportant for minimizing the irreducible background caused by random\ncoincidence of two-neutrino double-beta decay events of \\mohundred nuclei.\nComparisons of the scintillating-light and phonon yields and pulse shape\ndiscrimination of the phonon signals will be used to provide redundant\nrejection of alpha-ray-induced backgrounds. An effective Majorana neutrino mass\nsensitivity that reaches the expected range of the inverted neutrino mass\nhierarchy, i.e., 20-50 meV, could be achieved with a 200~kg array of\n$\\mathrm{^{48depl}Ca^{100}MoO_4}$ crystals operating for three years.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "ILD MC production for detector optimization: A large scale Monte Carlo production has been pursued since spring 2018 for\nthe ILD detector optimization studies based on physics benchmark processes. A\nproduction system based on ILCDirac has been developed to produce samples in\ntimely manner. The system and its performance are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High purity 100 GeV electron identification with synchrotron radiation: In high energy experiments such as active beam dump searches for rare decays\nand missing energy events, the beam purity is a crucial parameter. In this\npaper we present a technique to reject heavy charged particle contamination in\nthe 100 GeV electron beam of the H4 beam line at CERN SPS. The method is based\non the detection with BGO scintillators of the synchrotron radiation emitted by\nthe electrons passing through a bending dipole magnet. A 100 GeV $\\pi^-$ beam\nis used to test the method in the NA64 experiment resulting in a suppression\nfactor of $10^{-5}$ while the efficiency for electron detection is $\\sim$95%.\nThe spectra and the rejection factors are in very good agreement with the Monte\nCarlo simulation. The reported suppression factors are significantly better\nthan previously achieved.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Electron Lifetime Determination in Semiconductor Gamma Detector Arrayes: Hecht equation is not adequate to analyzing standard measurements, of the\nmobility-lifetime product, carried out with single pixels of detector arrays. A\nmodified expression is calculated, in order to have correct mobility-lifetime\nvalues out of experimental data.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Intrinsic limits on resolutions in muon- and electron-neutrino\n charged-current events in the KM3NeT/ORCA detector: Studying atmospheric neutrino oscillations in the few-GeV range with a\nmultimegaton detector promises to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy. This\nis the main science goal pursued by the future KM3NeT/ORCA water Cherenkov\ndetector in the Mediterranean Sea. In this paper, the processes that limit the\nobtainable resolution in both energy and direction in charged-current neutrino\nevents in the ORCA detector are investigated. These processes include the\ncomposition of the hadronic fragmentation products, the subsequent particle\npropagation and the photon-sampling fraction of the detector. GEANT simulations\nof neutrino interactions in seawater produced by GENIE are used to study the\neffects in the 1 - 20 GeV range. It is found that fluctuations in the hadronic\ncascade in conjunction with the variation of the inelasticity y are most\ndetrimental to the resolutions. The effect of limited photon sampling in the\ndetector is of significantly less importance. These results will therefore also\nbe applicable to similar detectors/media, such as those in ice.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A medium-finesse optical cavity for the stabilization of Rydberg lasers: We describe the design, construction, and characterization of a\nmedium-finesse Fabry-P\\'erot cavity for simultaneous frequency stabilization of\ntwo lasers operating at 960 and 780 nm wavelengths, respectively. The lasers\nare applied in experiments with ultracold rubidium Rydberg atoms, for which a\ncombined laser linewidth similar to the natural Rydberg linewidth\n(approximately 10 kHz) is desired. The cavity, with a finesse of approximately\n1500, is used to reduce the linewidth of the lasers to below this level. By\nusing a spacer made of ultra low expansion (ULE) glass with active temperature\nstabilization, the residual frequency drift is limited to 1 MHz/day. The design\noptimizes for ease of construction, robustness, and affordability.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The CLAS12 Backward Angle Neutron Detector (BAND): The Backward Angle Neutron Detector (BAND) of CLAS12 detects neutrons emitted\nat backward angles of $155^\\circ$ to $175^\\circ$, with momenta between $200$\nand $600$ MeV/c. It is positioned 3 meters upstream of the target, consists of\n$18$ rows and $5$ layers of $7.2$ cm by $7.2$ cm scintillator bars, and read\nout on both ends by PMTs to measure time and energy deposition in the\nscintillator layers. Between the target and BAND there is a 2 cm thick lead\nwall followed by a 2 cm veto layer to suppress gammas and reject charged\nparticles. This paper discusses the component-selection tests and the detector\nassembly. Timing calibrations (including offsets and time-walk) were performed\nusing a novel pulsed-laser calibration system, resulting in time resolutions\nbetter than $250$ ps (150 ps) for energy depositions above 2 MeVee (5 MeVee).\nCosmic rays and a variety of radioactive sources were used to calibration the\nenergy response of the detector. Scintillator bar attenuation lengths were\nmeasured. The time resolution results in a neutron momentum reconstruction\nresolution, $\\delta p/p < 1.5$\\% for neutron momentum $200\\le p\\le 600$ MeV/c.\nFinal performance of the BAND with CLAS12 is shown, including electron-neutral\nparticle timing spectra and a discussion of the off-time neutral contamination\nas a function of energy deposition threshold.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Analysis procedure of the positronium lifetime spectra for the J-PET\n detector: Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS) has shown to be a powerful\ntool to study the nanostructures of porous materials. Positron Emissions\nTomography (PET) are devices allowing imaging of metabolic processes e.g. in\nhuman bodies. A newly developed device, the J-PET (Jagiellonian PET), will\nallow PALS in addition to imaging, thus combining both analyses providing new\nmethods for physics and medicine. In this contribution we present a computer\nprogram that is compatible with the J-PET software. We compare its performance\nwith the standard program LT 9.0 by using PALS data from hexane measurements at\ndifferent temperatures. Our program is based on an iterative procedure, and our\nfits prove that it performs as good as LT 9.0.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Monitoring the SNS basement neutron background with the MARS detector: We present the analysis and results of the first dataset collected with the\nMARS neutron detector deployed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Spallation\nNeutron Source (SNS) for the purpose of monitoring and characterizing the\nbeam-related neutron (BRN) background for the COHERENT collaboration. MARS was\npositioned next to the COH-CsI coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering\ndetector in the SNS basement corridor. This is the basement location of closest\nproximity to the SNS target and thus, of highest neutrino flux, but it is also\nwell shielded from the BRN flux by infill concrete and gravel. These data show\nthe detector registered roughly one BRN per day. Using MARS' measured detection\nefficiency, the incoming BRN flux is estimated to be\n$1.20~\\pm~0.56~\\text{neutrons}/\\text{m}^2/\\text{MWh}$ for neutron energies\nabove $\\sim3.5$ MeV and up to a few tens of MeV. We compare our results with\nprevious BRN measurements in the SNS basement corridor reported by other\nneutron detectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A probabilistic framework for uncertainty quantification in positron\n emission particle tracking: Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) is an imaging method for the\nvisualization of fluid motion, capable of reconstructing three-dimensional\ntrajectories of small tracer particles suspended in nearly any medium,\nincluding fluids that are opaque or contained within opaque vessels. The\nparticles are labeled radioactively, and their positions are reconstructed from\nthe detection of pairs of back-to-back photons emitted by positron\nannihilation. Current reconstruction algorithms are heuristic and typically\nbased on minimizing the distance between the particles and the so-called lines\nof response (LoRs) joining the detection points, while accounting for spurious\nLoRs generated by scattering. Here we develop a probabilistic framework for the\nBayesian inference and uncertainty quantification of particle positions from\nPEPT data. We formulate a likelihood by describing the emission of photons and\ntheir noisy detection as a Poisson process in the space of LoRs. We derive\nformulas for the corresponding Poisson rate in the case of cylindrical\ndetectors, accounting for both undetected and scattered photons. We illustrate\nthe formulation by quantifying the uncertainty in the reconstruction of the\nposition of a single particle on a circular path from data generated by\nstate-of-the-art Monte Carlo simulations. The results show how the observation\ntime $\\Delta t$ can be chosen optimally to balance the need for a large number\nof LoRs with the requirement of small particle displacement imposed by the\nassumption that the particle is static over $\\Delta t$. We further show how\nthis assumption can be relaxed by inferring jointly the position and velocity\nof the particle, with clear benefits for the accuracy of the reconstruction.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Optical quality assurance of GEM foils: An analysis software was developed for the high aspect ratio optical scanning\nsystem in the Detec- tor Laboratory of the University of Helsinki and the\nHelsinki Institute of Physics. The system is used e.g. in the quality assurance\nof the GEM-TPC detectors being developed for the beam diagnostics system of the\nSuperFRS at future FAIR facility. The software was tested by analyzing five\nCERN standard GEM foils scanned with the optical scanning system. The\nmeasurement uncertainty of the diameter of the GEM holes and the pitch of the\nhole pattern was found to be 0.5 {\\mu}m and 0.3 {\\mu}m, respectively. The\nsoftware design and the performance are discussed. The correlation between the\nGEM hole size distribution and the corresponding gain variation was studied by\ncomparing them against a detailed gain mapping of a foil and a set of six lower\nprecision control measurements. It can be seen that a qualitative estimation of\nthe behavior of the local variation in gain across the GEM foil can be made\nbased on the measured sizes of the outer and inner holes.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Modelling the transient processes produced under heavy particle\n irradiation: A new model for the thermal spike produced by the nuclear energy loss, as\nsource of transient processes, is derived analytically, for power law\ndependences of the diffusivity on temperature, as solution of the heat\nequation. The contribution of the ionizing energy loss to the spike is not\nincluded. The range of validity of the model is analysed, and the results are\ncompared with numerical solutions obtained in the frame of the previous model\nof the authors, which takes into account both nuclear and ionization energy\nlosses, as well as the coupling between the two subsystems in crystalline\nsemiconductors. Particular solutions are discussed and the errors induced by\nthese approximations are analysed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neutron reflectometry with the Multi-Blade 10B-based detector: The Multi-Blade is a Boron-10-based gaseous detector developed for neutron\nreflectometry instruments at the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Sweden.\nThe main challenges for neutron reflectometry detectors are the instantaneous\ncounting rate and spatial resolution. The Multi-Blade has been tested on the\nCRISP reflectometer at the ISIS neutron and muon source in UK. A campaign of\nscientific measurements has been performed to study the Multi-Blade response in\nreal instrumental conditions. The results of these tests are discussed in this\nmanuscript.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Suppression of electrical breakdown phenomena in liquid TriMethyl\n Bismuth based ionization detectors: Organometallic liquids provide good properties for ionization detectors.\nTriMethyl Bismuth (TMBi) has been proposed as a detector medium with charge and\nCherenkov photon readout for Positron Emission Tomography. In this work, we\npresent studies for the handling of TMBi at different electric fields and under\ndifferent environmental conditions to find applicable configurations for the\nsuppression of electrical breakdowns in TMBi at room temperature. A simple\nglass cell with two electrodes filled with TMBi was constructed and tested\nunder different operation conditions. Working at the vapour pressure of TMBi at\nroom temperature of about 40 mbar and electric fields of up to 20 kV/cm in\npresence of a small oxygen contamination we found the formation of a discharge\nchannel in the liquid and a steady increase in the current. Further reduction\nof pressure by pumping caused the TMBi to boil and a spontaneous combustion.\nEliminating the oxygen contamination led the TMBi under the same condition to\nonly decompose. When operating the setup under an argon atmosphere of 1 bar we\ndid not observe breakdowns of the electrical potential up to field strengths of\n20 kV/cm. Still, in presence of a small oxygen contamination fluctuating\ncurrents in the nA range were observed, but no decomposition or combustion. We\nconclude from our experiments that TMBi at room temperature in a pure argon\natmosphere of 1 bar remains stable against electrical breakdown at least up to\nelectric field strengths of 20 kV/cm, presumably because the formation of\ngaseous TMBi was prevented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Supervised learning of photoelectron counting in scintillator-based dark\n matter experiments: Many scintillator based detectors employ a set of photomultiplier tubes (PMT)\nto observe the scintillation light from potential signal and background events.\nIt is important to be able to count the number of photoelectrons (PE) in the\npulses observed in the PMTs, because the position and energy reconstruction of\nthe events is directly related to how well the spatial distribution of the PEs\nin the PMTs as well as their total number might be measured. This task is\nchallenging for fast scintillators, since the PEs often overlap each other in\ntime. Standard Bayesian statistics methods are often used and this has been the\nmethod employed in analyzing the data from liquid argon experiments such as\nMiniCLEAN and DEAP. In this work, we show that for the MiniCLEAN detector it is\npossible to use a multi-layer perceptron to learn the number of PEs using only\nraw pulse features with better accuracy and precision than existing methods.\nThis can even help to perform position reconstruction with better accuracy and\nprecision, at least in some generic cases.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Energy Reconstruction of Hadrons in highly granular combined ECAL and\n HCAL systems: This paper discusses the hadronic energy reconstruction of two combined\nelectromagnetic and hadronic calorimeter systems using physics prototypes of\nthe CALICE collaboration: the silicon-tungsten electromagnetic calorimeter\n(Si-W ECAL) and the scintillator-SiPM based analog hadron calorimeter (AHCAL);\nand the scintillator-tungsten electromagnetic calorimeter (ScECAL) and the\nAHCAL. These systems were operated in hadron beams at CERN and FNAL, permitting\nthe study of the performance in combined ECAL and HCAL systems.\n Two techniques for the energy reconstruction are used, a standard\nreconstruction based on calibrated sub-detector energy sums, and one based on a\nsoftware compensation algorithm making use of the local energy density\ninformation provided by the high granularity of the detectors. The software\ncompensation-based algorithm improves the hadronic energy resolution by up to\n30% compared to the standard reconstruction. The combined system data show\ncomparable energy resolutions to the one achieved for data with showers\nstarting only in the AHCAL and therefore demonstrate the success of the\ninter-calibration of the different sub-systems, despite of their different\ngeometries and different readout technologies.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "ATLASrift - a Virtual Reality application: We present ATLASrift - a Virtual Reality application that provides an\ninteractive, immersive visit to ATLAS experiment. We envision it being used in\ntwo different ways: first as an educational and outreach tool - for schools,\nuniversities, museums and interested individuals, and secondly as an event\nviewer for ATLAS physicists - for them it will provide a much better spatial\nawareness of an event, track and jet directions, occupancies and interactions\nwith detector structures. Using it, one can learn about the experiment as a\nwhole, visit individual sub-detectors, view real interactions, or take a\nscripted walkthrough explaining questions physicists are trying to answer. We\nbriefly describe our platform of choice - OculusRift VR system, the development\nenvironment - UnrealEngine, and, in detail, the numerous technically demanding\nrequirements that had to be fulfilled in order to provide a comfortable user\nexperience. Plans for future versions include making the experience social by\nadding multi-user/virtual presence options, event animation, interactive\nvirtual demonstrations of key high energy physics concepts, or detector\noperating principles.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A High-Performance, Low-Cost Laser Shutter using a Piezoelectric\n Cantilever Actuator: We report the design and characterization of an optical shutter based on a\npiezoelectric cantilever. Compared to conventional electro-magnetic shutters,\nthe device is intrinsically low power and acoustically quiet. The cantilever\nposition is controlled by a high-voltage op-amp circuit for easy tuning of the\nrange of travel, and mechanical slew rate, which enables a factor of 30\nreduction in mechanical noise compared to a rapidly switched device. We achieve\nshuttering rise and fall times of 11 $\\mu$s, corresponding to mechanical slew\nrates of 1.3 $\\textrm{ ms}^{-1}$, with an timing jitter of less than 1 $\\mu$s.\nWhen used to create optical pulses, we achieve minimum pulse durations of 250\n$\\mu$s. The reliability of the shutter was investigated by operating\ncontinuously for one week at 10 Hz switching rate. After this period, neither\nthe shutter delay or actuation speed had changed by a notable amount. We also\nshow that the high-voltage electronics can be easily configured as a versatile\nlow-noise, high-bandwidth piezo driver, well-suited to applications in laser\nfrequency control.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A detector system for 'absolute' measurements of fission cross sections\n at n_TOF in the energy range below 200 MeV: A new measurement of the $^{235}$U(n,f) cross section was performed at the\nneutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN. The experiment focused on\nneutron energies from 20 MeV to several hundred MeV, and was normalized to\nneutron scattering on hydrogen. This is a measurement first of its kind at this\nfacility, in an energy range that was until now not often explored, so the\ndetector development phase was crucial for its success. Two detectors are\npresented, a parallel plate fission chamber (PPFC) and a recoil proton\ntelescope (RPT), both dedicated to perform measurements in the incident neutron\nenergy range from 30 MeV to 200 MeV. The experiment was designed to minimize\nstatistical uncertainties in the allocated run time. Several efforts were made\nto ensure that the systematic effects were understood and under control. The\nresults show that the detectors are suited for measurements at n_TOF above 30\nMeV, and indicate the path for possible future lines of development.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Simulation on the Transparency of Electrons and Ion Back Flow for a Time\n Projection Chamber based on Staggered Multiple THGEMs: The IBF and the transparent rate of electrons are two essential indicators of\nTPC, which affect the energy resolution and counting rate respectively. In this\npaper, we propose several novel strategies of staggered multi-THGEM to suppress\nIBF, where the geometry of the first layer THGEM will be optimized to increase\nthe electron transparent rate. By Garfield++ simulation, the electron\ntransparency rate can be more than 90% of single THGEM with a optimized large\nhole. By simulating these configurations of triple and quadruple THGEM\nstructures, we conclude that the IBF can be reduced to 0.2% level in an\noptimized configuration denoted as \"ACBA\". This strategy for staggered THGEM\ncould have potential applications in future TPC projects.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High Precision Experiments with Cold and Ultra-Cold Neutrons: This work presents selected results from the first round of the DFG Priority\nProgramme SPP 1491 \"precision experiments in particle and astroparticle physics\nwith cold and ultra-cold neutrons\".", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Calibration of the charge and energy loss per unit length of the\n MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber using muons and protons: We describe a method used to calibrate the position- and time-dependent\nresponse of the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber anode wires to\nionization particle energy loss. The method makes use of crossing cosmic-ray\nmuons to partially correct anode wire signals for multiple effects as a\nfunction of time and position, including cross-connected TPC wires, space\ncharge effects, electron attachment to impurities, diffusion, and\nrecombination. The overall energy scale is then determined using\nfully-contained beam-induced muons originating and stopping in the active\nregion of the detector. Using this method, we obtain an absolute energy scale\nuncertainty of 2\\% in data. We use stopping protons to further refine the\nrelation between the measured charge and the energy loss for highly-ionizing\nparticles. This data-driven detector calibration improves both the measurement\nof total deposited energy and particle identification based on energy loss per\nunit length as a function of residual range. As an example, the proton\nselection efficiency is increased by 2\\% after detector calibration.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Real-Time Discrete SPAD Array Readout Architecture for Time of Flight\n PET: Single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) arrays have proven themselves as serious\ncandidates for time of flight positron emission tomography (PET). Discrete\nreadout schemes mitigate the low-noise requirements of analog schemes and offer\nvery fine control over threshold levels and timing pickup strategies. A high\noptical fill factor is paramount to timing performance in such detectors, and\nconsequently space is limited for closely integrated electronics. Nonetheless,\na production, daily used PET scanner must minimize bandwidth usage, data\nvolume, data analysis time and power consumption and therefore requires a\nreal-time readout and data processing architecture as close to the detector as\npossible. We propose a fully digital, embedded real-time readout architecture\nfor SPAD-based detector. The readout circuit is located directly under the SPAD\narray instead of within or beside it to remove the fill factor versus circuit\ncapabilities tradeoff. The overall real-time engine reduces transmitted data by\na factor of 8 in standard operational mode. Combined with small local memory\nbuffers, this significantly reduces overall acquisition dead time. A prototype\ndevice featuring individual readout for 6 scintillator channels was fabricated.\nTiming readout is provided by a first photon discriminator and a 31 ps time to\ndigital discriminator, while energy reading and event packaging is done using\nstandard logic in real-time. The dedicated serial output line supports a\nsustained rate of 170k counts per second (CPS) in waveform mode, while the\nstandard operational mode supports 2.2 MCPS.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Low Noise Frequency Domain Multiplexing of TES Bolometers using\n Sub-kelvin SQUIDs: Digital Frequency-Domain Multiplexing (DfMux) is a technique that uses MHz\nsuperconducting resonators and Superconducting Quantum Interference Device\n(SQUID) arrays to read out sets of Transition Edge Sensors. DfMux has been used\nby several Cosmic Microwave Background experiments, including most recently\nPOLARBEAR-2 and SPT-3G with multiplexing factors as high as 68, and is the\nbaseline readout technology for the planned satellite mission LiteBIRD. Here,\nwe present recent work focused on improving DfMux readout noise, reducing\nparasitic impedance, and improving sensor operation. We have achieved a\nsubstantial reduction in stray impedance by integrating the sensors,\nresonators, and SQUID array onto a single carrier board operated at 250 mK.\nThis also drastically simplifies the packaging of the cryogenic components and\nleads to better-controlled crosstalk. We demonstrate a low readout noise level\nof 8.6 pA/Hz$^{-1/2}$, which was made possible by operating the SQUID array at\na reduced temperature and with a low dynamic impedance. This is a factor of two\nimprovement compared to the achieved readout noise level in currently operating\nCosmic Microwave Background experiments using DfMux and represents a critical\nstep toward maturation of the technology for the next generation of\ninstruments.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Cryogenic micro-calorimeters for mass spectrometric identification of\n neutral molecules and molecular fragments: We have systematically investigated the energy resolution of a magnetic\nmicro-calorimeter (MMC) for atomic and molecular projectiles at impact energies\nranging from $E\\approx13$ to 150 keV. For atoms we obtained absolute energy\nresolutions down to $\\Delta E \\approx 120$ eV and relative energy resolutions\ndown to $\\Delta E/E\\approx10^{-3}$. We also studied in detail the MMC\nenergy-response function to molecular projectiles of up to mass 56 u. We have\ndemonstrated the capability of identifying neutral fragmentation products of\nthese molecules by calorimetric mass spectrometry. We have modeled the MMC\nenergy-response function for molecular projectiles and conclude that\nbackscattering is the dominant source of the energy spread at the impact\nenergies investigated. We have successfully demonstrated the use of a detector\nabsorber coating to suppress such spreads. We briefly outline the use of MMC\ndetectors in experiments on gas-phase collision reactions with neutral\nproducts. Our findings are of general interest for mass spectrometric\ntechniques, particularly for those desiring to make neutral-particle mass\nmeasurements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The electromagnetic calorimeter of the AMS-02 experiment: The electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) of the AMS-02 experiment is a\n3-dimensional sampling calorimeter, made of lead and scintillating fibers. The\ndetector allows for a high granularity, with 18 samplings in the longitudinal\ndirection, and 72 sampling in the lateral direction. The ECAL primary goal is\nto measure the energy of cosmic rays up to few TeV, however, thanks to the fine\ngrained structure, it can also provide the separation of positrons from\nprotons, in the GeV to TeV region. A direct measurement of high energy photons\nwith accurate energy and direction determination can also be provided.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Future large-scale water-Cherenkov detector: MEMPHYS (MEgaton Mass PHYSics) is a proposed large-scale water-Cherenkov\nexperiment to be performed deep underground. It is dedicated to nucleon decay\nsearches and the detection of neutrinos from supernovae, solar, and atmospheric\nneutrinos, as well as neutrinos from a future beam to measure the CP violating\nphase in the leptonic sector and the mass hierarchy. This paper provides an\noverview of the latest studies on the expected performance of MEMPHYS in view\nof detailed estimates of its physics reach, mainly concerning neutrino beams.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Assessing the Feasibility of Interrogating Nuclear Waste Storage Silos\n using Cosmic-ray Muons: Muon radiography is a fast growing field in applied scientific research. In\nrecent years, many detector technologies and imaging techniques using the\nCoulomb scattering and absorption properties of cosmic-ray muons have been\ndeveloped for the non-destructive assay of various structures across a wide\nrange of applications. This work presents the first results that assess the\nfeasibility of using muons to interrogate waste silos within the UK Nuclear\nIndustry. Two such approaches, using different techniques that exploit each of\nthese properties, have previously been published, and show promising results\nfrom both simulation and experimental data for the detection of shielded high-Z\nmaterials and density variations from volcanic assay. Both detector systems are\nbased on scintillator and photomultiplier technologies. Results from dedicated\nsimulation studies using both these technologies and image reconstruction\ntechniques are presented for an intermediate-sized nuclear waste storage\nfacility filled with concrete and an array of uranium samples. Both results\nhighlight the potential to identify uranium objects of varying thicknesses\ngreater than 5cm within real-time durations of several weeks. Increased\ncontributions from Coulomb scattering within the concrete of the structure\nhinder the ability of both approaches to resolve objects of 2cm dimensions even\nwith increased statistics. These results are all dependent on both the position\nof the objects within the facility and the locations of the detectors. Results\nfor differing thicknesses of concrete, which reflect the unknown composition of\nthe structures under interrogation, are also presented alongside studies\nperformed for a series of data collection durations. It is anticipated that\nwith further research, muon radiography in one, or both of these forms, will\nplay a key role in future industrial applications within the UK Nuclear\nIndustry.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The ADENIUM Telescope- A new beam telescope for the DESY II Test Beam\n Facility: This version removed by arXiv administrators because the submitter did not\nhave the right to agree to the license at the time of submission", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Operation of MHSP multipliers in high pressure pure noble-gas: We report on the performance of a Micro-Hole & Strip Plate (MHSP) electron\nmultiplier operating in pure Xe, Kr, Ar and Ne at the pressure range of 1 to 6\nbar. The maximal gains at 1 bar Xe and Kr are 50000 and 100000, respectively;\nthey drop by about one order of magnitude at 2 bar and by almost another order\nof magnitude at 5-6 bar; they reach gains of 500 and 4000 at 5 bar in Xe and\nKr, respectively. In Ar, the gain varies very little with pressure, being\n3000-9000; in Ne the maximum attainable gain, about 100000, is pressure\nindependent above 2 bar. The results are compared with that of single- and\ntriple-GEM multipliers operated in similar conditions. Potential applications\nare in hard X-ray imaging and in cryogenic radiation detectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The AIDA-2020 TLU: a Flexible Trigger Logic Unit for Test Beam\n Facilities: The AIDA-2020 Trigger Logic Unit (TLU) has been designed to be a flexible and\neasily configurable unit to provide trigger and control signals to devices\nemployed during test beams, integrating them with the beam telescope. The most\nrecent iteration of the TLU (v1E) has been re-designed within the AIDA-2020\nproject to integrate with hardware used in beam facilities. Configuration and\ncommunication with the TLU are performed over Ethernet. It can be employed as a\nstand-alone unit or be deployed as part of the EUDAQ2 data acquisition\nframework, which allows it to connect to a wide range of LHC readout systems.\n The TLU can operate with a sustained particle rate of 1 MHz and with\ninstantaneous rates up to 20 MHz. In the current firmware iteration, the unit\ncan time-stamp incoming signals with a resolution of 1.5 ns.\n The hardware, firmware and software designs of the TLU are freely accessible\nand benefit from constant inputs and upgrades from experienced users. TLU units\nhave already been deployed successfully in beam lines at CERN and DESY.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Radiation Tolerance of Low-Noise Photoreceivers for the LISA Space\n Mission: This study investigates the effects of space environmental radiation on the\nperformance of InGaAs Quadrant Photodiodes (QPDs) and assesses their\nsuitability for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. QPDs of\n1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mm have been irradiated with 20 and 60 MeV protons, 0.5 and 1\nMeV electrons, and Co$^{60}$ gamma. An exposure corresponding to a displacement\ndamage equivalent fluence of $1.0 \\times 10^{+12}$ p/cm$^2$ for 20 and 60 MeV\nprotons and a total ionizing dose of 237 krad were applied, surpassing the\nanticipated radiation levels for the LISA mission by a factor of approximately\nfive. Experiments were conducted to measure changes in QPD dark current,\ncapacitance, and responsivity. The QPDs are integrated with a low-noise\nDC-coupled transimpedance amplifier to form the Photoreceiver (QPR). QPR noise\nand performance in an interferometric system like LISA were also measured.\nAlthough radiation impacted their dark current and responsivity, almost all\nQPDs met LISA's validation criteria and did not demonstrate any critical\nfailure. These findings prove that the tested QPDs are promising candidates for\nLISA and other space-based missions.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Pile-up corrections in laser-driven pulsed x-ray sources: A formalism for treating the pile-up produced in solid-state detectors by\nlaser-driven pulsed x-ray sources has been developed. It allows the direct use\nof x-ray spectroscopy without artificially decreasing the number of counts in\nthe detector, assuming the duration of a pulse is much shorter than the\ndetector response time and the loss of counts from the energy window of the\ndetector can be modeled or neglected. Experimental application shows that\nhaving a small amount of pile-up subsequently corrected improves the\nsignal-to-noise ratio, which would be more beneficial than the strict\nsingle-hit condition usually imposed on this detectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A novel 4D fast track finding system using precise space and time\n information of the hit: We propose a novel fast track finding system capable of reconstructing four\ndimensional particle trajectories in real time using precise space and time\ninformation of the hits. Recent developments in silicon pixel detectors\nachieved 150 ps time resolution and intense R&D is in progress to improve the\ntiming performance, aiming at 10 ps. The use of the precise space and time\ninformation allows the suppression of background hits not compatible with the\ntime of passage of the particle and the determination of its time evolution.\nThe fast track finding device that we are proposing is based on a massively\nparallel algorithm implemented in commercial field-programmable gate array\nusing a pipelined architecture. We describe the algorithm and its\nimplementation for a tracking system prototype based on 8 planes of silicon\nsensors used as a case study. According to simulations the suppression of noise\nhits is effective in reducing fake track combinations and improving real-time\ntrack reconstruction in presence of background hits. The system provides\noffline-like tracks with sub-microsecond latency and it is capable to determine\nthe time of the track with picosecond resolution assuming 10 ps resolution for\nthe hits.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Advanced LIGO Input Optics: The Advanced LIGO gravitational wave detectors are nearing their design\nsensitivity and should begin taking meaningful astrophysical data in the fall\nof 2015. These resonant optical interferometers will have unprecedented\nsensitivity to the strains caused by passing gravitational waves. The input\noptics play a significant part in allowing these devices to reach such\nsensitivities. Residing between the pre-stabilized laser and the main\ninterferometer, the input optics is tasked with preparing the laser beam for\ninterferometry at the sub-attometer level while operating at continuous wave\ninput power levels ranging from 100 mW to 150 W. These extreme operating\nconditions required every major component to be custom designed. These designs\ndraw heavily on the experience and understanding gained during the operation of\nInitial LIGO and Enhanced LIGO. In this article we report on how the components\nof the input optics were designed to meet their stringent requirements and\npresent measurements showing how well they have lived up to their design.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Snowmass 2021: Superconducting Sensor Fabrication Capabilities for HEP\n Science: Superconducting sensors are a key enabling technology for many HEP\nexperiments with advances in sensor capabilities leading directly to expanded\nscience reach. The unique materials and processes required for the fabrication\nof these sensors makes commercial sourcing impractical in comparison with\nsemiconducting devices. Subsequently, the development and fabrication of new\nsensors are often performed at academic cleanrooms supported through HEP basic\ndetector research and/or project funds. While this operational model has been\nsuccessful to date, we are at a turning point in the history of superconducting\nelectronics, as evidenced by the rapid growth in the field of quantum\ncomputing, when scale and sophistication of these sensors can lead to\nsignificant progress. In order to achieve this progress and meet the needs of\nthe next generations of HEP experiments, continued support of all stages of the\nsuperconducting sensors development pipeline is necessary.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterisation and calibration of a scintillating fibre detector with\n > 4000 multi-anode photomultiplier channels: In the Kaos spectrometer at the Mainz Microtron a high-resolution coordinate\ndetector for high-energy particles is operated. It consists of scintillating\nfibres with diameters of < 1mm and is read out by > 4000 multi-anode\nphotomultiplier channels. It is one of the most modern focal-plane detectors\nfor magnetic spectrometers world-wide. To correct variations in the detection\nefficiency, caused by the different gains and the different optical\ntransmittances, a fully automated off-line calibration procedure has been\ndeveloped. The process includes the positioning of a radioisotope source\nalongside the detector plane and the automated acquisition and analysis of the\ndetector signals. It was possible to characterise and calibrate each individual\nfibre channel with a low degree of human interaction.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Polarized H and D Atomic Beam Source for ANKE at COSY-J\u00fclich: A polarized atomic beam source was developed for the polarized internal\nstorage-cell gas target at the magnet spectrometer ANKE of COSY-J\\\"ulich. The\nintensities of the beams injected into the storage cell, measured with a\ncompression tube, are $7.5\\cdot 10^{16}$ hydrogen atoms/s (two hyperfine\nstates) and $3.9\\cdot 10^{16}$ deuterium atoms/s (three hyperfine states). For\nthe hydrogen beam the achieved vector polarizations are $p_{\\rm\nz}\\approx\\pm0.92$. For the deuterium beam, the obtained combinations of vector\nand tensor ($p_{\\rm zz}$) polarizations are $p_{\\rm z}\\approx\\pm 0.90$ (with a\nconstant $p_{\\rm zz}\\approx +0.86$), and $p_{\\rm zz}=+0.90$ or $p_{\\rm\nzz}=-1.71$ (both with vanishing $p_{\\rm z}$). The paper includes a detailed\ntechnical description of the apparatus and of the investigations performed\nduring the development.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A millikelvin scanning tunneling microscope in ultra-high vacuum with\n adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration: We present the design and performance of an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) scanning\ntunneling microscope (STM) that uses adiabatic demagnetization of electron\nmagnetic moments for controlling its operating temperature in the range between\n30 mK and 1 K with the accuracy of up to 7 $\\mu$K. The time available for STM\nexperiments at 50 mK is longer than 20 h, at 100 mK about 40 h. The single-shot\nadiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR) can be regenerated automatically\nwithin 7 hours while keeping the STM temperature below 5 K. The whole setup is\nlocated in a vibrationally isolated, electromagnetically shielded laboratory\nwith no mechanical pumping lines penetrating through its isolation walls. The\n1K pot of the ADR cryostat can be operated silently for more than 20 days in a\nsingle-shot mode using a custom-built high-capacity cryopump. A high degree of\nvibrational decoupling together with the use of a specially-designed\nminimalistic STM head provides an outstanding mechanical stability,\ndemonstrated by the tunneling current noise, STM imaging, and scanning\ntunneling spectroscopy measurements all performed on atomically clean Al(100)\nsurface.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterization of a Nd-loaded organic liquid scintillator for\n neutrinoless double beta decay search of 150-Nd with a 10-ton scale detector: Several liters of an organic liquid scintillator (LS) loaded with Nd have\nbeen made. We report on performances of this scintillator in terms of optical\nproperties, radiopurity and light yield for a Nd concentration of 6.5 g/l. A\npossible application to search for the 150Nd neutrinoless double beta decay\nwith a 10-ton scale LS detector is discussed together with further\nimprovements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Data Acquisition System for CSNS Neutron Beam Monitor: In Chinese Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), proton beam is used to hit metal\ntungsten target, and then high flux neutrons are generated for experiments on\ninstruments. For neutron flux spectrum correction, boron-coated GEM, lithium\nglass and 3He are used as neutron beam monitor in instruments. To be integrated\ninto neutron instrument control, a new DAQ software for neutron beam monitor is\ndeveloped, called NEROS (Neutron Event Readout System). NEROS is based on EPICS\nV4 and a unified data format for CSNS neutron beam monitor is defined. The\nframework and software design of NEROS is introduced in this paper, including\nreal-time data readout, data processing, data visualization and data storage in\nNexus format. The performance is evaluated through offline test, X-ray test and\n252Cf test. The deployment of NEROS and its running result in CSNS instrument\ncommissioning are also introduced in this paper.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Improved Modeling of $\u03b2$ Electronic Recoils in Liquid Xenon Using\n LUX Calibration Data: We report here methods and techniques for creating and improving a model that\nreproduces the scintillation and ionization response of a dual-phase liquid and\ngaseous xenon time-projection chamber. Starting with the recent release of the\nNoble Element Simulation Technique (NEST v2.0), electronic recoil data from the\n$\\beta$ decays of ${}^3$H and ${}^{14}$C in the Large Underground Xenon (LUX)\ndetector were used to tune the model, in addition to external data sets that\nallow for extrapolation beyond the LUX data-taking conditions. This paper also\npresents techniques used for modeling complicated temporal and spatial detector\npathologies that can adversely affect data using a simplified model framework.\nThe methods outlined in this report show an example of the robust applications\npossible with NEST v2.0, while also providing the final electronic recoil model\nand detector parameters that will used in the new analysis package, the LUX\nLegacy Analysis Monte Carlo Application (LLAMA), for accurate reproduction of\nthe LUX data. As accurate background reproduction is crucial for the success of\nrare-event searches, such as dark matter direct detection experiments, the\ntechniques outlined here can be used in other single-phase and dual-phase xenon\ndetectors to assist with accurate ER background reproduction.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Segmented Foil SEM Grids at Fermilab: We present recent beam data from a new design of a profile monitor for proton\nbeams at Fermilab. The monitors, consisting of grids of segmented Ti foils\n5micrometers thick, are secondary-electron emission monitors (SEM's). We review\ndata on the device's precision on beam centroid position, beam width, and on\nbeam loss associated with the SEM material placed in the beam.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of radial motion phase advance during motion excitations in a\n Penning trap and accuracy of JYFLTRAP mass spectrometer: Phase-imaging ion-cyclotron-resonance technique has been implemented at the\nPenning-trap mass spectrometer JYFLTRAP and is routinely employed for mass\nmeasurements of stable and short-lived nuclides produced at IGISOL facility.\nSystematic uncertainties that impose limitations on the accuracy of\nmeasurements are discussed. It was found out that the phase evolution of the\nradial motion of ions in a Penning trap during the application of\nradio-frequency fields leads to a systematic cyclotron frequency shift when\nmore than one ion species is present in the trap during the cyclotron frequency\nmeasurement. An analytic expression was derived to correctly account for the\nshift. Cross-reference mass measurements with carbon-cluster ions have been\nperformed providing the mass-dependent and residual uncertainties.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Moveable Thermometer System in ProtoDUNE: The movable temperature profiler is a 7 m vertical array of 24 sensors that\nmeasures cryogenic temperatures with a precision of a few mK. This precision is\nnecessary to monitor the efficiency of re-circulation and purification of\nliquid-argon inside large liquid-argon based neutrino detectors. Liquid argon\ntemperature impacts electron (signal) drift velocity, flow, purity distribution\nand thus the overall energy calibration. The temperature profiler is motorized\nand moves vertically, while in the detector, and cross-calibrates neighboring\nsensors. The temperature offsets between each sensor cancel the effects of\nelectromagnetic noise. This poster reports on the temperature measurements and\nsuch in-situ cross-calibrations at ProtoDUNE (single phase) at CERN.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The high voltage system for the novel MPGD-based photon detectors of\n COMPASS RICH-1: The architecture of the novel MPGD-based photon detectors of COMPASS RICH-1\nconsists in a large-size hybrid MPGD multilayer layout combining two layers of\nThick-GEMs and a bulk resistive MICROMEGAS. Concerning biasing voltage, the\nThick-GEMs are segmented in order to reduce the energy released in case of\noccasional discharges, while the MICROMEGAS anode is segmented in pads\nindividually biased at positive voltage, while the micromesh is grounded. In\ntotal, there are ten different electrode types and more than 20000 electrodes\nsupplied by more than 100 HV channels. Commercial power supply units are used.\nThe original elements of the power supply system are the architecture of the\nvoltage distribution net, the compensation, by voltage adjustment, of the\neffects of pressure and temperature variation affecting the detector gain and a\nsophisticated control software, which allows to protect the detectors against\nerrors by the operator, to monitor and log voltages and current at 1 Hz rate\nand to automatically react to detector misbehaviors. The HV system and its\nperformance are described in detail as well as the electrical stability of the\ndetector during the operation at COMPASS.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Radiation damage on SiPMs for Space Applications: Silicon Photo-multipliers (SiPMs) are very sensitive photo-detectors that\nexperienced a big development in the last years in several applications, like\nLIDAR, astrophysics, medical imaging and high energy physics (HEP) experiments.\nIn HEP experiments, in particular, they are often exposed to significant\nradiation doses. The main purpose of this manuscript is the characterization of\nseveral FBK SiPM technologies when exposed to 74 $MeV$ protons with a total\nfluence comparable to the one that they would experience in space along\ncircular Low Earth Orbits (LEO), Polar, during a five years mission.\n In this work, we estimated the expected proton fluences along the selected\norbit, by means of the SPENVIS software. Several fluence steps were chosen to\nconsider dense fluence intervals and have a more accurate sight on the whole\ndamage process. We estimated a maximum fluence achieved during the tests of\n$6.4 \\times 10^{11}$ $n_{eq}/cm^2$. Based on such simulations, we irradiated\nseveral SiPM technologies. We developed a custom experimental setup, which was\nused to perform online reverse voltage-current, right after each irradiation\nstep, to minimize the effect of the annealing on the measurement.\n The results are then displayed, in particular the currents, the noise and the\nPhoton Detection Efficiency. Also a 30-days study on the annealing of the\ndevices was performed.\n Lastly, the conclusions are drawn on the basis of the Signal-to-Noise Ratio\n(SNR), taking into account the standard parameters of famous satellites using\nsimilar orbits as the ones considered into this work.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Dependence of polytetrafluoroethylene reflectance on thickness at\n visible and ultraviolet wavelengths in air: Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is an excellent diffuse reflector widely used\nin light collection systems for particle physics experiments. However, the\nreflectance of PTFE is a function of its thickness. In this work, we\ninvestigate this dependence in air for light of wavelengths 260 nm and 450 nm\nusing two complementary methods. We find that PTFE reflectance for thicknesses\nfrom 5 mm to 10 mm ranges from 92.5% to 94.5% at 450 nm, and from 90.0% to\n92.0% at 260 nm. We also see that the reflectance of PTFE of a given thickness\ncan vary by as much as 2.7% within the same piece of material. Finally, we show\nthat placing a specular reflector behind the PTFE can recover the loss of\nreflectance in the visible without introducing a specular component in the\nreflectance.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Offline Software and Computing for the SPD experiment: The SPD (Spin Physics Detector) is a planned spin physics experiment in the\nsecond interaction point of the NICA collider that is under construction at\nJINR. The main goal of the experiment is the test of basic of the QCD via the\nstudy of the polarized structure of the nucleon and spin-related phenomena in\nthe collision of longitudinally and transversely polarized protons and\ndeuterons at the center-of-mass energy up to 27 GeV and luminosity up to\n$10^{32}$ 1/(cm$^2$ s). The data rate at the maximum design luminosity is\nexpected to reach 0.2 Tbit/s. Current approaches to SPD computing and offline\nsoftware will be presented. The plan of the computing and software R&D in the\nscope of the SPD TDR preparation will be discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Recent Advances in Diamond Detectors: With the commissioning of the LHC expected in 2009, and the LHC upgrades\nexpected in 2012, ATLAS and CMS are planning for detector upgrades for their\ninnermost layers requiring radiation hard technologies. Chemical Vapor\nDeposition (CVD) diamond has been used extensively in beam conditions monitors\nas the innermost detectors in the highest radiation areas of BaBar, Belle and\nCDF and is now planned for all LHC experiments. This material is now being\nconsidered as an alternate sensor for use very close to the interaction region\nof the super LHC where the most extreme radiation conditions will exist.\nRecently the RD42 collaboration constructed, irradiated and tested\npolycrystalline and single-crystal chemical vapor deposition diamond sensors to\nthe highest fluences available. We present beam test results of chemical vapor\ndeposition diamond up to fluences of 1.8 x 10^16 protons/cm^2 showing that both\npolycrystalline and single-crystal chemical vapor deposition diamonds follow a\nsingle damage curve allowing one to extrapolate their performance as a function\nof dose.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "PyOECP: A flexible open-source software library for estimating and\n modeling the complex permittivity based on the open-ended coaxial probe\n (OECP) technique: We present PyOECP, a Python-based flexible open-source software for\nestimating and modeling the complex permittivity obtained from the open-ended\ncoaxial probe (OECP) technique. The transformation of the measured reflection\ncoefficient to complex permittivity is performed based on two different models,\nincluding the capacitance model and the antenna model. The software library\ncontains the dielectric spectra of common reference liquids, which can be used\nto transform the reflection coefficient into the dielectric spectra. Several\nPython routines that are commonly employed (e.g., SciPy and NumPy) in the field\nof science and engineering are only required so that the users can alter the\nsoftware structure depending on their needs. The modeling algorithm exploits\nthe Markov Chain Monte Carlo method for the data regression. The discrete\nrelaxation models can be built by a proper combination of well-known relaxation\nmodels. In addition to these models, the electrode polarization, which is a\ncommon measurement artifact for interpreting the dielectric spectra, can be\nincorporated in the modeling algorithm. A continuous relaxation model, which\nsolves the Fredholm integral equation of the first kind (a mathematically\nill-posed problem) is also included. This open-source software enables users to\nfreely adjust the physical parameters so that they can obtain physical insight\ninto their materials under test and will be consistently updated for more\naccurate measurement and interpretation of dielectric spectra in an automated\nmanner. This work describes the theoretical and mathematical background of the\nsoftware, lays out the workflow, validates the software functionality based on\nboth synthetic and empirical data included in the software.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Flat-field and colour correction for the Raspberry Pi camera module: The Raspberry Pi camera module is widely used in open source hardware\nprojects as a low cost camera sensor. However, when the stock lens is removed\nand replaced with other custom optics the sensor will return a non-uniform\nbackground and colour response which hampers the use of this excellent and\npopular image sensor. This effect is found to be due to the sensor's optical\ndesign as well as due to built-in corrections in the GPU firmware, which is\noptimised for a short focal length lens. In this work we characterise and\ncorrect the vignetting and colour crosstalk found in the Raspberry Pi camera\nmodule v2, presenting two measures that greatly improve the quality of images\nusing custom optics. First, we use a custom \"lens shading table\" to correct for\nvignetting of the image, which can be done in real time in the camera's\nexisting processing pipeline (i.e. the camera's low-latency preview is\ncorrected). The second correction is a colour unmixing matrix, which enables us\nto reverse the loss in saturation at the edge of the image, though this\nrequires post-processing of the image. With both of these corrections in place,\nit is possible to obtain uniformly colour-corrected images, at the expense of\nslightly increased noise at the edges of the image.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "EPECUR setup for the search of narrow baryon resonances in the\n pion-proton scattering: EPECUR experimental setup is aimed at the search of narrow resonant states by\nprecision measurement of differential and total reaction cross sections of\npion-nucleon interaction with 1 MeV pion energy steps. In five years passed\nfrom the idea of the experiment till the start of the data taking in April of\n2009, a new apparatus was build from scratch at the universal beam line 322 of\nITEP proton synchrotron U-10. The setup is essentially a non-magnetic\nspectrometer with a liquid hydrogen target based on the large aperture drift\nchambers with hexagonal structure. The unique properties of the beam line allow\nindividual pion momentum measurement with the accuracy better than 0.1%. The\nmomentum tagging is done with 1 mm pitch proportional chambers located in the\nfirst focus of the beam line. The design of numerous subsystems of the setup is\nbased on modern electronic components including microprocessors and FPGA. All\nthe subsystems are tuned and tested both individually and as parts of the whole\nworking setup. The distributed data acquisition system uses widely spread USB\nand Ethernet protocols, which allows to achieve high performance and take full\nadvantage of the industrial solutions.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Baikal-GVD: first cluster Dubna: In April 2015 the demonstration cluster \"Dubna\" was deployed and started to\ntake data in Lake Baikal. This array is the first cluster of the cubic\nkilometer scale Gigaton Volume Detector (Baikal-GVD), which is constructed in\nLake Baikal. In this contribution we will review the design and status of the\narray.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neutrino oscillation tomography of the Earth with KM3NeT-ORCA: KM3NeT-ORCA is a water-Cherenkov neutrino detector designed for studying the\noscillations of atmospheric neutrinos, with the primary objective of measuring\nthe neutrino mass ordering. Atmospheric neutrinos crossing the Earth undergo\nmatter effects, modifying the pattern of their flavour oscillations. The study\nof the angular and energy distribution of neutrino events in ORCA can therefore\nprovide tomographic information on the Earth's interior with an independent\ntechnique, complementary to the standard geophysics methods. Preliminary\nestimations based on a full Monte Carlo simulation of the detector response\nshow that after ten years of operation the electron density can be measured\nwith a precision of 3-5% in the mantle and 7-10% in the outer core - depending\non the mass ordering.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterization of Charge Spreading and Gain of Encapsulated Resistive\n Micromegas Detectors for the Upgrade of the T2K Near Detector Time Projection\n Chambers: An upgrade of the near detector of the T2K long baseline neutrino oscillation\nexperiment is currently being conducted. This upgrade will include two new Time\nProjection Chambers, each equipped with 16 charge readout resistive Micromegas\nmodules. A procedure to validate the performance of the detectors at different\nstages of production has been developed and implemented to ensure a proper and\nreliable operation of the detectors once installed. A dedicated X-ray test\nbench is used to characterize the detectors by scanning each pad individually\nand to precisely measure the uniformity of the gain and the deposited energy\nresolution over the pad plane. An energy resolution of about 10% is obtained. A\ndetailed physical model has been developed to describe the charge dispersion\nphenomena in the resistive Micromegas anode. The detailed physical description\nincludes initial ionization, electron drift, diffusion effects and the readout\nelectronics effects. The model provides an excellent characterization of the\ncharge spreading of the experimental measurements and allowed the simultaneous\nextraction of gain and RC information of the modules.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "NA62 Liquid Krypton Purity Monitor: A system for determining the purity of liquid krypton employed in the NA62\nrare kaon decay experiment at CERN was developed based on the use of a time\nprojection chamber. The attenuation of drifting ionization electrons from\nabsorption of 511 keV gamma rays in liquid krypton was measured to estimate the\npurity. The setup was tested with krypton purified from commercial sources.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Crosstalk Reduction for Superconducting Microwave Resonator Arrays: Large-scale arrays of Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) are\nattractive candidates for use in imaging instruments for next generation\nsubmillimeter-wave telescopes such as CCAT. We have designed and fabricated\ntightly packed ~250-pixel MKID arrays using lumped-element resonators etched\nfrom a thin layer of superconducting TiNx deposited on a silicon substrate. The\nhigh pixel packing density in our initial design resulted in large microwave\ncrosstalk due to electromagnetic coupling between the resonators. Our second\ndesign eliminates this problem by adding a grounding shield and using a\ndouble-wound geometry for the meander inductor to allow conductors with\nopposite polarity to be in close proximity. In addition, the resonator\nfrequencies are distributed in a checkerboard pattern across the array. We\npresent details for the two resonator and array designs and describe a circuit\nmodel for the full array that predicts the distribution of resonator\nfrequencies and the crosstalk level. We also show results from a new\nexperimental technique that conveniently measures crosstalk without the need\nfor an optical setup. Our results reveal an improvement in crosstalk from 57%\nin the initial design down to \\leq 2% in the second design. The general\nprocedure and design guidelines in this work are applicable to future large\narrays employing microwave resonators.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "CLARO-CMOS, a very low power ASIC for fast photon counting with\n pixellated photodetectors: The CLARO-CMOS is an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed\nfor fast photon counting with pixellated photodetectors such as multi-anode\nphotomultiplier tubes (Ma-PMT), micro-channel plates (MCP), and silicon\nphotomultipliers (SiPM). The first prototype has four channels, each with a\ncharge sensitive amplifier with settable gain and a discriminator with settable\nthreshold, providing fast hit information for each channel independently. The\ndesign was realized in a long-established, stable and inexpensive 0.35 um CMOS\ntechnology, and provides outstanding performance in terms of speed and power\ndissipation. The prototype consumes less than 1 mW per channel at low rate, and\nless than 2 mW at an event rate of 10 MHz per channel. The recovery time after\neach pulse is less than 25 ns for input signals within a factor of 10 above\nthreshold. Input referred RMS noise is about 7.7 ke^- (1.2 fC) with an input\ncapacitance of 3.3 pF. Thanks to the low noise and high speed, a timing\nresolution down to 10 ps RMS was measured for typical photomultiplier signals\nof a few million electrons, corresponding to the single photon response for\nthese detectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High impedance TES bolometers for EDELWEISS: The EDELWEISS collaboration aims for direct detection of light dark matter\nusing germanium cryogenic detectors with low threshold phonon sensor\ntechnologies and efficient charge readout designs. We describe here the\ndevelopment of Ge bolometers equipped with high impedance thermistors based on\na NbxSi1-x TES alloy. High aspect ratio spiral designs allow the TES impedance\nto match with JFET or HEMT front-end amplifiers. We detail the behavior of the\nsuperconducting transition properties of these sensors and the detector\noptimization in terms of sensitivity to out-of-equilibrium phonons. We report\npreliminary results of a 200 g Ge detector that was calibrated using 71Ge\nactivation by neutrons at the LSM underground laboratory.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Sterile Neutrino Search Using China Advanced Research Reactor: We study the feasibility of a sterile neutrino search at the China Advanced\nResearch Reactor by measuring $\\bar {\\nu}_e$ survival probability with a\nbaseline of less than 15 m. Both hydrogen and deuteron have been considered as\npotential targets. The sensitivity to sterile-to-regular neutrino mixing is\ninvestigated under the \"3(active)+1(sterile)\" framework. We find that the\nmixing parameter $\\sin^2(2\\theta_{14})$ can be severely constrained by such\nmeasurement if the mass square difference $\\Delta m_{14}^2$ is of the order of\n$\\sim$1 eV$^2$.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Improving the particle identification of radioactive isotope beams at\n the RIBLL2 separator: To improve the ability of particle identification of the RIBLL2 separator at\nthe HIRFL-CSR complex, a new high-performance detector for measuring fragment\nstarting time and position at the F1 dispersive plane has been constructed and\ninstalled, and a method for achieving precise B\\r{ho} determination has been\ndeveloped using the experimentally derived ion-optical transfer matrix elements\nfrom the measured position and ToF information. Using the high-performance\ndetectors and the precise B\\r{ho} determination method, the fragments produced\nby the fragmentation of 78Kr at 300 MeV/nucleon were identified clearly at the\nRIBLL2-ETF under full momentum acceptance. The atomic number Z resolution of\n{\\sigma}Z~0.19 and the mass-to-charge ratio A/Q resolution of\n{\\sigma}A/Q~5.8e-3 were obtained for the 75As33+ fragment. This great\nimprovement will increase the collection efficiency of exotic nuclei, extend\nthe range of nuclei of interest from the A<40 mass region up to the A~80 mass\nregion, and promote the development of radioactive nuclear beam experiments at\nthe RIBLL2 separator.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Upgrading of the beam diagnostic system of U-70 beam transfer lines: The beam diagnostic system of U-70 beam transfer lines (beam profiles,\nintensity and beam losses measurements) was designed in the beginning of 80-th\non the base of 8-bit microprocessor, SUMMA hardware and home made serial\ncommunication link. Because of the maintenance problems the decision was taken\nto upgrade the hardware and software parts of the system.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Validation of the CMS Magnetic Field Map: The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is a general purpose detector, designed to\nrun at the highest luminosity at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Its\ndistinctive features include a 4 T superconducting solenoid with 6-m-diameter\nby 12.5-m-length free bore, enclosed inside a 10,000-ton return yoke made of\nconstruction steel. The return yoke consists of five dodecagonal three-layered\nbarrel wheels and four end-cap disks at each end comprised of steel blocks up\nto 620 mm thick, which serve as the absorber plates of the muon detection\nsystem. To measure the field in and around the steel, a system of 22 flux loops\nand 82 3-D Hall sensors is installed on the return yoke blocks. A TOSCA 3-D\nmodel of the CMS magnet is developed to describe the magnetic field everywhere\noutside the tracking volume measured with the field-mapping machine. The\nmagnetic field description is compared with the measurements and discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Electrical/piezoresistive effects in bent Alpide MAPS: The ITS3 upgrade baseline design employs MAPS (Monolithic Active Pixel\nSensor) in bent state. Bending experiments with the existing ITS2 MAPS (=Alpide\nchip) show it remains functional but with relative large analog supply current\nchanges. It is shown that by the piezoresistive effect, rotation of current\nmirror FETs can be responsible which was confirmed after validating the layout.\nMeasured Gauge Factor has proper sign but is 3 times lower than typical values\nderived from literature. The magnitude of the measured strain induced PMOS\nV$_{th}$ shift is as expected but the sign differs for compressive strain with\nsome of the literature.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "SABRE and the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory: Dark Matter\n Research at the Australian National University: The direct detection of dark matter is a key problem in astroparticle physics\nthat generally requires the use of deep-underground laboratories for a\nlow-background environment where the rare signals from dark matter interactions\ncan be observed. This work reports on the Stawell Underground Physics\nLaboratory - currently under construction and the first such laboratory in the\nSouthern Hemisphere - and the associated research program. A particular focus\nwill be given to ANU's contribution to SABRE, a NaI:Tl dark matter direct\ndetection experiment that aims to confirm or refute the long-standing DAMA\nresult. Preliminary measurements of the NaI:Tl quenching factor and\ncharacterisation of the SABRE liquid scintillator veto are reported.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Chaotic Brillouin Optical Correlation Domain Analysis: We propose and experimentally demonstrate a chaotic Brillouin optical\ncorrelation-domain analysis (BOCDA) system for distributed fiber sensing. The\nutilization of the chaotic laser with low coherent state ensures high spatial\nresolution. The experimental results demonstrate a 3.92-cm spatial resolution\nover a 906-m measurement range. The uncertainty in the measurement of the local\nBrillouin frequency shift is 1.2MHz. The measurement signal-to-noise ratio is\ngiven, which is agreement with the theoretical value.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Superconducting parallel nanowire detector with photon number resolving\n functionality: We present a new photon number resolving detector (PNR), the Parallel\nNanowire Detector (PND), which uses spatial multiplexing on a subwavelength\nscale to provide a single electrical output proportional to the photon number.\nThe basic structure of the PND is the parallel connection of several NbN\nsuperconducting nanowires (100 nm-wide, few nm-thick), folded in a meander\npattern. Electrical and optical equivalents of the device were developed in\norder to gain insight on its working principle. PNDs were fabricated on 3-4 nm\nthick NbN films grown on sapphire (substrate temperature TS=900C) or MgO\n(TS=400C) substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering in an Ar/N2 gas mixture.\nThe device performance was characterized in terms of speed and sensitivity. The\nphotoresponse shows a full width at half maximum (FWHM) as low as 660ps. PNDs\nshowed counting performance at 80 MHz repetition rate. Building the histograms\nof the photoresponse peak, no multiplication noise buildup is observable and a\none photon quantum efficiency can be estimated to be QE=3% (at 700 nm\nwavelength and 4.2 K temperature). The PND significantly outperforms existing\nPNR detectors in terms of simplicity, sensitivity, speed, and multiplication\nnoise.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The FAMU experiment at RIKEN RAL for a precise measure of the proton\n radius: The goal of the FAMU experiment at RIKEN RAL is the measure of the hyperfine\nsplitting of the ground state of the muonic hydrogen, to allow a determination\nof the proton Zemach radius with a precision better than $5 \\times 10^{-3}$ .\nThe comparison of this measurement with the ones done with ordinary hydrogen\nmay help to solve the so-called \"proton radius puzzle\", triggered by the $6\n\\sigma$ discrepancy in the proton charge radius value as extracted from muonic\nLamb shift and the value based on e-p scattering and ordinary hydrogen\nspectroscopy.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The CERN n TOF NEAR station for astrophysics- and application-related\n neutron activation measurements: A new experimental area, the NEAR station, has recently been built at the\nCERN n TOF facility, at a short distance from the spallation target (1.5 m).\nThe new area, characterized by a neutron beam of very high flux, has been\ndesigned with the purpose of performing activation measurements of interest for\nastrophysics and various applications. The beam is transported from the\nspallation target to the NEAR station through a hole in the shielding wall of\nthe target, inside which a collimator is inserted. The new area is complemented\nwith a {\\gamma}-ray spectroscopy laboratory, the GEAR station, equipped with a\nhigh efficiency HPGe detector, for the measurement of the activity resulting\nfrom irradiation of a sample in the NEAR station. The use of a moderator/filter\nassembly is envisaged, in order to produce a neutron beam of Maxwellian shape\nat different thermal energies, necessary for the measurement of Maxwellian\nAveraged Cross Sections of astrophysical interest. A new fast-cycling\nactivation technique is also being investigated, for measurements of reactions\nleading to isotopes of very short half life.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A large scale prototype for a SiW electromagnetic calorimeter for a\n future linear collider: The CALICE collaboration is preparing large scale prototypes for highly\ngranular calorimeters for detectors to be operated at a future linear electron\npositron collider. Currently a prototype of a SiW electromagnetic calorimeter\nis assembled which in terms of dimensions and layout meets already most of the\nrequirements given by the linear collider physics program and hence the\ndetector design.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Summary and Conclusions of the 'JRA Beam Telescope 2025'-Forum at the\n 6th Beam Telescopes and Test Beams Workshop: On January 17th 2018, a forum on a possible Joint Research Activity on a\nfuture common Beam Telescope was held during the 6th Beam Telescopes and Test\nBeams Workshop (BTTB) in Zurich, Switzerland. The BTTB workshop aims at\nbringing together the community involved in beam tests. It therefore offers a\nsuitable platform to induce community-wide discussions. The forum and its\ndiscussions were well received and the participants concluded that appropriate\nactions should be undertaken promptly. Specific hardware and software proposals\nwere discussed, with an emphasis on improving current common EUDET-type\ntelescopes based on Mimosa26 sensors towards higher trigger rate capabilities\nin convolution with considerably improved time resolution. EUDAQ as a common\ntop level DAQ and its modular structure is ready for future hardware.\nEUTelescope fulfils many requirements of a common reconstruction framework, but\nhas also various drawbacks. Thus, requirements for a new common reconstruction\nframework were collected. A new common beam telescope evolves with the sensor\ndecision and the whole package including a reconstruction framework depends on\nthat decision.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Response of atomic spin-based sensors to magnetic and nonmagnetic\n perturbations: Searches for pseudo-magnetic spin couplings require implementation of\ntechniques capable of sensitive detection of such interactions. While\nSpin-Exchange Relaxation Free (SERF) magnetometry is one of the most powerful\napproaches enabling the searches, it suffers from a strong magnetic coupling,\ndeteriorating the pseudo-magnetic coupling sensitivity. To address this\nproblem, here, we compare, via numerical simulations, the performance of SERF\nmagnetometer and noble-gas-alkali-metal co-magnetometer, operating in a\nso-called self-compensating regime. We demonstrate that the co-magnetometer\nallows reduction of the sensitivity to low-frequency magnetic fields without\nloss of the sensitivity to nonmagnetic couplings. Based on that we investigate\nthe responses of both systems to the oscillating and transient spin\nperturbations. Our simulations reveal about five orders of magnitude stronger\nresponse to the neutron pseudo-magnetic coupling and about three orders of\nmagnitude stronger response to the proton pseudo-magnetic coupling of the\nco-magnetometer than those of the SERF magnetometer. Different frequency\nresponses of the co-magnetometer to magnetic and nonmagnetic perturbations\nenables differentiation between these two types of interactions. This outlines\nthe ability to implement the co-magnetometer as an advanced sensor for the\nGlobal Network of Optical Magnetometer for Exotic Physics searches (GNOME),\naiming at detection of ultra-light bosons (e.g., axion-like particles).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "CMOS Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) for future vertex detectors: This paper reviews the development of CMOS Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors\n(MAPS) for future vertex detectors. MAPS are developed in a standard CMOS\ntechnology. In the imaging field, where the technology found its first\napplications, they are also known as CMOS Image Sensors. The use of MAPS as a\ndetector for particle physics was first proposed at the end of 1999. Since\nthen, their good performance in terms of spatial resolution, efficiency,\nradiation hardness have been demonstrated and work is now well under way to\ndeliver the first MAPS-based vertex detectors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Cosmic Ray Radiography of the Damaged Cores of the Fukushima Reactors: The passage of muons through matter is dominated by the Coulomb interaction\nwith electrons and nuclei. The interaction with the electrons leads to\ncontinuous energy loss and stopping of the muons. The interaction with nuclei\nleads to angle diffusion. Two muon imaging methods that use flux attenuation\nand multiple Coulomb scattering of cosmic-ray muons are being studied as tools\nfor diagnosing the damaged cores of the Fukushima reactors. Here we compare\nthese two methods. We conclude that the scattering method can provide detailed\ninformation about the core. Attenuation has low contrast and little sensitivity\nto the core.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Conceptual Design Report: The design and performance of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) detector is described as of\nMarch 2015 in this Conceptual Design Report. LZ is a second-generation\ndark-matter detector with the potential for unprecedented sensitivity to weakly\ninteracting massive particles (WIMPs) of masses from a few GeV/c2 to hundreds\nof TeV/c2. With total liquid xenon mass of about 10 tonnes, LZ will be the most\nsensitive experiment for WIMPs in this mass region by the end of the decade.\nThis report describes in detail the design of the LZ technical systems.\nExpected backgrounds are quantified and the performance of the experiment is\npresented. The LZ detector will be located at the Sanford Underground Research\nFacility in South Dakota. The organization of the LZ Project and a summary of\nthe expected cost and current schedule are given.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of acoustic emission due to vaporisation of superheated droplets\n at higher pressure: The bubble nucleation in superheated liquid can be controlled by adjusting\nthe ambient pressure and temperature. At higher pressure the threshold energy\nfor bubble nucleation increases and we have observed that the amplitude of the\nacoustic emission during vaporisation of superheated droplet decreases with\nincrease in pressure at any given temperature. Other acoustic parameters such\nas the primary harmonic frequency and the decay time constant of the acoustic\nsignal also decrease with increase in pressure. It is independent of the type\nof superheated liquid. The decrease in signal amplitude limits the detection of\nbubble nucleation at higher pressure. This effect is explained by the\nmicrobubble growth dynamics in superheated liquid.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of Ultra-pure Gadolinium Sulfate for the Super-Kamiokande\n Gadolinium Project: This paper reports the development and detailed properties of about 13 tons\nof gadolinium sulfate octahydrate, $\\rm Gd_2(\\rm SO_4)_3\\cdot \\rm 8H_2O$, which\nhas been dissolved into Super-Kamiokande (SK) in the summer of 2020. We\nevaluate the impact of radioactive impurities in $\\rm Gd_2(\\rm SO_4)_3\\cdot \\rm\n8H_2O$ on DSNB searches and solar neutrino observation and confirm the need to\nreduce radioactive and fluorescent impurities by about three orders of\nmagnitude from commercially available high-purity $\\rm Gd_2(\\rm SO_4)_3\\cdot\n\\rm 8H_2O$. In order to produce ultra-high-purity $\\rm Gd_2(\\rm SO_4)_3\\cdot\n\\rm 8H_2O$, we have developed a method to remove impurities from gadolinium\noxide, Gd$_2$O$_3$, consisting of acid dissolution, solvent extraction, and pH\ncontrol processes, followed by a high-purity sulfation process. All of the\nproduced ultra-high-purity $\\rm Gd_2(\\rm SO_4)_3\\cdot \\rm 8H_2O$ is assayed by\nICP-MS and HPGe detectors to evaluate its quality. Because of the long\nmeasurement time of HPGe detectors, we have employed several underground\nlaboratories for making parallel measurements including LSC in Spain, Boulby in\nthe UK, and Kamioka in Japan. In the first half of production, the measured\nbatch purities were found to be consistent with the specifications. However,in\nthe latter half, the $\\rm Gd_2(\\rm SO_4)_3\\cdot \\rm 8H_2O$ contained one order\nof magnitude more $^{228}$Ra than the budgeted mean contamination. This was\ncorrelated with the corresponding characteristics of the raw material\nGd$_2$O$_3$, in which an intrinsically large contamination was present. Based\non their modest impact on SK physics, they were nevertheless introduced into\nthe detector. To reduce $^{228}$Ra for the next stage of Gd loading to SK, a\nnew process has been successfully establised.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "First Results with the ANET Compact Thermal Neutron Collimator: This paper presents the first determination of the spatial resolution of the\nANET Compact Neutron Collimator, obtained with a measuring campaign at the LENA\nMark-II TRIGA reactor in Pavia. This novel collimator consists of a sequence of\ncollimating and absorbing channels organised in a chessboard-like geometry. It\nhas a scalable structure both in length and in the field of view. It is\ncharacterized by an elevated collimation power within a limited length. Its\nscalability and compactness are added values with respect to traditional\ncollimating system. The prototype tested in this article is composed of 4\nconcatenated stages, each 100mm long, with a channel width of 2.5mm, delivering\na nominal L/D factor of 160. This measuring campaign illustrates the use of the\nANET collimator and its potential application in neutron imaging for facilities\nwith small or medium size neutron sources.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of silicon sensors for precise timing measurement: Silicon sensors with high time resolution can help particle identification in\nthe International Linear Collider (ILC). We are studying Low Gain Avalanche\nDiodes (LGADs) as a high timing resolution sensor. As a step to develop LGADs,\nwe are now focusing to characterize Avalanche Photo Diode (APD)s, because the\nAPDs has the same multiplication structure as LGADs. We studied the\ncharacteristics of APDs with particles from radioisotopes.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Single photoelectron identification with Incom LAPPD 38: Incom Inc. Large Area Picosecond Photodetector (LAPPD) 38 has been tested at\nJefferson Lab to identify single-photoelectron signals to assess the potential\nof this type of device for future applications in Cherenkov light detection.\nSingle-photoelectron signals were clearly detected if a tight collimation of\nphotons impinging on the photocathode was used compared to the pixelation of\nthe charge collection signal board.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An acrylic assembly for low temperature detectors: Thermal detectors are a powerful instrument for the search of rare particle\nphysics events. Inorganic crystals are classically used as thermal detectors\nheld in supporting frames made of copper. In this work a novel approach to the\noperation of thermal detectors is presented, where TeO2 crystals are cooled\ndown to ~ 10 mK in a light structure built with plastic materials. The\nadvantages of this approach are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Superconducting nanowire single-photon detector with integrated\n impedance-matching taper: Conventional readout of a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector\n(SNSPD) sets an upper bound on the output voltage to be the product of the bias\ncurrent and the load impedance, $I_\\mathrm{B}\\times Z_\\mathrm{load}$, where\n$Z_\\mathrm{load}$ is limited to 50 $\\Omega$ in standard r.f. electronics. Here,\nwe break this limit by interfacing the 50 $\\Omega$ load and the SNSPD using an\nintegrated superconducting transmission line taper. The taper is a transformer\nthat effectively loads the SNSPD with high impedance without latching. It\nincreases the amplitude of the detector output while preserving the fast rising\nedge. Using a taper with a starting width of 500 nm, we experimentally observed\na 3.6$\\times$ higher pulse amplitude, 3.7$\\times$ faster slew rate, and 25.1 ps\nsmaller timing jitter. The results match our numerical simulation, which\nincorporates both the hotspot dynamics in the SNSPD and the distributed nature\nin the transmission line taper. The taper studied here may become a useful tool\nto interface high-impedance superconducting nanowire devices to conventional\nlow-impedance circuits.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Embedded Readout Electronics R&D for the Large PMTs in the JUNO\n Experiment: Jiangmen Underground neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is a next generation liquid\nscintillator neutrino experiment under construction phase in South China.\nThanks to the anti-neutrinos produced by the nearby nuclear power plants, JUNO\nwill primarily study the neutrino mass hierarchy, one of the open key questions\nin neutrino physics. One key ingredient for the success of the measurement is\nto use high speed, high resolution sampling electronics located very close to\nthe detector signal. Linearity in the response of the electronics in another\nimportant ingredient for the success of the experiment. During the initial\ndesign phase of the electronics, a custom design, with the Front-End and\nRead-Out electronics located very close to the detector analog signal has been\ndeveloped and successfully tested. The present paper describes the electronics\nstructure and the first tests performed on the prototypes. The electronics\nprototypes have been tested and they show good linearity response, with a\nmaximum deviation of 1.3% over the full dynamic range (1-1000 p.e.), fulfilling\nthe JUNO experiment requirements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Vibrating wires for beam diagnostics: A new approach to the technique of scanning by wires is developed. Novelty of\nthe method is that the wire heating quantity is used as a source of information\nabout the number of interacting particles. To increase the accuracy and\nsensitivity of measurements the wire heating measurement is regenerated as a\nchange of wire natural oscillations frequency. By the rigid fixing of the wire\nends on the base an unprecedented sensitivity of the frequency to the\ntemperature and to the corresponding flux of colliding particles. The range of\nused frequencies (tens of kHz) and speed of processes of heat transfer limit\nthe speed characteristics of proposed scanning method, however, the high\nsensitivity make it a perspective one for investigation of beam halo and weak\nbeam scanning. Traditional beam profile monitors generally focus on the beam\ncore and loose sensitivity in the halo region where a large dynamic range of\ndetection is necessary. The scanning by a vibrating wire can be also\nsuccessfully used in profiling and detecting of neutron and photon beams.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The CUORE Cryostat: A 1-Ton Scale Setup for Bolometric Detectors: The cryogenic underground observatory for rare events (CUORE) is a 1-ton\nscale bolometric experiment whose detector consists of an array of 988 TeO2\ncrystals arranged in a cylindrical compact structure of 19 towers. This will be\nthe largest bolometric mass ever operated. The experiment will work at a\ntemperature around or below 10 mK. CUORE cryostat consists of a cryogen-free\nsystem based on pulse tubes and a custom high power dilution refrigerator,\ndesigned to match these specifications. The cryostat has been commissioned in\n2014 at the Gran Sasso National Laboratories and reached a record temperature\nof 6 mK on a cubic meter scale. In this paper, we present results of CUORE\ncommissioning runs. Details on the thermal characteristics and cryogenic\nperformances of the system will be also given.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "McStas (i): Introduction, use, and basic principles for ray-tracing\n simulations: We present an overview of, and an introduction to, the general-purpose\nneutron simulation package McStas. We present the basic principles behind Monte\nCarlo ray-tracing simulations of neutrons performed in the package and present\na few simple examples. We present the implementation of McStas, the status of\nthe package and its use in the neutron community. Finally, we briefly discuss\nthe planned development of the package.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Calibration of Photomultiplier Arrays: A method is described that allows calibration and assessment of the linearity\nof response of an array of photomultiplier tubes. The method does not require\nknowledge of the photomultiplier single photoelectron response model and uses\nscience data directly, thus eliminating the need for dedicated data sets. In\nthis manner all photomultiplier working conditions (e.g. temperature, external\nfields, etc) are exactly matched between calibration and science acquisitions.\nThis is of particular importance in low background experiments such as\nZEPLIN-III, where methods involving the use of external light sources for\ncalibration are severely constrained.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurement of spark probability of GEM detector for CBM muon chamber\n (MUCH): The stability of triple GEM detector setups in an environment of high\nenergetic showers is studied. To this end the spark probability in a shower\nenvironment is compared to the spark probability in a pion beam.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "SiPMs coated with TPB : coating protocol and characterization for NEXT: Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) are the photon detectors chosen for the\ntracking readout in NEXT, a neutrinoless {\\beta}{\\beta} decay experiment which\nuses a high pressure gaseous xenon time projection chamber (TPC). The\nreconstruction of event track and topology in this gaseous detector is a key\nhandle for background rejection. Among the commercially available sensors that\ncan be used for tracking, SiPMs offer important advantages, mainly high gain,\nruggedness, cost-effectiveness and radio-purity. Their main drawback, however,\nis their non sensitivity in the emission spectrum of the xenon scintillation\n(peak at 175 nm). This is overcome by coating these sensors with the organic\nwavelength shifter tetraphenyl butadienne (TPB). In this paper we describe the\nprotocol developed for coating the SiPMs with TPB and the measurements\nperformed for characterizing the coatings as well as the performance of the\ncoated sensors in the UV-VUV range.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Applying machine learning to determine impact parameter in nuclear\n physics experiments: Machine Learning (ML) algorithms have been demonstrated to be capable of\npredicting impact parameter in heavy-ion collisions from transport model\nsimulation events with perfect detector response. We extend the scope of ML\napplication to experimental data by incorporating realistic detector response\nof the S$\\pi$RIT Time Projection Chamber into the heavy-ion simulation events\ngenerated from the UrQMD model to resemble experimental data. At 3 fm, the\npredicted impact parameter is 2.8 fm if simulation events with perfect detector\nis used for training and testing; 2.4 fm if detector response is included in\nthe training and testing, and 5.8 fm if ML algorithms trained with perfect\ndetector is applied to testing data that has included detector response. The\nlast result is not acceptable illustrating the importance of including the\ndetector response in developing the ML training algorithm. We also test the\nmodel dependence by applying the algorithms trained on UrQMD model to simulated\nevents from four different transport models as well as using different input\nparameters on UrQMD model. Using data from Sn+Sn collisions at E/A=270 MeV, the\nML determined impact parameters agree well with the experimentally determined\nimpact parameter using multiplicities, except in the very central and very\nperipheral regions. ML selects central collision events better and allows\nimpact parameters determination beyond the sharp cutoff limit imposed by\nexperimental methods.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "On Schottky Noise and Shot Noise: Schottky noise is a common term widely acknowledged by the community of\naccelerators, especially of circular machines. It is referred to the incoherent\nsignal arising from the circulating charged particles in the accelerator. The\nnoise is named after W. Schottky, who first discovered a then new type of\nnoises in direct electric current and called it shot noise himself. Because of\nthis, the Schottky noise is considered as an alias for the shot noise in\naccelerator literatures. But is it really so? In this essay I compare the two\nnoises side-by-side by formulas and argue that even though they arise from the\nsame discrete nature of charge carriers, the noise spectral patterns are\ninherently distinct, whereby the synonymity of these two terms is questionable.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurement of scintillation and ionization yield with high-pressure\n gaseous mixtures of Xe and TMA for improved neutrinoless double beta decay\n and dark matter searches: Liquid Xe TPCs are among the most popular choices for double beta decay and\nWIMP dark matter searches. Gaseous Xe has intrinsic advantages when compared to\nLiquid Xe, specifically, tracking capability and better energy resolution for\ndouble beta decay searches. The performance of gaseous Xe can be further\nimproved by molecular additives such as trimethylamine(TMA), which are expected\nto (1) cool down the ionization electrons, (2) convert Xe excitation energy to\nTMA ionizations through Penning transfer, and (3) produce scintillation and\nelectroluminescence light in a more easily detectable wavelength (300 nm).\nThese features may provide better tracking and energy resolution for\ndouble-beta decay searches. They are also expected to enhance columnar\nrecombination for nuclear recoils, which can be used for searches for WIMP dark\nmatter with directional sensitivity. We constructed a test ionization chamber\nand successfully measured scintillation and ionization yields at high precision\nwith various Xe and TMA mixtures and pressures. We observed the Penning effect\nand an increase in recombination with the addition of TMA. However, many\nundesired features for dark matter searches, such as strong suppression of the\nscintillation light and no sign of recombination light, were also found. This\nwork has been carried out within the context of the NEXT collaboration.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Long term experience with perfluorobutane in COMPASS RICH: COMPASS RICH-1 has used high-purity perfluorobutane as radiator gas since\n2001. The operation and control of the radiator gas has evolved over years with\ncontinuous improvements. We report on the experience gained in the 20 year-long\noperation of perfluorobutane as COMPASS RICH radiator. Very accurate values for\nthe radiator gas refractive index are needed for high-performance particle\nidentification. The procedure has evolved over years and the one presently in\nuse, which provides refractive index estimate at the 1 ppm level, is discussed.\nPerfluorobutane procurement is becoming challenging, and the minimization of\nmaterial waste is now a priority for the protection of the environment.\nCommercially available perfluorobutane needs dedicated filtering before usage\nand typical material losses in the filtering procedure were around 30%. Recent\nefforts allowed us to reduce them to about 5%. A potential alternative to\nfluorocarbon radiators in gaseous RICHes is also presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Diffractive triangulation of radiative point sources: We describe a general method to determine the location of a point source of\nwaves relative to a two-dimensional active pixel detector. Based on the\ninherent structural sensitivity of crystalline sensor materials, characteristic\ndetector diffraction patterns can be used to triangulate the location of a wave\nemitter. As a practical application of the wide-ranging principle, a digital\nhybrid pixel detector is used to localize a source of electrons for Kikuchi\ndiffraction pattern measurements in the scanning electron microscope. This\nprovides a method to calibrate Kikuchi diffraction patterns for accurate\nmeasurements of microstructural crystal orientations, strains, and phase\ndistributions.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High collection efficiency MCPs for photon counting detectors: Multi Micro-Channel-Plate Photomultiplier tubes (MCP-PMT) with High\nCollection Efficiency (Hi-CE) MCPs are developed and characterised. With these\nHi-CE MCPs more than 90% of photoelectrons emitted from the photocathode can be\ndetected; this is in contrast to conventional MCPs where about 50% of\nphotoelectrons are lost at the MCP stage. The drawback of the Hi-CE MCPs is a\nsmall degradation of the transfer time spread (TTS). However for applications\nwhere no sub-ns time resolution is required the implementation of Hi-CE MCPs is\nextremely beneficial, as it improves the detection efficiency of the MCP-PMT\nalmost by a factor of two.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Optical Transition Radiation Monitor for the T2K Experiment: An Optical Transition Radiation monitor has been developed for the proton\nbeam-line of the T2K long base-line neutrino oscillation experiment. The\nmonitor operates in the highly radioactive environment in proximity to the T2K\ntarget. It uses optical transition radiation, the light emitted from a thin\nmetallic foil when the charged beam passes through it, to form a 2D image of a\n30 GeV proton beam. One of its key features is an optical system capable of\ntransporting the light over a large distance out of the harsh environment near\nthe target to a lower radiation area where it is possible to operate a camera\nto capture this light. The monitor measures the proton beam position and width\nwith a precision of better than 500 {\\mu}m, meeting the physics requirements of\nthe T2K experiment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Commissioning of the Inner Tracker of the KLOE-2 experiment: The KLOE-2 experiment is undergoing commissioning at the DA$\\Phi$NE\n$e^{+}e^{-}$ collider of the Frascati National Laboratory of the INFN, after\nthe integration of new detectors in the former KLOE apparatus. The Inner\nTracker, a very light detector (material budget $<2\\%X_{0}$), is one of the new\nsubdetectors and it is composed of 4 cylindrical triple-GEM with a stereo X-V\nstrips/pads readout. The commissioning phase of the Inner Tracker consists in\nthe characterization of the detector response and in its performance\nevaluation. The method used to evaluate its detection efficiency is reported,\ntogether with some preliminary results.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Technical Design Report for the PANDA Solenoid and Dipole Spectrometer\n Magnets: This document is the Technical Design Report covering the two large\nspectrometer magnets of the PANDA detector set-up. It shows the conceptual\ndesign of the magnets and their anticipated performance. It precedes the tender\nand procurement of the magnets and, hence, is subject to possible modifications\narising during this process.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Integrated impedance bridge for absolute capacitance measurements at\n cryogenic temperatures and finite magnetic fields: We developed an impedance bridge that operates at cryogenic temperatures\n(down to 60 mK) and in perpendicular magnetic fields up to at least 12 T. This\nis achieved by mounting a GaAs HEMT amplifier perpendicular to a printed\ncircuit board containing the device under test and thereby parallel to the\nmagnetic field. The measured amplitude and phase of the output signal allows\nfor the separation of the total impedance into an absolute capacitance and a\nresistance. Through a detailed noise characterization, we find that the best\nresolution is obtained when operating the HEMT amplifier at the highest gain.\nWe obtained a resolution in the absolute capacitance of\n6.4~aF$/\\sqrt{\\textrm{Hz}}$ at 77 K on a comb-drive actuator, while maintaining\na small excitation amplitude of 15~$k_\\text{B} T/e$. We show the magnetic field\nfunctionality of our impedance bridge by measuring the quantum Hall plateaus of\na top-gated hBN/graphene/hBN heterostructure at 60~mK with a probe signal of\n12.8~$k_\\text{B} T/e$.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Monte Carlo Comparisons to a Cryogenic Dark Matter Search Detector with\n low Transition-Edge-Sensor Transition Temperature: We present results on phonon quasidiffusion and Transition Edge Sensor (TES)\nstudies in a large, 3 inch diameter, 1 inch thick [100] high purity germanium\ncrystal, cooled to 50 mK in the vacuum of a dilution refrigerator, and exposed\nwith 59.5 keV gamma-rays from an Am-241 calibration source. We compare\ncalibration data with results from a Monte Carlo which includes phonon\nquasidiffusion and the generation of phonons created by charge carriers as they\nare drifted across the detector by ionization readout channels. The phonon\nenergy is then parsed into TES based phonon readout channels and input into a\nTES simulator.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Track-Based Particle Flow: One of the most important aspects of detector development for the ILC is a\ngood jet energy resolution sigma_E/E. To achieve the goal of high precision\nmeasurements sigma_E/E = 0.30/sqrt(E(GeV)} is proposed. The particle flow\napproach together with highly granular calorimeters is able to reach this goal.\nThis paper presents a new particle flow algorithm, called Track-Based particle\nflow, and shows first performance results for 45 GeV jets based on full\ndetector simulation of the Tesla TDR detector model.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterizing gas flow from aerosol particle injectors: A novel methodology for measuring gas flow from small orifices or nozzles\ninto vacuum is presented. It utilizes a high-intensity femtosecond laser pulse\nto create a plasma within the gas plume produced by the nozzle, which is imaged\nby a microscope. Calibration of the imaging system allows for the extraction of\nabsolute number densities. We show detection down to helium densities of\n$4\\times10^{16}$~cm$^{-3}$ with a spatial resolution of a few micrometer. The\ntechnique is used to characterize the gas flow from a convergent-nozzle aerosol\ninjector [Struct.\\ Dyn.~2, 041717 (2015)] as used in single-particle\ndiffractive imaging experiments at free-electron laser sources. Based on the\nmeasured gas-density profile we estimate the scattering background signal under\ntypical operating conditions of single-particle imaging experiments and\nestimate that fewer than 50 photons per shot can be expected on the detector.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Early-detection and classification of live bacteria using time-lapse\n coherent imaging and deep learning: We present a computational live bacteria detection system that periodically\ncaptures coherent microscopy images of bacterial growth inside a 60 mm diameter\nagar-plate and analyzes these time-lapsed holograms using deep neural networks\nfor rapid detection of bacterial growth and classification of the corresponding\nspecies. The performance of our system was demonstrated by rapid detection of\nEscherichia coli and total coliform bacteria (i.e., Klebsiella aerogenes and\nKlebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae) in water samples. These results were\nconfirmed against gold-standard culture-based results, shortening the detection\ntime of bacterial growth by >12 h as compared to the Environmental Protection\nAgency (EPA)-approved analytical methods. Our experiments further confirmed\nthat this method successfully detects 90% of bacterial colonies within 7-10 h\n(and >95% within 12 h) with a precision of 99.2-100%, and correctly identifies\ntheir species in 7.6-12 h with 80% accuracy. Using pre-incubation of samples in\ngrowth media, our system achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of ~1 colony\nforming unit (CFU)/L within 9 h of total test time. This computational bacteria\ndetection and classification platform is highly cost-effective (~$0.6 per test)\nand high-throughput with a scanning speed of 24 cm2/min over the entire plate\nsurface, making it highly suitable for integration with the existing analytical\nmethods currently used for bacteria detection on agar plates. Powered by deep\nlearning, this automated and cost-effective live bacteria detection platform\ncan be transformative for a wide range of applications in microbiology by\nsignificantly reducing the detection time, also automating the identification\nof colonies, without labeling or the need for an expert.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The CDF L2 XFT Trigger Upgrade: We briefly present the eXtremely Fast Tracker stereo track upgrade for the\nCDF Level 2 trigger system. This upgrade enabled full 3D track reconstruction\nat Level 2 of the 3-Level CDF online triggering system. Using information\nprovided by the stereo layers of the Central Outer Tracker, we can decrease the\ntrigger rate due to fake tracks by requiring the tracks to be consistent with a\nsingle vertex in all three dimensions but also by using the track information\nto \"point\" to the various detector components. We will also discuss the\neffectiveness of the Level 2 stereo track algorithm at achieving reduced\ntrigger rates with high efficiencies during high luminosity running.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Test beam studies for a highly granular GRPC Semi-Digital HCAL: The Particle Flow Analysis approach retained for the future ILC detectors\nrequires high granularity and compact particle energy deposition. A Glass\nResistive Plate Chamber based Semi-Digital calorimeter can offer both at a low\nprice for the hadronic section. This paper presents some recent developments\nand results near test beam in the use of Glass Resistive Plate Chamber with\nembedded front-end electronics to build a prototype based on this principle.\nAll the critical parameters such as the spatial and angular uniformity of the\nresponse as well as the noise level have been measured on small chambers and\nfound to be appropriate. Small semi-conductive chambers allowing for high rates\nand a large chamber have also been tested.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Mass production and performance study on the 20-inch PMT acrylic\n protection covers in JUNO: The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory is a neutrino experiment that\nincorporates 20,012 20-inch photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and 25,600 3-inch\nPMTs. A dedicated system was designed to protect the PMTs from an implosion\nchain reaction underwater. As a crucial element of the protection system, over\n20,000 acrylic covers were manufactured through injection molding, ensuring\nhigh dimensional precision, mechanical strength, and transparency. This paper\npresents the manufacturing technology, mass production process, and performance\ncharacteristics of the acrylic covers.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Optimized digital filtering techniques for radiation detection with HPGe\n detectors: This paper describes state-of-the-art digital filtering techniques that are\npart of GEANA, an automatic data analysis software used for the GERDA\nexperiment. The discussed filters include a novel, nonlinear correction method\nfor ballistic deficits, which is combined with one of three shaping filters: a\npseudo-Gaussian, a modified trapezoidal, or a modified cusp filter. The\nperformance of the filters is demonstrated with a 762 g Broad Energy Germanium\n(BEGe) detector, produced by Canberra, that measures {\\gamma}-ray lines from\nradioactive sources in an energy range between 59.5 and 2614.5 keV. At 1332.5\nkeV, together with the ballistic deficit correction method, all filters produce\na comparable energy resolution of ~1.61 keV FWHM. This value is superior to\nthose measured by the manufacturer and those found in publications with\ndetectors of a similar design and mass. At 59.5 keV, the modified cusp filter\nwithout a ballistic deficit correction produced the best result, with an energy\nresolution of 0.46 keV. It is observed that the loss in resolution by using a\nconstant shaping time over the entire energy range is small when using the\nballistic deficit correction method.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design of a Programmable Gain Waveform Digitization Instrument for\n Detector Calibration: To test and calibrate various detectors in nuclear and high energy physics\nexperiments, a general purposed calibration instrument has been developed. All\ninformation including timing, amplitude and charge of signals can be directly\nobtained to calibrate detector with this instrument by amplifying and\ndigitizing the signal waveform. The system consists of two parts, a large\ndynamic range pre-amplifier module and a high speed and high-resolution\ndigitization module. The pre-amplifier module based on programmable gain\namplifier and attenuator achieves gain from -26.2 dB to 24.4 dB, making it\nsuitable to adapt to different detectors. Taking advantage of high speed and\nhigh-resolution analog-to-digit converter (ADC), the waveform digitization\nmodule samples the signal after conditioning with 12 bits resolution and up to\n3.6 giga hertz samples per second (GSPS). To evaluate the feature of this\ninstrument, an electronics testbench platform was installed and test results\nshowed a bandwidth from direct current (DC) to 450 MHz and the effective number\nof bits (ENOB) is above 7 bits in high gain set and 5.8 bits in low gain set in\nthe bandwidth range, which indicated that it had broad application prospect in\ndetector calibration.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Fluke 8588A and Keysight 3458A DMM Sampling Performance: This paper reports on an evaluation of the Fluke 8588A digital multimeter\n(DMM) sampling performance and comparison to Keysight 3458A DMM sampling\nperformance. The design of 8588A type DMM shows both similarities and striking\ndifferences in design compared to 3458A type DMM. Apart from their specified\nsampling capabilities, measurements were performed to evaluate frequency\nresponse, noise performance, including a 1 / f type noise and a timing jitter\ninduced noise, as well as phase measurement performance. The given\ncomprehensive report is crucial for careful application of DMMs in metrology\ntasks with optimal utilization of their performance.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A method to measure the quenching factor for recoil energy of oxygen in\n bismuth germanium oxide scintillators: Bismuth germanium oxide ($\\rm Bi_{4} Ge_{3} O_{12}$, BGO) scintillation\ncrystals are widely used as detectors in the fields of particle physics and\nastrophysics due to their high density, and thus higher efficiency for\ngamma-ray detection. Owing to their good chemical stability, they can be used\nin any environment. For rare-event searches, such as dark matter and coherent\nelastic neutrino-nucleus scattering, BGO crystals are essential to comprehend\nthe response of nuclear recoil. In this study, we have analyzed the events of\nneutron elastic scattering with oxygen in BGO crystals. Then, we have measured\nthe quenching factor for oxygen recoil energy in the BGO crystal as a function\nof recoil energy by using a monoenergetic neutron source.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of bremsstrahlung radiation coming from a transmission type x-ray\n generator and its application on EDXRF technique: We have demonstrated the use of the bremsstrahlung radiation in energy\ndispersive x-ray fluorescence technique as a tool to perform non-destructive\nelemental analysis of solid samples employed in inter-disciplinary science\nresearch. The bremsstrahlung radiation can be taken from a small, portable,\ntransmission type x-ray generator. As our knowledge goes, till date, this is\nthe first attempt to generate bremsstrahlung spectrum theoretically from a\nportable transmission type x-ray generator and compared it with the actual\nobservation. Theoretically generated bremsstrahlung spectra are also found to\nbe in good agreement with the experimentally observed spectra obtained with\nvarious operating anode voltages of the x-ray generator. A computer program has\nbeen developed utilizing few atomic parameters to obtain the elemental\nconcentrations in the sample by a single run using the whole bremsstrahlung.\nThe knowledge of incoming x-ray flux, geometry of experimental arrangements is\nnot required in this technique. To validate the technique, we have taken two\nsamples: an Indian one rupee coin of the year 2000 and a NIST made brass\nsample, whose compositions are well known. We used these samples to expose to\nthe bremsstrahlung radiation, produced by the operating anode voltages 20, 25,\nand 30 KV. The relative concentrations of different elements are determined,\nwhich is in good agreement with the earlier results.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A new CVD Diamond Mosaic-Detector for (n,$\u03b1$) Cross-Section\n Measurements at the n\\_TOF Experiment at CERN: At the n\\_TOF experiment at CERN a dedicated single-crystal chemical vapor\ndeposition (sCVD) Diamond Mosaic-Detector has been developed for (n,$\\alpha$)\ncross-section measurements. The detector, characterized by an excellent time\nand energy resolution, consists of an array of 9 sCVD diamond diodes. The\ndetector has been characterized and a cross-section measurement has been\nperformed for the $^{59}$Ni(n,$\\alpha$)$^{56}$Fe reaction in 2012. The\ncharacteristics of the detector, its performance and the promising preliminary\nresults of the experiment are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A practical approach of high precision U and Th concentration\n measurement in acrylic: The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory will build the world's largest\nliquid scintillator detector to study neutrinos from various sources. The 20 kt\nliquid scintillator will be stored in a $\\sim$600 t acrylic sphere with 35.4 m\ndiameter due to the good light transparency, chemical compatibility and low\nradioactivity of acrylic. The concentration of U/Th in acrylic is required to\nbe less than 1 ppt (10$^{-12}$ g/g) to achieve a low radioactive background in\nthe fiducial volume of the JUNO detector. The mass production of acrylic has\nstarted, and the quality control requires a fast and reliable radioassay on\nU/Th in acrylic. We have developed a practical method of measuring U/Th in\nacrylic to sub-ppt level using the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer\n(ICP-MS). The U/Th in acrylic can be concentrated by vaporizing acrylic in a\nclass 100 environment, and the residue will be collected and sent to ICP-MS for\nmeasuring U/Th. All the other chemical operation is done in a class 100 clean\nroom, and the ICP-MS measurement is done in a class 1000 clean room. The\nrecovery efficiency is studied by adding the natural nonexistent nuclei\n$^{229}$Th and $^{233}$U as the tracers. The resulting method detection limit\n(MDL) with 99% confidence can reach 0.02/0.06 pg $^{238}$U/$^{232}$Th /g\nacrylic with $\\sim$75% recovery efficiency. This equipment and method can not\nonly be used for the quality control of JUNO acrylic, but also be further\noptimized for the radioassay on other materials with extremely low\nradioactivity, such as ultra-pure water and liquid scintillator.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Attitude Determination from Single-Antenna Carrier-Phase Measurements: A model of carrier phase measurement (as carried out by a satellite\nnavigation receiver) is formulated based on electromagnetic theory. The model\nshows that the phase of the open-circuit voltage induced in the receiver\nantenna with respect to a local oscillator (in the receiver) depends on the\nrelative orientation of the receiving and transmitting antennas. The model\nshows that using a {\\it single} receiving antenna, and making carrier phase\nmeasurements to seven satellites, the 3-axis attitude of a user platform (in\naddition to its position and time) can be computed relative to an initial\npoint. This measurement model can also be used to create high-fidelity\nsatellite signal simulators that take into account the effect of platform\nrotation as well as translation.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Novel Nuclear Emulsion Detector for Measurement of Quantum States of\n Ultracold Neutrons in the Earth's Gravitational Field: Hypothetical short-range interactions could be detected by measuring the\nwavefunctions of ultracold neutrons (UCNs) on a mirror bounded by the Earth's\ngravitational field. The Searches require detectors with higher spatial\nresolution. We are developing a UCN detector for the with a high spatial\nresolution, which consists of a Si substrate, a thin converter layer including\n$^{10}$B$_{4}$C, and a layer of fine-grained nuclear emulsion. Its resolution\nwas estimated to be less than 100 nm by fitting tracks of either $^{7}$Li\nnuclei or $\\alpha$-particles, which were created when neutrons interacted with\nthe $^{10}$B$_{4}$C layer. For actual measurements of the spatial\ndistributions, the following two improvements were made: The first was to\nestablish a method to align microscopic images with high accuracy within a wide\nregion of 65 mm $\\times$ 0.2 mm. We created reference marks of 1 $\\mu$m and 5\n$\\mu$m diameter with an interval of 50 $\\mu$m and 500 $\\mu$m, respectively, on\nthe Si substrate by electron beam lithography and realized a position accuracy\nof less than 30 nm. The second was to build a holder that could maintain the\natmospheric pressure around the nuclear emulsion to utilize it under vacuum\nduring exposure to UCNs. The intrinsic resolution of the improved detector was\nestimated by evaluating the blur of a transmission image of a gadolinium\ngrating taken by cold neutrons as better than 0.56 $\\pm$ 0.08 $\\mu$m, which\nincluded the grating accuracy. A test exposure to UCNs was conducted to obtain\nthe spatial distribution of UCNs in the Earth's gravitational field. Although\nthe test was successful, a blurring of 6.9 $\\mu$m was found in the\nmeasurements, compared with a theoretical curve. We identified the blurring\ncaused by the refraction of UCNs due to the roughness of the upstream surface\nof the substrate. Polishing of the surface makes the resolution less than 100\nnm.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The MURAVES experiment: study of the Vesuvius Great Cone with Muon\n Radiography: The MURAVES experiment aims at the muographic imaging of the internal\nstructure of the summit of Mt. Vesuvius, exploiting muons produced by cosmic\nrays. Though presently quiescent, the volcano carries a dramatic hazard in its\nhighly populated surroundings. The challenging measurement of the rock density\ndistribution in its summit by muography, in conjunction with data from other\ngeophysical techniques, can help the modeling of possible eruptive dynamics.\nThe MURAVES apparatus consists of an array of three independent and identical\nmuon trackers, with a total sensitive area of 3 square meters. In each tracker,\na sequence of 4 XY tracking planes made of plastic scintillators is\ncomplemented by a 60 cm thick lead wall inserted between the two downstream\nplanes to improve rejection of background from low energy muons. The apparatus\nis currently acquiring data. Preliminary results from the analysis of a first\ndata sample are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Monitoring the Stability of the ALEPH Vertex Detector: The ALEPH Silicon Vertex Detector features an optical fibre laser system to\nmonitor its mechanical stability. The operating principle and the general\nperformance of the laser system are described. The experience obtained during\n1997 and 1998 operations confirms the important role that such a system can\nhave with respect to the detector alignment requirements. In particular, the\nlaser system has been used to monitor short-term temperature-related effects\nand long-term movements. These results and a description of the laser-based\nalignment correction applied to the 1998 data are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Robust GPS - SMS Communication Channel for the AVL System: Universal Preprocessing GPS SMS Communication Unit (UPCU) was developed as a\npart of the UWI microtracking system. A GSM cellular Short Messaging Service is\nthe main method of delivering tracking information to the central base station.\n The information includes asset ID, longitude, latitude, altitude, speed and\ndirection as well as the time the message was sent. The design of the unit is\nimplemented as a bi-directional SMS system.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Intensity Modulated Photocurrent Microspectrosopy for Next Generation\n Photovoltaics: In this report, we describe a large-area Laser Beam Induced Current (LBIC)\nmicroscope that has been adapted to perform Intensity Modulated Photocurrent\nSpectroscopy in an imaging mode combined with automated J-V electrical\ncharacterization. Henceforth we refer to the method as either Intensity\nModulated Photocurrent Micro-spectroscopy or simply IMPS microscopy. Microscopy\nbased IMPS aims to use the localised frequency response to correlate the\noptoelectrical response with a particular interface, bulk material, specific\ntransport layer or transport parameter. The system developed here is\nspecifically designed to track the decomposition of organic solar cells\nincluding hybrid-inorganic PSCs during long-term exposure to quantities such as\nlight, oxygen, moisture, and heat", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Interferometric length metrology for the dimensional control of\n ultra-stable Ring Laser Gyroscopes: We present the experimental test of a method for controlling the absolute\nlength of the diagonals of square ring laser gyroscopes. The purpose is to\nactively stabilize the ring cavity geometry and to enhance the rotation sensor\nstability in order to reach the requirements for the detection of the\nrelativistic Lense-Thirring effect with a ground-based array of optical\ngyroscopes. The test apparatus consists of two optical cavities 1.32 m in\nlength, reproducing the features of the ring cavity diagonal resonators of\nlarge frame He-Ne ring laser gyroscopes. The proposed measurement technique is\nbased on the use of a single diode laser, injection locked to a frequency\nstabilized He-Ne/Iodine frequency standard, and a single electro-optic\nmodulator. The laser is modulated with a combination of three frequencies\nallowing to lock the two cavities to the same resonance frequency and, at the\nsame time, to determine the cavity Free Spectral Range (FSR). We obtain a\nstable lock of the two cavities to the same optical frequency reference,\nproviding a length stabilization at the level of 1 part in $10^{11}$, and the\ndetermination of the two FSRs with a relative precision of 0.2 ppm. This is\nequivalent to an error of 500 nm on the absolute length difference between the\ntwo cavities.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A High Energy Electron and Photon Detector Simulation System: A detailed Monte-Carlo code has been developed from basic principles that\nsimulates almost all of the basic photon and charged particle interactions. The\ncode is used to derive the response functions of a high energy photon detector\nto incident beams of photons of various energies. The detector response\nmatrices (DRMs) are calculated using this code. Deconvolution of an\nartificially generated spectrum is presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of the LHCb RICH detectors during LHC Run 2: The performance of the ring-imaging Cherenkov detectors at the LHCb\nexperiment is determined during the LHC Run 2 period between 2015 and 2018. The\nstability of the Cherenkov angle resolution and number of detected photons with\ntime and running conditions is measured. The particle identification\nperformance is evaluated with data and found to satisfy the requirements of the\nphysics programme.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Single-shot, coherent, pop-out 3D metrology: Three-dimensional (3D) imaging of thin, extended specimens at nanometer\nresolution is critical for applications in biology, materials science, advanced\nsynthesis, and manufacturing. One route to 3D imaging is tomography, which\nrequires a tilt series of a local region. Here we describe a coherent imaging\nalternative that recovers the 3D volume of a thin, homogeneously amorphous\nspecimen with only a single, energy-filtered, bright-field image. We\ndemonstrated this technique with a transmission electron microscope to fill a\nglaring gap for rapid, accessible, non-destructive 3D nanometrology. This\ntechnique is applicable, in general, to any coherent bright field imaging with\nelectrons, photons, or any other wavelike particles.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of COTS ADC SEE Test System for the ATLAS LAr Calorimeter\n Upgrade: Radiation-tolerant, high speed, high density and low power commercial\noff-the-shelf (COTS) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are planned to be used\nin the upgrade to the Liquid Argon (LAr) calorimeter front end (FE) trigger\nreadout electronics. Total ionization dose (TID) and single event effect (SEE)\nare two important radiation effects which need to be characterized on COTS\nADCs. In our initial TID test, Texas Instruments (TI) ADS5272 was identified to\nbe the top performer after screening a total 17 COTS ADCs from different\nmanufacturers with dynamic range and sampling rate meeting the requirements of\nthe FE electronics. Another interesting feature of ADS5272 is its 6.5 clock\ncycles latency, which is the shortest among the 17 candidates. Based on the TID\nperformance, we have designed a SEE evaluation system for ADS5272, which allows\nus to further assess its radiation tolerance. In this paper, we present a\ndetailed design of ADS5272 SEE evaluation system and show the effectiveness of\nthis system while evaluating ADS5272 SEE characteristics in multiple\nirradiation tests. According to TID and SEE test results, ADS5272 was chosen to\nbe implemented in the full-size LAr Trigger Digitizer Board (LTDB)\ndemonstrator, which will be installed on ATLAS calorimeter during the 2014 Long\nShutdown 1 (LS1).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Recent Advances of the Engineering Prototype of the CALICE Analog Hadron\n Calorimeter: The CALICE collaboration is developing an engineering prototype of an analog\nhadron calorimeter for a future linear collider detector. The prototype has to\nprove the feasibility of building a realistic detector with fully integrated\nfront-end electronics. The performance goals are driven by the requirement of\nhigh jet energy resolution and the measurement of the details of the shower\ndevelopment. The signals are sampled by small scintillating plastic tiles that\nare read out by silicon photomultipliers. The ASICs are integrated into the\ncalorimeter layers and are optimized for minimal power consumption. For the\nphotodetector calibration an LED system is integrated into each of the detector\nchannels. In this report the status and performance of the realized module are\npresented. In particular, results from timing measurements are discussed, as\nwell as tests of the calibration system. The new module has also been used in\nthe DESY test beam environment and first results from the electron beam tests\nare reported.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High-brightness and high-flux cold neutron source utilizing high-aspect\n ratio rectangular para-hydrogen moderators: A novel cold neutron source employing chess-board or staircase assemblies of\nhigh-aspect ratio rectangular \\hpara moderators is proposed. It is demonstrated\nthat this design can generate neutron beams with higher intensity and\nbrightness, up to approximately 2.5 times more than any para-hydrogen-based\ncold neutron source with an equal cold neutron beam cross-section made of a\nsingle moderator (flat or voluminous). Two limiting factors for this gain are\nidentified: the limited volume of the high-density thermal neutron region\nsurrounding the reactor core or spallation target, which imposes constraints on\nthe total length of the moderator assembly, and the finite width of moderator\nwalls.\n An analytic approach for calculating the brightness of para-hydrogen\nmoderators is introduced. Because brightness gain originates from a\nnear-the-surface effect resulting from the prevailing single collision process\nduring thermal-to-cold neutron conversion, high-aspect ratio rectangular cold\nmoderators offer a significant increase, up to a factor of 10, in cold neutron\nbrightness. The obtained results are in excellent agreement with MCNP\ncalculations.\n The concept of 'low-dimensionality' in moderators is explored, demonstrating\nthat achieving a substantial increase in brightness necessitates moderators to\nbe low-dimensional both geometrically, implying a high aspect ratio, and\nphysically, requiring the moderator's smallest dimension to be smaller than the\ncharacteristic scale of moderator medium (about the mean free path for thermal\nneutrons). This explains why additional compression of the moderator along the\nlongest direction, effectively giving it a tube-like shape, does not result in\na significant brightness increase comparable to the flattening of moderator.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Polarisation at HERA - Reanalysis of the HERA II Polarimeter Data -: In this technical note we briefly present the analysis of the HERA\npolarimeters (transversal and longitudinal) as of summer 2011. We present the\nfinal reanalysis of the TPOL data, and discuss the systematic uncertainties. A\nprocedure to combine and average LPOL and TPOL data is presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A high-density polarized 3He gas-jet target for laser-plasma\n applications: A laser-driven spin-polarized 3He2+ beam source for nuclear-physics\nexperiments and for the investigation of polarized nuclear fusion demands a\nhigh-density polarized 3He gas-jet target. Such a target requires a magnetic\nsystem providing a permanent homogeneous holding field for the nuclear spins\nplus a set of coils for adjusting the orientation of the polarization. Starting\nfrom a transport vessel at a maximum pressure of 3 bar, the helium gas is\ncompressed for a short time and can be injected into a laser-interaction\nchamber through a non-magnetic opening valve and nozzle, thus forming jets with\ndensities of about a few 10^19 cm-3 and widths of about 1 mm. The target\ncomprises a 3D adjustment system for precise positioning of the jet relative to\nthe laser focus. An auxiliary gas system provides remote target operation and\nflushing of the gas lines with Ar gas, which helps to reduce polarization\nlosses. The design of the target, its operation procedures and first\nexperimental results are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Phase Lookahead DTC for Fast Settling Switched Loop DPLL: In most digital-to-time converter (DTC) based applications, apart from\nmaintaining low integral non-linearity (INL), it is also required of the system\nto achieve a wide frequency translation range. To achieve this performance, we\npresent a dual-phase direct digital synthesizer (DDS) based DTC with\nphase-lookahead mechanism. The proposed technique of variable phase-advancement\nenhances the frequency translation range, without excessive power consumption.\nA 5-GHz digital phase locked loop (DPLL) with switched loop, incorporating this\nDDS based DTC, is implemented in CMOS65nm-LL technology. The proposed DDS based\nDTC is able to perform fractional shift upto 80MHz with 100MHz reference clock,\nusing 3mW of power from 1.2V supply. A simple look-up table based\nforeground-calibration of phase-to-amplitude converter (PAC) in DDS improves\nthe peak INL of the DTC to 0.25ps. Hence, with the proposed DTC and a\nproportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller based loop, we are able to\nachieve a low-jitter fractional-N DPLL with fastest settling time of 1us\nreported until now for fractional-N PLLs.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High-Rate Capable Floating Strip Micromegas: We report on the optimization of discharge insensitive floating strip\nMicromegas (MICRO-MEsh GASeous) detectors, fit for use in high-energy muon\nspectrometers. The suitability of these detectors for particle tracking is\nshown in high-background environments and at very high particle fluxes up to\n60MHz/cm$^2$. Measurement and simulation of the microscopic discharge behavior\nhave demonstrated the excellent discharge tolerance. A floating strip\nMicromegas with an active area of 48cm$\\times$50cm with 1920 copper anode\nstrips exhibits in 120GeV pion beams a spatial resolution of 50$\\mu$m at\ndetection efficiencies above 95%. Pulse height, spatial resolution and\ndetection efficiency are homogeneous over the detector. Reconstruction of\nparticle track inclination in a single detector plane is discussed, optimum\nangular resolutions below $5^\\circ$ are observed. Systematic deviations of this\n$\\mu$TPC-method are fully understood. The reconstruction capabilities for\nminimum ionizing muons are investigated in a 6.4cm$\\times$6.4cm floating strip\nMicromegas under intense background irradiation of the whole active area with\n20MeV protons at a rate of 550kHz. The spatial resolution for muons is not\ndistorted by space charge effects. A 6.4cm$\\times$6.4cm floating strip\nMicromegas doublet with low material budget is investigated in highly ionizing\nproton and carbon ion beams at particle rates between 2MHz and 2GHz. Stable\noperation up to the highest rates is observed, spatial resolution, detection\nefficiencies, the multi-hit and high-rate capability are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Unsupervised CNN-Based DIC for 2D Displacement Measurement: Digital image correlation method is a non contact deformation measurement\ntechnique. Despite years of development, it is still difficult to solve the\ncontradiction between calculation efficiency and seed point quantity.With the\ndevelopment of deep learning, the DIC algorithm based on deep learning provides\na new solution for the problem of insufficient calculation efficiency in\nDIC.All supervised learning DIC methods requires a large set of high quality\ntraining set. However, obtaining such a dataset can be challenging and time\nconsuming in generating ground truth. To fix the problem,we propose an\nunsupervised CNN Based DIC for 2D Displacement Measurement.The speckle image\nwarp model is created to transform the target speckle image to the\ncorresponding predicted reference speckle image by predicted 2D displacement\nmap, the predicted reference speckle image is compared with the original\nreference speckle image to realize the unsupervised training of the CNN.The\nnetwork's parameters are optimized using a composite loss function that\nincorporates both the Mean Squared Error and Pearson correlation\ncoefficient.Our proposed method has a significant advantage of eliminating the\nneed for extensive training data annotations. We conducted several experiments\nto demonstrate the validity and robustness of the proposed method. The\nexperimental results demonstrate that our method can achieve can achieve\naccuracy comparable to previous supervised methods. The PyTorch code will be\navailable at the following URL: https://github.com/fead1.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Optimizing floating guard ring designs for FASPAX N-in-P silicon sensors: FASPAX (Fermi-Argonne Semiconducting Pixel Array X-ray detector) is being\ndeveloped as a fast integrating area detector with wide dynamic range for time\nresolved applications at the upgraded Advanced Photon Source (APS.) A burst\nmode detector with intended $\\mbox{13 $MHz$}$ image rate, FASPAX will also\nincorporate a novel integration circuit to achieve wide dynamic range, from\nsingle photon sensitivity to $10^{\\text{5}}$ x-rays/pixel/pulse. To achieve\nthese ambitious goals, a novel silicon sensor design is required. This paper\nwill detail early design of the FASPAX sensor. Results from TCAD optimization\nstudies, and characterization of prototype sensors will be presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Muon reconstruction with a convolutional neural network in the JUNO\n detector: The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is designed to determine\nthe neutrino mass ordering and measure neutrino oscillation parameters. A\nprecise muon reconstruction is crucial to reduce one of the major backgrounds\ninduced by cosmic muons. This article proposes a novel muon reconstruction\nmethod based on convolutional neural network (CNN) models. In this method, the\ntrack information reconstructed by the top tracker is used for network\ntraining. The training dataset is augmented by applying a rotation to muon\ntracks to compensate for the limited angular coverage of the top tracker. The\nmuon reconstruction with the CNN model can produce unbiased tracks with\nperformance that spatial resolution is better than 10 cm and angular resolution\nis better than 0.6 degrees. By using a GPU accelerated implementation a speedup\nfactor of 100 compared to existing CPU techniques has been demonstrated.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Improvement of photon reconstruction in PandoraPFA: This paper presents the overview of improving photon reconstruction in\nPandoraPFA. We have reduced the fragmentation and improved the photon\nseparation resolution. As a result, the reconstructed photons have a greater\ncompleteness and purity, and the jet energy resolution has improved for high\nenergy jets.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Technical instrumentation R&D for ILD SiW ECAL large scale device: Calorimeters with silicon detectors have many unique features and are\nproposed for several world-leading experiments. We describe the R&D program of\nthe large scale detector element with up to 12 000 readout channels for the\nInternational Large Detector (ILD) at the future e+e- ILC collider. The program\nis focused on the readout front-end electronics embedded inside the\ncalorimeter. The first part with 2 000 channels and two small silicon sensors\nhas already been constructed, the full prototype is planned for the beginning\nof 2018.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Developments in Readout for Silicon Microstrip Sensors at a Linear\n Collider Detector: We report recent results on the use of charge division to obtain a\nlongitudinal coordinate from silicon strip detectors, and on sources of\nelectronic readout noise for long, thin strips. These results hold promise for\nthe design of Linear Collider charged particle tracking system composed of\nsilicon microstrip sensors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "3D Particle Track Reconstrution in a Single Layer Cadmium-Telluride\n Hybrid Active Pixel Detector: In the past 20 years the search for neutrinoless double beta decay has driven\nmany developements in all kind of detector technology. A new branch in this\nfield are highly-pixelated semiconductor detectors - such as the CdTe-Timepix\ndetectors. It compromises a cadmium-telluride sensor of 14 mm x 14 mm x 1 mm\nsize with an ASIC which has 256 x 256 pixel of 55 \\textmu m pixel pitch and can\nbe used to obtain either spectroscopic or timing information in every pixel. In\nregular operation it can provide a 2D projection of particle trajectories;\nhowever, three dimensional trajectories are desirable for neutrinoless double\nbeta decay and other applications. In this paper we present a method to obtain\nsuch trajectories. The method was developed and tested with simulations that\nassume some minor modifications to the Timepix ASIC. Also, we were able to test\nthe method experimentally and in the best case achieved a position resolution\nof about 90 \\textmu m with electrons of 4.4 GeV.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neutrino-based safeguards of CANDU spent fuel using superconducting\n detectors and the CE$\u03bd$NS interaction: To prevent the unauthorised spread of radioactive materials, it is essential\nto detect and monitor spent nuclear fuel. This paper investigates the\nfeasibility of using a detector based on transition edge superconductors to\nmonitor spent CANDU fuel in two distinct scenarios. The first of these\nconsidered the monitoring of a CANSTOR container at the location of the\nGentilly-2 nuclear power plant. The fuel in a CANSTOR container is contained\nwithin baskets, which are then stored in tubes in the container. An individual\ndetector with a mass of 1 kg is not sensitive to the removal of a single basket\nfrom the container without an unfeasibly long monitoring time. When an entire\ntube in the container is emptied (equivalent to approximately 5% of the fuel in\nthe container), the results are improved. The second scenario examined the\nfeasibility of monitoring a single dry storage container (DSC) at the Pickering\nsite. The DSCs are much smaller than a CANSTOR container and contain\napproximately 7.4 tonnes of spent fuel. The background due to the neutrinos\nfrom the nearby reactors at the Pickering site was also evaluated. It was found\nthat monitoring DSC was unfeasible due to the high reactor neutrino background.\nBoth studies utilized fuel that was 30 years old; monitoring a container loaded\nwith spent fuel that is younger would require a shorter monitoring time due to\nthe fuel's higher radioactivity.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Beam Test with a GridGEM TPC Prototype Module: The International Large Detector (ILD) --a detector concept for the\nInternational Linear Collider (ILC)-- foresees a Time Projection Chamber (TPC)\nas its main tracking detector. Currently, the R&D efforts for such a TPC focus\non studies using a large prototype that can accommodate up to seven read-out\nmodules which are comparable to the ones that would be used in the final ILD\nTPC. The DESY TPC group has developed such a module using GEMs for the gas\namplification, which are mounted on thin ceramic frames. The module design and\nfirst results of a test beam campaign are presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurement of Leakage Neutron Spectra for Tungsten with D-T Neutrons\n and Validation of Evaluated Nuclear Data: Integral neutronics experiments have been investigated at Institute of Modern\nPhysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMP, CAS) in order to validate evaluated\nnuclear data related to the design of Chinese Initiative Accelerator Driven\nSystems (CIADS). In present paper, the accuracy of evaluated nuclear data for\nTungsten has been examined by comparing measured leakage neutron spectra with\ncalculated ones. Leakage neutron spectra from the irradiation of D-T neutrons\non Tungsten slab sample were experimentally measured at 60$^{\\circ}$ and\n120$^{\\circ}$ by using a time-of-flight method. Theoretical calculations are\ncarried out by Monte Carlo neutron transport code MCNP-4C with evaluated\nnuclear data of the ADS-2.0, ENDF/B-VII.0, ENDF/B-VII.1, JENDL-4.0 and\nCENDL-3.1 libraries. From the comparisons, it is found that the calculations\nwith ADS-2.0 and ENDF/B-VII.1 give good agreements with the experiments in the\nwhole energy regions at 60$^{\\circ}$, while a large discrepancy is observed at\n120$^{\\circ}$ in the elastic scattering peak, caused by a slight difference in\nthe oscillation pattern of the elastic angular distribution at angles larger\nthan 20$^{\\circ}$. However, the calculated spectra using data from\nENDF/B-VII.0, JENDL-4.0 and CENDL-3.1 libraries showed larger discrepancies\nwith the measured ones, especially around 8.5-13.5 MeV. Further studies are\npresented for these disagreements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Oscillator metrology with software defined radio: Analog electrical elements such as mixers, filters, transfer oscillators,\nisolating buffers, dividers, and even transmission lines contribute technical\nnoise and unwanted environmental coupling in time and frequency measurements.\nSoftware defined radio (SDR) techniques replace many of these analog components\nwith digital signal processing (DSP) on rapidly sampled signals. We demonstrate\nthat, generically, commercially available multi-channel SDRs are capable of\ntime and frequency metrology, outperforming purpose-built devices by as much as\nan order-of-magnitude. For example, for signals at 10 MHz and 6 GHz, we observe\nSDR time deviation noise floors of about 20 fs and 1 fs, respectively, in under\n10 ms of averaging. Examining the other complex signal component, we find a\nrelative amplitude measurement instability of 3e-7 at 5 MHz. We discuss the\nscalability of a SDR-based system for simultaneous measurement of many clocks.\nSDR's frequency agility allows for comparison of oscillators at widely\ndifferent frequencies. We demonstrate a novel and extreme example with optical\nclock frequencies differing by many terahertz: using a femtosecond-laser\nfrequency comb and SDR, we show femtosecond-level time comparisons of\nultra-stable lasers with zero measurement dead-time.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Liquid Argon test of the ARAPUCA device: The ARAPUCA is a novel concept for liquid argon scintillation light detection\nwhich has been proposed for the photon detection system of the Deep Underground\nNeutrino Experiment. The test in liquid argon of one of the first ARAPUCA\nprototypes is presented in this work, where the working principle is\nexperimentally demonstrated. The prototype has an acceptance window of 9 cm$^2$\nand is read-out by a single SiPM with active area of 0.36 cm$^2$. Its global\ndetection efficiency was estimated by exposing it to a $^{238}U$ $\\alpha$\nsource and to cosmic rays and was found to be 1.15\\% $\\pm$ 0.15\\%, in good\nagreement with the prediction of a detailed Monte Carlo simulation of the\ndevice. Several other ARAPUCA prototypes of bigger dimensions and read-out by\narrays of SiPMs have been built and are actually under test. In particular 32\nARAPUCA cells have been installed inside the protoDUNE detector, which is being\nassembled at CERN and will be operated in the second half of 2018.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Scintillation-only Based Pulse Shape Discrimination for Nuclear and\n Electron Recoils in Liquid Xenon: In a dedicated test setup at the Kamioka Observatory we studied pulse shape\ndiscrimination (PSD) in liquid xenon (LXe) for dark matter searches. PSD in LXe\nwas based on the observation that scintillation light from electron events was\nemitted over a longer period of time than that of nuclear recoil events, and\nour method used a simple ratio of early to total scintillation light emission\nin a single scintillation event. Requiring an efficiency of 50% for nuclear\nrecoil retention we reduced the electron background to 7.7\\pm1.1(stat)\\pm1.2\n0.6(sys)\\times10-2 at energies between 4.8 and 7.2 keVee and to\n7.7\\pm2.8(stat)\\pm2.5 2.8(sys)\\times10-3 at energies between 9.6 and 12 keVee\nfor a scintillation light yield of 20.9 p.e./keV. Further study was done by\nmasking some of that light to reduce this yield to 4.6 p.e./keV, the same\nmethod results in an electron event reduction of 2.4\\pm0.2(stat)\\pm0.3\n0.2(sys)\\times10-1 for the lower of the energy regions above. We also observe\nthat in contrast to nuclear recoils the fluctuations in our early to total\nratio for electron events are larger than expected from statistical\nfluctuations.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Calibrating the scintillation and ionization responses of xenon recoils\n for high-energy dark matter searches: Liquid xenon-based direct detection dark matter experiments have recently\nexpanded their searches to include high-energy nuclear recoil events as\nmotivated by effective field theory dark matter and inelastic dark matter\ninteraction models, but few xenon recoil calibrations above 100 keV are\ncurrently available. In this work, we measured the scintillation and ionization\nyields of xenon recoils up to 426 keV. The experiment uses 14.1 MeV neutrons to\nscatter off xenon in a compact liquid xenon time projection chamber and produce\nquasi-monoenergetic xenon recoils between 39 keV and 426 keV. We report the\nxenon recoil responses and their electric field-dependence for recoil energies\nup to 306 keV; due to the low event statistics and the relatively mild field\ndependence, the yield values at higher energies are reported as the average of\nxenon responses for electric fields between 0.2-2.0 kV/cm. This result will\nenable xenon-based dark matter experiments to significantly increase their high\nenergy dark matter sensitivities by including energy regions that were\npreviously inaccessible due to lack of calibrations.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Implementation of Traction Constraints in Bragg-edge Neutron\n Transmission Strain Tomography: Several recent methods for tomographic reconstruction of stress and strain\nfields from Bragg-edge neutron strain images have been proposed in the\nliterature. This paper presents an extension of a previously demonstrated\napproach based on Gaussian Process regression which enforces equilibrium in the\nmethod. This extension incorporates knowledge of boundary conditions, primarily\nboundary tractions, into the reconstruction process. This is shown to increase\nthe rate of convergence and is more tolerant of systematic errors that may be\npresent in experimental measurements. An exact expression for a central\ncalculation in this method is also provided which avoids the need for the\napproximation scheme that was previously used. Convergence of this method for\nsimulated data is compared to existing approaches and a reconstruction from\nexperimental data is provided. Validation of the results to conventional\nconstant wavelength strain measurements and comparison to prior methods shows a\nsignificant improvement.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A compact electron matter wave interferometer for sensor technology: Remarkable progress can be observed in recent years in the controlled\nemission, guiding and detection of coherent, free electrons. Those methods were\napplied in matter wave interferometers leading to high phase sensitivities and\nnovel sensor technologies for dephasing influences such as mechanical\nvibrations or electromagnetic frequencies. However, the previous devices have\nbeen large laboratory setups. For future sensor applications or tests of the\ncoherence properties of an electron source, small, portable interferometers are\nrequired. Here, we demonstrate a compact biprism electron interferometer that\ncan be used for mobile applications. The design was optimized for small\ndimensions by beam path simulations. The interferometer has a length between\nthe tip and the superposition plane before magnification of only 47 mm and\nprovides electron interference pattern with a contrast up to 42.7 %. The\ndetection of two dephasing frequencies at 50 and 150 Hz was demonstrated\napplying second order correlation and Fourier analysis of the interference\ndata.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Towards a mechanical MPI scanner based on atomic magnetometry: We report on our progress in the development of an atomic magnetometer (AM)\nbased low-frequency magnetic particle imaging (MPI) scanner, expected to be\nfree from Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS)\nconstraints. We address major challenges in coil and sensor design due to\nspecific AM properties. Compared to our previous work we have changed the AM's\nmode of operation towards its implementation for detecting weak magnetic\nnanoparticles (MNP) response fields in the presence of nearby-located strong\ndrive/selection fields. We demonstrate that a pump-probe AM scheme in a buffer\ngas filled alkali vapour cell can tolerate mT/m gradients while maintaining a\nsensitivity in the one-digit pT/Hz^(1/2) range over a bandwidth from DC to\nseveral kHz. We give a detailed description of the drive/selection coils'\ngeometry and their hardware implementations that provides a field-free-line\n(FFL) operation, compatible with a best performance AM operation. We estimate\nthe achievable field of view and spatial resolution of the scanner as well as\nits sensitivity, assuming mechanical scanning of a Resovist sample through the\nfield-free point/line.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "FPGA based demodulation of laser induced fluorescence in plasmas: We present a field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based system that counts\nphotons from laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) on a laboratory plasma. This is\naccomplished with FPGA-based up/down counters that demodulate the data, giving\na background-subtracted LIF signal stream that is updated with a new point as\neach laser amplitude modulation cycle completes. We demonstrate using the FPGA\nto modulate a laser at 1 MHz and demodulate the resulting LIF data stream. This\ndata stream is used to calculate an LIF-based measurement sampled at 1 MHz of a\nplasma ion fluctuation spectrum.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurement of the Charge Collection Efficiency after Heavy Non-Uniform\n Irradiation in BaBar Silicon Detectors: We have investigated the depletion voltage changes, the leakage current\nincrease and the charge collection efficiency of a silicon microstrip detector\nidentical to those used in the inner layers of the BaBar Silicon Vertex Tracker\n(SVT) after heavy non-uniform irradiation. A full SVT module with the front-end\nelectronics connected has been irradiated with a 0.9 GeV electron beam up to a\npeak fluence of 3.5 x 10^14 e^-/cm^2, well beyond the level causing substrate\ntype inversion. We irradiated one of the two sensors composing the module with\na non-uniform profile with sigma=1.4 mm that simulates the conditions\nencountered in the BaBar experiment by the modules intersecting the horizontal\nmachine plane. The position dependence of the charge collection properties and\nthe depletion voltage have been investigated in detail using a 1060 nm LED and\nan innovative measuring technique based only on the digital output of the chip.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A container-based facility for testing 20'000 20-inch PMTs for JUNO: The main goal of the JUNO experiment is the determination of the neutrino\nmass ordering. To achieve this, an extraordinary energy resolution of at least\n$3\\,\\%$ at $1\\,$MeV is required for which all parts of the JUNO detector need\nto meet certain quality criteria. This is relevant in particular for those\nwhich are related to the energy resolution of the detector, such as the\nphotomultiplier tubes (PMTs) to be deployed in JUNO. This paper presents the\nsetup and performance of a dedicated PMT mass testing facility to examine and\ncharacterize the performance of the 20-inch JUNO PMTs. Its quasi-industrial\nsize and operation level allows to test all 20000 PMTs intended to be used in\nthe JUNO experiment. With this PMT mass testing system, several key\ncharacteristics like dark count rate, peak-to-valley ratio, photon detection\nefficiency, and timing resolution have been determined at an operating gain of\n$1\\times10^7$ and assessed with respect to the requirements of JUNO.\nMeasurement conditions and modes for the PMTs as well as estimated accuracies\nfor the determination of the individual PMT parameters with the system are\npresented as well.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Vibration decoupling system for massive bolometers in dry cryostats: Pulse-tube based dilution refrigerators are massively employed in low\ntemperature physics. They allow to reduce the running costs and to be operated\nwith unprecedented easiness. However, the main drawback of this technology is\nthe mechanical vibrations induced by the pulse-tube cryocooler. These\nperturbations can cause extra-noises drastically affecting the detector\nperformance. In this paper, we propose a solution to mitigate the impact of\nthese vibrations by mounting the detectors in an elastic-pendulum based\nsuspended tower. Based on vibration modeling and experimental tests, we show\nthat the vibration levels are attenuated by up to two orders of magnitude at\nmost frequencies, especially above $\\sim20$ Hz, for both vertical and radial\ndirections. Thanks to this passive isolation solution, vibration levels, both\nalong vertical and radial directions, below 1 $\\mu\\textrm{g/}\\sqrt{\\text{Hz}}$\nin the frequency range [1-1000] Hz are obtained. This provides a convenient\nenvironment to test the ultimate performance of low temperature detectors. As a\nresult, we report an improvement by one to two orders of magnitude on the noise\nlevels of massive cryogenic bolometers, leading to thermal energy resolutions\nimproved by a factor 5 to 40. Finally, we conclude that the energy resolution\nof our cryogenic bolometers are no longer limited from any residual vibrations,\nhence allowing the perspective of further improving our bolometer performance\nin the context of low-mass dark matter searches and neutrino physics\napplications.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Cosmogenic Activation of Materials Used in Rare Event Search Experiments: We evaluate the cosmogenic production rates in some materials that are\ncommonly used as targets and shielding/supporting components for detecting rare\nevents. The results from Geant4 simulations are compared with the calculations\nof ACTIVIA and the available experimental data. We demonstrate that the\nproduction rates from the Geant4-based simulations agree with the available\ndata reasonably well. As a result, we report that the cosmogenic production of\nseveral isotopes in various materials can generate potential backgrounds for\ndirect detection of dark matter and neutrinoless double-beta decay.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The construction and commissioning of the CMS Silicon Strip Tracker: As the start up date for LHC approaches, the detectors are readying for data\ntaking. Here a review will be given on the construction phase with insights\ninto the various difficulties encountered during the process. An overview will\nalso be given of the commissioning strategy and results obtained so far.\n The CMS tracker is the largest silicon microstrip detector ever built.\nConsisting of three main subsystems, Inner Barrel and Disks, Outer Barrel and\nEnd Caps, it is 5.4m long and is 2.4m in diameter. Total detector surface is an\nunprecedented 200m^2 with more than 15000 detector modules.\n The various integration procedures and quality checks implemented are briefly\nreviewed. Finally an overview is given of checkout procedures performed at\nCERN, after the final underground installation of the detector.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Letter of Intent to Install a milli-charged Particle Detector at LHC\n P5: In this LOI we propose a dedicated experiment that would detect\n\"milli-charged\" particles produced by pp collisions at LHC Point 5. The\nexperiment would be installed during LS2 in the vestigial drainage gallery\nabove UXC and would not interfere with CMS operations. With 300 fb$^{-1}$ of\nintegrated luminosity, sensitivity to a particle with charge\n$\\mathcal{O}(10^{-3})~e$ can be achieved for masses of $\\mathcal{O}(1)$ GeV,\nand charge $\\mathcal{O}(10^{-2})~e$ for masses of $\\mathcal{O}(10)$ GeV,\ngreatly extending the parameter space explored for particles with small charge\nand masses above 100 MeV.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Radiation hardness of CMS pixel barrel modules: Pixel detectors are used in the innermost part of the multi purpose\nexperiments at LHC and are therefore exposed to the highest fluences of\nionising radiation, which in this part of the detectors consists mainly of\ncharged pions. The radiation hardness of all detector components has thoroughly\nbeen tested up to the fluences expected at the LHC. In case of an LHC upgrade,\nthe fluence will be much higher and it is not yet clear how long the present\npixel modules will stay operative in such a harsh environment. The aim of this\nstudy was to establish such a limit as a benchmark for other possible detector\nconcepts considered for the upgrade.\n As the sensors and the readout chip are the parts most sensitive to radiation\ndamage, samples consisting of a small pixel sensor bump-bonded to a CMS-readout\nchip (PSI46V2.1) have been irradiated with positive 200 MeV pions at PSI up to\n6E14 Neq and with 21 GeV protons at CERN up to 5E15 Neq.\n After irradiation the response of the system to beta particles from a Sr-90\nsource was measured to characterise the charge collection efficiency of the\nsensor. Radiation induced changes in the readout chip were also measured. The\nresults show that the present pixel modules can be expected to be still\noperational after a fluence of 2.8E15 Neq. Samples irradiated up to 5E15 Neq\nstill see the beta particles. However, further tests are needed to confirm\nwhether a stable operation with high particle detection efficiency is possible\nafter such a high fluence.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The ERC ENUBET Project: high precision neutrino flux measurements in\n conventional neutrino beams: The challenges of precision neutrino physics require measurements of absolute\nneutrino cross sections at the GeV scale with exquisite (1%) precision. This\nprecision is presently limited by the uncertainties on neutrino flux at the\nsource; their reduction by one order of magnitude can be achieved monitoring\nthe positron production in the decay tunnel originating from the $K_{e3}$\ndecays of charged kaons in a sign and momentum selected narrow band beam. This\nnovel technique enables the measurement of the most relevant cross sections for\nCP violation ($\\nu_e$ and $\\overline{\\nu}_e$) with a precision of 1% and\nrequires a special instrumented beam-line. Such non-conventional beam-line will\nbe developed in the framework of the ENUBET Horizon-2020 Consolidator Grant,\nrecently approved by the European Research Council. The project, the first\nexperimental results on ultra-compact calorimeters that can be embedded in the\ninstrumented decay tunnel and the advances on the simulation of the beamline\nare presented. We also discuss the detector and accelerator activities that are\nplanned in 2016-2021.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Note: Nanomechanical characterization of soft materials using a\n micro-machined nanoforce transducer with an FIB-made pyramidal tip: The quantitative nanomechanical characterization of soft materials using the\nnanoindentation technique requires further improvements in the performances of\ninstruments, including their force resolution in particular. A micro-machined\nsilicon nanoforce transducer based upon electrostatic comb drives featuring the\nforce and depth resolutions down to 1 nN and 0.2 nm, respectively, is\ndescribed. At the end of the MEMS transducers main shaft, a pyramidal tip is\nfabricated using a focused ion beam facility. A proof-of-principle setup with\nthis MEMS nanoindenter has been established to measure the mechanical\nproperties of soft polydimethylsiloxane. First measurement results demonstrate\nthat the prototype measurement system is able to quantitatively characterize\nsoft materials with elastic moduli down to a few MPa.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Mechanical detection of nuclear decays: More than a century of development has led to detectors that can precisely\nmeasure energy deposits from particles produced by radioactive decays. However,\nneutral particles emitted in such decays may escape detection if they do not\nsubsequently interact within the detector. Here we report the detection of\nindividual nuclear $\\alpha$ decays through the mechanical recoil of the entire\nobject in which the decaying nuclei are embedded. Momentum conservation ensures\nthat such measurements are sensitive to any particles emitted in the decay,\nincluding neutral particles. Detection of the minuscule recoil of an object\nmore than $10^{12}$ times more massive than the emitted particles is made\npossible by recently developed techniques in levitated optomechanics, which\nenable high-precision optical control and measurement of the mechanical motion\nof a micron-sized particle. The techniques developed here may find use in\nfields ranging from nuclear forensics to dark matter and neutrino physics.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Super-resolution SAXS based on PSF engineering and sub-pixel detector\n translations: Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) technique enables convenient nanoscopic\ncharacterization for various systems and conditions. Nonetheless, lab-based\nSAXS systems intrinsically suffer from insufficient x-ray flux and limited\nangular resolution. Here, we develop a two-step reconstruction methodology to\nenhance the angular resolution for given experimental conditions. Using minute\nhardware additions, we show that translating the x-ray detector in subpixel\nsteps and modifying the incoming beam shape results in a set of 2D scattering\nimages which is sufficient for super-resolution SAXS reconstruction. The\ntechnique is verified experimentally to show above 25\\% increase in resolution.\nSuch advantages have a direct impact on the ability to resolve faster and finer\nnanoscopic structures and can be implemented in most existing SAXS apparatuses.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Physics of multi-GEM structures: We show that physics of multi-GEM structures is rather complex, regarding the\nnumber of phenomena affecting detector performance. The high-pressure operation\nin noble gases and the ion feedback are considered in more detail. It is\nproposed that the dominant avalanche mechanism in He and Ne, at high pressures,\nis the associative ionization. Ion feedback effects related to the dependence\non gas, pressure and gain and to possible avalanche extension outside the GEM\nholes are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Study of stability of gain and energy resolution for GEM detector in\n high rate operation: Study of the stability of gain and energy resolution for a triple GEM\ndetector has been performed under continuous radiation of X-ray with high rate,\nusing premixed gas of Argon and CO$_2$ in 70/30 ratio and conventional NIM\nelectronics. A strong Fe$^{55}$ X-ray source is used for this study. The\nnovelty of this study is that for the stability test same source is used to\nirradiate the GEM chamber and to monitor the spectrum. The radiation is not\ncollimated to a point but exposed to a larger area. Effect of temperature and\npressure on these parameters are also studied. The detail method of measurement\nand the first test results are presented in this article.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An open-source high-frequency lock-in amplifier: We present characterization of a lock-in amplifier based on a field\nprogrammable gate array capable of demodulation at up to 50 MHz. The system\nexhibits 90 nV/sqrt(Hz) of input noise at an optimum demodulation frequency of\n500 kHz.The passband has a full-width half-maximum of 2.6 kHz for modulation\nfrequencies above 100 kHz. Our code is opensource and operates on a\ncommercially available platform.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Investigation of neutron scattering in the Multi-Blade detector with\n Geant4 simulations: The European Spallation Source (ESS) is the world's next generation\nspallation-based neutron source. The research conducted at ESS will yield in\nthe discovery and development of new materials including the fields of\nmanufacturing, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, engines, plastics, energy,\ntelecommunications, transportation, information technology and biotechnology.\nThe spallation source will deliver an unprecedented neutron flux. In\nparticular, the reflectometers selected for construction, ESTIA and FREIA, have\nto fulfill challenging requirements. Local incident peak rate can reach\n10$^5$~Hz/mm$^2$. For new science to be addressed, the spatial resolution is\naimed to be less than 1 mm with a desired scattering of 10$^{-4}$ (peak-to-tail\nratio). The latter requirement is approximately two orders of magnitude better\nthan the current state-of-the-art detectors. The main aim of this work is to\nquantify the cumulative contribution of various detector components to the\nscattering of neutrons and to prove that the respective effect is within the\nrequirements set for the Multi-Blade detector by the ESS reflectometers. To\nthis end, different sets of geometry and beam parameters are investigated, with\nprimary focus on the cathode coating and the detector window thickness.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Innovative Low Cost Laboratory Automation Environment and LabVIEW\n Reformation Application Case Study: In recognition of the catalytic role of instruments, we report on an\noriginal, low-cost, robust, LabVIEW-based automation development environment\nconfiguration and application to reformation of a legacy laser atomic\nspectroscopy system. Open source, version and configuration control, full\nback-up, and remote/distributed capability characteristics make the new\nenvironment 500% better. System reformation using reusable type definitions,\nfunctional encapsulation, increased modularization, and polymorphism boosted\nperformance 983%. Both the environment configuration and reformation strategies\nare transferrable to most endeavors.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of a single-photon imaging detector with pixelated anode and\n integrated digital read-out: We present the development of a single-photon detector and the connected\nread-out electronics. This `hybrid' detector is based on a vacuum tube,\ntransmission photocathode, microchannel plate and a pixelated CMOS read-out\nanode encapsulating the analog and digital-front end electronics. This assembly\nwill be capable of detecting up to $10^9$ photons per second with simultaneous\nmeasurement of position and time.\n The pixelated read-out anode used is based on the Timepix4 ASIC\n($65~\\mathrm{nm}$ CMOS technology) designed in the framework of the Medipix4\ncollaboration. This ASIC is an array of $512\\times448$ pixels distributed on a\n$55~\\mathrm{\\mu m}$ square pitch, with a sensitive area of $\\sim\n7~\\mathrm{cm}^2$. It features $50$-$70~\\mathrm{e^{-}}$ equivalent noise charge,\na maximum rate of $2.5~\\mathrm{Ghits/s}$, and allows to time-stamp the\nleading-edge time and to measure the Time-over-Threshold (ToT) for each pixel.\nThe pixel-cluster position combined with its ToT information will allow to\nreach $5$-$10~\\mathrm{\\mu m}$ position resolution. This information can also be\nused to correct for the leading-edge time-walk achieving a timing resolution of\nthe order of $10~\\mathrm{ps}$.\n The detector will be highly compact thanks to the encapsulated front-end\nelectronics allowing local data processing and digitization. An FPGA-based data\nacquisition board, placed far from the detector, will receive the detector hits\nusing $16$ electro-optical links operated at $10.24~\\mathrm{Gbps}$. The data\nacquisition board will decode the information and store the relevant data in a\nserver for offline analysis.\n These performance will allow significant advances in particle physics, life\nsciences, quantum optics or other emerging fields where the detection of single\nphotons with excellent timing and position resolutions are simultaneously\nrequired.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A micromechanical proof-of-principle experiment for measuring the\n gravitational force of milligram masses: This paper addresses a simple question: how small can one make a\ngravitational source mass and still detect its gravitational coupling to a\nnearby test mass? We describe an experimental scheme based on micromechanical\nsensing to observe gravity between milligram-scale source masses, thereby\nimproving the current smallest source mass values by three orders of magnitude\nand possibly even more. We also discuss the implications of such measurements\nboth for improved precision measurements of Newton's constant and for a new\ngeneration of experiments at the interface between quantum physics and gravity.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A new high sensitivity search for neutron-antineutron oscillations at\n the ESS: A sensitive search for neutron-antineutron oscillations can provide a unique\nprobe of some of the central questions in particle physics and cosmology: the\nenergy scale and mechanism for baryon number violation, the origin of the\nbaryon-antibaryon asymmetry of the universe, and the mechanism for neutrino\nmass generation. A remarkable opportunity has emerged to search for such\noscillations with the construction of the European Spallation Source (ESS). A\ncollaboration has been formed which has proposed a search at the ESS, which\nwould provide a sensitivity to the oscillation probability which is three\norders of magnitude greater than that achieved at an ILL experiment at which\nthe present best limit on free neutron-antineutron oscillations was obtained.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Monte Carlo tomographic reconstruction in SPECT impact of bootstrapping\n and number of generated events: In Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), 3D images usually\nreconstructed by performing a set of bidimensional (2D) analytical or iterative\nreconstructions can also be reconstructed using an iterative reconstruction\nalgorithm involving a 3D projector. Accurate Monte Carlo (MC) simulations\nmodeling all the physical effects that affect the imaging process can be used\nto estimate this projector. However, the accuracy of the projector is affected\nby the stochastic nature of MC simulations. In this paper, we study the\naccuracy of the reconstructed images with respect to the number of simulated\nhistories used to estimate the MC projector. Furthermore, we study the impact\nof applying the bootstrapping technique when estimating the projector", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Pressure Sensor Chip with New Electrical Circuit for 10 kPa Range: Characteristics of high sensitivity MEMS pressure sensor chip for 10 kPa\nutilizing a novel electrical circuit are presented. The electrical circuit uses\npiezosensitive differential amplifier with negative feedback loop (PDA-NFL)\nbased on two bipolar-junction transistors (BJT). The BJT has a vertical\nstructure of n-p-n type (V-NPN) formed on a non-deformable chip area. The\ncircuit contains eight piezoresistors located on a profiled membrane in the\nareas of maximum mechanical stresses. The experimental results prove that\npressure sensor chip PDA-NFL with 4.0x4.0 mm2 chip area has sensitivity S =\n7.8...12.4 mV/V/kPa with nonlinearity of 2KNL = 0.14...0.38 %/FS (pressure is\napplied from the back side of pressure sensor chip).", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Topmetal CMOS direct charge sensing plane for neutrinoless double-beta\n decay search in high-pressure gaseous TPC: We propose a novel charge sensing concept for high-pressure Time Projection\nChamber (TPC) to search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay (NLDBD) with\nton-scale isotope mass and beyond. A meter-sized plane, tiled with an array of\nCMOS integrated sensors called Topmetal that directly collect charge without\ngas avalanche gain, is to be deployed into a high-pressure gaseous TPC with\nworking gases containing suitable NLDBD candidate isotopes such as Xe-136 and\nSe-82. The Topmetal sensor has an electronic noise <30 e- per pixel, which\nallows the detector to reach <1% FWHM energy resolution at the NLDBD Q-value\nfor both Xe-136 and 82SeF6 gases by measuring ionization charges alone. The\nelimination of charge avalanche gain allows the direct sensing of slow-drifting\nions, which enables the use of highly electronegative gas SeF6 in which free\nelectrons do not exist. It supports the swapping of working gases without\nhardware modification, which is a unique way to validate signals against\nradioactive backgrounds. Since the sensor manufacturing and plane assembling\ncould leverage unaltered industrial mass-production processes, stability,\nuniformity, scalability, and cost-effectiveness that are required for ton-scale\nexperiments could all be reached. The strengths of TPC such as 3D ionization\ntracking and decay daughter tagging are retained. This development could lead\nto a competitive NLDBD experiment at and above ton-scale. The conceptual\nconsiderations, simulations, and initial prototyping are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Fracture Processes Observed with A Cryogenic Detector: In the early stages of running of the CRESST dark matter search using\nsapphire detectors at very low temperature, an unexpectedly high rate of signal\npulses appeared. Their origin was finally traced to fracture events in the\nsapphire due to the very tight clamping of the detectors. During extensive runs\nthe energy and time of each event was recorded, providing large data sets for\nsuch phenomena. We believe this is the first time the energy release in\nfracture has been directly and accurately measured on a microscopic\nevent-by-event basis. The energy threshold corresponds to the breaking of only\na few hundred covalent bonds, a sensitivity some orders of magnitude greater\nthan that of previous technique.\n We report some features of the data, including energy distributions, waiting\ntime distributions, autocorrelations and the Hurst exponent. The energy\ndistribution appear to follow a power law, $dN/dE\\propto E^{-\\beta}$, similar\nto the power law for earthquake magnitudes, and after appropriate translation,\nwith a similar exponent. In the time domain,the waiting time $w$ or gap\ndistribution between events has a power law behavior at small $w$ and an\nexponential fall-off at large $w,$ and can be fit $\\propto\nw^{-\\alpha}e^{-w/w_0}$. The autocorrelation function shows time correlations\nlasting for substantial parts of an hour. An asymmetry is found around large\nevents, with higher count rates after, as opposed to before,the large event .", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "TAO -- The Taishan Antineutrino Observatory: The Taishan Antineutrino Observatory (TAO or JUNO-TAO) is a satellite\ndetector for the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO). JUNO aims at\nsimultaneously probing the two main frequencies of three-flavor neutrino\noscillations, as well as their interference related to the mass ordering, at a\ndistance of some 53 km from two powerful nuclear reactor complexes in China.\nLocated near the Taishan-1 reactor, TAO independently measures the antineutrino\nenergy spectrum of the reactor with unprecedented energy resolution. The TAO\nexperiment will realize a neutrino detection rate of about 2000 per day. In\norder to achieve its goals, TAO is relying on cutting-edge technology, both in\nphotosensor and liquid scintillator (LS) development which is expected to have\nan impact on future neutrino and Dark Matter detectors. In this paper, the\ndesign of the TAO detector with a special focus on calorimetry is discussed. In\naddition, an overview of the progress currently being made in the R&D for\nphotosensor and LS technology in the frame of the TAO project will be\npresented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development and prospect of Very Small Angle Neutron Scattering (VSANS)\n Techniques: Very Small Angle Neutron Scattering (VSANS) is an upgrade of the traditional\nSmall Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) technique which can cover three orders of\nmagnitude of length scale from one nanometer to one micrometer. It is a\npowerful tool for structure calibration in polymer science, biology, material\nscience and condensed matter physics. Since the first VSANS instrument, D11 in\nGrenoble, was built in 1972, new collimation techniques, focusing optics\n(multi-beam converging apertures, material or magnetic lenses, and focusing\nmirrors) and higher resolution detectors combined with the long flight paths\nand long incident neutron wavelengths have been developed. In this paper, a\ndetailed review is given of the development, principles and application\nconditions of various VSANS techniques. Then, beam current gain factors are\ncalculated to evaluate those techniques. A VSANS design for the China\nSpallation Neutron Source (CSNS) is thereby presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The updated ATLAS Jet Trigger for the LHC Run II: After the current shutdown, the LHC is about to resume operation for a new\ndata-taking period, when it will operate with increased luminosity, event rate\nand center of mass energy. The new conditions will impose more demanding\nconstraints on the ATLAS online trigger reconstruction and selection system. To\ncope with such increased constraints, the ATLAS High-Level Trigger, placed\nafter a first hardware-based Level 1 trigger, has been redesigned by merging\ntwo previously separated software-based processing levels. In the new joint\nprocessing level, the algorithms run in the same computing nodes, thus sharing\nresources, minimizing the data transfer from the detector buffers and\nincreasing the algorithm flexibility.\n The jet trigger software selects events containing high transverse momentum\nhadronic jets. It needs optimal jet energy resolution to help rejecting an\noverwhelming background while retaining good efficiency for interesting jets.\nIn particular, this requires the CPU-intensive reconstruction of tridimensional\nenergy deposits in the ATLAS calorimeter to be used as the basic input to the\njet finding algorithms. To allow this costly reconstruction step, a partial\ndetector readout scheme was developed, that effectively suppresses the low\nactivity regions of the calorimeter and significantly reduces the needed\nresources. In this paper we describe the overall jet trigger software and its\nphysics performance. We then focus on detailed studies of the algorithm timing\nand the performance impact of the full and partial calorimeter readout schemes.\nWe conclude with an outlook of the jet trigger plans for the next LHC\ndata-taking period.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A virtual instrument to standardise the calibration of atomic force\n microscope cantilevers: Atomic force microscope (AFM) users often calibrate the spring constants of\ncantilevers using functionality built into individual instruments. This is\nperformed without reference to a global standard, which hinders robust\ncomparison of force measurements reported by different laboratories. In this\narticle, we describe a virtual instrument (an internet-based initiative)\nwhereby users from all laboratories can instantly and quantitatively compare\ntheir calibration measurements to those of others - standardising AFM force\nmeasurements - and simultaneously enabling non-invasive calibration of AFM\ncantilevers of any geometry. This global calibration initiative requires no\nadditional instrumentation or data processing on the part of the user. It\nutilises a single website where users upload currently available data. A\nproof-of-principle demonstration of this initiative is presented using measured\ndata from five independent laboratories across three countries, which also\nallows for an assessment of current calibration.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Cumulative Reports of the SoNDe Project July 2017: This are the cumulated reports of the SoNDe detector Project as of July 2017.\nThe contained reports are: - Report on the 1x1 module technical demonstrator -\nReport on used materials - Report on radiation hardness of components - Report\non potential additional applications - Report on the 2x2 module technical\ndemonstrator - Report on test results of the 2x2 technical demonstrator", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Status of R&D on Micromegas for Rare Event Searches: The T-REX project: The T-REX project aims at developing novel readout techniques for Time\nProjection Chambers in experiments searching for rare events. The enhanced\nperformance of the latest Micromegas readouts in issues like energy resolution,\ngain stability, homogeneity, material budget, combined with low background\ntechniques, is opening new windows of opportunity for their application in this\nfield. Here we review the latest results regarding the use and prospects of\nMicromegas readouts in axion physics (CAST and the future helioscope), as well\nas the R&D carried out within NEXT, to search for the neutrinoless double-beta\ndecay.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Impact of the superconductors properties on the measurement sensitivity\n of resonant-based axion detectors: Axions, hypothetical particles theorized to solve the strong CP-problem, are\npresently being considered as strong candidates as cold dark matter\nconstituents. The signal power of resonant-based axion detectors, known as\nhaloscopes, is directly proportional to their quality factor $Q$. In this\npaper, the impact of the use of superconductors in the performances of the\nhaloscopes is studied by evaluating the obtainable $Q$. In particular, the\nsurface resistance $R_s$ of NbTi, Nb$_3$Sn, YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\\delta}$ and\nFeSe$_{0.5}$Te$_{0.5}$ is computed in the frequency, magnetic field and\ntemperature ranges of interest, starting from the measured vortex motion\ncomplex resistivity and screening lengths of these materials. From $R_s$ the\nquality factor $Q$ of a cylindrical haloscope with copper conical bases and\nsuperconductive lateral wall, operating with the TM$_{010}$ mode, is evaluated\nand used to perform a comparison of the performances of the different\nmaterials. Both YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\\delta}$ and FeSe$_{0.5}$Te$_{0.5}$ are\nshown to improve the measurement sensitivity by almost an order of magnitude\nwith respect to a whole Cu cavity, while NbTi is shown to be suitable only at\nlower frequencies (<10 GHz). Nb$_3$Sn can give an intermediate improvement in\nthe whole spectrum of interest.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Muonless Events in ICAL at INO: The primary physics signal events in the ICAL at INO are the ${\\nu}_{\\mu}$\ncharged current (CC) interactions with a well defined muon track. Apart from\nthese events, ICAL can also detect other types of neutrino interactions, i.e.\nthe electron neutrino charged current interactions and the neutral current\nevents. It is possible to have a dataset containing mostly ${\\nu}_e$CC events,\nby imposing appropriate selection cuts on the events. The ${\\nu}_{\\mu}$ CC and\nthe neutral current events form the background to these events. This study uses\nthe Monte Carlo generated neutrino events, to design the necessary selection\ncuts to obtain a ${\\nu}_e$ CC rich dataset. An optimized set of constraints are\ndeveloped which balance the need for improving the purity of the sample and\nhaving a large enough event sample. Depending on the constraints used, one can\nobtain a neutrino data sample, with the purity of ${\\nu}_e$ events varying\nbetween 55% to 70%.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "INTPIX4NA -- new integration-type silicon-on-insulator pixel detector\n for imaging application: INTPIX4NA is an integration-type silicon-on-insulator pixel detector. This\ndetector has a 14.1 x 8.7 mm^2 sensitive area, 425,984 (832 column x 512 row\nmatrix) pixels and the pixel size is 17 x 17 um^2. This detector was developed\nfor residual stress measurement using X-rays (the cos alpha method). The\nperformance of INTPIX4NA was tested with the synchrotron beamlines of the\nPhoton Factory (KEK), and the following results were obtained. The modulation\ntransfer function, the index of the spatial resolution, was more than 50% at\nthe Nyquist frequency (29.4 cycle/mm). The energy resolution analyzed from the\ncollected charge counts is 35.3%--46.2% at 5.415 keV, 21.7%--35.6% at 8 keV,\nand 15.7%--19.4% at 12 keV. The X-ray signal can be separated from the noise\neven at a low energy of 5.415 keV at room temperature (approximately 25--27\ndegree Celsius). The maximum frame rate at which the signal quality can be\nmaintained is 153 fps in the current measurement system. These results satisfy\nthe required performance in the air and at room temperature (approximately\n25--27 degree Celsius) condition that is assumed for the environment of the\nresidual stress measurement.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Physical limitations to the spatial resolution of solid-state detectors: In this paper we explore the effect of $\\delta$-ray emission, fluctuations in\nth e signal deposition on the detection of charged particles in silicon-based\ndetec tors. We show that these two effects ultimately limit the resolution that\ncan be achieved by interpolation of the signal in finely segmented\nposition-sensitive solid-state devices.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Effect of optical crosstalk on performance of ILD AHCAL: The design of the ILD AHCAL is optimized to make the best use of the PFA and\nits active layers are composed of about eight million scintillator tiles\nreadout by SiPMs. If there is optical crosstalk between the tiles, the\ncalorimeter performance can be worsened. Simulation studies on the effect of\nthe optical crosstalk on the calorimeter performance were performed to define\nthe requirement for the active layer design.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The ATLAS Experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider: A Description of\n the Detector Configuration for Run 3: The ATLAS detector is installed in its experimental cavern at Point 1 of the\nCERN Large Hadron Collider. During Run 2 of the LHC, a luminosity of\n$\\mathcal{L}=2\\times 10^{34}\\mathrm{cm}^{-2}\\mathrm{s}^{-1}$ was routinely\nachieved at the start of fills, twice the design luminosity. For Run 3,\naccelerator improvements, notably luminosity levelling, allow sustained running\nat an instantaneous luminosity of $\\mathcal{L}=2\\times\n10^{34}\\mathrm{cm}^{-2}\\mathrm{s}^{-1}$, with an average of up to 60\ninteractions per bunch crossing. The ATLAS detector has been upgraded to\nrecover Run 1 single-lepton trigger thresholds while operating comfortably\nunder Run 3 sustained pileup conditions. A fourth pixel layer 3.3 cm from the\nbeam axis was added before Run 2 to improve vertex reconstruction and\n$b$-tagging performance. New Liquid Argon Calorimeter digital trigger\nelectronics, with corresponding upgrades to the Trigger and Data Acquisition\nsystem, take advantage of a factor of 10 finer granularity to improve\ntriggering on electrons, photons, taus, and hadronic signatures through\nincreased pileup rejection. The inner muon endcap wheels were replaced by New\nSmall Wheels with Micromegas and small-strip Thin Gap Chamber detectors,\nproviding both precision tracking and Level-1 Muon trigger functionality. Tile\nCalorimeter scintillation counters were added to improve electron energy\nresolution and background rejection. Upgrades to Minimum Bias Trigger\nScintillators and Forward Detectors improve luminosity monitoring and enable\ntotal proton-proton cross section, diffractive physics, and heavy ion\nmeasurements. These upgrades are all compatible with operation in the much\nharsher environment anticipated after the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC\nand are the first steps towards preparing ATLAS for the High-Luminosity upgrade\nof the LHC. This paper describes the Run 3 configuration of the ATLAS detector.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Technical Design Report: In this Technical Design Report (TDR) we describe the LZ detector to be built\nat the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF). The LZ dark matter\nexperiment is designed to achieve sensitivity to a WIMP-nucleon\nspin-independent cross section of three times ten to the negative forty-eighth\nsquare centimeters.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Feasibility study of TPC at electron positron colliders at $Z$ pole\n operation: TPC is a promising technology for the future electron positron colliders.\nHowever, its application might be limited at high event rate and high hit\noccupancies. In this paper, we study the feasibility of using TPC at the\ncircular electron positron collider (CEPC) at $Z$ pole using full simulated $Z\n\\rightarrow q\\bar{q}$ samples. By evaluating the local charge density and voxel\noccupancy at different TPC parameters. Our study shows that the TPC could be\napplied to the CEPC $Z$ pole operation if back flow ion is controlled to per\nmille level. We also suggest the applicable TPC parameters for FCC-ee $Z$ pole\noperations, whose instant luminosity is $2\\times 10^{36}\n\\mathrm{cm^2\\,s^{-1}}$, 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of CEPC.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Forward Beam Monitor for the KATRIN experiment: The \\textit{KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino} (KATRIN) experiment aims to measure\nthe neutrino mass with a sensitivity of \\SI{0.2}{\\electronvolt}\n(\\SI{90}{\\percent} CL). This will be achieved by a precision measurement of the\nendpoint region of the $\\upbeta$-electron spectrum of tritium decay. The\n$\\upbeta$-electrons are produced in the \\textit{Windowless Gaseous Tritium\nSource} (WGTS) and guided magnetically through the beamline. In order to\naccurately extract the neutrino mass the source activity is required to be\nstable and known to a high precision. The WGTS therefore undergoes constant\nextensive monitoring from several measurement systems. The \\textit{Forward Beam\nMonitor} (FBM) is one such monitoring system. The FBM system comprises a\ncomplex mechanical setup capable of inserting a detector board into the KATRIN\nbeamline with a positioning precision of better than \\SI{0.3}{\\milli\\metre}.\nThe electron flux density at that position is on the order of\n\\SI{e6}{\\per\\second\\per\\milli\\metre\\squared}. The detector board contains two\nsilicon detector chips of \\pin diode type which can measure the\n$\\upbeta$-electron flux from the source with a precision of \\SI{0.1}{\\percent}\nwithin \\SI{60}{\\second} with an energy resolution of FWHM $=$\n\\SI{2}{\\kilo\\electronvolt}. The unique challenge in developing the FBM arise\nfrom its designated operating environment inside the Cryogenic Pumping Section\nwhich is a potentially tritium contaminated ultra-high vacuum chamber at\ncryogenic temperatures in the presence of a \\SI{1}{\\tesla} strong magnetic\nfield. Each of theses parameters do strongly limit the choice of possible\nmaterials which e.g. caused difficulties in detector noise reduction, heat\ndissipation and lubrication. In order to completely remove the FBM from the\nbeam tube a \\SI{2}{\\meter} long traveling distance into the beamline is needed\ndemanding a robust as well as highly precise moving mechanism.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An ab-initio derivation to discuss the heterodyne versus direct\n detection decision problem for astronomical infrared interferometry: A consistent and explicit spectral comparison between heterodyne (HD) and\ndirect detection (DD) derived from first principles including the atmospheric\ntransmission and low beam-filling factors could not be found yet in literature\nbut is needed for decisions in technology planification for future infrared\ninterferometry facilities which are e.g. focused on planet formation. This task\nrequires both, high sensitivity continuum and Doppler-resolved emission and\nabsorption line detection in the mid-IR range (N- and Q-bands) at lower source\ntemperatures (300-1000 K). The signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) are derived for\nboth schemes within the same semi-classical theory, which consists of classical\nmode theory for coupling to an antenna and occupation of these modes by quanta\nof three radiation fields, the thermal signal, the thermal background, and for\nHD also the coherent local oscillator (LO). The effects of very small beam\nfilling factors (interferometry) and atmospheric absorption/emission could be\nconsistently incorporated this way, as well as quantum-noise propagation which\nallows in HD the consideration of balanced mixers with cross-correlation (CC).\nEspecially, the transition from pre- to post-detection SNRs was considered\nmeticulously. We do this all because the usually cited SNR-expressions were\nderived for a too simple and unrealistic case, and moreover contain some wrong\nassumptions. We introduce a novel HD scheme for astronomical interferometry\ngaining an order of magnitude in sensitivity against conventional HD and\ncalculate that it should trespass the sensitivity of DD interferometry in the\nN- and Q-bands for a spectral resolution of R=10000, and should do also for\nR=300 with doable technical improvements. This result encourages to develop\nbroad-band heterodyne technologies for future mid-infrared interferometry\nfacilities and for new instruments at existing facilities.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Emulation workbench for position sensitive gaseous scintillation\n detectors: Position sensitive detectors based on gaseous scintillation proportional\ncounters with Anger-type readout are being used in several research areas such\nas neutron detection, search for dark matter and neutrinoless double beta\ndecay. Design and optimization of such detectors are complex and time consuming\ntasks. Simulations, while being a powerful tool, strongly depend on the light\ntransport models and demand accurate knowledge of many parameters, which are\noften not available. Here we describe an alternative approach based on the\nexperimental evaluation of a detector using an isotropic point-like light\nsource with precisely controllable light emission properties, installed on a 3D\npositioning system. The results obtained with the developed setup at validation\nconditions, when the scattered light is strongly suppressed, show good\nagreement with simulations.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "LabVIEW-based Automated Setup for Interferometric Refractive Index\n Probing: In the paper, we explain an automated LabVIEW controlled setup that enables\ninterferometric measurements of refractive indices in crystalline materials\nusing a laser light source. The setup combines a mechanical system, a\nmicrocomputer-controlled gearless drive, a Michelson interferometer, an optical\ndetector, a data acquisition system and a LabVIEW virtual instrument for an\naccurate non-destructive determination of the refractive index of given\nplane-parallel samples. We explain a concept, implementation, and\nhardware/software peculiarities of the developed system. Test experiments on\ndifferent crystals yielded results that are in good agreement with available\nreference data. The range of potential applications of the proposed setup\nextends from fundamental optical research to biophotonics instrumentation,\nwhere efficient delivery of light is of crucial importance and reliable\nautomated probing tools are needed for optical components characterization.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Neutron Production by Cosmic-Ray Muons in Various Materials: The results obtained by studying the background of neutrons produced by\ncosmic-ray muons in underground experimental facilities intended for rare-event\nsearches and in surrounding rock are presented. The types of this rock may\ninclude granite, sedimentary rock, gypsum, and rock salt. Neutron production\nand transfer were simulated using the Geant4 and SHIELD transport codes. These\ncodes were tuned via a comparison of the results of calculations with\nexperimental data: in particular, with data of the Artemovsk research station\nof the Institute for Nuclear Research (INR, Moscow, Russia), as well as via an\nintercomparison of results of calculations with the Geant4 and SHIELD codes. It\nturns out that the atomic-number dependence of the production and yield of\nneutrons has an irregular character and does not allow a description in terms\nof a universal function of the atomic number. The parameters of this dependence\nare different for two groups of nuclei-nuclei consisting of alpha particles and\nall of the remaining nuclei. Moreover, there are manifest exceptions from a\npower-law dependence, for example, argon. This may entail important\nconsequences both for the existing underground experimental facilities and for\nthose under construction. Investigation of cosmic-ray-induced neutron\nproduction in various materials is of paramount importance for the\ninterpretation of experiments conducted at large depths under the Earth's\nsurface.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Active suppression of temperature oscillation from a pulse-tube\n cryocooler in a cryogen-free cryostat: Part 2. Experimental realization: A cryogen-free cryostat cooled by a closed cycle cryocooler is compact, can\nprovide uninterrupted long-term operation (up to ten thousand hours) and is\nsuited to temperatures from 3 K to 300 K. Its intrinsic temperature\noscillation, however, limits its application in experiments requiring high\nthermal stability at low temperature (below 77 K). Passive suppression methods\nare effective but all suffer from drawbacks. We describe a novel, active\nsuppression scheme more efficient than traditional proportional-integral (PI)\ncontrol. The experimental results show that it can reduce the standard\ndeviation of the temperature oscillation by a further 30% compared with PI\nfeedback. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time such active\nsuppression of temperature oscillations has been implemented with the\ncryogen-free cryostat. The results also show, however, that an unwanted lower\nfrequency thermal noise will be generated, which appears to be the limit of the\nmethod. Nevertheless, the approach could be used to improve the temperature\nstability in all cryogen-free cryostats.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Experience with the AHCAL Calibration System in the Test Beam: We present herein our experience with the calibration system in the CALICE\nAHCAL prototype in the test beam and discuss characterizations of the SiPM\nresponse curves.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterization of the long-term dimensional stability of a NEXCERA\n block using the optical resonator technique: NEXCERA is a machinable and highly polishable ceramic with attractive\nproperties for use in precision instruments, in particular because its\ncoefficient of thermal expansion exhibits a zero crossing at room temperature.\nWe performed an accurate measurement of the long-term drift of the length of a\n12~cm long NEXCERA block by using it as a spacer of a high-finesse optical\ncavity. At room temperature, we found a fractional length drift rate\n$L^{-1}d\\Delta L/dt=-1.74\\times10^{-8}~\\mathrm{yr}^{-1}$.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Measurement of the atmospheric muon depth intensity relation with the\n NEMO Phase-2 tower: The results of the analysis of the data collected with the NEMO Phase-2\ntower, deployed at 3500 m depth about 80 km off-shore Capo Passero (Italy), are\npresented. Cherenkov photons detected with the photomultipliers tubes were used\nto reconstruct the tracks of atmospheric muons. Their zenith-angle distribution\nwas measured and the results compared with Monte Carlo simulations. An\nevaluation of the systematic effects due to uncertainties on environmental and\ndetector parameters is also included. The associated depth intensity relation\nwas evaluated and compared with previous measurements and theoretical\npredictions. With the present analysis, the muon depth intensity relation has\nbeen measured up to 13 km of water equivalent.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Time-correlated electron and photon counting microscopy: Electron microscopy based on high-energy electrons allows nanoscopic\nanalytical imaging taking advantage of secondarily generated particles.\nEspecially for cathodoluminescence, the correlation between primary incident\nelectrons and emitted photons includes information on the entire interaction\nprocess. However, electron-photon time correlation tracking the relaxation\ndynamics of luminescent materials has so far not been achieved. In this work,\nwe propose time-correlated electron and photon counting microscopy, where\ncoincidence events of primary electrons and generated photons are counted after\ninteraction. The electron-photon time correlation enables extracting a unique\nlifetime of the emitter independent of the photon state, accounting for\ncoherent and incoherent photon generation processes. We also introduce a\ncorrelation factor and discuss the correlation between electrons and generated\ncoherent photons. Through momentum selection, we observe correlation changes\nindicating the presence of pair correlation originated from the electron-photon\nentanglement. The present work lays the foundation for developing\nnext-generation electron microscopy based on quantum correlation.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The Majorana Demonstrator search for neutrinoless double beta decay: The MAJORANA Collaboration is constructing the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, an\nultra-low background, modular, HPGe detector array with a mass of 44.8-kg (29.7\nkg enriched >88% in Ge-76) to search for neutrinoless double beta decay in\nGe-76. The next generation of tonnescale Ge-based neutrinoless double beta\ndecay searches will probe the neutrino mass scale in the inverted-hierarchy\nregion. The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR is envisioned to demonstrate a path forward\nto achieve a background rate at or below 1 count/tonne/year in the 4 keV region\nof interest around the Q-value of 2039 keV. The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR follows a\nmodular implementation to be easily scalable to the next generation experiment.\nFirst data taken with the DEMONSTRATOR are introduced here.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Optimization of the final settings for the Space-borne Hard X-ray\n Compton Polarimeter POLAR: POLAR is a compact wide field space-borne detector dedicated for precise\nmeasurements of the linear polarization of hard X-rays emitted by transient\nsources in the energy range from 50 keV to 500 keV. It consists of 1600 plastic\nscintillator bars grouped in 25 detector modules that are used as gamma-ray\ndetection material. Its energy range sensitivity is optimized for detection of\nthe prompt emission photons from the gamma-ray bursts. Measurements of the GRB\npolarization provide unique information on emission mechanisms as well as on\ncomposition and structure of the GRB jets. The POLAR instrument was developed\nby international collaboration of Switzerland, China and Poland. It was\nlaunched in space on-board the China Space Laboratory TG-2 on September 15th,\n2016. Based on the ground calibration data, several high voltage and threshold\nsettings were calculated and verified in order to obtain various energy ranges\nand optimized signal to background conditions for different measurement\npurposes. In this paper we present optimization procedure details and current\ntest results.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Prototype of Front-end Electronics for PandaX-4ton Experiment: At the China Jinping Underground Laboratory, the Particle AND Astrophysical\nXenon phase IV (PandaX-4ton) in planning is a dark matter direct detection\nexperiment with dual-phase xenon detector as an upgrade of the second phase of\nthe experiment, PandaX-II. In this paper, the prototype of the front-end\nelectronics of PandaX-4ton is presented. The front-end electronics consist of\nthe high-gain preamplifier cards and the eight-channel digitizers with 14-bit\nresolution and 1 GSps sampling rate for waveform digitization. The clock\nsynchronization circuit within the digitizer is well-designed to align all the\nPMT channels. The digitizer also contains gigabit fiber to exchange data with\ntrigger and data acquisition system. The specification of effective number of\nbits f the digitizer is about 9.7 b at 148 MHz, and the integral nonlinearity\nof the digitizer ranges from -4 least significant bit (LSB) to +4 LSB, and the\ndifferential nonlinearity ranges from -0.6 LSB to +0.6 LSB. The performance of\nthe front-end electronics can meet the requirements for the PandaX-4ton.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Stochastic multi-channel lock-in detection: High-precision measurements benefit from lock-in detection of small signals.\nHere we discuss the extension of lock-in detection to many channels, using\nmutually orthogonal modulation waveforms, and show how the the choice of\nwaveforms affects the information content of the signal. We also consider how\nwell the detection scheme rejects noise, both random and correlated. We address\nthe particular difficulty of rejecting a background drift that makes a\nreproducible offset in the output signal and we show how a systematic error can\nbe avoided by changing the waveforms between runs and averaging over many runs.\nThese advances made possible a recent measurement of the electron's electric\ndipole moment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Scintillator Purification System for the Borexino Solar Neutrino\n Detector: Purification of the 278 tons of liquid scintillator and 889 tons of buffer\nshielding for the Borexino solar neutrino detector was performed with a system\nthat combined distillation, water extraction, gas stripping and filtration. The\npurification of the scintillator achieved unprecedented low backgrounds for the\nlarge scale liquid scintillation detector. This paper describes the principles\nof operation, design, construction and commissioning of the purification\nsystem, and reviews the requirements and methods to achieve system cleanliness\nand leak-tightness.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of tau-lepton reconstruction and identification in CMS: The performance of tau-lepton reconstruction and identification algorithms is\nstudied using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV,\ncorresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns collected\nwith the CMS detector at the LHC. The tau leptons that decay into one or three\ncharged hadrons, zero or more short-lived neutral hadrons, and a neutrino are\nidentified using final-state particles reconstructed in the CMS tracker and\nelectromagnetic calorimeter. The reconstruction efficiency of the algorithms is\nmeasured using tau leptons produced in Z-boson decays. The tau-lepton\nmisidentification rates for jets and electrons are determined.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Regeneration tests of a room temperature magnetic refrigerator and heat\n pump: A magnetic heat pump apparatus consisting of a solid magnetic refrigerant,\ngadolinium, and a liquid regenerator column of ethanol and water has been\ntested. Utilizing a 7T field, it produced a maximum temperature span of 80 K,\nand in separate tests, a lowest temperature of 241 K and a highest temperature\nof 328 K. Thermocouples, placed at intervals along the regenerator tube,\npermitted measurement of the temperature distribution in the regenerator fluid.\nNo attempt was made to extract refrigeration from the device, but analysis of\nthe temperature distributions shows that 34 watts of refrigeration was\nproduced.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A Multi-Gigahertz Analog Transient Recorder Integrated Circuit: A monolithic multi-channel analog transient recorder, implemented using\nswitched capacitor sample-and-hold circuits and a high-speed\nanalogically-adjustable delay-line-based write clock, has been designed,\nfabricated and tested. The 2.1 by 6.9 mm layout, in 1.2 micron CMOS, includes\nover 31,000 transistors and 2048 double polysilicon capacitors. The circuit\ncontains four parallel channels, each with a 512 deep switched-capacitor\nsample-and-hold system. A 512 deep edge sensitive tapped active delay line uses\nlook-ahead and 16 way interleaving to develop the 512 sample and hold clocks,\neach as little as 3.2 ns wide and 200 ps apart. Measurements of the device have\ndemonstrated 5 GHz maximum sample rate, at least 350 MHz bandwidth, an\nextrapolated rms aperture uncertainty per sample of 0.7 ps, and a signal to rms\nnoise ratio of 2000:1.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Tracking Performance of the ATLAS Inner Detector and Observation of\n Known Hadrons: The inner detector is the central tracking device of the ATLAS detector. In\nthese proceedings the tracking performance of the inner detector is presented\non collision data recorded at $\\sqrt{s}$ = 900 GeV and 7 TeV. The\nidentification of resonances like $\\Xi$ and $\\Omega$ baryons in cascade decays\nvia $K_{\\mathrm{s}}$ and $\\Lambda$ mesons is presented as well as the\nreconstruction of the $J / \\psi $ and $\\psi$(2S) mesons decaying into two\nmuons. Furthermore, the performance of the track reconstruction and a\ndata-driven method of estimating the track reconstruction efficiency as used in\nmeasurements of charged particle densities are discussed.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Compensation of radiation damages for SOI pixel detector via tunneling: We are developing monolithic pixel detectors based on SOI technology for high\nenergy physics, X-ray applications and so on.To employ SOI pixel detector on\nsuch radiation environments, we have to solve effects of total ionizing dose\n(TID) for transistors which are enclosed in oxide layer.The holes which are\ngenerated and trapped in the oxide layers after irradiation affect\ncharacteristics of near-by transistors due to its positive electric\nfield.Annealing and radiation of ultraviolet are not realistic to remove\ntrapped holes for a fabricated detector due to thermal resistance of components\nand difficulty of handling. We studied compensation of TID effects by tunneling\nusing a high-voltage. For decrease of trapped holes, applied high-voltage to\nburied p-well which is under oxide layer to inject the electrons into the oxide\nlayer.In this report, recent progress of this study is shown.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Photon-number-resolving segmented detectors based on single-photon\n avalanche-photodiodes: We investigate the feasibility and performance of photon-number-resolved\nphotodetection employing single-photon avalanche photodiodes (SPADs) with low\ndark counts. While the main idea, to split $n$ photons into $m$ detection modes\nwith no more than one photon per mode, is not new, we investigate here a\nimportant variant of this situation where SPADs are side-coupled to the same\nwaveguide rather than terminally coupled to a propagation tree. This prevents\nthe nonideal SPAD quantum efficiency from contributing to photon loss. We\npropose a concrete SPAD segmented waveguide detector based on vertical\ndirectional coupler design, and characterize its performance by evaluating the\npurities of positive-operator-valued measurements (POVMs) in terms of SPAD\nnumber $m$, photon loss, and dark counts.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "A New Method for Measuring Coherent Elastic Neutrino Nucleus Scattering\n at an Off-Axis High-Energy Neutrino Beam Target: We present a new experimental method for measuring the process of Coherent\nElastic Neutrino Nucleus Scattering (CENNS). This method uses a detector\nsituated transverse to a high energy neutrino beam production target. This\ndetector would be sensitive to the low energy neutrinos arising from pion\ndecays-at-rest in the target. We discuss the physics motivation for making this\nmeasurement and outline the predicted backgrounds and sensitivities using this\napproach. We report a measurement of neutron backgrounds as found in an\noff-axis surface location of the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) target.\nThe results indicate that the Fermilab BNB target is a favorable location for a\nCENNS experiment.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "First results of the CERN Resonant WISP Search (CROWS): The CERN Resonant WISP Search (CROWS) probes the existence of Weakly\nInteracting Sub-eV Particles (WISPs) like axions or hidden sector photons. It\nis based on the principle of an optical light shining through the wall\nexperiment, adapted to microwaves. Critical aspects of the experiment are\nelectromagnetic shielding, design and operation of low loss cavity resonators\nand the detection of weak sinusoidal microwave signals. Lower bounds were set\non the coupling constant $g = 4.5 \\cdot 10^{-8} $GeV$^{-1}$ for axion like\nparticles with a mass of $m_a = 7.2 \\mu$eV. For hidden sector photons, lower\nbounds were set for the coupling constant $\\chi = 4.1 \\cdot 10^{-9}$ at a mass\nof $m_{\\gamma'} = 10.8 \\mu$eV. For the latter we were probing a previously\nunexplored region in the parameter space.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Analysis of TL and OSL kinetics of lithium aluminate: Lithium aluminate (LiAlO2) polycrystalline material showing high OSL\nsensitivity and linear dose response was prepared at IFJ Krakow. The kinetic\nparameters of OSL and TL processes were evaluated using various experimental\ntechniques: LM-OSL deconvolution, TL glow-curve deconvolution, variable heating\nrate and isothermal decay. The OSL signal was found to consist of four\ncomponents, one of them exhibiting a very slow decay. The TL glow-curve\npossesses two apparent peaks at approximately 85 oC and at 165 oC, which both\nseem to follow first order kinetics. These peaks seem to have a composite\nstructure and as many as six peaks were found in the glow-curve.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Superconducting aluminum heat switch with 3 n$\u03a9$ equivalent\n resistance: Superconducting heat switches with extremely low normal state resistances are\nneeded for constructing continuous nuclear demagnetization refrigerators with\nhigh cooling power. Aluminum is a suitable superconductor for the heat switch\nbecause of its high Debye temperature and its commercial availability in high\npurity. We have constructed a high quality Al heat switch whose design is\nsignificantly different than that of previous heat switches. In order to join\nthe Al to Cu with low contact resistance, we plasma etched the Al to remove its\noxide layer then immediately deposited Au without breaking the vacuum of the\ne-beam evaporator. In the normal state of the heat switch, we measured a\nthermal conductance of $8 T$ W/K$^2$ which is equivalent to an electrical\nresistance of 3 n$\\Omega$ according to the Wiedemann-Franz law. In the\nsuperconducting state we measured a thermal conductance that is $2\\times10^6$\ntimes lower than that of the normal state at 50 mK.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Design and Testing of a Wireless Demonstrator for Large Instrumentation\n Systems: In this proceeding, we report the development of a wireless demonstrator\nintended to readout instrumentation systems having thousands of channels. A\ndata acquisition system was designed and tested based on compliant\nimplementation of 802.11n based hardware and protocols. This project is for\nlarge detectors containing photomultiplier tubes. Both free-space optical and\nradio frequency techniques were tested for wireless power transfer. The\nfront-end circuitry, including a high-voltage power supply was powered\nwirelessly, thus creating an all-wireless detector readout. The system was\nsuccessfully tested as a single detector module, which was powered wirelessly\nand transmitted data wirelessly. The performance of the prototype system and\nhow a large scale implementation of the system might be realized are described\nin this proceeding.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Monitoring Reactor Anti-Neutrinos Using a Plastic Scintillator Detector\n in a Mobile Laboratory: Technology developed for the T2K electromagnetic calorimeter has been adapted\nto make a small footprint, reliable, segmented detector to characterise\nanti-neutrinos emitted by nuclear reactors. The device has been developed and\ndemonstrated by the University of Liverpool and underwent field tests at the\nWylfa Magnox Reactor on Anglesey, UK. It was situated in a 20\\,ft ISO shipping\ncontainer, above ground, roughly 60\\,m from the 1.5\\,\\GWt\\ reactor core. Based\non the design of the T2K Near Detector ECal, the device detects anti-neutrinos\nthrough the distinctive delayed coincidence signal of inverse $\\beta$-decay\ninteractions using extruded plastic scintillator and Hamamatsu Multi-Pixel\nPhoton Counters.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Requirement analysis for dE/dx measurement and PID performance at the\n CEPC baseline detector: The Circular Electron-Positron Collider (CEPC) can be operated not only as a\nHiggs factory but also as a Z-boson factory, offering great opportunities for\nflavor physics studies where Particle Identification (PID) is critical. The\nbaseline detector of the CEPC could record TOF and dE/dx information that can\nbe used to distinguish particles of different species. We quantify the physics\nrequirements and detector performance using physics benchmark analyzes with\nfull simulation. We conclude that at the benchmark TOF performance of $50\\,$ps,\nthe dE/dx resolution should be better than 3% for incident particles in the\nbarrel region with a relevant energy larger than $2\\, $GeV/c. This performance\nleads to an efficiency/purity of $K^{\\pm}$ identification 97%/96%, $D^0\\to\n\\pi^+K^-$ reconstruction 68.19%/89.05%, and $\\phi\\to K^+K^-$ reconstruction\n82.26%/77.70%, providing solid support for relevant CEPC flavor physics\nmeasurements.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "High Quality Actinide Targets: We prepare high quality actinide targets for studies of neutron induced and\ncharged particle induced fission. I report on our efforts to measure fragment\nenergy loss in the target backings and to diagnose the crud problem frequently\nfound in 248Cm and 252Cf sources and targets. I discuss the preparation of\nmulti-isotopic targets for the Fission TPC and our efforts to measure the\npointing resolution of this device. The issues of target uniformity, chemical\ncomposition and radiation stability of the targets are discussed along with\nproblems of high/low specific activity regions in a single target.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Characterisation of a large area silicon photomultiplier: This work illustrates and compares some methods to measure the most relevant\nparameters of silicon photo-multipliers (\\sipm{}s), such as photon detection\nefficiency as a function of over-voltage and wavelength, dark count rate,\noptical cross-talk, afterpulse probability. For the measurement of the\nbreakdown voltage, $V_{BD}$, several methods using the current-voltage $IV$\ncurve are compared, such as the \"IV Model\", the \"relative logarithmic\nderivative\", the \"inverse logarithmic derivative\", the \"second logarithmic\nderivative\", and the \"third derivative\" models. We also show how some of these\ncharacteristics can be quite well described by few parameters and allow, for\nexample, to build a function of the wavelength and over-voltage describing the\nphotodetection efficiency. This is fundamental to determine the working point\nof SiPMs in applications where external factors can affect it.\n These methods are applied to the large area monolithic hexagonal SiPM\nS10943-2832(X), developed in collaboration with Hamamatsu and adopted for a\ncamera for a gamma-ray telescope, called the SST-1M. We describe the\nmeasurements of the performance at room temperature of this device. The methods\nused here can be applied to any other device and the physics background\ndiscussed here are quite general and valid for a large phase-space of the\nparameters.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Development of a gaseous proton-recoil detector for neutron flux\n measurements between 0.2 and 2 MeV neutron energy: Absolute measurements of neutron fluence are an essential prerequisite of\nneutron-induced cross section measurements, neutron beam lines characterization\nand dosimetric investigations. The H(n,p) elastic scattering cross section is a\nvery well known standard used to perform precise neutron flux measurements in\nhigh precision measurements. The use of this technique, with proton recoil\ndetectors, is not straightforward below incident neutron energy of 1 MeV, due\nto a high background in the detected proton spectrum. Experiments have been\ncarried out at the AIFIRA facility to investigate such background and to\ndetermine its origin and components. Based on these investigations, a gaseous\nproton-recoil detector has been designed with a reduced low energy background.\nA first test of this detector has been carried out at the AIFIRA facility, and\nfirst results will be presented.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Data Acquisition with GPUs: The DAQ for the Muon $g$-$2$ Experiment at\n Fermilab: Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) have recently become a valuable computing\ntool for the acquisition of data at high rates and for a relatively low cost.\nThe devices work by parallelizing the code into thousands of threads, each\nexecuting a simple process, such as identifying pulses from a waveform\ndigitizer. The CUDA programming library can be used to effectively write code\nto parallelize such tasks on Nvidia GPUs, providing a significant upgrade in\nperformance over CPU based acquisition systems.\n The muon $g$-$2$ experiment at Fermilab is heavily relying on GPUs to process\nits data. The data acquisition system for this experiment must have the ability\nto create deadtime-free records from 700 $\\mu$s muon spills at a raw data rate\n18 GB per second. Data will be collected using 1296 channels of $\\mu$TCA-based\n800 MSPS, 12 bit waveform digitizers and processed in a layered array of\nnetworked commodity processors with 24 GPUs working in parallel to perform a\nfast recording of the muon decays during the spill. The described data\nacquisition system is currently being constructed, and will be fully\noperational before the start of the experiment in 2017.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "An Algorithm for Subtraction of Doublet Emission Lines in Angle-Resolved\n Photoemission Spectroscopy: Plasma discharge lamps are widely utilized in the practice of angle-resolved\nphotoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments as narrow-linewidth ultraviolet\nphoton sources. However, many emission lines such as Ar-I, Ne-I, and Ne-II have\nclosely spaced doublet emission lines, which result in superimposed replica on\nthe measured ARPES spectra. Here, we present a simple method for subtracting\nthe contribution of these doublet emission lines from photoemission spectra.\nBenchmarking against ARPES spectra of well-characterized 2D materials, we\ndemonstrate that this algorithm manages to subtract the doublet signal and\nreproduce the key features of the monochromated He-I$\\alpha$ spectra in a\nphysically sound manner that reliably reproduces quantifiable dispersion\nrelations and quasiparticle lifetimes.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Phase-controlled Fourier-transform spectroscopy: Fourier-transform spectroscopy (FTS) has been widely used as a standard\nanalytical technique over the past half-century. FTS is a simple and robust\nautocorrelation-based technique that is compatible with both temporally\ncoherent and incoherent light sources, which functions as an active or passive\nspectrometer. However, this technique has been mostly used for static\nmeasurements due to the low scan rate imposed by technological restrictions.\nThis has impeded its application to continuous rapid measurements, which would\nbe of significant interest for a variety of fields, especially when monitoring\nof non-repeating/transient complex dynamics is desirable. Here, we demonstrate\nhighly efficient FTS operating at a high spectral acquisition rate with a\nsimple delay line based on a dynamic phase-control technique. The independent\nadjustability of phase and group delays allows us to achieve the\nNyquist-limited spectral acquisition rate over 10,000 spectra per second, while\nmaintaining a large spectral bandwidth and high resolution. In addition, we\ndemonstrate the ability of this passive spectrometer working with an incoherent\nlight source.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Intrinsic Instability of Aberration-Corrected Electron Microscopes: Aberration-corrected microscopes with sub-atomic resolution will impact broad\nareas of science and technology. However, the experimentally observed lifetime\nof the corrected state is just a few minutes. Here we show that the corrected\nstate is intrinsically unstable; the higher its quality, the more unstable it\nis. Analyzing the Contrast Transfer Function near optimum correction, we define\nan 'instability budget' which allows a rational trade-off between resolution\nand stability. Unless control systems are developed to overcome these\nchallenges, intrinsic instability poses a fundamental limit to the resolution\npractically achievable in the electron microscope.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Performance of the LHCb muon system with cosmic rays: The LHCb Muon system performance is presented using cosmic ray events\ncollected in 2009. These events allowed to test and optimize the detector\nconfiguration before the LHC start. The space and time alignment and the\nmeasurement of chamber efficiency, time resolution and cluster size are\ndescribed in detail. The results are in agreement with the expected detector\nperformance.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "The cross-spectrum experimental method: The noise of a device under test (DUT) is measured simultaneously with two\ninstruments, each of which contributes its own background. The average cross\npower spectral density converges to the DUT power spectral density. This method\nenables the extraction of the DUT noise spectrum, even if it is significantly\nlower than the background. After a snapshot on practical experiments, we go\nthrough the statistical theory and the choice of the estimator. A few\nexperimental techniques are described, with reference to phase noise and\namplitude noise in RF/microwave systems and in photonic systems. The set of\napplications of this method is wide. The final section gives a short panorama\non radioastronomy, radiometry, quantum optics, thermometry (fundamental and\napplied), semiconductor technology, metallurgy, etc. This report is intended as\na tutorial, as opposed to a report on advanced research, yet addressed to a\nbroad readership: technicians, practitioners, Ph.D. students, academics, and\nfull-time scientists.", "category": "physics_ins-det" }, { "text": "Direct measurement of neutrons induced in lead by cosmic muons at a\n shallow underground site: Neutron production in lead by cosmic muons has been studied with a Gadolinium\ndoped liquid scintillator detector. The detector was installed next to the\nMuon-Induced Neutron Indirect Detection EXperiment (MINIDEX), permanently\nlocated in the T\\\"ubingen shallow underground laboratory where the mean muon\nenergy is approximately 7 GeV. The MINIDEX plastic scintillators were used to\ntag muons; the neutrons were detected through neutron capture and\nneutron-induced nuclear recoil signals in the liquid scintillator detector.\nResults on the rates of observed neutron captures and nuclear recoils are\npresented and compared to predictions from GEANT4-9.6 and GEANT4-10.3. The\npredicted rates are significantly too low for both versions of GEANT4. For\nneutron capture events, the observation exceeds the predictions by factors of $\n1.65\\,\\pm\\,0.02\\,\\textrm{(stat.)}\\,\\pm\\,0.07\\,\\textrm{(syst.)} $ and $\n2.58\\,\\pm\\,0.03\\,\\textrm{(stat.)}\\,\\pm\\,0.11\\,\\textrm{(syst.)} $ for GEANT4-9.6\nand GEANT4-10.3, respectively. For neutron nuclear recoil events, which require\nneutron energies above approximately 5 MeV, the factors are even larger, $\n2.22\\,\\pm\\,0.05\\,\\textrm{(stat.)}\\,\\pm\\,0.25\\,\\textrm{(syst.)} $ and $\n3.76\\,\\pm\\,0.09\\,\\textrm{(stat.)}\\,\\pm\\,0.41\\,\\textrm{(syst.)} $, respectively.\nAlso presented is the first statistically significant measurement of the\nspectrum of neutrons induced by cosmic muons in lead between 5 and 40 MeV. It\nwas obtained by unfolding the nuclear recoil spectrum. The observed neutron\nspectrum is harder than predicted by GEANT4. An investigation of the\ndistribution of the time difference between muon tags and nuclear recoil\nsignals confirms the validity of the unfolding procedure and shows that GEANT4\ncannot properly describe the time distribution of nuclear recoil events. In\ngeneral, the description of the data is worse for GEANT4-10.3 than for\nGEANT4-9.6.", "category": "physics_ins-det" } ]