arXiv subjects

A. Longhin

Publications and source records attributed to A. Longhin.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

A compact light readout system for longitudinally segmented shashlik calorimeters

The longitudinal segmentation of shashlik calorimeters is challenged by dead zones and non-uniformities introduced by the light collection and readout system. This limitation can be overcome by direct fiber-photosensor coupling, avoiding routing and bundling of the wavelength shifter fibers and embedding ultra-compact photosensors (SiPMs) in the bulk of the calorimeter. We present the first experimental test of this readout scheme performed at the CERN PS-T9 beamline in 2015 with negative particles in the 1-5~GeV energy range. In this paper, we demonstrate that the scheme does not compromise the energy resolution and linearity compared with standard light collection and readout systems. In addition, we study the performance of the calorimeter for partially contained charged hadrons to assess the $e/π$ separation capability and the response of the photosensors to direct ionization.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2016

Combined QCD and electroweak analysis of HERA data

A simultaneous fit of parton distribution functions (PDFs) and electroweak parameters to HERA data on deep inelastic scattering is presented. The input data are the neutral current and charged current inclusive cross sections which were previously used in the QCD analysis leading to the HERAPDF2.0 PDFs. In addition, the polarisation of the electron beam was taken into account for the ZEUS data recorded between 2004 and 2007. Results on the vector and axial-vector couplings of the Z boson to u- and d-type quarks, on the value of the electroweak mixing angle and the mass of the W boson are presented. The values obtained for the electroweak parameters are in agreement with Standard Model predictions.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

Determination of the muon charge sign with the dipolar spectrometers of the OPERA experiment

The OPERA long-baseline neutrino-oscillation experiment has observed the direct appearance of $ν_τ$ in the CNGS $ν_μ$ beam. Two large muon magnetic spectrometers are used to identify muons produced in the $τ$ leptonic decay and in $ν_μ^{CC}$ interactions by measuring their charge and momentum. Besides the kinematic analysis of the $τ$ decays, background resulting from the decay of charmed particles produced in $ν_μ^{CC}$ interactions is reduced by efficiently identifying the muon track. A new method for the charge sign determination has been applied, via a weighted angular matching of the straight track-segments reconstructed in the different parts of the dipole magnets. Results obtained for Monte Carlo and real data are presented. Comparison with a method where no matching is used shows a significant reduction of up to 40\% of the fraction of wrongly determined charges.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2016

Limits on the effective quark radius from inclusive $ep$ scattering at HERA

The high-precision HERA data allows searches up to TeV scales for Beyond the Standard Model contributions to electron-quark scattering. Combined measurements of the inclusive deep inelastic cross sections in neutral and charged current $ep$ scattering corresponding to a luminosity of around 1 fb$^{-1}$ have been used in this analysis. A new approach to the beyond the Standard Model analysis of the inclusive $ep$ data is presented; simultaneous fits of parton distribution functions together with contributions of "new physics" processes were performed. Results are presented considering a finite radius of quarks within the quark form-factor model. The resulting 95% C.L. upper limit on the effective quark radius is $0.43\cdot 10^{-16}$ cm.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

Measurement of the cross-section ratio sigma_{psi(2S)}/sigma_{J/psi(1S)} in deep inelastic exclusive ep scattering at HERA

The exclusive deep inelastic electroproduction of $ψ(2S)$ and $J/ψ(1S)$ at an $ep$ centre-of-mass energy of 317 GeV has been studied with the ZEUS detector at HERA in the kinematic range $2 < Q^2 < 80$ GeV$^2$, $30 < W < 210$ GeV and $|t| < 1$ GeV$^2$, where $Q^2$ is the photon virtuality, $W$ is the photon-proton centre-of-mass energy and $t$ is the squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex. The data for $2 < Q^2 < 5$ GeV$^2$ were taken in the HERA I running period and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 114 pb$^{-1}$. The data for $5 < Q^2 < 80$ GeV$^2$ are from both HERA I and HERA II periods and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 468 pb$^{-1}$. The decay modes analysed were $μ^+μ^-$ and $J/ψ(1S) \,π^+π^-$ for the $ψ(2S)$ and $μ^+μ^-$ for the $J/ψ(1S)$. The cross-section ratio $σ_{ψ(2S)}/σ_{J/ψ(1S)}$ has been measured as a function of $Q^2, W$ and $t$. The results are compared to predictions of QCD-inspired models of exclusive vector-meson production.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2015

A non-conventional neutrino beamline for the measurement of the electron neutrino cross section

Absolute neutrino cross section measurements at the GeV scale are ultimately limited by the knowledge of the initial $ν$ flux. In order to evade such limitation and reach the accuracy that is needed for precision oscillation physics ($\sim 1$%), substantial advances in flux measurement techniques are requested. We discuss here the possibility of instrumenting the decay tunnel to identify large-angle positrons and monitor $ν_e$ production from $K^+ \rightarrow e^+ ν_e π^0$ decays. This non conventional technique opens up opportunities to measure the $ν_e$ CC cross section at the per cent level in the energy range of interest for DUNE/HK. We discuss the progress in the simulation of the facility (beamline and instrumentation) and the ongoing R&D.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2015

Production of exclusive dijets in diffractive deep inelastic scattering at HERA

Production of exclusive dijets in diffractive deep inelastic $e^\pm p$ scattering has been measured with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 372 pb$^{-1}$. The measurement was performed for $γ^*-p$ centre-of-mass energies in the range $90 < W < 250$ GeV and for photon virtualities $Q^2 > 25$ GeV$^2$. Energy and transverse-energy flows around the jet axis are presented. The cross section is presented as a function of $β$ and $ϕ$, where $β=x/x_{\rm I\!P}$, $x$ is the Bjorken variable and $x_{\rm I\!P}$ is the proton fractional longitudinal momentum loss. The angle $ϕ$ is defined by the $γ^*-$dijet plane and the $γ^*-e^\pm$ plane in the rest frame of the diffractive final state. The $ϕ$ cross section is measured in bins of $β$. The results are compared to predictions from models based on different assumptions about the nature of the diffractive exchange.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2015

Discovery of tau neutrino appearance in the CNGS neutrino beam with the OPERA experiment

The OPERA experiment was designed to search for $ν_μ \rightarrow ν_τ$ oscillations in appearance mode, i.e. by detecting the $τ$-leptons produced in charged current $ν_τ$ interactions. The experiment took data from 2008 to 2012 in the CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso beam. The observation of $ν_μ \rightarrow ν_τ$ appearance, achieved with four candidate events in a sub-sample of the data, was previously reported. In this paper, a fifth $ν_τ$ candidate event, found in an enlarged data sample, is described. Together with a further reduction of the expected background, the candidate events detected so far allow assessing the discovery of $ν_μ\rightarrow ν_τ$ oscillations in appearance mode with a significance larger than 5 $σ$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2015

Large-angle scattering of multi-GeV muons on thin Lead targets

The probability of large-angle scattering for multi-GeV muons in thin ($t/X_0 \sim 10^{-1}$) lead targets is studied. The new estimates presented here are based both on simulation programs (GEANT4 libraries) and theoretical calculations. In order to validate the results provided by simulation, a comparison is drawn with experimental data from the literature. This study is particularly relevant when applied to muons originating from $ν_μ^{CC}$ interactions of CNGS beam neutrinos. In that circumstance the process under study represents the main background for the $ν_μ\to ν_τ$ search in the $τ\to μ$ channel for the OPERA experiment at LNGS. Finally, we also investigate, in the CNGS context, possible contributions from the muon photo-nuclear process which might in principle also produce a large-angle muon scattering signature in the detector.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2015

A novel technique for the measurement of the electron neutrino cross section

Absolute neutrino cross section measurements are presently limited by uncertainties on $ν$ fluxes. In this paper, we propose a technique that is based on the reconstruction of large angle positrons in the decay tunnel to identify three-body semileptonic $K^+ \rightarrow e^+ π^0 ν_e$ decays. This tagging facility operated in positron counting mode ("event count mode") can be employed to determine the absolute $ν_e$ flux at the neutrino detector with ${\cal O}(1\%)$ precision. Facilities operated in "event by event tag mode" i.e. tagged neutrino beams that exploit the time coincidence of the positron at source and the $ν_e$ interaction at the detector, are also discussed.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2015

Limits on muon-neutrino to tau-neutrino oscillations induced by a sterile neutrino state obtained by OPERA at the CNGS beam

The OPERA experiment, exposed to the CERN to Gran Sasso $ν_μ$ beam, collected data from 2008 to 2012. Four oscillated $ν_τ$ Charged Current interaction candidates have been detected in appearance mode, which are consistent with $ν_μ\to ν_τ$ oscillations at the atmospheric $Δm^2$ within the "standard" three-neutrino framework. In this paper, the OPERA $ν_τ$ appearance results are used to derive limits on the mixing parameters of a massive sterile neutrino.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Measurement of beauty and charm production in deep inelastic scattering at HERA and measurement of the beauty-quark mass

The production of beauty and charm quarks in ep interactions has been studied with the ZEUS detector at HERA for exchanged four-momentum squared 5 < Q^2 < 1000 GeV^2 using an integrated luminosity of 354 pb^{-1}. The beauty and charm content in events with at least one jet have been extracted using the invariant mass of charged tracks associated with secondary vertices and the decay-length significance of these vertices. Differential cross sections as a function of Q^2, Bjorken x, jet transverse energy and pseudorapidity were measured and compared with next-to-leading-order QCD calculations. The beauty and charm contributions to the proton structure functions were extracted from the double-differential cross section as a function of x and Q^2. The running beauty-quark mass, m_b at the scale m_b, was determined from a QCD fit at next-to-leading order to HERA data for the first time and found to be 4.07 \pm 0.14 (fit} ^{+0.01}_{-0.07} (mod.) ^{+0.05}_{-0.00} (param.) ^{+0.08}_{-0.05} (theo) GeV.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

The NESSiE way to searches for sterile neutrinos at FNAL

Neutrino physics is nowadays receiving more and more attention as a possible source of information for the long-standing problem of new physics beyond the Standard Model. The recent measurement of the mixing angle $θ_{13}$ in the standard mixing oscillation scenario encourages us to pursue the still missing results on leptonic CP violation and absolute neutrino masses. However, puzzling measurements exist that deserve an exhaustive evaluation. The NESSiE Collaboration has been setup to undertake conclusive experiments to clarify the muon-neutrino disappearance measurements at small $L/E$, which will be able to put severe constraints to models with more than the three-standard neutrinos, or even to robustly measure the presence of a new kind of neutrino oscillation for the first time. To this aim the use of the current FNAL-Booster neutrino beam for a Short-Baseline experiment has been carefully evaluated. Its recent proposal refers to the use of magnetic spectrometers at two different sites, Near and Far ones. Their positions have been extensively studied, together with the possible performances of two OPERA-like spectrometers. The proposal is constrained by availability of existing hardware and a time-schedule compatible with the undergoing project of a multi-site Liquid-Argon detectors at FNAL. The experiment to be possibly setup at Booster will allow to definitively clarify the current $ν_μ$ disappearance tension with $ν_{e}$ appearance and disappearance at the eV mass scale.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Further studies of the photoproduction of isolated photons with a jet at HERA

In this extended analysis using the ZEUS detector at HERA, the photoproduction of isolated photons together with a jet is measured for different ranges of the fractional photon energy, $x_γ^{\mathrm{meas}}$, contributing to the photon-jet final state. Cross sections are evaluated in the photon transverse-energy and pseudorapidity ranges $6 < E_T^γ < 15$ GeV and $-0.7 < η^γ < 0.9$, and for jet transverse-energy and pseudorapidity ranges $4 < E_T^{\rm jet} < 35$ GeV and $-1.5 < η^{\rm jet} < 1.8$, for an integrated luminosity of 374 $\mathrm{pb}^{-1}$. The kinematic observables studied comprise the transverse energy and pseudorapidity of the photon and the jet, the azimuthal difference between them, the fraction of proton energy taking part in the interaction, and the difference between the pseudorapidities of the photon and the jet. Higher-order theoretical calculations are compared to the results.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Measurement of D* photoproduction at three different centre-of-mass energies at HERA

The photoproduction of $D^{*\pm}$ mesons has been measured with the ZEUS detector at HERA at three different ep centre-of-mass energies, $\sqrt{s}$, of 318, 251 and 225 GeV. For each data set, $D^*$ mesons were required to have transverse momentum, $p_T^{D^*}$, and pseudorapidity, $η^{D^*}$, in the ranges $1.9 < p_T^{D^*} < 20$ GeV and $|η^{D^*}|<1.6$. The events were required to have a virtuality of the incoming photon, $Q^2$, of less than 1 GeV$^2$. The dependence on $\sqrt{s}$ was studied by normalising to the high-statistics measurement at $\sqrt{s} =318$ GeV. This led to the cancellation of a number of systematic effects both in data and theory. Predictions from next-to-leading-order QCD describe the $\sqrt{s}$ dependence of the data well.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Observation of nu_tau appearance in the CNGS beam with the OPERA experiment

The OPERA experiment is searching for nu_mu -> nu_tau oscillations in appearance mode i.e. via the direct detection of tau leptons in nu_tau charged current interactions. The evidence of nu_mu -> nu_tau appearance has been previously reported with three nu_tau candidate events using a sub-sample of data from the 2008-2012 runs. We report here a fourth nu_tau candidate event, with the tau decaying into a hadron, found after adding the 2012 run events without any muon in the final state to the data sample. Given the number of analysed events and the low background, nu_mu -> nu_tau oscillations are established with a significance of 4.2sigma.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Deep inelastic cross-section measurements at large y with the ZEUS detector at HERA

The reduced cross sections for $e^{+}p$ deep inelastic scattering have been measured with the ZEUS detector at HERA at three different centre-of-mass energies, $318$, $251$ and $225$ GeV. The cross sections, measured double differentially in Bjorken $x$ and the virtuality, $Q^2$, were obtained in the region $0.13\ \leq\ y\ \leq\ 0.75$, where $y$ denotes the inelasticity and $5\ \leq\ Q^2\ \leq\ 110$ GeV$^2$. The proton structure functions $F_2$ and $F_L$ were extracted from the measured cross sections.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Procedure for short-lived particle detection in the OPERA experiment and its application to charm decays

The OPERA experiment, designed to perform the first observation of $ν_μ\rightarrow ν_τ$ oscillations in appearance mode through the detection of the $τ$ leptons produced in $ν_τ$ charged current interactions, has collected data from 2008 to 2012. In the present paper, the procedure developed to detect $τ$ particle decays, occurring over distances of the order of 1 mm from the neutrino interaction point, is described in detail. The results of its application to the search for charmed hadrons are then presented as a validation of the methods for $ν_τ$ appearance detection.

hep-ex↗