arXiv subjects

A. Stoykov

Publications and source records attributed to A. Stoykov.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Operation and performance of MEG II detector

The MEG II experiment, located at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) in Switzerland, is the successor to the MEG experiment, which completed data taking in 2013. MEG II started fully operational data taking in 2021, with the goal of improving the sensitivity of the mu+ -> e+ gamma decay down to 6e-14 almost an order of magnitude better than the current limit. In this paper, we describe the operation and performance of the experiment and give a new estimate of its sensitivity versus data acquisition time.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2021

Technical design of the phase I Mu3e experiment

The Mu3e experiment aims to find or exclude the lepton flavour violating decay $μ\rightarrow eee$ at branching fractions above $10^{-16}$. A first phase of the experiment using an existing beamline at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) is designed to reach a single event sensitivity of $2\cdot 10^{-15}$. We present an overview of all aspects of the technical design and expected performance of the phase~I Mu3e detector. The high rate of up to $10^{8}$ muon decays per second and the low momenta of the decay electrons and positrons pose a unique set of challenges, which we tackle using an ultra thin tracking detector based on high-voltage monolithic active pixel sensors combined with scintillating fibres and tiles for precise timing measurements.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

Search for lepton flavour violating muon decay mediated by a new light particle in the MEG experiment

We present the first direct search for lepton flavour violating muon decay mediated by a new light particle X, $μ^+ \to \mathrm{e}^+\mathrm{X}, \mathrm{X} \to γγ$. This search uses a dataset resulting from $7.5\times 10^{14}$ stopped muons collected by the MEG experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institut in the period 2009--2013. No significant excess is found in the mass region 20--45 MeV/c$^2$ for lifetimes below 40 ps, and we set the most stringent branching ratio upper limits in the mass region of 20--40 MeV/c$^2$, down to $\mathcal{O}(10^{-11})$ at 90\% confidence level.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

Demonstration of Muon-Beam Transverse Phase-Space Compression

We demonstrate efficient transverse compression of a 12.5 MeV/c muon beam stopped in a helium gas target featuring a vertical density gradient and crossed electric and magnetic fields. The muon stop distribution extending vertically over 14 mm was reduced to a 0.25 mm size (RMS) within 3.5 $μ$s. The simulation including cross sections for low-energy $μ^+$-$\text{He}$ elastic and charge exchange ($μ^+\leftrightarrow $ muonium) collisions describes the measurements well. By combining the transverse compression stage with a previously demonstrated longitudinal compression stage, we can improve the phase space density of a $μ^+ $ beam by a factor of $ 10^{10} $ with $ 10^{-3} $ efficiency.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2019

muCool: A novel low-energy muon beam for future precision experiments

Experiments with muons ($μ^{+}$) and muonium atoms ($μ^{+}e^{-}$) offer several promising possibilities for testing fundamental symmetries. Examples of such experiments include search for muon electric dipole moment, measurement of muon $g-2$ and experiments with muonium from laser spectroscopy to gravity experiments. These experiments require high quality muon beams with small transverse size and high intensity at low energy. At the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland, we are developing a novel device that reduces the phase space of a standard $μ^{+}$ beam by a factor of $10^{10}$ with $10^{-3}$ efficiency. The phase space compression is achieved by stopping a standard $μ^{+}$ beam in a cryogenic helium gas. The stopped $μ^{+}$ are manipulated into a small spot with complex electric and magnetic fields in combination with gas density gradients. From here, the muons are extracted into the vacuum and into a field-free region. Various aspects of this compression scheme have been demonstrated. In this article the current status will be reported.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2018

muCool: A next step towards efficient muon beam compression

A novel device to compress the phase space of a muon beam by a factor of $10^{10}$ with a $10^{-3}$ efficiency is under development. A surface muon beam is stopped in a helium gas target consisting of several compression stages, wherein strong electric and magnetic fields are applied. The spatial extent of the stopped muon swarm is decreased by means of these fields until muons with eV energy are extracted into vacuum through a small orifice. It was measured that a 20 cm long muon stop distribution can be compressed in longitudinal direction to sub-mm extent within 2 ${\rm μs}$. Additionally, a drift perpendicular to the magnetic field of the compressed low-energy muon swarm was successfully demonstrated, paving the way towards the extraction from the gas and re-acceleration of the muons.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2017

The new versatile general purpose surface-muon instrument (GPS) based on silicon photomultipliers for $μ$SR measurements on a continuous-wave beam

We report on the design and commissioning of a new spectrometer for muon-spin relaxation/rotation studies installed at the Swiss Muon Source (S$μ$S) of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI, Switzerland). This new instrument is essentially a new design and replaces the old general-purpose surface-muon instrument (GPS) which has been for long the workhorse of the $μ$SR user facility at PSI. By making use of muon and positron detectors made of plastic scintillators read out by silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), a time resolution of the complete instrument of about 160 ps (standard deviation) could be achieved. In addition, the absence of light guides, which are needed in traditionally built $μ$SR instrument to deliver the scintillation light to photomultiplier tubes located outside magnetic fields applied, allowed us to design a compact instrument with a detector set covering an increased solid angle compared to the old GPS.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2016

A 16-ch module for thermal neutron detection using ZnS:${}^6$LiF scintillator with embedded WLS fibers coupled to SiPMs and its dedicated readout electronics

A scalable 16-ch thermal neutron detection system has been developed in the framework of the upgrade of a neutron diffractometer. The detector is based on ZnS:${}^6$LiF scintillator with embedded WLS fibers which are read out with SiPMs. In this paper, we present the 16-ch module, the dedicated readout electronics, a direct comparison between the performance of the diffractometer obtained with the current ${}^3$He detector and with the 16-ch detection module, and the channel-to-channel uniformity.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2015

Digital signal processing for a thermal neutron detector using ZnS(Ag):6LiF scintillating layers read out with WLS fibers and SiPMs

We present a digital signal processing system based on a photon counting approach which we developed for a thermal neutron detector consisting of ZnS(Ag):6LiF scintillating layers read out with WLS fibers and SiPMs. Three digital filters have been evaluated: a moving sum, a moving sum after differentiation and a digital CR-RC^4 filter. The performances of the detector with these filters are presented. A full analog signal processing using a CR-RC^4 filter has been emulated digitally. The detector performance obtained with this analog approach is compared with the one obtained with the best performing digital approach.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2014

A SiPM-based ZnS:$^6$LiF scintillation neutron detector

In the work presented here we built and evaluated a single-channel neutron detection unit consisting of a ZnS:$^6$LiF scintillator with embedded WLS fibers readout by a SiPM. The unit has a sensitive volume of 2.4 x 2.8 x 50 mm$^3$; 12 WLS fibers of diameter 0.25 mm are uniformly distributed over this volume and are coupled to a 1 x 1 mm$^2$ active area SiPM. We report the following performance parameters: neutron detection efficiency $\sim 65\,$% at $1.2\,Å$, background count rate $< 10^{-3}$ Hz, gamma-sensitivity with $^{60}$Co source $< 10^{-6}$, dead time $\sim 20\,μ$s, multi-count ratio $< 1\,$%. All these parameters were achieved up to the SiPM dark count rate of $\sim 2\,$MHz. We consider such detection unit as an elementary building block for realization of one-dimensional multichannel detectors for applications in the neutron scattering experimental technique. The dimensions of the unit and the number of embedded fibers can be varied to meet the specific application requirements. The upper limit of $\sim 2\,$MHz on the SiPM dark count rate allows to use SiPMs with larger active areas if required.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2014

Evaluation of two thermal neutron detection units consisting of ZnS/${}^6$LiF scintillating layers with embedded WLS fibers read out with a SiPM

Two single channel detection units for thermal neutron detection are investigated in a neutron beam. They consist of two ZnS/${}^6$LiF scintillating layers sandwiching an array of WLS fibers. The pattern of this units can be repeated laterally and vertically in order to build up a one dimensional position sensitive multi-channel detector with the needed sensitive surface and with the required neutron absorption probability. The originality of this work arises from the fact that the WLS fibers are read out with SiPMs instead of the traditionally used PMTs or MaPMTs. The signal processing system is based on a photon counting approach. For SiPMs with a dark count rate as high as 0.7 MHz, a trigger efficiency of 80% is achieved together with a system background rate lower than ${10}^{-3}$ Hz and a dead time of 30 $μ$s. No change of performance is observed for neutron count rates of up to 3.6 kHz.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2014

Use of Silicon Photomultipliers in ZnS:6LiF scintillation neutron detectors: signal extraction in presence of high dark count rates

We report on the possibility of using Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) to detect the scintillation light from neutron conversion in ZnS:6LiF scintillators. The light is collected by wavelength-shifting fibers embedded into the scintillator. The difficulty of extracting neutron signals in the presence of high dark count rates of the SiPMs is addressed by applying a dedicated processing algorithm to analyze the temporal distribution of the SiPM pulses. With a single-channel prototype detection unit we demonstrate a very good neutron signal extraction at SiPM dark count rates of about 1 MHz.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2013

Upgrade of the POLDI diffractometer with a ZnS(Ag)/6LiF scintillation detector read out with WLS fibers coupled to SiPMs

A thermal neutron detector based on ZnS(Ag)/6LiF scintillator, wavelength-shifting fibers (WLS) and silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) is under development at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) for upgrading the POLDI instrument, a pulse-overlap diffractometer. The design of the detector is outlined, and the measurements performed on a single channel prototype are presented. An innovative signal processing system based on a photon counting approach is under development. Its principle of operation is described and its performances are evaluated on the basis of a Monte Carlo simulation.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2013

MEG Upgrade Proposal

We propose the continuation of the MEG experiment to search for the charged lepton flavour violating decay (cLFV) μ\to e γ, based on an upgrade of the experiment, which aims for a sensitivity enhancement of one order of magnitude compared to the final MEG result, down to the $6 \times 10^{-14}$ level. The key features of this new MEG upgrade are an increased rate capability of all detectors to enable running at the intensity frontier and improved energy, angular and timing resolutions, for both the positron and photon arms of the detector. On the positron-side a new low-mass, single volume, high granularity tracker is envisaged, in combination with a new highly segmented, fast timing counter array, to track positron from a thinner stopping target. The photon-arm, with the largest liquid xenon (LXe) detector in the world, totalling 900 l, will also be improved by increasing the granularity at the incident face, by replacing the current photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) with a larger number of smaller photosensors and optimizing the photosensor layout also on the lateral faces. A new DAQ scheme involving the implementation of a new combined readout board capable of integrating the diverse functions of digitization, trigger capability and splitter functionality into one condensed unit, is also under development. We describe here the status of the MEG experiment, the scientific merits of the upgrade and the experimental methods we plan to use.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2013

Research Proposal for an Experiment to Search for the Decay μ -> eee

We propose an experiment (Mu3e) to search for the lepton flavour violating decay mu+ -> e+e-e+. We aim for an ultimate sensitivity of one in 10^16 mu-decays, four orders of magnitude better than previous searches. This sensitivity is made possible by exploiting modern silicon pixel detectors providing high spatial resolution and hodoscopes using scintillating fibres and tiles providing precise timing information at high particle rates.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2012

The 10 Tesla muSR instrument: detector solutions

Solutions to the detector system of the High-Field muSR instrument at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) in Switzerland are presented. The strict technical requirements are fulfilled through the application of Geiger-mode Avalanche Photodiodes.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2011

A time-resolution study with a plastic scintillator read out by a Geiger-mode Avalanche Photodiode

In this work we attempt to establish the best time resolution attainable with a scintillation counter consisting of a plastic scintillator read out by a Geiger-mode Avalanche Photodiode. The measured time resolution is inversely proportional to the square root of the energy deposited in the scintillator, and scales to 18ps (sigma) at 1MeV. This result competes with the best ones reported for photomultiplier tubes.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2011

A lens-coupled scintillation counter in cryogenic environment

In this work we present an elegant solution for a scintillation counter to be integrated into a cryogenic system. Its distinguishing feature is the absence of a continuous light guide coupling the scintillation and the photodetector parts, operating at cryogenic and room temperatures respectively. The prototype detector consists of a plastic scintillator with glued-in wavelength-shifting fiber located inside a cryostat, a Geiger-mode Avalanche Photodiode (G-APD) outside the cryostat, and a lens system guiding the scintillation light re-emitted by the fiber to the G-APD through optical windows in the cryostat shields. With a 0.8mm diameter multiclad fiber and a 1mm active area G-APD the coupling efficiency of the "lens light guide" is about 50%. A reliable performance of the detector down to 3K is demonstrated.

physics.ins-det↗