arXiv subjects

E. Leonardi

Publications and source records attributed to E. Leonardi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Design and beam-test characterization of the CRILIN semi-homogeneous crystal calorimeter

CRILIN is a high-granularity semi-homogeneous electromagnetic calorimeter based on longitudinally segmented PbF$_2$ crystal matrices read out by UV-extended silicon photomultipliers. The concept combines fast Cherenkov response, fine transverse granularity, longitudinal shower information, and radiation tolerance for future lepton-collider experiments. This paper reports the construction of a large-area prototype and its performance measured in beam tests at the CERN SPS. The detector comprises five $7\times7$ PbF$_2$ crystal matrices, has a depth of about $22X_0$, and is read out by four $3\times3~\mathrm{mm}^2$ SiPMs per crystal integrated in a single electronic channel. Electron data between 10 and 120~GeV and dedicated 150~GeV muon data were used to characterize the detector response. A time resolution below 50~ps is achieved for electron energies above 10~GeV, reaching values below 20~ps above 60~GeV. The energy resolution is described by a stochastic term of $(6.58\pm0.04)\%/\sqrt{E/\mathrm{GeV}}$ and a constant term of $(0.23\pm0.02)\%$, with an additional noise contribution fixed from pedestal data. The longitudinal segmentation enables event-by-event corrections based on the reconstructed shower development, resulting in a significant improvement of the energy resolution. A light yield of approximately 0.54~photoelectrons/MeV is measured consistently using both electron showers and minimum-ionizing particles. A Geant4-based simulation incorporating the relevant experimental effects reproduces the measured energy resolution. These results validate the CRILIN architecture as a compact, fast, and longitudinally segmented electromagnetic calorimeter for future collider experiments.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Search for a new 17 MeV resonance via $e^+e^-$ annihilation with the PADME Experiment

The PADME Experiment at the Frascati DA$\Phi$NE LINAC has searched for a hypothetical particle with mass around 17 MeV, commonly referred to as the X17, using a positron beam incident on a fixed target. The beam energy was varied between 262 and 296 MeV, corresponding to center-of-mass energies $\sqrt{s}$ between 16.4 and 17.4 MeV. The X17 should be produced resonantly via $e^+e^-$ annihilation when $\sqrt{s}$ approaches its mass, inducing an excess of events with a two-body final state over the background expectation. The beam energy spacing was fixed to less than half the expected width of the resonance's line shape. Uncertainties below 1% per $\sqrt{s}$ point were achieved. A blind analysis has been performed. The data are consistent with the expected background in most of the explored energy range, and limits are set in previously unexplored regions of the available parameter space. The most significant deviation is found for $\sqrt{s} \approx 16.90$ MeV, corresponding to a global significance of approximately 2 standard deviations over the null hypothesis expectation.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Development of nanocomposite scintillators for use in high-energy physics

Semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots) are light emitters with high quantum yield that are relatively easy to manufacture. There is therefore much interest in their possible application for the development of high-performance scintillators for use in high-energy physics. However, few previous studies have focused on the response of these materials to high-energy particles. To evaluate the potential for the use of nanocomposite scintillators in calorimetry, we are performing side-by-side tests of fine-sampling shashlyk calorimeter prototypes with both conventional and nanocomposite scintillators using electron and minimum-ionizing particle beams, allowing direct comparison of the performance obtained.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2024

Characterization of the PADME positron beam for the X17 measurement

This paper presents a detailed characterization of the positron beam delivered by the Beam Test Facility at Laboratori Nazionali of Frascati to the PADME experiment during Run III, which took place from October to December 2022. It showcases the methodology used to measure the main beam parameters such as the position in space, the absolute momentum scale, the beam energy spread, and its intensity through a combination of data analysis and Monte Carlo simulations. The results achieved include an absolute precision in the momentum of the beam to within $\sim$ 1-2 MeV$/c$, a relative beam energy spread below 0.25\%, and an absolute precision in the intensity of the beam at the level of 2\% percent.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2022

Cross-section measurement of two-photon annihilation in-flight of positrons at $\sqrt{s}=20$ MeV with the PADME detector

The inclusive cross-section of annihilation in flight $e^+e^-\rightarrowγγ$ of 430 MeV positrons with atomic electrons of a thin diamond target has been measured with the PADME detector at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati. The two photons produced in the process were detected by an electromagnetic calorimeter made of BGO crystals. This measurement is the first one based on the direct detection of the photon pair and one of the most precise for positron energies below 1 GeV. This measurement represents a necessary step to search for dark sector particles and mediators weakly coupled to photons and/or electrons with masses ranging from 1 MeV to 20 MeV with PADME. The measurement agrees with the Next to Leading Order QED prediction within the overall 6% uncertainty.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2022

Commissioning of the PADME experiment with a positron beam

The PADME experiment is designed to search for a hypothetical dark photon $A^{\prime}$ produced in positron-electron annihilation using a bunched positron beam at the Beam Test Facility of the INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati. The expected sensitivity to the $A^{\prime}$-photon mixing parameter $ε$ is 10$^{-3}$, for $A^{\prime}$ mass $\le$ 23.5 MeV/$c^{2}$ after collecting $\sim 10^{13}$ positrons-on-target. This paper presents the PADME detector status after commissioning in July 2019. In addition, the software algorithms employed to reconstruct physics objects, such as photons and charged particles, and the calibration procedures adopted are illustrated in detail. The results show that the experimental apparatus reaches the design performance, and is able to identify and measure standard electromagnetic processes, such as positron Bremsstrahlung, electron-positron annihilation into two photons.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

The PADME beam line Monte Carlo simulation

The PADME experiment at the DA$Φ$NE Beam-Test Facility (BTF) of the INFN Laboratory of Frascati is designed to search for invisible decays of dark sector particles produced in electron-positron annihilation events with a positron beam and a thin fixed target, by measuring the missing mass of single-photon final states. The presence of backgrounds originating from beam halo particles can significantly reduce the sensitivity of the experiment. To thoroughly understand the origin of the beam background contribution, a detailed Geant4-based Monte Carlo simulation has been developed, containing a full description of the detector together with the beam line and its optical elements. This simulation allows the full interactions of each particle to be described, both during beam line transport and during detection, a possibility which represents an innovative way to obtain reliable background predictions

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

Characterisation and performance of the PADME electromagnetic calorimeter

The PADME experiment at the LNF Beam Test Facility searches for dark photons produced in the annihilation of positrons with the electrons of a fix target. The strategy is to look for the reaction $e^{+}+e^{-}\rightarrow γ+A'$, where $A'$ is the dark photon, which cannot be observed directly or via its decay products. The electromagnetic calorimeter plays a key role in the experiment by measuring the energy and position of the final-state $γ$. The missing four-momentum carried away by the $A'$ can be evaluated from this information and the particle mass inferred. This paper presents the design, construction, and calibration of the PADME's electromagnetic calorimeter. The results achieved in terms of equalisation, detection efficiency and energy resolution during the first phase of the experiment demonstrate the effectiveness of the various tools used to improve the calorimeter performance with respect to earlier prototypes.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

Characterization and Performance of PADME's Cherenkov-Based Small-Angle Calorimeter

The PADME experiment, at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (LNF), in Italy, will search for invisible decays of the hypothetical dark photon via the process $e^+e^-\rightarrow γA'$, where the $A'$ escapes detection. The dark photon mass range sensitivity in a first phase will be 1 to 24 MeV. We report here on measurement and simulation studies of the performance of the Small-Angle Calorimeter, a component of PADME's detector dedicated to rejecting 2- and 3-gamma backgrounds. The crucial requirement is a timing resolution of less than 200 ps, which is satisfied by the choice of PbF$_2$ crystals and the newly released Hamamatsu R13478UV photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). We find a timing resolution of 81 ps (with double-peak separation resolution of 1.8 ns) and a single-crystal energy resolution of 5.7%/$\sqrt{E}$ with light yield of 2.07 photo-electrons per MeV, using 100 to 400 MeV electrons at the Beam Test Facility of LNF. We also propose the investigation of a two-PMT solution coupled to a single PbF$_2$ crystal for higher-energy applications, which has potentially attractive features.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2016

Performance of the PADME calorimeter prototype at the DA$Φ$NE BTF

The PADME experiment at the DA$Φ$NE Beam-Test Facility (BTF) aims at searching for invisible decays of the dark photon by measuring the final state missing mass in the process $e^+e^- \to γ+ A'$, with $A'$ undetected. The measurement requires the determination of the 4-momentum of the recoil photon, performed using a homogeneous, highly segmented BGO crystals calorimeter. We report the results of the test of a 5$\times$5 crystals prototype performed with an electron beam at the BTF in July 2016.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2016

The Importance of Worker Reputation Information in Microtask-Based Crowd Work Systems

This paper presents the first systematic investigation of the potential performance gains for crowd work systems, deriving from available information at the requester about individual worker reputation. In particular, we first formalize the optimal task assignment problem when workers' reputation estimates are available, as the maximization of a monotone (submodular) function subject to Matroid constraints. Then, being the optimal problem NP-hard, we propose a simple but efficient greedy heuristic task allocation algorithm. We also propose a simple "maximum a-posteriori" decision rule and a decision algorithm based on message passing. Finally, we test and compare different solutions, showing that system performance can greatly benefit from information about workers' reputation. Our main findings are that: i) even largely inaccurate estimates of workers' reputation can be effectively exploited in the task assignment to greatly improve system performance; ii) the performance of the maximum a-posteriori decision rule quickly degrades as worker reputation estimates become inaccurate; iii) when workers' reputation estimates are significantly inaccurate, the best performance can be obtained by combining our proposed task assignment algorithm with the message-passing decision algorithm.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2016

ChPT tests at the NA48 and NA62 experiments at CERN

The NA48/2 Collaboration at CERN has accumulated unprecedented statistics of rare kaon decays in the Ke4 modes: Ke4(+-) ($K^\pm \to π^+ π^- e^\pm ν$) and Ke4(00) ($K^\pm \to π^0 π^0 e^\pm ν$) with nearly one percent background contamination. The detailed study of form factors and branching rates, based on these data, has been completed recently. The results brings new inputs to low energy strong interactions description and tests of Chiral Perturbation Theory (ChPT) and lattice QCD calculations. In particular, new data support the ChPT prediction for a cusp in the $π^0π^0$ invariant mass spectrum at the two charged pions threshold for Ke4(00) decay. New final results from an analysis of about 400 $K^\pm \to π^\pm γγ$ rare decay candidates collected by the NA48/2 and NA62 experiments at CERN during low intensity runs with minimum bias trigger configurations are presented. The results include a model-independent decay rate measurement and fits to ChPT description.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2015

Impact of Clustering on the Performance of Network De-anonymization

Recently, graph matching algorithms have been successfully applied to the problem of network de-anonymization, in which nodes (users) participating to more than one social network are identified only by means of the structure of their links to other members. This procedure exploits an initial set of seed nodes large enough to trigger a percolation process which correctly matches almost all other nodes across the different social networks. Our main contribution is to show the crucial role played by clustering, which is a ubiquitous feature of realistic social network graphs (and many other systems). Clustering has both the effect of making matching algorithms more vulnerable to errors, and the potential to dramatically reduce the number of seeds needed to trigger percolation, thanks to a wave-like propagation effect. We demonstrate these facts by considering a fairly general class of random geometric graphs with variable clustering level, and showing how clever algorithms can achieve surprisingly good performance while containing matching errors.

cs.SI↗

arXiv2014

Recent NA48/2 and NA62 results

The NA48/2 Collaboration at CERN has accumulated and analysed unprecedented statistics of rare kaon decays in the $K_{e4}$ modes: $K_{e4}(+-)$ ($K^\pm \to π^+ π^- e^\pm ν$) and $K_{e4}(00)$ ($K^\pm \to π^0 π^0 e^\pm ν$) with nearly one percent background contamination. It leads to the improved measurement of branching fractions and detailed form factor studies. New final results from the analysis of 381 $K^\pm \to π^\pm γγ$ rare decay candidates collected by the NA48/2 and NA62 experiments at CERN are presented. The results include a decay rate measurement and fits to Chiral Perturbation Theory (ChPT) description.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2013

Stochastic Optimization of Service Provision with Selfish Users

We develop a computationally efficient technique to solve a fairly general distributed service provision problem with selfish users and imperfect information. In particular, in a context in which the service capacity of the existing infrastructure can be partially adapted to the user load by activating just some of the service units, we aim at finding the configuration of active service units that achieves the best trade-off between maintenance (e.g.\ energetic) costs for the provider and user satisfaction. The core of our technique resides in the implementation of a belief-propagation (BP) algorithm to evaluate the cost configurations. Numerical results confirm the effectiveness of our approach.

cs.GT↗

arXiv2012

The large-angle photon veto system for the NA62 experiment at the CERN SPS

The branching ratio (BR) for the decay K^+ \to π^+ν\barν is a sensitive probe for new physics. The NA62 experiment at the CERN SPS will measure this BR to within about 10%. To reject the background from dominant kaon decays with final state photons, the large-angle photon vetoes (LAVs) must detect photons of energy as low as 200 MeV with an inefficiency of less than 10^{-4}. The LAV detectors make use of lead glass blocks recycled from the OPAL electromagnetic calorimeter barrel. We describe the mechanical design and challenges faced during construction, the characterization of the lead glass blocks and solutions adopted for monitoring their performance, and the development of front-end electronics to allow simultaneous time and energy measurements over an extended dynamic range using the time over-threshold technique. Our results are based on test-beam data and are reproduced by a detailed Monte Carlo simulation that includes the readout chain.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2011

The NA62 LAV front-end electronics

The branching ratio for the decay $K^+ \to π^+ν\barν$ is sensitive to new physics; the NA62 experiment will measure it to within about 10%. To reject the dominant background from channels with final state photons, the large-angle vetoes (LAVs) must detect particles with better than 1 ns time resolution and 10% energy resolution over a very large energy range. Our custom readout board uses a time-over-threshold discriminator coupled to a TDC as a straightforward solution to satisfy these requirements. A prototype of the readout system was extensively tested together with the ANTI-A2 large angle veto module at CERN in summer 2010.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2011

The Large-Angle Photon Veto System for the NA62 Experiment at CERN

The branching ratio (BR) for the decay K^+ \rightarrow π^+ ν\barν is a sensitive probe for new physics. The NA62 experiment at the CERN SPS will measure this BR to within about 10%. To reject the dominant background from channels with final state photons, the large-angle vetoes (LAVs) must detect photons of energy as low as 200 MeV with an inefficiency of less than 10^-4, as well as provide energy and time measurements with resolutions of 10% and 1 ns for 1 GeV photons. The LAV detectors make creative reuse of lead glass blocks recycled from the OPAL electromagnetic calorimeter barrel. We describe the mechanical design and challenges faced during construction, the characterization of the lead glass blocks and solutions adopted for monitoring their performance, and the development of front-end electronics to allow simultaneous time and energy measurements over an extended dynamic range using the time-over-threshold technique. Our results are based on test-beam data and are reproduced by a detailed Monte Carlo simulation that includes the readout chain.

physics.ins-det↗