arXiv subjects

F. Blanco

Publications and source records attributed to F. Blanco.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Perspective for resonances in p-p collisions with the ALICE detector

The capability of the ALICE detector to reconstruct short-lived resonances from the very beginning of the LHC p-p program start-up was investigated, considering about 300,000 minimum bias p-p PYTHIA events at 900 GeV and 10 TeV, fully reconstructed under the hypothesis of a still misaligned detector. Only the information from track reconstruction was taken into account and no PID knowledge was considered. A reliable rho(770) yield estimation was possible in 900 GeV events. Moreover, in 300,000 p-p events at 10 TeV the signal for the phi-resonance could be extracted. A significance of 9 can be reached if only resonances with a transverse momentum larger than 1.5 GeV/c are considered. Moreover, even with this low statistics the phi signal is visible in events with a multiplicity as high as 100.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2008

The Air-Fluorescence Yield

Detection of the air-fluorescence radiation induced by the charged particles of extensive air showers is a well-established technique for the study of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. Fluorescence telescopes provide a nearly calorimetric measure of the primary energy. Presently the main source of systematic uncertainties comes from our limited accuracy in the fluorescence yield, that is, the number of fluorescence photons emitted per unit of energy deposited in the atmosphere by the shower particles. In this paper the current status of our knowledge on the fluorescence yield both experimental an theoretical will be discussed.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

Improved model for the analysis of air fluorescence induced by electrons

A model recently proposed for the calculation of air-fluorescence yield excited by electrons is revisited. Improved energy distributions of secondary electrons and a more realistic Monte Carlo simulation including some additional processes have allowed us to obtain more accurate results. The model is used to study in detail the relationship between fluorescence intensity and deposited energy in a wide range of primary energy (keVs - GeVs). In addition, predictions on the absolute value of the fluorescence efficiency in the absence of collisional quenching will be presented and compared with available experimental data.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Educational cosmic ray experiments with Geiger counters

Experiments concerning the physics of cosmic rays offer to high-school teachers and students a relatively easy approach to the field of research in high energy physics. The detection of cosmic rays does not necessarily require the use of sophisticated equipment, and various properties of the cosmic radiation can be observed and analysed even by the use of a single Geiger counter. Nevertheless, the variety of such kind of experiments and the results obtained are limited because of the inclusive nature of these measurements. A significant improvement may be obtained when two or more Geiger counters are operated in coincidence. In this paper we discuss the potential of performing educational cosmic ray experiments with Geiger counters. In order to show also the educational value of coincidence techniques, preliminary results of cosmic ray experiments carried out by the use of a simple coincidence circuit are briefly discussed.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2006

The yield of air fluorescence induced by electrons

The fluorescence yield for dry air and pure nitrogen excited by electrons is calculated using a combination of well-established molecular properties and experimental data of the involved cross sections. Particular attention has been paid to the role of secondary electrons from ionization processes. At high pressure and high energy, observed fluorescence turns out to be proportional to the ionization cross section which follows the Born-Bethe law. Predictions on fluorescence yields in a very wide interval of electron energies (eV - GeV) and pressures (1 and 1013 hPa) as expected from laboratory measurements are presented. Experimental results at energies over 1 MeV are in very good agreement with our calculations for pure nitrogen while discrepancies of about 20% are found for dry air, very likely associated to uncertainties in the available data on quenching cross sections. The relationship between fluorescence emission, stopping power and deposited energy is discussed.

astro-ph↗