Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

M. Agnello

Publications and source records attributed to M. Agnello.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Sensor operating point calibration and monitoring of the ALICE Inner Tracking System during LHC Run 3

The new Inner Tracking System (ITS2) of the ALICE experiment began operation in 2021 with the start of LHC Run 3. Compared to its predecessor, ITS2 offers substantial improvements in pointing resolution, tracking efficiency at low transverse momenta, and readout-rate capabilities. The detector employs silicon Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) featuring a pixel size of 26.88$\times$29.24 $\mu$m$^2$ and an intrinsic spatial resolution of approximately 5 $\mu$m. With a remarkably low material budget of 0.36% of radiation length ($X_{0}$) per layer in the three innermost layers and a total sensitive area of about 10 m$^2$, the ITS2 constitutes the largest-scale application of MAPS technology in a high-energy physics experiment and the first of its kind operated at the LHC. For stable data taking, it is crucial to calibrate different parameters of the detector, such as in-pixel charge thresholds and the masking of noisy pixels. The calibration of 24120 monolithic sensors, comprising a total of 12.6$\times$10$^{9}$ pixels, represents a major operational challenge. This paper presents the methods developed for the calibration of the ITS2 and outlines the strategies for monitoring and dynamically adjusting the detector's key performance parameters over time.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2021

First demonstration of in-beam performance of bent Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors

A novel approach for designing the next generation of vertex detectors foresees to employ wafer-scale sensors that can be bent to truly cylindrical geometries after thinning them to thicknesses of 20-40$μ$m. To solidify this concept, the feasibility of operating bent MAPS was demonstrated using 1.5$\times$3cm ALPIDE chips. Already with their thickness of 50$μ$m, they can be successfully bent to radii of about 2cm without any signs of mechanical or electrical damage. During a subsequent characterisation using a 5.4GeV electron beam, it was further confirmed that they preserve their full electrical functionality as well as particle detection performance. In this article, the bending procedure and the setup used for characterisation are detailed. Furthermore, the analysis of the beam test, including the measurement of the detection efficiency as a function of beam position and local inclination angle, is discussed. The results show that the sensors maintain their excellent performance after bending to radii of 2cm, with detection efficiencies above 99.9% at typical operating conditions, paving the way towards a new class of detectors with unprecedented low material budget and ideal geometrical properties.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2019

A next-generation LHC heavy-ion experiment

The present document discusses plans for a compact, next-generation multi-purpose detector at the LHC as a follow-up to the present ALICE experiment. The aim is to build a nearly massless barrel detector consisting of truly cylindrical layers based on curved wafer-scale ultra-thin silicon sensors with MAPS technology, featuring an unprecedented low material budget of 0.05% X$_0$ per layer, with the innermost layers possibly positioned inside the beam pipe. In addition to superior tracking and vertexing capabilities over a wide momentum range down to a few tens of MeV/$c$, the detector will provide particle identification via time-of-flight determination with about 20~ps resolution. In addition, electron and photon identification will be performed in a separate shower detector. The proposed detector is conceived for studies of pp, pA and AA collisions at luminosities a factor of 20 to 50 times higher than possible with the upgraded ALICE detector, enabling a rich physics program ranging from measurements with electromagnetic probes at ultra-low transverse momenta to precision physics in the charm and beauty sector.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2018

Study of hard and electromagnetic processes at CERN-SPS energies: an investigation of the high-$μ_{\mathbf{B}}$ region of the QCD phase diagram with NA60+

The exploration of the phase diagram of Quantum ChromoDynamics (QCD) is carried out by studying ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. The energy range covered by the CERN SPS ($\sqrt{s_{\rm \scriptscriptstyle{NN}}} \sim$ 6-17 GeV) is ideal for the investigation of the region of the phase diagram corresponding to finite baryochemical potential ($μ_{\rm B}$), and has been little explored up to now. We propose in this document a new experiment, NA60+, that would address several observables which are fundamental for the understanding of the phase transition from hadronic matter towards a Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) at SPS energies. In particular, we propose to study, as a function of the collision energy, the production of thermal dimuons from the created system, from which one would obtain a caloric curve of the QCD phase diagram that is sensitive to the order of the phase transition. In addition, the measurement of a $ρ$-a$_1$ mixing contribution would provide conclusive insights into the restoration of the chiral symmetry of QCD. In parallel, studies of heavy quark and quarkonium production would also be carried out, addressing the measurement of transport properties of the QGP and the investigation of the onset of the deconfinement transition. The document also defines an experimental set-up which couples a vertex telescope based on monolithic active pixel sensors (MAPS) to a muon spectrometer with tracking (GEM) and triggering (RPC) detectors within a large acceptance toroidal magnet. Results of physics performance studies for most observables accessible to NA60+ are discussed, showing that the results of the experiment would lead to a significant advance of our understanding of strong interaction physics. The document has been submitted as an input to the European Particle Physics Strategy Update 2018-2020 (http://europeanstrategyupdate.web.cern.ch/).

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2017

Missing-mass spectroscopy with the ${}^{6}$Li($π^{-}, K^{+}$)X reaction to search for ${}^{6}_Λ$H

We searched for the bound state of the neutron-rich $Λ$-hypernucleus ${}^{6}_Λ$H, using the ${}^{6}$Li($π^{-}, K^{+}$)X double charge-exchange reaction at a $π^{-}$ beam momentum of 1.2 GeV/c at J-PARC. A total of $1.4 \times 10^{12}$ $π^{-}$ was driven onto a ${}^{6}$Li target of 3.5-g/$\rm cm^2$ thickness. No event was observed below the bound threshold, i.e., the mass of ${}^{4}_Λ$H + 2n, in the missing-mass spectrum of the ${}^{6}$Li($π^{-}, K^{+}$)X reaction in the $2^{\circ}$ < $θ_{πK}$ < $20^{\circ}$ angular range. Furthermore, no event was found up to 2.8 MeV/$c^2$ above the bound threshold. We obtained the the double-differential cross section spectra of the ${}^{6}$Li($π^{-}, K^{+}$)X reaction in the angular range of $2^{\circ}$ < $θ_{πK}$ < $14^{\circ}$. An upper limit of 0.56 nb/sr (90% C.L.) was obtained for the production cross section of the ${}^{6}_Λ$H hypernucleus bound state. In addition, not only the bound state region, but also the $Λ$ continuum region and part of the $Σ^{-}$ quasi-free production region of the ${}^{6}$Li($π^{-}, K^{+}$)X reaction, were obtained with high statistics. The present missing-mass spectrum will facilitate the investigation of the $Σ^{-}$-nucleus optical potential for $Σ^{-}$-${}^{5}$He through spectrum shape analysis.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2016

INFN What Next: Ultra-relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions

This document was prepared by the community that is active in Italy, within INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), in the field of ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The experimental study of the phase diagram of strongly-interacting matter and of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) deconfined state will proceed, in the next 10-15 years, along two directions: the high-energy regime at RHIC and at the LHC, and the low-energy regime at FAIR, NICA, SPS and RHIC. The Italian community is strongly involved in the present and future programme of the ALICE experiment, the upgrade of which will open, in the 2020s, a new phase of high-precision characterisation of the QGP properties at the LHC. As a complement of this main activity, there is a growing interest in a possible future experiment at the SPS, which would target the search for the onset of deconfinement using dimuon measurements. On a longer timescale, the community looks with interest at the ongoing studies and discussions on a possible fixed-target programme using the LHC ion beams and on the Future Circular Collider.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2015

$Σ^- p$ emission rates in $K^-$ absorptions at rest on $^6$Li, $^7$Li, $^{9}$Be, $^{13}$C and $^{16}$O

An experimental study of the $K^-_{stop}A\rightarrow Σ^- p A'$ reaction on $A=^6$Li, $^7$Li, $^9$Be, $^{13}$C and $^{16}$O $p$-shell nuclei is presented. The data were collected by the FINUDA spectrometer operating at the DA$Φ$NE $ϕ$-factory (LNF-INFN, Italy). Emission rates for the reaction in the mentioned nuclei are measured and compared with the few existing data. The spectra of several observables are discussed; indications of Quasi-Free absorptions by a $(np)$ pair embedded in the $A$ nucleus can be obtained from the study of the missing mass distributions.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2015

Observation of Spin-Dependent Charge Symmetry Breaking in $ΛN$ Interaction: Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy of $^4_{Λ}$He

The energy spacing between the ground-state spin doublet of $^4_Λ$He(1$^+$,0$^+$) was determined to be $1406 \pm 2 \pm 2$ keV, by measuring $γ$ rays for the $1^+ \to 0^+$ transition with a high efficiency germanium detector array in coincidence with the $^4$He$(K^-,π^-)$ $^4_Λ$He reaction at J-PARC. In comparison to the corresponding energy spacing in the mirror hypernucleus $^4_Λ$H, the present result clearly indicates the existence of charge symmetry breaking (CSB) in $ΛN$ interaction. It is also found that the CSB effect is large in the $0^+$ ground state but is by one order of magnitude smaller in the $1^+$ excited state, demonstrating that the $ΛN$ CSB interaction has spin dependence.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2014

First determination of the one-proton induced Non-Mesonic Weak Decay width of p-shell Λ-Hypernuclei

Previous studies of proton and neutron spectra from Non-Mesonic Weak Decay of eight Lambda-Hypernuclei (A = 5-16) have been revisited. New values of the ratio of the two-nucleon and the one-proton induced decay widths, Gamma_2N/Gamma_p, are obtained from single proton spectra, Gamma_2N/Gamma_p = 0.50 +/- 0.24, and from neutron and proton coincidence spectra, Gamma_2N/Gamma_p = 0.36 +/- 0.14stat +0.05sys -0.04sys , in full agreement with previously published ones. With these values, a method is developed to extract the one-proton induced decay width in units of the free Lambda decay width, Gamma_p/Gamma_Lambda, without resorting to Intra Nuclear Cascade models but by exploiting only experimental data, under the assumption of a linear dependence on A of the Final State Interaction contribution. This is the first systematic determination ever done and it agrees within the errors with recent theoretical calculations.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2014

High-resolution search for the $Θ^{+}$ pentaquark via a pion-induced reaction at J-PARC

The pentaquark $Θ^+$ has been searched for via the $π^-p \to K^-X$ reaction with beam momenta of 1.92 and 2.01 GeV/$c$ at J-PARC. A missing mass resolution of 2 MeV (FWHM) was achieved but no sharp peak structure was observed. The upper limits on the production cross section averaged over the scattering angle from 2$^{\circ}$ to 15$^{\circ}$ in the laboratory frame were found to be less than 0.28 $μ$b/sr at the 90\% confidence level for both the 1.92- and 2.01-GeV/$c$ data. The systematic uncertainty of the upper limits was controlled within 10\%. Constraints on the $Θ^+$ decay width were also evaluated with a theoretical calculation using effective Lagrangian. The present result implies that the width should be less than 0.36 and 1.9 MeV for the spin-parity of $1/2^+$ and $1/2^-$, respectively.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2014

Search for $^6_Λ$H hypernucleus by the $^6$Li$(π^-,K^+)$ reaction at $p_{π^-}$ = 1.2 GeV/$c$

We have carried out an experiment to search for a neutron-rich hypernucleus, $^6_Λ$H, by the $^6$Li($π^-,K^+$) reaction at $p_{π^-}$ =1.2 GeV/$c$. The obtained missing mass spectrum with an estimated energy resolution of 3.2 MeV (FWHM) showed no peak structure corresponding to the $^6_Λ$H hypernucleus neither below nor above the $^4_Λ$H$+2n$ particle decay threshold. An upper limit of the production cross section for the bound $^6_Λ$H hypernucleus was estimated to be 1.2 nb/sr at 90% confidence level.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2012

Search for the neutron-rich hypernucleus 9ΛHe

Search for the neutron-rich hypernucleus 9LHe is reported by the FINUDA experiment at DAFNE, INFN-LNF, studying (pi+, pi-) pairs in coincidence from the K-stop + 9Be --> 9LHe + pi+ production reaction followed by 9LHe --> 9Li + pi- weak decay. An upper limit of the production rate of 9LHe undergoing this two-body pi- decay is determined to be (2.3 +/- 1.9) 10-6/K-stop at 90% confidence level.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2012

First observation of the hyper superheavy hydrogen 6ΛH

Three candidate events of the neutron-rich hypernucleus 6ΛH were uniquely identified in the FINUDA experiment at DAΦNE, Frascati, by observing π+ mesons from the (K-stop,π+) production reaction on 6Li targets, in coincidence with π-mesons from 6ΛH \rightarrow 6He+π- weak decay. Details of the experiment and the analysis of its data are reported, leading to an estimate of (2.9\pm2.0)\cdot10-6/K- stop for the 6ΛH production rate times the two-body π- weak decay branching ratio. The 6ΛH binding energy with respect to 5H + Λ was determined jointly from production and decay to be BΛ = (4.0 \pm 1.1) MeV, assuming that 5H is unbound with respect to 3H + 2n by 1.7 MeV. The binding energy determined from production is higher, in each one of the three events, than that determined from decay, with a difference of (0.98 \pm 0.74) MeV here assigned to the 0+g.s. \rightarrow 1+ excitation. The consequences of this assignment to Λ hypernuclear dynamics are briefly discussed.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2012

Search for the $Θ^{+}$ pentaquark via the $π^-p\to K^-X$ reaction at 1.92 GeV/$c$

The $Θ^+$ pentaquark baryon was searched for via the $π^-p\to K^-X$ reaction in a missing-mass resolution of 1.4 MeV/$c^2$(FWHM) at J-PARC. $π^-$ meson beams were incident on the liquid hydrogen target with the beam momentum of 1.92 GeV/$c$. No peak structure corresponding to the $Θ^+$ mass was observed. The upper limit of the production cross section averaged over the scattering angle of 2$^{\circ}$ to 15$^{\circ}$ in the laboratory frame was obtained to be 0.26 $μ$b/sr in the mass region of 1.51$-$1.55 GeV/$c^2$.The upper limit of the $Θ^+$ decay width using the effective Lagrangian approach was obtained to be 0.72 MeV/$c^2$ and 3.1 MeV/$c^2$ for $J^P_Θ=1/2^+$ and $J^P_Θ=1/2^-$, respectively.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2011

Evidence for 6ΛH

Evidence for the neutron-rich hypernucleus 6ΛH is presented from the FINUDA experiment at DAΦNE, Frascati, studying (π+, π-) pairs in coincidence from the K- +6Li \rightarrow 6 H+π+ production reaction followed by 6ΛH \rightarrow 6He + π- weak decay. The production rate of 6ΛH undergoing this two-body π- decay is determined to be (2.9\pm2.0)\cdot10-6/K-. Its binding energy, evaluated jointly from production and decay, is BΛ(6ΛH) = (4.0\pm1.1) MeV with respect to 5H+Λ. A systematic difference of (0.98 \pm 0.74) MeV between BΛ values derived separately from decay and from production is tentatively assigned to the 6ΛH 0+g.s. \rightarrow 1+ excitation.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2011

The $A(K^-_{stop},π^\pmΣ^\mp)A'$ reaction on p-shell nuclei

This letter is concerned with the study of the $K^-_{stop}A\rightarrow π^\pmΣ^\mp A'$ reaction in p-shell nuclei, i.e., $^{6,7}Li$, $^9Be$, $^{13}C$ and $^{16}O$. The $π^\pmΣ^\mp / K^-_{stop}$ emission rates are reported as a function of $A$. These rates are discussed in comparison with previous findings. The ratio $π^-Σ^+/π^+Σ^-$ in p-shell nuclei is found to depart largely from that on hydrogen, which provides support for large in-medium effects possibly generated by the sub-threshold $Λ(1405)$. The continuum momentum spectra of prompt pions and free sigmas are also discussed as well as the $π^\pmΣ^\mp$ missing mass behavior and the link with the reaction mechanism. The apparatus used for the investigation is the FINUDA spectrometer operating at the DA$Φ$NE $ϕ$-factory (LNF-INFN, Italy).

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2011

Study of some two-body non-mesonic decays of $^4_Λ$He and $^5_Λ$He

The Non-Mesonic (NM) decay of $^4_Λ{\mathrm{He}}$ and $^5_Λ{\mathrm{He}}$ in two-body channels has been studied by the FINUDA Collaboration. Two-body NM decays of hypernuclei are rare and the existing observations and theoretical calculations are scarce. The $^4_Λ{\mathrm{He}}\rightarrow d+d,\; p+t$ decay channels simultaneously observed by FINUDA on several nuclei are compared: the $pt$ channel is the dominant one. The decay yields for the two decay channels are assessed for the first time: they are $(1.37\pm 0.37)\times 10^{-5}/K^-_{stop}$ and $(8.3\pm 1.0)\times 10^{-5}/K^-_{stop}$, respectively. Due to the capability of FINUDA of identifying $^5_Λ{\mathrm{He}}$ hypernuclei, a few $^5_Λ{\mathrm{He}}\rightarrow d+t$ decay events have also been observed. The branching ratio for this decay channel has been measured for the first time: $(3.0\pm 2.3)\times 10^{-3}$.

nucl-ex↗