arXiv subjects

P. Mermod

Publications and source records attributed to P. Mermod.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Search in 8 TeV proton-proton collisions with the MoEDAL monopole-trapping test array

The magnetic monopole appears in theories of spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking and its existence would explain the quantisation of electric charge. MoEDAL is the latest approved LHC experiment, designed to search directly for monopoles produced in high-energy collisions. It has now taken data for the first time. The MoEDAL detectors are based on two complementary techniques: nuclear-track detectors are sensitive to the high-ionisation signature expected from a monopole, and the magnetic monopole trapper (MMT) relies on the stopping and trapping of monopoles inside an aluminium array which is then analysed with a superconducting magnetometer. The first results obtained with the MoEDAL MMT test array deployed in 2012 are presented. This experiment probes monopoles carrying a multiple of the fundamental unit magnetic charge for the first time at the LHC.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2013

Magnetic monopoles at the LHC and in the Cosmos

The magnetic monopole was postulated in 1931 by Dirac to explain electric charge quantisation. Searches for pair-produced monopoles are performed at accelerator facilities whenever a new energy regime is made available. In addition, monopoles with masses too high to be accessible at colliders would still have been produced in the early Universe and such relics can be searched for either in flight or trapped in matter. Here we discuss recent results and future prospects for direct monopole detection at the LHC and in bulk matter searches, with emphasis on the complementarity between the various techniques. Significant improvements of the results from the ATLAS experiment are expected with the development of new triggers. Dedicated LHC experiments will allow to probe wider ranges of monopole charges and masses: the MoEDAL experiment using both nuclear-track detectors and absorbing arrays, and searches for trapped monopoles in accelerator material. Finally, it is highlighted how the first search for monopoles trapped in polar volcanic rocks allows to set new constraints on the abundance of monopoles bound to matter in the Earth's interior and by extension in the primary material that formed the Solar System.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2013

Search for magnetic monopoles in polar volcanic rocks

For a broad range of values of magnetic monopole mass and charge, the abundance of monopoles trapped inside the Earth would be expected to be enhanced in the mantle beneath the geomagnetic poles. A search for magnetic monopoles was conducted using the signature of an induced persistent current following the passage of igneous rock samples through a SQUID-based magnetometer. A total of 24.6 kg of rocks from various selected sites, among which 23.4 kg are mantle-derived rocks from the Arctic and Antarctic areas, was analysed. No monopoles were found and a 90% confidence level upper limit of $9.8\cdot 10^{-5}$/gram is set on the monopole density in the search samples.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2012

Searching for magnetic monopoles trapped in accelerator material at the Large Hadron Collider

If produced in high energy particle collisions at the LHC, magnetic monopoles could stop in material surrounding the interaction points. Obsolete parts of the beam pipe near the CMS interaction region, which were exposed to the products of pp and heavy ion collisions, were analysed using a SQUID-based magnetometer. The purpose of this work is to quantify the performance of the magnetometer in the context of a monopole search using a small set of samples of accelerator material ahead of the 2013 shutdown.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2012

Sensitivity of LHC experiments to exotic highly ionising particles

The experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are able to discover or set limits on the production of exotic particles with TeV-scale masses possessing values of electric and/or magnetic charge such that they behave as highly ionising particles (HIPs). In this paper the sensitivity of the LHC experiments to HIP production is discussed in detail. It is shown that a number of different detection methods are required to investigate as fully as possible the charge-mass range. These include direct detection as the HIPs pass through either passive or active detectors and, in the case of magnetically charged objects, the so-called induction method with which magnetic monopoles which stop in accelerator and detector material could be observed. The benefit of using complementary approaches to HIP detection is discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Light-ion production in the interaction of 96 MeV neutrons with oxygen

Double-differential cross sections for light-ion (p, d, t, He-3 and alpha) production in oxygen, induced by 96 MeV neutrons are reported. Energy spectra are measured at eight laboratory angles from 20 degrees to 160 degrees in steps of 20 degrees. Procedures for data taking and data reduction are presented. Deduced energy-differential and production cross sections are reported. Experimental cross sections are compared to theoretical reaction model calculations and experimental data at lower neutron energies in the literature. The measured proton data agree reasonably well with the results of the model calculations, whereas the agreement for the other particles is less convincing. The measured production cross sections for protons, deuterons, tritons and alpha particles support the trends suggested by data at lower energies.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2004

Light-ion production in the interaction of 96 MeV neutrons with silicon

Double-differential cross sections for light-ion (p, d, t, He-3 and alpha) production in silicon, induced by 96 MeV neutrons are reported. Energy spectra are measured at eight laboratory angles, ranging from 20 degrees to 160 degrees in steps of 20 degrees. Procedures for data taking and data reduction are presented. Deduced energy-differential, angle-differential and production cross sections are reported. Experimental cross sections are compared to theoretical reaction model calculations and experimental data in the literature.

nucl-ex↗