[en] Artificial neural networks may in some cases present a new important approach to information processing. We have investigated whether the accuracy offered by this technique is good enough to extract physical information from the signals coming from an unsegmented large volume liquid scintillator detector. In particular we wanted to understand whether this method is well suited to be implemented in the Borexino detector for monitoring or for on-line event selection purposes. The results obtained on data from a smaller scale Borexino-like detector, implementing a neural network algorithm on a sequential scalar computer, have been compared to those of a standard best fit procedure

[en] Artificial neural networks may in some cases present a new important approach to information processing. We have investigated whether the accuracy offered by this technique is good enough to extract physical information from the signals coming from an unsegmented large volume liquid scintillator detector. In particular, we wanted to understand whether this method is well suited to be implemented in the Borexino detector for monitoring or for on-line event selection purposes. The results obtained on data from a smaller scale Borexino-like detector, implementing a neural network algorithm on a sequential scalar computer, have been compared to those of a standard best-fit procedure. (orig.)

[en] During the shutdown of the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2013-2014, an additional pixel layer was installed between the existing Pixel detector of the ATLAS experiment and a new, smaller radius beam pipe. The motivation for this new pixel layer, the Insertable B-Layer (IBL), was to maintain or improve the robustness and performance of the ATLAS tracking system, given the higher instantaneous and integrated luminosities realized following the shutdown. Because of the extreme radiation and collision rate environment, several new radiation-tolerant sensor and electronic technologies were utilised for this layer. Furthermore, this paper reports on the IBL construction and integration prior to its operation in the ATLAS detector.

[en] The Italian plan of financial incentives for the renewable energy sources (Res) is mainly addressed to the enhancements of technologies for electricity production, shifting onto the users of the electric system a large share of the costs of the stimulation policy. This approach is not efficient however and it will imply very high costs for achieving the 17% Res figure agreed in the European seat. The paper outlines the feasibility of living up to the undertaken commitment at very lower costs promoting the diffusion of Res for heat generation instead of electricity.

[en] A 4.8 m³ unsegmented liquid scintillation detector at the underground Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso has shown the feasibility of multi-ton low-background detectors operating to energies as low as 250 keV. Detector construction and the handling of large volumes of liquid scintillator to minimize the background are described. The scintillator, 1.5 g PPO/L-pseudocumene, is held in a flexible nylon vessel shielded by 1000 t of purified water. The active detector volume is viewed by 100 photomultipliers, which measure time and charge for each event, from which energy, position and pulse shape are deduced. On-line purification of the scintillator by water extraction, vacuum distillation and nitrogen stripping removed radioactive impurities. Upper limits were established of <10^-7 Bq/kg-scintillator for events with energies 250 keV< E<800 keV, and <10^-9 Bq/kg-scintillator due to the decay products of uranium and thorium. The isotopic abundance of ¹⁴C/¹²C in the scintillator was shown to be approximately 10^-18 by extending the energy window of the detector to 25-250 keV. The ¹⁴C abundance and uranium and thorium levels in the CTF are compatible with the Borexino Solar Neutrino Experiment. (orig.)

[en] We report measurements of the branching fractions for B⁰→π⁺π^- , K⁺π^- , K⁺K^- , and K⁰π⁰ and B⁺→π⁺π⁰ , K⁺π⁰ , K⁰π⁺ , and K⁺ bar K⁰ , based on 10.4 fb^-1 of data collected on the Υ(4S) resonance with the Belle detector. We find B(B⁰→π⁺π^-)=(0.56^+0.23+0.04_{-0.20-0.0 5}) x 10^-5 , B(B⁰→K⁺π^-)=(1.93^{+0.34 +0.15}_-0.32-0.06) x 10^-5 , B(B⁺→K⁺π⁰)=(1.63^+0.35+0.16_{-0.33-0.1 8}) x 10^-5 , B(B⁺→K⁰π⁺)=(1.37^+0.57+0.19_{-0.48-0.1 8}) x 10^-5 , and B(B⁰→K⁰π⁰)=(1.60^+0.72+0.25_{-0.59-0.2 7}) x 10^-5 . We also set upper limits on the branching fractions for B⁺→π⁺π⁰ , B⁰→K⁺K^- , and B⁺→K⁺bar K⁰

[en] We report observations of the Cabibbo suppressed decays B→D^(*)K^- using a 10.4 fb^-1 data sample accumulated at the Υ(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB e⁺e^- storage ring. We find that the ratios of Cabibbo suppressed to Cabibbo favored branching fractions are B(B^-→D⁰K^-)/B(B^- →D⁰π^-)= 0.079± 0.009± 0.006 , B( bar B⁰ →D⁺K^-)/B( bar B⁰→ D⁺π^-) =0.068 ±0.015 ±0.007 , B(B^-→ D^*0K^-) /B(B^- →D^*0π^-)= 0.078± 0.019± 0.009 , and B(bar B⁰→ D^*+K^-)/ B(bar B⁰→ D^*+π^-)=0.074±0.015± 0.006 . These are the first observations of the B→D⁺K^- , D^*0K^- , and D^*+K^- decay processes

[en] We present a measurement of the standard model CP violation parameter sin< hspace SPACE=''-0.167''>2φ₁ based on a 29.1 fb^-1 data sample collected at the Υ(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e⁺e^- collider. One neutral B meson is fully reconstructed as a J/ψK_S , ψ(2S)K_S , χ_c1K_S , η_cK_S , J/ψK_L , or J/ψK^*0 decay and the flavor of the accompanying B meson is identified from its decay products. From the asymmetry in the distribution of the time intervals between the two B meson decay points, we determine sin< hspace SPACE=''-0.167''>2φ₁=0.99± 0.14(stat)±0.06(syst) . We conclude that we have observed CP violation in the neutral B meson system

[en] We describe a method we used to characterize micro-strip sensors, which were non-uniformly irradiated up to a fluence of ∼10¹⁴ 1MeV equivalent neutrons per cm². The method allows for a complete bidimensional mapping of the sensor characteristics over the entire active area. Information is gathered through the Q-V characteristic, measured scanning the sensor with an infra-red laser source. Q-V characteristics are then fitted to a simple analytical model, which returns local full-depletion voltages, carrier lifetimes, etc. With the present method one can even obtain the profile of the absorbed fluence. The development and tuning of the present method have been done in the context of the R and D programs for the micro-strip forward tracker of the BTeV experiment at the Tevatron

[en] This paper presents a system to tag the particle momentum of the wide band primary electrons and positrons beam (PB EAST of FNAL). It consists of five large area microstrip detectors, assembled in a symmetric two lever arm configuration, measuring the particle bend angles across the last pair of beam dipoles. Each silicon plane, 300 μm thickness, consists of 256 microstrips with 300 μm pitch and it is exposed to a rate of about 10⁷ particles per sec. The system is capable to work at the TEVATRON radiofrequency (53 MHz). The readout electronics consists of a fast preamplifier/amplifier, a discriminator and a fast ecl memory. The system is currently used in the heavy quarks photoproduction experiment E687 at Fermilab. Technical construction details, performances of the system (efficiencies, momentum resolution and rates capabilities) are presented