[en] In this paper the correlation between inspection effectiveness, inspection qualification and risk informed inspection will be treated in view of harmonisation of inspection of nuclear plant components. Through the different phases of the PISC programme the necessity has been demonstrated to show the effectiveness of the inspection through a formal process of qualification in order to ensure that a certain level of effectiveness has been reached. Inspection qualification is indeed the way to quantify the capability level of inspection techniques used. The targets to be met by the inspection is information which should be obtained from risk based analyses. (author)

[en] In September 2008 the Slim5 collaboration submitted a low material budget silicon demonstrator to test with protons at the PS beam at CERN. The beam test setup was composed of a four double sided microstrip reference telescope and different detectors (DUTs) placed inside: a 4k-Pixel Matrix of Deep N Well MAPS, developed in a 130 nm CMOS Technology and a high resistivity double sided silicon detector, with short strips at 45⁰ angle to the detectors edge, read out by the FSSR2 chip. All the systems were self-triggered and read out by a fast DAQ system. In the poster the beam test setup as the data acquisition and the trigger system are explained and the data acquisition performances are shown.

[en] The annihilation frequency of the reaction p(bar sign)p→π⁰π⁰ at rest in liquid hydrogen has been measured by the Obelix experiment by using different apparatus configurations and trigger conditions. The value obtained is f(π⁰π⁰, LH)=(2.8±0.1_stat±0.4_syst)x10^-4. With the same data samples, the π⁰η annihilation frequency has been determined to be f(π⁰η, LH)=(0.9±0.2_stat±0.1_syst)x10^-4. The results are discussed within the frame of the present experimental situation

[en] Due to their penetration capability, cosmic muons may provide a way to monitor the alignment and possible long term deformations of large structures, such as historical or other civil buildings. The basic idea behind this possibility is to look for any misalignment between position-sensitive detectors, fixed to different parts of the structure, relative to the original alignment condition. In this paper we discuss the possibility of employing Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPC) as tracking devices, operating them in coincidence with additional detectors without tracking capability. One of the MRPC telescopes (size $158\times <!--\; ??\; -->82$ cm${}^2$) of the Extreme Energy Events (EEE) project, installed in the underground floor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy in Catania, was used together with a $40\times <!--\; ??\; -->60$ cm${}^2$ scintillator-based detector, located at about 16 m vertical distance, on the third floor of the same building. Coincidence measurements were carried out over a period of about two months by shifting the position of the smaller detector, to mimic the movement of the structure. Plans for future studies with different detectors and under different geometrical configurations are also discussed.

[en] Due to their efficiency, tracking capabilities and long-term operational conditions, Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPC) may be used in a stable location in coincidence with additional detectors fixed to other parts of a civil building, to detect relative displacements of different parts of the building due to long term deformations of the structure. In this contribution we report the results of two different measurements carried out in the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Catania (with three floors above the ground and an underground basement), using one of the MRPC telescopes of the Extreme Energy Events project, in coincidence with two scintillator-based muon telescopes located in various positions inside the building. Experimental results obtained by these measurements campaigns over a period of about three months are reported, together with a discussion about the performance of the technique. The sensitivity of the method is also discussed by means of Monte Carlo simulations. (paper)

[en] This paper discusses the possibility to employ the Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPC) of the Extreme Energy Events (EEE) Project as muon tracking detectors to monitor the long term stability of civil buildings and structures when used in conjunction with additional detectors, to reconstruct the average direction of the cosmic muon tracks passing through both devices and any small variation over long time acquisition periods. The performance of such setup is discussed and preliminary experimental coincidence results obtained with a 40× 60 cm² scintillator detector operated in the same building with one of the EEE telescopes, at about 15 m vertical distance from it, are presented. Simple Monte Carlo and GEANT simulations were also carried out to evaluate typical acceptance values for the operating conditions employed so far, to extrapolate to other geometrical configurations, and to evaluate multiple scattering effects.

[en] The relation between the branching ratios and direct CP asymmetries of B→Kπ decays and the angle γ of the CKM unitarity triangle is studied numerically in the general framework of the SU(3) approach, with minimal assumptions about the parameters not fixed by flavor-symmetry arguments. Experimental and theoretical uncertainties are subjected to a statistical treatment according to the Bayesian method. In this context, the experimental limits recently obtained by CLEO, BaBar and Belle for the direct CP asymmetries are translated into the bound vertical stroke γ-90 vertical stroke >21 at the 95% C.L. A detailed analysis is carried out to evaluate the conditions under which measurements of the CP averaged branching ratios may place a significant constraint on γ. Predictions for the ratios of charged (R_c) and neutral (R_n) B→Kπ decays are also presented. (orig.)

[en] The Extreme Energy Events observatory is an extended muon telescope array, covering more than 10 degrees both in latitude and longitude. Its 59 muon telescopes are equipped with tracking detectors based on Multigap Resistive Plate Chamber technology with time resolution of the order of a few hundred picoseconds. The recent restrictions on greenhouse gases demand studies for new gas mixtures in compliance with the relative requirements. Tetrafluoropropene is one of the candidates for tetrafluoroethane substitution, since it is characterized by a Global Warming Potential around 300 times lower than the gas mixtures used up to now. Several mixtures have been tested, measuring efficiency curves, charge distributions, streamer fractions and time resolutions. Results are presented for the whole set of mixtures and operating conditions, focusing on identifying a mixture with good performance at the low rates typical of an EEE telescope.

[en] The Extreme Energy Events (EEE) experiment is the largest system in the world completely implemented with Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPCs). Presently, it consists of a network of 59 muon telescopes, each made of 3 MRPCs, devoted to the study of secondary cosmic rays. Its stations, sometimes hundreds of kilometers apart, are synchronized at a few nanoseconds level via a clock signal delivered by the Global Positioning System. The data collected during centrally coordinated runs are sent to INFN CNAF, the largest center for scientific computing in Italy, where they are reconstructed and made available for analysis. Thanks to the on-line monitoring and data transmission, EEE operates as a single coordinated system spread over an area of about 3 × 10⁵ km². In 2017, the EEE collaboration started an important upgrade program, aiming to extend the network with 20 additional stations, with the option to have more in the future. This implies the construction, testing and commissioning of 60 chambers, for a total detector surface of around 80 m². In this paper, aspects related to this challenging endeavor are covered, starting from the technological solutions chosen to build these state-of-the-art detectors, to the quality controls and the performance tests carried on.

[en] The results obtained by the Slim5 collaboration on a low material budget tracking silicon demonstrator put on a 12 GeV/c proton test beam at CERN are reported. Inside a reference telescope, two different and innovative detectors were placed for careful tests. The first was a 4k-Pixel Matrix of Deep N Well MAPS, developed in a 130 nm CMOS Technology, square pixels 50μm wide, thinned down to 100μm and equipped with a digital sparsified readout running up to 50 MHz. The other was a high resistivity double sided silicon detector, 200μm thick, with short strips with 50μm pitch at 45⁰ angle to the detector's edge. The detectors were equipped with dedicated fast readout architectures performing on-chip data sparsification and providing the timing information for the hits. The criteria followed in the design of the pixel sensor and of the pixel readout architecture will be reviewed. Preliminary measurements of the pixel charge collection, track detection efficiencies and resolutions of pixel and strip sensors are discussed. The data driven architecture of the readout chips has been fully exploited in the test beam by a data acquisition system able to collect on electronic board up to 2.5 Million events per second before triggering. By using a dedicated Associative Memory board, we were able to perform a level 1 trigger system, with minimal latency, identifying cleanly tracks traversing the detectors. System architecture and main performances are shown.