[en] We present the first automated momentum measurement in an Emulsion Cloud Chamber, consisting of multiple sandwiches of lead plates and nuclear emulsion sheets. The measurement is based on the detection of the multiple Coulomb scattering analysed by the so-called angular method. A 3X₀ chamber was exposed to 2, 3 and 4 GeV/c π^-. A pion momentum resolution of 36% at 4 GeV/c, 35% at 3 GeV/c and 28% for 2 GeV/c was achieved

[en] Measurements of the atmospheric flux of muons and other charged particles have been performed at the external site of the Gran Sasso Laboratory (LNGS, Italy, 1000 m a.s.l.), in view of the OPERA experiment. Scintillation counters and nuclear emulsion plates have been used. Rates and angular distributions at several depths of Fe shielding are presented and compared with Monte Carlo simulations

[en] We report on the development of an automated scanning system for nuclear emulsions aiming at very precise spatial and angular measurements. An accuracy of 0.06μm in position was achieved with the emulsion films used for the measurement. An accuracy of 0.4mrad was achieved for tracks penetrating orthogonally the emulsion films while an accuracy of 1mrad was obtained for tracks inclined by about 300mrad with respect to the perpendicular direction. This result shows unprecedented position and angular resolutions achieved by automated measurements

[en] This paper describes the design and performance of a computer controlled emulsion Plate Changer for the automatic placement and removal of nuclear emulsion films for the European Scanning System microscopes. The Plate Changer is used for mass scanning and measurement of the emulsions of the OPERA neutrino oscillation experiment at the Gran Sasso lab on the CNGS neutrino beam. Unlike other systems it works with both dry and oil objectives. The film changing takes less than 20 s and the accuracy on the positioning of the emulsion films is about 10μm. The final accuracy in retrieving track coordinates after fiducial marks measurement is better than 1μm

[en] The technique of nuclear emulsions for high-energy physics experiments is being revived, thanks to the remarkable progress in measurement automation achieved in the past years. The present paper describes the features and performances of the European Scanning System, a last-generation automatic microscope working at a scanning speed of 20cm²/h. The system has been developed in the framework of the OPERA experiment, designed to unambigously detect ν_μ->ν_τ oscillations in nuclear emulsions

[en] The OPERA detector at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory (LNGS) was used to measure the atmospheric muon charge ratio R_μ=N_μ⁺/N_μ^- in the TeV energy region. We analyzed 403069 atmospheric muons corresponding to 113.4 days of lifetime during the 2008 CNGS run. We computed separately the muon charge ratio for single and for multiple muon events in order to select different energy regions of the primary cosmic ray spectrum and to test the R_μ dependence on the primary composition. The measured R_μ values were corrected taking into account the charge-misidentification errors. Data have also been grouped in five bins of the ''vertical surface energy'' E_μ cos θ. A fit to a simplified model of muon production in the atmosphere allowed the determination of the pion and kaon charge ratios weighted by the cosmic ray energy spectrum. (orig.)