Kwang Souk Sim

Search for the H dibaryon in (K−, K+) reaction with scintillating fiber active target

Abstract We have studied ( K − , K + ) reactions at P K − = 1.66 GeV/c by using a newly developed active target made of plastic scintillating fibers. The H dibaryon ( S = −2, I ( J π ) = 0(0 + )) has been searched for through the direct process, K − + C → K + + H + X , by the analysis of the K + momentum spectrum with the help of visual data of the scintillating fiber target. No evidence for the H production was observed. Upper limits for the differential cross section for the H production in the forward direction of the K + is 0.04–0.6 μb/sr at the 90% confidence level for the H mass range from 1850 to 2215 MeV/c 2 .

Four-layer DOI detector with a relative offset in animal PET system

In order to build an animal PET system with high sensitivity and resolution, we propose a four-layer PET system which provides the DOI (depth of interaction) information. Each crystal layer has a relative offset of half the crystal pitch with each other and uses an identical type of crystals simplifying readout electronics. The proposed system PET system consists of four LYSO (Lu₁₈Y_0.2SiO₅:Ce) or L_0.9GSO (Lu_1.8Gd_0.2 Si_0.4:Ce) crystal layers with a crystal dimension of 1.5times1.5times5.0 mm³. The animal PET system has a diameter of 84 mm with one Hamamatsu H9500 flat panel PMT ring, and can be upgraded to two PMT ring configuration. An estimated efficiency using GATE simulation is ~15% at the center of one detector ring system. We present flood images obtained with a ²²Na radiation source to verify the concepts of the proposed system, and obtained promising results.

SPATIAL AND ENERGY RESOLUTIONS OF A HEXAGONAL ANIMAL PET SCANNER BASED ON LGSO CRYSTAL AND FLAT-PANEL PMT

The aim of this study was to explore the spatial and energy resolutions of a PET scanner that we have recently developed. The scanner, which consists of six detector modules with 1-layer LGSO crystals, has a hexagonal configuration with a faceto-face distance of 86.4 mm between two opposite PET modules; such properties facilitate the imaging of small animals. A 22Na point source was employed to estimate horizontal and vertical spatial resolutions. To assess the energy resolution, a uniform 18F cylindrical phantom was scanned. A software-based spectrum analysis of list-mode data was used to assign a local energy window centered on the photopeak position for every single crystal. For the image reconstruction, an ML-EM algorithm was used. The spatial resolutions at the center of the scanner were 0.99 mm in the horizontal direction and 1.13 mm in the vertical direction. The energy resolution averaged over each PMT ranged from 13.3%-14.3%, which gave an average value of 13.8%. These results show that this simple system is promising for small animal imaging with excellent spatial and energy resolutions.