L. Patrizii

Hardware performance of a scanning system for high speed analysis of nuclear emulsions

The use of nuclear emulsions in very large physics experiments is now possible thanks to the recent improvements in the industrial production of emulsions and to the development of fast automated microscopes. In this paper the hardware performances of the European Scanning System (ESS) are described. The ESS is a very fast automatic system developed for the mass scanning of the emulsions of the OPERA experiment, which requires microscopes with scanning speeds of � 20 cm 2 =h in an emulsion volume of 44mm thickness.

The macro detector at the Gran Sasso Laboratory

Abstract The MACRO detector is presently under construction, its installation at Gran Sasso being planned to start in September 1987. It is a large area detector, the acceptance for isotropic particle fluxes being around 10 000 m 2 sr, designed to search for rare phenomena in the cosmic radiation. It makes use of three detection techniques: liquid scintillator counters, plastic streamer tubes, and track-etch. It will perform a search for GUT monopoles (or any supermassive charged penetrating particle), a survey of cosmic point sources of HE gammas and neutrinos, a systematic study of the penetrating cosmic ray muons, and will be sensitive to neutrino bursts from gravitational stellar collapses in the Galaxy.

The Physics Programme Of The MoEDAL Experiment At The LHC

The MoEDAL experiment at Point 8 of the LHC ring is the seventh and newest LHC experiment. It is dedicated to the search for highly-ionizing particle avatars of physics beyond the Standard Model, extending significantly the discovery horizon of the LHC. A MoEDAL discovery would have revolutionary implications for our fundamental understanding of the Microcosm. MoEDAL is an unconventional and largely passive LHC detector comprised of the largest array of Nuclear Track Detector stacks ever deployed at an accelerator, surrounding the intersection region at Point 8 on the LHC ring. Another novel feature is the use of paramagnetic trapping volumes to capture both electrically and magnetically charged highly-ionizing particles predicted in new physics scenarios. It includes an array of TimePix pixel devices for monitoring highly-ionizing particle backgrounds. The main passive elements of the MoEDAL detector do not require a trigger system, electronic readout, or online computerized data acquisition. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the MoEDAL physics reach, which is largely complementary to the programs of the large multipurpose LHC detectors ATLAS and CMS.

Study of penetrating cosmic ray muons and search for large scale anisotropies at the Gran Sasso Laboratory

Abstract The MACRO detector, located in the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory, had its initial data run from February 27 to May 30, 1989, using the first supermodule (SΩ∼800 m 2 sr ) . Approximately 245 000 muon events were recorded. Here are reported the results of the analysis of penetrating muons which determine the measured vertical muon flux at depths greater than 3000 m.w.e. In addition the data have been used to search for large scale anisotropies.

Fragmentation studies of 158 A GeV Pb ions using CR39 nuclear track detectors

Abstract Six stacks of CR39 [(C12H18O7)n, a Registered Trade Mark of PPG Industries, Inc.] nuclear track detectors with different targets were exposed to a lead ion beam of 158 A GeV at the CERN-SPS, at normal incidence, in order to study the fragmentation properties of ultra-relativistic lead nuclei. Measurements of the total, break-up and pick-up charge-changing cross sections of 158 A GeV Pb ions have been made for the first time.

Energy losses of magnetic monopoles and of dyons in the earth

Abstract In this paper we discuss the energy losses of magnetic monopoles and of dyons in the earths core and mantle over a large range of velocities. The calculations are used to compute the maximum fractional geometrical acceptance for a detector located in one of the underground halls at the Gran Sasso laboratory in central Italy.

Optimization of CR-39 for fast neutron dosimetry applications

Abstract We present the results of an experimental work aimed at improving the performances of the CR-39 ® (Registered Trademark of PPG Industries Inc.) nuclear track detector for neutron dosimetry applications. The work was done in collaboration with the Intercast Europe S.p.A., producer of CR-39 for commercial and scientific applications. We compare the CR-39 made with different additives concentrations and different polymerization processes. We evaluate the response of the CR-39 to fast neutrons from three sources: 241 AmBe, 252 Cf and 238 PuLi. Particular attention was paid to background fluctuations that limit the lower detectable dose.

Energy losses of magnetic monopoles and dyons in scintillators, streamer tubes and nuclear track detectors

A systematic analysis of the energy losses of magnetic monopoles of different magnetic charges and of dyons in three types of detectors are investigated for a large range of β = υc (β > 10−5). More specifically we have computed the light yield in liquid scintillators, the ionization in streamer tubes and the Restricted Energy Loss in the CR39 nuclear track detectors. Also the total energy losses have been analyzed.

Magnetic Monopole Searches

In these lecture notes we discuss the status of the searches for classical Dirac Magnetic Monopoles (MMs) at accelerators, for GUT superheavy MMs in the penetrating cosmic radiation and for Intermediate Mass MMs. Also the searches for nuclearites and Q-balls are considered.

Track reconstruction in the emulsion-lead target of the OPERA experiment using the ESS microscope

The OPERA experiment, designed to conclusively prove the existence of ????? oscillations in the atmospheric sector, makes use of a massive lead-nuclear emulsion target to observe the appearance of ??s in the CNGS ?? beam. The location and analysis of the neutrino interactions in quasi real-time required the development of fast computer-controlled microscopes able to reconstruct particle tracks with sub-micron precision and high efficiency at a speed of ~20 cm2/h. This paper describes the performance in particle track reconstruction of the European Scanning System, a novel automatic microscope for the measurement of emulsion films developed for OPERA.