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Sample records for panda gem-based tpc

  1. Development of a GEM-based TPC for PANDA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoeppner, Christian; Ketzer, Bernhard; Konorov, Igor; Mann, Alexander; Neubert, Sebastian; Paul, Stephan; Weitzel, Quirin; Woerner, Lisa [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Physik Department E18, 85748 Garching (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    A TPC is considered as the central tracker of the PANDA experiment, which is currently being planned at the new accelerator complex FAIR at Darmstadt. PANDA is designed as an internal target experiment at the antiproton storage ring HESR. The central tracker has to measure particle trajectories over a wide momentum range (0.1-8 GeV/c) from up to 2.10{sup 7} antiproton-proton annihilations/s. The continuous nature of the antiproton beam makes the use of a traditional ion gate impractical. Owing to their intrinsic ion suppression properties, GEM foils are planned as the amplification stage. A small prototype of this GEM-TPC (diameter 200 mm, drift length 77 mm) has been built and characterized with cosmic muons. Results such as spatial resolution, cluster distributions, and diffusion properties are presented in this talk.

  2. Development of a GEM-based high rate TPC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neubert, Sebastian; Hoeppner, Christian; Ketzer, Bernhard; Weitzel, Quirin; Paul, Stefan; Woerner, Lisa; Konorov, Igor; Mann, Alexander [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Physik Department E18, Garching (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    A TPC is considered as the central tracker of the PANDA experiment, which is currently being planned at the new accelerator complex FAIR at Darmstadt. PANDA is designed as an internal target experiment at the antiproton storage ring HESR. The central tracker has to measure particle trajectories over a wide momentum range (0.1-8 GeV/c) from up to 2.10{sup 7} antiproton-proton annihilations/s. The continuous nature of the antiproton beam makes the use of a traditional ion gate impractical. Owing to their intrinsic ion suppression properties, GEM foils are planned as the amplification stage. A small prototype of this GEM-TPC (diameter 200 mm, drift length 77 mm) has been built and characterized with cosmic muons. Results such as spatial resolution, cluster distributions, and diffusion properties are presented in this talk.

  3. Precision meson spectroscopy. Diffractive production at COMPASS and development of a GEM-based TPC for PANDA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weitzel, Quirin

    2008-01-01

    ) has been proposed for the central tracker of PANDA. A continuous operation without ion gate is foreseen, which constitutes a novel development in high-rate particle physics experiments. Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) foils offer an intrinsic ion back-flow suppression combined with high gains, and will therefore be used for gas amplification. A small-size GEM-TPC test chamber has been constructed during this thesis and commissioned using both X-rays and muons from cosmic-ray air-showers. From the latter data, a spatial resolution down to 140 μm has been achieved. The detector has been operated stably for many months with Ar/CO 2 (70/30) and at typical gas amplification factors of (5-10).10 3 . (orig.)

  4. Resolution studies of a GEM-based TPC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Killenberg, M.

    2006-12-15

    Currently there are four different concept studies trying to optimise the detector for the requirements at the ILC. In three of these detector concepts a time projection chamber (TPC) is foreseen as the main tracking device. To achieve the intended spatial resolution of 100 {mu}m, micro pattern gas detectors (MPGD) are considered for gas amplification. The two different MPGDs discussed for the ILC TPC are Micro-Mesh Gaseous Detectors (Micromegas) and Gas Electron Multiplier foils (GEMs). The current thesis shows resolution studies with a TPC prototype equipped with a triple GEM readout structure. A hodoscope made up of silicon strip sensors gives a precision reference track, allowing an unbiased measurement of the spatial resolution. High statistics measurements have been conducted at the DESY test beam facility, which provides positrons with a tunable energy between 1 GeV and 6 GeV. Using the independent measurement of the hodoscope allows systematic studies of the homogeneity of the TPC's electric field. The fluctuations of the field in the chamber's central region were found to be {delta}E/E=8.10{sup -3}. Field distortions have been determined and corrected, reducing the remaining deviations to a level well below the spatial resolution of the TPC. One important task is to reduce the number of ions drifting back into the sensitive volume. Special GEM settings with minimised ion backdrift have been examined with respect to their influence on the spatial resolution and it was found that the spatial resolution is not degraded using these special settings. The TPC prototype has been operated in a 4 T magnetic field, provided by a superconducting solenoid located at DESY Hamburg. Again the spatial resolution measured with the ion backdrift optimised settings is compared to that achieved with nonoptimised settings. In both cases the measured resolution is approximately 130 {mu}m. (orig.)

  5. Resolution studies of a GEM-based TPC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Killenberg, M.

    2006-01-01

    Currently there are four different concept studies trying to optimise the detector for the requirements at the ILC. In three of these detector concepts a time projection chamber (TPC) is foreseen as the main tracking device. To achieve the intended spatial resolution of 100 μm, micro pattern gas detectors (MPGD) are considered for gas amplification. The two different MPGDs discussed for the ILC TPC are Micro-Mesh Gaseous Detectors (Micromegas) and Gas Electron Multiplier foils (GEMs). The current thesis shows resolution studies with a TPC prototype equipped with a triple GEM readout structure. A hodoscope made up of silicon strip sensors gives a precision reference track, allowing an unbiased measurement of the spatial resolution. High statistics measurements have been conducted at the DESY test beam facility, which provides positrons with a tunable energy between 1 GeV and 6 GeV. Using the independent measurement of the hodoscope allows systematic studies of the homogeneity of the TPC's electric field. The fluctuations of the field in the chamber's central region were found to be ΔE/E=8.10 -3 . Field distortions have been determined and corrected, reducing the remaining deviations to a level well below the spatial resolution of the TPC. One important task is to reduce the number of ions drifting back into the sensitive volume. Special GEM settings with minimised ion backdrift have been examined with respect to their influence on the spatial resolution and it was found that the spatial resolution is not degraded using these special settings. The TPC prototype has been operated in a 4 T magnetic field, provided by a superconducting solenoid located at DESY Hamburg. Again the spatial resolution measured with the ion backdrift optimised settings is compared to that achieved with nonoptimised settings. In both cases the measured resolution is approximately 130 μm. (orig.)

  6. Performance of an optical readout GEM-based TPC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Margato, L.M.S.; Fraga, F.A.F.; Fetal, S.T.G.; Fraga, M.M.F.R.; Balau, E.F.S.; Blanco, A.; Marques, R. Ferreira; Policarpo, A.J.P.L

    2004-01-01

    We report on the operation of a GEM-based small TPC using an optical readout. The detector was operated with a mixture of Ar+CF 4 using 5.48 MeV alpha particles obtained from a 241 Am source and the GEM scintillation was concurrently read by a CCD camera and a photomultiplier. Precision collimators were used to define the track orientation. Qualitative results on the accuracy of the track angle, length and charge deposition measurements are presented

  7. Simulation of space-charge effects in an ungated GEM-based TPC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Böhmer, F.V., E-mail: felix.boehmer@tum.de; Ball, M.; Dørheim, S.; Höppner, C.; Ketzer, B.; Konorov, I.; Neubert, S.; Paul, S.; Rauch, J.; Vandenbroucke, M.

    2013-08-11

    A fundamental limit to the application of Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) in high-rate experiments is the accumulation of slowly drifting ions in the active gas volume, which compromises the homogeneity of the drift field and hence the detector resolution. Conventionally, this problem is overcome by the use of ion-gating structures. This method, however, introduces large dead times and restricts trigger rates to a few hundred per second. The ion gate can be eliminated from the setup by the use of Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) foils for gas amplification, which intrinsically suppress the backflow of ions. This makes the continuous operation of a TPC at high rates feasible. In this work, Monte Carlo simulations of the buildup of ion space charge in a GEM-based TPC and the correction of the resulting drift distortions are discussed, based on realistic numbers for the ion backflow in a triple-GEM amplification stack. A TPC in the future P{sup ¯}ANDA experiment at FAIR serves as an example for the experimental environment. The simulations show that space charge densities up to 65 fC cm{sup −3} are reached, leading to electron drift distortions of up to 10 mm. The application of a laser calibration system to correct these distortions is investigated. Based on full simulations of the detector physics and response, we show that it is possible to correct for the drift distortions and to maintain the good momentum resolution of the GEM-TPC.

  8. Simulation of space-charge effects in an ungated GEM-based TPC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Böhmer, F.V.; Ball, M.; Dørheim, S.; Höppner, C.; Ketzer, B.; Konorov, I.; Neubert, S.; Paul, S.; Rauch, J.; Vandenbroucke, M.

    2013-01-01

    A fundamental limit to the application of Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) in high-rate experiments is the accumulation of slowly drifting ions in the active gas volume, which compromises the homogeneity of the drift field and hence the detector resolution. Conventionally, this problem is overcome by the use of ion-gating structures. This method, however, introduces large dead times and restricts trigger rates to a few hundred per second. The ion gate can be eliminated from the setup by the use of Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) foils for gas amplification, which intrinsically suppress the backflow of ions. This makes the continuous operation of a TPC at high rates feasible. In this work, Monte Carlo simulations of the buildup of ion space charge in a GEM-based TPC and the correction of the resulting drift distortions are discussed, based on realistic numbers for the ion backflow in a triple-GEM amplification stack. A TPC in the future P ¯ ANDA experiment at FAIR serves as an example for the experimental environment. The simulations show that space charge densities up to 65 fC cm −3 are reached, leading to electron drift distortions of up to 10 mm. The application of a laser calibration system to correct these distortions is investigated. Based on full simulations of the detector physics and response, we show that it is possible to correct for the drift distortions and to maintain the good momentum resolution of the GEM-TPC

  9. Precision meson spectroscopy. Diffractive production at COMPASS and development of a GEM-based TPC for PANDA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weitzel, Quirin

    2008-09-24

    . Due to its excellent tracking capabilities for charged particles, a time projection chamber (TPC) has been proposed for the central tracker of PANDA. A continuous operation without ion gate is foreseen, which constitutes a novel development in high-rate particle physics experiments. Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) foils offer an intrinsic ion back-flow suppression combined with high gains, and will therefore be used for gas amplification. A small-size GEM-TPC test chamber has been constructed during this thesis and commissioned using both X-rays and muons from cosmic-ray air-showers. From the latter data, a spatial resolution down to 140 {mu}m has been achieved. The detector has been operated stably for many months with Ar/CO{sub 2} (70/30) and at typical gas amplification factors of (5-10).10{sup 3}. (orig.)

  10. Building a large-area GEM-based readout chamber for the upgrade of the ALICE TPC

    CERN Document Server

    Gasik, Piotr

    2017-01-01

    A large Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main device for tracking and charged-particle identification in the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. After the second long shutdown in 2019-2020, the LHC will deliver Pb beams colliding at an interaction rate up to 50 kHz, which is about a factor of 100 above the present read-out rate of the TPC. To fully exploit the LHC potential the TPC will be upgraded based on the Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology. A prototype of an ALICE TPC Outer Read-Out Chamber (OROC) was equipped with twelve large-size GEM foils as amplification stage to demonstrate the feasibility of replacing the current Multi Wire Proportional Chambers with the new technology. With a total area of $\\sim$0.76 m$^2$ it is the largest GEM-based detector built to date. The GEM OROC was installed within a test field cage and commissioned with radioactive sources.

  11. Building a large-area GEM-based readout chamber for the upgrade of the ALICE TPC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gasik, P. [Physik Department E62, Technische Universität München, Garching (Germany); Excellence Cluster ‘Origin and Structure of the Universe’, Garching (Germany)

    2017-02-11

    A large Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main device for tracking and charged-particle identification in the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. After the second long shutdown in 2019–2020, the LHC will deliver Pb beams colliding at an interaction rate up to 50 kHz, which is about a factor of 100 above the present read-out rate of the TPC. To fully exploit the LHC potential the TPC will be upgraded based on the Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology. A prototype of an ALICE TPC Outer Read-Out Chamber (OROC) was equipped with twelve large-size GEM foils as amplification stage to demonstrate the feasibility of replacing the current Multi Wire Proportional Chambers with the new technology. With a total area of ∼0.76 m{sup 2} it is the largest GEM-based detector built to date. The GEM OROC was installed within a test field cage and commissioned with radioactive sources.

  12. Building a large-area GEM-based readout chamber for the upgrade of the ALICE TPC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gasik, P.

    2017-01-01

    A large Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main device for tracking and charged-particle identification in the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. After the second long shutdown in 2019–2020, the LHC will deliver Pb beams colliding at an interaction rate up to 50 kHz, which is about a factor of 100 above the present read-out rate of the TPC. To fully exploit the LHC potential the TPC will be upgraded based on the Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology. A prototype of an ALICE TPC Outer Read-Out Chamber (OROC) was equipped with twelve large-size GEM foils as amplification stage to demonstrate the feasibility of replacing the current Multi Wire Proportional Chambers with the new technology. With a total area of ∼0.76 m 2 it is the largest GEM-based detector built to date. The GEM OROC was installed within a test field cage and commissioned with radioactive sources.

  13. Performance study of a GEM-TPC prototype using cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Yulan; Qi Huirong; Li Jin; Gao Yuanning; Li Yuanjing; Yang Zhenwei; Fujii, Keisuke; Matsuda, Takeshi

    2008-01-01

    Time projection chambers (TPCs) have been successfully used as the central tracking devices in a number of high-energy physics experiments. However, the performance requirements on TPCs for future high-energy physics experiments greatly exceed the abilities of traditional TPCs read out by multi-wire proportional chambers (MWPCs). Micro-pattern gas detectors (MPGDs), such as gas electron multipliers (GEMs) or micromegas, have great potential to improve TPC performance when used as readout detectors. In order to evaluate its feasibility, a GEM-based TPC prototype with a drift length up to 50 cm was designed. Measurements of the spatial resolution of cosmic-ray tracks without and with a magnetic field (B=1 T) are presented. A very good performance is achieved, matching the analytic formula for the spatial resolution of a MPGD-readout TPC. A dedicated study shows that the increase of GEM detector gain can improve the TPC's spatial resolution.

  14. GEM Foil Quality Assurance For The ALICE TPC Upgrade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brücken, Erik; Hildén, Timo

    2018-02-01

    The ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is dedicated to heavy ion physics to explore the structure of strongly interacting matter. The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) of ALICE is a tracking detector located in the central region of the experiment. It offers excellent tracking capabilities as well as particle identification. After the second long shutdown (LS2) the LHC will run at substantially higher luminosities. To be able to increase the data acquisition rate by a factor of 100, the ALICE TPC experiment has to replace the Multi-Wire Proportional Chamber (MWPC) -based readout chambers. The MWPC are operated with gating grid that limits the rate to O(kHz). The new ReadOut Chamber (ROC) design is based on Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology operating in continuous mode. The current GEM productions scheme foresees the production of more than 800 GEM foils of different types. To fulfill the requirements on the performance of the GEM TPC readout, necessitates thorough Quality Assurance (QA) measures. The QA scheme, developed by the ALICE collaboration, will be presented in detail.

  15. GEM Foil Quality Assurance For The ALICE TPC Upgrade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brücken Erik

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC at CERN is dedicated to heavy ion physics to explore the structure of strongly interacting matter. The Time Projection Chamber (TPC of ALICE is a tracking detector located in the central region of the experiment. It offers excellent tracking capabilities as well as particle identification. After the second long shutdown (LS2 the LHC will run at substantially higher luminosities. To be able to increase the data acquisition rate by a factor of 100, the ALICE TPC experiment has to replace the Multi-Wire Proportional Chamber (MWPC –based readout chambers. The MWPC are operated with gating grid that limits the rate to O(kHz. The new ReadOut Chamber (ROC design is based on Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM technology operating in continuous mode. The current GEM productions scheme foresees the production of more than 800 GEM foils of different types. To fulfill the requirements on the performance of the GEM TPC readout, necessitates thorough Quality Assurance (QA measures. The QA scheme, developed by the ALICE collaboration, will be presented in detail.

  16. arXiv GEM Foil Quality Assurance For The ALICE TPC Upgrade

    CERN Document Server

    INSPIRE-00019412; Hildén, Timo

    2018-01-01

    The ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is dedicated to heavy ion physics to explore the structure of strongly interacting matter. The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) of ALICE is a tracking detector located in the central region of the experiment. It offers excellent tracking capabilities as well as particle identification. After the second long shutdown (LS2) the LHC will run at substantially higher luminosities. To be able to increase the data acquisition rate by a factor of 100, the ALICE TPC experiment has to replace the Multi-Wire Proportional Chamber (MWPC) –based readout chambers. The MWPC are operated with gating grid that limits the rate to O(kHz). The new ReadOut Chamber (ROC) design is based on Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology operating in continuous mode. The current GEM productions scheme foresees the production of more than 800 GEM foils of different types. To fulfill the requirements on the performance of the GEM TPC readout, nec...

  17. Performance Evaluation of the COBRA GEM for the Application of the TPC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terasaki, Kohei; Hamagaki, Hideki; Gunji, Taku; Yamaguchi, Yorito

    2014-09-01

    Suppression of the back-drifting ions from avalanche region to drift space (IBF: Ion Backflow) is the key for a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) since IBF easily distorts the drift field. To suppress IBF, Gating Grid system is widely used for the TPC but this limits the data taking rate. Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) has advantages in the reduction of IBF and high rate capability. By adopting GEM, it is possible to run a TPC continuously under high rate and high multiplicity conditions. Motivated by the study of IBF reduction for RICH with Thick COBRA, which has been developed by F. A. Amero et al., we developed COBRA GEMs for the application of a TPC. With a stack configuration, IBF reaches about 0.1 ~ 0.5%, which is ×5--10 better IBF than the standard GEMs. However, the measured energy resolution with COBRA is 20% (σ) and this is much worse than the resolution with standard GEMs. Measurement of long-time stability of gain indicates that gain of COBRA varies significantly due to charging up effect. Simulation studies based on Garfield++ are performed for understanding quantitatively the reasons of worse energy resolution and instability of gain. In this presentation, we will report the simulation studies together with the measured performance of the COBRA GEM.

  18. 3D simulation of electron and ion transmission of GEM-based detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharya, Purba; Mohanty, Bedangadas; Mukhopadhyay, Supratik; Majumdar, Nayana; da Luz, Hugo Natal

    2017-10-01

    Time Projection Chamber (TPC) has been chosen as the main tracking system in several high-flux and high repetition rate experiments. These include on-going experiments such as ALICE and future experiments such as PANDA at FAIR and ILC. Different R&D activities were carried out on the adoption of Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) as the gas amplification stage of the ALICE-TPC upgrade version. The requirement of low ion feedback has been established through these activities. Low ion feedback minimizes distortions due to space charge and maintains the necessary values of detector gain and energy resolution. In the present work, Garfield simulation framework has been used to study the related physical processes occurring within single, triple and quadruple GEM detectors. Ion backflow and electron transmission of quadruple GEMs, made up of foils with different hole pitch under different electromagnetic field configurations (the projected solutions for the ALICE TPC) have been studied. Finally a new triple GEM detector configuration with low ion backflow fraction and good electron transmission properties has been proposed as a simpler GEM-based alternative suitable for TPCs for future collider experiments.

  19. Live event reconstruction in an optically read out GEM-based TPC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunbauer, F. M.; Galgóczi, G.; Gonzalez Diaz, D.; Oliveri, E.; Resnati, F.; Ropelewski, L.; Streli, C.; Thuiner, P.; van Stenis, M.

    2018-04-01

    Combining strong signal amplification made possible by Gaseous Electron Multipliers (GEMs) with the high spatial resolution provided by optical readout, highly performing radiation detectors can be realized. An optically read out GEM-based Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is presented. The device permits 3D track reconstruction by combining the 2D projections obtained with a CCD camera with timing information from a photomultiplier tube. Owing to the intuitive 2D representation of the tracks in the images and to automated control, data acquisition and event reconstruction algorithms, the optically read out TPC permits live display of reconstructed tracks in three dimensions. An Ar/CF4 (80/20%) gas mixture was used to maximize scintillation yield in the visible wavelength region matching the quantum efficiency of the camera. The device is integrated in a UHV-grade vessel allowing for precise control of the gas composition and purity. Long term studies in sealed mode operation revealed a minor decrease in the scintillation light intensity.

  20. A large ungated TPC with GEM amplification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berger, M.; Ball, M.; Fabbietti, L.; Ketzer, B.; Arora, R.; Beck, R.; Böhmer, F. V.; Chen, J.-C.; Cusanno, F.; Dørheim, S.; García, F.; Hehner, J.; Herrmann, N.; Höppner, C.; Kaiser, D.; Kis̆, M.; Kleipa, V.; Konorov, I.; Kunkel, J.; Kurz, N.; Leifels, Y.; Müllner, P.; Münzer, R.; Neubert, S.; Rauch, J.; Schmidt, C. J.; Schmitz, R.; Soyk, D.; Vandenbroucke, M.; Voss, B.; Walther, D.; Zmeskal, J.

    2017-10-01

    A Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is an ideal device for the detection of charged particle tracks in a large volume covering a solid angle of almost 4 π. The high density of hits on a given particle track facilitates the task of pattern recognition in a high-occupancy environment and in addition provides particle identification by measuring the specific energy loss for each track. For these reasons, TPCs with Multiwire Proportional Chamber (MWPC) amplification have been and are widely used in experiments recording heavy-ion collisions. A significant drawback, however, is the large dead time of the order of 1 ms per event generated by the use of a gating grid, which is mandatory to prevent ions created in the amplification region from drifting back into the drift volume, where they would severely distort the drift path of subsequent tracks. For experiments with higher event rates this concept of a conventional TPC operating with a triggered gating grid can therefore not be applied without a significant loss of data. A continuous readout of the signals is the more appropriate way of operation. This, however, constitutes a change of paradigm with considerable challenges to be met concerning the amplification region, the design and bandwidth of the readout electronics, and the data handling. A mandatory prerequisite for such an operation is a sufficiently good suppression of the ion backflow from the avalanche region, which otherwise limits the tracking and particle identification capabilities of such a detector. Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM) are a promising candidate to combine excellent spatial resolution with an intrinsic suppression of ions. In this paper we describe the design, construction and the commissioning of a large TPC with GEM amplification and without gating grid (GEM-TPC). The design requirements have driven innovations in the construction of a light-weight field-cage, a supporting media flange, the GEM amplification and the readout system, which are

  1. Investigations of the long-term stability of a GEM-TPC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fedorchuk, Oleksiy [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg (Germany); Universitaet Hamburg, Institut fuer Experimentalphysik, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg (Germany); Collaboration: LCTPC-Deutschland-Collaboration

    2016-07-01

    For the International Large Detector (ILD) at the planned International Linear Collider (ILC) a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is foreseen as the main tracking detector. The gas amplification will be done by Micro Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGD). One option is to use Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM).While the applicability of GEMs for the gas amplification in a TPC readout has been shown, the focus of the current research is to improve the high voltage stability and reliability of the readout modules. This is a crucial requirement for the operation in the final ILD TPC. The main focus of the research presented in this talk is on studies of the discharge stability and operational features of large area 22 x 18 cm{sup 2} GEM foils. We present systematic studies of the stability of GEM foils under different operation conditions. These studies include measurements and calculations of the dynamic behavior of charges in the GEM foils after a trip. The results will be used to develop methods to avoid destructive discharges in the final readout module.

  2. Development of a time projection chamber using gas electron multipliers (GEM-TPC)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oda, S.X.; Hamagaki, H.; Ozawa, K.; Inuzuka, M.; Sakaguchi, T.; Isobe, T.; Gunji, T.; Morino, Y.; Saito, S.; Yamaguchi, Y.L.; Sawada, S.; Yokkaichi, S.

    2006-01-01

    We developed a prototype time projection chamber using gas electron multipliers (GEM-TPC) for high energy heavy ion collision experiments. To investigate its performance, we conducted a beam test with three kinds of gases (Ar(90%)-CH 4 (10%), Ar(70%)-C 2 H 6 (30%) and CF 4 ). Detection efficiency of 99%, and spatial resolution of 79μm in the pad-row direction and 313μm in the drift direction were achieved. The test results show that the GEM-TPC meets the requirements for high energy heavy ion collision experiments. The configuration and performance of the GEM-TPC are described

  3. Spatial resolution studies of a GEM-TPC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berger, Martin [TU Muenchen, 85748 Garching (Germany); Collaboration: GEM-TPC-Collaboration

    2015-07-01

    A GEM-TPC can exploit the intrinsic suppression of back drifting ions from the amplification stage of the GEM (Gas Electron Multiplier) foils to overcome the problem of drift-field distortions in an ungated operation. To explore the possibility of such a continuously running TPC (Time Projection Chamber) a large-size detector was built. This detector, with a drift length of 728 mm and a radius of 308 mm and a total of 10254 electronic channels, was designed as an upgrade for the FOPI experiment at GSI (Darmstadt, Germany) to improve the secondary vertex resolution especially for K{sup 0}{sub S}- and Λ-reconstruction and the PID capabilities. After commissioning a large statistics of cosmic data and beam-target reactions has been collected and the obtained tracks in the TPC have been used to improve the tracking algorithms. During the track finding and fitting procedure a clustering algorithm which takes into account the track topology as well as the full 3D spatial information is employed. The the clustering algorithm, the cluster error calculation and the tracking resolution are discussed in this contribution.

  4. Energy resolution studies of an IROC GEM prototype for the ALICE TPC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mathis, Andreas [TU Muenchen, Physik Department E12, Excellence Cluster ' ' Universe' ' , D-85748, Garching (Germany); Collaboration: ALICE-Collaboration

    2015-07-01

    The ALICE collaboration (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is planning an upgrade of its central barrel detectors, to be able to cope with the increased LHC luminosity beyond 2018. In order to fully exploit the increase in collision rate to about 50 kHz in Pb-Pb, the TPC is foreseen to be operated in an ungated mode with continuous readout. This demands for a replacement of the currently used, gated MWPC by GEM-based readout chambers, while retaining the present tracking and particle identification capabilities of the TPC via measurement of the specific energy loss (dE/dx). The present baseline solution for the TPC upgrade consists of a stack of four large-sized GEM foils as amplification stage, containing both Standard (S, 140 μm) and Large Pitch (LP, 280 μm) GEM foils arranged in the order S-LP-LP-S. This arrangement has been proven as advantageous in terms of ion backflow and energy resolution. A prototype of an ALICE IROC (Inner Readout Chamber) was equipped with such a quadruple GEM stack, installed inside a field cage and exposed to a beam of electrons and pions from the CERN PS. The performance of the prototype in terms of energy resolution has been evaluated and is presented.

  5. Studies of characteristics of triple GEM detector for the ALICE-TPC upgrade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patra, Rajendra Nath; Singaraju, R.N.; Ahammed, Z.; Nayak, T.K.; Biswas, S.

    2015-01-01

    Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) is a novel gas detector in the field of radiation detection. GEM detectors have tremendous advantages over other types gas detectors like high rate handling capability with high efficiency and very low ion back flow (IBF). These detectors are most suitable for the use in the future experiments in high-energy proton-proton and heavy-ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN and Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) at GSI. A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) at the LHC is a dedicated experiment for the study of Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). In few years, the data taking rate for Pb-Pb collisions will increase by 100 times to 50 KHz. The ALICE Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main tracking detector in ALICE. It is planned that by the year 2018, GEM detectors will replace the present readout planes of TPC. The goal of the present study is to characterize the GEM detector to achieve the performance goal of the TPC

  6. First measurement of dE/dx with a GEM-based TPC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Böhmer, F.V.; Ball, M.; Dørheim, S.; Eckstein, K.; Hönle, A.; Höppner, C.; Ketzer, B.; Konorov, I.; Neubert, S.; Paul, S.; Rauch, J.; Uhl, S.; Vandenbroucke, M.; Berger, M.; Berger-Chen, J.-C.; Cusanno, F.; Fabbietti, L.; Gasik, P.; Münzer, R.; Arora, R.

    2014-01-01

    In this work we present the first measurement of the specific energy loss (dE/dx) and an analysis of the resulting charged-particle identification (PID) capabilities of a large-scale TPC with GEM-based gas amplification. The data has been recorded inside the FOPI spectrometer at GSI, Germany, using reactions of 1.7 GeV/c pions impinging on a carbon target. In the specific energy loss spectrum clear bands for pions, kaons, protons and deuterons are observed. The specific energy loss resolution is studied as a function of the total particle momentum and as a function of the track length. It is found to be ∼15%, consistent with expectations

  7. First measurement of dE/dx with a GEM-based TPC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Böhmer, F.V., E-mail: felix.boehmer@tum.de [Technische Universität München, Physik Department E18, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Ball, M.; Dørheim, S.; Eckstein, K.; Hönle, A.; Höppner, C.; Ketzer, B.; Konorov, I.; Neubert, S.; Paul, S.; Rauch, J.; Uhl, S.; Vandenbroucke, M. [Technische Universität München, Physik Department E18, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Berger, M.; Berger-Chen, J.-C.; Cusanno, F.; Fabbietti, L.; Gasik, P.; Münzer, R. [Excellence Cluster Universe, Technische Universität München, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Arora, R. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); and others

    2014-02-11

    In this work we present the first measurement of the specific energy loss (dE/dx) and an analysis of the resulting charged-particle identification (PID) capabilities of a large-scale TPC with GEM-based gas amplification. The data has been recorded inside the FOPI spectrometer at GSI, Germany, using reactions of 1.7 GeV/c pions impinging on a carbon target. In the specific energy loss spectrum clear bands for pions, kaons, protons and deuterons are observed. The specific energy loss resolution is studied as a function of the total particle momentum and as a function of the track length. It is found to be ∼15%, consistent with expectations.

  8. Studies on GEM modules for a Large Prototype TPC for the ILC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsionou, Dimitra

    2017-01-01

    The International Linear Collider (ILC) is a future electron–positron collider with centre of mass energy of 500–1000 GeV. The International Large Detector (ILD) is one of two detector concepts at the ILC. Its high precision tracking system consists of Silicon sub-detectors and a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) equipped with micro-pattern gas detectors (MPGDs). Within the framework of the LCTPC collaboration, a Large Prototype (LP) TPC has been built as a demonstrator. This prototype has been equipped with Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) modules and studied with electron beams of energies 1–6 GeV at the DESY test beam facility. The performance of the prototype detector and the extrapolation to the ILD TPC is presented here. In addition, ongoing optimisation studies and R&D activities in order to prepare the next GEM module iteration are discussed.

  9. Studies on GEM modules for a Large Prototype TPC for the ILC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsionou, Dimitra, E-mail: dimitra.tsionou@desy.de

    2017-02-11

    The International Linear Collider (ILC) is a future electron–positron collider with centre of mass energy of 500–1000 GeV. The International Large Detector (ILD) is one of two detector concepts at the ILC. Its high precision tracking system consists of Silicon sub-detectors and a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) equipped with micro-pattern gas detectors (MPGDs). Within the framework of the LCTPC collaboration, a Large Prototype (LP) TPC has been built as a demonstrator. This prototype has been equipped with Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) modules and studied with electron beams of energies 1–6 GeV at the DESY test beam facility. The performance of the prototype detector and the extrapolation to the ILD TPC is presented here. In addition, ongoing optimisation studies and R&D activities in order to prepare the next GEM module iteration are discussed.

  10. Studies on GEM modules for a large prototype TPC for the ILC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsionou, Dimitra

    2016-12-01

    The International Linear Collider (ILC) is a future electron-positron collider with centre of mass energy of 500-1000 GeV. The International Large Detector (ILD) is one of two detector concepts at the ILC. Its high precision tracking system consists of Silicon sub-detectors and a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) equipped with micro-pattern gas detectors (MPGDs). Within the framework of the LCTPC collaboration, a Large Prototype (LP) TPC has been built as a demonstrator. This prototype has been equipped with Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) modules and studied with electron beams of energies 1-6 GeV at the DESY test beam facility. The performance of the prototype detector and the extrapolation to the ILD TPC is presented here. In addition, ongoing optimisation studies and R and D; activities in order to prepare the next GEM module iteration are discussed.

  11. GEM detector performance with innovative micro-TPC readout in high magnetic field

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garzia I.

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Gas detector development is one of the pillars of the research in fundamental physics. Since several years, a new concept of detectors, called Micro Pattern Gas Detector (MPGD, allowed to overcome several problems related to other types of commonly used detectors, like drift chamber and micro strips detectors, reducing the rate of discharges and providing better radiation tolerance. Among the most used MPGDs are the Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs. Invented by Sauli in 1997, nowadays GEMs have become an important reality for particle detectors in high energy physics. Commonly deployed as fast timing detectors and triggers, their fast response, high rate capability and high radiation hardness make them also suitable as tracking detectors. The readout scheme is one of the most important features in tracking technology. Analog readout based on the calculation of the center of gravity technique allows to overcome the limit imposed by digital pads, whose spatial resolution is limited by the pitch dimensions. However, the presence of high external magnetic fields can distort the electronic cloud and affect the performance. The development of the micro-TPC reconstruction method brings GEM detectors into a new prospective, improving significantly the spatial resolutionin presence of high magnetic fields. This innovative technique allows to reconstruct the 3-dimensional particle position, as Time Projection Chamber, but within a drift gap of a few millimeters. In these report, the charge centroid and micro-TPC methods are described in details. We discuss the results of several test beams performed with planar chambers in magnetic field. These results are one of the first developments of micro-TPC technique for GEM detectors, which allows to reach unprecedented performance in a high magnetic field of 1 T.

  12. GEM detector performance with innovative micro-TPC readout in high magnetic field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garzia, I.; Alexeev, M.; Amoroso, A.; Baldini Ferroli, R.; Bertani, M.; Bettoni, D.; Bianchi, F.; Calcaterra, A.; Canale, N.; Capodiferro, M.; Cassariti, V.; Cerioni, S.; Chai, J. Y.; Chiozzi, S.; Cibinetto, G.; Cossio, F.; Cotta Ramusino, A.; De Mori, F.; Destefanis, M.; Dong, J.; Evangelisti, F.; Evangelisti, F.; Farinelli, R.; Fava, L.; Felici, G.; Fioravanti, E.; Gatta, M.; Greco, M.; Lavezzi, L.; Leng, C. Y.; Li, H.; Maggiora, M.; Malaguti, R.; Marcello, S.; Melchiorri, M.; Mezzadri, G.; Mignone, M.; Morello, G.; Pacetti, S.; Patteri, P.; Pellegrino, J.; Pelosi, A.; Rivetti, A.; Rolo, M. D.; Savrié, M.; Scodeggio, M.; Soldani, E.; Sosio, S.; Spataro, S.; Tskhadadze, E.; Verma, S.; Wheadon, R.; Yan, L.

    2018-01-01

    Gas detector development is one of the pillars of the research in fundamental physics. Since several years, a new concept of detectors, called Micro Pattern Gas Detector (MPGD), allowed to overcome several problems related to other types of commonly used detectors, like drift chamber and micro strips detectors, reducing the rate of discharges and providing better radiation tolerance. Among the most used MPGDs are the Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs). Invented by Sauli in 1997, nowadays GEMs have become an important reality for particle detectors in high energy physics. Commonly deployed as fast timing detectors and triggers, their fast response, high rate capability and high radiation hardness make them also suitable as tracking detectors. The readout scheme is one of the most important features in tracking technology. Analog readout based on the calculation of the center of gravity technique allows to overcome the limit imposed by digital pads, whose spatial resolution is limited by the pitch dimensions. However, the presence of high external magnetic fields can distort the electronic cloud and affect the performance. The development of the micro-TPC reconstruction method brings GEM detectors into a new prospective, improving significantly the spatial resolutionin presence of high magnetic fields. This innovative technique allows to reconstruct the 3-dimensional particle position, as Time Projection Chamber, but within a drift gap of a few millimeters. In these report, the charge centroid and micro-TPC methods are described in details. We discuss the results of several test beams performed with planar chambers in magnetic field. These results are one of the first developments of micro-TPC technique for GEM detectors, which allows to reach unprecedented performance in a high magnetic field of 1 T.

  13. Characteristics of triple GEM detector for the ALICE TPC upgrade at CERN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patra, Rajendra Nath; Singaraju, R.N.; Ahammed, Z.; Nayak, T.K.; Viyogi, Y.P.; Biswas, S.

    2016-01-01

    Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detector, introduced by F. Sauliin 1997 and has been widely improved in last two decades for applications to high energy physics experiments and imaging. GEM detectors have several advantages, like good spatial resolution (∼100 μm), high detection efficiency (>98%), high rate handling capability (∼105 Hz/mm"2 ) and reasonable time response (∼5 ns). The unique features of the GEM detector make it suitable for experiments at Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN and FAIR at GSI. With the increase of beam luminosity of LHC for its next phase of running from the year 2020, the ALICE experiment is planning to take data for PbPb collisions at a rate of 50 kHz. The ALICE Time Projection Chamber (TPC) will be upgraded by GEM based read-out to fulfil this future goal. In this report, results of a thorough test in the laboratory using a newly developed online data monitoring system are discussed

  14. A TPC-like readout method for high precision muon-tracking using GEM-detectors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Flierl, Bernhard; Biebel, Otmar; Bortfeldt, Jonathan; Hertenberger, Ralf; Klitzner, Felix; Loesel, Philipp; Mueller, Ralph [Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen (Germany); Zibell, Andre [Julius-Maximilians-Universitaet Wuerzburg (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    Gaseous electron multiplier (GEM) detectors are well suited for tracking of charged particles. Three dimensional tracking in a single layer can be achieved by application of a time-projection-chamber like readout mode (μTPC), if the drift time of the electrons is measured and the position dependence of the arrival time is used to calculate the inclination angle of the track. To optimize the tracking capabilities for ion tracks drift gas mixtures with low drift velocity have been investigated by measuring tracks of cosmic muons in a compact setup of four GEM-detectors of 100 x 100 x 6 mm{sup 3} active volume each and an angular acceptance of -25 to 25 . The setup consists of three detectors with two-dimensional strip readout layers of 0.4 mm pitch and one detector with a single strip readout layer of 0.25 mm pitch. All strips are readout by APV25 frontend boards and the amplification stage in the detectors consists of three GEM-foils. Tracks are reconstructed by the μTPC-method in one of the detectors and are then compared to the prediction from the other three detectors defined by the center of charge in every detector. We report our study of Argon and Helium based noble gas mixtures with carbon-dioxide as quencher.

  15. A Continuously Running High-Rate GEM-TPC for P-bar ANDA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boehmer, F.V.; Angerer, H.; Dorheim, S.; Hoeppner, C.; Ketzer, B.; Konorov, I.; Neubert, S.; Paul, S.; Vandenbroucke, M.; Zhang, X.; Berger, M.; Cusanno, F.; Fabbietti, L.; Lalik, R.; Beck, R.; Kaiser, D.; Lang, M.; Schmitz, R.; Walther, D.; Winnebeck, A.

    2011-01-01

    The P-bar ANDA fixed target experiment planned at FAIR will investigate fundamental questions of non-perturbative QCD. It makes use of a cooled antiproton beam (momentum: 1.5 to 15GeV/c) and will reach luminosities of up to 2.10 32 cm -2 s -1 , yielding a p-bar p-annihilation rate of 2.10 7 s -1 . One option for the central tracker of P-bar ANDA is a cylindrical, ungated, continuously running TPC with GEM-based gas amplification stage.

  16. A Continuously Running High-Rate GEM-TPC for P-bar ANDA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boehmer, F.V., E-mail: felix.valentin.boehmer@cern.ch [Technische Universitaet Muenchen Physik Department, James-Franck-Strasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Angerer, H.; Dorheim, S.; Hoeppner, C.; Ketzer, B.; Konorov, I.; Neubert, S.; Paul, S.; Vandenbroucke, M.; Zhang, X. [Technische Universitaet Muenchen Physik Department, James-Franck-Strasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Berger, M.; Cusanno, F.; Fabbietti, L.; Lalik, R. [Excellence Cluster Universe, Muenchen (Germany); Beck, R.; Kaiser, D.; Lang, M.; Schmitz, R.; Walther, D.; Winnebeck, A. [Helmholtz-Institut fuer Strahlen- und Kernphysik, Bonn (Germany)

    2011-06-15

    The P-bar ANDA fixed target experiment planned at FAIR will investigate fundamental questions of non-perturbative QCD. It makes use of a cooled antiproton beam (momentum: 1.5 to 15GeV/c) and will reach luminosities of up to 2.10{sup 32}cm{sup -2}s{sup -1}, yielding a p-bar p-annihilation rate of 2.10{sup 7}s{sup -1}. One option for the central tracker of P-bar ANDA is a cylindrical, ungated, continuously running TPC with GEM-based gas amplification stage.

  17. A GEM-TPC prototype with low-Noise highly integrated front-end electronics for linear collider studies

    CERN Document Server

    Kappler, Steffen; Kaminski, Jochen; Ledermann, Bernhard; Müller, Thomas; Ronan, Michael T; Ropelewski, Leszek; Sauli, Fabio; Settles, Ronald

    2004-01-01

    Connected to the linear collider project, studies on the readout of time projection chambers (TPCs) based on the gas electron multiplier (GEM) are ongoing. Higher granularity and intrinsically suppressed ion feedback are the major advantages of this technology. After a short discussion of these issues, we present the design of a small and very flexible TPC prototype, whose cylindrical drift volume can be equipped with endcaps of different gas detector types. An endcap with multi-GEM readout is currently set up and successfully operated with a low-noise highly integrated front-end electronics. We discuss results of measurements with this system in high intensity particle beams at CERN, where 99.3 plus or minus 0.2% single-pad-row efficiency could be achieved at an effective gain of 2.5 multiplied by 10**3 only, and spatial resolutions down to 63 plus or minus 3 mum could be demonstrated. Finally, these results are extrapolated to the high magnetic field in a linear collider TPC. 5 Refs.

  18. Methods and results for calibration and track separation of a GEM based TPC using an UV-laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ball, Markus

    2008-12-01

    In the last 30 years high energy physics could write an impressive story of success. Since the introduction of the Standard Model (SM), it has met every experimental test. However the final confirmation has to prove the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking, which could not be confirmed yet. The most favored theory, which includes the introduction of a Higgs field, could not be verified experimentally. Furthermore there is clear evidence, that the SM is only a low energy description of nature and its principles, as the SM describes only 4 % of the known matter in the universe. There are two different approaches in accelerator driven high energy physics to clarify the open questions. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have a good opportunity to measure some of the missing pieces with its high center of mass energy. The International Linear Collider (ILC) will then measure their parameters with high precision. To guarantee this high precision the detectors have to be able to identify every single particle and determine its properties with high accuracy. These high requirements to the single detectors as well as the interconnectivity between all detectors are summarised by the concept of particle flow (PFLOW). This means that all particles must be separable, which includes in particular the main tracking device. A possible candidate for the central tracking device is a Time Projection Chamber (TPC). In this work a TPC with Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM) as gas amplification system was used. The GEMs replace the conventional wire amplification system of the TPC. In this PhD work a method to determine the drift velocity of a TPC was developed and tested using an ultraviolet laser. To ensure a high accuracy of the method all relevant gas parameters were measured with a slow control system. Furthermore the laser was used to investigate the separation capability of nearby tracks. Therefore an existing TPC prototype, which was developed to operate in a 5 T magnet facility

  19. Methods and results for calibration and track separation of a GEM based TPC using an UV-laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ball, Markus

    2008-12-15

    In the last 30 years high energy physics could write an impressive story of success. Since the introduction of the Standard Model (SM), it has met every experimental test. However the final confirmation has to prove the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking, which could not be confirmed yet. The most favored theory, which includes the introduction of a Higgs field, could not be verified experimentally. Furthermore there is clear evidence, that the SM is only a low energy description of nature and its principles, as the SM describes only 4 % of the known matter in the universe. There are two different approaches in accelerator driven high energy physics to clarify the open questions. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have a good opportunity to measure some of the missing pieces with its high center of mass energy. The International Linear Collider (ILC) will then measure their parameters with high precision. To guarantee this high precision the detectors have to be able to identify every single particle and determine its properties with high accuracy. These high requirements to the single detectors as well as the interconnectivity between all detectors are summarised by the concept of particle flow (PFLOW). This means that all particles must be separable, which includes in particular the main tracking device. A possible candidate for the central tracking device is a Time Projection Chamber (TPC). In this work a TPC with Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM) as gas amplification system was used. The GEMs replace the conventional wire amplification system of the TPC. In this PhD work a method to determine the drift velocity of a TPC was developed and tested using an ultraviolet laser. To ensure a high accuracy of the method all relevant gas parameters were measured with a slow control system. Furthermore the laser was used to investigate the separation capability of nearby tracks. Therefore an existing TPC prototype, which was developed to operate in a 5 T magnet facility

  20. Development of the GEM-TPC X-ray Polarimeter with the Scalable Readout System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kitaguchi Takao

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available We have developed a gaseous Time Projection Chamber (TPC containing a single-layered foil of a gas electron multiplier (GEM to open up a new window on cosmic X-ray polarimetry in the 2–10 keV band. The micro-pattern TPC polarimeter in combination with the Scalable Readout System produced by the RD51 collaboration has been built as an engineering model to optimize detector parameters and improve polarimeter sensitivity. The polarimeter was characterized with unpolarized X-rays from an X-ray generator in a laboratory and polarized X-rays on the BL32B2 beamline at the SPring-8 synchrotron radiation facility. Preliminary results show that the polarimeter has a comparable modulation factor to a prototype of the flight one.

  1. A time projection chamber with GEM-based readout

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Attié, David [CEA Saclay, IRFU, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Behnke, Ties [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, A Research Centre of the Helmholtz Association, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg (Hamburg site) (Germany); Bellerive, Alain [Carleton University, Department of Physics, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6 (Canada); Bezshyyko, Oleg [Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, 64/13, Volodymyrska Street, City of Kyiv 01601 (Ukraine); Bhattacharya, Deb Sankar [CEA Saclay, IRFU, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); now at Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF, Sector 1, Bidhan Nagar, Kolkata 700064 (India); Bhattacharya, Purba [Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF, Sector 1, Bidhan Nagar, Kolkata 700064 (India); now at National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) Bhubaneswar, P.O. Jatni, Khurda 752050, Odisha (India); Bhattacharya, Sudeb [Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF, Sector 1, Bidhan Nagar, Kolkata 700064 (India); Caiazza, Stefano [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, A Research Centre of the Helmholtz Association, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg (Hamburg site) (Germany); now at Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Institut für Physik, 55099 Mainz (Germany); Colas, Paul [CEA Saclay, IRFU, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Lentdecker, Gilles De [Inter University ULB-VUB, Av. Fr. Roosevelt 50, B1050 Bruxelles (Belgium); Dehmelt, Klaus [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, A Research Centre of the Helmholtz Association, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg (Hamburg site) (Germany); now at State University of New York at Stony Brook, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3800 (United States); Desch, Klaus [Universität Bonn, Physikalisches Institut, Nußallee 12, 53115 Bonn (Germany); and others

    2017-06-01

    For the International Large Detector concept at the planned International Linear Collider, the use of time projection chambers (TPC) with micro-pattern gas detector readout as the main tracking detector is investigated. In this paper, results from a prototype TPC, placed in a 1 T solenoidal field and read out with three independent Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) based readout modules, are reported. The TPC was exposed to a 6 GeV electron beam at the DESY II synchrotron. The efficiency for reconstructing hits, the measurement of the drift velocity, the space point resolution and the control of field inhomogeneities are presented.

  2. Quality assurance of GEM foils in the framework of the TPC upgrade in the ALICE experiment

    CERN Document Server

    Ozcelik, Melih Arslan

    2016-01-01

    In the framework of the TPC upgrade of the ALICE Experiment, new readout chambers will be installed during the LHC long shutdown 2, which is scheduled to start in July 2018. The current MWPCs (Multi Wire Proportional Chambers) will be replaced by readout chambers consisting of GEM (Gas Electron Multipliers) foils in order to meet the increasing readout rate requirements. QA (Quality Assurance) tests on the GEMs are performed to classify the foils. In this report we present the work done during the CERN Summer Student Programme 2016.

  3. Numerical Investigation on Electron and Ion Transmission of GEM-based Detectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bhattacharya Purba

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available ALICE at the LHC is planning a major upgrade of its detector systems, including the TPC, to cope with an increase of the LHC luminosity after 2018. Different R&D activities are currently concentrated on the adoption of the Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM as the gas amplification stage of the ALICE-TPC upgrade version. The major challenge is to have low ion feedback in the drift volume as well as to ensure a collection of good percentage of primary electrons in the signal generation process. In the present work, Garfield simulation framework has been adopted to numerically estimate the electron transparency and ion backflow fraction of GEM-based detectors. In this process, extensive simulations have been carried out to enrich our understanding of the complex physical processes occurring within single, triple and quadruple GEM detectors. A detailed study has been performed to observe the effect of detector geometry, field configuration and magnetic field on the above mentioned characteristics.

  4. Numerical Investigation on Electron and Ion Transmission of GEM-based Detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharya, Purba; Sahoo, Sumanya Sekhar; Biswas, Saikat; Mohanty, Bedangadas; Majumdar, Nayana; Mukhopadhyay, Supratik

    2018-02-01

    ALICE at the LHC is planning a major upgrade of its detector systems, including the TPC, to cope with an increase of the LHC luminosity after 2018. Different R&D activities are currently concentrated on the adoption of the Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) as the gas amplification stage of the ALICE-TPC upgrade version. The major challenge is to have low ion feedback in the drift volume as well as to ensure a collection of good percentage of primary electrons in the signal generation process. In the present work, Garfield simulation framework has been adopted to numerically estimate the electron transparency and ion backflow fraction of GEM-based detectors. In this process, extensive simulations have been carried out to enrich our understanding of the complex physical processes occurring within single, triple and quadruple GEM detectors. A detailed study has been performed to observe the effect of detector geometry, field configuration and magnetic field on the above mentioned characteristics.

  5. The ALICE TPC Upgrad

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro, Andrew; Alice-Usa Collaboration; Alice-Tpc Collaboration

    2017-09-01

    The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) currently used for ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment at CERN) is a gaseous tracking detector used to study both proton-proton and heavy-ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) In order to accommodate the higher luminosit collisions planned for the LHC Run-3 starting in 2021, the ALICE-TPC will undergo a major upgrade during the next LHC shut down. The TPC is limited to a read out of 1000 Hz in minimum bias events due to the intrinsic dead time associated with back ion flow in the multi wire proportional chambers (MWPC) in the TPC. The TPC upgrade will handle the increase in event readout to 50 kHz for heavy ion minimum bias triggered events expected with the Run-3 luminosity by switching the MWPCs to a stack of four Gaseous Electron Multiplier (GEM) foils. The GEM layers will combine different hole pitches to reduce the dead time while maintaining the current spatial and energy resolution of the existing TPC. Undertaking the upgrade of the TPC represents a massive endeavor in terms of design, production, construction, quality assurance, and installation, thus the upgrade is coordinated over a number of institutes worldwide. The talk will go over the physics motivation for the upgrade, the ALICE-USA contribution to the construction of Inner Read Out Chambers IROCs, and QA from the first chambers built in the U.S

  6. Gas amplification properties of GEM foils; Gasverstaerkungseigenschaften von GEM-Folien

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beck, Jeannine

    2009-01-15

    In the framework of the detector concept International Linear Detector for the future accelerator project International Linear Collider, in which electrons and positrons at c. m. energies of 500 GeV are brought to collision, a time projection chamber shall be applied as central track detector. By the application of such a chamber as track detector a three-dimensional reconstruction of the track points is possible. If a particle passes the gas volume within the chamber it ionizises single gas atoms and the arising electrons move after the amplification in the GEM arrangement to the anode, so that a two-dimensional projection of the particle track is possible. The third dimension is calculated from the drift time of the electrons. The advances of this readout system consist therein that a better position resolution than by a multiwire proportional chamber is reached and the back-drifting ions can be strongly suppressed. Aim of this thesis are studies for a GEM module, which shall be used in a large TPC prototype. Concerning different requirements it is valid to compare different GEMs in order to can meet an optimal choice. In a small prototype present at DESY measurements for the acquisition of GEM-describing parameters were performed. The taking into operation of the test TPC was part of this thesis. Tracks were generated by a radioactive source, by means of which the gas amplification was determined. With the measurement arrangement gas-amplifier foils of different kind were compared in view of their amplification properties and their energy resolution power and systematically studied. Five different GEM performances were studied in the test TPC. These foils differ in their geometrical classification parameters, the fabrication process, or the materials. The GEMs produced at CERN possess in comparison with GEMs of the Japanese firm SciEnergy and a GEM of the US-American firm Tech-Etch the best amplification and resolution properties. Furthermore a new GEM framing

  7. Analysis of GEM properties and development of a GEM support structure for the ILD time projection chamber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hallermann, Lea

    2010-04-01

    In the concept of the International Large Detector (ILD), developed for the International Linear Collider (ILC) a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is envisaged as main tracking detector. Such gaseous detectors have to be equipped with amplification devices in order to enlarge the amount of charge, which is set free by ionization caused by traversing charged particles. Micro Pattern Gas Detectors (MPGDs) will be used in the ILD TPC as amplification stage. In this thesis, Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs) - one specific MPGD species - are analyzed concerning various properties. Effective gains and energy resolutions are compared for GEM foils produced by different manufacturers. A good understanding of these observables is obtained by interpretation of the results with the help of geometrical parameters. Height profile measurements of GEM foils have been performed for the first time and the impact of non perfect flat GEMs is analyzed, especially on dE/dx determination and drift field quality. The results emphasize the need of a flat installation of GEMs in TPCs. As a consequence, a new mounting device has been developed to ensure flatness and to provide a method to cover large readout areas, as in the ILD TPC, by introducing the least possible amount of dead material into the detector. The developed structure has been tested in a TPC protoype, taking cosmic muon data. The influence of the mounting on track reconstruction, single point resolution, tracking efficiency and dE/dx measurements is quantified. The developed mounting is applicable in a large scale TPC, if some design considerations are taken into account. (orig.)

  8. Analysis of GEM properties and development of a GEM support structure for the ILD time projection chamber

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hallermann, Lea

    2010-04-15

    In the concept of the International Large Detector (ILD), developed for the International Linear Collider (ILC) a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is envisaged as main tracking detector. Such gaseous detectors have to be equipped with amplification devices in order to enlarge the amount of charge, which is set free by ionization caused by traversing charged particles. Micro Pattern Gas Detectors (MPGDs) will be used in the ILD TPC as amplification stage. In this thesis, Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs) - one specific MPGD species - are analyzed concerning various properties. Effective gains and energy resolutions are compared for GEM foils produced by different manufacturers. A good understanding of these observables is obtained by interpretation of the results with the help of geometrical parameters. Height profile measurements of GEM foils have been performed for the first time and the impact of non perfect flat GEMs is analyzed, especially on dE/dx determination and drift field quality. The results emphasize the need of a flat installation of GEMs in TPCs. As a consequence, a new mounting device has been developed to ensure flatness and to provide a method to cover large readout areas, as in the ILD TPC, by introducing the least possible amount of dead material into the detector. The developed structure has been tested in a TPC protoype, taking cosmic muon data. The influence of the mounting on track reconstruction, single point resolution, tracking efficiency and dE/dx measurements is quantified. The developed mounting is applicable in a large scale TPC, if some design considerations are taken into account. (orig.)

  9. A GEM-TPC in twin configuration for the Super-FRS tracking of heavy ions at FAIR

    Science.gov (United States)

    García, F.; Grahn, T.; Hoffmann, J.; Jokinen, A.; Kaya, C.; Kunkel, J.; Rinta-Antila, S.; Risch, H.; Rusanov, I.; Schmidt, C. J.; Simon, H.; Simons, C.; Turpeinen, R.; Voss, B.; Äystö, J.; Winkler, M.

    2018-03-01

    The GEM-TPC described herein will be part of the standard beam-diagnostics equipment of the Super-FRS. This chamber will provide tracking information for particle identification at rates up to 1 MHz on an event-by-event basis. The key requirements of operation for these chambers are: close to 100% tracking efficiency under conditions of high counting rate, spatial resolution below 1 mm and a superb large dynamic range covering projectiles from Z = 1 up to Z = 92. The current prototype consists of two GEM-TPCs inside a single vessel, which are operating independently and have electrical drift fields in opposite directions. The twin configuration is done by flipping one of the GEM-TPCs on the middle plane with respect to the second one. In order to put this development in context, the evolution of previous prototypes will be described and its performances discussed. Finally, this chamber was tested at the University of Jyväskylä accelerator with proton projectiles and at GSI with Uranium, Xenon, fragments and Carbon beams. The results obtained have shown a position resolution between 120 to 300 μm at moderate counting rate under conditions of full tracking efficiency.

  10. Energy calibration of a GEM-TPC with Kr83m

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmitz, Roman [Helmholtz-Institut fuer Strahlen- und Kernphysik, Universitaet Bonn (Germany); Collaboration: GEM-TPC-Collaboration

    2013-07-01

    A Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) readout has been developed with an inner/outer radius of 5/15 cm and a total drift length of 73 cm. It has been used as an inner tracking upgrade for the FOPI experiment at GSI and is planned as a future upgrade to the CBELSA/TAPS experiment. A radioactive {sup 83m}Kr source has been produced and integrated into the setup in order to perform an accurate channel-wise relative gain calibration and monitor gain stability to achieve optimal dE/dx resolution. Its gaseous form makes it perfectly suitable for this purpose allowing a full coverage of the readout plane and providing a wide energy range of conversion peaks. Also its half-life of 1.83 h allows for normal detector operation after a short flushing period of several hours. Calibration method and measured energy resolution for different gas mixtures which have been compared to simulation results are presented in this talk. Also first results on gain stability and pressure/temperature-dependence are shown.

  11. A Prototype Combination TPC Cherenkov Detector with GEM Readout for Tracking and Particle Identification and its Potential Use at an Electron Ion Collider

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Woody Craig

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available A prototype detector is being developed which combines the functions of a Time Projection Chamber for charged particle tracking and a Cherenkov detector for particle identification. The TPC consists of a 10×10×10 cm3 drift volume where the charge is drifted to a 10×10 cm2 triple GEM detector. The charge is measured on a readout plane consisting of 2×10 mm2 chevron pads which provide a spatial resolution ∼ 100 μm per point in the chevron direction along with dE/dx information. The Cherenkov portion of the detector consists of a second 10×10 cm2 triple GEM with a photosensitive CsI photocathode on the top layer. This detector measures Cherenkov light produced in the drift gas of the TPC by high velocity particles which are above threshold. CF4 or CF4 mixtures will be used as the drift gas which are highly transparent to UV light and can provide excellent efficiency for detecting Cherenkov photons. The drift gas is also used as the operating gas for both GEM detectors. The prototype detector has been constructed and is currently being tested in the lab with sources and cosmic rays, and additional tests are planned in the future to study the detector in a test beam.

  12. A Prototype Combination TPC Cherenkov Detector with GEM Readout for Tracking and Particle Identification and its Potential Use at an Electron Ion Collider

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woody, Craig; Azmoun, Babak; Majka, Richard; Phipps, Michael; Purschke, Martin; Smirnov, Nikolai

    2018-02-01

    A prototype detector is being developed which combines the functions of a Time Projection Chamber for charged particle tracking and a Cherenkov detector for particle identification. The TPC consists of a 10×10×10 cm3 drift volume where the charge is drifted to a 10×10 cm2 triple GEM detector. The charge is measured on a readout plane consisting of 2×10 mm2 chevron pads which provide a spatial resolution ˜ 100 μm per point in the chevron direction along with dE/dx information. The Cherenkov portion of the detector consists of a second 10×10 cm2 triple GEM with a photosensitive CsI photocathode on the top layer. This detector measures Cherenkov light produced in the drift gas of the TPC by high velocity particles which are above threshold. CF4 or CF4 mixtures will be used as the drift gas which are highly transparent to UV light and can provide excellent efficiency for detecting Cherenkov photons. The drift gas is also used as the operating gas for both GEM detectors. The prototype detector has been constructed and is currently being tested in the lab with sources and cosmic rays, and additional tests are planned in the future to study the detector in a test beam.

  13. How to reduce the ion feedback in GEM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, S. H.; Kang, S. M.; Kim, Y. G.

    2003-01-01

    The feedback of positive ions in Gas Electron Multiplier(GEM) has to be suppressed to reduce the photocathode degradation in GEM photomultiplier and to prevent the field distortion in a Time Projection Chamber(TPC). The ion feedback dependency on the drift electric field, the transfer field, the asymmetry in the voltages across the GEM, and the effective gain was measured in various gases. The ion feedback is sensitive to the drift field and the effective gain. A model prediction of the ion feedback in multiple GEM was compared with the measurement. The ion gating method, which is being studyed in TPC, is introduced to reduce the ion feedback in GEM. With Maxwell and Garfield calculation, we obtained the reduction of the ion feedback by placing the wires between the drift plate and the GEM. We calculated the depedency of the ion feedback with respect to the bias voltage on the wire, the distance between the wires, and the distance between the wire and the GEM

  14. A continuous read-out TPC for the ALICE upgrade

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lippmann, C., E-mail: C.Lippmann@gsi.de

    2016-07-11

    The largest gaseous Time Projection Chamber (TPC) in the world, the ALICE TPC, will be upgraded based on Micro Pattern Gas Detector technology during the second long shutdown of the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2018/19. The upgraded detector will operate continuously without the use of a triggered gating grid. It will thus be able to read all minimum bias Pb–Pb events that the LHC will deliver at the anticipated peak interaction rate of 50 kHz for the high luminosity heavy-ion era. New read-out electronics will send the continuous data stream to a new online farm at rates up to 1 TByte/s. A fractional ion feedback of below 1% is required to keep distortions due to space charge in the TPC drift volume at a tolerable level. The new read-out chambers will consist of quadruple stacks of Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM), combining GEM foils with a different hole pitch. Other key requirements such as energy resolution and operational stability have to be met as well. A careful optimisation of the performance in terms of all these parameters was achieved during an extensive R&D program. A working point well within the design specifications was identified with an ion backflow of 0.63%, a local energy resolution of 11.3% (sigma) and a discharge probability comparable to that of standard triple GEM detectors.

  15. Development of a high rate TPC. The ALICE TPC upgrade after LS2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ball, Markus [Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitaet Bonn (Germany); Collaboration: ALICE-Collaboration

    2016-07-01

    The ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment at CERN) collaboration plans an upgrade of the detector system during the second long shutdown of the LHC, during which the interaction rate will be increased to 50 kHz for Pb-Pb collisions. This demands operation of the Time Projection Chamber (TPC) in an ungated continuous mode. A conventional gating grid can not be used to prevent ions drifting back into the drift volume. Micro Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGD) such as GEMs and Micromegas offer suppression of the ion backflow. To keep distortions due to space-charge at a tolerable level an ion yield of 10 to 20 back drifting ions per incoming electron is required. However, the need for low ion backflow might be in conflict to other key parameters such as the detector performance and stability of the system. Therefore a careful optimisation of all three requirements was needed. Furthermore the large scale capability of the system has to be guaranteed. Test beams have been carried out to study the large scale performance with an Inner Readout Chamber (IROC) equipped with a multiple GEM system. Also an quadruple GEM Outer Readout Chamber (OROC) was assembled and successfully operated being the largest detector of this type. The upgrade of all readout chambers with a quadruple GEM system has started in 2016. The strategy and the work flow of the TPC upgrade are presented.

  16. Gas amplification properties of GEM foils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beck, Jeannine

    2009-01-01

    In the framework of the detector concept International Linear Detector for the future accelerator project International Linear Collider, in which electrons and positrons at c. m. energies of 500 GeV are brought to collision, a time projection chamber shall be applied as central track detector. By the application of such a chamber as track detector a three-dimensional reconstruction of the track points is possible. If a particle passes the gas volume within the chamber it ionizises single gas atoms and the arising electrons move after the amplification in the GEM arrangement to the anode, so that a two-dimensional projection of the particle track is possible. The third dimension is calculated from the drift time of the electrons. The advances of this readout system consist therein that a better position resolution than by a multiwire proportional chamber is reached and the back-drifting ions can be strongly suppressed. Aim of this thesis are studies for a GEM module, which shall be used in a large TPC prototype. Concerning different requirements it is valid to compare different GEMs in order to can meet an optimal choice. In a small prototype present at DESY measurements for the acquisition of GEM-describing parameters were performed. The taking into operation of the test TPC was part of this thesis. Tracks were generated by a radioactive source, by means of which the gas amplification was determined. With the measurement arrangement gas-amplifier foils of different kind were compared in view of their amplification properties and their energy resolution power and systematically studied. Five different GEM performances were studied in the test TPC. These foils differ in their geometrical classification parameters, the fabrication process, or the materials. The GEMs produced at CERN possess in comparison with GEMs of the Japanese firm SciEnergy and a GEM of the US-American firm Tech-Etch the best amplification and resolution properties. Furthermore a new GEM framing

  17. R and D of MPGD-readout TPC for the International Linear Collider experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yonamine, R

    2012-01-01

    A Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is chosen for the central tracker of the ILD detector, one of two detector concepts planned for the International Linear Collider (ILC). Physics goals at the ILC will require a TPC with a position resolution of 100 μm and superior track separation, which are not achievable with a conventional Multi-Wire Proportional Chamber (MWPC) readout. A MPGD readout offers improved position resolution and track separation due to measuring the signal at the anode and minimization of E × B effect. For several years, the LC TPC collaboration has been developing a MPGD readout using various small TPC prototypes and the Large Prototype TPC that is operated in a test beam at DESY. The MPGD technologies being tested are GEM and Micromegas with resistive charge broadening, with both traditional pad and CMOS pixel readout. Readout modules with both GEM and Micromegas gas amplification have achieved a position resolution on the order of 100 μm at B = 1 T. In this paper we report on the recent R and D toward the ILD TPC.

  18. Impact of the genfit2 Kalman-filter-based algorithms on physics simulations performed with PandaRoot

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prencipe, Elisabetta; Ritman, James [Forschungszentrum Juelich, IKP1, Juelich (Germany); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

    2016-07-01

    PANDA is a planned experiment at FAIR (Darmstadt) with a cooled antiproton beam in a range [1.5;15] GeV/c, allowing a wide physics program in nuclear and particle physics. It is the only experiment worldwide, which combines a solenoid field (B=2 T) and a dipole field (B=2 Tm) in an experiment with a fixed target topology, in that energy regime. The tracking system of PANDA involves the presence of a high performance silicon vertex detector, a GEM detector, a Straw-Tubes central tracker, a forward tracking system, and a luminosity monitor. The offline tracking algorithm is developed within the PandaRoot framework, which is a part of the FAIRRoot project. The algorithm here presented is based on a tool containing the Kalman Filter equations and a deterministic annealing filter (genfit). The Kalman-Filter-based algorithms have a wide range of applications; among those in particle physics they can perform extrapolations of track parameters and covariance matrices. The impact on physics simulations performed for the PANDA experiment is shown for the first time, with the PandaRoot framework: improvement is shown for those channels where a good low momentum tracking is required (p{sub T}<400 MeV/c), i.e. D mesons and Λ reconstruction, of about a factor 2.

  19. Ion feedback effect in the multi GEM structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Se Hwan; Kim, Yong Kyun; Han, Sang Hyo; Ha, Jang Ho; Moon, Byung Soo; Chung, Chong Eun

    2003-01-01

    The feedback of positive ions in a gas electron multiplier (GEM) has to be suppressed to reduce the photocathode degradation in GEM photomultipliers and to prevent the field distortion in a time projection chamber (TPC). The ion feedback dependency on the drift electric field, the transfer field, the asymmetry in the voltages across the GEM, and the effective gain was carefully measured in various gases. The ion feedback is sensitive to the drift field and the effective gain. A model prediction of the ion feedback in a double GEM structure was compared with the measurement. Our systematic study of the ion feedback effect can lead to progress in gas detectors with GEMs.

  20. Future Upgrade and Physics Perspectives of the ALICE TPC

    CERN Document Server

    INSPIRE-00033137

    The ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) proposes major detector upgrades to fully exploit the increase of the luminosity of the LHC in RUN~3 and to extend the physics reach for rare probes at low transverse momentum. The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is one of the main tracking and PID devices in the central barrel of ALICE. The maximum trigger rate of the TPC is currently limited to about 3.5 kHz by the operation of a gating grid system. In order to make full use of the luminosity in RUN 3, the TPC is foreseen to be operated in an ungated mode with continuous readout. The existing MWPC readout will be replaced by a Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detector (MPGD) based readout, which provides intrinsic ion capture capability without gating. Extensive detector R\\&D employing Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) and Micro-Mesh Gaseous detector (Micromegas) technologies, and simulation studies to advance the techniques for the corrections of space-charge distortions have been performed since 2012. In this pap...

  1. Study of gain variation as a function of physical parameters of GEM foil

    CERN Document Server

    Das, Supriya

    2015-01-01

    The ALICE experiment at LHC has planned to upgrade the TPC by replacing the MWPC with GEM based detecting elements to restrict the IBF to a tolerable value. However the variation of the gain as a function of physical parameters of industrially produced large size GEM foils is needed to be studied as a part of the QA procedure for the detector. The size of the electron avalanche and consequently the gain for GEM based detectors depend on the electric field distribution inside the holes. Geometry of a hole plays an important role in defining the electric field inside it. In this work we have studied the variation of the gain as a function of the hole diameters using Garfield++ simulation package.

  2. X-Ray Polarimetry with GEMS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strohmayer, Tod

    2011-01-01

    The polarization properties of cosmic X-ray sources are still largely unexplored. The Gravity and Extreme Magnetism SMEX (GEMS) will carry out the first sensitive X-ray polarization survey of a wide range of sources including; accreting compact objects (black holes and neutron stars), AGN, supernova remnants, magnetars and rotation-powered pulsars. GEMS employs grazing-incidence foil mirrors and novel time-projection chamber (TPC) polarimeters leveraging the photoelectric effect to achieve high polarization sensitivity in the 2 - 10 keV band. I will provide an update of the project status, illustrate the expected performance with several science examples, and provide a brief overview of the data analysis challenges

  3. Analysis of data recorded by the LCTPC equipped with a two layer GEM-system

    CERN Document Server

    Ljunggren, M

    2012-01-01

    wire based readout. The prototype TPC is placed in a 1 Tesla magnet at DESY and tested using an electron beam. Analyses of data taken during two different measurement series, in 2009 and 2010, are presented here. The TPC was instrumented with a two layer GEM system and read out using modified electronics from the ALICE experiment, including the programmable charge sensitive preamp-shaper PCA16. The PCA16 chip has a number of programmable parameters which allows studies to determine the settings optimal to the final TPC. Here, the impact of the shaping time on the space resolution in the drift direction was studied. It was found that a shaping time of 60 ns is the b...

  4. arXiv Particle identification studies with a full-size 4-GEM prototype for the ALICE TPC upgrade

    CERN Document Server

    INSPIRE-00180720; Aiola, S.; Alme, J.; Alt, T.; Amend, W.; Andronic, A.; Anguelov, V.; Appelshäuser, H.; Arslandok, M.; Averbeck, R.; Ball, M.; Barnaföldi, G.G.; Bartsch, E.; Bellwied, R.; Bencedi, G.; Berger, M.; Bialas, N.; Bialas, P.; Bianchi, L.; Biswas, S.; Boldizsár, L.; Bratrud, L.; Braun-Munzinger, P.; Bregant, M.; Britton, C.L.; Brucken, E.J.; Caines, H.; Castro, A.J.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Christiansen, P.; Clonts, L.G.; Cormier, T.M.; Das, S.; Dash, S.; Deisting, A.; Dittrich, S.; Dubey, A.K.; Ehlers, R.; Erhardt, F.; Ezell, N.B.; Fabbietti, L.; Frankenfeld, U.; Gaardhøje, J.J.; Garabatos, C.; Gasik, P.; Gera, A.; Ghosh, P.; Ghosh, S.K.; Glässel, P.; Grachov, O.; Grein, A.; Gunji, T.; Hamagaki, H.; Hamar, G.; Harris, J.W.; Hehner, J.; Hellbär, E.; Helstrup, H.; Hilden, T.E.; Hohlweger, B.; Ivanov, M.; Jung, M.; Just, D.; Kangasaho, E.; Keidel, R.; Ketzer, B.; Khan, S.A.; Kirsch, S.; Klemenz, T.; Klewin, S.; Knospe, A.G.; Kowalski, M.; Kumar, L.; Lang, R.; Langoy, R.; Lautner, L.; Liebske, F.; Lien, J.; Lippmann, C.; Ljunggren, H.M.; Llope, W.J.; Mahmood, S.; Mahmoud, T.; Majka, R.; Malzacher, P.; Marín, A.; Markert, C.; Masciocchi, S.; Mathis, A.; Matyja, A.; Meres, M.; Mihaylov, D.L.; Miskowiec, D.; Mitra, J.; Mittelstaedt, T.; Morhardt, T.; Mulligan, J.; Munzer, R.H.; Münning, K.; Munhoz, M.G.; Muhuri, S.; Murakami, H.; Nandi, B.K.; Natal da Luz, H.; Nattrass, C.; Nayak, T.K.; Negrao De Oliveira, R.A.; Nicassio, M.; Nielsen, B.S.; Oláh, L.; Oskarsson, A.; Otwinowski, J.; Oyama, K.; Paić, G.; Patra, R.N.; Peskov, V.; Pikna, M.; Pinsky, L.; Planinic, M.; Poghosyan, M.G.; Poljak, N.; Pompei, F.; Prasad, S.K.; Pruneau, C.A.; Putschke, J.; Raha, S.; Rak, J.; Rasson, J.; Ratza, V.; Read, K.F.; Rehman, A.; Renfordt, R.; Richert, T.; Røed, K.; Röhrich, D.; Rudzki, T.; Sahoo, R.; Sahoo, S.; Sahu, P.K.; Saini, J.; Schaefer, B.; Schambach, J.; Scheid, S.; Schmidt, C.; Schmidt, H.R.; V Schmidt, N.; Schulte, H.; Schweda, K.; Selyuzhenkov, I.; Sharma, N.; Silvermyr, D.; Singaraju, R.N.; Sitar, B.; Smirnov, N.; Sorensen, S.P.; Sozzi, F.; Stachel, J.; Stenlund, E.; Strmen, P.; Szarka, I.; Tambave, G.; Terasaki, K.; Timmins, A.; Ullaland, K.; Utrobicic, A.; Varga, D.; Varma, R.; Velure, A.; Vislavicius, V.; Voloshin, S.; Voss, B.; Vranic, D.; Wiechula, J.; Winkler, S.; Wikne, J.; Windelband, B.; Zhao, C.

    A large Time Projection Chamber is the main device for tracking and charged-particle identification in the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. After the second long shutdown in 2019/20, the LHC will deliver Pb beams colliding at an interaction rate of about 50 kHz, which is about a factor of 50 above the present readout rate of the TPC. This will result in a significant improvement on the sensitivity to rare probes that are considered key observables to characterize the QCD matter created in such collisions. In order to make full use of this luminosity, the currently used gated Multi-Wire Proportional Chambers will be replaced. The upgrade relies on continuously operated readout detectors employing Gas Electron Multiplier technology to retain the performance in terms of particle identification via the measurement of the specific energy loss by ionization d$E$/d$x$. A full-size readout chamber prototype was assembled in 2014 featuring a stack of four GEM foils as an amplification stage. The performance of the pr...

  5. Status of the R&D activities for the upgrade of the ALICE TPC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deisting Alexander

    2018-01-01

    After the upgrade the TPC will run in a continuous mode, without any degradation of the momentum and dE/dx resolution compared to the performance of the present TPC. Since readout by multi-wire proportional chambers is no longer feasible with these requirements, new technologies have to be employed. In the new readout chambers the electron amplification is provided by a stack of four Gas ElectronMultiplier (GEM foils. Here foils with a standard hole pitch of 140 μm as well as large pitch foils (280 μm are used. Their high voltage settings and orientation have been optimised to provide an energy resolution of σE/E ≤ 12% at the photopeak of 55Fe. At the same settings the Ion BackFlow into the drift volume is less than 1% of the effective number of ions produced during gas amplification and the primary ionisations. This is necessary to prevent the accumulation of space charge, which eventually will distort the field in the drift volume. To ensure stable operation at the high loads during LHC run 3 the chambers have to be robust against discharges, too. With the selected configuration in a quadruple GEMstack the discharge probability is kept at the level of 10-12 discharges per incoming hadron. An overview of the ALICE TPC upgrade activities will be given in these proceedings and the optimised settings foreseen for the GEM stacks of the future readout chambers are introduced. Furthermore the outcome of two beam time campaigns at SPS and PS (at CERN in the end of 2014 is shown. At this campaigns the stability against discharges and the dE/dx performance of a full size readout chamber prototype was tested. In addition it is reported on charging-up studies of 4GEM stacks and on tests of electromagnetic sagging of large GEM foils.

  6. Status of the R&D activities for the upgrade of the ALICE TPC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deisting, Alexander

    2018-02-01

    After the Long Shutdown 2 (LS2) the LHC will provide lead-lead collisions at interaction rates as high as 50 kHz. In order to cope with such conditions the ALICE Time Projection Chamber (TPC) needs to be upgraded. After the upgrade the TPC will run in a continuous mode, without any degradation of the momentum and dE/dx resolution compared to the performance of the present TPC. Since readout by multi-wire proportional chambers is no longer feasible with these requirements, new technologies have to be employed. In the new readout chambers the electron amplification is provided by a stack of four Gas ElectronMultiplier (GEM) foils. Here foils with a standard hole pitch of 140 μm as well as large pitch foils (280 μm) are used. Their high voltage settings and orientation have been optimised to provide an energy resolution of σE/E ≤ 12% at the photopeak of 55Fe. At the same settings the Ion BackFlow into the drift volume is less than 1% of the effective number of ions produced during gas amplification and the primary ionisations. This is necessary to prevent the accumulation of space charge, which eventually will distort the field in the drift volume. To ensure stable operation at the high loads during LHC run 3 the chambers have to be robust against discharges, too. With the selected configuration in a quadruple GEMstack the discharge probability is kept at the level of 10-12 discharges per incoming hadron. An overview of the ALICE TPC upgrade activities will be given in these proceedings and the optimised settings foreseen for the GEM stacks of the future readout chambers are introduced. Furthermore the outcome of two beam time campaigns at SPS and PS (at CERN) in the end of 2014 is shown. At this campaigns the stability against discharges and the dE/dx performance of a full size readout chamber prototype was tested. In addition it is reported on charging-up studies of 4GEM stacks and on tests of electromagnetic sagging of large GEM foils.

  7. Investigation of a Huffman-based compression algorithm for the ALICE TPC read-out in LHC Run 3

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klewin, Sebastian [Physikalisches Institut, University of Heidelberg (Germany); Collaboration: ALICE-Collaboration

    2016-07-01

    Within the scope of the ALICE upgrade towards the Run 3 of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, starting in 2020, the ALICE Time Projection Chamber (TPC) will be reworked in order to allow for a continuous read-out. This rework includes not only a replacement of the current read-out chambers with Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology, but also new front-end electronics. To be able to read out the whole data stream without loosing information, in particular without zero-suppression, a lossless compression algorithm, the Huffman encoding, was investigated and adapted to the needs of the TPC. In this talk, an algorithm, adapted for an FPGA implementation, is presented. We show its capability to reduce the data volume to less than 40% of its original size.

  8. Space charge calibration of the ALICE TPC operated with an open gating grid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hellbaer, Ernst [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Goethe-Universitaet Frankfurt (Germany); Ivanov, Marian [GSI (Germany); Wiechula, Jens [Universitaet Tuebingen (Germany); Collaboration: ALICE-Collaboration

    2015-07-01

    The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main particle identification detector of the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. High interaction rates of 50 kHz in Pb-Pb during the Run 3 period after 2020 require a major upgrade of the TPC readout. The currently used Multiwire Proportional Chambers (MWPCs) will be replaced by readout chambers (ROCs) based on Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology which will be operated in a continuous mode. While the gating grid of the MWPCs prevents the positive ions of the amplification region from entering the drift volume, the GEM-based ROCs will introduce an ion backflow (IBF) of about 1%. In combination with the high-luminosity environment, this amount of back-drifting ions results in a considerable space charge density which distorts the drift path of the primary ionisation electrons significantly. In order to still provide a high tracking efficiency and cluster-to-track association, an efficient calibration scheme will be implemented. As a test ground for the new calibration scheme, pp collision data was taken during Run 1 with the gating grid operated in a transparent mode allowing the ions to enter the drift volume. The measured space point distortions due to the space charge are presented together with the corrected data and compared to simulations for Run 3.

  9. Implementation of the P barANDA Planar-GEM tracking detector in Monte Carlo simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Divani Veis, Nazila; Ehret, Andre; Firoozabadi, Mohammad M.; Karabowicz, Radoslaw; Maas, Frank; Saito, Nami; Saito, Takehiko R.; Voss, Bernd; PANDA Gem-Tracker Subgroup

    2018-02-01

    The P barANDA experiment at FAIR will be performed to investigate different aspects of hadron physics using anti-proton beams interacting with a fixed nuclear target. The experimental setup consists of a complex series of detector components covering a large solid angle. A detector with a gaseous active media equipped with gas electron multiplier (GEM) technique will be employed to measure tracks of charged particles at forward direction in order to achieve a high momentum resolution. In this work, a full setup of the GEM tracking detector has been implemented in the P barANDA Monte Carlo simulation package (PandaRoot) based on the current technical and conceptual design, and the expected performance of the P barANDA GEM-tracking detector has been investigated. Furthermore, material-budget studies in terms of the radiation length of the P barANDA GEM-tracking detector have been made in order to investigate the effect of the detector materials and its associated structures to particle measurements.

  10. Control and supervision of a time projection chamber with GEM readout; Steuerung und Ueberwachung einer Zeitprojektionskammer mit GEM-Auslese

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaiser, David

    2014-02-03

    To get a deeper understanding of the structure of nucleons and the strong interaction binding the constituents inside, the CBELSA/TAPS experiment investigates the resonance spectrum of baryons by meson photoproduction within the scope of the SFB/TRR 16 ''Subnuclear Structure of Matter''. In order to support and expand the physical program, the existing Inner Detector will be replaced by a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) within the next few years. This allows for the detection of charged reaction channels, which can't be measured with the CBELSA/TAPS experiment up to now, as well as for particle identification from the specific energy loss. A First prototype with GEM foils for charge amplification in front of the readout plane and suitable size for the CBELSA/TAPS experiment was built in collaboration with the TU Munich, the detector laboratory of the GSI in Darmstadt and the Stefan-Meyer-Institute of the University Vienna. The TPC has been commissioned successfully within the FOPI experiment at the GSI during several test beam campaigns. Additionally, systematic studies have been carried out with a smaller Test-TPC using a TestBench providing an accurate external track definition. As the electron drift velocity in the TPC volume is a crucial parameter for the exact track reconstruction, detailed simulations of the drift velocity and its dependency on external parameters, such as drift voltage, pressure, gas flow or temperature, have been carried out. The results of these simulations recommend a constant monitoring of all examined parameters to allow a reasonable use of the simulated drift velocities. For this purpose, and to ensure a safe and stable operation of the TPCs and the other detectors on the TestBench, the required hardware, the control software based on a data base and a graphical user interface were designed and constructed as the main part of this work. With this so-called SlowControl, it was possible to measure, control and

  11. Search for H-dibaryon at J-PARC with a Large Acceptance TPC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sako H.

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available H-dibaryon has been predicted as a stable 6-quark color-singlet state. It has been searched for by many experiments but has never been discovered. Recent lattice QCD calculations predict H-dibaryon as a weakly bound or a resonant state close to the LL threshold. E224 and E522 experiments at KEK observed peaks in LL invariant mass spectra near the threshold in (K-, K+ reactions, which were statistically not significant. Therefore, we proposed a new experiment E42 at J-PARC. It will measure decay products of ΛΛ and Λπ-p in a (K-, K+ reaction. We design a large acceptance spectrometer based on a Time Projection Chamber (TPC immersed in a dipole magnetic field. The TPC surrounds a target to cover nearly 4π acceptance, and accepts K- beams up to 106 counts per second. To suppress drift field distortion at high beam rates, we adopt Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs for electron amplification and a gating grid. We show an overview of the experiment, the design of the spectrometer, and the R&D status of the TPC prototype.

  12. First measurements with new high-resolution gadolinium-GEM neutron detectors

    CERN Document Server

    Pfeiffer, Dorothea; Birch, Jens; Etxegarai, Maddi; Hall-Wilton, Richard; Höglund, Carina; Hultman, Lars; Llamas-Jansa, Isabel; Oliveri, Eraldo; Oksanen, Esko; Robinson, Linda; Ropelewski, Leszek; Schmidt, Susann; Streli, Christina; Thuiner, Patrik

    2016-05-17

    European Spallation Source instruments like the macromolecular diffractometer, NMX, require an excellent neutron detection efficiency, high-rate capabilities, time resolution, and an unprecedented spatial resolution in the order of a few hundred micrometers over a wide angular range of the incoming neutrons. For these instruments solid converters in combination with Micro Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs) are a promising option. A GEM detector with gadolinium converter was tested on a cold neutron beam at the IFE research reactor in Norway. The {\\mu}TPC analysis, proven to improve the spatial resolution in the case of $^{10}$B converters, is extended to gadolinium based detectors. For the first time, a Gd-GEM was successfully operated to detect neutrons with an estimated efficiency of 10% at a wavelength of 2 {\\AA} and a position resolution better than 350 {\\mu}m.

  13. Recent Developments in GEM-Based Neutron Detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saenboonruang, K.

    2014-01-01

    The gas electron multiplier (GEM) detector is a relatively new gaseous detector that has been used for less than 20 years. Since the discovery in 1997 by F. Sauli, the GEM detector has shown excellent properties including high rate capability, excellent resolutions, low discharge probability, and excellent radiation hardness. These promising properties have led the GEM detector to gain popularity and attention amongst physicists and researchers. In particular, the GEM detector can also be modified to be used as a neutron detector by adding appropriate neutron converters. With properties stated above and the need to replace the expensive 3 He-based neutron detectors, the GEM-based neutron detector will be one of the most powerful and affordable neutron detectors. Applications of the GEM-based neutron detectors vary from researches in nuclear and particle physics, neutron imaging, and national security. Although several promising progresses and results have been shown and published in the past few years, further improvement is still needed in order to improve the low neutron detection efficiency (only a few percent) and to widen the possibilities for other uses.

  14. BoNus: Development and use of a radial TPC using cylindrical GEMs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fenker, H.; Baillie, N.; Bradshaw, P.; Bueltmann, S.; Burkert, V.; Christy, M.; Dodge, G.; Dutta, D.; Ent, R.; Evans, J.; Fersch, R.; Giovanetti, K.; Griffioen, K.; Ispiryan, M.; Jayalath, C.; Kalantarians, N.; Keppel, C.; Kuhn, S.; Niculescu, G.; Niculescu, I.

    2008-01-01

    A specialized system of target and detector was developed at Jefferson Lab to provide new access to information about neutron structure from electron-neutron interactions. It allows identification and measurement of spectator protons produced in e - d→e - p s X scattering events. The detector is a radial time-projection chamber optimized for the acceptance of low-momentum protons. Gas gain is provided by three cascaded curved Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs), the first application of GEMs in any configuration other than flat. This article provides details about the development and construction of the detector, its performance, and the analysis of the data from the successful running of its first physics experiment

  15. Status of the ALICE TPC upgrade for high-rate operation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gasik, Piotr [TU Muenchen, Physik Department E12, Excellence Cluster ' ' Universe' ' , D-85748, Garching (Germany); Collaboration: ALICE-Collaboration

    2015-07-01

    A large Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main device for tracking and charged particle identification in the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. After the second long shutdown in 2018/2019, the LHC will deliver Pb beams colliding at an interaction rate of about 50 kHz, which is about a factor of 100 above the present readout rate of the TPC. This will result in a significant improvement on the sensitivity of rare probes that are considered key observables to characterise the hot and dense QCD matter created in such collisions. In order to make full use of this luminosity, a major upgrade of the TPC is required. It is foreseen to replace the existing MWPC-based readout chambers by Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detectors to overcome the rate limitations imposed by the present gated readout scheme. An extensive R and D program has been launched to reach the challenging requirements of the upcoming upgrade of the detector. In this presentation the most recent results are discussed concerning ion backflow suppression, gain stability, energy and dE/dx resolution and stability against discharges. The status of the upgrade of the online calibration and data reduction system, which includes advanced techniques for online corrections of space-charge distortions, as well as the development of a new readout electronics are reported.

  16. The Pixel-TPC. Demonstration of the concept and results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lupberger, Michael [Universitaet Bonn (Germany); Collaboration: LCTPC-Deutschland-Collaboration

    2016-07-01

    A Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is foreseen as tracker for the ILD, one of the two detector concepts at the planned International Linear Collider (ILC). At the TPC endplates, Micromegas or GEMs will be used as gas amplification structure. Besides segmented anodes, also an active endplate with pixel chips, in our experiments the Timepix ASIC, is considered as a readout option. In a photolithographic process a grid has been produced on top of the chip to form a so called InGrid, which is a Micromegas-like gas amplification structure. Several thousand InGrids are necessary to equip a complete TPC endplate. For demonstration of the concept, three endplate modules have been built with a total of 160 InGrids covering an active area of about 300 cm{sup 2}. To read out the 10.5 million channels, the Timepix ASIC was implemented in a general readout system. A dedicated powering scheme, DAQ and online event display were developed by our group. The feasibility of the Pixel-TPC could be proven in a test beam campaign at DESY early 2015. The data has partly been analysed and shows the potential of this new type of detector. An overview of the developments necessary to build the detector is presented followed by impressions from the test beam and some of the results from the data analysis.

  17. Operation of a GEM-TPC with pixel readout

    CERN Document Server

    Brezina, C; Kaminski, J; Killenberg, M; Krautscheid, T

    2012-01-01

    A prototype time projection chamber with 26 cm drift length was operated with a short-spaced triple gas electron multiplier (GEM) stack in a setup triggering on cosmic muon tracks. A small part of the anode plane is read out with a CMOS pixel application-specified integrated circuit (ASIC) named Timepix, which provides ultimate readout granularity. Pixel clusters of charge depositions corresponding to single primary electrons are observed and analyzed to reconstruct charged particle tracks. A dataset of several weeks of cosmic ray data is analyzed. The number of clusters per track length is well described by simulation. The obtained single point resolution approaches 50 m at short drift distances and is well reproduced by a simple model of single-electron diffusion.

  18. The $\\mu$TPC Method: Improving the Position Resolution of Neutron Detectors Based on MPGDs

    CERN Document Server

    Pfeiffer, Dorothea; Birch, Jens; Hall-Wilton, Richard; Höglund, Carina; Hultman, Lars; Iakovidis, George; Oliveri, Eraldo; Oksanen, Esko; Ropelewski, Leszek; Thuiner, Patrik

    2015-01-01

    Due to the Helium-3 crisis, alternatives to the standard neutron detection techniques are becoming urgent. In addition, the instruments of the European Spallation Source (ESS) require advances in the state of the art of neutron detection. The instruments need detectors with excellent neutron detection efficiency, high-rate capabilities and unprecedented spatial resolution. The Macromolecular Crystallography instrument (NMX) requires a position resolution in the order of 200 um over a wide angular range of incoming neutrons. Solid converters in combination with Micro Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs) are proposed to meet the new requirements. Charged particles rising from the neutron capture have usually ranges larger than several millimetres in gas. This is apparently in contrast with the requirements for the position resolution. In this paper, we present an analysis technique, new in the field of neutron detection, based on the Time Projection Chamber (TPC) concept. Using a standard Single-GEM with the catho...

  19. Technical Design Report for the: PANDA Straw Tube Tracker

    CERN Document Server

    Erni, W; Krusche, B; Steinacher, M; Heng, Y; Liu, Z; Liu, H; Shen, X; Wang, Q; Xu, H; Aab, A; Albrecht, M; Becker, J; Csapó, A; Feldbauer, F; Fink, M; Friedel, P; Heinsius, F H; Held, T; Klask, L; Koch, H; Kopf, B; Leiber, S; Leyhe, M; Motzko, C; Pelizäus, M; Pychy, J; Roth, B; Schröder, T; Schulze, J; Sowa, C; Steinke, M; Trifterer, T; Wiedner, U; Zhong, J; Beck, R; Bianco, S; Brinkmann, K T; Hammann, C; Hinterberger, F; Kaiser, D; Kliemt, R; Kube, M; Pitka, A; Quagli, T; Schmidt, C; Schmitz, R; Schnell, R; Thoma, U; Vlasov, P; Walther, D; Wendel, C; Würschig, T; Zaunick, H G; Bianconi, A; Bragadireanu, M; Caprini, M; Pantea, D; Pantelica, D; Pietreanu, D; Serbina, L; Tarta, P D; Kaplan, D; Fiutowski, T; Idzik, M; Mindur, B; Przyborowski, D; Swientek, K; Czech, B; Kistryn, M; Kliczewski, S; Kozela, A; Kulessa, P; Lebiedowicz, P; Pysz, K; Schäfer, W; Siudak, R; Szczurek\\inst, A; Jowzaee, S; Kajetanowicz, M; Kamys, B; Kistryn, S; Korcyl, G; Korcyl, K; Krzemien, W; Magiera, A; Moskal, P; Palka, M; Rudy, Z; Salabura, P; Smyrski, J; Wrońska\\inst, A; Al-Turany, M; Arora, R; Augustin, I; Deppe, H; Flemming, H; Gerhardt, A; Götzen, K; Jordi, A F; Kalicy, G; Karabowicz, R; Lehmann, D; Lewandowski, B; Lühning, J; Maas, F; Orth, H; Patsyuk, M; Peters, K; Saito, T; Schepers, G; Schmidt, C J; Schmitt, L; Schwarz, C; Schwiening, J; Traxler, M; Voss, B; Wieczorek, P; Wilms, A; Zühlsdorf\\inst, M; Abazov, V M; Alexeev, G; Arefiev, A; Astakhov, V I; Barabanov, M Yu; Batyunya, B V; Davydov, Yu I; Dodokhov, V Kh; Efremov, A A; Fedunov, A G; Festchenko, A A; Galoyan, A S; Grigoryan, S; Karmokov, A; Koshurnikov, E K; Lobanov, V I; Lobanov, Yu Yu; Makarov, A F; Malinina, L V; Malyshev, V L; Mustafaev, G A; Olshevskiy, A; Pasyuk, M A; Perevalova, E A; Piskun, A A; Pocheptsov, T A; Pontecorvo, G; Rodionov, V K; Rogov, Yu N; Salmin, R A; Samartsev, A G; Sapozhnikov, M G; Shabratova, G S; Skachkova, A N; Skachkov, N B; Strokovsky, E A; Suleimanov, M K; Teshev, R Sh; Tokmenin, V V; Uzhinsky, V V; Vodopyanov, A S; Zaporozhets, S A; Zhuravlev, N I; Zorin, A G; Branford, D; Glazier, D; Watts, D; Woods, P; Britting, A; Eyrich, W; Lehmann, A; Uhlig, F; Dobbs, S; Metreveli, Z; Seth, K; Tomaradze, A; Xiao, T; Bettoni, D; Carassiti, V; Ramusino, A Cotta; Dalpiaz, P; Drago, A; Fioravanti, E; Garzia, I; Savriè, M; Stancari, G; Bianchi, N; Gianotti, P; Guaraldo, C; Lucherini, V; Orecchini, D; Pace, E; Bersani, A; Bracco, G; Macri, M; Parodi, R F; Bremer, D; Dormenev, V; Drexler, P; Düren, M; Eissner, T; Föhl, K; Galuska, M; Gessler, T; Hayrapetyan, A; Hu, J; Koch, P; Kröck, B; Kühn, W; Lange, S; Liang, Y; Merle, O; Metag, V; Moritz, M; Münchow, D; Nanova, M; Novotny, R; Spruck, B; Stenzel, H; Ullrich, T; Werner, M; Xu, H; Euan, C; Hoek, M; Ireland, D; Keri, T; Montgomery, R; Protopopescu, D; Rosner, G; Seitz, B; Babai, M; Glazenborg-Kluttig, A; Kavatsyuk, M; Lemmens, P; Lindemulder, M; Löhner, H; Messchendorp, J; Moeini, H; Schakel, P; Schreuder, F; Smit, H; Tambave, G; Weele, J C van der; Veenstra\\inst, R; Sohlbach, H; Büscher, M; Deermann, D; Dosdall, R; Esch, S; Gillitzer, A; Goldenbaum, F; Grunwald, D; Henssler, S; Herten, A; Hu, Q; Kemmerling, G; Kleines, H; Kozlov, V; Lehrach, A; Maier, R; Mertens, M; Ohm, H; Orfanitski, S; Prasuhn, D; Randriamalala, T; Ritman, J; Schadmand, S; Serdyuk, V; Sterzenbach, G; Stockmanns, T; Wintz, P; Wüstner, P; Xu, H; Kisiel, J; Li, S; Li, Z; Sun, Z; Xu, H; Rigato, V; Fissum, S; Hansen, K; Isaksson, L; Lundin, M; Schröder, B; Achenbach, P; Bleser, S; Cahit, U; Cardinali, M; Denig, A; Distler, M; Fritsch, M; Kangh, D; Karavdina, A; Lauth, W; Merkel, H; Michel, M; Espi, M C Mora; Müller, U; Pochodzalla, J; Prometeusz, J; Sanchez, S; Sanchez-Lorente, A; Schlimme, S; Sfienti, C; Weber\\inst, M Thiel T; Dormenev, V I; Fedorov, A A; Korzhik, M V; Missevitch, O V; Balanutsa, V; Chernetsky, V; Demekhin, A; Dolgolenko, A; Fedorets, P; Gerasimov, A; Goryachev, V; Varentsov, V; Boukharov, A; Malyshev, O; Marishev, I; Semenov, A; Böhmer, F; Dørheim, S; Ketzer, B; Paul, S; Hergemöller, A K; Khoukaz, A; Köhler, E; Täschner, A; Wessels, J; Varma, R; Chaterjee, A; Jha, V; Kailas, S; Roy, B; Yan, Y; Chinorat, K; Khanchai, K; Ayut, L; Pomrad, S; Baldin, E; Kotov, K; Peleganchuk, S; Tikhonov, Yu; Boucher, J; Chambert, V; Dbeyssi, A; Hennino, T; Imre, M; Kunne, R; Galliard, C Le; Ma, B; Marchand, D; Maroni, A; Ong, S; Ramstein, B; Rosier, P; Sudol, M; Tomasi-Gustafsson, E; Wiele, J Van de; Boca, G; Braghieri, A; Costanza, S; Genova, P; Lavezzi, L; Montagna, P; Rotondi, A; Abramov, V; Belikov, N; Davidenko, A; Derevschikov, A; Goncharenko, Y; Grishin, V; Kachanov, V; Konstantinov, D; Kormilitsin, V; Melnik, Y; Levin, A; Minaev, N; Mochalov, V; Morozov, D; Nogach, L; Poslavskiy, S; Ryazantsev, A; Ryzhikov, S; Semenov, P; Shein, I; Uzunian, A; Vasiliev, A; Yakutin, A; Bäck, T; Cederwall, B; Makónyi, K; Tegnér, P E; Würtemberg, K M von; Belostotski, S; Gavrilov, G; Itzotov, A; Kashchuk, A; Kisselev, A; Kravchenko, P; Levitskaya, O; Manaenkov, S; Miklukho, O; Naryshkin, Y; Veretennikov, D; Vikhrov, V; Zhadanov, A; Alberto, D; Amoroso, A; Bussa, M P; Busso, L; Mori, F De; Destefanis, M; Fava, L; Ferrero, L; Greco, M; Maggiora, M; Marcello, S; Sosio, S; Spataro, S; Zotti, L; Calvo, D; Coli, S; Remigis, P De; Filippi, A; Giraudo, G; Lusso, S; Mazza, G; Morra, O; Rivetti, A; Wheadon, R; Iazzi, F; Lavagno, A; Younis, H; Birsa, R; Bradamante, F; Bressan, A; Martin, A; Clement, H; Galander, B; Balkestal, L Caldeira; Calén, H; Fransson, K; Johansson, T; Kupsc, A; Marciniewski, P; Thomé, E; Wolke, M; Zlomanczuk, J; Díaz, J; Ortiz, A; Dmowski, K; Korzeniewski, R; Przemyslaw, D; Slowinski, B; Chlopik, A; Guzik, Z; Kosinski, K; Melnychuk, D; Wasilewski, A; Wojciechowski, M; Wronka, S; Wysocka, A; Zwieglinski, B; Bühler, P; Hartman, O; Kienle, P; Marton, J; Suzuki, K; Widmann, E; Zmeskal, J

    2012-01-01

    This document describes the technical layout and the expected performance of the Straw Tube Tracker (STT), the main tracking detector of the PANDA target spectrometer. The STT encloses a Micro-Vertex-Detector (MVD) for the inner tracking and is followed in beam direction by a set of GEM-stations. The tasks of the STT are the measurement of the particle momentum from the reconstructed trajectory and the measurement of the specific energy-loss for a particle identification. Dedicated simulations with full analysis studies of certain proton-antiproton reactions, identified as being benchmark tests for the whole \\Panda scientific program, have been performed to test the STT layout and performance. The results are presented, and the time lines to construct the STT are described.

  20. Technical design report for the PANDA (AntiProton Annihilations at Darmstadt) Straw Tube Tracker

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erni, W.; Keshelashvili, I.; Krusche, B.; Steinacher, M.; Heng, Y.; Liu, Z.; Liu, H.; Shen, X.; Wang, Q.; Xu, H.; Aab, A.; Albrecht, M.; Becker, J.; Csapo, A.; Feldbauer, F.; Fink, M.; Friedel, P.; Heinsius, F. H.; Held, T.; Klask, L.; Koch, H.; Kopf, B.; Leiber, S.; Leyhe, M.; Motzko, C.; Pelizaeus, M.; Pychy, J.; Roth, B.; Schroeder, T.; Schulze, J.; Sowa, C.; Steinke, M.; Trifterer, T.; Wiedner, U.; Zhong, J.; Beck, R.; Bianco, S.; Brinkmann, K. T.; Hammann, C.; Hinterberger, F.; Kaiser, D.; Kliemt, R.; Kube, M.; Pitka, A.; Quagli, T.; Schmidt, C.; Schmitz, R.; Schnell, R.; Thoma, U.; Vlasov, P.; Walther, D.; Wendel, C.; Wuerschig, T.; Zaunick, H. G.; Bianconi, A.; Bragadireanu, M.; Caprini, M.; Pantea, D.; Pantelica, D.; Pietreanu, D.; Serbina, L.; Tarta, P. D.; Kaplan, D.; Fiutowski, T.; Idzik, M.; Mindur, B.; Przyborowski, D.; Swientek, K.; Czech, B.; Kistryn, M.; Kliczewski, S.; Kozela, A.; Kulessa, P.; Lebiedowicz, P.; Pysz, K.; Schaefer, W.; Siudak, R.; Szczurek, A.; Jowzaee, S.; Kajetanowicz, M.; Kamys, B.; Kistryn, S.; Korcyl, G.; Korcyl, K.; Krzemien, W.; Magiera, A.; Moskal, P.; Palka, M.; Rudy, Z.; Salabura, P.; Smyrski, J.; Wronska, A.; Augustin, I.; Lehmann, I.; Nimorus, D.; Schepers, G.; Al-Turany, M.; Arora, R.; Deppe, H.; Flemming, H.; Gerhardt, A.; Goetzen, K.; Jordi, A. F.; Kalicy, G.; Karabowicz, R.; Lehmann, D.; Lewandowski, B.; Luehning, J.; Maas, F.; Orth, H.; Patsyuk, M.; Peters, K.; Saito, T.; Schepers, G.; Schmidt, C. J.; Schmitt, L.; Schwarz, C.; Schwiening, J.; Traxler, M.; Voss, B.; Wieczorek, P.; Wilms, A.; Zuehlsdorf, M.; Abazov, V. M.; Alexeev, G.; Arefiev, A.; Astakhov, V. I.; Barabanov, M. Yu.; Batyunya, B. V.; Davydov, Yu. I.; Dodokhov, V. Kh.; Efremov, A. A.; Fedunov, A. G.; Festchenko, A. A.; Galoyan, A. S.; Grigoryan, S.; Karmokov, A.; Koshurnikov, E. K.; Lobanov, V. I.; Lobanov, Yu. Yu.; Makarov, A. F.; Malinina, L. V.; Malyshev, V. L.; Mustafaev, G. A.; Olshevskiy, A.; Pasyuk, M. A.; Perevalova, E. A.; Piskun, A. A.; Pocheptsov, T. A.; Pontecorvo, G.; Rodionov, V. K.; Rogov, Yu. N.; Salmin, R. A.; Samartsev, A. G.; Sapozhnikov, M. G.; Shabratova, G. S.; Skachkova, A. N.; Skachkov, N. B.; Strokovsky, E. A.; Suleimanov, M. K.; Teshev, R. Sh.; Tokmenin, V. V.; Uzhinsky, V. V.; Vodopyanov, A. S.; Zaporozhets, S. A.; Zhuravlev, N. I.; Zorin, A. G.; Branford, D.; Glazier, D.; Watts, D.; Woods, P.; Britting, A.; Eyrich, W.; Lehmann, A.; Uhlig, F.; Dobbs, S.; Metreveli, Z.; Seth, K.; Tomaradze, A.; Xiao, T.; Bettoni, D.; Carassiti, V.; Ramusino, A. Cotta; Dalpiaz, P.; Drago, A.; Fioravanti, E.; Garzia, I.; Savrie, M.; Stancari, G.; Bianchi, N.; Gianotti, P.; Guaraldo, C.; Lucherini, V.; Orecchini, D.; Pace, E.; Bersani, A.; Bracco, G.; Macri, M.; Parodi, R. F.; Bremer, D.; Dormenev, V.; Drexler, P.; Dueren, M.; Eissner, T.; Foehl, K.; Galuska, M.; Gessler, T.; Hayrapetyan, A.; Hu, J.; Koch, P.; Kroeck, B.; Kuehn, W.; Lange, S.; Liang, Y.; Merle, O.; Metag, V.; Moritz, M.; Muenchow, D.; Nanova, M.; Novotny, R.; Spruck, B.; Stenzel, H.; Ullrich, T.; Werner, M.; Xu, H.; Euan, C.; Hoek, M.; Ireland, D.; Keri, T.; Montgomery, R.; Protopopescu, D.; Rosner, G.; Seitz, B.; Babai, M.; Glazenborg-Kluttig, A.; Kavatsyuk, M.; Lemmens, P.; Lindemulder, M.; Löhner, H.; Messchendorp, J.; Moeini, H.; Schakel, P.; Schreuder, F.; Smit, H.; Tambave, G.; van der Weele, J. C.; Veenstra, Rick; Sohlbach, H.; Buescher, M.; Deermann, D.; Dosdall, R.; Esch, S.; Gillitzer, A.; Goldenbaum, F.; Grunwald, D.; Henssler, S.; Herten, A.; Hu, Q.; Kemmerling, G.; Kleines, H.; Kozlov, V.; Lehrach, A.; Maier, R.; Mertens, M.; Ohm, H.; Orfanitski, S.; Prasuhn, D.; Randriamalala, T.; Ritman, J.; Roeder, M.; Schadmand, S.; Serdyuk, V.; Sterzenbach, G.; Stockmanns, T.; Wintz, P.; Wuestner, P.; Xu, H.; Kisiel, J.; Li, S.; Li, Z.; Sun, Z.; Xu, H.; Rigato, V.; Fissum, S.; Hansen, K.; Isaksson, L.; Lundin, M.; Schroder, B.; Achenbach, P.; Bleser, S.; Cahit, U.; Cardinali, M.; Denig, A.; Distler, M.; Fritsch, M.; Jasinski, P.; Kangh, D.; Karavdina, A.; Lauth, W.; Merkel, H.; Michel, M.; Espi, M. C. Mora; Mueller, U.; Pochodzalla, J.; Sanchez, S.; Sanchez-Lorente, A.; Schlimme, S.; Sfienti, C.; Thiel, M.; Weber, T.; Dormenev, V. I.; Fedorov, A. A.; Korzhik, M. V.; Missevitch, O. V.; Balanutsa, V.; Chernetsky, V.; Demekhin, A.; Dolgolenko, A.; Fedorets, P.; Gerasimov, A.; Goryachev, V.; Varentsov, V.; Boukharov, A.; Malyshev, O.; Marishev, I.; Semenov, A.; Boehmer, F.; Dorheim, S.; Ketzer, B.; Paul, S.; Hergemoeller, A. K.; Khoukaz, A.; Koehler, E.; Taeschner, A.; Wessels, J.; Varma, R.; Chaterjee, A.; Jha, V.; Kailas, S.; Roy, B. J.; Yan, Y.; Chinorat, K.; Khanchai, K.; Ayut, L.; Pomrad, S.; Baldin, E.; Kotov, K.; Peleganchuk, S.; Tikhonov, Yu.; Boucher, J.; Chambert, V.; Dbeyssi, A.; Gumberidze, M.; Hennino, T.; Imre, M.; Kunne, R.; Le Galliard, C.; Ma, B.; Marchand, D.; Maroni, A.; Ong, S.; Ramstein, B.; Rosier, P.; Tomasi-Gustafsson, E.; De Wiele, J. Van; Boca, G.; Braghieri, A.; Costanza, S.; Genova, P.; Lavezzi, L.; Montagna, P.; Rotondi, A.; Abramov, V.; Belikov, N.; Davidenko, A.; Derevschikov, A.; Goncharenko, Y.; Grishin, V.; Kachanov, V.; Konstantinov, D.; Kormilitsin, V.; Melnik, Y.; Levin, A.; Minaev, N.; Mochalov, V.; Morozov, D.; Nogach, L.; Poslavskiy, S.; Ryazantsev, A.; Ryzhikov, S.; Semenov, P.; Shein, I.; Uzunian, A.; Vasiliev, A.; Yakutin, A.; Back, T.; Cederwall, B.; Makonyi, K.; Tegner, P. E.; von Wurtemberg, K. M.; Belostotski, S.; Gavrilov, G.; Itzotov, A.; Kashchuk, A.; Kisselev, A.; Kravchenko, P.; Levitskaya, O.; Manaenkov, S.; Miklukho, O.; Naryshkin, Y.; Veretennikov, D.; Vikhrov, V.; Zhadanov, A.; Alberto, D.; Amoroso, A.; Bussa, M. P.; Busso, L.; De Mori, F.; Destefanis, M.; Fava, L.; Ferrero, L.; Greco, M.; Maggiora, M.; Marcello, S.; Sosio, S.; Spataro, S.; Zotti, L.; Calvo, D.; Coli, S.; De Remigis, P.; Filippi, A.; Giraudo, G.; Lusso, S.; Mazza, G.; Morra, O.; Rivetti, A.; Wheadon, R.; Iazzi, F.; Lavagno, A.; Younis, H.; Birsa, R.; Bradamante, F.; Bressan, A.; Martin, A.; Clement, H.; Galander, B.; Balkestahl, L. Caldeira; Calen, H.; Fransson, K.; Johansson, T.; Kupsc, A.; Marciniewski, P.; Thome, E.; Wolke, M.; Zlomanczuk, J.; Diaz, J.; Ortiz, A.; Dmowski, K.; Duda, P.; Korzeniewski, R.; Slowinski, B.; Chlopik, A.; Guzik, Z.; Kosinski, K.; Melnychuk, D.; Wasilewski, A.; Wojciechowski, M.; Wronka, S.; Wysocka, A.; Zwieglinski, B.; Buehler, P.; Hartman, O. N.; Kienle, P.; Marton, J.; Suzuki, K.; Widmann, E.; Zmeskal, J.; Werner, M.J.

    This document describes the technical layout and the expected performance of the Straw Tube Tracker (STT), the main tracking detector of the PANDA target spectrometer. The STT encloses a Micro-Vertex-Detector (MVD) for the inner tracking and is followed in beam direction by a set of GEM stations.

  1. Control and supervision of a time projection chamber with GEM readout

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaiser, David

    2014-01-01

    To get a deeper understanding of the structure of nucleons and the strong interaction binding the constituents inside, the CBELSA/TAPS experiment investigates the resonance spectrum of baryons by meson photoproduction within the scope of the SFB/TRR 16 ''Subnuclear Structure of Matter''. In order to support and expand the physical program, the existing Inner Detector will be replaced by a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) within the next few years. This allows for the detection of charged reaction channels, which can't be measured with the CBELSA/TAPS experiment up to now, as well as for particle identification from the specific energy loss. A First prototype with GEM foils for charge amplification in front of the readout plane and suitable size for the CBELSA/TAPS experiment was built in collaboration with the TU Munich, the detector laboratory of the GSI in Darmstadt and the Stefan-Meyer-Institute of the University Vienna. The TPC has been commissioned successfully within the FOPI experiment at the GSI during several test beam campaigns. Additionally, systematic studies have been carried out with a smaller Test-TPC using a TestBench providing an accurate external track definition. As the electron drift velocity in the TPC volume is a crucial parameter for the exact track reconstruction, detailed simulations of the drift velocity and its dependency on external parameters, such as drift voltage, pressure, gas flow or temperature, have been carried out. The results of these simulations recommend a constant monitoring of all examined parameters to allow a reasonable use of the simulated drift velocities. For this purpose, and to ensure a safe and stable operation of the TPCs and the other detectors on the TestBench, the required hardware, the control software based on a data base and a graphical user interface were designed and constructed as the main part of this work. With this so-called SlowControl, it was possible to measure, control and store several parameters - e

  2. PandaX-III neutrinoless double beta decay experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shaobo; PandaX-III Collaboration

    2017-09-01

    The PandaX-III experiment uses high pressure Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of Xe-136 with high energy resolution and sensitivity at the China Jin-Ping underground Laboratory II (CJPL-II). Fine-pitch Microbulk Micromegas will be used for charge amplification and readout in order to reconstruct both the energy and track of the neutrinoless double-beta decay event. In the first phase of the experiment, the detector, which contains 200 kg of 90% Xe-136 enriched gas operated at 10 bar, will be immersed in a large water tank to ensure 5 m of water shielding. For the second phase, a ton-scale experiment with multiple TPCs will be constructed to improve the detection probability and sensitivity. A 20-kg scale prototype TPC with 7 Micromegas modules has been built to optimize the design of Micromegas readout module, study the energy calibration of TPC and develop algorithm of 3D track reconstruction.

  3. Progress in GEM-based gaseous photomultipliers

    CERN Document Server

    Chechik, R; Breskin, Amos; Buzulutskov, A F; Guedes, G P; Mörmann, D; Singh, B K

    2003-01-01

    We discuss recent progress in gaseous photomultipliers (GPMTs) comprising UV-to-visible spectral range photocathodes (PCs) coupled to multiple Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM). The PCs may be either semitransparent or reflective ones directly deposited on the first-GEM surface. These detectors provide high gain, even in noble gases, are sensitive to single photons, have nanosecond time resolution, and offer good localization. The operation of CsI-based GPMTs in CF sub 4 opens new applications in Cherenkov detectors, where both the radiator and the photosensor operate in the same gas. The latest results on sealed visible-light detectors, combining bialkali PCs and Kapton-made GEMs are presented.

  4. GEM-based thermal neutron beam monitors for spallation sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Croci, G.; Claps, G.; Caniello, R.; Cazzaniga, C.; Grosso, G.; Murtas, F.; Tardocchi, M.; Vassallo, E.; Gorini, G.; Horstmann, C.; Kampmann, R.; Nowak, G.; Stoermer, M.

    2013-01-01

    The development of new large area and high flux thermal neutron detectors for future neutron spallation sources, like the European Spallation Source (ESS) is motivated by the problem of 3 He shortage. In the framework of the development of ESS, GEM (Gas Electron Multiplier) is one of the detector technologies that are being explored as thermal neutron sensors. A first prototype of GEM-based thermal neutron beam monitor (bGEM) has been built during 2012. The bGEM is a triple GEM gaseous detector equipped with an aluminum cathode coated by 1μm thick B 4 C layer used to convert thermal neutrons to charged particles through the 10 B(n, 7 Li)α nuclear reaction. This paper describes the results obtained by testing a bGEM detector at the ISIS spallation source on the VESUVIO beamline. Beam profiles (FWHM x =31 mm and FWHM y =36 mm), bGEM thermal neutron counting efficiency (≈1%), detector stability (3.45%) and the time-of-flight spectrum of the beam were successfully measured. This prototype represents the first step towards the development of thermal neutrons detectors with efficiency larger than 50% as alternatives to 3 He-based gaseous detectors

  5. Study of reconstruction methods for a time projection chamber with GEM gas amplification system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diener, R.

    2006-12-15

    A new e{sup +}e{sup -} linear collider with an energy range up to 1TeV is planned in an international collaboration: the International Linear Collider (ILC). This collider will be able to do precision measurements of the Higgs particle and of physics beyond the Standard Model. In the Large Detector Concept (LDC) - which is one proposal for a detector at the ILC - a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is foreseen as the main tracking device. To meet the requirements on the resolution and to be able to work in the environment at the ILC, the application of new gas amplification technologies in the TPC is necessary. One option is an amplification system based on Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs). Due to the - in comparison with older technologies - small spatial width of the signals, this technology poses new requirements on the readout structures and the reconstruction methods. In this work, the performance and the systematics of different reconstruction methods have been studied, based on data measured with a TPC prototype in high magnetic fields of up to 4T and data from a Monte Carlo simulation. The latest results of the achievable point resolution are presented and their limitations have been investigated. (orig.)

  6. Study of reconstruction methods for a time projection chamber with GEM gas amplification system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diener, R.

    2006-12-01

    A new e + e - linear collider with an energy range up to 1TeV is planned in an international collaboration: the International Linear Collider (ILC). This collider will be able to do precision measurements of the Higgs particle and of physics beyond the Standard Model. In the Large Detector Concept (LDC) - which is one proposal for a detector at the ILC - a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is foreseen as the main tracking device. To meet the requirements on the resolution and to be able to work in the environment at the ILC, the application of new gas amplification technologies in the TPC is necessary. One option is an amplification system based on Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs). Due to the - in comparison with older technologies - small spatial width of the signals, this technology poses new requirements on the readout structures and the reconstruction methods. In this work, the performance and the systematics of different reconstruction methods have been studied, based on data measured with a TPC prototype in high magnetic fields of up to 4T and data from a Monte Carlo simulation. The latest results of the achievable point resolution are presented and their limitations have been investigated. (orig.)

  7. A micromegas-based TPC for the International Linear Collider

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhattacharya, Deb Sankar; Mukhopadhyay, Supratik; Majumdar, Nayana; Sarkar, Sandip; Bhattacharya, Sudeb; Bhattacharya, Purba; Colas, Paul; Attié, David; Ganjour, Serguei; Bhattacharya, Aparajita

    2016-01-01

    One of the two detector concepts for the ILC is the International Large Detector (ILD). The central tracking at the ILD is foreseen to be accomplished by a TPC (the ILD-TPC). A TPC has the benefits of truly continuous 3-D tracking and robust pattern recognition. In the baseline design, the length and the diameter of the ILD-TPC are 4.6 m and 3.6 m respectively. It will work in a 3.5 T magnetic field. Micromegas is a promising candidate for the ILD-TPC. Like any other MPGD, track reconstruction at the LPTPC with Micromegas has challenges. The electric field inhomogeneity near the gap between the modules results in track distortion and affects the performance of the TPC. The causes and effects of this distortion have been thoroughly studied by numerical methods. The results match closely with experiment. Possible hardware modifications to mitigate distortion effect have been explored in simulation

  8. arXiv Status of the R&D activities for the upgrade of the ALICE TPC

    CERN Document Server

    Deisting, Alexander

    2018-01-01

    In order to cope with the high interaction rates provided by the LHC after the long shut-down 2, the ALICE TPC needs to be upgraded. After the upgrade the TPC will run in a continuous mode, without any degradation of the momentum and $\\textrm{d}E/\\textrm{d}x$ resolution compared to the performance of the present TPC. Since readout by MWPCs is no longer feasible with these requirements, new technologies have to be employed. In the new readout the electron amplification is provided by a stack of four GEM foils. Here foils with a standard hole pitch of 140um as well as large pitch foils (280um) are used. Their high voltage settings and orientation have been optimised to provide an energy resolution of $\\sigma_{{E}}/{E}\\leq12\\%$ at the photopeak of $^{55}\\textrm{Fe}$. At the same settings the Ion BackFlow into the drift volume is less than 1% of the effective number of ions produced during gas amplification and the primary ionisations. This is necessary to prevent the accumulation of space charge, which eventuall...

  9. TPC workshop summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nygren, D.R.

    1984-01-01

    The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) concept is now nearly ten years old and, as is evident in this workshop, is still evolving in many directions. From the liquid xenon TPC for double beta decay studies to the impressively large second generation TPC for the LEP experiment ALEPH, the surprising diversity of current applications is apparent. This workshop, the first to concentrate solely on the TPC has provided a most congenial and rewarding occasion for all TPC enthusiasts to share experience, results, and ideas

  10. Measurements of ion mobility and GEM discharge studies for the upgrade of the ALICE time projection chamber

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00507268

    2018-02-20

    ALICE is one of the four experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The quark-gluon plasma, which is predominantly produced in lead-lead collisions at LHC, is of particular interest for ALICE. After the long shut-down 2 (2019-2021) the LHC will provide lead-lead collisions at an increased interaction rate of 50 kHz. In order to examine every event at this interaction rate the ALICE Time Projection Chamber (TPC) needs to be upgraded. The TPC’s ReadOut Chambers (ROCs) are currently multi-wire proportional chambers. To prevent space charge build-up of slow ions, drifting from the ROCs into the TPC, a gating grid is used. The corresponding closure time imposes a dead time on the TPC read out, which prohibits data taking at a readout rate higher than 3 kHz. New ROCs have therefore been designed, relying on stacks of Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) foils for the gas amplification, allowing for continuous readout. With the new ROCs, a certain fraction of ions will be drifting at all time into the TPC. Knowing t...

  11. GEM-based gaseous photomultipliers for UV and visible photon imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moermann, D.; Balcerzyk, M.; Breskin, A.; Chechik, R.; Singh, B.K.; Buzulutskov, A.

    2003-01-01

    We present the current status of our research on GEM-based gaseous photomultipliers. Detectors combining multi-GEM electron multipliers with semi-transparent and reflective photocathodes are discussed. We present recent progress in extending the sensitivity of these detectors into the visible range. We demonstrate the long-term stability of an argon-sealed bi-alkali photo-diode and provide preliminary results of a gas-sealed Kapton-GEM detector with a bi-alkali photocathode. The problem of ion-induced secondary electron emission is addressed

  12. Precision Meson Spectroscopy: Diffractive Production at COMPASS and Development of a GEM-based TPC for PANDA

    CERN Document Server

    Weitzel, Q

    Meson spectroscopy is a unique way to access Quantum Chromo Dynamics (QCD) and learn about its properties. Due to the non-Abelian structure, QCD predicts new states of matter with gluonic degrees of freedom. In particular q ¯ qg hybrids, which can have spin-exotic quantum numbers forbidden for conventional q ¯ q mesons, are expected to exist. Such states were searched for in the past, mostly in the light-quark sector. However, the experimental situation is still ambiguous and needs to be clarified. Further insights will certainly also come from the heavy-quark spectroscopy. Several new charmonium-like resonances were for example discovered during the last years, which have to be studied in more detail by future experiments to reveal their nature. Diffractive dissociation reactions at COMPASS provide clean access to meson resonances with masses below 2.5 GeV/c2. During a pilot run in 2004 using pion beams on lead targets, a competitive number of −−+ final state events were recorded within a few days of d...

  13. Performance and applications of a μ-TPC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miuchi, Kentaro; Kubo, Hidetoshi; Nagayoshi, Tsutomu; Okada, Yoko; Orito, Reiko; Takada, Atsushi; Takeda, Atsushi; Tanimori, Toru; Ueno, Masaru; Bouianov, Oleg; Bouianov, Marina

    2004-01-01

    A μ-TPC, a time projection chamber (TPC) which can detect three-dimensional fine tracks of charged particles, was developed and its performance was measured. We developed a μ-TPC with a detection volume of 10x10x10cm3 based on a novel two-dimensional imaging gaseous detector, or the μ-PIC. Fine tracks of charged particles with large energy depositions (protons and electrons) were detected with the μ-TPC. With a pressurized gas, tracks of the minimum ionizing particles were detected. We showed the principle of the application for the time-resolved neutron imaging detector

  14. Microbulk MicrOMEGAs for the search of 0νββ of 136Xe in the PandaX-III experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galan, J.

    2016-01-01

    The search for the neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) is one of the most important quests nowadays in neutrino physics. Among the different techniques used, high pressure xenon (HPXe) gas time projection chambers (TPC) stand out because they allow to image the topology of the 0νββ event (one straggling track ending in two blobs), and use it to discriminate signal from background events. Recent results with microbulk Micromegas in Xe + trimethylamine (TMA) mixtures show high promise in terms of gain, stability of operation, and energy resolution at high pressures (up to 10 bar). The addition of TMA at levels of 1% reduces electron diffusion in up to a factor of 10 with respect pure Xe, improving the quality of the topological pattern, and therefore the discrimination capability. Moreover microbulk Micromegas have very low levels of intrinsic radioactivity. All these results show that a Micromegas-read High Pressure Xenon TPC (HPXe-TPC) can be a competitive technique in the search for 0νββ. The recently proposed PandaX-III experiment, based on these results, aims at building a large TPC of 200 kg of enriched Xe, to be located at Jinping Underground laboratory in China. In this document the main features of the experiment will be presented, with an emphasis on the design and tests of the microbulk readout, as well as the status of the project and first results of the prototyping phase.

  15. Origins of GEMS Grains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Messenger, S.; Walker, R. M.

    2012-01-01

    Interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) collected in the Earth s stratosphere contain high abundances of submicrometer amorphous silicates known as GEMS grains. From their birth as condensates in the outflows of oxygen-rich evolved stars, processing in interstellar space, and incorporation into disks around new stars, amorphous silicates predominate in most astrophysical environments. Amorphous silicates were a major building block of our Solar System and are prominent in infrared spectra of comets. Anhydrous interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) thought to derive from comets contain abundant amorphous silicates known as GEMS (glass with embedded metal and sulfides) grains. GEMS grains have been proposed to be isotopically and chemically homogenized interstellar amorphous silicate dust. We evaluated this hypothesis through coordinated chemical and isotopic analyses of GEMS grains in a suite of IDPs to constrain their origins. GEMS grains show order of magnitude variations in Mg, Fe, Ca, and S abundances. GEMS grains do not match the average element abundances inferred for ISM dust containing on average, too little Mg, Fe, and Ca, and too much S. GEMS grains have complementary compositions to the crystalline components in IDPs suggesting that they formed from the same reservoir. We did not observe any unequivocal microstructural or chemical evidence that GEMS grains experienced prolonged exposure to radiation. We identified four GEMS grains having O isotopic compositions that point to origins in red giant branch or asymptotic giant branch stars and supernovae. Based on their O isotopic compositions, we estimate that 1-6% of GEMS grains are surviving circumstellar grains. The remaining 94-99% of GEMS grains have O isotopic compositions that are indistinguishable from terrestrial materials and carbonaceous chondrites. These isotopically solar GEMS grains either formed in the Solar System or were completely homogenized in the interstellar medium (ISM). However, the

  16. Perfluorooctanesulfonate and periluorooctanoate in red panda and giant panda from China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Jiayin; Li, Ming; Jin, Yihe; Saito, Norimitsu; Xu, Muqi; Wei, Fuwen

    2006-09-15

    Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) are important perfluorochemicals (PFCs) in various applications. Recently, it has been shown that these compounds are widespread in the environment, wildlife, and humans. The giant panda and the red panda belong to the order Carnivora, but are highly specialized as bamboo feeders. Both species are considered rare and endangered. In this study, we report for the first time on levels of PFOS and PFOA in serum of the giant panda and the red panda captured in zoos and animal parks from six provinces in China. PFOS was the predominant compound in all panda samples measured (ranging from 0.80 to 73.80 microg/L for red panda and from 0.76 to 19.00 microg/L for giant panda). The PFOA level ranged from 0.33 to 8.20 microg/L for red panda, and from 0.32 to 1.56 microg/L for giant panda. There was a positive significant correlation between concentrations of PFOS and PFOA in the serum obtained from pandas. No age- or sex- related differences were observed in concentrations of the fluorochemicals in panda sera. Greater concentrations of the fluorochemicals were found for those individuals collected from zoos near urbanized or industrialized areas than for other areas. These data combined with other reported data suggest that there are large differences in distribution of perfluorinated compounds in terrestrial animals.

  17. Compression of TPC data in the ALICE experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nicolaucig, A.; Mattavelli, M.; Carrato, S.

    2002-01-01

    In this paper two algorithms for the compression of the data generated by the Time Projection Chamber (TPC) detector of the ALICE experiment at CERN are described. The first algorithm is based on a lossless source code modeling technique, i.e. the original TPC signal information can be reconstructed without errors at the decompression stage. The source model exploits the temporal correlation that is present in the TPC data to reduce the entropy of the source. The second algorithm is based on a source model which is lossy if samples of the TPC signal are considered one by one. Conversely, the source model is lossless or quasi-lossless if some physical quantities that are of main interest for the experiment are considered. These quantities are the area and the location of the center of mass of each TPC signal pulse. Obviously entropy coding is applied to the set of events defined by the two source models to reduce the bit rate to the corresponding source entropy. Using TPC simulated data according to the expected ALICE TPC performance, the lossless and the lossy compression algorithms achieve a data reduction, respectively, to 49.2% and in the range of 34.2% down to 23.7% of the original data rate. The number of operations per input symbol required to implement the compression stage for both algorithms is relatively low, so that a real-time implementation embedded in the TPC data acquisition chain using low-cost integrated electronics is a realistic option to effectively reduce the data storing cost of ALICE experiment

  18. Panda code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Altomare, S.; Minton, G.

    1975-02-01

    PANDA is a new two-group one-dimensional (slab/cylinder) neutron diffusion code designed to replace and extend the FAB series. PANDA allows for the nonlinear effects of xenon, enthalpy and Doppler. Fuel depletion is allowed. PANDA has a completely general search facility which will seek criticality, maximize reactivity, or minimize peaking. Any single parameter may be varied in a search. PANDA is written in FORTRAN IV, and as such is nearly machine independent. However, PANDA has been written with the present limitations of the Westinghouse CDC-6600 system in mind. Most computation loops are very short, and the code is less than half the useful 6600 memory size so that two jobs can reside in the core at once. (auth)

  19. Does GEM-Encoding Clinical Practice Guidelines Improve the Quality of Knowledge Bases? A Study with the Rule-Based Formalism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georg, Gersende; Séroussi, Brigitte; Bouaud, Jacques

    2003-01-01

    The aim of this work was to determine whether the GEM-encoding step could improve the representation of clinical practice guidelines as formalized knowledge bases. We used the 1999 Canadian recommendations for the management of hypertension, chosen as the knowledge source in the ASTI project. We first clarified semantic ambiguities of therapeutic sequences recommended in the guideline by proposing an interpretative framework of therapeutic strategies. Then, after a formalization step to standardize the terms used to characterize clinical situations, we created the GEM-encoded instance of the guideline. We developed a module for the automatic derivation of a rule base, BR-GEM, from the instance. BR-GEM was then compared to the rule base, BR-ASTI, embedded within the critic mode of ASTI, and manually built by two physicians from the same Canadian guideline. As compared to BR-ASTI, BR-GEM is more specific and covers more clinical situations. When evaluated on 10 patient cases, the GEM-based approach led to promising results. PMID:14728173

  20. Does GEM-encoding clinical practice guidelines improve the quality of knowledge bases? A study with the rule-based formalism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georg, Georg; Séroussi, Brigitte; Bouaud, Jacques

    2003-01-01

    The aim of this work was to determine whether the GEM-encoding step could improve the representation of clinical practice guidelines as formalized knowledge bases. We used the 1999 Canadian recommendations for the management of hypertension, chosen as the knowledge source in the ASTI project. We first clarified semantic ambiguities of therapeutic sequences recommended in the guideline by proposing an interpretative framework of therapeutic strategies. Then, after a formalization step to standardize the terms used to characterize clinical situations, we created the GEM-encoded instance of the guideline. We developed a module for the automatic derivation of a rule base, BR-GEM, from the instance. BR-GEM was then compared to the rule base, BR-ASTI, embedded within the critic mode of ASTI, and manually built by two physicians from the same Canadian guideline. As compared to BR-ASTI, BR-GEM is more specific and covers more clinical situations. When evaluated on 10 patient cases, the GEM-based approach led to promising results.

  1. S Panda

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics. S Panda. Articles written in Pramana – Journal of Physics. Volume 56 Issue 6 June 2001 pp 809-822 Research Articles. Analytic methods for field induced tunneling in quantum wells with arbitrary potential profiles · S Panda B K Panda · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

  2. FPGA-based GEM detector signal acquisition for SXR spectroscopy system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wojenski, A.; Pozniak, K. T.; Kasprowicz, G.; Kolasinski, P.; Krawczyk, R.; Zabolotny, W.; Chernyshova, M.; Czarski, T.; Malinowski, K.

    2016-11-01

    The presented work is related to the Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detector soft X-ray spectroscopy system for tokamak applications. The used GEM detector has one-dimensional, 128 channel readout structure. The channels are connected to the radiation-hard electronics with configurable analog stage and fast ADCs, supporting speeds of 125 MSPS for each channel. The digitalized data is sent directly to the FPGAs using fast serial links. The preprocessing algorithms are implemented in the FPGAs, with the data buffering made in the on-board 2Gb DDR3 memory chips. After the algorithmic stage, the data is sent to the Intel Xeon-based PC for further postprocessing using PCI-Express link Gen 2. For connection of multiple FPGAs, PCI-Express switch 8-to-1 was designed. The whole system can support up to 2048 analog channels. The scope of the work is an FPGA-based implementation of the recorder of the raw signal from GEM detector. Since the system will work in a very challenging environment (neutron radiation, intense electro-magnetic fields), the registered signals from the GEM detector can be corrupted. In the case of the very intense hot plasma radiation (e.g. laser generated plasma), the registered signals can overlap. Therefore, it is valuable to register the raw signals from the GEM detector with high number of events during soft X-ray radiation. The signal analysis will have the direct impact on the implementation of photon energy computation algorithms. As the result, the system will produce energy spectra and topological distribution of soft X-ray radiation. The advanced software was developed in order to perform complex system startup and monitoring of hardware units. Using the array of two one-dimensional GEM detectors it will be possible to perform tomographic reconstruction of plasma impurities radiation in the SXR region.

  3. PandA : pairings and arithmetic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chuengsatiansup, C.; Naehrig, M.; Ribarski, P.; Schwabe, P.; Cao, Z.; Zhang, F.

    2014-01-01

    This paper introduces PandA, a software framework for Pairings and Arithmetic. It is designed to bring together advances in the efficient computation of cryptographic pairings and the development and implementation of pairing-based protocols. The intention behind the PandA framework is to give

  4. TPC magnet cryogenic system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Green, M.A.; Burns, W.A.; Taylor, J.D.; Van Slyke, H.W.

    1980-03-01

    The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) magnet at LBL and its compensation solenoids are adiabatically stable superconducting solenoid magnets. The cryogenic system developed for the TPC magnet is discussed. This system uses forced two-phase tubular cooling with the two cryogens in the system. The liquid helium and liquid nitrogen are delivered through the cooled load by forced tubular flow. The only reservoirs of liquid cryogen exist in the control dewar (for liquid helium) and the conditioner dewar (for liquid nitrogen). The operation o these systems during virtually all phases of system operation are described. Photographs and diagrams of various system components are shown, and cryogenic system data are presented in the following sections: (1) heat leaks into the TPC coil package and the compensation solenoids; (2) heat leaks to various components of the TPC magnet cryogenics system besides the magnets and control dewar; (3) the control dewar and its relationship to the rest of the system; (4) the conditioner system and its role in cooling down the TPC magnet; (5) gas-cooled electrical leads and charging losses; and (6) a summation of the liquid helium and liquid nitrogen requirements for the TPC superconducting magnet system

  5. Stability studies on GEM prototypes for the upgrade of the ALICE TPC

    CERN Document Server

    Cortinas Rodriguo Gaston, CRG

    2013-01-01

    In this work we show results of experiments aiming to understand the stability of a Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detector. While operating the detector, we monitor temperature, pressure and humidity in order to understand the contribution of each of these parameters to the behaviour of the devise. We also use a Single Wire proportional counter as a reference detector so to keep track of the gain fluctuations given by external influences (pressure, temperature, gas composition, etc.). In this way it is possible to spot fluctuation due to the intrinsic properties of these new detectors. A special effort is devoted to explaining and discussing different experimental drawbacks that appeared on the way in order to set a precedent, and as far as possible to avoid them in future experiences.

  6. First measurement of the cross section for the production of hadrons with high transverse momenta at COMPASS, and developments for particle tracking in high-rate experiments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoeppner, Christian C.

    2012-01-31

    In this dissertation, the first measurement of the luminosity for data from the COMPASS experiment is presented. The result is obtained by the direct measurement of the beam flux and the correction of all inefficiencies and dead times of the measurement. The normalized data set consists of about 30% of the COMPASS data recorded in 2004 and the effective integrated luminosity is 142.4 pb{sup -1} {+-} 10%, which is verified by the determination of the structure function F{sub 2} of the nucleon and its comparison to literature. Based on this result, the cross section for the quasi-real photoproduction of charged hadrons with high transverse momenta in muon-deuteron scattering at a center-of-mass energy of {radical}(s)=17.4 GeV is determined. The measurement of a hadron-production cross section in a thick solid-state target is quite challenging in comparison to collider measurements of such processes. The issue of secondary hadronic interactions in the target material is carefully studied and taken into account. The cross section is presented in bins of the pseudo-rapidity of the hadrons and separated by hadron charge. The results are discussed and compared to recent calculations of next-to-leading order perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics. This comparison serves as a test of the applicability of such calculations to the production of hadrons with high transverse momenta at COMPASS energies. The second part of this dissertation describes new developments for charged-particle tracking in high-rate experiments. The design of a new type of Time Projection Chamber (TPC), which employs GEM foils instead of proportional wires for gas amplification, is discussed. This technology opens up the possibility of using TPCs in experiments with trigger rates beyond about 1 kHz. Several important contributions to the GEM-TPC project are presented. Furthermore, a generic framework for track fitting in high-energy physics, called GENFIT, is introduced. This novel software is being used

  7. First measurement of the cross section for the production of hadrons with high transverse momenta at COMPASS, and developments for particle tracking in high-rate experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoeppner, Christian C.

    2012-01-01

    In this dissertation, the first measurement of the luminosity for data from the COMPASS experiment is presented. The result is obtained by the direct measurement of the beam flux and the correction of all inefficiencies and dead times of the measurement. The normalized data set consists of about 30% of the COMPASS data recorded in 2004 and the effective integrated luminosity is 142.4 pb -1 ± 10%, which is verified by the determination of the structure function F 2 of the nucleon and its comparison to literature. Based on this result, the cross section for the quasi-real photoproduction of charged hadrons with high transverse momenta in muon-deuteron scattering at a center-of-mass energy of √(s)=17.4 GeV is determined. The measurement of a hadron-production cross section in a thick solid-state target is quite challenging in comparison to collider measurements of such processes. The issue of secondary hadronic interactions in the target material is carefully studied and taken into account. The cross section is presented in bins of the pseudo-rapidity of the hadrons and separated by hadron charge. The results are discussed and compared to recent calculations of next-to-leading order perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics. This comparison serves as a test of the applicability of such calculations to the production of hadrons with high transverse momenta at COMPASS energies. The second part of this dissertation describes new developments for charged-particle tracking in high-rate experiments. The design of a new type of Time Projection Chamber (TPC), which employs GEM foils instead of proportional wires for gas amplification, is discussed. This technology opens up the possibility of using TPCs in experiments with trigger rates beyond about 1 kHz. Several important contributions to the GEM-TPC project are presented. Furthermore, a generic framework for track fitting in high-energy physics, called GENFIT, is introduced. This novel software is being used in the PANDA

  8. Study of relevant parameters of GEM-based detectors

    CERN Document Server

    Croci, Gabriele; Sauli, Fabio; Ragazzi, S

    2007-01-01

    The Gas Electron Multiplier consist of a thin Kapton insulating (50 $\\mu$m) foil copper-clad on both sides and perforated by a high density, regular matrix of holes (around 100 per square millimeter). Typically the distance between holes (pitch) is 140 $\\mu$m and diameters of about 70 $\\mu$m. The mesh is realised by conventional photolitographic methods as used for the fabrication of multi-layer board. Upon application of a potential difference between the GEM electrodes, a high dipole field develops in the holes focusing the field lines between the drift electrode and the readout element. Electron drift along the channel and the charge is amplified by a factor that depends on the field density and the length of the channel. Owing to their excellent position resolution and rate capability GEM-based detector are very suitable to be used in different applications: from the high energy physics to the medical field. The GEM temporal and rate gain stability was studied and it was discovered that the gain variation...

  9. Uniformity studies in large area triple-GEM based detectors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Akl, M. Abi [Science Program, Texas A& M University at Qatar, PO Box 23874, Doha (Qatar); Bouhali, O., E-mail: othmane.bouhali@qatar.tamu.edu [Science Program, Texas A& M University at Qatar, PO Box 23874, Doha (Qatar); Qatar Computing Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, PO Box 5825, Doha (Qatar); Castaneda, A.; Maghrbi, Y.; Mohamed, T. [Science Program, Texas A& M University at Qatar, PO Box 23874, Doha (Qatar)

    2016-10-01

    Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) based detectors have been used in many applications since their introduction in 1997. Large areas, e.g. exceeding 30×30 cm{sup 2}, of GEM detectors are foreseen in future experiments which puts stringent requirements on the uniformity of response across the detection area. We investigate the effect of small variations of several parameters that could affect the uniformity. Parameters such as the anode pitch, the gas gap, the size and the shape of the holes are investigated. Simulation results are presented and compared to previous experimental data.

  10. PANDA: Protein function prediction using domain architecture and affinity propagation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zheng; Zhao, Chenguang; Wang, Yiheng; Sun, Zheng; Wang, Nan

    2018-02-22

    We developed PANDA (Propagation of Affinity and Domain Architecture) to predict protein functions in the format of Gene Ontology (GO) terms. PANDA at first executes profile-profile alignment algorithm to search against PfamA, KOG, COG, and SwissProt databases, and then launches PSI-BLAST against UniProt for homologue search. PANDA integrates a domain architecture inference algorithm based on the Bayesian statistics that calculates the probability of having a GO term. All the candidate GO terms are pooled and filtered based on Z-score. After that, the remaining GO terms are clustered using an affinity propagation algorithm based on the GO directed acyclic graph, followed by a second round of filtering on the clusters of GO terms. We benchmarked the performance of all the baseline predictors PANDA integrates and also for every pooling and filtering step of PANDA. It can be found that PANDA achieves better performances in terms of area under the curve for precision and recall compared to the baseline predictors. PANDA can be accessed from http://dna.cs.miami.edu/PANDA/ .

  11. ALICE installs its TPC

    CERN Multimedia

    2007-01-01

    The ALICE time projection chamber has been transported to the experimental cavern. The handling of this extremely fragile detector was a long and delicate process. The lorry transporting the TPC took one hour to travel from the assembly hall to the access shaft...200 metres away.The TPC was lowered into the ALICE experimental cavern with extreme care. The gap between the structure and the shaft wall was only 10 centimetres! For ALICE the year started with a flurry of activity...but at a snail's pace. On 8 January, the day CERN reopened after the end-of-year break, teams from ALICE and the TS Department began the transportation of the experiment's time projection chamber (TPC), the largest ever built. This 5-metre long and 5-m diameter cylinder was transported from the clean room where it had been assembled to the experimental cavern. The 300-metre journey took no less than four days! Since the TPC is an extremely fragile object, the utmost precautions were exercised in its transportation. The TPC, which is d...

  12. Performance studies of the P barANDA planar GEM-tracking detector in physics simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Divani Veis, Nazila; Firoozabadi, Mohammad M.; Karabowicz, Radoslaw; Maas, Frank; Saito, Takehiko R.; Voss, Bernd; ̅PANDA Gem-Tracker Subgroup

    2018-03-01

    The P barANDA experiment will be installed at the future facility for antiproton and ion research (FAIR) in Darmstadt, Germany, to study events from the annihilation of protons and antiprotons. The P barANDA detectors can cover a wide physics program about baryon spectroscopy and nucleon structure as well as the study of hadrons and hypernuclear physics including the study of excited hyperon states. One very specific feature of most hyperon ground states is the long decay length of several centimeters in the forward direction. The central tracking detectors of the P barANDA setup are not sufficiently optimized for these long decay lengths. Therefore, using a set of the planar GEM-tracking detectors in the forward region of interest can improve the results in the hyperon physics-benchmark channel. The current conceptual designed P barANDA GEM-tracking stations contribute the measurement of the particles emitted in the polar angles between about 2 to 22 degrees. For this designed detector performance and acceptance, studies have been performed using one of the important hyperonic decay channel p bar p → Λ bar Λ → p bar pπ+π- in physics simulations. The simulations were carried out using the PandaRoot software packages based on the FairRoot framework.

  13. A PandaRoot interface for binary data in the PANDA prototype DAQ system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fleischer, Soeren; Lange, Soeren; Kuehn, Wolfgang; Hahn, Christopher; Wagner, Milan [2. Physikalisches Institut, Uni Giessen (Germany); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

    2015-07-01

    The PANDA experiment at FAIR will feature a raw data rate of more than 20 MHz. Only a small fraction of these events are of interest. Consequently, a sophisticated online data reduction setup is required, lowering the final output data rate by a factor of roughly 10{sup 3} by discarding data which does not fulfil certain criteria. The first stages of the data reduction will be implemented using FPGA-based Compute Nodes. For the planned tests with prototype detectors a small but scalable system is being set up which will allow to test the concept in a realistic environment with high rates. In this contribution, we present a PandaRoot implementation of a state-machine-based binary parser which receives detector data from the Compute Nodes via GbE links, converting the data stream into the PandaRoot format for further analysis and mass storage.

  14. Characterization of the gut microbiota in the red panda (Ailurus fulgens).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Fanli; Zhao, Jiangchao; Han, Shushu; Zeng, Bo; Yang, Jiandong; Si, Xiaohui; Yang, Benqing; Yang, Mingyao; Xu, Huailiang; Li, Ying

    2014-01-01

    The red panda is the only living species of the genus Ailurus. Like giant pandas, red pandas are also highly specialized to feed mainly on highly fibrous bamboo. Although several studies have focused on the gut microbiota in the giant panda, little is known about the gut microbiota of the red panda. In this study, we characterized the fecal microbiota from both wild (n = 16) and captive (n = 6) red pandas using a pyrosequecing based approach targeting the V1-V3 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Distinct bacterial communities were observed between the two groups based on both membership and structure. Wild red pandas maintained significantly higher community diversity, richness and evenness than captive red pandas, the communities of which were skewed and dominated by taxa associated with Firmicutes. Phylogenetic analysis of the top 50 OTUs revealed that 10 of them were related to known cellulose degraders. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of the gut microbiota of the red panda. Our data suggest that, similar to the giant panda, the gut microbiota in the red panda might also play important roles in the digestion of bamboo.

  15. Panda crosses the Atlantic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1999-01-01

    The development of the Panda software by Electricite de France (EdF) for monitoring hydroelectric power plants is traced from the early stages using TAM-TAM software for the Macintosh for data acquisition, checking, transfer to external sites, and archiving, to the development of Panda software in order to make the software compatible with remote measurement systems. The installation of Panda at two Argentinian hydroelectric power stations by EdF to make the monitoring of systems more reliable is reported, and the different chain of operations carried out by Panda are described. Panda's technical data, and simple data collection systems are outlined. (UK)

  16. Serosurvey of ex situ giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) in China with implications for species conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loeffler, I Kati; Howard, JoGayle; Montali, Richard J; Hayek, Lee-Ann; Dubovi, Edward; Zhang, Zhihe; Yan, Qigui; Guo, Wanzhu; Wildt, David E

    2007-12-01

    Conservation strategies for the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) include the development of a self-sustaining ex situ population. This study examined the potential significance of infectious pathogens in giant pandas ex situ. Serologic antibody titers against canine distemper virus (CDV), canine parvovirus (CPV), canine adenovirus (CAV), canine coronavirus (CCV), canine herpesvirus, canine parainfluenza virus (CPIV), Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, and Leptospira interrogans were measured in 44 samples taken from 19 giant pandas between 1998 and 2003 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan, China. Seroassays also included samples obtained in 2003 from eight red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) housed at the same institution. All individuals had been vaccinated with a Chinese canine vaccine that included modified live CDV, CPV, CAV, CCV, and CPIV. Positive antibody titers were found only against CDV, CPV, and T. gondii. Sera were negative for antibodies against the other six pathogens. Results indicate that the quality of the vaccine may not be reliable and that it should not be considered protective or safe in giant pandas and red pandas. Positive antibody titers against T. gondii were found in seven of the 19 giant pandas. The clinical, subclinical, or epidemiologic significance of infection with these pathogens via natural exposure or from modified live vaccines in giant pandas is unknown. Research in this area is imperative to sustaining a viable population of giant pandas and other endangered species.

  17. FPGA based compute nodes for high level triggering in PANDA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuehn, W; Gilardi, C; Kirschner, D; Lang, J; Lange, S; Liu, M; Perez, T; Yang, S; Schmitt, L; Jin, D; Li, L; Liu, Z; Lu, Y; Wang, Q; Wei, S; Xu, H; Zhao, D; Korcyl, K; Otwinowski, J T; Salabura, P

    2008-01-01

    PANDA is a new universal detector for antiproton physics at the HESR facility at FAIR/GSI. The PANDA data acquisition system has to handle interaction rates of the order of 10 7 /s and data rates of several 100 Gb/s. FPGA based compute nodes with multi-Gb/s bandwidth capability using the ATCA architecture are designed to handle tasks such as event building, feature extraction and high level trigger processing. Data connectivity is provided via optical links as well as multiple Gb Ethernet ports. The boards will support trigger algorithms such us pattern recognition for RICH detectors, EM shower analysis, fast tracking algorithms and global event characterization. Besides VHDL, high level C-like hardware description languages will be considered to implement the firmware

  18. Event Reconstruction in the PandaRoot framework

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spataro, Stefano

    2012-01-01

    The PANDA experiment will study the collisions of beams of anti-protons, with momenta ranging from 2-15 GeV/c, with fixed proton and nuclear targets in the charm energy range, and will be built at the FAIR facility. In preparation for the experiment, the PandaRoot software framework is under development for detector simulation, reconstruction and data analysis, running on an Alien2-based grid. The basic features are handled by the FairRoot framework, based on ROOT and Virtual Monte Carlo, while the PANDA detector specifics and reconstruction code are implemented inside PandaRoot. The realization of Technical Design Reports for the tracking detectors has pushed the finalization of the tracking reconstruction code, which is complete for the Target Spectrometer, and of the analysis tools. Particle Identification algorithms are currently implemented using Bayesian approach and compared to Multivariate Analysis methods. Moreover, the PANDA data acquisition foresees a triggerless operation in which events are not defined by a hardware 1st level trigger decision, but all the signals are stored with time stamps requiring a deconvolution by the software. This has led to a redesign of the software from an event basis to a time-ordered structure. In this contribution, the reconstruction capabilities of the Panda spectrometer will be reported, focusing on the performances of the tracking system and the results for the analysis of physics benchmark channels, as well as the new (and challenging) concept of time-based simulation and its implementation.

  19. Characterization of the gut microbiota in the red panda (Ailurus fulgens.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fanli Kong

    Full Text Available The red panda is the only living species of the genus Ailurus. Like giant pandas, red pandas are also highly specialized to feed mainly on highly fibrous bamboo. Although several studies have focused on the gut microbiota in the giant panda, little is known about the gut microbiota of the red panda. In this study, we characterized the fecal microbiota from both wild (n = 16 and captive (n = 6 red pandas using a pyrosequecing based approach targeting the V1-V3 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Distinct bacterial communities were observed between the two groups based on both membership and structure. Wild red pandas maintained significantly higher community diversity, richness and evenness than captive red pandas, the communities of which were skewed and dominated by taxa associated with Firmicutes. Phylogenetic analysis of the top 50 OTUs revealed that 10 of them were related to known cellulose degraders. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of the gut microbiota of the red panda. Our data suggest that, similar to the giant panda, the gut microbiota in the red panda might also play important roles in the digestion of bamboo.

  20. Should the Endangered Status of the Giant Panda Really Be Reduced? The Case of Giant Panda Conservation in Sichuan, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Ben; Lei, Shuo; Qing, Qin; Wen, Yali

    2018-05-03

    The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reduced the threat status of the giant panda from “endangered” to “vulnerable” in September 2016. In this study, we analyzed current practices for giant panda conservation at regional and local environmental scales, based on recent reports of giant panda protection efforts in Sichuan Province, China, combined with the survey results from 927 households within and adjacent to the giant panda reserves in this area. The results showed that household attitudes were very positive regarding giant panda protection efforts. Over the last 10 years, farmers’ dependence on the natural resources provided by giant panda reserves significantly decreased. However, socio-economic development increased resource consumption, and led to climate change, habitat fragmentation, environmental pollution, and other issues that placed increased pressure on giant panda populations. This difference between local and regional scales must be considered when evaluating the IUCN status of giant pandas. While the status of this species has improved in the short-term due to positive local attitudes, large-scale socio-economic development pressure could have long-term negative impacts. Consequently, the IUCN assessment leading to the classification of giant panda as “vulnerable” instead of “endangered”, should not affect its conservation intensity and effort, as such actions could negatively impact population recovery efforts, leading to the extinction of this charismatic species.

  1. Should the Endangered Status of the Giant Panda Really Be Reduced? The Case of Giant Panda Conservation in Sichuan, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ben Ma

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN reduced the threat status of the giant panda from “endangered” to “vulnerable” in September 2016. In this study, we analyzed current practices for giant panda conservation at regional and local environmental scales, based on recent reports of giant panda protection efforts in Sichuan Province, China, combined with the survey results from 927 households within and adjacent to the giant panda reserves in this area. The results showed that household attitudes were very positive regarding giant panda protection efforts. Over the last 10 years, farmers’ dependence on the natural resources provided by giant panda reserves significantly decreased. However, socio-economic development increased resource consumption, and led to climate change, habitat fragmentation, environmental pollution, and other issues that placed increased pressure on giant panda populations. This difference between local and regional scales must be considered when evaluating the IUCN status of giant pandas. While the status of this species has improved in the short-term due to positive local attitudes, large-scale socio-economic development pressure could have long-term negative impacts. Consequently, the IUCN assessment leading to the classification of giant panda as “vulnerable” instead of “endangered”, should not affect its conservation intensity and effort, as such actions could negatively impact population recovery efforts, leading to the extinction of this charismatic species.

  2. Test of a PCIe based readout option for PANDA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reiter, Simon; Lange, Soeren; Kuehn, Wolfgang [Justus-Liebig-Universitaet Giessen (Germany); Engel, Heiko [Goethe-Universitaet Frankfurt (Germany); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

    2016-07-01

    The future PANDA detector will achieve an event rate at about 20 MHz resulting in a high data load of up to 200 GB/s. The data acquisition system will be based on a triggerless readout concept, leading to the requirement of large data bandwidths. The data reduction will be guaranteed on the first level by an array of FPGAs running a full on-line reconstruction followed by the second level of a CPU/GPU cluster to achieve a reduction factor more than 1000. The C-RORC (Common Readout Receiver Card), originally developed for ALICE, provides on the one hand 12 optical links with 6.25 Gbps each, and on the other hand a PCIe interface with up to 40 Gbps. The receiver card has been installed and tested, and the firmware has been adjusted for the Panda data format. Test results are presented.

  3. A PanDA backend for the ganga analysis interface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vanderster, D C; Elmsheuser, J; Walker, R; Liko, D; Maeno, T; Wenaus, T; Nilsson, P

    2010-01-01

    Ganga provides a uniform interface for running ATLAS user analyses on a number of local, batch, and grid backends. PanDA is a pilot-based production and distributed analysis system developed and used extensively by ATLAS. This work presents the implementation and usage experiences of a PanDA backend for Ganga. Built upon reusable application libraries from GangaAtlas and PanDA, the Ganga PanDA backend allows users to run their analyses on the worldwide PanDA resources, while providing the ability for users to develop simple or complex analysis workflows in Ganga. Further, the backend allows users to submit and manage 'personal' PanDA pilots: these pilots run under the user's grid certificate and provide a secure alternative to shared pilot certificates while enabling the usage of local resource allocations.

  4. Giant panda׳s tooth enamel: Structure, mechanical behavior and toughening mechanisms under indentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weng, Z Y; Liu, Z Q; Ritchie, R O; Jiao, D; Li, D S; Wu, H L; Deng, L H; Zhang, Z F

    2016-12-01

    The giant panda׳s teeth possess remarkable load-bearing capacity and damage resistance for masticating bamboos. In this study, the hierarchical structure and mechanical behavior of the giant panda׳s tooth enamel were investigated under indentation. The effects of loading orientation and location on mechanical properties of the enamel were clarified and the evolution of damage in the enamel under increasing load evaluated. The nature of the damage, both at and beneath the indentation surfaces, and the underlying toughening mechanisms were explored. Indentation cracks invariably were seen to propagate along the internal interfaces, specifically the sheaths between enamel rods, and multiple extrinsic toughening mechanisms, e.g., crack deflection/twisting and uncracked-ligament bridging, were active to shield the tips of cracks from the applied stress. The giant panda׳s tooth enamel is analogous to human enamel in its mechanical properties, yet it has superior hardness and Young׳s modulus but inferior toughness as compared to the bamboo that pandas primarily feed on, highlighting the critical roles of the integration of underlying tissues in the entire tooth and the highly hydrated state of bamboo foods. Our objective is that this study can aid the understanding of the structure-mechanical property relations in the tooth enamel of mammals and further provide some insight on the food habits of the giant pandas. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Manashi Panda

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Journal of Chemical Sciences. Manashi Panda. Articles written in Journal of Chemical Sciences. Volume 119 Issue 1 January 2007 pp 3-9. Synthesis, structure, redox and spectra of green iridium complexes of tridentate azo-aromatic ligands · Manashi Panda Chayan Das Chen-Hsiung Hung Sreebrata ...

  6. Role of nature reserves in giant panda protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Dongwei; Li, Junqing

    2018-02-01

    Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a flagship species in nature conservation of the world; to protect this species, 67 nature reserves have been established in China. To evaluate the protection effect of giant panda nature reserves, we analyzed the variation of giant panda number and habitat area of 23 giant panda nature reserves of Sichuan province based on the national survey data released by State Forestry Administration and Sichuan Forestry Department. Results showed that from the third national survey to the fourth, giant panda number and habitat area of 23 giant panda nature reserves of Sichuan province failed to realize the significant increase. Furthermore, we found that the total population growth rate of 23 nature reserves in the last 12 years was lower than those of the province total of Sichuan and the national total of China, and the total habitat area of the 23 nature reserves was decreasing in the last 12 years, but the province total and national total were all increasing. We propose that giant panda protection should pay more attention to how to improve the protective effects of nature reserves.

  7. Aurobinda Panda

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Sadhana. Aurobinda Panda. Articles written in Sadhana. Volume 41 Issue 1 January 2016 pp 15-30. A single phase photovoltaic inverter control for grid connected system · Aurobinda Panda M K Pathak S P Srivastava · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF. This paper presents a control scheme for single ...

  8. Discriminating cosmic muons and X-rays based on rise time using a GEM detector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Hui-Yin; Zhao, Sheng-Ying; Wang, Xiao-Dong; Zhang, Xian-Ming; Qi, Hui-Rong; Zhang, Wei; Wu, Ke-Yan; Hu, Bi-Tao; Zhang, Yi

    2016-08-01

    Gas electron multiplier (GEM) detectors have been used in cosmic muon scattering tomography and neutron imaging over the last decade. In this work, a triple GEM device with an effective readout area of 10 cm × 10 cm is developed, and a method of discriminating between cosmic muons and X-rays based on rise time is tested. The energy resolution of the GEM detector is tested by 55Fe ray source to prove the GEM detector has a good performance. Analysis of the complete signal-cycles allows us to get the rise time and pulse heights. The experiment result indicates that cosmic muons and X-rays can be discriminated with an appropriate rise time threshold. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11135002, 11275235, 11405077, 11575073)

  9. The PANDA Barrel DIRC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwiening, J.; Ali, A.; Belias, A.; Dzhygadlo, R.; Gerhardt, A.; Götzen, K.; Kalicy, G.; Krebs, M.; Lehmann, D.; Nerling, F.; Patsyuk, M.; Peters, K.; Schepers, G.; Schmitt, L.; Schwarz, C.; Traxler, M.; Böhm, M.; Eyrich, W.; Lehmann, A.; Pfaffinger, M.; Uhlig, F.; Düren, M.; Etzelmüller, E.; Föhl, K.; Hayrapetyan, A.; Kreutzfeld, K.; Merle, O.; Rieke, J.; Schmidt, M.; Wasem, T.; Achenbach, P.; Cardinali, M.; Hoek, M.; Lauth, W.; Schlimme, S.; Sfienti, C.; Thiel, M.

    2018-03-01

    The PANDA experiment at the international accelerator Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Europe (FAIR) near GSI, Darmstadt, Germany will address fundamental questions of hadron physics. Excellent Particle Identification (PID) over a large range of solid angles and particle momenta will be essential to meet the objectives of the rich physics program. Charged PID for the barrel region of the PANDA target spectrometer will be provided by a DIRC (Detection of Internally Reflected Cherenkov light) detector. The Barrel DIRC will cover the polar angle range of 22o-140o and cleanly separate charged pions from kaons for momenta between 0.5 GeV/c and 3.5 GeV/c with a separation power of at least 3 standard deviations. The design is based on the successful BABAR DIRC and the SuperB FDIRC R&D with several important improvements to optimize the performance for PANDA, such as a focusing lens system, fast timing, a compact fused silica prism as expansion region, and lifetime-enhanced Microchannel-Plate PMTs for photon detection. This article describes the technical design of the PANDA Barrel DIRC and the result of the design validation using a "vertical slice" prototype in hadronic particle beams at the CERN PS.

  10. [Assessment of ecosystem in giant panda distribution area based on entropy method and coefficient of variation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Zhi Gang; Li, Jun Qing

    2017-12-01

    The areas of the habitat and bamboo forest, and the size of the giant panda wild population have greatly increased, while habitat fragmentation and local population isolation have also intensified in recent years. Accurate evaluation of ecosystem status of the panda in the giant panda distribution area is important for giant panda conservation. The ecosystems of the distribution area and six mountain ranges were subdivided into habitat and population subsystems based on the hie-rarchical system theory. Using the panda distribution area as the study area and the three national surveys as the time node, the evolution laws of ecosystems were studied using the entropy method, coefficient of variation, and correlation analysis. We found that with continuous improvement, some differences existed in the evolution and present situation of the ecosystems of six mountain ranges could be divided into three groups. Ecosystems classified into the same group showed many commonalities, and difference between the groups was considerable. Problems of habitat fragmentation and local population isolation became more serious, resulting in ecosystem degradation. Individuali-zed ecological protection measures should be formulated and implemented in accordance with the conditions in each mountain system to achieve the best results.

  11. PANDA electromagnetic calorimeters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Semenov, P.A.; Kharlov, Yu.V.; Uzunian, A.V.; Chernichenko, S.K.; Derevschikov, A.A.; Davidenko, A.M.; Goncharenko, Y.M.; Kachanov, V.A.; Konstantinov, A.S.; Kormilitsin, V.A.; Matulenko, Yu.A.; Meschanin, A.P.; Melnick, Y.M.; Minaev, N.G.; Mochalov, V.V.; Morozov, D.A.; Novotny, R.W.; Ryazantsev, A.A.; Soldatov, A.P.; Soloviev, L.F.

    2009-01-01

    PANDA is a challenging experimental setup to be implemented at the high-energy storage ring (HESR) at the international facility FAIR, GSI (Germany). PANDA physics program relies heavily on the capability to measure photons with excellent energy, position and timing resolution. For this purpose PANDA proposed to employ electromagnetic calorimeters using two different technologies: compact crystal calorimeter cooled to -25 deg. C around target and lead-scintillator sandwich calorimeter with optical fibers light collection (so-called shashlyk calorimeter) in the forward region. Institute for High Energy Physics (IHEP) PANDA group reports on two types of measurements performed at IHEP, Protvino: radiation hardness of the PWO crystals at -25 deg. C and testbeam studies of the energy and position resolution of the shashlyk calorimeter prototype in the energy range up to 19 GeV.

  12. How to Advance TPC Benchmarks with Dependability Aspects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almeida, Raquel; Poess, Meikel; Nambiar, Raghunath; Patil, Indira; Vieira, Marco

    Transactional systems are the core of the information systems of most organizations. Although there is general acknowledgement that failures in these systems often entail significant impact both on the proceeds and reputation of companies, the benchmarks developed and managed by the Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC) still maintain their focus on reporting bare performance. Each TPC benchmark has to pass a list of dependability-related tests (to verify ACID properties), but not all benchmarks require measuring their performances. While TPC-E measures the recovery time of some system failures, TPC-H and TPC-C only require functional correctness of such recovery. Consequently, systems used in TPC benchmarks are tuned mostly for performance. In this paper we argue that nowadays systems should be tuned for a more comprehensive suite of dependability tests, and that a dependability metric should be part of TPC benchmark publications. The paper discusses WHY and HOW this can be achieved. Two approaches are introduced and discussed: augmenting each TPC benchmark in a customized way, by extending each specification individually; and pursuing a more unified approach, defining a generic specification that could be adjoined to any TPC benchmark.

  13. PandaX-III: Searching for neutrinoless double beta decay with high pressure 136Xe gas time projection chambers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xun; Fu, ChangBo; Galan, Javier; Giboni, Karl; Giuliani, Franco; Gu, LingHui; Han, Ke; Ji, XiangDong; Lin, Heng; Liu, JiangLai; Ni, KaiXiang; Kusano, Hiroki; Ren, XiangXiang; Wang, ShaoBo; Yang, Yong; Zhang, Dan; Zhang, Tao; Zhao, Li; Sun, XiangMing; Hu, ShouYang; Jian, SiYu; Li, XingLong; Li, XiaoMei; Liang, Hao; Zhang, HuanQiao; Zhao, MingRui; Zhou, Jing; Mao, YaJun; Qiao, Hao; Wang, SiGuang; Yuan, Ying; Wang, Meng; Khan, Amir N.; Raper, Neill; Tang, Jian; Wang, Wei; Dong, JiaNing; Feng, ChangQing; Li, Cheng; Liu, JianBei; Liu, ShuBin; Wang, XiaoLian; Zhu, DanYang; Castel, Juan F.; Cebrián, Susana; Dafni, Theopisti; Garza, Javier G.; Irastorza, Igor G.; Iguaz, Francisco J.; Luzón, Gloria; Mirallas, Hector; Aune, Stephan; Berthoumieux, Eric; Bedfer, Yann; Calvet, Denis; d'Hose, Nicole; Delbart, Alain; Diakaki, Maria; Ferrer-Ribas, Esther; Ferrero, Andrea; Kunne, Fabienne; Neyret, Damien; Papaevangelou, Thomas; Sabatié, Franck; Vanderbroucke, Maxence; Tan, AnDi; Haxton, Wick; Mei, Yuan; Kobdaj, Chinorat; Yan, Yu-Peng

    2017-06-01

    Searching for the neutrinoless double beta decay (NLDBD) is now regarded as the topmost promising technique to explore the nature of neutrinos after the discovery of neutrino masses in oscillation experiments. PandaX-III (particle and astrophysical xenon experiment III) will search for the NLDBD of 136Xe at the China Jin Ping Underground Laboratory (CJPL). In the first phase of the experiment, a high pressure gas Time Projection Chamber (TPC) will contain 200 kg, 90% 136Xe enriched gas operated at 10 bar. Fine pitch micro-pattern gas detector (Microbulk Micromegas) will be used at both ends of the TPC for the charge readout with a cathode in the middle. Charge signals can be used to reconstruct the electron tracks of the NLDBD events and provide good energy and spatial resolution. The detector will be immersed in a large water tank to ensure 5 m of water shielding in all directions. The second phase, a ton-scale experiment, will consist of five TPCs in the same water tank, with improved energy resolution and better control over backgrounds.

  14. A FPGA-based signal processing unit for a GEM array detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yen, W.W.; Chou, H.P.

    2013-06-01

    in the present study, a signal processing unit for a GEM one-dimensional array detector is presented to measure the trajectory of photoelectrons produced by cosmic X-rays. The present GEM array detector system has 16 signal channels. The front-end unit provides timing signals from trigger units and energy signals from charge sensitive amplifies. The prototype of the processing unit is implemented using commercial field programmable gate array circuit boards. The FPGA based system is linked to a personal computer for testing and data analysis. Tests using simulated signals indicated that the FPGA-based signal processing unit has a good linearity and is flexible for parameter adjustment for various experimental conditions (authors)

  15. Online tracking with GPUs at the PANDA experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bianchi, Ludovico; Herten, Andreas; Ritman, James; Stockmanns, Tobias [Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

    2015-07-01

    The PANDA experiment is a next generation particle detector planned for operation at the FAIR facility, that will study collisions of antiprotons with beam momenta of 1.5-15 GeV/c on a fixed proton target. Signal and background events at PANDA will look very similar, making a conventional hardware-trigger based approach unfeasible. Instead, data coming from the detector are acquired continuously, and event selection is performed in real time. A rejection factor of up to 1000 is needed to reduce the data rate for offline storage, making the data acquisition system computationally very challenging. Our activity within the PANDA collaboration is centered on the development and implementation of particle tracking algorithms on Graphical Processing Units (GPUs), and on studying the possibility of performing tracking for online event filtering using a multi-GPU architecture. Three algorithms are currently being developed, using information from the PANDA tracking system: a Hough Transform, a Riemann Track Finder, and a Triplet Finder algorithm. This talk presents the algorithms, their performance, and studies for GPU data transfer methods based on so-called message queues for a deeper integration of the algorithms with the FairRoot and PandaRoot frameworks.

  16. Interface of the general fitting tool GENFIT2 in PandaRoot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prencipe, Elisabetta; Spataro, Stefano; Stockmanns, Tobias; PANDA Collaboration

    2017-10-01

    \\bar{{{P}}}ANDA is a planned experiment at FAIR (Darmstadt) with a cooled antiproton beam in a range [1.5; 15] GeV/c, allowing a wide physics program in nuclear and particle physics. It is the only experiment worldwide, which combines a solenoid field (B=2T) and a dipole field (B=2Tm) in a spectrometer with a fixed target topology, in that energy regime. The tracking system of \\bar{{{P}}}ANDA involves the presence of a high performance silicon vertex detector, a GEM detector, a straw-tubes central tracker, a forward tracking system, and a luminosity monitor. The offline tracking algorithm is developed within the PandaRoot framework, which is a part of the FairRoot project. The tool here presented is based on algorithms containing the Kalman Filter equations and a deterministic annealing filter. This general fitting tool (GENFIT2) offers to users also a Runge-Kutta track representation, and interfaces with Millepede II (useful for alignment) and RAVE (vertex finder). It is independent on the detector geometry and the magnetic field map, and written in C++ object-oriented modular code. Several fitting algorithms are available with GENFIT2, with user-adjustable parameters; therefore the tool is of friendly usage. A check on the fit convergence is done by GENFIT2 as well. The Kalman-Filter-based algorithms have a wide range of applications; among those in particle physics they can perform extrapolations of track parameters and covariance matrices. The adoptions of the PandaRoot framework to connect to Genfit2 are described, and the impact of GENFIT2 on the physics simulations of \\bar{{{P}}}ANDA are shown: significant improvement is reported for those channels where a good low momentum tracking is required (pT < 400 MeV/c).

  17. PANDAS: uma nova doença? PANDAS: a new disease?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheila Knupp Feitosa de Oliveira

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Apresentar as bases diagnósticas e analisar as evidências que têm sido apontadas para a etiopatogenia, tratamento e profilaxia de PANDAS. FONTES DOS DADOS: Revisão de literatura científica através do MEDLINE no período de 1989 a 2006. SÍNTESE DOS DADOS: Os critérios diagnósticos para PANDAS foram estabelecidos há quase 10 anos, mas ainda há muita controvérsia sobre a real existência desta nova doença pediátrica. A escolha deste nome para uma nova doença, supostamente de origem pós-estreptocócica, baseia-se no acrônimo de P (pediátrico, porque ocorre em crianças, A (auto-imune, N (neuropsiquiátrico, D (doença, A (associada e S (Streptococcus. Os tiques e os sintomas obsessivo-compulsivos são as principais manifestações clínicas da doença e surgem após infecções estreptocócicas, provavelmente por mecanismos auto-imunes. Apesar de estes sintomas neuropsiquiátricos serem comuns na coréia reumática, também de etiologia pós-estreptocócica, em PANDAS faltam os movimentos clássicos da coréia e as outras manifestações de febre reumática. As possibilidades de terapia antimicrobiana e imunológica estão sendo pesquisadas e demonstram viabilidade de uso em alguns casos. CONCLUSÕES: Pesquisas ainda são necessárias para responder à pergunta-título. Enquanto isso não ocorre, a identificação de casos de tiques e transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo em crianças deve considerar a possibilidade de PANDAS, buscando a evidência de infecção estreptocócica precedendo os episódios.OBJECTIVE: To establish the diagnostic criteria for PANDAS and to analyze the existing evidence regarding its etiopathogenesis, treatment and prophylaxis. SOURCES: Review of the scientific literature through a MEDLINE search carried out between 1989 and 2006. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: The diagnostic criteria for PANDAS were established nearly 10 years ago, but a lot of controversy still exists over the actual existence of this new

  18. PANDA Muon System Prototype

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abazov, Victor; Alexeev, Gennady; Alexeev, Maxim; Frolov, Vladimir; Golovanov, Georgy; Kutuzov, Sergey; Piskun, Alexei; Samartsev, Alexander; Tokmenin, Valeri; Verkheev, Alexander; Vertogradov, Leonid; Zhuravlev, Nikolai

    2018-04-01

    The PANDA Experiment will be one of the key experiments at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) which is under construction now in the territory of the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany. PANDA is aimed to study hadron spectroscopy and various topics of the weak and strong forces. Muon System is chosen as the most suitable technology for detecting the muons. The Prototype of the PANDA Muon System is installed on the test beam line T9 at the Proton Synchrotron (PS) at CERN. Status of the PANDA Muon System prototype is presented with few preliminary results.

  19. PANDA Muon System Prototype

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abazov Victor

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The PANDA Experiment will be one of the key experiments at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR which is under construction now in the territory of the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany. PANDA is aimed to study hadron spectroscopy and various topics of the weak and strong forces. Muon System is chosen as the most suitable technology for detecting the muons. The Prototype of the PANDA Muon System is installed on the test beam line T9 at the Proton Synchrotron (PS at CERN. Status of the PANDA Muon System prototype is presented with few preliminary results.

  20. Metabolic rate of the red panda, Ailurus fulgens, a dietary bamboo specialist.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fei, Yuxiang; Hou, Rong; Spotila, James R; Paladino, Frank V; Qi, Dunwu; Zhang, Zhihe

    2017-01-01

    The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) has a similar diet, primarily bamboo, and shares the same habitat as the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca. There are considerable efforts underway to understand the ecology of the red panda and to increase its populations in natural reserves. Yet it is difficult to design an effective strategy for red panda reintroduction if we do not understand its basic biology. Here we report the resting metabolic rate of the red panda and find that it is higher than previously measured on animals from a zoo. The resting metabolic rate was 0.290 ml/g/h (range 0.204-0.342) in summer and 0.361 ml/g/h in winter (range 0.331-0.406), with a statistically significant difference due to season and test temperature. Temperatures in summer were probably within the thermal neutral zone for metabolism but winter temperatures were below the thermal neutral zone. There was no difference in metabolic rate between male and female red pandas and no difference due to mass. Our values for metabolic rate were much higher than those measured by McNab for 2 red pandas from a zoo. The larger sample size (17), more natural conditions at the Panda Base and improved accuracy of the metabolic instruments provided more accurate metabolism measurements. Contrary to our expectations based on their low quality bamboo diet, the metabolic rates of red pandas were similar to mammals of the same size. Based on their metabolic rates red pandas would not be limited by their food supply in natural reserves.

  1. Metabolic rate of the red panda, Ailurus fulgens, a dietary bamboo specialist.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuxiang Fei

    Full Text Available The red panda (Ailurus fulgens has a similar diet, primarily bamboo, and shares the same habitat as the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca. There are considerable efforts underway to understand the ecology of the red panda and to increase its populations in natural reserves. Yet it is difficult to design an effective strategy for red panda reintroduction if we do not understand its basic biology. Here we report the resting metabolic rate of the red panda and find that it is higher than previously measured on animals from a zoo. The resting metabolic rate was 0.290 ml/g/h (range 0.204-0.342 in summer and 0.361 ml/g/h in winter (range 0.331-0.406, with a statistically significant difference due to season and test temperature. Temperatures in summer were probably within the thermal neutral zone for metabolism but winter temperatures were below the thermal neutral zone. There was no difference in metabolic rate between male and female red pandas and no difference due to mass. Our values for metabolic rate were much higher than those measured by McNab for 2 red pandas from a zoo. The larger sample size (17, more natural conditions at the Panda Base and improved accuracy of the metabolic instruments provided more accurate metabolism measurements. Contrary to our expectations based on their low quality bamboo diet, the metabolic rates of red pandas were similar to mammals of the same size. Based on their metabolic rates red pandas would not be limited by their food supply in natural reserves.

  2. Mapping and modelling the habitat of giant pandas in Foping Nature Reserve, China

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, X.

    2001-01-01

    The fact that only about 1000 giant pandas and 29500 km2 of panda habitat are left in the west part of China makes it an urgent issue to save this endangered animal species and protect its habitat. For effective conservation of the giant panda and its habitat, a thorough evaluation of panda habitat and panda-habitat relationship based on each individual panda nature reserve is necessary and important. Mapping has been an effective approach for wildlife habitat evaluation and monitoring. There...

  3. 76 FR 54468 - Petra Pet, Inc. (a/k/a Petrapport) v. Panda Logistics Limited; Panda Logistics Co., Ltd. (f/k/a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-01

    ... Logistics Limited; Panda Logistics Co., Ltd. (f/k/a panda Int'l Transportation Co., Ltd.); and RDM Solutions... ``Complainant,'' against Respondents Panda Logistics Limited, Panda Logistics Co., Ltd. (f/k/a Panda Int'l... alleges that Respondents Panda Logistics Limited and Panda Logistics Co., Ltd., are each a non-vessel...

  4. GEM: Performance and aging tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, H.S.; Kadyk, J.; Han, S.H.; Hong, W.S.; Perez-Mendez, V.; Wenzel, W.; Pitts, K.; Martin, M.D.; Hutchins, J.B.

    1999-01-01

    Performance and aging tests have been done to characterize Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs), including further design improvements such as a thicker GEM and a closed GEM. Since the effective GEM gain is typically smaller than the absolute GEM gain, due to trapping of avalanche electrons at the bottom GEM electrode, the authors performed field simulations and measurements for better understanding, and discuss methods to eliminate this effect. Other performance parameters of the GEMs are also presented, including absolute GEM gain, short-term and long-term gain stabilities

  5. CAMAC interface for TPC data-acquisition electronics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sidman, S.; Olson, S.; Jared, R.

    1983-06-01

    The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is a detector used for high-energy physics research at the Stanford PEP Accelerator. TPC requires about 17,000 channels of data acquisition, which samples on command the input to each channel at a 10 MHz rate. This high data rate is made possible by means of Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs), intelligent digitizers, and a sophisticated trigger system. The TPC-CAMAC interface described here was developed to allow experiments of smaller scale than the complete TPC to use the standard data acquisition portion of the TPC electronics, namely the amplifier, CCD and digitizer bins. These three bins, when properly interconnected and controlled by the interface control bin, form a transient digitizer with a depth of 455 samples and a maximum width of 256 channels per bin set

  6. Progress on large area GEMs (VCI 2010)

    CERN Document Server

    Villa, Marco; Alfonsi, Matteo; Brock, Ian; Croci, Gabriele; David, Eric; de Oliveira, Rui; Ropelewski, Leszek; Taureg, Hans; van Stenis, Miranda

    2011-01-01

    The Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) manufacturing technique has recently evolved to allow the production of large area GEMs. A novel approach based on single mask photolithography eliminates the mask alignment issue, which limits the dimensions in the traditional double mask process. Moreover, a splicing technique overcomes the limited width of the raw material. Stretching and handling issues in large area GEMs have also been addressed. Using the new improvements it was possible to build a prototype triple-GEM detector of ~ 2000 cm2 active area, aimed at an application for the TOTEM T1 upgrade. Further refinements of the single mask technique give great control over the shape of the GEM holes and the size of the rims, which can be tuned as needed. In this framework, simulation studies can help to understand the GEM behavior depending on the hole shape.

  7. Bikash Kumar Panda

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Journal of Chemical Sciences. Bikash Kumar Panda. Articles written in Journal of Chemical Sciences. Volume 116 Issue 5 August 2004 pp 245-250. Synthesis, characterization and emission properties of quinolin-8-olato chelated ruthenium organometallics · Bikash Kumar Panda · More Details Abstract ...

  8. The PANDA Barrel DIRC detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoek, M.; Dzhygadlo, R.; Gerhardt, A.; Götzen, K.; Hohler, R.; Kalicy, G.; Kumawat, H.; Lehmann, D.; Lewandowski, B.; Patsyuk, M.; Peters, K.; Schepers, G.; Schmitt, L.; Schwarz, C.; Schwiening, J.; Traxler, M.; Zühlsdorf, M.; Dodokhov, V. Kh.; Britting, A.; Eyrich, W.

    2014-01-01

    The PANDA experiment at the new Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Europe (FAIR) at GSI, Darmstadt, will study fundamental questions of hadron physics and QCD using high-intensity cooled antiproton beams with momenta between 1.5 and 15 GeV/c. Efficient Particle Identification for a wide momentum range and the full solid angle is required for reconstructing the various physics channels of the PANDA program. Hadronic Particle Identification in the barrel region of the detector will be provided by a DIRC counter. The design is based on the successful BABAR DIRC with important improvements, such as focusing optics and fast photon timing. Several of these improvements, including different radiator geometries and optics, were tested in particle beams at GSI and at CERN. The evolution of the conceptual design of the PANDA Barrel DIRC and the performance of complex prototypes in test beam campaigns will be discussed

  9. The PANDA Barrel DIRC detector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoek, M., E-mail: matthias.hoek@uni-mainz.de [Institut für Kernphysik, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz (Germany); Dzhygadlo, R.; Gerhardt, A.; Götzen, K.; Hohler, R.; Kalicy, G.; Kumawat, H.; Lehmann, D.; Lewandowski, B.; Patsyuk, M.; Peters, K.; Schepers, G.; Schmitt, L.; Schwarz, C.; Schwiening, J.; Traxler, M.; Zühlsdorf, M. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Dodokhov, V. Kh. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russian Federation); Britting, A.; Eyrich, W. [Friedrich Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen (Germany); and others

    2014-12-01

    The PANDA experiment at the new Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Europe (FAIR) at GSI, Darmstadt, will study fundamental questions of hadron physics and QCD using high-intensity cooled antiproton beams with momenta between 1.5 and 15 GeV/c. Efficient Particle Identification for a wide momentum range and the full solid angle is required for reconstructing the various physics channels of the PANDA program. Hadronic Particle Identification in the barrel region of the detector will be provided by a DIRC counter. The design is based on the successful BABAR DIRC with important improvements, such as focusing optics and fast photon timing. Several of these improvements, including different radiator geometries and optics, were tested in particle beams at GSI and at CERN. The evolution of the conceptual design of the PANDA Barrel DIRC and the performance of complex prototypes in test beam campaigns will be discussed.

  10. Performance verification of the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small explorer (GEMS) x-ray polarimeter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enoto, Teruaki; Black, J. Kevin; Kitaguchi, Takao; Hayato, Asami; Hill, Joanne E.; Jahoda, Keith; Tamagawa, Toru; Kaneko, Kenta; Takeuchi, Yoko; Yoshikawa, Akifumi; Marlowe, Hannah; Griffiths, Scott; Kaaret, Philip E.; Kenward, David; Khalid, Syed

    2014-07-01

    Polarimetry is a powerful tool for astrophysical observations that has yet to be exploited in the X-ray band. For satellite-borne and sounding rocket experiments, we have developed a photoelectric gas polarimeter to measure X-ray polarization in the 2-10 keV range utilizing a time projection chamber (TPC) and advanced micro-pattern gas electron multiplier (GEM) techniques. We carried out performance verification of a flight equivalent unit (1/4 model) which was planned to be launched on the NASA Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer (GEMS) satellite. The test was performed at Brookhaven National Laboratory, National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) facility in April 2013. The polarimeter was irradiated with linearly-polarized monochromatic X-rays between 2.3 and 10.0 keV and scanned with a collimated beam at 5 different detector positions. After a systematic investigation of the detector response, a modulation factor >=35% above 4 keV was obtained with the expected polarization angle. At energies below 4 keV where the photoelectron track becomes short, diffusion in the region between the GEM and readout strips leaves an asymmetric photoelectron image. A correction method retrieves an expected modulation angle, and the expected modulation factor, ~20% at 2.7 keV. Folding the measured values of modulation through an instrument model gives sensitivity, parameterized by minimum detectable polarization (MDP), nearly identical to that assumed at the preliminary design review (PDR).

  11. Performance Verification of the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer GEMS X-Ray Polarimeter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enoto, Teruaki; Black, J. Kevin; Kitaguchi, Takao; Hayato, Asami; Hill, Joanne E.; Jahoda, Keith; Tamagawa, Toru; Kanako, Kenta; Takeuchi, Yoko; Yoshikawa, Akifumi; hide

    2014-01-01

    olarimetry is a powerful tool for astrophysical observations that has yet to be exploited in the X-ray band. For satellite-borne and sounding rocket experiments, we have developed a photoelectric gas polarimeter to measure X-ray polarization in the 2-10 keV range utilizing a time projection chamber (TPC) and advanced micro-pattern gas electron multiplier (GEM) techniques. We carried out performance verification of a flight equivalent unit (1/4 model) which was planned to be launched on the NASA Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer (GEMS) satellite. The test was performed at Brookhaven National Laboratory, National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) facility in April 2013. The polarimeter was irradiated with linearly-polarized monochromatic X-rays between 2.3 and 10.0 keV and scanned with a collimated beam at 5 different detector positions. After a systematic investigation of the detector response, a modulation factor greater than or equal to 35% above 4 keV was obtained with the expected polarization angle. At energies below 4 keV where the photoelectron track becomes short, diffusion in the region between the GEM and readout strips leaves an asymmetric photoelectron image. A correction method retrieves an expected modulation angle, and the expected modulation factor, approximately 20% at 2.7 keV. Folding the measured values of modulation through an instrument model gives sensitivity, parameterized by minimum detectable polarization (MDP), nearly identical to that assumed at the preliminary design review (PDR).

  12. Not Your Ordinary GEM

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-01-01

    Through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding from NASA's Stennis Space Center, Geophex devised a new design for broadband electromagnetic sensors. Geophex developed a patented sensing technology, capable not only of coastal monitoring, but also a variety of other functions, including environmental pollution characterization, groundwater contamination detection, archaeological study, and mineral detection. The new technology is offered in several of the company's products the GEM-2, GEM-2A, and the GEM-3. The Geophex products consist of two primary electromagnetic coils, which are stimulated by alternating currents that generate a magnetic field in the object targeted for investigation. GEM-2 is a handheld, lightweight, programmable, digital device. GEM-2A is an airborne version of the sensor. Suspended from a helicopter, the GEM-2A is used to search for mineral deposits and to survey large tracts of land. The GEM-3 is capable of detecting buried landmines and other active munitions. GEM-3 identifies landmines by their brand names. Because each landmine has its own unique electromagnetic response to the broad frequency band emitted by the GEM-3, bomb identification and disposal strategies are made easier.

  13. Evaluation of a GEM and CAT-based detector for radiation therapy beam monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brahme, A.; Danielsson, M.; Iacobaeus, C.; Ostling, J.; Peskov, V.; Wallmark, M.

    2000-01-01

    We are developing a radiation therapy beam monitor for the Karolinska Institute. This monitor will consist of two consecutive detectors confined in one gas chamber: a 'keV-photon detector', which will allow diagnostic quality visualization of the patient, and a 'MeV-photon detector', that will measure the absolute intensity of the therapy beam and its position with respect to the patient. Both detectors are based on highly radiation resistant gas and solid photon to electron converters, combined with GEMs and a CAT as amplification structures. We have performed systematic studies of the high-rate characteristics of the GEM and the CAT, as well as tested the electron transfer through these electron multipliers and various types of converters. The tests show that the GEM and the CAT satisfy all requirements for the beam monitoring system. As a result of these studies we successfully developed and tested a full section of the beam monitor equipped with a MeV-photon converter placed between the GEM and the CAT

  14. S P Panda

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Sadhana. S P Panda. Articles written in Sadhana. Volume 40 Issue 1 February 2015 pp 89-106 Electrical and Computer Sciences. Experimental validation of waveform relaxation technique for power system controller testing · S P Panda K A Salunkhe A M Kulkarni · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

  15. The first PANDA tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dreier, J.; Huggenberger, M.; Aubert, C.

    1996-01-01

    The PANDA test facility at PSI in Switzerland is used to study the long-term Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (SBWR) Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS) performance. The PANDA tests demonstrate performance on a larger scale than previous tests and examine the effects of any non-uniform spatial distributions of steam and non-condensables in the system. The PANDA facility has a 1:1 vertical scale, and 1:25 ''system'' scale (volume, power, etc.). Steady-state PCCS condenser performance tests and extensive facility characterization tests have been completed. Transient system behavior tests were conducted late in 1995; results from the first three transient tests (M3 series) are reviewed. The first PANDA tests showed that the overall global behavior of the SBWR containment was globally repeatable and very favorable; the system exhibited great ''robustness.''

  16. Genomic Inbreeding and Relatedness in Wild Panda Populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garbe, John R; Prakapenka, Dzianis; Tan, Cheng; Da, Yang

    2016-01-01

    Inbreeding and relatedness in wild panda populations are important parameters for panda conservation. Habitat loss and fragmentation are expected to increase inbreeding but the actual inbreeding levels in natural panda habitats were unknown. Using 150,025 SNPs and 14,926 SNPs selected from published whole-genome sequences, we estimated genomic inbreeding coefficients and relatedness of 49 pandas including 34 wild pandas sampled from six habitats. Qinling and Liangshan pandas had the highest levels of inbreeding and relatedness measured by genomic inbreeding and coancestry coefficients, whereas the inbreeding levels in Qionglai and Minshan were 28-45% of those in Qinling and Liangshan. Genomic coancestry coefficients between pandas from different habitats showed that panda populations from the four largest habitats, Minshan, Qionglai, Qinling and Liangshan, were genetically unrelated. Pandas between these four habitats on average shared 66.0-69.1% common alleles and 45.6-48.6% common genotypes, whereas pandas within each habitat shared 71.8-77.0% common alleles and 51.7-60.4% common genotypes. Pandas in the smaller populations of Qinling and Liangshan were more similarly to each other than pandas in the larger populations of Qionglai and Minshan according to three genomic similarity measures. Panda genetic differentiation between these habitats was positively related to their geographical distances. Most pandas separated by 200 kilometers or more shared no common ancestral alleles. The results provided a genomic quantification of the actual levels of inbreeding and relatedness among pandas in their natural habitats, provided genomic confirmation of the relationship between genetic diversity and geographical distances, and provided genomic evidence to the urgency of habitat protection.

  17. Genomic Inbreeding and Relatedness in Wild Panda Populations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Da, Yang

    2016-01-01

    Inbreeding and relatedness in wild panda populations are important parameters for panda conservation. Habitat loss and fragmentation are expected to increase inbreeding but the actual inbreeding levels in natural panda habitats were unknown. Using 150,025 SNPs and 14,926 SNPs selected from published whole-genome sequences, we estimated genomic inbreeding coefficients and relatedness of 49 pandas including 34 wild pandas sampled from six habitats. Qinling and Liangshan pandas had the highest levels of inbreeding and relatedness measured by genomic inbreeding and coancestry coefficients, whereas the inbreeding levels in Qionglai and Minshan were 28–45% of those in Qinling and Liangshan. Genomic coancestry coefficients between pandas from different habitats showed that panda populations from the four largest habitats, Minshan, Qionglai, Qinling and Liangshan, were genetically unrelated. Pandas between these four habitats on average shared 66.0–69.1% common alleles and 45.6–48.6% common genotypes, whereas pandas within each habitat shared 71.8–77.0% common alleles and 51.7–60.4% common genotypes. Pandas in the smaller populations of Qinling and Liangshan were more similarly to each other than pandas in the larger populations of Qionglai and Minshan according to three genomic similarity measures. Panda genetic differentiation between these habitats was positively related to their geographical distances. Most pandas separated by 200 kilometers or more shared no common ancestral alleles. The results provided a genomic quantification of the actual levels of inbreeding and relatedness among pandas in their natural habitats, provided genomic confirmation of the relationship between genetic diversity and geographical distances, and provided genomic evidence to the urgency of habitat protection. PMID:27494031

  18. The PandaRoot framework for simulation, reconstruction and analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spataro, Stefano

    2011-01-01

    The PANDA experiment at the future facility FAIR will study anti-proton proton and anti-proton nucleus collisions in a beam momentum range from 2 GeV/c up to 15 GeV/c. The PandaRoot framework is part of the FairRoot project, a common software framework for the future FAIR experiments, and is currently used to simulate detector performances and to evaluate different detector concepts. It is based on the packages ROOT and Virtual MonteCarlo with Geant3 and Geant4. Different reconstruction algorithms for tracking and particle identification are under development and optimization, in order to achieve the performance requirements of the experiment. In the central tracker a first track fit is performed using a conformal map transformation based on a helix assumption, then the track is used as input for a Kalman Filter (package genfit), using GEANE as track follower. The track is then correlated to the pid detectors (e.g. Cerenkov detectors, EM Calorimeter or Muon Chambers) to evaluate a global particle identification probability, using a Bayesian approach or multivariate methods. Further implemented packages in PandaRoot are: the analysis tools framework Rho, the kinematic fitter package for vertex and mass constraint fits, and a fast simulation code based upon parametrized detector responses. PandaRoot was also tested on an Alien-based GRID infrastructure. The contribution will report about the status of PandaRoot and show some example results for analysis of physics benchmark channels.

  19. The minimum area requirements (MAR) for giant panda: an empirical study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qing, Jing; Yang, Zhisong; He, Ke; Zhang, Zejun; Gu, Xiaodong; Yang, Xuyu; Zhang, Wen; Yang, Biao; Qi, Dunwu; Dai, Qiang

    2016-12-08

    Habitat fragmentation can reduce population viability, especially for area-sensitive species. The Minimum Area Requirements (MAR) of a population is the area required for the population's long-term persistence. In this study, the response of occupancy probability of giant pandas against habitat patch size was studied in five of the six mountain ranges inhabited by giant panda, which cover over 78% of the global distribution of giant panda habitat. The probability of giant panda occurrence was positively associated with habitat patch area, and the observed increase in occupancy probability with patch size was higher than that due to passive sampling alone. These results suggest that the giant panda is an area-sensitive species. The MAR for giant panda was estimated to be 114.7 km 2 based on analysis of its occupancy probability. Giant panda habitats appear more fragmented in the three southern mountain ranges, while they are large and more continuous in the other two. Establishing corridors among habitat patches can mitigate habitat fragmentation, but expanding habitat patch sizes is necessary in mountain ranges where fragmentation is most intensive.

  20. TPC track distortions III: fiat lux

    CERN Document Server

    Boyko, I; Dydak, F; Elagin, A; Gostkin, M; Guskov, A; Koreshev, V; Nefedov, Y; Nikolaev, K; Veenhof, R; Wotschack, J; Zhemchugov, A

    2005-01-01

    We present a comprehensive overview and final summary of all four types of static track distortions seen in the HARP TPC, in terms of physical origins, mathematical modelling, and correction algorithms. 'Static'™ distortions are defined as not depending on the event time within the 400 ms long accelerator spill. Calculated static distortions are compared with measurements from cosmic-muon tracks. We characterize track distortions by the r phi residuals of cluster positions with respect to the transverse projection of a helical trajectory constrained by hits in the RPC overlap regions. This method provides a fixed TPC-external reference system (by contrast to the co-moving coordinate system associated with a fit) which solely permits to identify individually, and measure quantitatively, the static TPC track distortions arising from (i) the inhomogeneity of the solenoidal magnetic field, (ii) the inhomogeneity of the electric field from the high-voltage mismatch between the inner and outer TPC field cages, (...

  1. A K Panda

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Bulletin of Materials Science. A K Panda. Articles written in Bulletin of Materials Science. Volume 25 Issue 6 November 2002 pp 573-575. Influence of quench rates on the properties of rapidly solidified FeNbCuSiB alloy · A K Panda I Chattoraj S Basu A Mitra · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF. FeNbCuSiB ...

  2. Behavior of TPC`s in a high particle flux environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Etkin, A.; Eiseman, S.E.; Foley, K.J.; Hackenburg, R.W.; Longacre, R.S.; Love, W.A.; Morris, T.W.; Platner, E.D.; Saulys, A.C.; Lindenbaum, S.J. [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States); Chan, C.S.; Kramer, M.A.; Zhao, K.H.; Zhu, Y. [City College of New York, New York (United States); Hallman, T.J.; Madansky, L. [Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States); Ahmad, S.; Bonner, B.E.; Buchanan, J.A.; Chiou, C.N.; Clement, J.M.; Mutchler, G.S.; Roberts, J.B. [Bonner Nuclear Lab., Houston, TX (United States)

    1991-12-31

    TPC`s (Time Projection Chamber) used in E-810 at the TAGS (Alternating Gradient Synchrotron) were exposed to fluxes equivalent to more than 10 minimum ionizing particles per second to find if such high fluxes cause gain changes or distortions of the electric field. Initial results of these and other tests are presented and the consequences for the RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) TPC-based experiments are discussed.

  3. Development of a glass GEM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Hiroyuki; Mitsuya, Yuki; Fujiwara, Takeshi; Fushie, Takashi

    2013-01-01

    Gas electron multipliers (GEMs) apply the concept of gas amplification inside many tiny holes, realizing robust and high-gain proportional counters. However, the polyimide substrate of GEMs prevents them from being used in sealed detector applications. We have fabricated and tested glass GEMs (G-GEMs) with substrates made of photosensitive glass material from the Hoya Corporation. We fabricated G-GEMs with several different hole diameters and thicknesses and successfully operated test G-GEMs with a 100×100 mm 2 effective area. The uniformity of our G-GEMs was good, and the energy resolution for 5.9 keV X-rays was 18.8% under uniform irradiation of the entire effective area. A gas gain by the G-GEMs of up to 6700 was confirmed with a gas mixture of Ar (70%)+CH 4 (30%). X-ray imaging using the charge division readout method was demonstrated

  4. Cryogenic testing of the TPC superconducting solenoid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Green, M.A.; Smits, R.G.; Taylor, J.D.

    1983-06-01

    This report describes the results of a series of tests on the TPC superconducting magnet cryogenic system which occurred during the winter and spring of 1983. The tests occurred at interaction region 2 of the PEP colliding beam facility at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). The TPC Magnet Cryogenic System which was tested includes the following major components: a remote helium compressor with a full flow liquid nitrogen purification station, 400 meters of high pressure supply and low pressure return lines; and locally a CTi Model 2800 refrigerator with two Sulzer gas bearing turbines, the TPC magnet control dewar, 70 meters of transfer lines, and the TPC thin superconducting solenoid magnet. In addition, there is a conditioner (liquid nitrogen heat exchangers and gas heaters) system for cooldown and warmup of the magnet. This report describes the local cryogenic system and describes the various steps in the cooldown and operation of the TPC magnet. The tests were successful in that they showed that the TPC magnet could be cooled down in 24 hours and the magnet could be operated on the refrigerator or a helium pump with adequate cooling margin. The tests identified problems with the cryogenic system and the 2800 refrigerator. Procedures for successful operation and quenching of the superconducting magnet were developed. 19 references

  5. Optimized iterative decoding method for TPC coded CPM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Yanmin; Lai, Penghui; Wang, Shilian; Xie, Shunqin; Zhang, Wei

    2018-05-01

    Turbo Product Code (TPC) coded Continuous Phase Modulation (CPM) system (TPC-CPM) has been widely used in aeronautical telemetry and satellite communication. This paper mainly investigates the improvement and optimization on the TPC-CPM system. We first add the interleaver and deinterleaver to the TPC-CPM system, and then establish an iterative system to iteratively decode. However, the improved system has a poor convergence ability. To overcome this issue, we use the Extrinsic Information Transfer (EXIT) analysis to find the optimal factors for the system. The experiments show our method is efficient to improve the convergence performance.

  6. Properties of thick GEM in low-pressure deuterium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, C S; Ota, S; Tokieda, H; Kojima, R; Watanabe, Y N; Uesaka, T

    2014-01-01

    Deuteron inelastic scattering (d, d') provides a promising spectroscopic tool to study nuclear incompressibility. In studies of deuteron inelastic scattering of unstable nuclei, measurements of low-energy recoiled particles is very important. In order to perform these measurements, we are developing a GEM-TPC based gaseous active target, called CAT (Center for nuclear study Active Target), operated with pure deuterium gas. The CAT has been tested with deuterium gas at 1 atm and 100-μm-thick GEMs. The low-pressure operation of CAT is planned in order to improve the detection capability for lower-energy recoil particles. A 400 μm-thick gas electron multiplier (THGEM) was chosen for the low-pressure operation of CAT. However, the properties of THGEM in low-pressure deuterium are currently undocumented. In this work, the performance of THGEM with low-pressure pure deuterium gas has been investigated. The effective gas gain of THGEM has been measured in various conditions using a 5.5-MeV 241 Am alpha source. The effective gas gain was measured for 0.2-, 0.3- and 0.4-atm deuterium gas and a gas gain of about 10 3 was achieved by a double THGEM structure at 0.2 atm. The maximum achieved gain decreased with increasing gas pressure. The dependences of the effective gas gain on the electric field strengths of the drift, transfer and induction regions were investigated. The gain stability as a function of time in hydrogen gas was also tested and a relaxation time of THGEM of about 60 hours was observed with a continuous irradiation of alpha particles, which is significantly longer than previous studies have reported. We have tried to evaluate the gas gain of THGEM in deuterium gas by considering only the Townsend ionization process; however, it turned out that more phenomenological aspects, such as transfer efficiency, should be included in the evaluation. The basic properties of THGEM in low-pressure deuterium have been investigated for the first time

  7. Properties of thick GEM in low-pressure deuterium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, C. S.; Ota, S.; Tokieda, H.; Kojima, R.; Watanabe, Y. N.; Uesaka, T.

    2014-05-01

    Deuteron inelastic scattering (d, d') provides a promising spectroscopic tool to study nuclear incompressibility. In studies of deuteron inelastic scattering of unstable nuclei, measurements of low-energy recoiled particles is very important. In order to perform these measurements, we are developing a GEM-TPC based gaseous active target, called CAT (Center for nuclear study Active Target), operated with pure deuterium gas. The CAT has been tested with deuterium gas at 1 atm and 100-μm-thick GEMs. The low-pressure operation of CAT is planned in order to improve the detection capability for lower-energy recoil particles. A 400 μm-thick gas electron multiplier (THGEM) was chosen for the low-pressure operation of CAT. However, the properties of THGEM in low-pressure deuterium are currently undocumented. In this work, the performance of THGEM with low-pressure pure deuterium gas has been investigated. The effective gas gain of THGEM has been measured in various conditions using a 5.5-MeV 241Am alpha source. The effective gas gain was measured for 0.2-, 0.3- and 0.4-atm deuterium gas and a gas gain of about 103 was achieved by a double THGEM structure at 0.2 atm. The maximum achieved gain decreased with increasing gas pressure. The dependences of the effective gas gain on the electric field strengths of the drift, transfer and induction regions were investigated. The gain stability as a function of time in hydrogen gas was also tested and a relaxation time of THGEM of about 60 hours was observed with a continuous irradiation of alpha particles, which is significantly longer than previous studies have reported. We have tried to evaluate the gas gain of THGEM in deuterium gas by considering only the Townsend ionization process; however, it turned out that more phenomenological aspects, such as transfer efficiency, should be included in the evaluation. The basic properties of THGEM in low-pressure deuterium have been investigated for the first time.

  8. The ALICE TPC

    CERN Document Server

    Garabatos, C

    2004-01-01

    We describe the ALICE TPC, with emphasis on the design features which are driven by the physics requirements of the detector. In particular, the gas choice and composition, Ne-CO/sub 2/ Ý90-10¿, as well as the unprecedentedly high gain for a TPC (2*10/sup 40/), are direct consequences of the expected performance in the high- multiplicity environment of heavy-ion collisions at the LHC. The characteristics of this mixture are discussed and a viable way of improving the stability of detectors working under these conditions, namely the addition of nitrogen into the mixture, is presented. This results in a more effective Penning transfer of neon excited states onto ionisation of the quencher at no penalty for the charge transport and amplification properties.

  9. Particle Identification Studies with an ALICE Test TPC

    CERN Document Server

    Christiansen, P

    2007-01-01

    Using a test TPC, consisting of the ALICE TPC field cage prototype in combination with the final ALICE TPC readout and electronics, the energy loss distribution and resolution were measured for identified protons. The measurements were compared to theoretical calculations and good quantitative agreement was found when detector effects were taken into account. The implications for particle identification are discussed.

  10. Gas Electron Multipliers: Development of large area GEMs and spherical GEMs

    CERN Document Server

    Duarte Pinto, Serge; Brock, Ian

    2011-01-01

    Gaseous radiation detectors have been a crucial part of high-energy physics instrumentation since the 1960s, when the first multiwire proportional counters were built. In the 1990s the first micropattern gas detectors (MPGDs) saw the light; with sub-millimeter feature sizes these novel detectors were faster and more accurate than their predecessors. The gas electron multiplier (GEM) is one of the most successful of these technologies. It is a charge multiplication structure made from a copper clad polymer foil, pierced with a regular and dense pattern of holes. I will describe the properties and the application of GEMs and GEM detectors, and the research and development I have done on this technology. Two of the main objectives were the development of large area GEMs (~m^2) for particle physics experiments and GEMs with a spherical shape for x-ray or neutron diffraction detectors. Both have been realized, and the new techniques involved are finding their way to applications in research and industry.

  11. Gas electron multipliers. Development of large area GEMS and spherical GEMS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pinto, Serge Duarte

    2011-08-15

    Gaseous radiation detectors have been a crucial part of high-energy physics instrumentation since the 1960s, when the first multiwire proportional counters were built. In the 1990s the first micropattern gas detectors (MPGDS) saw the light; with sub-millimeter feature sizes these novel detectors were faster and more accurate than their predecessors. The gas electron multiplier (GEM) is one of the most successful of these technologies. It is a charge multiplication structure made from a copper clad polymer foil, pierced with a regular and dense pattern of holes. I describe the properties and the application of GEMs and GEM. detectors, and the research and development I have done on this technology. Two of the main objectives were the development of large area GEMs ({proportional_to}m{sup 2}) for particle physics experiments and GEMs with a spherical shape for X-ray or neutron diffraction detectors. Both have been realized, and the new techniques involved are finding their way to applications in research and industry. (orig.)

  12. Gas electron multipliers: Development of large area GEMS and spherical GEMS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pinto, Serge Duarte

    2011-08-01

    Gaseous radiation detectors have been a crucial part of high-energy physics instrumentation since the 1960s, when the first multiwire proportional counters were built. In the 1990s the first micropattern gas detectors (MPGDS) saw the light; with sub-millimeter feature sizes these novel detectors were faster and more accurate than their predecessors. The gas electron multiplier (GEM) is one of the most successful of these technologies. It is a charge multiplication structure made from a copper clad polymer foil, pierced with a regular and dense pattern of holes. I describe the properties and the application of GEMs and GEM. detectors, and the research and development I have done on this technology. Two of the main objectives were the development of large area GEMs (∝m 2 ) for particle physics experiments and GEMs with a spherical shape for X-ray or neutron diffraction detectors. Both have been realized, and the new techniques involved are finding their way to applications in research and industry. (orig.)

  13. Genetic composition of captive panda population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jiandong; Shen, Fujun; Hou, Rong; Da, Yang

    2016-10-03

    A major function of the captive panda population is to preserve the genetic diversity of wild panda populations in their natural habitats. Understanding the genetic composition of the captive panda population in terms of genetic contributions from the wild panda populations provides necessary knowledge for breeding plans to preserve the genetic diversity of the wild panda populations. The genetic contributions from different wild populations to the captive panda population were highly unbalanced, with Qionglai accounting for 52.2 % of the captive panda gene pool, followed by Minshan with 21.5 %, Qinling with 10.6 %, Liangshan with 8.2 %, and Xiaoxiangling with 3.6 %, whereas Daxiangling, which had similar population size as Xiaoxiangling, had no genetic representation in the captive population. The current breeding recommendations may increase the contribution of some small wild populations at the expense of decreasing the contributions of other small wild populations, i.e., increasing the Xiaoxiangling contribution while decreasing the contribution of Liangshan, or sharply increasing the Qinling contribution while decreasing the contributions of Xiaoxiangling and Liangshan, which were two of the three smallest wild populations and were already severely under-represented in the captive population. We developed three habitat-controlled breeding plans that could increase the genetic contributions from the smallest wild populations to 6.7-11.2 % for Xiaoxiangling, 11.5-12.3 % for Liangshan and 12.9-20.0 % for Qinling among the offspring of one breeding season while reducing the risk of hidden inbreeding due to related founders from the same habitat undetectable by pedigree data. The three smallest wild panda populations of Daxiangling, Xiaoxiangling and Liangshan either had no representation or were severely unrepresented in the current captive panda population. By incorporating the breeding goal of increasing the genetic contributions from the smallest wild

  14. Factors affecting genotyping success in giant panda fecal samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Ying; Liu, Hong-Yi; Yang, Hai-Qiong; Li, Yu-Dong; Zhang, He-Min

    2017-01-01

    Fecal samples play an important role in giant panda conservation studies. Optimal preservation conditions and choice of microsatellites for giant panda fecal samples have not been established. In this study, we evaluated the effect of four factors (namely, storage type (ethanol (EtOH), EtOH -20 °C, 2-step storage medium, DMSO/EDTA/Tris/salt buffer (DETs) and frozen at -20 °C), storage time (one, three and six months), fragment length, and repeat motif of microsatellite loci) on the success rate of microsatellite amplification, allelic dropout (ADO) and false allele (FA) rates from giant panda fecal samples. Amplification success and ADO rates differed between the storage types. Freezing was inferior to the other four storage methods based on the lowest average amplification success and the highest ADO rates ( P panda fecal preservation in microsatellite studies, and EtOH and the 2-step storage medium should be chosen on priority for long-term storage. We recommend candidate microsatellite loci with longer repeat motif to ensure greater genotyping success for giant panda fecal studies.

  15. PANDA passive decay heat removal transient test results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bandurski, Th.; Dreier, J.; Huggenberger, M.

    1997-01-01

    PANDA is a large scale facility for investigating the long-term decay heat removal from the containment of a next generation of 'passive' Advanced Light Water Reactors (ALWR). PANDA was used to examine the long-term LOCA response of the Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS) for the General Electric (GE) Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (SBWR). The first PANDA test series had the dual objectives of demonstrating the performance of the SBWR PCCS and extending the data base available for containment analysis code qualification. The test objectives also include the study of the effects of mixing and stratification of steam and noncondensible gases in the drywell (DW) and in the suppression chamber or wetwell (WW). Ten tests were conducted in the course of the PANDA SBWR Program. The tests demonstrated a favorable and robust overall PCCS performance under different conditions. The present paper focuses on the main phenomena observed during the tests with respect to PCCS operation and DW gas mixing. (author)

  16. The "double panda" sign in Leigh disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sonam, Kothari; Bindu, P S; Gayathri, Narayanappa; Khan, Nahid Akhtar; Govindaraju, C; Arvinda, Hanumanthapura R; Nagappa, Madhu; Sinha, Sanjib; Thangaraj, K; Taly, Arun B

    2014-07-01

    Although the "face of the giant panda" sign on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is traditionally considered to be characteristic of Wilson disease, it has also been reported in other metabolic disorders. This study describes the characteristic "giant panda" sign on MRI in a child with Leigh disease. The diagnosis was based on the history of neurological regression; examination findings of oculomotor abnormalities, hypotonia, and dystonia; raised serum lactate levels; and characteristic brain stem and basal ganglia signal changes on MRI. The midbrain and pontine tegmental signal changes were consistent with the "face of the giant panda and her cub" sign. In addition to Wilson disease, metabolic disorders such as Leigh disease should also be considered in the differential diagnosis of this rare imaging finding. © The Author(s) 2013.

  17. A laser calibration system for the STAR TPC

    CERN Document Server

    Lebedev, A

    2002-01-01

    A Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the primary tracking detector for the STAR experiment at RHIC. A laser calibration system was built to calibrate and monitor the TPC tracking performance. The laser system uses a novel design which produces approx 500 thin, ionizing beams distributed throughout the tracking volume. This new approach is significantly simpler than the traditional ones, and provides complete TPC coverage at a reduced cost. The laser system was used during the RHIC 2000 summer run to measure drift velocities with about 0.02% accuracy and to monitor the TPC performance. Calibration runs were made with and without a magnetic field to check B field map corrections.

  18. Front-end electronics and readout system for the ILD TPC

    CERN Document Server

    Hedberg, V; Lundberg, B; Mjörnmark, U; Oskarsson, A; Österman, L; De Lentdecker, G; Yang, Y; Zhang, F

    2015-01-01

    A high resolution TPC is the main option for a central tracking detector at the future International Linear Collider (ILC). It is planned that the MPGD (Micro Pattern Gas Detector) technology will be used for the readout. A Large Prototype TPC at DESY has been used to test the performance of MPGDs in an electron beam of energies up to 6 GeV. The first step in the technology development was to demonstrate that the MPGDs are able to achieve the necessary performance set by the goals of ILC. For this ’proof of principle’ phase, the ALTRO front-end electronics from the ALICE TPC was used, modified to adapt to MPGD readout. The proof of principle has been verified and at present further improvement of the MPGD technology is going on, using the same readout electronics. The next step is the ’feasibility phase’, which aims at producing front-end electronics comparable in size (few mm2) to the readout pads of the TPC. This development work is based on the succeeding SALTRO16 chip, which combines the analogue ...

  19. GEM Building Taxonomy (Version 2.0)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brzev, S.; Scawthorn, C.; Charleson, A.W.; Allen, L.; Greene, M.; Jaiswal, Kishor; Silva, V.

    2013-01-01

    This report documents the development and applications of the Building Taxonomy for the Global Earthquake Model (GEM). The purpose of the GEM Building Taxonomy is to describe and classify buildings in a uniform manner as a key step towards assessing their seismic risk, Criteria for development of the GEM Building Taxonomy were that the Taxonomy be relevant to seismic performance of different construction types; be comprehensive yet simple; be collapsible; adhere to principles that are familiar to the range of users; and ultimately be extensible to non-buildings and other hazards. The taxonomy was developed in conjunction with other GEM researchers and builds on the knowledge base from other taxonomies, including the EERI and IAEE World Housing Encyclopedia, PAGER-STR, and HAZUS. The taxonomy is organized as a series of expandable tables, which contain information pertaining to various building attributes. Each attribute describes a specific characteristic of an individual building or a class of buildings that could potentially affect their seismic performance. The following 13 attributes have been included in the GEM Building Taxonomy Version 2.0 (v2.0): 1.) direction, 2.)material of the lateral load-resisting system, 3.) lateral load-resisting system, 4.) height, 5.) date of construction of retrofit, 6.) occupancy, 7.) building position within a block, 8.) shape of the building plan, 9.) structural irregularity, 10.) exterior walls, 11.) roof, 12.) floor, 13.) foundation system. The report illustrates the pratical use of the GEM Building Taxonomy by discussing example case studies, in which the building-specific characteristics are mapped directly using GEM taxonomic attributes and the corresponding taxonomic string is constructed for that building, with "/" slash marks separating attributes. For example, for the building shown to the right, the GEM Taxonomy string is: DX1/MUR+CLBRS+MOCL2/LWAL3/

  20. The Detector Control of the PANDA Experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feldbauer, F

    2014-01-01

    The PANDA experiment will be built at the antiproton storage ring HESR, a part of the new accelerator facility FAIR in Darmstadt, Germany. PANDA aims amongst other topics for high precision measurements in hadron spectroscopy and search for exotic matter. To guarantee the high resolution of the different components a detector control system (DCS) monitoring temperatures, humidity, pressure, and controlling chillers and power supplies is needed. The DCS of PANDA is built using the open-source software package EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System) with a PANDA specific version of Control-System Studio. In this document the general concepts of the PANDA DCS will be discussed

  1. Studies of field distortions in a time projection chamber for the International Linear Collider

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zenker, Klaus

    2014-12-01

    The International Linear Collider (ILC) will allow to do precision measurements of Standard Model parameter and to search for new physics. The ILD detector concept, which is developed for the ILC, uses a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) as central tracking device. The momentum resolution goal for the ILD TPC is δ(1/p t ) ≅ 10 -4 (GeV/c) -1 at a magnetic field of B=3.5 T. Field distortions of the magnetic or electric field inside the sensitive volume of the TPC distort the momentum measurements. Therefore, one needs to keep them under control and correct them with high precision. In this thesis the main sources of field distortions in the TPC are identified and their effects are determined. Furthermore, possibilities to reduce the identified field distortions are presented. One known source of distortions of the electric field are ions, produced by the gas amplification in the TPC anode, that drift into the sensitive volume of the TPC. In the first part of this work the creation of these ions in Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM), which are used for the gas amplification, is studied. It will be shown that the resulting field distortions are not acceptable at the ILD TPC. By tuning the parameters of the gas amplification at the anode the field distortion can be reduced, which is shown in measurements and simulations. In addition measurements using a modified GEM show that it is possible to further reduce the field distortions with such a GEM. In the second part of this work field distortions arising at boundaries between individual readout modules are investigated using simulation studies. It will be shown in simulations, which are verified by measurement results, that these field distortions significantly influence the readout module performance. Based on the simulation results the GEM based readout module developed at DESY is optimised and the field distortions are reduced. These performance improvements could also be verified in measurements. Finally, a laser

  2. GEM - The Global Earthquake Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smolka, A.

    2009-04-01

    Over 500,000 people died in the last decade due to earthquakes and tsunamis, mostly in the developing world, where the risk is increasing due to rapid population growth. In many seismic regions, no hazard and risk models exist, and even where models do exist, they are intelligible only by experts, or available only for commercial purposes. The Global Earthquake Model (GEM) answers the need for an openly accessible risk management tool. GEM is an internationally sanctioned public private partnership initiated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which will establish an authoritative standard for calculating and communicating earthquake hazard and risk, and will be designed to serve as the critical instrument to support decisions and actions that reduce earthquake losses worldwide. GEM will integrate developments on the forefront of scientific and engineering knowledge of earthquakes, at global, regional and local scale. The work is organized in three modules: hazard, risk, and socio-economic impact. The hazard module calculates probabilities of earthquake occurrence and resulting shaking at any given location. The risk module calculates fatalities, injuries, and damage based on expected shaking, building vulnerability, and the distribution of population and of exposed values and facilities. The socio-economic impact module delivers tools for making educated decisions to mitigate and manage risk. GEM will be a versatile online tool, with open source code and a map-based graphical interface. The underlying data will be open wherever possible, and its modular input and output will be adapted to multiple user groups: scientists and engineers, risk managers and decision makers in the public and private sectors, and the public-at- large. GEM will be the first global model for seismic risk assessment at a national and regional scale, and aims to achieve broad scientific participation and independence. Its development will occur in a

  3. The PANDA facility and first test results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dreier, J.; Huggenberger, M.; Aubert, C.; Bandurski, T.; Fischer, O.; Healzer, J.; Lomperski, S.; Strassberger, H.J.; Varadi, G.; Yadigaroglu, G.

    1996-01-01

    The PANDA test facility at the Paul Scherrer Institute is used to study the long-term performance of the Simplified Boiling Water Reactor's passive containment cooling system. The PANDA tests demonstrate performance on a larger scale than previous tests and examine the effects of any non-uniform spatial distributions of steam and non-condensable gases in the system. The facility is in 1:1 vertical scale and 1:25 scale for volume, power etc. Extensive facility characterization tests and steady-state passive containment condenser performance tests are presented. The results of the base case test of a series of transient system behaviour tests are reviewed. The first PANDA tests exhibited reproducibility, and indicated that the Simplified Boiling Water Reactor's containment is likely to be favorably responsive and highly robust to changes in the thermal transport patterns. (orig.) [de

  4. PanDA: distributed production and distributed analysis system for ATLAS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeno, T

    2008-01-01

    A new distributed software system was developed in the fall of 2005 for the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. This system, called PANDA, provides an integrated service architecture with late binding of jobs, maximal automation through layered services, tight binding with ATLAS Distributed Data Management system [1], advanced error discovery and recovery procedures, and other features. In this talk, we will describe the PANDA software system. Special emphasis will be placed on the evolution of PANDA based on one and half year of real experience in carrying out Computer System Commissioning data production [2] for ATLAS. The architecture of PANDA is well suited for the computing needs of the ATLAS experiment, which is expected to be one of the first HEP experiments to operate at the petabyte scale

  5. Experience with ATLAS MySQL PanDA database service

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smirnov, Y; Wlodek, T; Hover, J; Smith, J; Wenaus, T; Yu, D; De, K; Ozturk, N

    2010-01-01

    The PanDA distributed production and analysis system has been in production use for ATLAS data processing and analysis since late 2005 in the US, and globally throughout ATLAS since early 2008. Its core architecture is based on a set of stateless web services served by Apache and backed by a suite of MySQL databases that are the repository for all PanDA information: active and archival job queues, dataset and file catalogs, site configuration information, monitoring information, system control parameters, and so on. This database system is one of the most critical components of PanDA, and has successfully delivered the functional and scaling performance required by PanDA, currently operating at a scale of half a million jobs per week, with much growth still to come. In this paper we describe the design and implementation of the PanDA database system, its architecture of MySQL servers deployed at BNL and CERN, backup strategy and monitoring tools. The system has been developed, thoroughly tested, and brought to production to provide highly reliable, scalable, flexible and available database services for ATLAS Monte Carlo production, reconstruction and physics analysis.

  6. Experience with ATLAS MySQL PanDA database service

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smirnov, Y; Wlodek, T; Hover, J; Smith, J; Wenaus, T; Yu, D [Physics Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973-5000 (United States); De, K; Ozturk, N [Department of Physics, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, 76019 (United States)

    2010-04-01

    The PanDA distributed production and analysis system has been in production use for ATLAS data processing and analysis since late 2005 in the US, and globally throughout ATLAS since early 2008. Its core architecture is based on a set of stateless web services served by Apache and backed by a suite of MySQL databases that are the repository for all PanDA information: active and archival job queues, dataset and file catalogs, site configuration information, monitoring information, system control parameters, and so on. This database system is one of the most critical components of PanDA, and has successfully delivered the functional and scaling performance required by PanDA, currently operating at a scale of half a million jobs per week, with much growth still to come. In this paper we describe the design and implementation of the PanDA database system, its architecture of MySQL servers deployed at BNL and CERN, backup strategy and monitoring tools. The system has been developed, thoroughly tested, and brought to production to provide highly reliable, scalable, flexible and available database services for ATLAS Monte Carlo production, reconstruction and physics analysis.

  7. Electronic Devices for Controlling the Very High Voltage in the ALICE TPC Detector

    CERN Document Server

    Boccioli, Marco

    2007-01-01

    The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the core of the ALICE experiment at CERN. The TPC Very High Voltage project covers the development of the control system for the power supply that generates the 100kV necessary for the drift field in the TPC. This paper reports on the project progress, introducing the control system architecture from the electronics up to the control level. All the electronic devices will be described, highlighting their communication issues, and the challenges in integrating these devices in a PLC-based control system.

  8. Open-charm physics opportunities at PANDA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prencipe, Elisabetta; Cao, Lu; Herten, Andreas; Ritman, James [IKP, Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany); Kang, Donghee [Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz (Germany); Pitka, Andreas [Justus-Liebig Universitaet Giessen (Germany); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

    2015-07-01

    Open-charm physics is of high interest for the weak and the strong interactions. New observations in spectroscopy and the recent constraining limits on CP violation in the D sector strongly motivate the study of open-charm physics. The experiment PANDA at FAIR (Darmstadt) will investigate fundamental questions of hadron and nuclear physics in interactions of antiprotons with nucleons and nuclei. Among other topics, original contributions are planned from PANDA in the open-charm sector. With high average reaction rates up to 2.10{sup 7} interactions/s, and a factor 20 higher mass resolution than attained at B-factories, PANDA is in a privileged position to perform measurements of widths of narrow states, such as the D{sub s}(2317){sup +} and the D{sub s}(2460){sup +}, and form factors in semileptonic D{sub s} decays. Very rare processes (e.g. D{sup 0} → γγ) can be accessible with unprecedented accuracy. In addition, the search for new physics is a challenge that PANDA can take, for example with the study of the mixing in the D sector, analyzing the channel anti pp → ψ(3770) → anti D{sup 0}D{sup 0}. PANDA is expected to be decisive to answer on these and second-order open questions. A general overview of the benchmark channels in the D sector with PANDA is given in this report, showing the results of recent PandaRoot simulations.

  9. The Lushan earthquake and the giant panda: impacts and conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zejun; Yuan, Shibin; Qi, Dunwu; Zhang, Mingchun

    2014-06-01

    Earthquakes not only result in a great loss of human life and property, but also have profound effects on the Earth's biodiversity. The Lushan earthquake occurred on 20 Apr 2013, with a magnitude of 7.0 and an intensity of 9.0 degrees. A distance of 17.0 km from its epicenter to the nearest distribution site of giant pandas recorded in the Third National Survey was determined. Making use of research on the Wenchuan earthquake (with a magnitude of 8.0), which occurred approximately 5 years ago, we briefly analyze the impacts of the Lushan earthquake on giant pandas and their habitat. An earthquake may interrupt ongoing behaviors of giant pandas and may also cause injury or death. In addition, an earthquake can damage conservation facilities for pandas, and result in further habitat fragmentation and degradation. However, from a historical point of view, the impacts of human activities on giant pandas and their habitat may, in fact, far outweigh those of natural disasters such as earthquakes. Measures taken to promote habitat restoration and conservation network reconstruction in earthquake-affected areas should be based on requirements of giant pandas, not those of humans. © 2013 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  10. PANDA: a pipeline toolbox for analyzing brain diffusion images

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zaixu eCui

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI is widely used in both scientific research and clinical practice in in-vivo studies of the human brain. While a number of post-processing packages have been developed, fully automated processing of dMRI datasets remains challenging. Here, we developed a MATLAB toolbox named Pipeline for Analyzing braiN Diffusion imAges (PANDA for fully automated processing of brain diffusion images. The processing modules of a few established packages, including FMRIB Software Library (FSL, Pipeline System for Octave and Matlab (PSOM, Diffusion Toolkit and MRIcron, were employed in PANDA. Using any number of raw dMRI datasets from different subjects, in either DICOM or NIfTI format, PANDA can automatically perform a series of steps to process DICOM/NIfTI to diffusion metrics (e.g., FA and MD that are ready for statistical analysis at the voxel-level, the atlas-level and the Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS-level and can finish the construction of anatomical brain networks for all subjects. In particular, PANDA can process different subjects in parallel, using multiple cores either in a single computer or in a distributed computing environment, thus greatly reducing the time cost when dealing with a large number of datasets. In addition, PANDA has a friendly graphical user interface (GUI, allowing the user to be interactive and to adjust the input/output settings, as well as the processing parameters. As an open-source package, PANDA is freely available at http://www.nitrc.org/projects/panda/. This novel toolbox is expected to substantially simplify the image processing of dMRI datasets and facilitate human structural connectome studies.

  11. PANDA: a pipeline toolbox for analyzing brain diffusion images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Zaixu; Zhong, Suyu; Xu, Pengfei; He, Yong; Gong, Gaolang

    2013-01-01

    Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) is widely used in both scientific research and clinical practice in in-vivo studies of the human brain. While a number of post-processing packages have been developed, fully automated processing of dMRI datasets remains challenging. Here, we developed a MATLAB toolbox named "Pipeline for Analyzing braiN Diffusion imAges" (PANDA) for fully automated processing of brain diffusion images. The processing modules of a few established packages, including FMRIB Software Library (FSL), Pipeline System for Octave and Matlab (PSOM), Diffusion Toolkit and MRIcron, were employed in PANDA. Using any number of raw dMRI datasets from different subjects, in either DICOM or NIfTI format, PANDA can automatically perform a series of steps to process DICOM/NIfTI to diffusion metrics [e.g., fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD)] that are ready for statistical analysis at the voxel-level, the atlas-level and the Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS)-level and can finish the construction of anatomical brain networks for all subjects. In particular, PANDA can process different subjects in parallel, using multiple cores either in a single computer or in a distributed computing environment, thus greatly reducing the time cost when dealing with a large number of datasets. In addition, PANDA has a friendly graphical user interface (GUI), allowing the user to be interactive and to adjust the input/output settings, as well as the processing parameters. As an open-source package, PANDA is freely available at http://www.nitrc.org/projects/panda/. This novel toolbox is expected to substantially simplify the image processing of dMRI datasets and facilitate human structural connectome studies.

  12. The ATLAS PanDA Monitoring System and its Evolution

    CERN Document Server

    Klimentov, A; The ATLAS collaboration; Potekhin, M; Wenaus, T

    2011-01-01

    The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) Workload Management System is used for ATLAS distributed production and analysis worldwide. The needs of ATLAS global computing imposed challenging requirements on PanDA design in areas such as scalability, robustness, automation, diagnostics, and usability for both production shifters and analysis users. Important to meeting these and other requirements is a comprehensive monitoring system. Through a system-wide job database, the PanDA monitor provides a comprehensive and coherent view of the system and job execution, from high level summaries to detailed drill-down job diagnostics. It is (like the rest of PanDA) an Apache-based Python application backed by Oracle. The presentation layer is HTML code generated on the fly in the Python application which is also responsible for managing database queries. However, this approach is lacking in user interface flexibility, simplicity of communication with external systems, and ease of maintenance. We decided to migrat...

  13. The ATLAS PanDA Monitoring System and its Evolution

    CERN Document Server

    Klimentov, A; The ATLAS collaboration; Potekhin, M; Wenaus, T

    2010-01-01

    The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) Workload Management System is used for ATLAS distributed production and analysis worldwide. The needs of ATLAS global computing imposed challenging requirements on PanDA design in areas such as scalability, robustness, automation, diagnostics, and usability for both production shifters and analysis users. Important to meeting these and other requirements is a comprehensive monitoring system. Through a system-wide job database, the PanDA monitor provides a comprehensive and coherent view of the system and job execution, from high level summaries to detailed drill-down job diagnostics. It is (like the rest of PanDA) an Apache-based Python application backed by Oracle. The presentation layer is HTML code generated on the fly in the Python application which is also responsible for managing database queries. However, this approach is lacking in user interface flexibility, simplicity of communication with external systems, and ease of maintenance. We decided to migrat...

  14. Neutron beam imaging with GEM detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albani, G.; Cazzaniga, C.; Rebai, M.; Gorini, G.; Croci, G.; Muraro, A.; Cippo, E. Perelli; Tardocchi, M.; Cavenago, M.; Murtas, F.; Claps, G.; Pasqualotto, R.

    2015-01-01

    Neutron GEM-based detectors represent a new frontier of devices in neutron physics applications where a very high neutron flux must be measured such as future fusion experiments (e.g. ITER Neutral beam Injector) and spallation sources (e.g. the European Spallation source). This kind of detectors can be properly adapted to be used both as beam monitors but also as neutron diffraction detectors that could represent a valid alternative for the 3 He detectors replacement. Fast neutron GEM detectors (nGEM) feature a cathode composed by one layer of polyethylene and one of aluminium (neutron scattering on hydrogen generates protons that are detected in the gas) while thermal neutron GEM detectors (bGEM) are equipped with a borated aluminium cathode (charged particles are generated through the 10 B(n,α) 7 Li reaction). GEM detectors can be realized in large area (1 m 2 ) and their readout can be pixelated. Three different prototypes of nGEM and one prototype of bGEM detectors of different areas and equipped with different types of readout have been built and tested. All the detectors have been used to measure the fast and thermal neutron 2D beam image at the ISIS-VESUVIO beamline. The different kinds of readout patterns (different areas of the pixels) have been compared in similar conditions. All the detectors measured a width of the beam profile consitent with the expected one. The imaging property of each detector was then tested by inserting samples of different material and shape in the beam. All the samples were correctly reconstructed and the definition of the reconstruction depends on the type of readout anode. The fast neutron beam profile reconstruction was then compared to the one obtained by diamond detectors positioned on the same beamline while the thermal neutron one was compared to the imaged obtained by cadmium-coupled x-rays films. Also efficiency and the gamma background rejection have been determined. These prototypes represent the first step towards

  15. Gaseous Electron Multiplier (GEM) Detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gnanvo, Kondo

    2017-09-01

    Gaseous detectors have played a pivotal role as tracking devices in the field of particle physics experiments for the last fifty years. Recent advances in photolithography and micro processing techniques have enabled the transition from Multi Wire Proportional Chambers (MWPCs) and Drift Chambers to a new family of gaseous detectors refer to as Micro Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs). MPGDs combine the basic gas amplification principle with micro-structure printed circuits to provide detectors with excellent spatial and time resolution, high rate capability, low material budget and high radiation tolerance. Gas Electron Multiplier (GEMs) is a well-established MPGD technology invented by F. Sauli at CERN in 1997 and deployed various high energy physics (HEP) and nuclear NP experiment for tracking systems of current and future NP experiments. GEM detector combines an exceptional high rate capability (1 MHz / mm2) and robustness against harsh radiation environment with excellent position and timing resolution performances. Recent breakthroughs over the past decade have allowed the possibility for large area GEMs, making them cost effective and high-performance detector candidates to play pivotal role in current and future particle physics experiments. After a brief introduction of the basic principle of GEM technology, I will give a brief overview of the GEM detectors used in particle physics experiments over the past decades and especially in the NP community at Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory (JLab) and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). I will follow by a review of state of the art of the new GEM development for the next generation of colliders such as Electron Ion Collider (EIC) or High Luminosity LHC and future Nuclear Physics experiments. I will conclude with a presentation of the CERN-based RD51 collaboration established in 2008 and its major achievements regarding technological developments and applications of MPGDs.

  16. Three cases giant panda attack on human at Beijing Zoo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Peixun; Wang, Tianbing; Xiong, Jian; Xue, Feng; Xu, Hailin; Chen, Jianhai; Zhang, Dianying; Fu, Zhongguo; Jiang, Baoguo

    2014-01-01

    Panda is regarded as Chinese national treasure. Most people always thought they were cute and just ate bamboo and had never imagined a panda could be vicious. Giant panda attacks on human are rare. There, we present three cases of giant panda attacks on humans at the Panda House at Beijing Zoo from September 2006 to June 2009 to warn people of the giant panda's potentially dangerous behavior.

  17. Gas electron multiplier (GEM) operation with tissue-equivalent gases at various pressures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farahmand, M.; Bos, A.J.J.; Eijk, C.W.E. van

    2003-01-01

    We have studied the operation of two different Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) structures in both methane and propane based Tissue-Equivalent (TE) gases at different pressures varying from 0.1 to 1 atm. This work was motivated to explore the possibility of using a GEM for a new type of Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter. In methane based TE gas, a maximum safe GEM gain of 1.5x10 3 has been reached while in propane based TE gas this is 6x10 3 . These maxima have been reached at different gas pressures depending on GEM structure and TE gas. Furthermore, we observed a decrease of the GEM gain in time before it becomes stable. Charge up/polarisation effects can explain this

  18. Development and characterization of micro-pattern gas detectors for intense beams of hadrons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vandenbroucke, Maxence

    2012-07-02

    This thesis work is dedicated to the design, development and characterization of Micro-Pattern Gas Detectors. The performances of a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) equipped with a triple Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) amplification structure are reported. The intrinsic ion backflow suppression of GEM foils drastically reduces the space charge produced by wire readout in traditional TPC. The GEM solution allows the operation of a TPC at much higher event rate. The second part of this thesis describes the development of a 40 x 40 cm{sup 2} Micromegas detector with a highly segmented central area. A reduction of discharges compared to conventional Micromegas detectors is needed for stable operation in intense beams of hadrons. Spark reduction technologies have been successfully studied and results are presented.

  19. Development and characterization of micro-pattern gas detectors for intense beams of hadrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vandenbroucke, Maxence

    2012-01-01

    This thesis work is dedicated to the design, development and characterization of Micro-Pattern Gas Detectors. The performances of a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) equipped with a triple Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) amplification structure are reported. The intrinsic ion backflow suppression of GEM foils drastically reduces the space charge produced by wire readout in traditional TPC. The GEM solution allows the operation of a TPC at much higher event rate. The second part of this thesis describes the development of a 40 x 40 cm 2 Micromegas detector with a highly segmented central area. A reduction of discharges compared to conventional Micromegas detectors is needed for stable operation in intense beams of hadrons. Spark reduction technologies have been successfully studied and results are presented.

  20. ALICE Time Projection Chamber (TPC) Readout Sector in Lab

    CERN Multimedia

    2003-01-01

    The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main particle tracking detector in ALICE. Charged particles crossing the gas of the TPC knock electrons out of their atoms, which drift in the eletric field. By measuring the arrival of electrons at the end of the chamber, at segments such as the one shown here, the TPC will reconstruct the paths of the original charged particles.

  1. Gas electron multiplier (GEM) foil test, repair and effective gain calculation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tahir, Muhammad; Zubair, Muhammad; Khan, Tufail A.; Khan, Ashfaq; Malook, Asad

    2018-06-01

    The focus of my research is based on the gas electron multiplier (GEM) foil test, repairing and effective gain calculation of GEM detector. During my research work define procedure of GEM foil testing short-circuit, detection short-circuits in the foil. Study different ways to remove the short circuits in the foils. Set and define the GEM foil testing procedures in the open air, and with nitrogen gas. Measure the leakage current of the foil and applying different voltages with specified step size. Define the Quality Control (QC) tests and different components of GEM detectors before assembly. Calculate the effective gain of GEM detectors using 109Cd and 55Fe radioactive source.

  2. The ATLAS PanDA Monitoring System and its Evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klimentov, A.; Nevski, P.; Potekhin, M.; Wenaus, T.

    2011-12-01

    The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) Workload Management System is used for ATLAS distributed production and analysis worldwide. The needs of ATLAS global computing imposed challenging requirements on the design of PanDA in areas such as scalability, robustness, automation, diagnostics, and usability for both production shifters and analysis users. Through a system-wide job database, the PanDA monitor provides a comprehensive and coherent view of the system and job execution, from high level summaries to detailed drill-down job diagnostics. It is (like the rest of PanDA) an Apache-based Python application backed by Oracle. The presentation layer is HTML code generated on the fly in the Python application which is also responsible for managing database queries. However, this approach is lacking in user interface flexibility, simplicity of communication with external systems, and ease of maintenance. A decision was therefore made to migrate the PanDA monitor server to Django Web Application Framework and apply JSON/AJAX technology in the browser front end. This allows us to greatly reduce the amount of application code, separate data preparation from presentation, leverage open source for tools such as authentication and authorization mechanisms, and provide a richer and more dynamic user experience. We describe our approach, design and initial experience with the migration process.

  3. The ATLAS PanDA Monitoring System and its Evolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klimentov, A; Nevski, P; Wenaus, T; Potekhin, M

    2011-01-01

    The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) Workload Management System is used for ATLAS distributed production and analysis worldwide. The needs of ATLAS global computing imposed challenging requirements on the design of PanDA in areas such as scalability, robustness, automation, diagnostics, and usability for both production shifters and analysis users. Through a system-wide job database, the PanDA monitor provides a comprehensive and coherent view of the system and job execution, from high level summaries to detailed drill-down job diagnostics. It is (like the rest of PanDA) an Apache-based Python application backed by Oracle. The presentation layer is HTML code generated on the fly in the Python application which is also responsible for managing database queries. However, this approach is lacking in user interface flexibility, simplicity of communication with external systems, and ease of maintenance. A decision was therefore made to migrate the PanDA monitor server to Django Web Application Framework and apply JSON/AJAX technology in the browser front end. This allows us to greatly reduce the amount of application code, separate data preparation from presentation, leverage open source for tools such as authentication and authorization mechanisms, and provide a richer and more dynamic user experience. We describe our approach, design and initial experience with the migration process.

  4. Status of PEP and TPC/2γ

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zapalac, G.

    1989-06-01

    The TPC/2γ program at PEP has been upgraded by increasing the PEP luminosity and by the adding of a vertex chamber to the TPC detector. These improvements will allow a strong program in B and τ physics, and will contribute to ongoing studies in two-photon physics and hadronization. 10 refs., 3 figs

  5. Graphics gems

    CERN Document Server

    Glassner, Andrew S

    1993-01-01

    ""The GRAPHICS GEMS Series"" was started in 1990 by Andrew Glassner. The vision and purpose of the Series was - and still is - to provide tips, techniques, and algorithms for graphics programmers. All of the gems are written by programmers who work in the field and are motivated by a common desire to share interesting ideas and tools with their colleagues. Each volume provides a new set of innovative solutions to a variety of programming problems.

  6. The ATLAS PanDA Pilot in Operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nilsson, P; De, K; Stradling, A; Caballero, J; Maeno, T; Wenaus, T

    2011-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis system (PanDA) was designed to meet ATLAS requirements for a data-driven workload management system capable of operating at LHC data processing scale. Submitted jobs are executed on worker nodes by pilot jobs sent to the grid sites by pilot factories. This paper provides an overview of the PanDA pilot system and presents major features added in light of recent operational experience, including multi-job processing, advanced job recovery for jobs with output storage failures, gLExec based identity switching from the generic pilot to the actual user, and other security measures. The PanDA system serves all ATLAS distributed processing and is the primary system for distributed analysis; it is currently used at over 100 sites worldwide. We analyze the performance of the pilot system in processing real LHC data on the OSG, EGI and Nordugrid infrastructures used by ATLAS, and describe plans for its evolution.

  7. Graphics Gems III IBM version

    CERN Document Server

    Kirk, David

    1994-01-01

    This sequel to Graphics Gems (Academic Press, 1990), and Graphics Gems II (Academic Press, 1991) is a practical collection of computer graphics programming tools and techniques. Graphics Gems III contains a larger percentage of gems related to modeling and rendering, particularly lighting and shading. This new edition also covers image processing, numerical and programming techniques, modeling and transformations, 2D and 3D geometry and algorithms,ray tracing and radiosity, rendering, and more clever new tools and tricks for graphics programming. Volume III also includes a

  8. Tracking with Straw Tubes in the PANDA Experiment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bragadireanu M.

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The PANDA spectrometer will be built at the FAIR facility at Darmstadt (Germany to perform accurate tests of the strong interaction through ¯pp and ¯pA annihilation studies. The charged particle tracking at PANDA will be done using both solid state and gaseous detectors. Among the latter, two straw tube detector systems will be built [1]. The cylindrical, central straw tube tracker features a high spatial and momentum resolution for a wide range of particle momenta from about 8 GeV/c down to a few 100 MeV/c, together with particle identification in the momentum region below about 1 GeV/c by measuring the specific energy-loss. A new technique, based on self-supporting straw double layers with intrinsic wire tension developed for the COSY-TOF straw tracker [2], has been adopted for the PANDA trackers. The development of the readout electronics for the straw tubes is ongoing. Prototypes have been produced and used to instrument straw tube modules that have been tested with cosmic rays and proton beams. Design issues of the PANDA straw tubes, together with the results of the prototype tests are presented.

  9. The future of PanDA in ATLAS distributed computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    De, K.; Klimentov, A.; Maeno, T.; Nilsson, P.; Oleynik, D.; Panitkin, S.; Petrosyan, A.; Schovancova, J.; Vaniachine, A.; Wenaus, T.

    2015-12-01

    Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) face unprecedented computing challenges. Heterogeneous resources are distributed worldwide at hundreds of sites, thousands of physicists analyse the data remotely, the volume of processed data is beyond the exabyte scale, while data processing requires more than a few billion hours of computing usage per year. The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) system was developed to meet the scale and complexity of LHC distributed computing for the ATLAS experiment. In the process, the old batch job paradigm of locally managed computing in HEP was discarded in favour of a far more automated, flexible and scalable model. The success of PanDA in ATLAS is leading to widespread adoption and testing by other experiments. PanDA is the first exascale workload management system in HEP, already operating at more than a million computing jobs per day, and processing over an exabyte of data in 2013. There are many new challenges that PanDA will face in the near future, in addition to new challenges of scale, heterogeneity and increasing user base. PanDA will need to handle rapidly changing computing infrastructure, will require factorization of code for easier deployment, will need to incorporate additional information sources including network metrics in decision making, be able to control network circuits, handle dynamically sized workload processing, provide improved visualization, and face many other challenges. In this talk we will focus on the new features, planned or recently implemented, that are relevant to the next decade of distributed computing workload management using PanDA.

  10. Aging measurements on triple-GEM detectors operated with $CF_{4}$-based gas mixtures

    CERN Document Server

    Alfonsi, M; De Simone, P; Murtas, F; Poli Lener, M P; Bonivento, W; Cardini, A; Raspino, D; Saitta, B; Pinci, D; Baccaro, S; 10.1016/j.nuclphysbps.2005.03.054

    2006-01-01

    We present the results of a global irradiation test of full size triple-GEM detectors operated with CF/sub 4/-based gas mixtures. This study has been performed in the framework of an R&D activity on detectors for the innermost region of the first muon station of the LHCb experiment. The prototypes have been irradiated at the Calliope facility of the ENEA-Casaccia with a high intensity 1.25 MeV detectors performances have been measured with X-rays and with a 3 Ge V pion beam at CERN. A SEM analysis on several samples of the detectors has been performed to complete the understanding of the physical processes occurring in a GEM detector during a strong irradiation.

  11. Solid-Liquid Extraction Kinetics of Total Phenolic Compounds (TPC from Red Dates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bee Lin Chua

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Red dates are one of the most famous herbal plants in making traditional Chinese medicine. They contain large amount of bioactive compounds. The objectives of this research were to optimise the crude extract yield and total phenolic compounds (TPC yield from red dates using response surface methodology (RSM and model the extraction kinetics of TPC yield from red dates. Date fruits were dried in an oven under temperatures 50°C, 60°C, 70°C and 80°C until a constant weight was obtained. The optimum drying temperature was 60°C as it gave the highest crude extract yield and TPC yield. Besides that, single factor experiments were used to determine the optimum range of four extraction parameters which were: liquid-solid ratio (10-30 ml/g; ultrasonic power (70-90%; extraction temperature (50-70°C; and extraction time (40-60min. The optimum range of the four parameters were further optimised using the Box-Behken Design (BBD of RSM. The extraction conditions that gave the highest crude extract yield and TPC yield were chosen. The optimum value for liquid-solid ratio, ultrasonic power, extraction temperature and extraction time were 30ml/g, 70%, 60°C and 60 min respectively. The two equations generated from RSM were reliable and can be used to predict the crude extract yield and TPC yield. The higher the extraction temperature, liquid-solid ratio, and extraction time and lower ultrasonic power, the higher the crude extract and TPC yield. Finally, the results of TPC yield versus time based on the optimum extraction parameters from RSM optimisation were fitted into three extraction kinetic models (Peleg’s model, Page’s model and Ponomaryov’s model. It was found that the most suitable kinetic model to represent the extraction process of TPC from red dates was Page’s model due to its coefficient of determination (R2 was the closest to unity, 0.9663 while its root mean square error (RMSE was the closest to zero, 0.001534.

  12. Modeling Impacts of Climate Change on Giant Panda Habitat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa Songer

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca are one of the most widely recognized endangered species globally. Habitat loss and fragmentation are the main threats, and climate change could significantly impact giant panda survival. We integrated giant panda habitat information with general climate models (GCMs to predict future geographic distribution and fragmentation of giant panda habitat. Results support a major general prediction of climate change—a shift of habitats towards higher elevation and higher latitudes. Our models predict climate change could reduce giant panda habitat by nearly 60% over 70 years. New areas may become suitable outside the current geographic range but much of these areas is far from the current giant panda range and only 15% fall within the current protected area system. Long-term survival of giant pandas will require the creation of new protected areas that are likely to support suitable habitat even if the climate changes.

  13. 3D Observation of GEMS by Electron Tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuno, Junya; Miyake, Akira; Tsuchiyama, Akira; Nakamura-Messenger, Keiko; Messenger, Scott

    2014-01-01

    Amorphous silicates in chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles (CP-IDPs) coming from comets are dominated by glass with embedded metal and sulfides (GEMS). GEMS grains are submicron-sized rounded objects (typically 100-500) nm in diameter) with anaometer-sized (10-50 nm) Fe-Ni metal and sulfide grains embedded in an amorphous silicate matrix. Several formation processes for GEMS grains have been proposed so far, but these models are still being debated [2-5]. Bradley et al. proposed that GEMS grains are interstellar silicate dust that survived various metamorphism or alteration processes in the protoplanetary disk and that they are amorphiation products of crystalline silicates in the interstellar medium by sputter-deposition of cosmic ray irradiation, similar to space weathering [2,4]. This consideration is based on the observation of nano-sized crystals (approximately 10 nm) called relict grains in GEMS grains and their shapes are pseudomorphs to the host GEMS grains. On the other hand, Keller and Messenger proposed that most GEMS formed in the protoplanetary disk as condensates from high temperature gas [3,5]. This model is based on the fact that most GEMS grains have solar isotopic compositions and have extremely heterogeneous and non-solar elemental compositions. Keller and Messenger (2011) also reported that amorphous silicates in GEMS grains are surrounded by sulfide grains, which formed as sulfidization of metallic iron grains located on the GEMS surface. The previous studies were performed with 2D observation by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or scanning TEM (STEM). In order to understand the structure of GEMS grains described above more clearly, we observed 3D structure of GEMS grains by electron tomography using a TEM/STEM (JEM-2100F, JEOL) at Kyoto University. Electron tomography gives not only 3D structures but also gives higher spatial resolution (approximately a few nm) than that in conventional 2D image, which is restricted by

  14. PanDA Pilot Submission using Condor-G: Experience and Improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Xin; Hover, John; Wlodek, Tomasz; Wenaus, Torre; Frey, Jaime; Tannenbaum, Todd; Livny, Miron

    2011-01-01

    PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) is the workload management system of the ATLAS experiment, used to run managed production and user analysis jobs on the grid. As a late-binding, pilot-based system, the maintenance of a smooth and steady stream of pilot jobs to all grid sites is critical for PanDA operation. The ATLAS Computing Facility (ACF) at BNL, as the ATLAS Tier1 center in the US, operates the pilot submission systems for the US. This is done using the PanDA 'AutoPilot' scheduler component which submits pilot jobs via Condor-G, a grid job scheduling system developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In this paper, we discuss the operation and performance of the Condor-G pilot submission at BNL, with emphasis on the challenges and issues encountered in the real grid production environment. With the close collaboration of Condor and PanDA teams, the scalability and stability of the overall system has been greatly improved over the last year. We review improvements made to Condor-G resulting from this collaboration, including isolation of site-based issues by running a separate Gridmanager for each remote site, introduction of the 'Nonessential' job attribute to allow Condor to optimize its behavior for the specific character of pilot jobs, better understanding and handling of the Gridmonitor process, as well as better scheduling in the PanDA pilot scheduler component. We will also cover the monitoring of the health of the system.

  15. Functional annotation from the genome sequence of the giant panda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huo, Tong; Zhang, Yinjie; Lin, Jianping

    2012-08-01

    The giant panda is one of the most critically endangered species due to the fragmentation and loss of its habitat. Studying the functions of proteins in this animal, especially specific trait-related proteins, is therefore necessary to protect the species. In this work, the functions of these proteins were investigated using the genome sequence of the giant panda. Data on 21,001 proteins and their functions were stored in the Giant Panda Protein Database, in which the proteins were divided into two groups: 20,179 proteins whose functions can be predicted by GeneScan formed the known-function group, whereas 822 proteins whose functions cannot be predicted by GeneScan comprised the unknown-function group. For the known-function group, we further classified the proteins by molecular function, biological process, cellular component, and tissue specificity. For the unknown-function group, we developed a strategy in which the proteins were filtered by cross-Blast to identify panda-specific proteins under the assumption that proteins related to the panda-specific traits in the unknown-function group exist. After this filtering procedure, we identified 32 proteins (2 of which are membrane proteins) specific to the giant panda genome as compared against the dog and horse genomes. Based on their amino acid sequences, these 32 proteins were further analyzed by functional classification using SVM-Prot, motif prediction using MyHits, and interacting protein prediction using the Database of Interacting Proteins. Nineteen proteins were predicted to be zinc-binding proteins, thus affecting the activities of nucleic acids. The 32 panda-specific proteins will be further investigated by structural and functional analysis.

  16. Prototype of the ALICE Time Projection Chamber (TPC) Field-Cage

    CERN Multimedia

    2003-01-01

    The ALICE Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main particle tracking detector in ALICE. Charged particles crossing the gas of the TPC knock electons out of their atoms, which then drift in in the electric field. By measuring the arrival of electrons at the end of the chamber, the TPC will reconstruct the paths of the original charged particles.

  17. Three cases giant panda attack on human at Beijing Zoo

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Peixun; Wang, Tianbing; Xiong, Jian; Xue, Feng; Xu, Hailin; Chen, Jianhai; Zhang, Dianying; Fu, Zhongguo; Jiang, Baoguo

    2014-01-01

    Panda is regarded as Chinese national treasure. Most people always thought they were cute and just ate bamboo and had never imagined a panda could be vicious. Giant panda attacks on human are rare. There, we present three cases of giant panda attacks on humans at the Panda House at Beijing Zoo from September 2006 to June 2009 to warn people of the giant panda’s potentially dangerous behavior.

  18. GPU-based online track reconstruction for PANDA and application to the analysis of D→Kππ

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herten, Andreas

    2015-07-02

    The PANDA experiment is a new hadron physics experiment which is being built for the FAIR facility in Darmstadt, Germany. PANDA will employ a novel scheme of data acquisition: the experiment will reconstruct the full stream of events in realtime to make trigger decisions based on the event topology. An important part of this online event reconstruction is online track reconstruction. Online track reconstruction algorithms need to reconstruct particle trajectories in nearly realtime. This work uses the high-throughput devices of Graphics Processing Units to benchmark different online track reconstruction algorithms. The reconstruction of D{sup ±}→K{sup -+}π{sup ±}π{sup ±} is studied extensively and one online track reconstruction algorithm applied.

  19. Habitat Use and Selection by Giant Pandas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hull, Vanessa; Zhang, Jindong; Huang, Jinyan; Zhou, Shiqiang; Viña, Andrés; Shortridge, Ashton; Li, Rengui; Liu, Dian; Xu, Weihua; Ouyang, Zhiyun; Zhang, Hemin; Liu, Jianguo

    2016-01-01

    Animals make choices about where to spend their time in complex and dynamic landscapes, choices that reveal information about their biology that in turn can be used to guide their conservation. Using GPS collars, we conducted a novel individual-based analysis of habitat use and selection by the elusive and endangered giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). We constructed spatial autoregressive resource utilization functions (RUF) to model the relationship between the pandas' utilization distributions and various habitat characteristics over a continuous space across seasons. Results reveal several new insights, including use of a broader range of habitat characteristics than previously understood for the species, particularly steep slopes and non-forest areas. We also used compositional analysis to analyze habitat selection (use with respect to availability of habitat types) at two selection levels. Pandas selected against low terrain position and against the highest clumped forest at the at-home range level, but no significant factors were identified at the within-home range level. Our results have implications for modeling and managing the habitat of this endangered species by illustrating how individual pandas relate to habitat and make choices that differ from assumptions made in broad scale models. Our study also highlights the value of using a spatial autoregressive RUF approach on animal species for which a complete picture of individual-level habitat use and selection across space is otherwise lacking. PMID:27627805

  20. Habitat Use and Selection by Giant Pandas.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vanessa Hull

    Full Text Available Animals make choices about where to spend their time in complex and dynamic landscapes, choices that reveal information about their biology that in turn can be used to guide their conservation. Using GPS collars, we conducted a novel individual-based analysis of habitat use and selection by the elusive and endangered giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca. We constructed spatial autoregressive resource utilization functions (RUF to model the relationship between the pandas' utilization distributions and various habitat characteristics over a continuous space across seasons. Results reveal several new insights, including use of a broader range of habitat characteristics than previously understood for the species, particularly steep slopes and non-forest areas. We also used compositional analysis to analyze habitat selection (use with respect to availability of habitat types at two selection levels. Pandas selected against low terrain position and against the highest clumped forest at the at-home range level, but no significant factors were identified at the within-home range level. Our results have implications for modeling and managing the habitat of this endangered species by illustrating how individual pandas relate to habitat and make choices that differ from assumptions made in broad scale models. Our study also highlights the value of using a spatial autoregressive RUF approach on animal species for which a complete picture of individual-level habitat use and selection across space is otherwise lacking.

  1. New Approach for 2D Readout of GEM Detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasell, Douglas K.

    2011-01-01

    Detectors based on Gas Electron Multiplication (GEM) technology are becoming more and more widely used in nuclear and high energy physics and are being applied in astronomy, medical physics, industry, and homeland security. GEM detectors are thin, low mass, insensitive to magnetic fields, and can currently provide position resolutions down to ∼50 microns. However, the designs for reconstructing the position, in two dimensions (2D), of the charged particles striking a GEM detector are often complicated to fabricate and expensive. The objective of this proposal is to investigate a simpler procedure for producing the two dimensional readout layer of GEM detectors using readily available printed circuit board technology which can be tailored to the detector requirements. We will use the established GEM laboratory and facilities at M.I.T. currently employed in developing GEM detectors for the STAR forward tracking upgrade to simplify the testing and evaluation of the new 2D readout designs. If this new design proves successful it will benefit future nuclear and high energy physics experiments already being planned and will similarly extend and simplify the application of GEM technology to other branches of science, medicine, and industry. These benefits would be not only in lower costs for fabrication but also it increased flexibility for design and application.

  2. Overview of ATLAS PanDA Workload Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maeno, T.; De, K.; Wenaus, T.; Nilsson, P.; Stewart, G. A.; Walker, R.; Stradling, A.; Caballero, J.; Potekhin, M.; Smith, D.; ATLAS Collaboration

    2011-12-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis System (PanDA) plays a key role in the ATLAS distributed computing infrastructure. All ATLAS Monte-Carlo simulation and data reprocessing jobs pass through the PanDA system. We will describe how PanDA manages job execution on the grid using dynamic resource estimation and data replication together with intelligent brokerage in order to meet the scaling and automation requirements of ATLAS distributed computing. PanDA is also the primary ATLAS system for processing user and group analysis jobs, bringing further requirements for quick, flexible adaptation to the rapidly evolving analysis use cases of the early datataking phase, in addition to the high reliability, robustness and usability needed to provide efficient and transparent utilization of the grid for analysis users. We will describe how PanDA meets ATLAS requirements, the evolution of the system in light of operational experience, how the system has performed during the first LHC data-taking phase and plans for the future.

  3. Overview of ATLAS PanDA Workload Management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeno, T.; De, K.; Wenaus, T.; Nilsson, P.; Stewart, G.A.; Walker, R.; Stradling, A.; Caballero, J.; Potekhin, M.; Smith, D.

    2011-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis System (PanDA) plays a key role in the ATLAS distributed computing infrastructure. All ATLAS Monte-Carlo simulation and data reprocessing jobs pass through the PanDA system. We will describe how PanDA manages job execution on the grid using dynamic resource estimation and data replication together with intelligent brokerage in order to meet the scaling and automation requirements of ATLAS distributed computing. PanDA is also the primary ATLAS system for processing user and group analysis jobs, bringing further requirements for quick, flexible adaptation to the rapidly evolving analysis use cases of the early datataking phase, in addition to the high reliability, robustness and usability needed to provide efficient and transparent utilization of the grid for analysis users. We will describe how PanDA meets ATLAS requirements, the evolution of the system in light of operational experience, how the system has performed during the first LHC data-taking phase and plans for the future.

  4. Graphics gems V (Macintosh version)

    CERN Document Server

    Paeth, Alan W

    1995-01-01

    Graphics Gems V is the newest volume in The Graphics Gems Series. It is intended to provide the graphics community with a set of practical tools for implementing new ideas and techniques, and to offer working solutions to real programming problems. These tools are written by a wide variety of graphics programmers from industry, academia, and research. The books in the series have become essential, time-saving tools for many programmers.Latest collection of graphics tips in The Graphics Gems Series written by the leading programmers in the field.Contains over 50 new gems displaying some of t

  5. Simulation of the dielectric charging-up effect in a GEM detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alfonsi, M.; Croci, G.; Duarte Pinto, S.; Rocco, E.; Ropelewski, L.; Sauli, F.; Veenhof, R.; Villa, M.

    2012-01-01

    The charging up effect is well-known in detectors containing dielectric materials and it is due to electrons and ions liberated in an avalanche and collected on the dielectric surfaces. In particular in Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) based detectors, charges can be captured by the Kapton that separates top and bottom electrodes. The collection of a substantial number of charges on the dielectric surfaces induces a modification of the field inside the GEM holes that implies important consequences on some fundamental parameters such as the electron transparency and the effective gain. The correct simulation of this effect opens new ways to the detailed study of the processes that happens in a GEM-based detector and gives the possibility to optimise the GEM geometry in order to avoid it. This paper compares results of the measurements and the simulations, with and without the introduction of the charging-up effect, of the GEM electron transparency in the case of a single GEM detector. The introduction of the charging up effect in the simulation resulted to be crucial in order to get the proper agreement with the measurements. The measurements and simulations of the GEM effective gain will be the subject of a future work.

  6. Fatal canine distemper virus infection of giant pandas in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Na; Yu, Yicong; Wang, Tiecheng; Wilker, Peter; Wang, Jianzhong; Li, Yuanguo; Sun, Zhe; Gao, Yuwei; Xia, Xianzhu

    2016-06-16

    We report an outbreak of canine distemper virus (CDV) infection among endangered giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Five of six CDV infected giant pandas died. The surviving giant panda was previously vaccinated against CDV. Genomic sequencing of CDV isolated from one of the infected pandas (giant panda/SX/2014) suggests it belongs to the Asia-1 cluster. The hemagglutinin protein of the isolated virus and virus sequenced from lung samples originating from deceased giant pandas all possessed the substitutions V26M, T213A, K281R, S300N, P340Q, and Y549H. The presence of the Y549H substitution is notable as it is found at the signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM) receptor-binding site and has been implicated in the emergence of highly pathogenic CDV and host switching. These findings demonstrate that giant pandas are susceptible to CDV and suggest that surveillance and vaccination among all captive giant pandas are warranted to support conservation efforts for this endangered species.

  7. The TOTEM T2 telescope based on triple-GEM chambers

    CERN Document Server

    Bagliesi, M G; Brucken, E; Cecchi, R; David, E; Garcia, F; Greco, V; Heino, J; Hilden, T; Kurvinen, K; Lauhakangas, R; Lami, S; Latino, G; Magazzu, G; Oliveri, E; Pedreschi, E; Ropelewski, L; Scribano, A; Spinella, F; Turini, N; van Stenis, M

    2010-01-01

    The TOTEM experiment at LHC has chosen the triple Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology for its T2 telescope which will provide charged track reconstruction in the pseudorapidity range 5.3<|η|<6.5 and a fully inclusive trigger for inelastic events. GEMs are gas filled detectors which combine good spatial resolution with very high rate capability and a good resistance to radiation. Preliminary results of cosmic ray tests performed at CERN on final T2 modules before installation are here presented. Comparisons between real and simulated detector performance are also shown.

  8. The TOTEM T2 telescope based on triple-GEM chambers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bagliesi, M.G., E-mail: mg.bagliesi@pi.infn.i [University of Siena and INFN Pisa (Italy); Berretti, M. [University of Siena and INFN Pisa (Italy); Brucken, E. [Helsinki (Finland); Cecchi, R. [University of Siena and INFN Pisa (Italy); David, E. [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland); Garcia, F. [Helsinki (Finland); Greco, V. [University of Siena and INFN Pisa (Italy); Heino, J.; Hilden, T.; Kurvinen, K.; Lauhakangas, R. [Helsinki (Finland); Lami, S.; Latino, G.; Magazzu, G.; Oliveri, E.; Pedreschi, E. [University of Siena and INFN Pisa (Italy); Ropelewski, L. [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland); Scribano, A.; Spinella, F.; Turini, N. [University of Siena and INFN Pisa (Italy)

    2010-05-21

    The TOTEM experiment at LHC has chosen the triple Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology for its T2 telescope which will provide charged track reconstruction in the pseudorapidity range 5.3<|{eta}|<6.5 and a fully inclusive trigger for inelastic events. GEMs are gas filled detectors which combine good spatial resolution with very high rate capability and a good resistance to radiation. Preliminary results of cosmic ray tests performed at CERN on final T2 modules before installation are here presented. Comparisons between real and simulated detector performance are also shown.

  9. Lossy compression of TPC data and trajectory tracking efficiency for the ALICE experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nicolaucig, A.; Ivanov, M.; Mattavelli, M.

    2003-01-01

    In this paper a quasi-lossless algorithm for the on-line compression of the data generated by the Time Projection Chamber (TPC) detector of the ALICE experiment at CERN is described. The algorithm is based on a lossy source code modeling technique, i.e. it is based on a source model which is lossy if samples of the TPC signal are considered one by one; conversely, the source model is lossless or quasi-lossless if some physical quantities that are of main interest for the experiment are considered. These quantities are the area and the location of the center of mass of each TPC signal pulse, representing the pulse charge and the time localization of the pulse. So as to evaluate the consequences of the error introduced by the lossy compression process, the results of the trajectory tracking algorithms that process data off-line after the experiment are analyzed, in particular, versus their sensibility to the noise introduced by the compression. Two different versions of these off-line algorithms are described, performing cluster finding and particle tracking. The results on how these algorithms are affected by the lossy compression are reported. Entropy coding can be applied to the set of events defined by the source model to reduce the bit rate to the corresponding source entropy. Using TPC simulated data according to the expected ALICE TPC performance, the compression algorithm achieves a data reduction in the range of 34.2% down to 23.7% of the original data rate depending on the desired precision on the pulse center of mass. The number of operations per input symbol required to implement the algorithm is relatively low, so that a real-time implementation of the compression process embedded in the TPC data acquisition chain using low-cost integrated electronics is a realistic option to effectively reduce the data storing cost of ALICE experiment

  10. Pilot factory - a Condor-based system for scalable Pilot Job generation in the Panda WMS framework

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiu, Po-Hsiang; Potekhin, Maxim

    2010-01-01

    The Panda Workload Management System is designed around the concept of the Pilot Job - a 'smart wrapper' for the payload executable that can probe the environment on the remote worker node before pulling down the payload from the server and executing it. Such design allows for improved logging and monitoring capabilities as well as flexibility in Workload Management. In the Grid environment (such as the Open Science Grid), Panda Pilot Jobs are submitted to remote sites via mechanisms that ultimately rely on Condor-G. As our experience has shown, in cases where a large number of Panda jobs are simultaneously routed to a particular remote site, the increased load on the head node of the cluster, which is caused by the Pilot Job submission, may lead to overall lack of scalability. We have developed a Condor-inspired solution to this problem, which is using the schedd-based glidein, whose mission is to redirect pilots to the native batch system. Once a glidein schedd is installed and running, it can be utilized exactly the same way as local schedds and therefore, from the user's perspective, Pilots thus submitted are quite similar to jobs submitted to the local Condor pool.

  11. TREX-DM: a low-background Micromegas-based TPC for low-mass WIMP detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iguaz, F.J.; Garza, J.G.; Castel, J.F.; Cebrian, S.; Dafni, T.; Garcia, J.A.; Irastorza, I.G.; Lagraba, A.; Luzon, G.; Peiro, A. [Universidad de Zaragoza, Grupo de Fisica Nuclear y Astroparticulas, Zaragoza (Spain); Aznar, F. [Universidad de Zaragoza, Grupo de Fisica Nuclear y Astroparticulas, Zaragoza (Spain); Universidad de Zaragoza, Centro Universitario de la Defensa, Zaragoza (Spain)

    2016-10-15

    If Dark Matter is made of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) with masses below ∝20 GeV, the corresponding nuclear recoils in mainstream WIMP experiments are of energies too close, or below, the experimental threshold. Gas Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) can be operated with a variety of target elements, offer good tracking capabilities and, on account of the amplification in gas, very low thresholds are achievable. Recent advances in electronics and in novel radiopure TPC readouts, especially micro-mesh gas structure (Micromegas), are improving the scalability and low-background prospects of gaseous TPCs. Here we present TREX-DM, a prototype to test the concept of a Micromegas-based TPC to search for low-mass WIMPs. The detector is designed to host an active mass of ∝0.300 kg of Ar at 10 bar, or alternatively ∝0.160 kg of Ne at 10 bar, with an energy threshold below 0.4 keVee, and is fully built with radiopure materials. We will describe the detector in detail, the results from the commissioning phase on surface, as well as a preliminary background model. The anticipated sensitivity of this technique may go beyond current experimental limits for WIMPs of masses of 2-8 GeV. (orig.)

  12. Distribution and habitat use of red panda in the Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape of Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bista, Damber; Shrestha, Saroj; Sherpa, Peema; Thapa, Gokarna Jung; Kokh, Manish; Lama, Sonam Tashi; Khanal, Kapil; Thapa, Arjun; Jnawali, Shant Raj

    2017-01-01

    In Nepal, the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) has been sparsely studied, although its range covers a wide area. The present study was carried out in the previously untapped Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape (CHAL) situated in central Nepal with an aim to explore current distributional status and identify key habitat use. Extensive field surveys conducted in 10 red panda range districts were used to estimate species distribution by presence-absence occupancy modeling and to predict distribution by presence-only modeling. The presence of red pandas was recorded in five districts: Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Myagdi, Baglung and Dhading. The predictive distribution model indicated that 1,904.44 km2 of potential red panda habitat is available in CHAL with the protected area covering nearly 41% of the total habitat. The habitat suitability analysis based on the probability of occurrence showed only 16.58% (A = 315.81 km2) of the total potential habitat is highly suitable. Red Panda occupancy was estimated to be around 0.0667, indicating nearly 7% (218 km2) of the total habitat is occupied with an average detection probability of 0.4482±0.377. Based on the habitat use analysis, altogether eight variables including elevation, slope, aspect, proximity to water sources, bamboo abundance, height, cover, and seasonal precipitation were observed to have significant roles in the distribution of red pandas. In addition, 25 tree species were documented from red panda sign plots out of 165 species recorded in the survey area. Most common was Betula utilis followed by Rhododendron spp. and Abies spectabilis. The extirpation of red pandas in previously reported areas indicates a need for immediate action for the long-term conservation of this species in CHAL.

  13. The ALICE TPC front end electronics

    CERN Document Server

    Musa, L; Bialas, N; Bramm, R; Campagnolo, R; Engster, Claude; Formenti, F; Bonnes, U; Esteve-Bosch, R; Frankenfeld, Ulrich; Glässel, P; Gonzales, C; Gustafsson, Hans Åke; Jiménez, A; Junique, A; Lien, J; Lindenstruth, V; Mota, B; Braun-Munzinger, P; Oeschler, H; Österman, L; Renfordt, R E; Ruschmann, G; Röhrich, D; Schmidt, H R; Stachel, J; Soltveit, A K; Ullaland, K

    2004-01-01

    In this paper we present the front end electronics for the time projection chamber (TPC) of the ALICE experiment. The system, which consists of about 570000 channels, is based on two basic units: (a) an analogue ASIC (PASA) that incorporates the shaping-amplifier circuits for 16 channels; (b) a mixed-signal ASIC (ALTRO) that integrates 16 channels, each consisting of a 10-bit 25-MSPS ADC, the baseline subtraction, tail cancellation filter, zero suppression and multi-event buffer. The complete readout chain is contained in front end cards (FEC), with 128 channels each, connected to the detector by means of capton cables. A number of FECs (up to 25) are controlled by a readout control unit (RCU), which interfaces the FECs to the data acquisition (DAQ), the trigger, and the detector control system (DCS) . A function of the final electronics (1024 channels) has been characterized in a test that incorporates a prototype of the ALICE TPC as well as many other components of the final set-up. The tests show that the ...

  14. The TPC shielding of the CAST experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruz, J; Luzon, G; Beltran, B; Carmona, J M; Cebrian, S; Gomez, H; Irastorza, I G; Morales, J; Ortiz de Solorzano, A; RodrIguez, A; Villar, J A

    2006-01-01

    Sunset solar axions traversing the intense magnetic field of the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) experiment may be detected in a TPC detector, placed at one side of the magnet, as point-like X-rays signals. This signal could be masked, however, by the inhomogeneous radioactive background of materials and experimental site. Here we present the shielding built to reduce and homogenize the radioactive background levels of the TPC detector

  15. Fatal canine distemper virus infection of giant pandas in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Na; Yu, Yicong; Wang, Tiecheng; Wilker, Peter; Wang, Jianzhong; Li, Yuanguo; Sun, Zhe; Gao, Yuwei; Xia, Xianzhu

    2016-01-01

    We report an outbreak of canine distemper virus (CDV) infection among endangered giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Five of six CDV infected giant pandas died. The surviving giant panda was previously vaccinated against CDV. Genomic sequencing of CDV isolated from one of the infected pandas (giant panda/SX/2014) suggests it belongs to the Asia-1 cluster. The hemagglutinin protein of the isolated virus and virus sequenced from lung samples originating from deceased giant pandas all possessed the substitutions V26M, T213A, K281R, S300N, P340Q, and Y549H. The presence of the Y549H substitution is notable as it is found at the signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM) receptor-binding site and has been implicated in the emergence of highly pathogenic CDV and host switching. These findings demonstrate that giant pandas are susceptible to CDV and suggest that surveillance and vaccination among all captive giant pandas are warranted to support conservation efforts for this endangered species. PMID:27310722

  16. Tracing the origin of the panda's thumb

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abella, Juan; Pérez-Ramos, Alejandro; Valenciano, Alberto; Alba, David M.; Ercoli, Marcos D.; Hontecillas, Daniel; Montoya, Plinio; Morales, Jorge

    2015-06-01

    We investigate the relative development of the carnivoran radial sesamoids to untangle the evolution of this iconic structure. In the pandas (both giant and red), this `false thumb' is known to perform a grasping role during bamboo feeding in both the red and giant pandas. An original locomotor role has been inferred for ailurids, but this remains to be ascertained for ursids. A large sample of radial sesamoids of Indarctos arctoides from the Miocene of Batallones-3 (Spain) indicates that this early ailuropodine bear displayed a relatively hypertrophied radial sesamoid, with a configuration more similar to that of the red panda and other carnivorans than to that of giant pandas. This false thumb is the first evidence of this feature in the Ursidae, which can be linked to a more herbivorous diet. Moreover, in the two extant pandas, the false thumb should not be interpreted as an anatomical convergence, but as an exaptive convergence regarding its use during the bamboo feeding, which changes the evolutionary view of this singular structure.

  17. Simulation and event reconstruction inside the PandaRoot framework

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spataro, S

    2008-01-01

    The PANDA detector will be located at the future GSI accelerator FAIR. Its primary objective is the investigation of strong interaction with anti-proton beams, in the range up to 15 GeV/c as momentum of the incoming anti-proton. The PANDA offline simulation framework is called 'PandaRoot', as it is based upon the ROOT 5.14 package. It is characterized by a high versatility; it allows to perform simulation and analysis, to run different event generators (EvtGen, Pluto, UrQmd), different transport models (Geant3, Geant4, Fluka) with the same code, thus to compare the results simply by changing few macro lines without recompiling at all. Moreover auto-configuration scripts allow installing the full framework easily in different Linux distributions and with different compilers (the framework was installed and tested in more than 10 Linux platforms) without further manipulation. The final data are in a tree format, easily accessible and readable through simple clicks on the root browsers. The presentation will report on the actual status of the computing development inside the PandaRoot framework, in terms of detector implementation and event reconstruction

  18. Habitat assessment for giant pandas in the Qinling Mountain region of China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Tian-Tian; Van Manen, Frank T.; Zhao, Na-Xun; Li, Ming; Wei, Fu-Wen

    2009-01-01

    Because habitat loss and fragmentation threaten giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), habitat protection and restoration are important conservation measures for this endangered species. However, distribution and value of potential habitat to giant pandas on a regional scale are not fully known. Therefore, we identified and ranked giant panda habitat in Foping Nature Reserve, Guanyinshan Nature Reserve, and adjacent areas in the Qinling Mountains of China. We used Mahalanobis distance and 11 digital habitat layers to develop a multivariate habitat signature associated with 247 surveyed giant panda locations, which we then applied to the study region. We identified approximately 128 km2 of giant panda habitat in Foping Nature Reserve (43.6% of the reserve) and 49 km2 in Guanyinshan Nature Reserve (33.6% of the reserve). We defined core habitat areas by incorporating a minimum patch-size criterion (5.5 km2) based on home-range size. Percentage of core habitat area was higher in Foping Nature Reserve (41.8% of the reserve) than Guanyinshan Nature Reserve (26.3% of the reserve). Within the larger analysis region, Foping Nature Reserve contained 32.7% of all core habitat areas we identified, indicating regional importance of the reserve. We observed a negative relationship between distribution of core areas and presence of roads and small villages. Protection of giant panda habitat at lower elevations and improvement of habitat linkages among core habitat areas are important in a regional approach to giant panda conservation.

  19. PANDA: pathway and annotation explorer for visualizing and interpreting gene-centric data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hart, Steven N; Moore, Raymond M; Zimmermann, Michael T; Oliver, Gavin R; Egan, Jan B; Bryce, Alan H; Kocher, Jean-Pierre A

    2015-01-01

    Objective. Bringing together genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and other -omics technologies is an important step towards developing highly personalized medicine. However, instrumentation has advances far beyond expectations and now we are able to generate data faster than it can be interpreted. Materials and Methods. We have developed PANDA (Pathway AND Annotation) Explorer, a visualization tool that integrates gene-level annotation in the context of biological pathways to help interpret complex data from disparate sources. PANDA is a web-based application that displays data in the context of well-studied pathways like KEGG, BioCarta, and PharmGKB. PANDA represents data/annotations as icons in the graph while maintaining the other data elements (i.e., other columns for the table of annotations). Custom pathways from underrepresented diseases can be imported when existing data sources are inadequate. PANDA also allows sharing annotations among collaborators. Results. In our first use case, we show how easy it is to view supplemental data from a manuscript in the context of a user's own data. Another use-case is provided describing how PANDA was leveraged to design a treatment strategy from the somatic variants found in the tumor of a patient with metastatic sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma. Conclusion. PANDA facilitates the interpretation of gene-centric annotations by visually integrating this information with context of biological pathways. The application can be downloaded or used directly from our website: http://bioinformaticstools.mayo.edu/research/panda-viewer/.

  20. PANDAS: The Need to Use Definitive Diagnostic Criteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harvey S. Singer

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The entity Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections (PANDAS was initially proposed in 1998 (Swedo, et al. 1998. The formal diagnosis required that the affected individual meet five specific criteria: prepubertal onset, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD and/or a tic disorder, the dramatic sudden explosive onset of symptoms, a relapsing and remitting course of symptoms that are temporally associated with Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal (GABHS infection, and the presence of other neuropsychiatric abnormalities (hyperactivity, emotional lability, anxiety, or piano-playing choreiform movements. Since that original report, the PANDAS hypothesis has remained controversial based on both clinical grounds and the failure to confirm a definitive immune process.  This editorial was written in response to:Helm CE, Blackwood RA. Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS: Experience at a tertiary referral center. Tremor Other Hyperkinet Mov. 2015; 5. doi: 10.7916/D8348JCX 

  1. Current husbandry situation of red pandas in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Ai; Ogura, Tadatoshi

    2018-03-01

    The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is an endangered semi-arboreal folivore with a specialized diet of bamboo leaves. Zoos worldwide maintain red pandas under a variety of housing environments and husbandry procedures that may affect the reproductive success and longevity of captive red pandas. The aims of the present study were to investigate how red pandas are kept in Japan and to obtain useful insights to increase their longevity by comparing the results from a questionnaire sent to Japanese zoos and those from a previous survey conducted in other countries. We received responses from 42 out of 52 zoos, holding a total of 219 individual red pandas, in Japan. The age-sex distribution indicated that red panda populations in Japan need close attention to be maintained sustainably. Of the husbandry aspects surveyed, the number of individuals in the same zoo, enclosure size, and the frequency of bamboo feeding factors indicated to affect reproductive success. Frequent monitoring of body weight, implementation of husbandry training, and bamboo feeding were also suggested as the reasons for the longevity of red pandas in Japan. Zoos were provided with sufficient physical features in on-exhibit enclosures, close monitoring for health status, and proper feeding, but other aspects of husbandry such as enclosure size and structures in off-exhibit spaces were insufficient and might compromise animal welfare. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Radiation imaging with optically read out GEM-based detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunbauer, F. M.; Lupberger, M.; Oliveri, E.; Resnati, F.; Ropelewski, L.; Streli, C.; Thuiner, P.; van Stenis, M.

    2018-02-01

    Modern imaging sensors allow for high granularity optical readout of radiation detectors such as MicroPattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs). Taking advantage of the high signal amplification factors achievable by MPGD technologies such as Gaseous Electron Multipliers (GEMs), highly sensitive detectors can be realised and employing gas mixtures with strong scintillation yield in the visible wavelength regime, optical readout of such detectors can provide high-resolution event representations. Applications from X-ray imaging to fluoroscopy and tomography profit from the good spatial resolution of optical readout and the possibility to obtain images without the need for extensive reconstruction. Sensitivity to low-energy X-rays and energy resolution permit energy resolved imaging and material distinction in X-ray fluorescence measurements. Additionally, the low material budget of gaseous detectors and the possibility to couple scintillation light to imaging sensors via fibres or mirrors makes optically read out GEMs an ideal candidate for beam monitoring detectors in high energy physics as well as radiotherapy. We present applications and achievements of optically read out GEM-based detectors including high spatial resolution imaging and X-ray fluorescence measurements as an alternative readout approach for MPGDs. A detector concept for low intensity applications such as X-ray crystallography, which maximises detection efficiency with a thick conversion region but mitigates parallax-induced broadening is presented and beam monitoring capabilities of optical readout are explored. Augmenting high resolution 2D projections of particle tracks obtained with optical readout with timing information from fast photon detectors or transparent anodes for charge readout, 3D reconstruction of particle trajectories can be performed and permits the realisation of optically read out time projection chambers. Combining readily available high performance imaging sensors with compatible

  3. Giant panda BAC library construction and assembly of a 650-kb contig spanning major histocompatibility complex class II region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pan Hui-Juan

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Giant panda is rare and endangered species endemic to China. The low rates of reproductive success and infectious disease resistance have severely hampered the development of captive and wild populations of the giant panda. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC plays important roles in immune response and reproductive system such as mate choice and mother-fetus bio-compatibility. It is thus essential to understand genetic details of the giant panda MHC. Construction of a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC library will provide a new tool for panda genome physical mapping and thus facilitate understanding of panda MHC genes. Results A giant panda BAC library consisting of 205,800 clones has been constructed. The average insert size was calculated to be 97 kb based on the examination of 174 randomly selected clones, indicating that the giant panda library contained 6.8-fold genome equivalents. Screening of the library with 16 giant panda PCR primer pairs revealed 6.4 positive clones per locus, in good agreement with an expected 6.8-fold genomic coverage of the library. Based on this BAC library, we constructed a contig map of the giant panda MHC class II region from BTNL2 to DAXX spanning about 650 kb by a three-step method: (1 PCR-based screening of the BAC library with primers from homologous MHC class II gene loci, end sequences and BAC clone shotgun sequences, (2 DNA sequencing validation of positive clones, and (3 restriction digest fingerprinting verification of inter-clone overlapping. Conclusion The identifications of genes and genomic regions of interest are greatly favored by the availability of this giant panda BAC library. The giant panda BAC library thus provides a useful platform for physical mapping, genome sequencing or complex analysis of targeted genomic regions. The 650 kb sequence-ready BAC contig map of the giant panda MHC class II region from BTNL2 to DAXX, verified by the three-step method, offers a

  4. Mexican gems as thermoluminescent dosimeters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azorin N, J.

    1979-01-01

    The possibility of using naturally ocurring mexican gems as thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) was investigated. Twelve types of gems were irradiated with X and gamma rays in order to determinate their dosimetric properties. Three of these gems showed favorable thermoluminescent characteristics compared with commercial thermoluminescent dosimeters. The plots of their thermoluminescent response as a function of gamma dose are straight lines on full log paper in the dose range 10 -2 to 10 2 Gy. The energy dependence is very strong to low energies of the radiation. Their fading was found to be about 5%/yr. and they may be annealed as reused without loss in sensitivity. Therefore, these gems can be used as X and gamma radiation dosimeters. (author)

  5. Limits of a spatial resolution of the cascaded GEM based detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kudryavtsev, V.N.; Maltsev, T.V.; Shekhtman, L.I.

    2017-01-01

    Spatial resolution of tracking detectors based on GEM cascades is determined in the simulation and measured. The simulation includes GEANT4 implemented transport of high energy electrons with careful accounting for atomic relaxation processes including emission of fluorescent photons and Auger electrons and custom post-processing taking into account diffusion, gas amplification fluctuations, the distribution of signals over readout electrodes, electronics noise and particular algorithm of final coordinate calculation (centre-of-gravity algorithm). The simulation demonstrates that the minimum of the spatial resolution of about 10–20 μm can be achieved with a gas mixture of Ar-CO 2 (75%–25%) at a strip pitch in the range from 250 μm to 300 μm. At a larger pitch the resolution quickly degrades reaching 70–100 μm at a pitch of 450–500 μm. The reasons of such behavior are discussed and corresponding hypothesis is tested. Particularly, the effect of electron cloud modification due to a GEM operation is considered using the ANSYS and Garfield++ simulation programs. The detection efficiency and spatial resolution of low-material triple-GEM detectors for the DEUTERON facility at BINP are measured at the extracted beam facility of the VEPP-4M collider. One-coordinate resolution of two detectors for the DEUTERON facility is measured with a 2 GeV electron beam. The determined values of the detectors' spatial resolution is equal to 46.6 ± 0.1 μm and 38.5 ± 0.2 μm for orthogonal tracks in two detectors, respectively.

  6. Limits of a spatial resolution of the cascaded GEM based detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kudryavtsev, V. N.; Maltsev, T. V.; Shekhtman, L. I.

    2017-06-01

    Spatial resolution of tracking detectors based on GEM cascades is determined in the simulation and measured. The simulation includes GEANT4 implemented transport of high energy electrons with careful accounting for atomic relaxation processes including emission of fluorescent photons and Auger electrons and custom post-processing taking into account diffusion, gas amplification fluctuations, the distribution of signals over readout electrodes, electronics noise and particular algorithm of final coordinate calculation (centre-of-gravity algorithm). The simulation demonstrates that the minimum of the spatial resolution of about 10-20 μm can be achieved with a gas mixture of Ar-CO2 (75%-25%) at a strip pitch in the range from 250 μm to 300 μm. At a larger pitch the resolution quickly degrades reaching 70-100 μm at a pitch of 450-500 μm. The reasons of such behavior are discussed and corresponding hypothesis is tested. Particularly, the effect of electron cloud modification due to a GEM operation is considered using the ANSYS and Garfield++ simulation programs. The detection efficiency and spatial resolution of low-material triple-GEM detectors for the DEUTERON facility at BINP are measured at the extracted beam facility of the VEPP-4M collider. One-coordinate resolution of two detectors for the DEUTERON facility is measured with a 2 GeV electron beam. The determined values of the detectors' spatial resolution is equal to 46.6 ± 0.1 μm and 38.5 ± 0.2 μm for orthogonal tracks in two detectors, respectively.

  7. Observing giant panda habitat and forage abundance from space

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, T.

    2009-01-01

    Giant pandas are obligate bamboo grazers. The bamboos favoured by giant
    pandas are typical forest understorey plants. Therefore, the availability and
    abundance of understorey bamboo is a key factor in determining the quantity
    and quality of giant panda food resources. However,

  8. GEMS Revealed: Spectrum Imaging of Aggregate Grains in Interplanetary Dust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keller, L. P.; Messenger, S.; Christoffersen, R.

    2005-01-01

    Anhydrous interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) of cometary origin contain abundant materials that formed in the early solar nebula. These materials were transported outward and subsequently mixed with molecular cloud materials and presolar grains in the region where comets accreted [1]. GEMS (glass with embedded metal and sulfides) grains are a major component of these primitive anhydrous IDPs, along with crystalline Mg-rich silicates, Fe-Ni sulfides, carbonaceous material, and other trace phases. Some GEMS grains (5%) are demonstrably presolar based on their oxygen isotopic compositions [2]. However, most GEMS grains are isotopically solar and have bulk chemical compositions that are incompatible with inferred compositions of interstellar dust, suggesting a solar system origin [3]. An alternative hypothesis is that GEMS grains represent highly irradiated interstellar grains whose oxygen isotopic compositions were homogenized through processing in the interstellar medium (ISM) [4]. We have obtained the first quantitative X-ray maps (spectrum images) showing the distribution of major and minor elements in individual GEMS grains. Nanometer-scale chemical maps provide critical data required to evaluate the differing models regarding the origin of GEMS grains.

  9. The next generation PanDA Pilot for and beyond the ATLAS experiment

    CERN Document Server

    Nilsson, Paul; The ATLAS collaboration

    2018-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis system (PanDA) is a pilot-based workload management system that was originally designed for the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC to operate on grid sites. Since the coming LHC data taking runs will require more resources than grid computing alone can provide, the various LHC experiments are engaged in an ambitious program to extend the computing model to include opportunistically used resources such as High Performance Computers (HPCs), clouds and volunteer computers. To this end, PanDA is being extended beyond grids and ATLAS to be used on the new types of resources as well as by other experiments. A new key component is being developed, the next generation PanDA Pilot (Pilot 2). Pilot 2 is a complete rewrite of the original PanDA Pilot which has been used in the ATLAS Experiment for over a decade. The new Pilot architecture follows a component-based approach which improves system flexibility, enables a clear workflow control, evolves the system according to modern function...

  10. The next generation of the ATLAS PanDA Monitoring System

    CERN Document Server

    Schovancova, J; The ATLAS collaboration; Klimentov, A; Love, P; Potekhin, M; Wenaus, T

    2014-01-01

    For many years the PanDA Workload Management System has been the basis for distributed production and analysis for the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Since the start of data taking PanDA usage has ramped up steadily, with up to 1M completed jobs/day in 2013. The associated monitoring data volume has been rising as well, to levels that present a new set of challenges in the areas of database scalability and monitoring system performance and efficiency. Outside of ATLAS, the PanDA system is also being used in projects like AMS, LSST and a few others. It currently undergoes a significant redesign, both of the core server components responsible for workload management, brokerage and data access, and of the monitoring part, which is critically important for efficient execution of the workflow in a way that’s transparent to the user and also provides an effective set of tools for operational support. The new generation of the PanDA Monitoring Service is designed based on a proven, scalable, industry-standard Web Fr...

  11. PanDA Pilot Submission using Condor-G: Experience and Improvements

    CERN Document Server

    Zhao, Xin; The ATLAS collaboration; Wlodek, Tom; Wenaus, Torre; Frey, Jaime; Tannenbaum, Todd; Livny, Miron

    2010-01-01

    PanDA is the workload management system of the ATLAS experiment, used to run production and user analysis jobs on the grid. As a late-binding, pilot-based system, the maintenance of a smooth and steady stream of pilot jobs to all grid sites is critical for PanDA operation. The ATLAS Computing Facility (ACF) at BNL, as the ATLAS Tier 1 center in the US, operates the pilot submission systems for the US. This is done using the PanDA "AutoPilot" scheduler component which submits pilot jobs via Condor-G, a grid job scheduling system developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In this talk, we discuss the operation and performance of the Condor-G pilot submission at BNL, with emphasis on the challenges and issues encountered in the real grid production environment. With the close collaboration of Condor and PanDA teams, the scalability and stability of the overall system has been greatly improved over the last year. We review improvements made to Condor-G resulting from this collaboration, including isolation...

  12. PanDA Pilot Submission using Condor-G: Experience and Improvements

    CERN Document Server

    Zhao, X; The ATLAS collaboration; Wlodek, T; Wenaus, T; Frey, J; Tannenbaum, T; Livny, M

    2011-01-01

    PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) is the workload management system of the ATLAS experiment, used to run managed production and user analysis jobs on the grid. As a late-binding, pilot-based system, the maintenance of a smooth and steady stream of pilot jobs to all grid sites is critical for PanDA operation. The ATLAS Computing Facility (ACF) at BNL, as the ATLAS Tier1 center in the US, operates the pilot submission systems for the US. This is done using the PanDA “AutoPilot” scheduler component which submits pilot jobs via Condor-G, a grid job scheduling system developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In this paper, we discuss the operation and performance of the Condor-G pilot submission at BNL, with emphasis on the challenges and issues encountered in the real grid production environment. With the close collaboration of Condor and PanDA teams, the scalability and stability of the overall system has been greatly improved over the last year. We review improvements made to Condor-G resu...

  13. Aging measurements on triple-GEM detectors operated with $CF_{4}$- based gas mixtures

    CERN Document Server

    Alfonsi, M; Bencivenni, G; Bonivento, W; Cardini, A; Lener, M P; Murtas, F; Pinci, D; Raspino, D; Saitta, B; De Simone, P

    2004-01-01

    We present the results of a global irradiation test of full size triple-GEM detectors operated with CF/sub 4/-based gas mixtures. This study has been performed in the framework of an R&D activity on detectors for the innermost region of the first muon station of the LHCb experiment. The prototypes have been irradiated at the Calliope facility of the ENEA-Casaccia with a high intensity 1.25 MeV gamma from a /sup 60/Co source. After the irradiation test the detectors performances have been measured with X-rays and with a 3 GeV pion beam at CERN. A SEM analysis on several samples of the detectors has been performed to complete the understanding of the physical processes occurring in the GEM detector during the strong irradiation.

  14. Momentum scale in the HARP TPC

    CERN Document Server

    Catanesi, M G; Edgecock, R; Ellis, M; Soler, F J P; Gössling, C; Bunyatov, S; Krasnoperov, A; Popov, B; Serdiouk, V; Tereschenko, V; Di Capua, E; Vidal-Sitjes, G; Artamonov, A; Giani, S; Gilardoni, S; Gorbunov, P; Grant, A; Grossheim, A; Ivanchenko, V; Kayis-Topaksu, A; Panman, J; Papadopoulos, I; Chernyaev, E; Tsukerman, I; Veenhof, R; Wiebusch, C; Zucchelli, P; Blondel, A; Borghi, S; Morone, M C; Prior, G; Schroeter, R; Meurer, C; Gastaldi, Ugo; Mills, G B; Graulich, J S; Grégoire, G; Bonesini, M; Ferri, F; Kirsanov, M; Bagulya, A; Grichine, V; Polukhina, N; Palladino, V; Coney, L; Schmitz, D; Barr, G; De Santo, A; Bobisut, F; Gibin, D; Guglielmi, A; Mezzetto, M; Dumarchez, J; Dore, U; Orestano, D; Pastore, F; Tonazzo, A; Tortora, L; Booth, C; Howlett, L; Bogomilov, M; Chizhov, M; Kolev, D; Tsenov, R; Piperov, S; Temnikov, P; Apollonio, M; Chimenti, P; Giannini, G; Burguet-Castell, J; Cervera-Villanueva, A; Gómez-Cadenas, J J; Martín-Albo, J; Novella, P; Sorel, M

    2007-01-01

    Recently a claim was made that the reconstruction of the large angle tracks in the HARP TPC was affected by a momentum bias as large as 15% at 500 MeV/c transverse momentum. In the following we recall the main issues with the momentum measurement in the HARP TPC, and describe the cross-checks made to validate the momentum scale. Proton-proton elastic scattering data off the hydrogen target are used to alibrate the momentum of charged particles with a precision evaluated to be 3.5%. A full description of the time development of the dynamic distortions in the TPC during physics spills is now available together with a correction algorithm. This allows a new cross-check using an enlarged data set made by comparing positive and negative pion elasticscattering data collected with negative polarity of the solenoid magnet. These data confirm the absence of a bias in the sagitta measurement. The dE/dx versus momentum curves are revisited, and shown to provide a confirmation that the HARP momentum calibration is correc...

  15. Metabolic rates of giant pandas inform conservation strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fei, Yuxiang; Hou, Rong; Spotila, James R.; Paladino, Frank V.; Qi, Dunwu; Zhang, Zhihe

    2016-06-01

    The giant panda is an icon of conservation and survived a large-scale bamboo die off in the 1980s in China. Captive breeding programs have produced a large population in zoos and efforts continue to reintroduce those animals into the wild. However, we lack sufficient knowledge of their physiological ecology to determine requirements for survival now and in the face of climate change. We measured resting and active metabolic rates of giant pandas in order to determine if current bamboo resources were sufficient for adding additional animals to populations in natural reserves. Resting metabolic rates were somewhat below average for a panda sized mammal and active metabolic rates were in the normal range. Pandas do not have exceptionally low metabolic rates. Nevertheless, there is enough bamboo in natural reserves to support both natural populations and large numbers of reintroduced pandas. Bamboo will not be the limiting factor in successful reintroduction.

  16. The ̅PANDA Detector at FAIR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ikegami Andersson, W

    2016-01-01

    The future ̅PANDA detector at FAIR is a state-of-the-art internal target detector designed for strong interaction studies. By utilizing an antiproton beam, a rich and unique physics programme is planned. The ̅PANDA experiment, as well as feasibility studies for hyperon and charmonium physics, are discussed. (paper)

  17. The ̅PANDA Detector at FAIR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikegami Andersson, W.; ̅PANDA Collaboration

    2016-11-01

    The future ̅PANDA detector at FAIR is a state-of-the-art internal target detector designed for strong interaction studies. By utilizing an antiproton beam, a rich and unique physics programme is planned. The ̅PANDA experiment, as well as feasibility studies for hyperon and charmonium physics, are discussed.

  18. Cranial shape transformation in the evolution of the giant panda ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Figueirido, Borja; Palmqvist, Paul; Pérez-Claros, Juan A.; Dong, Wei

    2011-02-01

    In this study, landmark-based methods of geometric morphometrics are used for investigating the main aspects of cranial shape transformation in the evolution of the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca. Specifically, we explore if the highly derived cranial adaptations for bamboo feeding of the living panda were developed early in the panda's lineage. Results obtained show that the overall cranial morphologies of the oldest known panda, the "pygmy" Ailuropoda microta, and the late Pleistocene Ailuropoda baconi are both very similar to that of their closest living relative, A. melanoleuca, which agrees with a previous proposal based on qualitative criteria. However, we also describe several differences between the crania of A. microta, A. baconi, and A. melanoleuca, including the development of the postorbital process, the orientation of the occipital region, and the expansion of the braincase. As a result, the cranial morphology of A. microta shows a less specialized morphology toward a fibrous and durophagous diet compared to the giant panda. These results are confirmed by a comparative analysis of the dimensions of the upper teeth in bears, which has revealed differences in relative tooth size between A. microta and A. melanoleuca, most probably as a result of mosaic evolution. Therefore, we conclude that cranial shape did not remain essentially uniform in the Ailuropoda lineage, as previously thought, but underwent a number of changes during more than 2 Myr.

  19. TPC track distortions: correction maps for magnetic and static electric inhomogeneities

    CERN Document Server

    Dydak, F; Nefedov, Y

    2003-01-01

    Inhomogeneities of the magnetic and electric fields in the active TPC volume lead to displacements of cluster coordinates, and therefore to track distortions. In case of good data taking conditions, the largest effects are expected from the inhomogeneity of the solenoidal magnetic field, and from a distortion of the electric field arising from a high voltage misalignment between the outer and inner field cages. Both effects are stable over the entire HARP data taking. The displacements are large compared to the azimuthal coordinate resolution but can be corrected with sufficient precision, except at small TPC radius. The high voltage misalignment between the outer and inner field cages is identified as the likely primary cause of sagitta distortions of TPC tracks. The position and the length of the target plays an important role. Based on a detailed modelling of the magnetic and static electric field inhomogeneities, precise correction maps for both effects have been calculated. Predictions from the correctio...

  20. Particle Identification in Jets and High-Multiplicity pp Events with the ALICE TPC

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)683272; Vogelsang, Werner

    The spectra of identified particles in a collision experiment comprise crucial information about the underlying physical processes. The ALICE experiment has powerful Particle IDentification (PID) capabilities, which are unique at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In this thesis, a statistical PID method based on the specific energy loss d$E$/d$x$ in the ALICE Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is developed: the TPC Multi-Template Fit (MTF). The MTF allows for the extraction of identified charged particle spectra in a wide momentum range, which extends from about 150 MeV/$c$ to above 20 GeV/$c$. The TPC PID requires a detailed modelling of the TPC d$E$/d$x$ response for momenta above 2-3 GeV/$c$. A framework is developed that allows for the determination of the model parameters and for evaluating the PID information of charged particles. With the MTF, the transverse momentum $p_{\\mathrm{T}}$ spectra of charged pions, kaons and protons at mid-rapidity ($|\\eta| < 0.9$) are measured for pp collisions at $\\sqrt{s}$ ...

  1. Development of a triple GEM readout module for a time projection chamber and measurement accuracies of hadronic Higgs branching fractions in ννH at a 350 GeV ILC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, Felix

    2016-07-01

    The presented thesis addresses the development and evaluation of one of the detector concept for the International Linear Collider (ILC). The ILC is a planned, future electron-positron linear collider with a center-of-mass energy of up to 500 GeV in its first construction stage. The ILC is designed to perform precision measurements of the Standard Model, especially a model-independent reconstruction of the electroweak symmetry breaking sector. In 2012, the discovery of the Higgs boson at the LHC was an important first step and facilitates precision measurements of the Higgs boson coupling constants at the ILC. Challenging design goals have been defined for the ILC detectors in order to reach the desired measurement precisions. One of the two ILC detector concepts is the International Large Detector (ILD). A large Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is foreseen as the central tracking detector. In contrast to modern silicon tracking detectors, a TPC provides a large number of space points, and thus continuous sampling of the track parameters. Therefore, TPCs offer great pattern recognition capabilities including the identification of particle decays within the sensitive volume. The design momentum resolution of the ILD TPC is δ(1/p t )∼10 -4 GeV -1 which can be translated into a transverse spatial resolution of σ rφ ≤100 μm over the complete drift distance of 2.35 m. In the first part of the thesis, the development of a readout module for the TPC is presented which fulfills the performance requirements of the ILD TPC. The developed readout module is based on a stack of three ''Gas Electron Multiplier'' (GEM) foils and a pad readout. Thin ceramic grids are used as the support structure and spacers between the GEMs. The readout module was tested in a prototype TPC with a maximal drift distance of around 60 cm at the DESY II test beam. An additional guard ring at the upper edge of the module was introduced to minimize field distortions at the

  2. Development of a triple GEM readout module for a time projection chamber and measurement accuracies of hadronic Higgs branching fractions in ννH at a 350 GeV ILC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mueller, Felix

    2016-07-15

    The presented thesis addresses the development and evaluation of one of the detector concept for the International Linear Collider (ILC). The ILC is a planned, future electron-positron linear collider with a center-of-mass energy of up to 500 GeV in its first construction stage. The ILC is designed to perform precision measurements of the Standard Model, especially a model-independent reconstruction of the electroweak symmetry breaking sector. In 2012, the discovery of the Higgs boson at the LHC was an important first step and facilitates precision measurements of the Higgs boson coupling constants at the ILC. Challenging design goals have been defined for the ILC detectors in order to reach the desired measurement precisions. One of the two ILC detector concepts is the International Large Detector (ILD). A large Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is foreseen as the central tracking detector. In contrast to modern silicon tracking detectors, a TPC provides a large number of space points, and thus continuous sampling of the track parameters. Therefore, TPCs offer great pattern recognition capabilities including the identification of particle decays within the sensitive volume. The design momentum resolution of the ILD TPC is δ(1/p{sub t})∼10{sup -4} GeV{sup -1} which can be translated into a transverse spatial resolution of σ{sub rφ}≤100 μm over the complete drift distance of 2.35 m. In the first part of the thesis, the development of a readout module for the TPC is presented which fulfills the performance requirements of the ILD TPC. The developed readout module is based on a stack of three ''Gas Electron Multiplier'' (GEM) foils and a pad readout. Thin ceramic grids are used as the support structure and spacers between the GEMs. The readout module was tested in a prototype TPC with a maximal drift distance of around 60 cm at the DESY II test beam. An additional guard ring at the upper edge of the module was introduced to minimize field

  3. A new design using GEM-based technology for the CMS experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ressegotti, M.

    2017-07-01

    The muon system of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the LHC is currently not instrumented for pseudorapidity higher than |η|> 2.4. The main challenges to the installation of a detector in that position are the high particle flux to be sustained, a high level of radiation, and the ability to accomodate a multilevel detector into the small available space (less than 30 cm). A new back-to-back configuration of a Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detector is presented with the aim of developing a compact, multi-layer GEM detector. It is composed of two independent stacked triple-GEM detectors, positioned with the anodes toward the outside and sharing the same cathode plane, which is located at the center of the chamber, to reduce the total detector's thickness. A first prototype has been produced and tested with an X-Ray source and muon beam. First results on its performance are presented.

  4. A new design using GEM-based technology for the CMS experiment

    CERN Document Server

    Ressegotti, Martina

    2017-01-01

    The muon system of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the LHC is currently not instrumented for pseudorapidity higher than abs(${\\eta}$)${ > 2.4}$. The main challenges to the installation of a detector in that position are the high particle flux to be sustained, a high level of radiation, and the ability to accomodate a multilevel detector into the small available space (less than 30 cm). A new back-to-back configuration of a Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detector is presented with the aim of developing a compact, multi-layer GEM detector. It is composed of two independent stacked triple-GEM detectors, positioned with the anodes toward the outside and sharing the same cathode plane, which is located at the center of the chamber, to reduce the total detector's thickness. A first prototype has been produced and tested with an X-Ray source and muon beam. First results on its performance are presented.

  5. Migration of ATLAS PanDA to CERN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stewart, Graeme Andrew; Klimentov, Alexei; Maeno, Tadashi; Nevski, Pavel; Nowak, Marcin; De Castro Faria Salgado, Pedro Emanuel; Wenaus, Torre; Koblitz, Birger; Lamanna, Massimo

    2010-01-01

    The ATLAS Production and Distributed Analysis System (PanDA) is a key component of the ATLAS distributed computing infrastructure. All ATLAS production jobs, and a substantial amount of user and group analysis jobs, pass through the PanDA system, which manages their execution on the grid. PanDA also plays a key role in production task definition and the data set replication request system. PanDA has recently been migrated from Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), a process we describe here. We discuss how the new infrastructure for PanDA, which relies heavily on services provided by CERN IT, was introduced in order to make the service as reliable as possible and to allow it to be scaled to ATLAS's increasing need for distributed computing. The migration involved changing the backend database for PanDA from MySQL to Oracle, which impacted upon the database schemas. The process by which the client code was optimised for the new database backend is discussed. We describe the procedure by which the new database infrastructure was tested and commissioned for production use. Operations during the migration had to be planned carefully to minimise disruption to ongoing ATLAS offline computing. All parts of the migration were fully tested before commissioning the new infrastructure and the gradual migration of computing resources to the new system allowed any problems of scaling to be addressed.

  6. Metabolic rates of giant pandas inform conservation strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fei, Yuxiang; Hou, Rong; Spotila, James R.; Paladino, Frank V.; Qi, Dunwu; Zhang, Zhihe

    2016-01-01

    The giant panda is an icon of conservation and survived a large-scale bamboo die off in the 1980s in China. Captive breeding programs have produced a large population in zoos and efforts continue to reintroduce those animals into the wild. However, we lack sufficient knowledge of their physiological ecology to determine requirements for survival now and in the face of climate change. We measured resting and active metabolic rates of giant pandas in order to determine if current bamboo resources were sufficient for adding additional animals to populations in natural reserves. Resting metabolic rates were somewhat below average for a panda sized mammal and active metabolic rates were in the normal range. Pandas do not have exceptionally low metabolic rates. Nevertheless, there is enough bamboo in natural reserves to support both natural populations and large numbers of reintroduced pandas. Bamboo will not be the limiting factor in successful reintroduction. PMID:27264109

  7. M.C. simulation of GEM neutron beam monitor with 10B

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Yanfeng; Sun Zhijia; Liu Ben; Zhou Jianrong; Yang Guian; Dong Jing; Xu Hong; Zhou Liang; Huang Guangming; Yang Lei; Li Yi

    2010-01-01

    The neutron beam monitor based on GEM detector has been carefully studied with the Monte-Carlo method in this article. The simulation framework is including the ANSYS and the Garfield, which was used to compute the electric field of GEM foils and simulate the movement of electrons in gas mixture respectively. The GEM foils' focus and extract coefficients have been obtained. According to the primary results, the performing of the monitor is improved. (authors)

  8. Development of a Diehard GEM using PTFE insulator substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wakabayashi, M; Tamagawa, T; Takeuchi, Y; Aoki, K; Taketani, A; Komiya, K; Hamagaki, H

    2014-01-01

    We have developed the gas electron multiplier (GEM) using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) insulator substrate (PTFE-GEM). Carbonization on insulator layer by discharges shorts the GEM electrodes, causing permanent breakdown. Since PTFE is hard to be carbonized against arc discharges, PTFE-GEM is expected to be robust against breakdown. Gains as high as 2.6 × 10 4 were achieved with PTFE-GEM (50 μm thick) in Ar/CO 2 = 70%/30% gas mixture at V GEM = 730 V. PTFE-GEM never showed a permanent breakdown even after suffering more than 40000 times discharges during the experiment. The result demonstrates that PTFE-GEM is really robust against discharges. We conclude that PTFE is an excellent insulator material for the GEM productions

  9. Gastric dilatation and volvulus in a red panda (Ailurus fulgens).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neilsen, Colleen; Mans, Christoph; Colopy, Sara A

    2014-11-01

    To describe the successful management of gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV) in a red panda. Clinical report. Red panda diagnosed with GDV. A 12-year-old male red panda (Ailurus fulgens) was evaluated for acute onset inappetence, staggering, collapse, and tachypnea. Gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV) was diagnosed by radiography, abdominal ultrasonography, and exploratory celiotomy. Torsion of the stomach was corrected and an incisional gastropexy performed to prevent recurrence. No organs were devitalized, no other abnormalities detected, and the red panda recovered fully within 72 hours. GDV should be considered as a differential diagnosis for red pandas presenting with acute onset of unspecific signs such as collapse, inappetence, and abdominal distension. GDV in red pandas can be diagnosed and successfully treated as described in dogs. © Copyright 2014 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

  10. R\\&D results on a CsI-coated triple thick GEM-based photodetector

    CERN Document Server

    Martinengo, P; Paic, G; Paras, D M; Di Mauro, A; van Hoorne, J; Molnar, L; Peskov, V; Breskin, A

    2011-01-01

    The very high momentum particle identification detector proposed for the ALICE upgrade is a focusing RICH using a C(4)F(10) gaseous radiator. For the detection of Cherenkov photons, one of the options currently under investigation is to use a CsI-coated triple thick GEM with metallic or resistive electrodes. We will present results from the laboratory studies as well as preliminary results of beam tests of a RICH detector prototype consisting of a CaF(2) radiator coupled to a 10 x 10 cm(2) CsI-coated triple thick GEM equipped with a pad readout and GASSIPLEX-based front-end electronics. With such a prototype the detection of Cherenkov photons simultaneously with minimum ionizing particles has been achieved for the first time in a stable operation mode. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Modelling of particular phenomena observed in PANDA with Gothic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bandurski, Th.; Putz, F.; Andreani, M.; Analytis, M.

    2000-01-01

    PANDA is a large scale facility for investigating the long-term decay heat removal from the containment of a next generation 'passive' Advanced Light Water Reactor (ALWR). The first test series was aimed at the investigation of the long-term LOCA response of the Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS) for the General Electric (GE) Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (SBWR). Recently, the facility is used in the framework of two European projects for investigating the performance of four passive cooling systems, i.e. the Building Condenser (BC) designed by Siemens for the SWR-1000 long-term containment cooling, the Passive Containment Cooling System for the European Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR), the Containment Plate Condenser (CPC) and the Isolation Condenser (IC) for cooling of a BWR core. The PANDA tests have the dual objectives of improving confidence in the performance of the passive heat removal mechanisms underlying the design of the tested safety systems and extending the data base available for containment analysis code qualification. Among others, the containment analysis code Gothic was chosen for the analysis of particular phenomena observed during the PANDA tests. Ibis paper presents selected safety relevant phenomena observed in the PANDA tests and identified for the analyses and possible approaches for their modeling with Gothic. (author)

  12. Status and Evolution of ATLAS Workload Management System PanDA

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(CDS)2067365; The ATLAS collaboration

    2012-01-01

    The ATLAS experiment at the LHC uses a sophisticated workload management system, PanDA, to provide access for thousands of physicists to distributed computing resources of unprecedented scale. This system has proved to be robust and scalable during three years of LHC operations. We describe the design and performance of PanDA in ATLAS. The features which make PanDA successful in ATLAS could be applicable to other exabyte scale scientific projects. We describe plans to evolve PanDA towards a general workload management system for the new BigData initiative announced by the US government. Other planned future improvements to PanDA will also be described

  13. Kretzoiarctos gen. nov., the oldest member of the giant panda clade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abella, Juan; Alba, David M; Robles, Josep M; Valenciano, Alberto; Rotgers, Cheyenn; Carmona, Raül; Montoya, Plinio; Morales, Jorge

    2012-01-01

    The phylogenetic position of the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca (Carnivora: Ursidae: Ailuropodinae), has been one of the most hotly debated topics by mammalian biologists and paleontologists during the last century. Based on molecular data, it is currently recognized as a true ursid, sister-taxon of the remaining extant bears, from which it would have diverged by the Early Miocene. However, from a paleobiogeographic and chronological perspective, the origin of the giant panda lineage has remained elusive due to the scarcity of the available Miocene fossil record. Until recently, the genus Ailurarctos from the Late Miocene of China (ca. 8-7 mya) was recognized as the oldest undoubted member of the Ailuropodinae, suggesting that the panda lineage might have originated from an Ursavus ancestor. The role of the purported ailuropodine Agriarctos, from the Miocene of Europe, in the origins of this clade has been generally dismissed due to the paucity of the available material. Here, we describe a new ailuropodine genus, Kretzoiarctos gen. nov., based on remains from two Middle Miocene (ca. 12-11 Ma) Spanish localities. A cladistic analysis of fossil and extant members of the Ursoidea confirms the inclusion of the new genus into the Ailuropodinae. Moreover, Kretzoiarctos precedes in time the previously-known, Late Miocene members of the giant panda clade from Eurasia (Agriarctos and Ailurarctos). The former can be therefore considered the oldest recorded member of the giant panda lineage, which has significant implications for understanding the origins of this clade from a paleobiogeographic viewpoint.

  14. Kretzoiarctos gen. nov., the oldest member of the giant panda clade.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Abella

    Full Text Available The phylogenetic position of the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca (Carnivora: Ursidae: Ailuropodinae, has been one of the most hotly debated topics by mammalian biologists and paleontologists during the last century. Based on molecular data, it is currently recognized as a true ursid, sister-taxon of the remaining extant bears, from which it would have diverged by the Early Miocene. However, from a paleobiogeographic and chronological perspective, the origin of the giant panda lineage has remained elusive due to the scarcity of the available Miocene fossil record. Until recently, the genus Ailurarctos from the Late Miocene of China (ca. 8-7 mya was recognized as the oldest undoubted member of the Ailuropodinae, suggesting that the panda lineage might have originated from an Ursavus ancestor. The role of the purported ailuropodine Agriarctos, from the Miocene of Europe, in the origins of this clade has been generally dismissed due to the paucity of the available material. Here, we describe a new ailuropodine genus, Kretzoiarctos gen. nov., based on remains from two Middle Miocene (ca. 12-11 Ma Spanish localities. A cladistic analysis of fossil and extant members of the Ursoidea confirms the inclusion of the new genus into the Ailuropodinae. Moreover, Kretzoiarctos precedes in time the previously-known, Late Miocene members of the giant panda clade from Eurasia (Agriarctos and Ailurarctos. The former can be therefore considered the oldest recorded member of the giant panda lineage, which has significant implications for understanding the origins of this clade from a paleobiogeographic viewpoint.

  15. Development of a Diehard GEM using PTFE insulator substrate

    OpenAIRE

    Wakabayashi, M.; Komiya, K.; Tamagawa, T.; Takeuchi, Y.; Aoki, K.; Taketani, A.; Hamagaki, H.

    2014-01-01

    We have developed the gas electron multiplier (GEM) using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) insulator substrate (PTFE-GEM). Carbonization on insulator layer by discharges shorts the GEM electrodes, causing permanent breakdown. Since PTFE is hard to be carbonized against arc discharges, PTFE-GEM is expected to be robust against breakdown. Gains as high as 2.6x10^4 were achieved with PTFE-GEM (50 um thick) in Ar/CO2 = 70%/30% gas mixture at V_GEM = 730V. PTFE-GEM never showed a permanent breakdown...

  16. Readout system of TPC/MPD NICA project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Averyanov, A. V.; Bajajin, A. G.; Chepurnov, V. F.; Cheremukhina, G. A.; Fateev, O. V.; Korotkova, A. M.; Levchanovskiy, F. V.; Lukstins, J.; Movchan, S. A.; Razin, S. V.; Rybakov, A. A.; Vereschagin, S. V., E-mail: vereschagin@jinr.ru; Zanevsky, Yu. V.; Zaporozhets, S. A.; Zruyev, V. N. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Russian Federation)

    2015-12-15

    The time-projection chamber (TPC) is the main tracking detector in the MPD/NICA. The information on charge-particle tracks in the TPC is registered by the MWPG with cathode pad readout. The frontend electronics (FEE) are developed with use of modern technologies such as application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and data transfer to a concentrator via a fast optical interface. The main parameters of the FEE are as follows: total number of channels, ∼95 000; data stream from the whole TPC, 5 GB/s; low power consumption, less than 100 mW/ch; signal to noise ratio (S/N), 30; equivalent noise charge (ENC), <1000e{sup –} (C{sub in} = 10–20 pF); and zero suppression (pad signal rejection ∼90%). The article presents the status of the readout chamber construction and the data acquisition system. The results of testing FEE prototypes are presented.

  17. TPC track distortions IV: post tenebras lux

    CERN Document Server

    Ammosov, V; Boyko, I; Chelkov, G; Dedovitch, D; Dydak, F; Elagin, A; Gostkin, M; Guskov, A; Koreshev, V; Krumshtein, Z; Nefedov, Y; Nikolaev, K; Wotschack, J; Zhemchugov, A

    2007-01-01

    We present a comprehensive discussion and summary of static and dynamic track distortions in the HARP TPC in terms of physical origin, mathematical modelling and correction algorithms. `Static' distortions are constant with time, while `dynamic' distortions are distortions that occur only during the 400 ms long accelerator spill. The measurement of dynamic distortions, their mathematical modelling and the correction algorithms build on our understanding of static distortions. In the course of corroborating the validity of our static distortion corrections, their reliability and precision was further improved. Dynamic TPC distortions originate dominantly from the `stalactite' effect: a column of positive-ion charge starts growing at the begin of the accelerator spill, and continues growing with nearly constant velocity out from the sense-wire plane into the active TPC volume. However, the `stalactite' effect is not able to describe the distortions that are present already at the start of the spill and which ha...

  18. The Panda Strip Asic: Pasta

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, A.

    2018-01-01

    PASTA is the 64 channel front-end chip, designed in a 110 nm CMOS technology to read out the strip sensors of the Micro Vertex Detector (MVD) of the PANDA experiment. This chip provides high resolution timestamp and deposited charge information by means of the time-over-threshold technique. Its working principle is based on a predecessor, the TOFPET ASIC, that was designed for medical applications. A general restructuring of the architecture was needed, in order to meet the specific requirements imposed by the physics programme of PANDA, especially in terms of radiation tolerance, spatial constraints, and readout in absence of a first level hardware trigger. The first revision of PASTA is currently under evaluation at the Forschungszentrum Jülich, where a data acquisition system dedicated to the MVD prototypes has been developed. This paper describes the main aspect of the chip design, gives an overview of the data acquisition system used for the verification, and shows the first results regarding the performance of PASTA.

  19. ATLAS WORLD-cloud and networking in PanDA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barreiro Megino, F.; De, K.; Di Girolamo, A.; Maeno, T.; Walker, R.; ATLAS Collaboration

    2017-10-01

    The ATLAS computing model was originally designed as static clouds (usually national or geographical groupings of sites) around the Tier 1 centres, which confined tasks and most of the data traffic. Since those early days, the sites’ network bandwidth has increased at 0(1000) and the difference in functionalities between Tier 1s and Tier 2s has reduced. After years of manual, intermediate solutions, we have now ramped up to full usage of World-cloud, the latest step in the PanDA Workload Management System to increase resource utilization on the ATLAS Grid, for all workflows (MC production, data (re)processing, etc.). We have based the development on two new site concepts. Nuclei sites are the Tier 1s and large Tier 2s, where tasks will be assigned and the output aggregated, and satellites are the sites that will execute the jobs and send the output to their nucleus. PanDA dynamically pairs nuclei and satellite sites for each task based on the input data availability, capability matching, site load and network connectivity. This contribution will introduce the conceptual changes for World-cloud, the development necessary in PanDA, an insight into the network model and the first half-year of operational experience.

  20. Simplified pilot module development and testing within the ATLAS PanDA Pilot 2.0 Project

    CERN Document Server

    Drizhuk, Daniil; The ATLAS collaboration; Nilsson, Paul

    2016-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis (PanDA) system has been developed to meet ATLAS production and analysis requirements for a data-driven workload management system capable of operating at the LHC data processing scale. The PanDA pilot is one of the major components in the PanDA system. It runs on a worker node and takes care of setting up the environment, fetching and pushing data to storage, getting jobs from the PanDA server and executing them. The original PanDA Pilot was designed over 10 years ago and has since then grown organically. Large parts of the original pilot code base are now getting old and are difficult to maintain. Incremental changes and refactoring have been pushed to the limit, and the time is now right for a fresh start, informed by a decade of experience, with the PanDA Pilot 2.0 Project. To create a testing environment for module development and automated unit and functional testing for next generation pilot tasks, a simple pilot version was developed. It resembles the basic workf...

  1. PANDA-A novel instrument for non-destructive sample analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turunen, Jani; Peraejaervi, Kari; Poellaenen, Roy; Toivonen, Harri

    2010-01-01

    An instrument known as PANDA (Particles And Non-Destructive Analysis) for non-destructive sample analysis has been designed and built at the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK). In PANDA the measurement techniques and instruments designed for the basic research are applied to the analysis of environmental samples. PANDA has two vacuum chambers, one for loading samples and the other for measurements. In the measurement chamber there are two individual measurement positions. Currently the first one hosts an HPGe gamma detector and a position-sensitive alpha detector. The second measurement position is intended for precise characterization of found particles. PANDA's data are recorded in event mode and events are timestamped. In the present article the technical design of PANDA is presented in detail. In addition, its performance using depleted uranium particles and an air filter is demonstrated.

  2. Jagannath Panda

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Journal of Chemical Sciences. Jagannath Panda. Articles written in Journal of Chemical Sciences. Volume 112 Issue 6 December 2000 pp 615-622 Physical and Theoretical. Kinetic investigation of the oxidation of N-alkyl anilines by peroxomonophosphoric acid in anionic surfactant sodium lauryl sulphate.

  3. Online calibration of the ALICE-TPC in LHC-Run 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vorobyev, Ivan [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Excellence Cluster Universe (Germany); Collaboration: ALICE-Collaboration

    2015-07-01

    The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main tracking detector at the ALICE Experiment at the LHC. Its performance and calibration directly influence the calibration of other detectors in the ALICE central barrel. To address this issue during the first LHC running period, a two-step offline calibration was employed, in which first the TPC and then the other detectors were calibrated. However, such a scheme will not be feasible for the Run 3 period, because the TPC will run in a continuous readout mode, producing a vast amount of data that needs to be significantly compressed on the fly for data storage. This will require the calibration step to run online within the High Level Trigger environment. In this talk, the online calibration concept and the implementation for the ALICE-TPC already in Run 2 are discussed.

  4. Giant Panda habitat selection in the Foping Nature Reserve, China

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liu, X.; Toxopeus, A.G.; Skidmore, A.K.; Shao, X.; Dang, D.; Wang, T.; Prins, H.H.T.

    2005-01-01

    Little is known about habitat selection of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), especially about the relationship between giant panda presence and bamboo and tree structures. We presented data on giant panda habitat use and selection in Foping Nature Reserve (NR), China. We used 1,066

  5. Long Noncoding RNA PANDA Positively Regulates Proliferation of Osteosarcoma Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotake, Yojiro; Goto, Taiki; Naemura, Madoka; Inoue, Yasutoshi; Okamoto, Haruna; Tahara, Keiichiro

    2017-01-01

    A long noncoding RNA, p21-associated ncRNA DNA damage-activated (PANDA), associates with nuclear transcription factor Y subunit alpha (NF-YA) and inhibits its binding to promoters of apoptosis-related genes, thereby repressing apoptosis in normal human fibroblasts. Here, we show that PANDA is involved in regulating proliferation in the U2OS human osteosarcoma cell line. U2OS cells were transfected with siRNAs against PANDA 72 h later and they were subjected to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), quantitative RT-PCR and cell-cycle analysis. PANDA was highly expressed in U2OS cells, and its expression was induced by DNA damage. Silencing PANDA caused arrest at the G 1 phase of the cell cycle, leading to inhibition of cell proliferation. Quantitative RT-PCR showed that silencing PANDA increased mRNA levels of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p18, which caused G 1 phase arrest. These results suggest that PANDA promotes G 1 -S transition by repressing p18 transcription, and thus promotes U2OS cell proliferation. Copyright© 2017 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.

  6. Performance of gas electron multiplier (GEM) detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, S. H.; Moon, B. S.; Kim, Y. K.; Chung, C. E.; Kang, H. D.; Cho, H. S.

    2002-01-01

    We have investigated in detail the operating properties of Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detectors with a double conical and a cylindrical structure in a wide range of external fields and GEM voltages. With the double conical GEM, the gain gradually increased with time by 10%; whereas this surface charging was eliminated with the cylindrical GEM. Effective gains above 1000 were easily observed over a wide range of collection field strengths in a gas mixture of Ar/CO 2 (70/30). The transparency and electron collection efficiency were found to depend on the ratio of external field and the applied GEM voltage; the mutual influence of both drift and collection fields was found to be trivial

  7. Metal-core pad-plane development for ACTAR TPC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giovinazzo, J.; Pibernat, J.; Goigoux, T.; de Oliveira, R.; Grinyer, G. F.; Huss, C.; Mauss, B.; Pancin, J.; Pedroza, J. L.; Rebii, A.; Roger, T.; Rosier, P.; Saillant, F.; Wittwer, G.

    2018-06-01

    With the recent development of active targets and time projection chambers (ACTAR TPC) as detectors for fundamental nuclear physics experiments, the need arose for charge collection planes with a high density of readout channels. In order to fulfill the mechanical constraints for the ACTAR TPC device, we designed a pad-plane based on a metal-core circuit with an conceptually simple design and routing for signal readout, named FAKIR (in reference to a fakir bed of nails). A test circuit has been equipped with a micro mesh gaseous structure (micromegas) for signal amplification and a dedicated readout electronics. Test measurements have been performed with an 55Fe X-ray source giving an intrinsic energy resolution (FWHM) of 22 ± 1% at 5 . 9 keV, and with a 3-alpha source for which a resolution of about 130 ± 20 keV at 4 . 8 MeV has been estimated. The pad-plane has been mounted into a reduced size demonstrator version of the ACTAR TPC detector, in order to illustrate charged particle track reconstruction. The tests preformed with the X-ray and the 3-alpha sources shows that results obtained from pads signals are comparable to the intrinsic result from the micro-mesh signal. In addition, a simple alpha particle tracks analysis is performed to demonstrate that the pad plane allows a precise reconstruction of the direction and length of the trajectories.

  8. Factors affecting genotyping success in giant panda fecal samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Zhu

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Fecal samples play an important role in giant panda conservation studies. Optimal preservation conditions and choice of microsatellites for giant panda fecal samples have not been established. In this study, we evaluated the effect of four factors (namely, storage type (ethanol (EtOH, EtOH −20 °C, 2-step storage medium, DMSO/EDTA/Tris/salt buffer (DETs and frozen at −20 °C, storage time (one, three and six months, fragment length, and repeat motif of microsatellite loci on the success rate of microsatellite amplification, allelic dropout (ADO and false allele (FA rates from giant panda fecal samples. Amplification success and ADO rates differed between the storage types. Freezing was inferior to the other four storage methods based on the lowest average amplification success and the highest ADO rates (P < 0.05. The highest microsatellite amplification success was obtained from either EtOH or the 2-step storage medium at three storage time points. Storage time had a negative effect on the average amplification of microsatellites and samples stored in EtOH and the 2-step storage medium were more stable than the other three storage types. We only detected the effect of repeat motif on ADO and FA rates. The lower ADO and FA rates were obtained from tri- and tetra-nucleotide loci. We suggest that freezing should not be used for giant panda fecal preservation in microsatellite studies, and EtOH and the 2-step storage medium should be chosen on priority for long-term storage. We recommend candidate microsatellite loci with longer repeat motif to ensure greater genotyping success for giant panda fecal studies.

  9. Magnetic field map for a large TPC prototype

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grefe, Christian

    2008-12-01

    A new e + e - linear collider with an energy of up to 1000 GeV is currently being planned: the International Linear Collider (ILC). It will allow high precision measurements of the Higgs boson and physics beyond the Standard Model. In the Large Detector Concept (LDC) -which is one of the proposed detector concepts for the ILC- a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is intended as the main tracking device. Within the EUDET project a large TPC prototype is currently being built as an infrastructure to test different gas amplification and readout technologies. The prototype will be operated in a 1T superconducting solenoid magnet -the PCMAG- at the DESY testbeam area. In order to reach the best possible track reconstruction the magnetic field has to be known very precisely throughout the TPC volume. The magnetic field of PCMAG has been measured in July 2007. In this work the creation of a high precision field map from the measurements is presented. The magnet and modelling techniques for its magnetic field are described. A model of the magnet has been created as a best fit from the measurements and its limitations are investigated. The field map will be included in the reconstruction software for the TPC prototype. (orig.)

  10. Magnetic field map for a large TPC prototype

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grefe, Christian

    2008-12-15

    A new e{sup +}e{sup -} linear collider with an energy of up to 1000 GeV is currently being planned: the International Linear Collider (ILC). It will allow high precision measurements of the Higgs boson and physics beyond the Standard Model. In the Large Detector Concept (LDC) -which is one of the proposed detector concepts for the ILC- a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is intended as the main tracking device. Within the EUDET project a large TPC prototype is currently being built as an infrastructure to test different gas amplification and readout technologies. The prototype will be operated in a 1T superconducting solenoid magnet -the PCMAG- at the DESY testbeam area. In order to reach the best possible track reconstruction the magnetic field has to be known very precisely throughout the TPC volume. The magnetic field of PCMAG has been measured in July 2007. In this work the creation of a high precision field map from the measurements is presented. The magnet and modelling techniques for its magnetic field are described. A model of the magnet has been created as a best fit from the measurements and its limitations are investigated. The field map will be included in the reconstruction software for the TPC prototype. (orig.)

  11. Continuous health monitoring of Graphite Epoxy Motorcases (GEM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finlayson, Richard D.; Schaafsma, David T.; Shen, H. Warren; Carlos, Mark F.; Miller, Ronnie K.; Shepherd, Brent

    2001-07-01

    Following the explosion of Delta 241 (IIR-1) on January 17th, 1997, the failure investigation board concluded that the Graphite Epoxy Motorcases (GEM's) should be inspected for damage just prior to launch. Subsequent investigations and feedback from industry led to an Aerospace Corporation proposal to instrument the entire fleet of GEM's with a continuous health monitoring system. The period of monitoring would extend from the initial acceptance testing through final erection on the launch pad. As this proposal demonstrates, (along with the increasing use of advanced composite materials in aircraft, automobiles, military hardware, and aerospace components such as rocket motorcases) a sizable need for composite health assessment measures exist. Particularly where continuous monitoring is required for the detection of damage from impacts and other sources of high mechanical and thermal stresses. Even low-momentum impacts can lead to barely visible impact damage (BVID), corresponding to a significant weakening of the composite. This damage, undetectable by visual inspection, can in turn lead to sudden and catastrophic failure when the material is subjected to a normal operating load. There is perhaps no system with as much potential for truly catastrophic failure as a rocket motor. We will present an update on our ongoing efforts with the United States Air Force Delta II Program Office, and The Aerospace Corporation. This will cover the development of a local, portable, surface-mounted, fiberoptic sensor based impact damage monitor designed to operate on a Delta II GEM during transport, storage, and handling. This system is designed to continuously monitor the GEMs, to communicate wirelessly with base stations and maintenance personnel, to operate autonomously for extended periods, and to fit unobtrusively on the GEM itself.

  12. Why does the giant panda eat bamboo? A comparative analysis of appetite-reward-related genes among mammals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ke Jin

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The giant panda has an interesting bamboo diet unlike the other species in the order of Carnivora. The umami taste receptor gene T1R1 has been identified as a pseudogene during its genome sequencing project and confirmed using a different giant panda sample. The estimated mutation time for this gene is about 4.2 Myr. Such mutation coincided with the giant panda's dietary change and also reinforced its herbivorous life style. However, as this gene is preserved in herbivores such as cow and horse, we need to look for other reasons behind the giant panda's diet switch. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Since taste is part of the reward properties of food related to its energy and nutrition contents, we did a systematic analysis on those genes involved in the appetite-reward system for the giant panda. We extracted the giant panda sequence information for those genes and compared with the human sequence first and then with seven other species including chimpanzee, mouse, rat, dog, cat, horse, and cow. Orthologs in panda were further analyzed based on the coding region, Kozak consensus sequence, and potential microRNA binding of those genes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results revealed an interesting dopamine metabolic involvement in the panda's food choice. This finding suggests a new direction for molecular evolution studies behind the panda's dietary switch.

  13. Lossy compression of TPC data and trajectory tracking efficiency for the ALICE experiment

    CERN Document Server

    Nicolaucig, A; Mattavelli, M

    2003-01-01

    In this paper a quasi-lossless algorithm for the on-line compression of the data generated by the Time Projection Chamber (TPC) detector of the ALICE experiment at CERN is described. The algorithm is based on a lossy source code modeling technique, i.e. it is based on a source model which is lossy if samples of the TPC signal are considered one by one; conversely, the source model is lossless or quasi-lossless if some physical quantities that are of main interest for the experiment are considered. These quantities are the area and the location of the center of mass of each TPC signal pulse, representing the pulse charge and the time localization of the pulse. So as to evaluate the consequences of the error introduced by the lossy compression process, the results of the trajectory tracking algorithms that process data off-line after the experiment are analyzed, in particular, versus their sensibility to the noise introduced by the compression. Two different versions of these off- line algorithms are described,...

  14. Commissioning and calibration of the ALICE-TPC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wiechula, Jens

    2009-04-21

    ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment), is the dedicated heavy-ion experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. It is optimised to reconstruct and identify the particles created in a lead-lead collision with a centre of mass energy of 5.5 TeV. The main tracking detector is a large-volume time-projection chamber (TPC). With an active volume of about 88m{sup 3} and a total readout area of 32.5 m{sup 2} it is the most challenging TPC ever build. A central electrode divides the 5 m long detector into two drift regions. Each readout side is subdivided into 18 inner and 18 outer multi-wire proportional read-out chambers. The readout area is subdivided into 557568 pads, where each pad is read out by an electronic chain. A complex calibration is needed in order to reach the design position-resolution of the reconstructed particle tracks of about 200 {mu}m. The work at hand presents results of the pedestal and noise behaviour of the front-end electronics (FEE), measurements of the pulse-shaping properties of the FEE using results obtained with a calibration pulser and measurements performed with the laser-calibration system. The data concerned were taken during two phases of the TPC commissioning. First measurements were performed in the clean room where the TPC was built. After the TPC was moved underground and built into the experiment, a second round of commissioning took place. Noise measurements in the clean room revealed a very large fraction of pads with noise values larger than the design specifications. Two modifications helped to reduce the 'ground bounce' effect: A desynchronisation in the the start of the readout of groups of channels and a modification in the grounding scheme of the FEE. Further noise measurements were carried out after the TPC has been moved to the experimental area underground. Here even a larger fraction of channels showed too large noise values. To study the shaping properties of the FEE a calibration pulser was used

  15. Commissioning and calibration of the ALICE-TPC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiechula, Jens

    2009-01-01

    ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment), is the dedicated heavy-ion experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. It is optimised to reconstruct and identify the particles created in a lead-lead collision with a centre of mass energy of 5.5 TeV. The main tracking detector is a large-volume time-projection chamber (TPC). With an active volume of about 88m 3 and a total readout area of 32.5 m 2 it is the most challenging TPC ever build. A central electrode divides the 5 m long detector into two drift regions. Each readout side is subdivided into 18 inner and 18 outer multi-wire proportional read-out chambers. The readout area is subdivided into 557568 pads, where each pad is read out by an electronic chain. A complex calibration is needed in order to reach the design position-resolution of the reconstructed particle tracks of about 200 μm. The work at hand presents results of the pedestal and noise behaviour of the front-end electronics (FEE), measurements of the pulse-shaping properties of the FEE using results obtained with a calibration pulser and measurements performed with the laser-calibration system. The data concerned were taken during two phases of the TPC commissioning. First measurements were performed in the clean room where the TPC was built. After the TPC was moved underground and built into the experiment, a second round of commissioning took place. Noise measurements in the clean room revealed a very large fraction of pads with noise values larger than the design specifications. Two modifications helped to reduce the 'ground bounce' effect: A desynchronisation in the the start of the readout of groups of channels and a modification in the grounding scheme of the FEE. Further noise measurements were carried out after the TPC has been moved to the experimental area underground. Here even a larger fraction of channels showed too large noise values. To study the shaping properties of the FEE a calibration pulser was used. To generate signals in

  16. GEM Technical Design Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1993-07-31

    The GEM collaboration was formed in June 1991 to develop a major detector for the SSC. The primary physics objectives of GEM are those central to the motivation for the SSC, to study high p{sub T} physics - exemplified by the search for Higgs bosons - and to search for new physics beyond the standard model. The authors present in this Technical Design Report (TDR) a detector with broad capabilities for the discovery and subsequent study of electroweak symmetry breaking, the origin of mass and flavor, and other physics requiring precise measurements of gammas, electrons, and muons - hence the name, GEM. In addition, as a design goal, they have taken care to provide the robustness needed to do the physics that requires high luminosity. Finally, good coverage and hermeticity allow the detection of missing transverse energy, E{sub T}. The GEM design emphasizes clean identification and high resolution measurement of the primary physics signatures for high p{sub T} physics. The approach is to make precise energy measurements that maximize the sensitivity to rare narrow resonances, to detect the elementary interaction products (quarks, leptons, and photons), and to build in the features required to reduce backgrounds.

  17. GEM Technical Design Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    The GEM collaboration was formed in June 1991 to develop a major detector for the SSC. The primary physics objectives of GEM are those central to the motivation for the SSC, to study high p T physics - exemplified by the search for Higgs bosons - and to search for new physics beyond the standard model. The authors present in this Technical Design Report (TDR) a detector with broad capabilities for the discovery and subsequent study of electroweak symmetry breaking, the origin of mass and flavor, and other physics requiring precise measurements of gammas, electrons, and muons - hence the name, GEM. In addition, as a design goal, they have taken care to provide the robustness needed to do the physics that requires high luminosity. Finally, good coverage and hermeticity allow the detection of missing transverse energy, E T . The GEM design emphasizes clean identification and high resolution measurement of the primary physics signatures for high p T physics. The approach is to make precise energy measurements that maximize the sensitivity to rare narrow resonances, to detect the elementary interaction products (quarks, leptons, and photons), and to build in the features required to reduce backgrounds

  18. An Investigation of Cellulose Digesting Bacteria in the Panda Gut Microbiome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, M.; Leung, F. C.

    2014-12-01

    The Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) diet consists primarily of bamboo leaves, stems and shoots. However, the Giant Panda lacks genes for the enzymes needed to digest cellulose, the core component of bamboo. Thus, it is hypothesized that the cellulolytic digestion necessary for maintaining the Giant Panda diet is carried out by microbial symbionts in the panda gut microbiota. Fecal microbiota is used as surrogate index for gut microbiota since the Giant Panda is listed by the World Conservation Union as a Threatened Species. Two bacterial isolates with potential cellulolytic activity were isolated from Giant Panda fecal samples and cultured on selective media CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) agar and CMC-Congo Red agar using various methods of inoculation. After incubation, clearance zones around colonies were observed and used as qualitative assays for cellulose digestion. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of the 16S rRNA gene was completed and species identification was done based on the BLAST result of 16S rRNA sequence obtained using Sanger sequencing. Once the cellulase activity is confirmed, genomic DNA of the bacteria will be extracted and used for whole genome shotgun sequencing. Illumina next generation sequencing platform will be adopted as it yields high-throughput information, providing a better understanding of cellulose digestion and the molecular genetic pathways to renewable sources of biofuels. Researchers have identified multiple cellulose-digesting microbes in the Giant Panda gut, but few have applied such bacteria in converting cellulose into glucose to create biofuel. Cellulosic ethanol, a biofuel, is produced through the fermentation of lignocellulosic biomasses. This anaerobic process is aided by cellulose-digesting enzymes. Certain microbes, such as those present in the Giant Panda gut, can produce enzymes that cleave the glycosidic bonds of cellulose (C6H10O5) into glucose molecules (C6H12O6), which can then be fermented into ethanol

  19. Highly integrated electronics for the star TPC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arthur, A.A.; Bieser, F.; Hearn, W.; Kleinfelder, S.; Merrick, T.; Millaud, J.; Noggle, T.; Rai, G.; Ritter, H.G.; Wieman, H. [Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, CA (United States)

    1991-12-31

    The concept for the STAR TPC front-end electronics is presented and the progress toward the development of a fully integrated solution is described. It is the goal of the R+D program to develop the complete electronics chain for the STAR central TPC detector at RHIC. It is obvious that solutions chosen e.g. for ALEPH are not adequate for the 150000 channels that need to be instrumented for readout. It will be necessary to perform all the signal processing, digitization and multiplexing directly on the detector in order to reduce per channel cost and the amount of cabling necessary to read out the information. We follow the approach chosen by the EOS TPC project, where the readout electronics on the detector consists of an integrated preamplifier, a hybrid shaping amplifier, an integrated switched capacitor array and a highly multiplexed ADC. The STAR electronics will be further integrated so that approximately 16 channels of the preamplifier, the shaper, the analog store and the ADC will be contained in two integrated circuits located directly on the pad plane.

  20. Improvements for PanDA and intermediate layers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kawamura, Gen; Magradze, Erekle; Musheghyan, Haykuhi; Nadal, Jordi; Quadt, Arnulf; Rzehorz, Gerhard [II. Physikalisches Institut, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen (Germany)

    2015-07-01

    The PanDA Production and Distributed Analysis system is handling the ATLAS workload management for production and distributed analysis processing. It was designed for analysis as well as production for High Energy Physics. One of the advantages of this pilot based system is, that it has its own integrated monitoring solution. Monitoring is a method used in computing, it means that a certain process is observed and overseen and is usually also protocolled. In the case of a process or system failure, a responsible person should be notified and countermeasures taken. Since PanDA is very versatile, it can also be used to process jobs on a computing Cloud, instead of just using the Grid(WLCG). Cloud computing resources can be provided by private companies, that bill the resources that are actually being used, for example CPU power over time. The advantage of this is obvious if one looks at the cost. They are basically the same, whether a huge task is done on little CPU power over a long time or on plenty of CPU power in a short time. For these reasons, a close monitoring, for example by the PanDA system for the usage of Cloud resources is important.

  1. PandaEPL: a library for programming spatial navigation experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solway, Alec; Miller, Jonathan F; Kahana, Michael J

    2013-12-01

    Recent advances in neuroimaging and neural recording techniques have enabled researchers to make significant progress in understanding the neural mechanisms underlying human spatial navigation. Because these techniques generally require participants to remain stationary, computer-generated virtual environments are used. We introduce PandaEPL, a programming library for the Python language designed to simplify the creation of computer-controlled spatial-navigation experiments. PandaEPL is built on top of Panda3D, a modern open-source game engine. It allows users to construct three-dimensional environments that participants can navigate from a first-person perspective. Sound playback and recording and also joystick support are provided through the use of additional optional libraries. PandaEPL also handles many tasks common to all cognitive experiments, including managing configuration files, logging all internal and participant-generated events, and keeping track of the experiment state. We describe how PandaEPL compares with other software for building spatial-navigation experiments and walk the reader through the process of creating a fully functional experiment.

  2. GEM simulation methods development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tikhonov, V.; Veenhof, R.

    2002-01-01

    A review of methods used in the simulation of processes in gas electron multipliers (GEMs) and in the accurate calculation of detector characteristics is presented. Such detector characteristics as effective gas gain, transparency, charge collection and losses have been calculated and optimized for a number of GEM geometries and compared with experiment. A method and a new special program for calculations of detector macro-characteristics such as signal response in a real detector readout structure, and spatial and time resolution of detectors have been developed and used for detector optimization. A detailed development of signal induction on readout electrodes and electronics characteristics are included in the new program. A method for the simulation of charging-up effects in GEM detectors is described. All methods show good agreement with experiment

  3. The Straw Tube Trackers of the PANDA Experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gianotti, P.; Lucherini, V.; Pace, E.; Boca, G.L.; Costanza, S.; Genova, P.; Lavezzi, L.; Montanga, P.; Rotondi, A.; Bragadireanu, M.; Vasile, M.E.; Pietreanu, D.; Biernat, J.; Jowzaee, S.; Korcyl, G.; Palka, M.; Salabura, P.; Smyrski, J.; Fiutowski, T.; Idzik, M.; Przyborowski, D.; Korcyl, K.; Kulessa, P.; Pysz, K.; Dobbs, S.; Tomaradze, A.; Bettoni, D.; Fioravanti, E.; Garzia, I.; Savrie, M.; Kozlov, V.; Mertens, M.; Ohm, H.; Orfanitski, S.; Ritman, J.; Serdyuk, V.; Wintz, P.; Spataro, S.

    2013-06-01

    The PANDA experiment will be built at the FAIR facility at Darmstadt (Germany) to perform accurate tests of the strong interaction through p-bar p and p-bar A annihilation's studies. To track charged particles, two systems consisting of a set of planar, closed-packed, self-supporting straw tube layers are under construction. The PANDA straw tubes will have also unique characteristics in term of material budget and performance. They consist of very thin mylar-aluminized cathodes which are made self-supporting by means of the operation gas-mixture over-pressure. This solution allows to reduce at maximum the weight of the mechanical support frame and hence the detector material budget. The PANDA straw tube central tracker will not only reconstruct charged particle trajectories, but also will help in low momentum (< 1 GeV) particle identification via dE/dx measurements. This is a quite new approach that PANDA tracking group has first tested with detailed Monte Carlo simulations, and then with experimental tests of detector prototypes. This paper addresses the design issues of the PANDA straw tube trackers and the performance obtained in prototype tests. (authors)

  4. The gas electron multiplier (GEM)

    CERN Document Server

    Bouclier, Roger; Dominik, Wojciech; Hoch, M; Labbé, J C; Million, Gilbert; Ropelewski, Leszek; Sauli, Fabio; Sharma, A

    1996-01-01

    We describe operating priciples and results obtained with a new detector component: the Gas Electrons Multiplier (GEM). Consisting of a thin composite sheet with two metal layers separated by a thin insulator, and pierced by a regular matrix of open channels, the GEM electrode, inserted on the path of electrons in a gas detector, allows to transfer the charge with an amplification factor approaching ten. Uniform response and high rate capability are demonstrated. Coupled to another device, multiwire or micro-strip chamber, the GEM electrode permit to obtain higher gains or less critical operation; separation of the sensitive (conversion) volume and the detection volume has other advantages, as a built-in delay (useful for triggering purposes) and the possibility of applying high fields on the photo-cathode of ring imaging detectors to improve efficiency. Multiple GEM grids in the same gas volume allow to obtain large amplification factors in a succession of steps, leading to the realization of an effective ga...

  5. First results of spherical GEMs

    CERN Document Server

    Pinto, Serge Duarte; Brock, Ian; Croci, Gabriele; David, Eric; de Oliveira, Rui; Ropelewski, Leszek; van Stenis, Miranda; Taureg, Hans; Villa, Marco

    2010-01-01

    We developed a method to make GEM foils with a spherical geometry. Tests of this procedure and with the resulting spherical GEMs are presented. Together with a spherical drift electrode, a spherical conversion gap can be formed. This eliminates the parallax error for detection of x-rays, neutrons or UV photons when a gaseous converter is used. This parallax error limits the spatial resolution at wide scattering angles. Besides spherical GEMs, we have developed curved spacers to maintain accurate spacing, and a conical field cage to prevent edge distortion of the radial drift field up to the limit of the angular acceptance of the detector. With these components first tests are done in a setup with a spherical entrance window but a planar readout structure; results will be presented and discussed. A flat readout structure poses difficulties, however. Therefore we will show advanced plans to make a prototype of an entirely spherical double-GEM detector, including a spherical 2D readout structure. This detector w...

  6. Whole-genome sequencing of giant pandas provides insights into demographic history and local adaptation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhao, Shancen; Zheng, Pingping; Dong, Shanshan

    2013-01-01

    The panda lineage dates back to the late Miocene and ultimately leads to only one extant species, the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Although global climate change and anthropogenic disturbances are recognized to shape animal population demography their contribution to panda population...... dynamics remains largely unknown. We sequenced the whole genomes of 34 pandas at an average 4.7-fold coverage and used this data set together with the previously deep-sequenced panda genome to reconstruct a continuous demographic history of pandas from their origin to the present. We identify two...... panda populations that show genetic adaptation to their environments. However, in all three populations, anthropogenic activities have negatively affected pandas for 3,000 years....

  7. Comparing the plant diversity between artificial forest and nature growth forest in a giant panda habitat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Dongwei; Wang, Xiaorong; Li, Shuang; Li, Junqing

    2017-06-15

    Artificial restoration is an important way to restore forests, but little is known about its effect on the habitat restoration of the giant panda. In the present study, we investigated the characteristics of artificial forest in the Wanglang Nature Reserve to determine whether through succession it has formed a suitable habitat for the giant panda. We compared artificial forest characteristics with those of natural habitat used by the giant panda. We found that the dominant tree species in artificial forest differed from those in the natural habitat. The artificial forest had lower plant species richness and diversity in the tree and shrub layers than did the latter, and its community structure was characterized by smaller tree and bamboo sizes, and fewer and lower bamboo clumps, but more trees and larger shrub sizes. The typical community collocation of artificial forest was a "Picea asperata + no-bamboo" model, which differs starkly from the giant panda's natural habitat. After several years of restoration, the artificial forest has failed to become a suitable habitat for the giant panda. Therefore, a simple way of planting individual trees cannot restore giant panda habitat; instead, habitat restoration should be based on the habitat requirements of the giant panda.

  8. An Entrepreneurial Well-being Model based on GEM Data for Spain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Manuel Sáiz-Álvarez

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The Economics of Happiness is one of the research areas of greatest growth in recent years. Throughout this work, a venture based model in which satisfaction of Spanish entrepreneurs with their professional life is performed. We analyze the responses of 9,989 entrepreneurs using data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM, and six hypothesis are discussed. The results show that, for the Spanish case, there is a strong consistency in the results the opportunity entrepreneurs present greater satisfaction than necessity entrepreneurs.

  9. The GEM-Mars general circulation model for Mars: Description and evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neary, L.; Daerden, F.

    2018-01-01

    GEM-Mars is a gridpoint-based three-dimensional general circulation model (GCM) of the Mars atmosphere extending from the surface to approximately 150 km based on the GEM (Global Environmental Multiscale) model, part of the operational weather forecasting and data assimilation system for Canada. After the initial modification for Mars, the model has undergone considerable changes. GEM-Mars is now based on GEM 4.2.0 and many physical parameterizations have been added for Mars-specific atmospheric processes and surface-atmosphere exchange. The model simulates interactive carbon dioxide-, dust-, water- and atmospheric chemistry cycles. Dust and water ice clouds are radiatively active. Size distributed dust is lifted by saltation and dust devils. The model includes 16 chemical species (CO2, Argon, N2, O2, CO, H2O, CH4, O3, O(1D), O, H, H2, OH, HO2, H2O2 and O2(a1Δg)) and has fully interactive photochemistry (15 reactions) and gas-phase chemistry (31 reactions). GEM-Mars provides a good simulation of the water and ozone cycles. A variety of other passive tracers can be included for dedicated studies, such as the emission of methane. The model has both a hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic formulation, and together with a flexible grid definition provides a single platform for simulations on a variety of horizontal scales. The model code is fully parallelized using OMP and MPI. Model results are evaluated by comparison to a selection of observations from instruments on the surface and in orbit, relating to atmosphere and surface temperature and pressure, dust and ice content, polar ice mass, polar argon, and global water and ozone vertical columns. GEM-Mars will play an integral part in the analysis and interpretation of data that is received by the NOMAD spectrometer on the ESA-Roskosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. The present paper provides an overview of the current status and capabilities of the GEM-Mars model and lays the foundations for more in-depth studies in support

  10. Evolution of the ATLAS PanDA Workload Management System for Exascale Computational Science

    CERN Document Server

    Maeno, T; The ATLAS collaboration; Klimentov, A; Nilsson, P; Oleynik, D; Panitkin, S; Petrosyan, A; Schovancova, J; Vaniachine, A; Wenaus, T; Yu, D

    2013-01-01

    An important foundation underlying the impressive success of data processing and analysis in the ATLAS experiment [1] at the LHC [2] is the Production and Distributed Analysis (PanDA) workload management system [3]. PanDA was designed specifically for ATLAS and proved to be highly successful in meeting all the distributed computing needs of the experiment. However, the core design of PanDA is not experiment specific. The PanDA workload management system is capable of meeting the needs of other data intensive scientific applications. Alpha-Magnetic Spectrometer [4], an astro-particle experiment on the International Space Station, and the Compact Muon Solenoid [5], an LHC experiment, have successfully evaluated PanDA and are pursuing its adoption. In this paper, a description of the new program of work to develop a generic version of PanDA will be given, as well as the progress in extending PanDA's capabilities to support supercomputers and clouds and to leverage intelligent networking. PanDA has demonstrated a...

  11. Evolution of the ATLAS PanDA Workload Management System for Exascale Computational Science

    CERN Document Server

    Maeno, T; The ATLAS collaboration; Klimentov, A; Nilsson, P; Oleynik, D; Panitkin, S; Petrosyan, A; Schovancova, J; Vaniachine, A; Wenaus, T; Yu, D

    2014-01-01

    An important foundation underlying the impressive success of data processing and analysis in the ATLAS experiment [1] at the LHC [2] is the Production and Distributed Analysis (PanDA) workload management system [3]. PanDA was designed specifically for ATLAS and proved to be highly successful in meeting all the distributed computing needs of the experiment. However, the core design of PanDA is not experiment specific. The PanDA workload management system is capable of meeting the needs of other data intensive scientific applications. Alpha-Magnetic Spectrometer [4], an astro-particle experiment on the International Space Station, and the Compact Muon Solenoid [5], an LHC experiment, have successfully evaluated PanDA and are pursuing its adoption. In this paper, a description of the new program of work to develop a generic version of PanDA will be given, as well as the progress in extending PanDA's capabilities to support supercomputers and clouds and to leverage intelligent networking. PanDA has demonstrated a...

  12. Microstructured boron foil scintillating G-GEM detector for neutron imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fujiwara, Takeshi, E-mail: fujiwara-t@aist.go.jp [Research Institute for Measurement and Analytical Instrumentation, Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan); Center for Advanced Photonics, Neutron Beam Technology Team, RIKEN, Saitama (Japan); Bautista, Unico [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Management, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan); Philippine Nuclear Research Institute-Department of Science and Technology (PNRI-DOST), Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City (Philippines); Mitsuya, Yuki [Nuclear Professional School, The University of Tokyo, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki (Japan); Takahashi, Hiroyuki [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Management, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan); Yamada, Norifumi L. [Neutron Science Laboratory, Institute of Material Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) (Japan); Otake, Yoshie; Taketani, Atsushi [Center for Advanced Photonics, Neutron Beam Technology Team, RIKEN, Saitama (Japan); Uesaka, Mitsuru [Nuclear Professional School, The University of Tokyo, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki (Japan); Toyokawa, Hiroyuki [Research Institute for Measurement and Analytical Instrumentation, Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan)

    2016-12-01

    In this study, a new simple neutron imaging gaseous detector was successfully developed by combining a micro-structured {sup 10}B foil, a glass gas electron multiplier (G-GEM), and a mirror–lens–charge-coupled device (CCD)–camera system. The neutron imaging system consists of a chamber filled with Ar/CF{sub 4} scintillating gas mixture. Inside this system, the G-GEM is mounted for gas multiplication. The neutron detection in this system is based on the reaction between {sup 10}B and neutrons. A micro-structured {sup 10}B is developed to overcome the issue of low detection efficiency. Secondary electrons excite Ar/CF{sub 4} gas molecules, and high-yield visible photons are emitted from those excited gas molecules during the gas electron multiplication process in the G-GEM holes. These photons are easily detected by a mirror–lens–CCD–camera system. A neutron radiograph is then simply formed. We obtain the neutron images of different materials with a compact accelerator-driven neutron source. We confirm that the new scintillating G-GEM-based neutron imager works properly with low gamma ray sensitivity and exhibits a good performance as a new simple digital neutron imaging device.

  13. Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) population dynamics and bamboo (subfamily Bambusoideae) life history: a structured population approach to examining carrying capacity when the prey are semelparous

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, J.; Ackleh, A.S.; Leonard, B.P.; Wang, Hongfang

    1999-01-01

    The giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, is a highly specialized Ursid whose diet consists almost entirely of various species of bamboo. Bamboo (Bambusoideae) is a grass subfamily whose species often exhibit a synchronous semelparity. Synchronous semelparity can create local drops in carrying capacity for the panda. We modeled the interaction of pandas and their bamboo food resources with an age structured panda population model linked to a natural history model of bamboo biomass dynamics based on literature values of bamboo biomass, and giant panda life history dynamics. This paper reports the results of our examination of the interaction between pandas and their bamboo food resource and its implications for panda conservation. In the model all panda populations were well below the carrying capacity of the habitat. The giant panda populations growth was most sensitive to changes in birth rates and removal of reproductive aged individuals. Periodic starvation that has been documented in conjunction with bamboo die-offs is probably related to the inability to move to other areas within the region where bamboo is still available. Based on the results of this model, giant panda conservation should concentrate on keeping breeding individuals in the wild, keep corridors to different bamboo species open to pandas, and to concentrate research on bamboo life history.

  14. The PANDA DIRC detectors at FAIR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarz, C.; Ali, A.; Belias, A.; Dzhygadlo, R.; Gerhardt, A.; Götzen, K.; Kalicy, G.; Krebs, M.; Lehmann, D.; Nerling, F.; Patsyuk, M.; Peters, K.; Schepers, G.; Schmitt, L.; Schwiening, J.; Traxler, M.; Zühlsdorf, M.; Böhm, M.; Britting, A.; Eyrich, W.; Lehmann, A.; Pfaffinger, M.; Uhlig, F.; Düren, M.; Etzelmüller, E.; Föhl, K.; Hayrapetyan, A.; Kreutzfeld, K.; Kröck, B.; Merle, O.; Rieke, J.; Schmidt, M.; Wasem, T.; Achenbach, P.; Cardinali, M.; Hoek, M.; Lauth, W.; Schlimme, S.; Sfienti, C.; Thiel, M.; Allison, L.; Hyde, C.

    2017-07-01

    The PANDA detector at the international accelerator Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Europe (FAIR) addresses fundamental questions of hadron physics. An excellent hadronic particle identification (PID) will be accomplished by two DIRC (Detection of Internally Reflected Cherenkov light) counters in the target spectrometer. The design for the barrel region covering polar angles between 22o to 140o is based on the successful BABAR DIRC with several key improvements, such as fast photon timing and a compact imaging region. The novel Endcap Disc DIRC will cover the smaller forward angles between 5o (10o) to 22o in the vertical (horizontal) direction. Both DIRC counters will use lifetime-enhanced microchannel plate PMTs for photon detection in combination with fast readout electronics. Geant4 simulations and tests with several prototypes at various beam facilities have been used to evaluate the designs and validate the expected PID performance of both PANDA DIRC counters.

  15. Computing Activities for the PANDA Experiment at FAIR

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Messchendorp, Johan; Gruntorad, J; Lokajicek, M

    2010-01-01

    The PANDA experiment at the future facility FAIR will provide valuable data for our present understanding of the strong interaction. In preparation for the experiments, large-scale simulations for design and feasibility studies are performed exploiting a new software framework, PandaROOT, which is

  16. Feasibility Studies for the PANDA Experiment at FAIR

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Biegun, A.

    PANDA, the detector to study AntiProton ANnihilations at DArmstadt, will be installed at the future international Facility for Anti-proton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Darmstadt, Germany. The PANDA physics program is oriented towards the studies of the strong interaction and hadron structure performed

  17. FEASIBILITY STUDIES FOR THE PANDA EXPERIMENT AT FAIR

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Biegun, A.

    PANDA, the detector to study AntiProton ANnihilations at DArmstadt, will be installed at the future international Facility for Anti-proton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Darmstadt, Germany. The PANDA physics program is oriented towards the studies of the strong interaction and hadron structure performed

  18. Impacts of temperature on giant panda habitat in the north Minshan Mountains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Gang; Guan, Tianpei; Dai, Qiang; Li, Huixin; Gong, Minghao

    2016-02-01

    Understanding the impacts of meteorological factors on giant pandas is necessary for future conservation measures in response to global climate change. We integrated temperature data with three main habitat parameters (elevation, vegetation type, and bamboo species) to evaluate the influence of climate change on giant panda habitat in the northern Minshan Mountains using a habitat assessment model. Our study shows that temperature (relative importance = 25.1%) was the second most important variable influencing giant panda habitat excepting the elevation. There was a significant negative correlation between temperature and panda presence (ρ = -0.133, P pandas within the study area was 18-21°C, followed by 15-17°C and 22-24°C. The overall suitability of giant panda habitats will increase by 2.7%, however, it showed a opposite variation patterns between the eastern and northwestern region of the study area. Suitable and subsuitable habitats in the northwestern region of the study area, which is characterized by higher elevation and latitude, will increase by 18007.8 hm(2) (9.8% habitat suitability), while the eastern region will suffer a decrease of 9543.5 hm(2) (7.1% habitat suitability). Our results suggest that increasing areas of suitable giant panda habitat will support future giant panda expansion, and food shortage and insufficient living space will not arise as problems in the northwest Minshan Mountains, which means that giant pandas can adapt to climate change, and therefore may be resilient to climate change. Thus, for the safety and survival of giant pandas in the Baishuijiang Reserve, we propose strengthening the giant panda monitoring program in the west and improving the integrity of habitats to promote population dispersal with adjacent populations in the east.

  19. Evaluation of ozone profile and tropospheric ozone retrievals from GEMS and OMI spectra

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Bak

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available South Korea is planning to launch the GEMS (Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer instrument into the GeoKOMPSAT (Geostationary Korea Multi-Purpose SATellite platform in 2018 to monitor tropospheric air pollutants on an hourly basis over East Asia. GEMS will measure backscattered UV radiances covering the 300–500 nm wavelength range with a spectral resolution of 0.6 nm. The main objective of this study is to evaluate ozone profiles and stratospheric column ozone amounts retrieved from simulated GEMS measurements. Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI Level 1B radiances, which have the spectral range 270–500 nm at spectral resolution of 0.42–0.63 nm, are used to simulate the GEMS radiances. An optimal estimation-based ozone profile algorithm is used to retrieve ozone profiles from simulated GEMS radiances. Firstly, we compare the retrieval characteristics (including averaging kernels, degrees of freedom for signal, and retrieval error derived from the 270–330 nm (OMI and 300–330 nm (GEMS wavelength ranges. This comparison shows that the effect of not using measurements below 300 nm on retrieval characteristics in the troposphere is insignificant. However, the stratospheric ozone information in terms of DFS decreases greatly from OMI to GEMS, by a factor of ∼2. The number of the independent pieces of information available from GEMS measurements is estimated to 3 on average in the stratosphere, with associated retrieval errors of ~1% in stratospheric column ozone. The difference between OMI and GEMS retrieval characteristics is apparent for retrieving ozone layers above ~20 km, with a reduction in the sensitivity and an increase in the retrieval errors for GEMS. We further investigate whether GEMS can resolve the stratospheric ozone variation observed from high vertical resolution Earth Observing System (EOS Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS. The differences in stratospheric ozone profiles between GEMS and MLS are comparable to those

  20. Slab-coupled optical sensor fabrication using side-polished Panda fibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Rex; Seng, Frederick; Stan, Nikola; Cuzner, Kevin; Josephson, Chad; Selfridge, Richard; Schultz, Stephen

    2016-11-01

    A new device structure used for slab-coupled optical sensor (SCOS) technology was developed to fabricate electric field sensors. This new device structure replaces the D-fiber used in traditional SCOS technology with a side-polished Panda fiber. Unlike the D-fiber SCOS, the Panda fiber SCOS is made from commercially available materials and is simpler to fabricate. The Panda SCOS interfaces easier with lab equipment and exhibits ∼3  dB less loss at link points than the D-fiber SCOS. The optical system for the D-fiber is bandwidth limited by a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) used to amplify to the electric signal. The Panda SCOS exhibits less loss than the D-fiber and, as a result, does not require as high a gain setting on the TIA, which results in an overall higher bandwidth range. Results show that the Panda sensor also achieves comparable sensitivity results to the D-fiber SCOS. Although the Panda SCOS is not as sensitive as other side-polished fiber electric field sensors, it can be fabricated much easier because the fabrication process does not require special alignment techniques, and it is made from commercially available materials.

  1. Resting site use of giant pandas in Wanglang Nature Reserve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Dongwei; Wang, Xiaorong; Li, Junqing

    2017-10-23

    Little is known about the resting sites used by the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), which restricts our understanding of their resting habits and limits conservation efforts. To enhance our understanding of resting site requirements and factors affecting the resting time of giant pandas, we investigated the characteristics of resting sites in the Wanglang Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China. The results indicated that the resting sites of giant pandas were characterised by a mean slope of 21°, mean nearest tree size of 53.75 cm, mean nearest shrub size of 2.82 cm, and mean nearest bamboo number of 56. We found that the resting sites were closer to bamboo than to trees and shrubs, suggesting that the resting site use of giant pandas is closely related to the presence of bamboo. Considering that giant pandas typically rest near a large-sized tree, protection of large trees in the forests is of considerable importance for the conservation of this species. Furthermore, slope was found to be an important factor affecting the resting time of giant pandas, as they tended to rest for a relatively longer time in sites with a smaller degree of slope.

  2. The PANDA Endcap Disc DIRC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Föhl, K.; Ali, A.; Belias, A.; Dzhygadlo, R.; Gerhardt, A.; Götzen, K.; Kalicy, G.; Krebs, M.; Lehmann, D.; Nerling, F.; Patsyuk, M.; Peters, K.; Schepers, G.; Schmitt, L.; Schwarz, C.; Schwiening, J.; Traxler, M.; Böhm, M.; Eyrich, W.; Lehmann, A.; Pfaffinger, M.; Uhlig, F.; Düren, M.; Etzelmüller, E.; Hayrapetyan, A.; Kreutzfeld, K.; Merle, O.; Rieke, J.; Schmidt, M.; Wasem, T.; Achenbach, P.; Cardinali, M.; Hoek, M.; Lauth, W.; Schlimme, S.; Sfienti, C.; Thiel, M.

    2018-02-01

    Positively identifying charged kaons in the PANDA forward endcap solid angle range can be achieved with the Endcap Disc DIRC, allowing kaon-pion separation from 1 up to 4 GeV/c with a separation power of at least 3 standard deviations. Design, performance, and components of this DIRC are given, including the recently introduced TOFPET-ASIC based read-out. Results of a prototype operated in a test beam at DESY in 2016 are shown.

  3. Extending the ISC-GEM Global Earthquake Instrumental Catalogue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Giacomo, Domenico; Engdhal, Bob; Storchak, Dmitry; Villaseñor, Antonio; Harris, James

    2015-04-01

    After a 27-month project funded by the GEM Foundation (www.globalquakemodel.org), in January 2013 we released the ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900 2009) (www.isc.ac.uk/iscgem/index.php) as a special product to use for seismic hazard studies. The new catalogue was necessary as improved seismic hazard studies necessitate that earthquake catalogues are homogeneous (to the largest extent possible) over time in their fundamental parameters, such as location and magnitude. Due to time and resource limitation, the ISC-GEM catalogue (1900-2009) included earthquakes selected according to the following time-variable cut-off magnitudes: Ms=7.5 for earthquakes occurring before 1918; Ms=6.25 between 1918 and 1963; and Ms=5.5 from 1964 onwards. Because of the importance of having a reliable seismic input for seismic hazard studies, funding from GEM and two commercial companies in the US and UK allowed us to start working on the extension of the ISC-GEM catalogue both for earthquakes that occurred beyond 2009 and for earthquakes listed in the International Seismological Summary (ISS) which fell below the cut-off magnitude of 6.25. This extension is part of a four-year program that aims at including in the ISC-GEM catalogue large global earthquakes that occurred before the beginning of the ISC Bulletin in 1964. In this contribution we present the updated ISC GEM catalogue, which will include over 1000 more earthquakes that occurred in 2010 2011 and several hundreds more between 1950 and 1959. The catalogue extension between 1935 and 1949 is currently underway. The extension of the ISC-GEM catalogue will also be helpful for regional cross border seismic hazard studies as the ISC-GEM catalogue should be used as basis for cross-checking the consistency in location and magnitude of those earthquakes listed both in the ISC GEM global catalogue and regional catalogues.

  4. Feasibility study of a transversely polarized target in PANDA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Froehlich, Bertold [Helmholtz Institut Mainz (Germany)

    2014-07-01

    PANDA (Antiproton Annihilation at Darmstadt) is a key project at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), currently under construction at the GSI Darmstadt. PANDA is a state of the art detector for antiproton-proton fixed target experiments. A transversely polarized target in PANDA would allow the determination of the proton electromagnetic form factors in the time-like region with unprecedented accuracy and the first-time extraction of their imaginary part, opening a new window for investigating the nucleon structure. As a first step for achieving a transverse target polarization, the target region has to be shielded against the 2 T longitudinal magnetic flux from the solenoid of the PANDA spectrometer. We present numerical simulations and experimental results on intense magnetic flux shielding using a high temperature superconducting hollow cylinder.

  5. TPC spectrometer for measuring the e+ spectrum in μ decay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kinnison, W.W.

    1983-01-01

    The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) being used at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF) for a high-statistics normal muon-decay experiment is described. It is shown how the experiment will improve upon the limits of the weak-interaction coupling constants by a factor of 5 through the measurement of the positron momentum and direction of emission with respect to the muon-polarization vector for 10 8 decays of stopped, polarized, positive muons. The TPC apparatus is described, and it is shown that even though more work is to be done to improve the detector acceptance and individual coordinate resolutions, for certain track topologies, the TPC already has a momentum resolution of 0.7% (sigma)

  6. TPC cross-talk correction: CERN-Dubna-Milano algorithm and results

    CERN Document Server

    De Min, A; Guskov, A; Krasnoperov, A; Nefedov, Y; Zhemchugov, A

    2003-01-01

    The CDM (CERN-Dubna-Milano) algorithm for TPC Xtalk correction is presented and discussed in detail. It is a data-driven, model-independent approach to the problem of Xtalk correction. It accounts for arbitrary amplitudes and pulse shapes of signals, and corrects (almost) all generations of Xtalk, with a view to handling (almost) correctly even complex multi-track events. Results on preamp amplification and preamp linearity from the analysis of test-charge injection data of all six TPC sectors are presented. The minimal expected error on the measurement of signal charges in the TPC is discussed. Results are given on the application of the CDM Xtalk correction to test-charge events and krypton events.

  7. Comparison of Experiment and Simulation of the triple GEM-Based Fast Neutron Detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xiao-Dong; Luo Wen; Zhang Jun-Wei; Yang He-Run; Duan Li-Min; Lu Chen-Gui; Hu Rong-Jiang; Hu Bi-Tao; Zhang Chun-Hui; Yang Lei; Zhou Jian-Rong; An Lv-Xing

    2015-01-01

    A detector for fast neutrons based on a 10 × 10 cm"2 triple gas electron multiplier (GEM) device is developed and tested. A neutron converter, which is a high density polyethylene (HDPE) layer, is combined with the triple GEM detector cathode and placed inside the detector, in the path of the incident neutrons. The detector is tested by obtaining the energy deposition spectrum with an Am Be neutron source in the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) at Lanzhou. In the present work we report the results of the tests and compare them with those of simulations. The transport of fast neutrons and their interactions with the different materials in the detector are simulated with the GEANT4 code, to understand the experimental results. The detector displays a clear response to the incident fast neutrons. However, an unexpected disagreement in the energy dependence of the response between the simulated and measured spectra is observed. The neutron sources used in our simulation include deuterium-tritium (DT, 14 MeV), deuterium-deuterium (DD, 2.45 MeV), and Am Be sources. The simulation results also show that among the secondary particles generated by the incident neutron, the main contributions to the total energy deposition are from recoil protons induced in hydrogen-rich HDPE or Kapton (GEM material), and activation photons induced by neutron interaction with Ar atoms. Their contributions account for 90% of the total energy deposition. In addition, the dependence of neutron deposited energy spectrum on the composition of the gas mixture is presented. (paper)

  8. Study of etching processes in the GEM detectors

    CERN Document Server

    Zavazieva, Darina

    2016-01-01

    Gaseous Electron Multiplier (GEM) detectors are known to operate stably at high gains and high particle fluxes. Though, at very high gains and fluxes it was observed that the insulating polyimide layer between the GEM electrodes gets etched, changing the original shape of the hole, and therefore varying the gain and the energy resolution of the detector. The idea of the project to observe degradation effect of the GEM foils during the Triple GEM detector operation in extreme conditions under X-ray radiation.

  9. A Summary of the MARS Analysis Results about OECD/SETH PANDA Tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bae, Sung Won; Chung, Bub Dong

    2007-01-01

    The thermal-hydraulic phenomena in a multicompartment space like the containment building under accidents are very complicated and unpredictable as a result of many interacting processes, such as sprays, hydrogen recombiners, etc. Many thermal-hydraulic phenomena, governing the containment response under postulated accidents, have been identified by the SESAR/CAF (OECD) as 'research needs' for current and advanced LWRs. Due to the recent extension of the numerical computation capability and the technology, the safety analysis field is requested to expand their analysis domain beyond the current primary system. In particular, hydrogen mixing and transport has been found to be of special importance for safety and regulation. Up to dates, OECD/CSNI has been leading many experimental projects, for example, OECD-PKL, ISP47, OECD-PANDA, focusing the gas mixing, stratification and vapor condensation phenomena. As the one of the activities, the OECD-SETH group has launched the PANDA Project in order to provide an experimental data base for a multi-dimensional code assessment in 2002. PANDA is a large scale thermal-hydraulic facility to provide a resolved experimental data base about the gas mixing and stratification phenomena. OECD-SETH group expects the PANDA Project will meet the increasing needs for adequate experimental data for a 3D distribution of relevant variables like the temperature, velocity and steam-air concentrations that are measured with a sufficient resolution and accuracy

  10. Panda, Prof. Sudhakar

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Fellow Profile. Elected: 2017 Section: Physics. Panda, Prof. Sudhakar Ph.D. (IoP, Bhubaneswar), FNA, FNASc. Date of birth: 23 February 1959. Specialization: High Energy Physics, String Theory, Cosmology, Quantum Field Theory Address: Director, Institute of Physics, Sachivalaya Marg, Bhubaneswar 751 005, Orissa

  11. GEM1: First-year modeling and IT activities for the Global Earthquake Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, G.; Giardini, D.; Wiemer, S.

    2009-04-01

    GEM is a public-private partnership initiated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to build an independent standard for modeling and communicating earthquake risk worldwide. GEM is aimed at providing authoritative, open information about seismic risk and decision tools to support mitigation. GEM will also raise risk awareness and help post-disaster economic development, with the ultimate goal of reducing the toll of future earthquakes. GEM will provide a unified set of seismic hazard, risk, and loss modeling tools based on a common global IT infrastructure and consensus standards. These tools, systems, and standards will be developed in partnership with organizations around the world, with coordination by the GEM Secretariat and its Secretary General. GEM partners will develop a variety of global components, including a unified earthquake catalog, fault database, and ground motion prediction equations. To ensure broad representation and community acceptance, GEM will include local knowledge in all modeling activities, incorporate existing detailed models where possible, and independently test all resulting tools and models. When completed in five years, GEM will have a versatile, penly accessible modeling environment that can be updated as necessary, and will provide the global standard for seismic hazard, risk, and loss models to government ministers, scientists and engineers, financial institutions, and the public worldwide. GEM is now underway with key support provided by private sponsors (Munich Reinsurance Company, Zurich Financial Services, AIR Worldwide Corporation, and Willis Group Holdings); countries including Belgium, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Switzerland, and Turkey; and groups such as the European Commission. The GEM Secretariat has been selected by the OECD and will be hosted at the Eucentre at the University of Pavia in Italy; the Secretariat is now formalizing the creation of the GEM Foundation. Some of GEM's global

  12. Mapping and modelling the habitat of giant pandas in Foping Nature Reserve, China

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liu, X.

    2001-01-01

    The fact that only about 1000 giant pandas and 29500 km2 of panda habitat are left in the west part of China makes it an urgent issue to save this endangered animal species and protect its habitat. For effective conservation of the giant panda and its habitat, a thorough evaluation of panda habitat

  13. Seasonal changes of progesterone and testosterone contents in hair of giant pandas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Dazhi; Liu Xianyi; Chen Faju

    1994-01-01

    Seasonal changes of progesterone content (PSC) in hair of three female giant pandas and testosterone content (TSC) in hair of two male giant pandas were tested by radioimmunoassay. During March to early June, PSC in two non-pregnant giant pandas (x-bar+-SD = 13.40 +- 10.06 and 10.60 +- 8.88 ng/g hair respectively) were higher than those in non-breeding season (3.07 +-1.07 and 3.20 +- 1.15 ng/g, P<0.01). PSC in a 18-year-old female giant panda remained at low levels (2.72 +- 1.49 ng/g) during March to December. In a twin-bear giant panda, PSC (6.77 +- 3.66 ng/g) appeared higher than that in non-pregnant giant pandas in non-breeding season. Around February to the end of May, TSC in two male giant pandas (1.89 +- 1.71 and 1.82 +- 1.04 ng/g respectively) were also higher than that in non-breeding season (0.98 +- 0.57 and 0.75 +- 0.39 ng/g, P<0.01). the findings from the study implied that giant panda's hair is possible to be used as a specimen to carry out steroids research in the endangered species

  14. Amdoparvovirus Infection in Red Pandas ( Ailurus fulgens).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alex, Charles E; Kubiski, Steven V; Li, Linlin; Sadeghi, Mohammadreza; Wack, Raymund F; McCarthy, Megan A; Pesavento, Joseph B; Delwart, Eric; Pesavento, Patricia A

    2018-01-01

    Aleutian mink disease virus is the type species in the genus Amdoparvovirus, and in mink and other Mustelidae can cause either subclinical disease or fatal chronic immune stimulation and immune complex disease. The authors describe a novel amdoparvovirus in the endangered red panda ( Ailurus fulgens), discovered using viral metagenomics. The authors analyzed the prevalence, tissue distribution, and disease association by PCR, in situ hybridization, electron microscopy, and histology in a group of 6 red pandas from a single zoological collection. The study incorporates a fecal shedding survey and analysis of tissues from 4 necropsied animals over a 12-year span. The tentatively named red panda amdoparvovirus (RpAPV) was detected in the feces and/or tissues of all animals tested. At necropsy of 1 geriatric animal, infection was associated with pyogranulomatous peritonitis, pancreatitis, and myocarditis. Other animals had detectable low-level viral nucleic acid in lymph nodes and both oral and intestinal epithelium at the time of necropsy. Full-length genome sequences of RpAPV strains from 2 animals had 12% sequence divergence, demonstrating genetic diversity even among in-contact animals. RpAPV is a persistent infection in this cohort of red pandas, and has variable clinical expression.

  15. Combined readout of a triple-GEM detector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antochi, V. C.; Baracchini, E.; Cavoto, G.; Di Marco, E.; Marafini, M.; Mazzitelli, G.; Pinci, D.; Renga, F.; Tomassini, S.; Voena, C.

    2018-05-01

    Optical readout of GEM based devices by means of high granularity and low noise CMOS sensors allows to obtain very interesting tracking performance. Space resolution of the order of tens of μm were measured on the GEM plane along with an energy resolution of 20%÷30%. The main limitation of CMOS sensors is represented by their poor information about time structure of the event. In this paper, the use of a concurrent light readout by means of a suitable photomultiplier and the acquisition of the electric signal induced on the GEM electrode are exploited to provide the necessary timing informations. The analysis of the PMT waveform allows a 3D reconstruction of each single clusters with a resolution on z of 100 μm. Moreover, from the PMT signals it is possible to obtain a fast reconstruction of the energy released within the detector with a resolution of the order of 25% even in the tens of keV range useful, for example, for triggering purpose.

  16. PanDA Beyond ATLAS: Workload Management for Data Intensive Science

    CERN Document Server

    Schovancova, J; The ATLAS collaboration; Klimentov, A; Maeno, T; Nilsson, P; Oleynik, D; Panitkin, S; Petrosyan, A; Vaniachine, A; Wenaus, T; Yu, D

    2013-01-01

    The PanDA Production ANd Distributed Analysis system has been developed by ATLAS to meet the experiment's requirements for a data-driven workload management system for production and distributed analysis processing capable of operating at LHC data processing scale. After 7 years of impressively successful PanDA operation in ATLAS there are also other experiments which can benefit from PanDA in the Big Data challenge, with several at various stages of evaluation and adoption. The new project "Next Generation Workload Management and Analysis System for Big Data" is extending PanDA to meet the needs of other data intensive scientific applications in HEP, astro-particle and astrophysics communities, bio-informatics and other fields as a general solution to large scale workload management. PanDA can utilize dedicated or opportunistic computing resources such as grids, clouds, and High Performance Computing facilities, and is being extended to leverage next generation intelligent networks in automated workflow mana...

  17. Population genetics of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in captive giant pandas of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wei; Song, Yuan; Zhong, Zhijun; Huang, Xiangming; Wang, Chengdong; Li, Caiwu; Yang, Haidi; Liu, Haifeng; Ren, Zhihua; Lan, Jingchao; Wu, Kongju; Peng, Guangneng

    2017-10-18

    Most studies on Enterocytozoon bieneusi are conducted based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rRNA gene, whereas some have examined E. bieneusi population structures. Currently, the population genetics of this pathogen in giant panda remains unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the E. bieneusi population in captive giant pandas in China. We examined 69 E. bieneusi-positive specimens from captive giant pandas in China using five loci (ITS, MS1, MS3, MS4 and MS7) to infer E. bieneusi population genetics. For multilocus genotype (MLG) analysis of E. bieneusi-positive isolates, the MS1, MS3, MS4, and MS7 microsatellite and minisatellite loci were amplified and sequenced in 48, 45, 50 and 47 specimens, respectively, generating ten, eight, nine and five types. We successfully amplified 36 specimens and sequenced all five loci, forming 24 MLGs. Multilocus sequence analysis revealed a strong and significant linkage disequilibrium (LD), indicating a clonal population. This result was further supported by measurements of pairwise intergenic LD and a standardized index of association (I S A ) from allelic profile data. The analysis in STRUCTURE suggested three subpopulations in E. bieneusi, further confirmed using right's fixation index (F ST ). Subpopulations 1 and 2 exhibited an epidemic structure, whereas subpopulation 3 had a clonal structure. Our results describe E. bieneusi population genetics in giant pandas for the first time, improving the current understanding E. bieneusi epidemiology in the studied region. These data also benefit future studies exploring potential transmission risks from pandas to other animals, including humans.

  18. The GAP-TPC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rossi, B.; Anastasio, A.; Boiano, A.; Cocco, A.G.; Meo, P. Di; Vanzanella, A.; Catalanotti, S.; Covone, G.; Longo, G.; Walker, S.; Fiorillo, G.; Wang, H.; Wang, Y.

    2016-01-01

    Several experiments have been conducted worldwide, with the goal of observing low-energy nuclear recoils induced by WIMPs scattering off target nuclei in ultra-sensitive, low-background detectors. In the last few decades noble liquid detectors designed to search for dark matter in the form of WIMPs have been extremely successful in improving their sensitivities and setting the best limits. One of the crucial problems to be faced for the development of large size (multi ton-scale) liquid argon experiments is the lack of reliable and low background cryogenic PMTs: their intrinsic radioactivity, cost, and borderline performance at 87 K rule them out as a possible candidate for photosensors. We propose a brand new concept of liquid argon-based detector for direct dark matter search: the Geiger-mode Avalanche Photodiode Time Projection Chamber (GAP-TPC) optimized in terms of residual radioactivity of the photosensors, energy and spatial resolution, light and charge collection efficiency

  19. A GEM of an SSC detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    The SSC Laboratory has decided to support the GEM (Gammas, Electrons, and Muons) detector collaboration in the next stage of its work, development of a Technical Design Report. Initial ideas for GEM as the second major SSC detector were aired last year

  20. amiya kumar panda

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Journal of Chemical Sciences. AMIYA KUMAR PANDA. Articles written in Journal of Chemical Sciences. Volume 130 Issue 4 April 2018 pp 42. Role of PEG 2000 in the surface modification and physicochemical characteristics of pyrazinamide loaded nanostructured lipid carriers · GOURAB KARMAKAR ...

  1. S K Panda

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Sadhana. S K Panda. Articles written in Sadhana. Volume 37 Issue 2 April 2012 pp 223-240. Multi-objective parametric optimization of powder mixed electro-discharge machining using response surface methodology and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm · Soumyakant Padhee Niharranjan Nayak ...

  2. Tarun K Panda

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Tarun K Panda. Articles written in Journal of Chemical Sciences. Volume 126 Issue 5 September 2014 pp 1463-1475 Special issue on Chemical Crystallography. Synthesis of monomeric and polymeric alkali and alkaline earth metal complexes using a phosphinoselenoic amide ligand in metal coordination sphere.

  3. Imaging of high-Z material for nuclear contraband detection with a minimal prototype of a muon tomography station based on GEM detectors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gnanvo, Kondo, E-mail: kgnanvo@fit.edu [Department of Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901 (United States); Grasso, Leonard V.; Hohlmann, Marcus; Locke, Judson B.; Quintero, Amilkar [Department of Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901 (United States); Mitra, Debasis [Department of Computer Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901 (United States)

    2011-10-01

    Muon Tomography based on the measurement of multiple scattering of atmospheric cosmic ray muons in matter is a promising technique for detecting heavily shielded high-Z radioactive materials (U, Pu) in cargo or vehicles. The technique uses the deflection of cosmic ray muons in matter to perform tomographic imaging of high-Z material inside a probed volume. A Muon Tomography Station (MTS) requires position-sensitive detectors with high spatial resolution for optimal tracking of incoming and outgoing cosmic ray muons. Micro Pattern Gaseous Detector (MPGD) technologies such as Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detectors are excellent candidates for this application. We have built and operated a minimal MTS prototype based on 30 cmx30 cm GEM detectors for probing targets with various Z values inside the MTS volume. We report the first successful detection and imaging of medium-Z and high-Z targets of small volumes ({approx}0.03 L) using GEM-based Muon Tomography.

  4. Imaging of high-Z material for nuclear contraband detection with a minimal prototype of a muon tomography station based on GEM detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gnanvo, Kondo; Grasso, Leonard V.; Hohlmann, Marcus; Locke, Judson B.; Quintero, Amilkar; Mitra, Debasis

    2011-01-01

    Muon Tomography based on the measurement of multiple scattering of atmospheric cosmic ray muons in matter is a promising technique for detecting heavily shielded high-Z radioactive materials (U, Pu) in cargo or vehicles. The technique uses the deflection of cosmic ray muons in matter to perform tomographic imaging of high-Z material inside a probed volume. A Muon Tomography Station (MTS) requires position-sensitive detectors with high spatial resolution for optimal tracking of incoming and outgoing cosmic ray muons. Micro Pattern Gaseous Detector (MPGD) technologies such as Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detectors are excellent candidates for this application. We have built and operated a minimal MTS prototype based on 30 cmx30 cm GEM detectors for probing targets with various Z values inside the MTS volume. We report the first successful detection and imaging of medium-Z and high-Z targets of small volumes (∼0.03 L) using GEM-based Muon Tomography.

  5. The current status of the Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) research at Kasetsart University, Thailand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumpiranon, P.; Kulasri, K.; Rittirong, A.; Saenboonruang, K.

    2017-06-01

    During the past decade, Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detectors have been greatly developed and utilized in numbers of applications including advanced nuclear and particle researches, medical imaging, astrophysics, and neutron detection for national security. Our GEM research group at the Department of Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Thailand, realized in its excellent properties/potentials and started extensive researches on GEM detectors. To build a strong foundation on our research group, two 10 cm × 10 cm triple GEM detectors were characterized on their important properties including absolute gains and detection uniformity. Moreover, to widen applications of the GEM detector, our group had modified the GEM detector by introducing either solid or gaseous neutron converters to the detector so that the detector could effectively detect neutrons. These modifications included coating a thin film of 10B and natB to the GEM drift cathode for thermal neutron detection and flowing a gas mixture of He/CO2 (80:20 and 70:30) and C4H10/He/CO2 (7:70:23) for fast neutron detection. Results showed that the modified GEM-based neutron detector could detect both types of neutrons with different relative efficiencies and gains depending on thicknesses and types of neutron converters. This article discusses basic knowledge of the GEM detector, construction and testing procedures, results, and discussion.

  6. Experimental and Theoretical Progress on the GEM Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandenburg, J. E.

    This paper reports experimental and theoretical progress on the GEM unification theory. In theoretical progress, the derivation of the GEM theory using it in a fully covariant form is achieved based on the principle of self-cancellation of the ZPF EM stress-momentum tensor. This derivation reveals that the final Gravity-EM system obeys a Helmholtz-like equation resembling that governing sound propagation. Finally an improved derivation of the formula for the Newton Gravitation constant is shown, qresulting in the formula G = e2/(4πɛ0 me mp) α exp (-2 (α-.86/σ2…) = 6.673443 x10-11 N-m2 kg-2 that agrees with experimental values to 3 parts per 100,000. Experiments have found parity violating weight reductions in gyroscopes driven by rotating EM fields. These experiments appear to confirm gravity modification using electromagnetism predicted by the GEM theory through the Vacuum Bernoulli Equation.

  7. Habitat correlates of the red panda in the temperate forests of Bhutan.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sangay Dorji

    Full Text Available Anthropogenic activities and associated global climate change are threatening the biodiversity in the Himalayas against a backdrop of poor knowledge of the region's threatened species. The red panda (Ailurus fulgens is a threatened mammal confined to the eastern Himalayas, and because of Bhutan's central location in the distributional range of red pandas, its forests are integral to the long-term viability of wild populations. Detailed habitat requirements of the red panda are largely speculative, and there is virtually no ecological information available on this species in Bhutan. Between 2007 and 2009, we established 615 presence/absence plots in a systematic sampling of resident habitat types within Jigme Dorji and Thrumshingla National Parks, Bhutan, to investigate broad and fine-scale red panda habitat associations. Additional locality records of red pandas were obtained from interviewing 664 park residents. Red pandas were generally confined to cool broadleaf and conifer forests from 2,110-4,389 m above sea level (asl, with the majority of records between 2,400-3,700 m asl on south and east-facing slopes. At a finer scale, multivariate analysis revealed that red pandas were strongly associated with old growth Bhutan Fir (Abies densa forest dominated by a dense cover of Yushania and Arundanaria bamboo with a high density of fallen logs and tree stumps at ground level; a high density of trees, dead snags, and rhododendron shrubs in the mid-storey; and locations that were close to water. Because Bhutan's temperate forests that encompass prime red panda habitat are also integral to human subsistence and socio-economic development, there exists an inadvertent conflict between the needs of people and red pandas. As such, careful sustainable management of Bhutan's temperate forests is necessary if a balance is to be met between the socioeconomic needs of people and the conservation goals for red pandas.

  8. The Readout Control Unit of the ALICE TPC

    CERN Document Server

    Lien, J A; Musa, L

    2004-01-01

    The ALICE Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main tracking detector of the central barrel of the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider) Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), being constructed at CERN, Geneva. It is a 88 m$^{3}$ cylinder filled with gas and divided into two drift regions by the central electrode located at its axial center. The readout chambers of the TPC are multi-wire proportional chambers with cathode pad readout. About 570 000 pads are read-out by an electronics chain of amplification, digitalization and pre-processing. One of the challenges in designing the TPC for ALICE is the design of Front End Electronics (FEE) to cope with the data rates and the channel occupancy. The Readout Control Unit (RCU), which is presented in this work, is designed to control and monitor the Front End Electronics, and to collect and ship data to the High Level Trigger and the Data Acquisition System, via the Detector Data Link (DDL - optical fibre). The RCU must be capable of reading out up to 200 Mbytes/s f...

  9. Slow Control System for the NIFFTE Collaboration TPC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ringle, Erik; Niffte Collaboration Collaboration

    2011-10-01

    As world energy concerns continue to dominate public policy in the 21st century, the need for cleaner and more efficient nuclear power is necessary. In order to effectively design and implement plans for generation IV nuclear reactors, more accurate fission cross-section measurements are necessary. The Neutron Induced Fission Fragment Tracking Experiment (NIFFTE) collaboration, in an effort to meet this need, has constructed a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) which aims to reduce the uncertainty of the fission cross-section to less than 1%. Using the Maximum Integration Data Acquisition System (MIDAS) framework, slow control measurements are integrated into a single interface to facilitate off-site monitoring. The Hart Scientific 1560 Black Stack will be used with two 2564 Thermistor Scanner Modules to monitor internal temperature of the TPC. A Prologix GPIB to Ethernet controller will be used to interface the hardware with MIDAS. This presentation will detail the design and implementation of the slow control system for the TPC. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Division of Energy Research.

  10. Development, characterization and qualification of first GEM foils produced in India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Aashaq; Ahmed, Asar; Gola, Mohit; Sharma, Ram Krishna; Malhotra, Shivali; Kumar, Ashok; Naimuddin, Md.; Menon, Pradeep; Srinivasan, K.

    2018-06-01

    The increasing demand for Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) foils has been driven by their application in many current and proposed high-energy physics experiments. Micropack, a Bengaluru-based company, has established and commercialized GEM foils for the first time in India. Micropack used the double-mask etching technique to successfully produce 10 cm × 10 cm GEM foil. In this paper, we report on the development as well as the geometrical and electrical properties of these foils, including the size uniformity of the holes and leakage current measurements. Our characterization studies show that the foils are of good quality and satisfy all the necessary quality control criteria.

  11. The development of neutron detectors for the GEM instrument at ISIS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rhodes, N.J.; Johnson, M.W.; Schooneveld, E.M.

    2001-01-01

    GEM is a new General Materials diffractometer now being commissioned at ISIS. To meet its broad based scientific programme GEM requires a large area position sensitive detector which covers a wide range of scattering angles and exhibits a high neutron count rate stability. This paper discusses the design of a ZnS/ 6 Li fibre coupled detector array that meets the GEM requirements. Typical detector characteristics are documented together with the current status of the project. Two thirds of the detector array are operational and from the results obtained to date it is already obvious that the impact of this instrument on neutron scattering studies will be profound. (author)

  12. Results from the STAR TPC system test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Betts, W.

    1996-01-01

    A system test of various components of the Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC (STAR) detector, operating in concern, has recently come on-line. Communication between a major sub-detector, a sector of the Time Projection Chamber (TPC), and the trigger, data acquisition and slow controls systems has been established, enabling data from cosmic ray muons to be collected. First results from an analysis of the TPC data are presented. These include measurements of system noise, electronic parameters such as amplifier gains and pedestal values, and tracking resolution for cosmic ray muons and laser induced ionization tracks. A discussion on the experience gained in integrating the different components for the system test is also given

  13. Evaluating landscape options for corridor restoration between giant panda reserves.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fang Wang

    Full Text Available The establishment of corridors can offset the negative effects of habitat fragmentation by connecting isolated habitat patches. However, the practical value of corridor planning is minimal if corridor identification is not based on reliable quantitative information about species-environment relationships. An example of this need for quantitative information is planning for giant panda conservation. Although the species has been the focus of intense conservation efforts for decades, most corridor projects remain hypothetical due to the lack of reliable quantitative researches at an appropriate spatial scale. In this paper, we evaluated a framework for giant panda forest corridor planning. We linked our field survey data with satellite imagery, and conducted species occupancy modelling to examine the habitat use of giant panda within the potential corridor area. We then conducted least-cost and circuit models to identify potential paths of dispersal across the landscape, and compared the predicted cost under current conditions and alternative conservation management options considered during corridor planning. We found that due to giant panda's association with areas of low elevation and flat terrain, human infrastructures in the same area have resulted in corridor fragmentation. We then identified areas with high potential to function as movement corridors, and our analysis of alternative conservation scenarios showed that both forest/bamboo restoration and automobile tunnel construction would significantly improve the effectiveness of corridor, while residence relocation would not significantly improve corridor effectiveness in comparison with the current condition. The framework has general value in any conservation activities that anticipate improving habitat connectivity in human modified landscapes. Specifically, our study suggested that, in this landscape, automobile tunnels are the best means to remove current barriers to giant panda

  14. TEPSS related PANDA tests (ESBWR)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huggenberger, M.; Aubert, C.; Bandurski, T.; Dreier, J.; Fischer, O.; Strassberger, H.J.; Yadigaroglu, G.

    2000-01-01

    A number of test series to investigate passive safety systems for the next generation of Light Water Reactors have been performed in the PANDA facility at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). The large scale thermalhydraulic test facility allows to investigate Passive Containment Cooling Systems (PCCS) and the long-term containment behaviour after a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). After successful completion of the ALPHA phase-I test series, where the PCCS performance of the Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (SBWR) was examined, phase-II was initiated in 1996 with new projects, all with international participation (EC Fourth Framework Programme on Nuclear Fission Safety). One of these projects is entitled 'Technology Enhancement for Passive Safety Systems' (TEPSS). TEPSS is focused on the European Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR). Several new containment features and PCCS long-term response under different LOCA scenarios were investigated in PANDA. The PCCS start-up was demonstrated under challenging conditions. The effect of nitrogen hidden somewhere in the drywell and released later in the transient was simulated by injecting air for a certain period into the drywell. The effect of light gases on the PCCS performance was investigated by helium injection to the drywell. Finally, the influence of low PCC pool levels on PCCS and containment performance was examined. The main findings were that the PCCS works as intended and shows generally a favourable and robust long-term post LOCA behaviour. The system starts working even under extreme conditions and trapped air released from the drywell later in the transient does only temporarily reduce the PCCS performance. The new PANDA test series provided an extensive data base which will contribute to further improve containment design of passive plants and allow for system code assessment in a wide parameter range. (author)

  15. A time digitizer for the microstrip detectors of the PANDA MVD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Riccardi, Alberto; Brinkmann, Kai-Thomas; Di Pietro, Valentino [II. Physikalisches Institut, Justus-Liebig-Universitaet Giessen (Germany); Garbolino, Sara; Rivetti, Angelo; Rolo, Manuel [INFN Sezione di Torino, Torino (Italy); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

    2015-07-01

    In nuclear detectors the information on the energy of the particle is usually obtained by measuring the amplitude of the signal delivered by the sensor. The low voltage power supply used in modern deep submicron technologies constrain the maximum dynamic range of the ADC. Still, the energy information can be obtained with time-based techniques, in which the energy is associated with the duration of the signal through the Time over Threshold method. This work is focused on the PANDA Micro Vertex Detector and explores the possibility of applying a time-based readout approach for the microstrip sensors. In PANDA, the strip system must cope with hit rates up to 50 kHz per channel. Therefore, the front-end output must be relatively short, this implies that the clock resolution is not enough to measure the signal duration, so it is necessary to use a Time to Digital Converter. The front-end and the TDC structure are designed in a 0.11μm CMOS process. The TDC chosen is based on an analog clock interpolator because it combines good time resolution with a fairly simple implementation and low power consumption. In the presentation an overview of the analog part of the PASTA (PANDA strip ASIC) is presented.

  16. SWR 1000 related containment cooling system tests in PANDA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dreier, J.; Aubert, C.; Huggenberger, M.; Strassberger, H.J.; Yadigaroglu, G.

    2000-01-01

    Since 1991 the Paul Scherrer Institute has participated in the investigations of several of the new passive Advanced Light Water Reactor designs proposed world-wide. The current phase of the project, ALPHA-II, is focused on both the boiling water and the pressurized water reactor passive designs and consists of three projects under the sponsorship of the European Commission. The paper describes the performed PANDA transient system tests related to one of these projects, called 'BWR R and D Cluster for Innovative Passive Safety Systems (IPSS)', and details the PSI contribution to the experimental investigation of passive containment cooling by a Building Condenser system which is part of the advanced Boiling Water Reactor SWR 1000 designed by Siemens. First, a short description of the relevant systems of the SWR 1000 design and its simulation in the PANDA facility are presented. After the description of the experimental programme for the large-scale integral system test investigations in the PANDA facility, the main results of the performed tests are also given. Finally, the main conclusions, based on the to date available experimental results and their analysis, are summarised. (author)

  17. ESBWR related passive decay heat removal tests in PANDA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huggenberger, M.; Aubert, C.; Bandurski, T.; Dreier, J.; Fischer, O.; Strassberger, H.J.; Yadigaroglu, G.

    1999-01-01

    A number of test series to investigate passive safety systems for the next generation of Light Water Reactors have been performed in the PANDA multi-purpose facility at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI). The large scale thermal-hydraulic test facility allows to investigate LWR containment phenomena and system behaviour. PANDA was first used to examine the Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS) for the Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (SBWR). In 1996 new test series were initiated; all related to projects of the EC Fourth Framework Programme on Nuclear Fission Safety. One of these projects (TEPSS) is focused on the European Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR). The ESBWR containment features and PCCS long-term post LOCA response were investigated in PANDA. The PCCS start-up was demonstrated, the effect of nitrogen hidden somewhere in the drywell and released later in the transient was simulated and the effect of light gases (helium) on the PCCS performance was investigated. Finally, the influence of low PCC pool levels on PCCS and containment performance was examined. The main findings were that the PCCS works as intended and shows generally a favorable and robust long-term post LOCA behaviour. The system starts working even under extreme conditions and trapped air released from the drywell later in the transient does only temporarily reduce the PCCS performance. The new PANDA test series provided an extensive data base which will contribute to further improve containment design of passive plants and allow for system code assessment in a wide parameter range. (author)

  18. ATLAS Global Shares Implementation in the PanDA Workload Management System

    CERN Document Server

    Barreiro Megino, Fernando Harald; The ATLAS collaboration

    2018-01-01

    PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) is the workload management system for ATLAS across the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid. While analysis tasks are submitted to PanDA by over a thousand users following personal schedules (e.g. PhD or conference deadlines), production campaigns are scheduled by a central Physics Coordination group based on the organization’s calendar. The Physics Coordination group needs to allocate the amount of Grid resources dedicated to each activity, in order to manage sharing of CPU resources among various parallel campaigns and to make sure that results can be achieved in time for important deadlines. While dynamic and static shares on batch systems have been around for a long time, we are trying to move away from local resource partitioning and manage shares at a global level in the PanDA system. The global solution is not straightforward, given different requirements of the activities (number of cores, memory, I/O and CPU intensity), the heterogeneity of Grid resources (site/H...

  19. Establishment and cryopreservation of a giant panda skeletal muscle-derived cell line.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Fang-Jian; Zeng, Chang-Jun; Zhang, Yan; Wang, Cheng-Dong; Xiong, Tie-Yi; Fang, Sheng-Guo; Zhang, He-Min

    2015-06-01

    The giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca is an endangered species and is a symbol for wildlife conservation. Although efforts have been made to protect this rare and endangered species through breeding and conservative biology, the long-term preservation of giant panda genome resources (gametes, tissues, organs, genomic libraries, etc.) is still a practical option. In this study, the giant panda skeletal muscle-derived cell line was successfully established via primary explants culture and cryopreservation techniques. The population doubling time of giant panda skeletal cells was approximately 33.8 h, and this population maintained a high cell viability before and after cryopreservation (95.6% and 90.7%, respectively). The two skeletal muscle-specific genes SMYD1 and MYF6 were expressed and detected by RT-PCR in the giant panda skeletal muscle-derived cell line. Karyotyping analysis revealed that the frequencies of giant panda skeletal muscle cells showing a chromosome number of 2n=42 ranged from 90.6∼94.2%. Thus, the giant panda skeletal muscle-derived cell line provides a vital resource and material platform for further studies and is likely to be useful for the protection of this rare and endangered species.

  20. Analysis of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) gene reveals the unique evolution of the giant panda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yao-Dong; Pang, Hui-Zhong; Li, De-Sheng; Ling, Shan-Shan; Lan, Dan; Wang, Ye; Zhu, Yun; Li, Di-Yan; Wei, Rong-Ping; Zhang, He-Min; Wang, Cheng-Dong

    2016-11-05

    As the rate-limiting enzyme of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, cytochrome c oxidase (COX) plays a crucial role in biological metabolism. "Living fossil" giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is well-known for its special bamboo diet. In an effort to explore functional variation of COX1 in the energy metabolism behind giant panda's low-energy bamboo diet, we looked at genetic variation of COX1 gene in giant panda, and tested for its selection effect. In 1545 base pairs of the gene from 15 samples, 9 positions were variable and 1 mutation leaded to an amino acid sequence change. COX1 gene produces six haplotypes, nucleotide (pi), haplotype diversity (Hd). In addition, the average number of nucleotide differences (k) is 0.001629±0.001036, 0.8083±0.0694 and 2.517, respectively. Also, dN/dS ratio is significantly below 1. These results indicated that giant panda had a low population genetic diversity, and an obvious purifying selection of the COX1 gene which reduces synthesis of ATP determines giant panda's low-energy bamboo diet. Phylogenetic trees based on the COX1 gene were constructed to demonstrate that giant panda is the sister group of other Ursidae. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Gating of the two-pore cation channel AtTPC1 in the plant vacuole is based on a single voltage-sensing domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaślan, D; Mueller, T D; Becker, D; Schultz, J; Cuin, T A; Marten, I; Dreyer, I; Schönknecht, G; Hedrich, R

    2016-09-01

    The two-pore cation channel TPC1 operates as a dimeric channel in animal and plant endomembranes. Each subunit consists of two homologous Shaker-like halves, with 12 transmembrane domains in total (S1-S6, S7-S12). In plants, TPC1 channels reside in the vacuolar membrane, and upon voltage stimulation, give rise to the well-known slow-activating SV currents. Here, we combined bioinformatics, structure modelling, site-directed mutagenesis, and in planta patch clamp studies to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of voltage-dependent channel gating in TPC1 in its native plant background. Structure-function analysis of the Arabidopsis TPC1 channel in planta confirmed that helix S10 operates as the major voltage-sensing site, with Glu450 and Glu478 identified as possible ion-pair partners for voltage-sensing Arg537. The contribution of helix S4 to voltage sensing was found to be negligible. Several conserved negative residues on the luminal site contribute to calcium binding, stabilizing the closed channel. During evolution of plant TPC1s from two separate Shaker-like domains, the voltage-sensing function in the N-terminal Shaker-unit (S1-S4) vanished. © 2016 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  2. Integration of Panda Workload Management System with supercomputers

    Science.gov (United States)

    De, K.; Jha, S.; Klimentov, A.; Maeno, T.; Mashinistov, R.; Nilsson, P.; Novikov, A.; Oleynik, D.; Panitkin, S.; Poyda, A.; Read, K. F.; Ryabinkin, E.; Teslyuk, A.; Velikhov, V.; Wells, J. C.; Wenaus, T.

    2016-09-01

    The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), operating at the international CERN Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, is leading Big Data driven scientific explorations. Experiments at the LHC explore the fundamental nature of matter and the basic forces that shape our universe, and were recently credited for the discovery of a Higgs boson. ATLAS, one of the largest collaborations ever assembled in the sciences, is at the forefront of research at the LHC. To address an unprecedented multi-petabyte data processing challenge, the ATLAS experiment is relying on a heterogeneous distributed computational infrastructure. The ATLAS experiment uses PanDA (Production and Data Analysis) Workload Management System for managing the workflow for all data processing on over 140 data centers. Through PanDA, ATLAS physicists see a single computing facility that enables rapid scientific breakthroughs for the experiment, even though the data centers are physically scattered all over the world. While PanDA currently uses more than 250000 cores with a peak performance of 0.3+ petaFLOPS, next LHC data taking runs will require more resources than Grid computing can possibly provide. To alleviate these challenges, LHC experiments are engaged in an ambitious program to expand the current computing model to include additional resources such as the opportunistic use of supercomputers. We will describe a project aimed at integration of PanDA WMS with supercomputers in United States, Europe and Russia (in particular with Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF), Supercomputer at the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", IT4 in Ostrava, and others). The current approach utilizes a modified PanDA pilot framework for job submission to the supercomputers batch queues and local data management, with light-weight MPI wrappers to run singlethreaded workloads in parallel on Titan's multi-core worker nodes. This implementation was tested with a variety of Monte-Carlo workloads

  3. Online software trigger at PANDA/FAIR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Donghee; Kliemt, Ralf; Nerling, Frank [Helmholtz-Institut Mainz (Germany); Denig, Achim [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Universitaet Mainz (Germany); Goetzen, Klaus; Peters, Klaus [GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung GmbH (Germany); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

    2014-07-01

    The PANDA experiment at FAIR will employ a novel trigger-less read-out system. Since a conventional hardware trigger concept is not suitable for PANDA, a high level online event filter will be applied to perform fast event selection based on physics properties of the reconstructed events. A trigger-less data stream implies an event selection with track reconstruction and pattern recognition to be performed online, and thus analysing data under real time conditions at event rates of up to 40 MHz.The projected data rate reduction of about three orders of magnitude requires an effective background rejection, while retaining interesting signal events. Real time event selection in the environment of hadronic reactions is rather challenging and relies on sophisticated algorithms for the software trigger. The implementation and the performance of physics trigger algorithms presently studied with realistic Monte Carlo simulations is discussed. The impact of parameters such as momentum or mass resolution, PID probability, vertex reconstruction and a multivariate analysis using the TMVA package for event filtering is presented.

  4. PLC-controlled cryostats for the BlackGEM and MeerLICHT detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raskin, Gert; Morren, Johan; Pessemier, Wim; Bloemen, Steven; Klein-Wolt, Marc; Roelfsema, Ronald; Groot, Paul; Aerts, Conny

    2016-08-01

    BlackGEM is an array of telescopes, currently under development at the Radboud University Nijmegen and at NOVA (Netherlands Research School for Astronomy). It targets the detection of the optical counterparts of gravitational waves. The first three BlackGEM telescopes are planned to be installed in 2018 at the La Silla observatory (Chile). A single prototype telescope, named MeerLICHT, will already be commissioned early 2017 in Sutherland (South Africa) to provide an optical complement for the MeerKAT radio array. The BlackGEM array consists of, initially, a set of three robotic 65-cm wide-field telescopes. Each telescope is equipped with a single STA1600 CCD detector with 10.5k x 10.5k 9-micron pixels that covers a 2.7 square degrees field of view. The cryostats for housing these detectors are developed and built at the KU Leuven University (Belgium). The operational model of BlackGEM requires long periods of reliable hands-off operation. Therefore, we designed the cryostats for long vacuum hold time and we make use of a closed-cycle cooling system, based on Polycold PCC Joule-Thomson coolers. A single programmable logic controller (PLC) controls the cryogenic systems of several BlackGEM telescopes simultaneously, resulting in a highly reliable, cost-efficient and maintenance-friendly system. PLC-based cryostat control offers some distinct advantages, especially for a robotic facility. Apart of temperature monitoring and control, the PLC also monitors the vacuum quality, the power supply and the status of the PCC coolers (compressor power consumption and temperature, pressure in the gas lines, etc.). Furthermore, it provides an alarming system and safe and reproducible procedures for automatic cool down and warm up. The communication between PLC and higher-level software takes place via the OPC-UA protocol, offering a simple to implement, yet very powerful interface. Finally, a touch-panel display on the PLC provides the operator with a user-friendly and robust

  5. Outbreak and genotyping of canine distemper virus in captive Siberian tigers and red pandas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, He; Shan, Fen; Zhou, Xia; Li, Bing; Zhai, Jun-Qiong; Zou, Shu-Zhan; Wu, Meng-Fan; Chen, Wu; Zhai, Shao-Lun; Luo, Man-Lin

    2017-08-15

    In this study, four canine distemper virus (CDV) strains were isolated from captive Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) and red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) during two separate CDV outbreaks in a zoo in Guangdong province, China. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analyses based on the full-length hemagglutinin (H) and fusion (F) genes showed that they were closely identical to genotype Asia-1. Prior to confirmation of CDV in Siberian tigers, to control spread of the disease, a live attenuated combination CDV vaccine was used among almost all carnivore animals except for red pandas in which another recombinant combination CDV vaccine was used. However, about two months later, CDV re-emerged and caused the death among red pandas. Based on the vaccination records, the live combination vaccine could be considered an ideal weapon against CDV in zoo carnivore animals. Although the recombinant combination CDV vaccine was safe for red pandas, its protection effectiveness remains to be further investigated. Moreover, according to the outbreak interval time and sequence characterization, we suspected that stray cats circulating in the zoo were the intermediate host, which contributed to CDV spread from stray dogs to zoo animals. This study revealed the importance of vaccination and biosecurity for zoo animals.

  6. Functional annotation from the genome sequence of the giant panda

    OpenAIRE

    Huo, Tong; Zhang, Yinjie; Lin, Jianping

    2012-01-01

    The giant panda is one of the most critically endangered species due to the fragmentation and loss of its habitat. Studying the functions of proteins in this animal, especially specific trait-related proteins, is therefore necessary to protect the species. In this work, the functions of these proteins were investigated using the genome sequence of the giant panda. Data on 21,001 proteins and their functions were stored in the Giant Panda Protein Database, in which the proteins were divided in...

  7. Evolution of the ATLAS PanDA workload management system for exascale computational science

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeno, T; Klimentov, A; Panitkin, S; Schovancova, J; Wenaus, T; Yu, D; De, K; Nilsson, P; Oleynik, D; Petrosyan, A; Vaniachine, A

    2014-01-01

    An important foundation underlying the impressive success of data processing and analysis in the ATLAS experiment [1] at the LHC [2] is the Production and Distributed Analysis (PanDA) workload management system [3]. PanDA was designed specifically for ATLAS and proved to be highly successful in meeting all the distributed computing needs of the experiment. However, the core design of PanDA is not experiment specific. The PanDA workload management system is capable of meeting the needs of other data intensive scientific applications. Alpha-Magnetic Spectrometer [4], an astro-particle experiment on the International Space Station, and the Compact Muon Solenoid [5], an LHC experiment, have successfully evaluated PanDA and are pursuing its adoption. In this paper, a description of the new program of work to develop a generic version of PanDA will be given, as well as the progress in extending PanDA's capabilities to support supercomputers and clouds and to leverage intelligent networking. PanDA has demonstrated at a very large scale the value of automated dynamic brokering of diverse workloads across distributed computing resources. The next generation of PanDA will allow other data-intensive sciences and a wider exascale community employing a variety of computing platforms to benefit from ATLAS' experience and proven tools.

  8. A micro-TCA based data acquisition system for the Triple-GEM detectors for the upgrade of the CMS forward muon spectrometer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lenzi, T.

    2017-01-01

    The Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) upgrade project aims at improving the performance of the muon spectrometer of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment which will suffer from the increase in luminosity of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The GEM collaboration proposes to instrument the first muon station with Triple-GEM detectors, a technology which has proven to be resistant to high fluxes of particles. The architecture of the readout system is based on the use of the microTCA standard hosting FPGA-based Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) and of the Versatile Link with the GBT chipset to link the on-detector electronics to the micro-TCA boards. For the front-end electronics a new ASIC, called VFAT3, is being developed. On the detector, a Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA mezzanine board, called the OptoHybrid, has to collect the data from 24 VFAT3s and to transmit the data optically to the off-detector micro-TCA electronics, as well as to transmit the trigger data at 40 MHz to the CMS Cathode Strip Chamber (CSC) trigger. The microTCA electronics provides the interfaces from the detector (and front-end electronics) to the CMS DAQ, TTC (Timing, Trigger and Control) and Trigger systems. In this paper, we will describe the DAQ system of the Triple-GEM project and provide results from the latest test beam campaigns done at CERN.

  9. GPU implementations of online track finding algorithms at PANDA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herten, Andreas; Stockmanns, Tobias; Ritman, James [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (Germany); Adinetz, Andrew; Pleiter, Dirk [Juelich Supercomputing Centre, Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (Germany); Kraus, Jiri [NVIDIA GmbH (Germany); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

    2014-07-01

    The PANDA experiment is a hadron physics experiment that will investigate antiproton annihilation in the charm quark mass region. The experiment is now being constructed as one of the main parts of the FAIR facility. At an event rate of 2 . 10{sup 7}/s a data rate of 200 GB/s is expected. A reduction of three orders of magnitude is required in order to save the data for further offline analysis. Since signal and background processes at PANDA have similar signatures, no hardware-level trigger is foreseen for the experiment. Instead, a fast online event filter is substituting this element. We investigate the possibility of using graphics processing units (GPUs) for the online tracking part of this task. Researched algorithms are a Hough Transform, a track finder involving Riemann surfaces, and the novel, PANDA-specific Triplet Finder. This talk shows selected advances in the implementations as well as performance evaluations of the GPU tracking algorithms to be used at the PANDA experiment.

  10. The Future of PanDA in ATLAS Distributed Computing

    CERN Document Server

    De, Kaushik; The ATLAS collaboration; Maeno, Tadashi; Nilsson, Paul; Oleynik, Danila; Panitkin, Sergey; Petrosyan, Artem; Schovancova, Jaroslava; Vaniachine, Alexandre; Wenaus, Torre

    2015-01-01

    Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) face unprecedented computing challenges. Heterogeneous resources are distributed worldwide at hundreds of sites, thousands of physicists analyze the data remotely, the volume of processed data is beyond the exabyte scale, while data processing requires more than a few billion hours of computing usage per year. The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) system was developed to meet the scale and complexity of LHC distributed computing for the ATLAS experiment. In the process, the old batch job paradigm of locally managed computing in HEP was discarded in favor of a far more automated, flexible and scalable model. The success of PanDA in ATLAS is leading to widespread adoption and testing by other experiments. PanDA is the first exascale workload management system in HEP, already operating at more than a million computing jobs per day, and processing over an exabyte of data in 2013. There are many new challenges that PanDA will face in the near future, in addi...

  11. Gravity model improvement using GEOS-3 (GEM 9 and 10)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lerch, F. J.; Klosko, S. M.; Laubscher, R. E.; Wagner, C. A.

    1977-01-01

    The use of collocation permitted GEM 9 to be a larger field than previous derived satellite models, GEM 9 having harmonics complete to 20 x 20 with selected higher degree terms. The satellite data set has approximately 840,000 observations, of which 200,000 are laser ranges taken on 9 satellites equipped with retroreflectors. GEM 10 is complete to 22 x 22 with selected higher degree terms out to degree and order 30 amounting to a total of 592 coefficients. Comparisons with surface gravity and altimeter data indicate a substantial improvement in GEM 9 over previous satellite solutions; GEM 9 is in even closer agreement with surface data than the previously published GEM 6 solution which contained surface gravity. In particular the free air gravity anomalies calculated from GEM 9 and a surface gravity solution are in excellent agreement for the high degree terms.

  12. LWR containment safety research in PANDA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paladino, D.; Huggenberger, M.; Andreani, M.; Gupta, S.; Guentay, S.; Dreier, J.; Prasser, H.

    2008-01-01

    In the frame of the OECD/SETH-2 project, an experimental program is being carried out at PSI (PANDA Facility in Switzerland) and CEA (MISTRA Facility in France) with the aim of generating high-quality experimental data which will be used for improving modeling and for Lumped Parameter and 3D (CFD) code validations. The PANDA test program consists of seven types of test series, focusing on gas stratification break-up induced b) mass sources (simulating the release of steam and hydrogen), heat sources (simulating the energy) generated hydrogen-oxygen recombiner operation) or heat sinks (due to condensation of steam caused by containment coolers, sprays or 'cold' walls). Two series of PANDA tests are devoted to obtaining detailed data on the integral behavior of Passive Containment Cooling Systems (PCCS) of Advanced Light Water Reactors (ALWR) in the presence of different non-condensable gases (air; hydrogen) and also to investigating the gas mixing and stratification induced by the sudden interconnection of compartments with large gas concentration differences, e.g. the opening of rupture disks. (authors)

  13. PD2P : PanDA Dynamic Data Placement for ATLAS

    OpenAIRE

    Maeno, T; De, K; Panitkin, S

    2012-01-01

    The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) system plays a key role in the ATLAS distributed computing infrastructure. PanDA is the ATLAS workload management system for processing all Monte-Carlo (MC) simulation and data reprocessing jobs in addition to user and group analysis jobs. The PanDA Dynamic Data Placement (PD2P) system has been developed to cope with difficulties of data placement for ATLAS. We will describe the design of the new system, its performance during the past year of d...

  14. Optimizing new components of PanDA for ATLAS production on HPC resources

    CERN Document Server

    Maeno, Tadashi; The ATLAS collaboration

    2017-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis system (PanDA) has been used for workload management in the ATLAS Experiment for over a decade. It uses pilots to retrieve jobs from the PanDA server and execute them on worker nodes. While PanDA has been mostly used on Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) resources for production operations, R&D work has been ongoing on cloud and HPC resources for many years. These efforts have led to the significant usage of large scale HPC resources in the past couple of years. In this talk we will describe the changes to the pilot which enabled the use of HPC sites by PanDA, specifically the Titan supercomputer at Oakridge National Laboratory. Furthermore, it was decided in 2016 to start a fresh redesign of the Pilot with a more modern approach to better serve present and future needs from ATLAS and other collaborations that are interested in using the PanDA System. Another new project for development of a resource oriented service, PanDA Harvester, was also launched in 2016. The...

  15. GEM Detectors in the Experiments at e+e- Colliders in BINP

    CERN Document Server

    Maltsev, T V

    2017-01-01

    Micro-pattern gaseous detectors possess a high spatial resolution in tens micron scale together with high rate capability up to 107 cm-2s-1. In addition, they have all advantages of gaseous detectors, such as relatively low costs per unit area, the possibility to equip a large area as well as a high uniformity. Cascaded Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) based detectors are used in the collider experiments at Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (BINP), and they are being developed for a number of new projects. In this article the review of GEM based detectors for the tagging system of the KEDR experiment at the VEPP-4M collider and for the DEUTERON facility at the VEPP-3 storage ring is presented. The GEM detector application of the CMD-3 detector upgrade at the VEPP-2000 collider and the Super τ Factory detector are discussed.

  16. ROLE OF GEMS IN INDIAN MEDICINE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murthy, S.R.N.

    1991-01-01

    This paper is the first attempt in introducing the medicinal importance of gems as found in the Sanskrit text ‘Rasaratnasamuccaya’, which has been rendered an English translation here. The modern physicians and gemologists will find this study quite useful in continuing research and, thus, develop a new field of gem medicine. PMID:22556526

  17. Noise Characterization and Filtering in the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon TPC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Acciarri, R.; et al.

    2017-05-20

    The low-noise operation of readout electronics in a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) is critical to properly extract the distribution of ionization charge deposited on the wire planes of the TPC, especially for the induction planes. This paper describes the characteristics and mitigation of the observed noise in the MicroBooNE detector. The MicroBooNE's single-phase LArTPC comprises two induction planes and one collection sense wire plane with a total of 8256 wires. Current induced on each TPC wire is amplified and shaped by custom low-power, low-noise ASICs immersed in the liquid argon. The digitization of the signal waveform occurs outside the cryostat. Using data from the first year of MicroBooNE operations, several excess noise sources in the TPC were identified and mitigated. The residual equivalent noise charge (ENC) after noise filtering varies with wire length and is found to be below 400 electrons for the longest wires (4.7 m). The response is consistent with the cold electronics design expectations and is found to be stable with time and uniform over the functioning channels. This noise level is significantly lower than previous experiments utilizing warm front-end electronics.

  18. Long noncoding RNA PANDA and scaffold-attachment-factor SAFA control senescence entry and exit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puvvula, Pavan Kumar; Desetty, Rohini Devi; Pineau, Pascal; Marchio, Agnés; Moon, Anne; Dejean, Anne; Bischof, Oliver

    2014-11-19

    Cellular senescence is a stable cell cycle arrest that limits the proliferation of pre-cancerous cells. Here we demonstrate that scaffold-attachment-factor A (SAFA) and the long noncoding RNA PANDA differentially interact with polycomb repressive complexes (PRC1 and PRC2) and the transcription factor NF-YA to either promote or suppress senescence. In proliferating cells, SAFA and PANDA recruit PRC complexes to repress the transcription of senescence-promoting genes. Conversely, the loss of SAFA-PANDA-PRC interactions allows expression of the senescence programme. Accordingly, we find that depleting either SAFA or PANDA in proliferating cells induces senescence. However, in senescent cells where PANDA sequesters transcription factor NF-YA and limits the expression of NF-YA-E2F-coregulated proliferation-promoting genes, PANDA depletion leads to an exit from senescence. Together, our results demonstrate that PANDA confines cells to their existing proliferative state and that modulating its level of expression can cause entry or exit from senescence.

  19. The ψ(4040) at the future PANDA experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zotti, L; Marcello, S; Spataro, S; Filippi, A

    2014-01-01

    The PANDA experiment will be carried out at the future FAIR facility, it will be a fixed target experiment, where antiproton beams, of unprecedented quality and intensity, will be used to study interactions on protons and on nuclei. PANDA will be an excellent tool to investigate those final states which include short-lived particles. Since different charmonium states can be accessed in direct formation with all the available quantum numbers in p-bar p annihilations, the charmonium spectroscopy is one of the main goal of the experiment. The PANDA experiment represents a unique possibility to improve both statistics and precision of existing data and to further explore the physics in the charm quark sector. Indeed, an energy scan with high precision over the full charm spectrum is still missing and it will not be delivered by future experiments currently planned as upgrade of the existing facilities. A detailed description of the possibility to reconstruct the ψ(4040) → D *+ D *− at PANDA, together with the study of the huge hadronic background suppression will be presented. The importance of the Micro-Vertex Detector for the reconstruction of D mesons decay will be showed.

  20. Some TPC measurements in an oxygen beam at the AGS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Love, W.A.; Etkin, A.; Foley, K.J.; Hackenburg, R.W.; Longacre, R.S.; Morris, T.W.; Platner, E.D.; Saulys, A.C.; Bonner, B.E.; Buchanan, J.A.; Chiou, C.N.; Clement, J.M.; Corcoran, M.D.; Krishna, N.; Kruk, J.W.; Miettinen, H.E.; Mutchler, G.S.; Nessi-Tedaldi, F.; Nessi, M.; Phillips, G.C.; Roberts, J.B.; Chan, C.S.; Kramer, M.A.; Hallman, T.J.; Madansky, L.; Lindenbaum, S.J.

    1989-01-01

    The principal detector for AGS Experiment 810 is a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) in which it is intended to measure momenta and angles of a major fraction of the charged particles from each light ion collision. This report describes the results of a test of a prototype of the TPC in a beam of (14.6x16=233.6 GeV/c) oxygen ions run in June of this year. (orig.)

  1. Online and Offline Pattern Recognition in PANDA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boca Gianluigi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available PANDA is one of the four experiments that will run at the new facility FAIR that is being built in Darmstadt, Germany. It is a fixed target experiment: a beam of antiprotons collides on a jet proton target (the maximum center of mass energy is 5.46 GeV. The interaction rate at the startup will be 2MHz with the goal of reaching 20MHz at full luminosity. The beam of antiprotons will be essentially continuous. PANDA will have NO hardware trigger but only a software trigger, to allow for maximum flexibility in the physics program. All those characteristics are severe challenges for the reconstruction code that 1 must be fast, since it has to be validated up to 20MHz interaction rate; 2 must be able to reject fake tracks caused by the remnant hits, belonging to previous or later events in some slow detectors, for example the straw tubes in the central region. The Pattern Recognition (PR of PANDA will have to run both online to achieve a first fast selection, and offline, at lower rate, for a more refined selection. In PANDA the PR code is continuously evolving; this contribution shows the present status. I will give an overview of three examples of PR following different strategies and/or implemented on different hardware (FPGA, GPUs, CPUs and, when available, I will report the performances.

  2. Online and Offline Pattern Recognition in PANDA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boca, Gianluigi

    2016-11-01

    PANDA is one of the four experiments that will run at the new facility FAIR that is being built in Darmstadt, Germany. It is a fixed target experiment: a beam of antiprotons collides on a jet proton target (the maximum center of mass energy is 5.46 GeV). The interaction rate at the startup will be 2MHz with the goal of reaching 20MHz at full luminosity. The beam of antiprotons will be essentially continuous. PANDA will have NO hardware trigger but only a software trigger, to allow for maximum flexibility in the physics program. All those characteristics are severe challenges for the reconstruction code that 1) must be fast, since it has to be validated up to 20MHz interaction rate; 2) must be able to reject fake tracks caused by the remnant hits, belonging to previous or later events in some slow detectors, for example the straw tubes in the central region. The Pattern Recognition (PR) of PANDA will have to run both online to achieve a first fast selection, and offline, at lower rate, for a more refined selection. In PANDA the PR code is continuously evolving; this contribution shows the present status. I will give an overview of three examples of PR following different strategies and/or implemented on different hardware (FPGA, GPUs, CPUs) and, when available, I will report the performances.

  3. Progress on the superconducting magnet for the time projection chamber experiment (TPC) at PEP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Green, M.A.; Eberhard, P.H.; Burns, W.A.

    1980-01-01

    The TPC (Time Projection Chamber) experiment at PEP will have a two meter inside diameter superconducting magnet which creatests a 1.5 T uniform solenoidal field for the TPC. The superconducting magnet coil, cryostat, cooling system, and the TPC gas pressure vessel (which operatests at 11 atm) were designed to be about two thirds of a radiation length thick. As a result, a high current density coil design was chosen. The magnet is cooled by forced flow two phase helium. The TPC magnet is the largest adiabatically stable superconducting magnet built to date. The paper presents the parameters of the TPC thin solenoid and its subsystems. Tests results from the Spring 1980 cryogenic tes are presented. The topics to be dealt with in the paper are cryogenic services and the tests of magnet subsystems such as the folded current leads. Large thin superconducting magnet technology will be important to large detectors to be used on LEP

  4. Mesons, PANDA and the scalar glueball

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parganlija, Denis

    2014-01-01

    The non-perturbative nature of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) at low energies has prompted the expectation that the gauge-bosons of QCD – gluons – might give rise to compound objects denoted as glueballs. Experimental signals for glueballs have represented a matter of research for various collaborations in the last decades; future research in this direction is a main endeavour planned by the PANDA Collaboration at FAIR. Hence in this article I review some of the outstanding issues in the glueball search, particularly with regard to the ground state – the scalar glueball, and discuss the relevance for PANDA at FAIR.

  5. ATLAS World-cloud and networking in PanDA

    CERN Document Server

    Barreiro Megino, Fernando Harald; The ATLAS collaboration; De, Kaushik; Di Girolamo, Alessandro; Walker, Rodney

    2016-01-01

    The ATLAS computing model was originally designed as static clouds (usually national or geographical groupings of sites) around the Tier 1 centers, which confined tasks and most of the data traffic. Since those early days, the sites' network bandwidth has increased at O(1000) and the difference in functionalities between Tier 1s and Tier 2s has reduced. After years of manual, intermediate solutions, we have now ramped up to full usage of World-cloud, the latest step in the PanDA Workload Management System to increase resource utilization on the ATLAS Grid, for all workflows (MC production, data (re)processing, etc.). We have based the development on two new site concepts. Nuclei sites are the Tier 1s and large Tier 2s, where tasks will be assigned and the output aggregated, and satellites are the sites that will execute the jobs and send the output to their nucleus. Nuclei and satellite sites are dynamically paired by PanDA for each task based on the input data availability, capability matching, site load and...

  6. ATLAS WORLD-cloud and networking in PanDA

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)643806; The ATLAS collaboration; De, Kaushik; Di Girolamo, Alessandro; Maeno, Tadashi; Walker, Rodney

    2017-01-01

    The ATLAS computing model was originally designed as static clouds (usually national or geographical groupings of sites) around the Tier 1 centres, which confined tasks and most of the data traffic. Since those early days, the sites' network bandwidth has increased at 0(1000) and the difference in functionalities between Tier 1s and Tier 2s has reduced. After years of manual, intermediate solutions, we have now ramped up to full usage of World-cloud, the latest step in the PanDA Workload Management System to increase resource utilization on the ATLAS Grid, for all workflows (MC production, data (re)processing, etc.). We have based the development on two new site concepts. Nuclei sites are the Tier 1s and large Tier 2s, where tasks will be assigned and the output aggregated, and satellites are the sites that will execute the jobs and send the output to their nucleus. PanDA dynamically pairs nuclei and satellite sites for each task based on the input data availability, capability matching, site load and network...

  7. Evolution of the ATLAS PanDA Workload Management System for Exascale Computational Science

    OpenAIRE

    Maeno, T; De, K; Klimentov, A; Nilsson, P; Oleynik, D; Panitkin, S; Petrosyan, A; Schovancova, J; Vaniachine, A; Wenaus, T; Yu, D

    2013-01-01

    An important foundation underlying the impressive success of data processing and analysis in the ATLAS experiment [1] at the LHC [2] is the Production and Distributed Analysis (PanDA) workload management system [3]. PanDA was designed specifically for ATLAS and proved to be highly successful in meeting all the distributed computing needs of the experiment. However, the core design of PanDA is not experiment specific. The PanDA workload management system is capable of meeting the needs of othe...

  8. Tests and developments of the PANDA Endcap Disc DIRC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Etzelmüller, E.; Belias, A.; Dzhygadlo, R.; Gerhardt, A.; Götzen, K.; Kalicy, G.; Krebs, M.; Lehmann, D.; Nerling, F.; Patsyuk, M.; Peters, K.; Schepers, G.; Schmitt, L.; Schwarz, C.; Schwiening, J.; Traxler, M.; Zühlsdorf, M.; Britting, A.; Eyrich, W.; Lehmann, A.

    2016-01-01

    The PANDA experiment at the future Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) requires excellent particle identification. Two different DIRC detectors will utilize internally reflected Cherenkov light of charged particles to enable the separation of pions and kaons up to momenta of 4 GeV/c. The Endcap Disc DIRC will be placed in the forward endcap of PANDA's central spectrometer covering polar angles between 5° and 22°. Its final design is based on MCP-PMTs for the photon detection and an optical system made of fused silica. A new prototype has been investigated during a test beam at CERN in May 2015 and first results will be presented. In addition a new synthetic fused silica material by Nikon has been tested and was found to be radiation hard.

  9. SUPERCOLLIDER: A GEM of a detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1993-01-01

    Now being prepared as a major experimental facility for the 87- kilometre Superconducting Supercollider (SSC) being built in Ellis County, Texas, is the GEM detector project. GEM thus becomes the companion to the Solenoidal Detector Collaboration (SDC), the first major SSC detector to emerge (March 1992, page 13). This is in keeping with the SSC Laboratory's aim of two major detectors with overlapping and complementary strengths. GEM is designed to observe all SSC signatures, with emphasis on precise measurement of electrons, photons and muons. Hence the name GEM - ''Gammas, Electrons and Muons.'' Design goals are clean signatures for leptons, jets, and missing transverse energy, maximum sensitivity to narrow resonances, and low backgrounds. Also important is maintaining significant capability at high luminosity (10 34 cm -2 s -1 ). GEM has some distinctive features. A key concept is the exterior magnet, surrounding all detector elements. Inside the magnet are a muon tracking system, a precision calorimeter, and a compact central tracker. This allows the muon momentum to be measured the air of the radiation shielded area outside the thick calorimeter, giving both high precision and robustness at high luminosity. A large magnet gives a large lever arm (at least 4 m) for precise muon momentum measurement. Placing the magnet outside also minimizes the material between tracker and calorimeters, so that the calorimeters are limited only by their inherent resolutions

  10. B N Panda

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics. B N Panda. Articles written in Pramana – Journal of Physics. Volume 77 Issue 4 October 2011 pp 715-726 Research Articles. Effect of hybridization and dispersion of quasiparticles on the coexistent state of superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in Ni2B2C · B K Sahoo ...

  11. Strange particle measurements from the EOS TPC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Justice, M.

    1995-02-01

    A high statistics sample of Λ's produced in 2 GeV/nucleon 5 8Ni + nat Cu collisions has been obtained with the EOS Time Projection Chamber at the Bevalac. The coverage of the EOS TPC is essentially 100% for y > y cm and extends down to P T = 0 where interesting effects such as collective radial expansion may be important. In addition, the detection of a majority of the charged particles in the TPC, along with the presence of directed flow for protons and heavier fragments at this beam energy, allows for the correlation of A production with respect to the event reaction plane. Our preliminary analysis indicates the first observation of a sidewards flow signature for A's. Comparisons with the cascade code ARC are made

  12. Is Kyoto Fatally Flawed? An Analysis with MacGEM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eyckmans, J.; Van Regemorter, D.; Van Steenberghe, V.

    2002-06-01

    In this paper we present some numerical simulations with the MacGEM model to evaluate the consequences of the recent Marrakesh agreements and the defection of the USA for the Kyoto Protocol. MacGEM is a global marginal abatement cost model for carbon emissions from fossil fuel use based on the GEM-E3-World general equilibrium. Nonparticipation of the USA causes the equilibrium carbon price in Annex B countries to fall by approximately 50% since an important share of permit demand falls out. Carbon sinks enhancement activities enable Parties to fulfil their reduction commitment at lower compliance costs and cause the equilibrium permit price to decrease by 40%. Finally, it is shown that the former Soviet Union and central European countries have substantial monopoly power in the Kyoto carbon permit market. We conclude that the recent accords have eroded completely the Kyoto Protocol's emission targets but that they have the merit to have saved the international climate change negotiation framework

  13. Fatal Toxoplasma gondii infection in the giant panda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Toxoplasma gondii can infect nearly all warm-blooded animals. We report an acute fatal T. gondii infection in the endangered giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca in a zoo in China, characterized by acute gastroenteritis and respiratory symptoms. T. gondii infection was confirmed by immunological and molecular methods. Multilocus nested PCR-RFLP revealed clonal type I at the SAG1 and c29-2 loci, clonal type II at the SAG2, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, and L358 loci, and clonal type III at the alternative SAG2 and SAG3 loci, thus, a potential new genotype of T. gondii in the giant panda. Other possible pathogens were not detected. To our knowledge, this is the first report of clinical toxoplasmosis in a giant panda.

  14. Analysis of activation yields by INC/GEM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Furihata, Shiori; Nakashima, Hiroshi

    2001-01-01

    Excitation functions of the nuclides produced from the reaction on nitrogen and oxygen target irradiated by nucleons are analyzed using INC/GEM. It is shown that INC/GEM reproduces most of the cross sections within a factor of two to three. (author)

  15. A free-volume modification of GEM-QC to correlate VLE and LLE in polymer solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Radfarnia, H.R.; Taghikhani, V.; Ghotbi, C.; Khoshkbarchi, M.K.

    2004-01-01

    The generalized quasi-chemical (GEM-QC) model proposed by Wang and Vera is modified to correlate better the phase equilibrium and to overcome the shortcoming of the original model to predict the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of binary polymer solutions. This shortcoming is mainly because the GEM-QC model does not consider the effect of free-volume, which is important in systems containing molecules with large size differences. The proposed modification is based on replacing the combinatorial term of the GEM-QC model by a term proposed by Kontogerogis et al., which includes the effect of the free-volume. The main advantage of the free volume generalized quasi-chemical (GEM-QC-FV) model over the original GEM-QC is its ability to predict the phase behaviour of binary polymer solutions with LCST behaviour. In addition, the free volume UNIQUAC (UNIQUAC-FV) model is used to correlate VLE and LLE experimental data for binary polymer solutions. The comparison of the results obtained from the GEM-QC-FV model and the UNIQUAC-FV model shows the superiority of the GEM-QC-FV model in correlating the VLE and LLE experimental data for binary polymer solutions

  16. Formation of double-{Lambda} hypernuclei at PANDA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gaitanos, T., E-mail: Theodoros.Gaitanos@theo.physik.uni-giessen.de [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Universitaet Giessen, D-35392, Giessen (Germany); Larionov, A.B.; Lenske, H.; Mosel, U. [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Universitaet Giessen, D-35392, Giessen (Germany)

    2012-05-01

    We study the formation of single- and double-{Lambda} hypernuclei in antiproton-induced reactions relevant for the forthcoming PANDA experiment at FAIR. We use the Giessen Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (GiBUU) transport model with relativistic mean-fields for the description of non-equilibrium dynamics and the statistical multifragmentation model (SMM) for fragment formation. This combined approach describes the dynamical properties of strangeness and fragments in low energy p{sup Macron}-induced reactions fairly well. We then focus on the formation of double-{Lambda} hypernuclei in high energy p{sup Macron}-nucleus collisions on a primary target including the complementary {Xi}-induced reactions to a secondary one, as proposed by the PANDA Collaboration. Our results show that a copious production of double-{Lambda} hyperfragments is possible at PANDA. In particular, we provide first theoretical estimations on the double-{Lambda} production cross section, which strongly rises with decreasing energy of the secondary {Xi}-beam.

  17. Complete Tem-Tomography: 3D Structure of Gems Cluster

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuno, J.; Miyake, A.; Tsuchiyama, A.; Messenger, S.; Nakamura-Messenger, K.

    2015-01-01

    GEMS (glass with embedded metal and sulfide) grains in interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) are considered to be one of the ubiquitous and fundamental building blocks of solids in the Solar System. They have been considered to be interstellar silicate dust that survived various metamorphism or alteration processes in the protoplanetary disk but the elemental and isotopic composition measurements suggest that most of them have been formed in the protoplanetary disk as condensates from high temperature gas. This formation model is also supported by the formation of GEMS-like grains with respect to the size, mineral assemblage, texture and infrared spectrum by condensation experiments from mean GEMS composition materials. Previous GEMS studies were performed only with 2D observation by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or scanning TEM (STEM). However, the 3D shape and structure of GEMS grains and the spatial distribution of Fe/FeS's has critical information about their formation and origin. Recently, the 3D structure of GEMS grains in ultrathin sections of cluster IDPs was revealed by electron tomography using a TEM/STEM (JEM-2100F, JEOL). However, CT images of thin sections mounted on Cu grids acquired by conventional TEM-tomography are limited to low tilt angles (e. g., less than absolute value of 75 deg. In fact, previous 3D TEM observations of GEMS were affected by some artifacts related to the limited tilt range in the TEM used. Complete tomographic images should be acquired by rotating the sample tilt angle over a range of more than absolute value of 80 deg otherwise the CT images lose their correct structures. In order to constrain the origin and formation process of GEMS grains more clearly, we performed complete electron tomography for GEMS grains. Here we report the sample preparation method we have developed for this study, and the preliminary results.

  18. RADIOGRAPHIC THORACIC ANATOMY OF THE RED PANDA (AILURUS FULGENS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makungu, Modesta; du Plessis, Wencke M; Barrows, Michelle; Groenewald, Hermanus B; Koeppel, Katja N

    2016-09-01

    The red panda ( Ailurus fulgens ) is classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The natural distribution of the red panda is in the Himalayas and southern China. Thoracic diseases such as dirofilariasis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, tracheal obstruction, lung worm infestation, and pneumonia have been reported in the red panda. The aim of this study was to describe the normal radiographic thoracic anatomy of captive red pandas as a species-specific reference for routine health examinations and clinical cases. Right lateral (RL) and dorsoventral (DV) inspiratory phase views of the thorax were obtained in 11 adult captive red pandas. Measurements were made and ratios calculated to establish reference ranges for the mean vertebral heart score on the RL (8.34 ± 0.25) and DV (8.78 ± 0.34) views and the mean ratios of the caudal vena cava diameter to the vertebral body length above tracheal bifurcation (0.67 ± 0.05) and tracheal diameter to the width of the third rib (2.75 ± 0.24). The majority of animals (10/11) had 14 thoracic vertebrae, except for one animal that had 15 thoracic vertebrae. Rudimentary clavicles were seen in 3/11 animals. The ovoid, oblique cardiac silhouette was more horizontally positioned and elongated in older animals. A redundant aortic arch was seen in the oldest animal. The trachea was seen with mineralized cartilage rings in all animals. The carina was clearly seen in the majority of animals (10/11). Variations exist in the normal radiographic thoracic anatomy of different species. Knowledge of the normal radiographic thoracic anatomy of the red panda should prove useful for routine health examinations and in the diagnosis of thoracic diseases.

  19. Self-Evaluation of PANDA-FBG Based Sensing System for Dynamic Distributed Strain and Temperature Measurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Mengshi; Murayama, Hideaki; Wada, Daichi

    2017-10-12

    A novel method is introduced in this work for effectively evaluating the performance of the PANDA type polarization-maintaining fiber Bragg grating (PANDA-FBG) distributed dynamic strain and temperature sensing system. Conventionally, the errors during the measurement are unknown or evaluated by using other sensors such as strain gauge and thermocouples. This will make the sensing system complicated and decrease the efficiency since more than one kind of sensor is applied for the same measurand. In this study, we used the approximately constant ratio of primary errors in strain and temperature measurement and realized the self-evaluation of the sensing system, which can significantly enhance the applicability, as well as the reliability in strategy making.

  20. The PANDA experiment at FAIR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bussa, M.P.

    2005-01-01

    The approved FAIR upgrade of the GSI facility in Darmstadt, Germany, includes the construction of a High Energy Storage Ring (HESR) for high intensity, phase space cooled antiprotons with momenta up to 15 GeV/c. A wide physics program is planned at this facility to investigate fundamental questions of hadron and nuclear physics in interactions of antiprotons with nucleons and nuclei. To serve the many experiments planned at this new facility, an universal, modular, hermetic spectrometer called PANDA (Proton ANtiproton Detector Array) is planned. This talk presents an overview of the physics program pursued by this project and of the PANDA detector system. The feasibility of measurements in the sector of spin degrees of freedom of quarks will be also discussed. (author)

  1. Free electron lifetime achievements in Liquid Argon Imaging TPC

    CERN Document Server

    Baibussinov, B; Calligarich, E; Centro, S; Cieslik, K; Farnese, C; Fava, A; Gibin, D; Guglielmi, A; Meng, G; Pietropaolo, F; Rubbia, C; Varanini, F; Ventura, S

    2010-01-01

    A key feature for the success of the Liquid Argon TPC technology is the industrial purification against electro-negative impurities, especially Oxygen and Nitrogen remnants, which have to be initially and continuously kept at an exceptional purity. New purification techniques have been applied to a 120 litres LAr-TPC test facility in the INFN-LNL laboratory. Through-going muon tracks have been used to monitor the LAr purity. The short path length used (30 cm) is compensated by the high accuracy in the observation of the specific ionization of cosmic rays muons at sea level. A free electron lifetime of (21.4+7.3-4.3) ms, namely > 15.8 ms at 90 % C.L. has been observed under stable conditions over several weeks, corresponding to about 15 ppt (part per trillion) of Oxygen equivalent. At 500 V/cm, where the electron speed is approximately of 1.5 mm/us, the free electron lifetime >15 ms corresponds to an attenuation <15 % for a drift path of 5 m, opening the way to reliable operation of LAr TPC for exceptionall...

  2. Giant panda foraging and movement patterns in response to bamboo shoot growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Mingchun; Zhang, Zhizhong; Li, Zhong; Hong, Mingsheng; Zhou, Xiaoping; Zhou, Shiqiang; Zhang, Jindong; Hull, Vanessa; Huang, Jinyan; Zhang, Hemin

    2018-03-01

    Diet plays a pivotal role in dictating behavioral patterns of herbivorous animals, particularly specialist species. The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is well-known as a bamboo specialist. In the present study, the response of giant pandas to spatiotemporal variation of bamboo shoots was explored using field surveys and GPS collar tracking. Results show the dynamics in panda-bamboo space-time relationships that have not been previously articulated. For instance, we found a higher bamboo stump height of foraged bamboo with increasing elevation, places where pandas foraged later in spring when bamboo shoots become more fibrous and woody. The time required for shoots to reach optimum height for foraging was significantly delayed as elevation increased, a pattern which corresponded with panda elevational migration patterns beginning from the lower elevational end of Fargesia robusta distribution and gradually shifting upward until the end of the shooting season. These results indicate that giant pandas can respond to spatiotemporal variation of bamboo resources, such as available shoots. Anthropogenic interference of low-elevation F. robusta habitat should be mitigated, and conservation attention and increased monitoring should be given to F. robusta areas at the low- and mid-elevation ranges, particularly in the spring shooting season.

  3. Canine distemper viral infection threatens the giant panda population in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Yipeng; Zhang, Xinke; Ma, Yisheng; Qiao, Yanchao; Liu, Xiaobin; Zhao, Kaihui; Zhang, Chenglin; Lin, Degui; Fu, Xuelian; Xu, Xinrong; Wang, Yiwei; Wang, Huanan

    2017-01-01

    We evaluated exposure to canine distemper virus (CDV) in eight wild giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and 125 unvaccinated domestic dogs living in and around Foping National Nature Reserve (FNNR), China. Seventy-two percent of unvaccinated domestic dogs (mixed breed) had neutralizing antibodies for CDV due to exposure to the disease. The eight wild giant pandas were naïve to CDV and carried no positive antibody titer. RT-PCR assays for hemagglutinin (H) gene confirmed the presence of CDV in 31 clinically ill dogs from several areas near FNNR. Genomic sequence analysis showed that the 21 canine CDV were highly homologous to each other and belonged to the Asian-1 genotype. They showed high homology with the GP01 strain sequenced from a fatally infected giant panda, suggesting cross-species infection. Observational and GPS tracking data revealed home range overlap in pandas and dogs around FNNR. This study shows that CDV is endemic in domestic dogs near FNNR and that cross-species CDV infection threatens the wild giant panda population. PMID:29371956

  4. Canine distemper viral infection threatens the giant panda population in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Yipeng; Zhang, Xinke; Ma, Yisheng; Qiao, Yanchao; Liu, Xiaobin; Zhao, Kaihui; Zhang, Chenglin; Lin, Degui; Fu, Xuelian; Xu, Xinrong; Wang, Yiwei; Wang, Huanan

    2017-12-26

    We evaluated exposure to canine distemper virus (CDV) in eight wild giant pandas ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca ) and 125 unvaccinated domestic dogs living in and around Foping National Nature Reserve (FNNR), China. Seventy-two percent of unvaccinated domestic dogs (mixed breed) had neutralizing antibodies for CDV due to exposure to the disease. The eight wild giant pandas were naïve to CDV and carried no positive antibody titer. RT-PCR assays for hemagglutinin ( H ) gene confirmed the presence of CDV in 31 clinically ill dogs from several areas near FNNR. Genomic sequence analysis showed that the 21 canine CDV were highly homologous to each other and belonged to the Asian-1 genotype. They showed high homology with the GP01 strain sequenced from a fatally infected giant panda, suggesting cross-species infection. Observational and GPS tracking data revealed home range overlap in pandas and dogs around FNNR. This study shows that CDV is endemic in domestic dogs near FNNR and that cross-species CDV infection threatens the wild giant panda population.

  5. Permanent Advisory Network for Diseases in Aquaculture (PANDA)

    OpenAIRE

    Arzul, Isabelle; Ariel, E.; Hill, B.

    2005-01-01

    The PANDA project aims to establish a permanent network of aquatic animal health specialists (researchers and diagnosticians) to provide a forum for the debate of issues concerning diseases in European aquaculture, and to communicate the results of these discussions to the European Commission with provision of advice on EU policy and legislation for aquatic animal health. PANDA consists of five scientific work packages: risk analysis, epidemiology, diagnosis, environmentally safe strategies f...

  6. Changes of foraging patch selection and utilization by a giant panda after bamboo flowering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Guochun; Song, Huadong; Altigani, Latifa A A; Zheng, Xueli; Bu, Shuhai

    2017-07-01

    The bamboo flowering leads to the habitat fragmentation and food quality decline of a giant panda. Few empirical research has been conducted about the giant panda's response to the bamboo flowering. Here, we investigated the characteristics of bamboo stands, giant panda's activity, and selection and utilization of bamboo stands by giant panda in Taibaishan National Nature Reserve, China, over a 3-year period (September 2013-May 2016) during the Fargesia qinlingensis flowering period. Our results indicated that the proportion of whole bamboo stands flowering has gradually expanded from 26.7% in 2013 and 33.9% in 2014 to 52.3% in 2015. Although the flowering bamboo has lower crude protein and higher crude fiber than a non-flowering bamboo, the giant panda still fed on flowering bamboo from the evidence of droppings. The giant panda left its feeding sites and moved to the high elevation along river when the proportion of flowering reached 69.2% at elevation of 2350-2450 m in the third year. With the decline of the quality of bamboo stand of Fargesia qinlingensis, the giant panda abandoned its feeding sites when the threshold value of bamboo flowering reached 56.9-69.2%. Flexibility in foraging strategy and spatial behavior can help the giant panda to better adapt to the environment.

  7. MOLECULAR CLONING, SEQUENCING, EXPRESSION AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF GIANT PANDA (AILUROPODA MELANOLEUCA) INTERFERON-GAMMA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Hui; Wang, Wen-Xiu; Wang, Bao-Qin; Zhu, Xiao-Fu; Wu, Xu-Jin; Ma, Qing-Yi; Chen, De-Kun

    2012-06-29

    The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is an endangered species and indigenous to China. Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) is the only member of type □ IFN and is vital for the regulation of host adapted immunity and inflammatory response. Little is known aboutthe FN-γ gene and its roles in giant panda.In this study, IFN-γ gene of Qinling giant panda was amplified from total blood RNA by RT-CPR, cloned, sequenced and analysed. The open reading frame (ORF) of Qinling giant panda IFN-γ encodes 152 amino acidsand is highly similar to Sichuan giant panda with an identity of 99.3% in cDNA sequence. The IFN-γ cDNA sequence was ligated to the pET32a vector and transformed into E. coli BL21 competent cells. Expression of recombinant IFN-γ protein of Qinling giant panda in E. coli was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Biological activity assay indicated that the recombinant IFN-γ protein at the concentration of 4-10 µg/ml activated the giant panda peripheral blood lymphocytes,while at 12 µg/mlinhibited. the activation of the lymphocytes.These findings provide insights into the evolution of giant panda IFN-γ and information regarding amino acid residues essential for their biological activity.

  8. Dietary resources shape the adaptive changes of cyanide detoxification function in giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, He; Yie, Shangmian; Liu, Yuliang; Wang, Chengdong; Cai, Zhigang; Zhang, Wenping; Lan, Jingchao; Huang, Xiangming; Luo, Li; Cai, Kailai; Hou, Rong; Zhang, Zhihe

    2016-10-05

    The functional adaptive changes in cyanide detoxification in giant panda appear to be response to dietary transition from typical carnivore to herbivorous bear. We tested the absorption of cyanide contained in bamboo/bamboo shoots with a feeding trial in 20 adult giant pandas. We determined total cyanide content in bamboo shoots and giant panda's feces, levels of urinary thiocyanate and tissue rhodanese activity using color reactions with a spectrophotometer. Rhodanese expression in liver and kidney at transcription and translation levels were measured using real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. We compared differences of rhodanese activity and gene expressions among giant panda, rabbit (herbivore) and cat (carnivore), and between newborn and adult giant pandas. Bamboo shoots contained 3.2 mg/kg of cyanide and giant pandas absorbed more than 65% of cyanide. However, approximately 80% of absorbed cyanide was metabolized to less toxic thiocyanate that was discharged in urine. Rhodanese expression and activity in liver and kidney of giant panda were significantly higher than in cat, but lower than in rabbit (all P pandas were higher than that in newborn cub. Phylogenetic analysis of both nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the rhodanese gene supported a closer relationship of giant panda with carnivores than with herbivores.

  9. Gastric dilitation-volvulus in a Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlanser, Justin R; Agnew, Dalen; Paperd, Deborah W; Harrison, Tara M

    2014-06-01

    A 10-year-old male red panda presented acutely with symptoms of shock due to acute abdominal distress and respiratory compromise. Abdominal ultrasound confirmed a severely distended stomach for which passage of an orogastric tube for relief was unsuccessful. Intra-operatively, the stomach was found to be distended and torsed around its long axis supporting the diagnosis of Gastric dilitation-volvulus (GDV). The animal arrested and died intra-operatively and was submitted for necropsy with lesions supportive of the diagnosis of GDV. No risk factors for GDV were found to correlate between the panda and those described in domestic dogs. This case suggests that red pandas can be susceptible to this condition in captive settings.

  10. Development of Gas Electron Multiplier(GEM) for digital radiographic system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moon, B. S.; Chung, C. E.; Lee, J. W.

    2000-04-01

    Two computer programs SHOWFIELD and IMAGEQUAL have been developed. SHOWFIELD is used to draw electric field lines for GEM detectors and IMAGEQUAL is used to study the spatial resolution of x-ray images. Various simulation runs have been carried out using EGS4 to study the characteristics of electrons generated by micro-channel plates and Ar, Xe gases. A prototype GEM detector was developed through this project. The GEM detector is composed of a pair of GEM plates, a micro-channel plate, readout circuit in a gas filled chamber. GEM plate were made in CERN to meet KAERI's design specification and the micro-channel plates were purchased from Proxitronic company

  11. The determination of the orbit of the Japanese satellite Ajisai and the GEM-T1 and GEM-T2 gravity field models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez, Braulio V.

    1990-01-01

    The Japanese Experimental Geodetic Satellite Ajisai was launched on August 12, 1986. In response to the TOPEX-POSEIDON mission requirements, the GSFC Space Geodesy Branch and its associates are producing improved models of the Earth's gravitational field. With the launch of Ajisai, precise laser data is now available which can be used to test many current gravity models. The testing of the various gravity field models show improvements of more than 70 percent in the orbital fits when using GEM-T1 and GEM-T2 relative to results obtained with the earlier GEM-10B model. The GEM-T2 orbital fits are at the 13-cm level (RMS). The results of the tests with the various versions of the GEM-T1 model indicate that the addition of satellite altimetry and surface gravity anomalies as additional data types should improve future gravity field models.

  12. Strong Interaction Studies with PANDA at FAIR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schönning, Karin

    2016-10-01

    The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Darmstadt, Germany, provides unique possibilities for a new generation of nuclear-, hadron- and atomic physics experiments. The future PANDA experiment at FAIR will offer a broad physics programme with emphasis on different aspects of hadron physics. Understanding the strong interaction in the perturbative regime remains one of the greatest challenges in contemporary physics and hadrons provide several important keys. In these proceedings, PANDA will be presented along with some high-lights of the planned physics programme.

  13. Strong Interaction Studies with PANDA at FAIR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schönning, Karin

    2016-01-01

    The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Darmstadt, Germany, provides unique possibilities for a new generation of nuclear-, hadron- and atomic physics experiments. The future PANDA experiment at FAIR will offer a broad physics programme with emphasis on different aspects of hadron physics. Understanding the strong interaction in the perturbative regime remains one of the greatest challenges in contemporary physics and hadrons provide several important keys. In these proceedings, PANDA will be presented along with some high-lights of the planned physics programme

  14. Immobilization of wild giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) with dexmedetomidine-tiletamine-zolazepam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Yipeng; Qiao, Yanchao; Liu, Xiaobin; Pu, Tianchun; Xu, Hongqian; Lin, Degui

    2016-05-01

    To assess the effects and utility of dexmedetomidine combined with tiletamine and zolazepam (dexMTZ) to immobilize the wild giant panda. Prospective clinical study. Seven giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), five males and two females, aged 7-20 years and weighing 69.2-132.9 kg. Once an animal was located, prior data on the individual was reviewed and the panda's previously estimated body weight was used to calculate the volumes of drugs to administer: dexmedetomidine (dexM; 8 μg kg(-1) ; 0.5 mg mL(-1) ) and tiletamine-zolazepam (TZ; 2 mg kg(-1) ; 50 mg mL(-1) ). The mixture was injected intramuscularly (IM) using the Dan-Inject pistol system. When the panda was immobilized, it was weighed, a physical examination was performed and a blood sample collected. Every 5 minutes, the heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (fR ), rectal temperature (T), noninvasive systolic arterial pressure (SAP), capillary refill time (CRT), mucous membrane color and pulse quality were recorded. After all procedures had been completed, atipamezole (40 μg kg(-1) ) was injected IM. A single injection of dexMTZ resulted in the immobilization of all seven giant pandas. The median (range) of anesthetic agents administered was dexM 8.4 μg kg(-1) (7.3-10.5 μg kg(-1) ) and TZ 2.0 mg kg(-1) (1.8-2.5 mg kg(-1) ). The palpebral reflex was lost 8 (7-12) minutes after the injection. Most of the physiological variables remained in the acceptable range. All procedures were completed in approximately 1 hour. Six out of the seven (85.7%) giant pandas recovered smoothly; one panda had a rough recovery. DexMTZ produced a satisfactory immobilization and a smooth recovery for wild giant pandas while allowing approximately 55 minutes for planned noninvasive procedures. © 2015 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia.

  15. Post-test analysis of PANDA test P4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hart, J.; Woudstra, A.; Koning, H.

    1999-01-01

    The results of a post-test analysis of the integral system test P4, which has been executed in the PANDA facility at PSI in Switzerland within the framework of Work Package 2 of the TEPSS project are presented. The post-test analysis comprises an evaluation of the PANDA test P4 and a comparison of the test results with the results of simulations using the RELAPS/MOD3.2, TRAC-BF1, and MELCOR 1.8.4 codes. The PANDA test P4 has provided data about how trapped air released from the drywell later in the transient affects PCCS performance in an adequate manner. The well-defined measurements can serve as an important database for the assessment of thermal hydraulic system analysis codes, especially for conditions that could be met in passively operated advanced reactors, i.e. low pressure and small driving forces. Based on the analysis of the test data, the test acceptance criteria have been met. The test P4 has been successfully completed and the instrument readings were with the permitted ranges. The PCCs showed a favorable and robust performance and a wide margin for decay heat removal from the containment. The PANDA P4 test demonstrated that trapped air, released from the drywell later in the transient, only temporarily and only slightly affected the performance of the passive containment cooling system. The analysis of the results of the RELAPS code showed that the overall behaviour of the test has been calculated quite well with regards to pressure, mass flow rates, and pool boil-down. This accounts both for the pre-test and the post-test simulations. However, due to the one-dimensional, stacked-volume modeling of the PANDA DW, WW, and GDCS vessels, 3D-effects such as in-vessel mixing and recirculation could not be calculated. The post-test MELCOR simulation showed an overall behaviour that is comparable to RELAPS. However, MELCOR calculated almost no air trapping in the PCC tubes that could hinder the steam condensation rate. This resulted in lower calculated

  16. A critical review of PANDAS research in the context of obsessive compulsive disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan E. Harvey

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The discovery and elaboration of pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS is emerging from a polemical status and gaining wide recognition. Current research has proposed a specific neurological pathogenesis for the disorder. This paper connects the dominant neurobiological model of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD with the proposed pathogenesis and treatment of PANDAS. PANDAS presentation is described and an important early debate regarding anti-neuronal antibodies in the brain of PANDAS patients is outlined. Recent research on a specific immunological trigger for antibodies that cause a blood brain barrier breakdown will be discussed along with treatment for the disorder. Future avenues of research are discussed including a critique of the seminal studies in PANDAS pathology and treatment from the focal point of the dominant OCD model.

  17. Fatal Toxoplasma gondii infection in the giant panda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Hongyu; Wang, Zedong; Wang, Chengdong; Li, Caiwu; Wei, Feng; Liu, Quan

    2015-01-01

    Toxoplasma gondii can infect nearly all warm-blooded animals. We report an acute fatal T. gondii infection in the endangered giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in a zoo in China, characterized by acute gastroenteritis and respiratory symptoms. T. gondii infection was confirmed by immunological and molecular methods. Multilocus nested PCR-RFLP revealed clonal type I at the SAG1 and c29-2 loci, clonal type II at the SAG2, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, and L358 loci, and clonal type III at the alternative SAG2 and SAG3 loci, thus, a potential new genotype of T. gondii in the giant panda. Other possible pathogens were not detected. To our knowledge, this is the first report of clinical toxoplasmosis in a giant panda. © H. Ma et al., published by EDP Sciences, 2015.

  18. Double {Lambda}-hypernuclei at the PANDA experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez Lorente, Alicia, E-mail: a.sanchez@gsi.de [Helmholtz Institut Mainz (Germany); Collaboration: P-bar ANDA Collaboration

    2012-12-15

    Hypernuclear research will be one of the main topics addressed by the PANDA experiment at the planned Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research FAIR at Darmstadt (Germany). Thanks to the use of stored p-bar beams, copious production of double {Lambda} hypernuclei is expected at the PANDA experiment, which will enable high precision {gamma} spectroscopy of such nuclei for the first time. At PANDA excited states of {Xi}{sup }- hypernuclei will be used as a starting point for the formation of double {Lambda} hypernuclei. In order to predict the yield of particle stable double hypernuclei a microcanonical decay model was developed. For the detection of these nuclei, a devoted hypernuclear detector setup is planned. This set-up consists, in addition to the general purpose of the PANDA set-up, of a primary nuclear target for the production of {Xi}{sup -} + {Xi}-bar pairs, a secondary active target for the hypernuclei formation and the identification of associated decay products and a germanium array detector to perform {gamma} spectroscopy. Furthermore, the presence of {Xi}-bar can be used as an alternative to tag the strangeness in the {Xi}{sup -} + {Xi}-bar. All systems need to operate in the presence of a high magnetic field and a large hadronic background. In the present talk details concerning simulations, the identification procedure of double hypernuclei and the suppression of background will be presented. In addition, the present status of the detector developments for this programme will be briefly given.

  19. The bamboo-eating giant panda harbors a carnivore-like gut microbiota, with excessive seasonal variations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Zhengsheng; Zhang, Wenping; Wang, Linghua; Hou, Rong; Zhang, Menghui; Fei, Lisong; Zhang, Xiaojun; Huang, He; Bridgewater, Laura C; Jiang, Yi; Jiang, Chenglin; Zhao, Liping; Pang, Xiaoyan; Zhang, Zhihe

    2015-05-19

    The giant panda evolved from omnivorous bears. It lives on a bamboo-dominated diet at present, but it still retains a typical carnivorous digestive system and is genetically deficient in cellulose-digesting enzymes. To find out whether this endangered mammalian species, like other herbivores, has successfully developed a gut microbiota adapted to its fiber-rich diet, we conducted a 16S rRNA gene-based large-scale structural profiling of the giant panda fecal microbiota. Forty-five captive individuals were sampled in spring, summer, and late autumn within 1 year. Significant intraindividual variations in the diversity and structure of gut microbiota across seasons were observed in this population, which were even greater than the variations between individuals. Compared with published data sets involving 124 gut microbiota profiles from 54 mammalian species, these giant pandas, together with 9 captive and 7 wild individuals investigated previously, showed extremely low gut microbiota diversity and an overall structure that diverged from those of nonpanda herbivores but converged with those of carnivorous and omnivorous bears. The giant panda did not harbor putative cellulose-degrading phylotypes such as Ruminococcaceae and Bacteroides bacteria that are typically enriched in other herbivores, but instead, its microbiota was dominated by Escherichia/Shigella and Streptococcus bacteria. Members of the class Clostridia were common and abundant in the giant panda gut microbiota, but most of the members present were absent in other herbivores and were not phylogenetically related with known cellulolytic lineages. Therefore, the giant panda appears not to have evolved a gut microbiota compatible with its newly adopted diet, which may adversely influence the coevolutionary fitness of this herbivore. The giant panda, an endangered mammalian species endemic to western China, is well known for its unique bamboo diet. Unlike other herbivores that have successfully evolved

  20. Integration of PanDA workload management system with Titan supercomputer at OLCF

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00300320; Klimentov, Alexei; Oleynik, Danila; Panitkin, Sergey; Petrosyan, Artem; Vaniachine, Alexandre; Wenaus, Torre; Schovancova, Jaroslava

    2015-01-01

    The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) workload management system (WMS) was developed to meet the scale and complexity of LHC distributed computing for the ATLAS experiment. While PanDA currently distributes jobs to more than 100,000 cores at well over 100 Grid sites, next LHC data taking run will require more resources than Grid computing can possibly provide. To alleviate these challenges, ATLAS is engaged in an ambitious program to expand the current computing model to include additional resources such as the opportunistic use of supercomputers. We will describe a project aimed at integration of PanDA WMS with Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF). Current approach utilizes modi ed PanDA pilot framework for job submission to Titan's batch queues and local data management, with light-weight MPI wrappers to run single threaded workloads in parallel on Titan's multi-core worker nodes. It also gives PanDA new capability to collect, in real time, information about unused...

  1. Integration of PanDA workload management system with Titan supercomputer at OLCF

    CERN Document Server

    Panitkin, Sergey; The ATLAS collaboration; Klimentov, Alexei; Oleynik, Danila; Petrosyan, Artem; Schovancova, Jaroslava; Vaniachine, Alexandre; Wenaus, Torre

    2015-01-01

    The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) workload management system (WMS) was developed to meet the scale and complexity of LHC distributed computing for the ATLAS experiment. While PanDA currently uses more than 100,000 cores at well over 100 Grid sites with a peak performance of 0.3 petaFLOPS, next LHC data taking run will require more resources than Grid computing can possibly provide. To alleviate these challenges, ATLAS is engaged in an ambitious program to expand the current computing model to include additional resources such as the opportunistic use of supercomputers. We will describe a project aimed at integration of PanDA WMS with Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF). Current approach utilizes modified PanDA pilot framework for job submission to Titan's batch queues and local data management, with light-weight MPI wrappers to run single threaded workloads in parallel on Titan's multi-core worker nodes. It also gives PanDA new capability to collect, in real tim...

  2. Global heterogeneous resource harvesting: the next-generation PanDA Pilot for ATLAS

    CERN Document Server

    Nilsson, Paul; The ATLAS collaboration

    2017-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis system (PanDA), used for workload management in the ATLAS Experiment for over a decade, has in recent years expanded its reach to diverse new resource types such as HPCs, and innovative new workflows such as the Event Service. PanDA meets the heterogeneous resources it harvests in the PanDA pilot, which has embarked on a next-generation reengineering to efficiently integrate and exploit the new platforms and workflows. The new modular architecture is the product of a year of design and prototyping in conjunction with the design of a completely new component, Harvester, that will mediate a richer flow of control and information between pilot and PanDA. Harvester will enable more intelligent and dynamic matching between processing tasks and resources, with an initial focus on HPCs, simplifying the operator and user view of a PanDA site but internally leveraging deep information gathering on the resource to accrue detailed knowledge of a site's capabilities and dynamic sta...

  3. Global heterogeneous resource harvesting: the next-generation PanDA pilot for ATLAS

    CERN Document Server

    Nilsson, Paul; The ATLAS collaboration

    2017-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis system (PanDA), used for workload management in the ATLAS Experiment for over a decade, has in recent years expanded its reach to diverse new resource types such as HPCs, and innovative new workflows such as the event service. PanDA meets the heterogeneous resources it harvests in the PanDA pilot, which has embarked on a next-generation reengineering to efficiently integrate and exploit the new platforms and workflows. The new modular architecture is the product of a year of design and prototyping in conjunction with the design of a completely new component, Harvester, that will mediate a richer flow of control and information between pilot and PanDA. Harvester will enable more intelligent and dynamic matching between processing tasks and resources, with an initial focus on HPCs, simplifying the operator and user view of a PanDA site but internally leveraging deep information gathering on the resource to accrue detailed knowledge of a site's capabilities and dynamic sta...

  4. HEMATOLOGY, SERUM BIOCHEMISTRY, AND URINALYSIS VALUES IN THE ADULT GIANT PANDA ( AILUROPODA MELANOLEUCA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burrell, Caitlin; Zhang, Hemin; Li, Desheng; Wang, Chengdong; Li, Caiwu; Aitken-Palmer, Copper

    2017-12-01

    The giant panda ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a high-profile threatened species with individuals in captivity worldwide. As a result of advances in captive animal management and veterinary medicine, the ex situ giant panda population is aging, and improved understanding of age-related changes is necessary. Urine and blood samples were collected in April and July 2015 and analyzed for complete blood count, serum biochemistry, and biochemical and microscopic urine analysis for all individuals sampled ( n = 7, 7-16 yr of age) from giant panda housed at the China Research and Conservation Centre for the Giant Panda in Bifengxia, Sichuan Province, China. Hematology and serum biochemistry values were similar to those previously reported for giant panda aged 2-20 yr and to Species360 (formerly International Species Information System) values. Urine was overall dilute (urine specific gravity range: 1.001-1.021), acellular, and acidic (pH range: 6-7). This is the first report of hematologic and serum biochemistry, with associated urinalysis values, in the giant panda aged 7-16 yr.

  5. ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY. Exceptionally low daily energy expenditure in the bamboo-eating giant panda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nie, Yonggang; Speakman, John R; Wu, Qi; Zhang, Chenglin; Hu, Yibo; Xia, Maohua; Yan, Li; Hambly, Catherine; Wang, Lu; Wei, Wei; Zhang, Jinguo; Wei, Fuwen

    2015-07-10

    The carnivoran giant panda has a specialized bamboo diet, to which its alimentary tract is poorly adapted. Measurements of daily energy expenditure across five captive and three wild pandas averaged 5.2 megajoules (MJ)/day, only 37.7% of the predicted value (13.8 MJ/day). For the wild pandas, the mean was 6.2 MJ/day, or 45% of the mammalian expectation. Pandas achieve this exceptionally low expenditure in part by reduced sizes of several vital organs and low physical activity. In addition, circulating levels of thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) averaged 46.9 and 64%, respectively, of the levels expected for a eutherian mammal of comparable size. A giant panda-unique mutation in the DUOX2 gene, critical for thyroid hormone synthesis, might explain these low thyroid hormone levels. A combination of morphological, behavioral, physiological, and genetic adaptations, leading to low energy expenditure, likely enables giant pandas to survive on a bamboo diet. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  6. The first skull of the earliest giant panda

    OpenAIRE

    Jin, Changzhu; Dong, Wei; Hunt, Jr., Robert M.; Liu, Jinyi; Jaeger, Marc; Zhu, Qizhi

    2007-01-01

    Fossils of the giant panda Ailuropoda (Order Carnivora, Family Ursidae) are largely isolated teeth, mandibles, and a few rare skulls, known from the late Pliocene to late Pleistocene in China and Southeast Asia. Much of this material represents a Pleistocene chronospecies, Ailuropoda baconi, an animal larger than the living giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca. The earliest certain record of Ailuropoda is the late Pliocene chronospecies, Ailuropoda microta, smaller than either A. baconi or A. ...

  7. Long Non-coding RNA, PANDA, Contributes to the Stabilization of p53 Tumor Suppressor Protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotake, Yojiro; Kitagawa, Kyoko; Ohhata, Tatsuya; Sakai, Satoshi; Uchida, Chiharu; Niida, Hiroyuki; Naemura, Madoka; Kitagawa, Masatoshi

    2016-04-01

    P21-associated noncoding RNA DNA damage-activated (PANDA) is induced in response to DNA damage and represses apoptosis by inhibiting the function of nuclear transcription factor Y subunit alpha (NF-YA) transcription factor. Herein, we report that PANDA affects regulation of p53 tumor-suppressor protein. U2OS cells were transfected with PANDA siRNAs. At 72 h post-transfection, cells were subjected to immunoblotting and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Depletion of PANDA was associated with decreased levels of p53 protein, but not p53 mRNA. The stability of p53 protein was markedly reduced by PANDA silencing. Degradation of p53 protein by silencing PANDA was prevented by treatment of MG132, a proteasome inhibitor. Moreover, depletion of PANDA prevented accumulation of p53 protein, as a result of DNA damage, induced by the genotoxic agent etoposide. These results suggest that PANDA stabilizes p53 protein in response to DNA damage, and provide new insight into the regulatory mechanisms of p53. Copyright© 2016 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.

  8. Data links for the EOS TPC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bieser, F.; Jones, R.; McParland, C.

    1991-01-01

    This paper reports on the design and performance of high speed data links and slower configuration control links used between the EOS TPC detector and the data processing electronics. Data rates of 5 MBytes/link are maintained over 30m with optical isolation. Pedestal subtraction, hit detection, and data reordering are performed online

  9. Detection of understory bamboo in giant panda habitats using an indirect remote sensing approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bian, B.M.; Wang, T.; Liu, Y.F.; Fei, T.; Skidmore, A.K.

    2007-01-01

    The bamboo is the exclusive food of the wild giant pandas. Detection of the bamboo forest in giant panda habitat will help scientists further understand the spatial distribution pattern of giant pandas and their habitats. Moreover, it provides crucial scientific evidence for estimating habitat

  10. Assessing vulnerability of giant pandas to climate change in the Qinling Mountains of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jia; Liu, Fang; Xue, Yadong; Zhang, Yu; Li, Diqiang

    2017-06-01

    Climate change might pose an additional threat to the already vulnerable giant panda ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca ). Effective conservation efforts require projections of vulnerability of the giant panda in facing climate change and proactive strategies to reduce emerging climate-related threats. We used the maximum entropy model to assess the vulnerability of giant panda to climate change in the Qinling Mountains of China. The results of modeling included the following findings: (1) the area of suitable habitat for giant pandas was projected to decrease by 281 km 2 from climate change by the 2050s; (2) the mean elevation of suitable habitat of giant panda was predicted to shift 30 m higher due to climate change over this period; (3) the network of nature reserves protect 61.73% of current suitable habitat for the species, and 59.23% of future suitable habitat; (4) current suitable habitat mainly located in Chenggu, Taibai, and Yangxian counties (with a total area of 987 km 2 ) was predicted to be vulnerable. Assessing the vulnerability of giant panda provided adaptive strategies for conservation programs and national park construction. We proposed adaptation strategies to ameliorate the predicted impacts of climate change on giant panda, including establishing and adjusting reserves, establishing habitat corridors, improving adaptive capacity to climate change, and strengthening monitoring of giant panda.

  11. Track reconstruction of normal muon decays in the LAMPF TPC: one working scheme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKee, R.J.

    1983-01-01

    A working scheme for track reconstruction of normal muon decays in the LAMPF TPC is here outlined. Muon tracks stopping in the TPC and helical electron tracks from muon decay are both identified and fitted for complete event reconstruction. Because of certain geometrical characteristics of the TPC, novel techniques are deployed to find the tracks. Normal road tracing methods do not work reliably; they are replaced by, among other things, a random search technique that locates the helix's planar projection and a carefully worked-out method for correctly putting each coordinate on its proper turn in the helix

  12. Evidence of a false thumb in a fossil carnivore clarifies the evolution of pandas

    OpenAIRE

    Salesa, Manuel J.; Antón, Mauricio; Peigné, Stéphane; Morales, Jorge

    2005-01-01

    The “false thumb” of pandas is a carpal bone, the radial sesamoid, which has been enlarged and functions as an opposable thumb. If the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) are not closely related, their sharing of this adaptation implies a remarkable convergence. The discovery of previously unknown postcranial remains of a Miocene red panda relative, Simocyon batalleri, from the Spanish site of Batallones-1 (Madrid), now shows that this animal had a false t...

  13. 75 FR 80110 - Panda Power LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-21

    ... Panda Power LLC (Panda Power),\\1\\ has determined that High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting kits \\2... of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated.... \\2\\ Panda Power's high-intensity lighting (HID kits each contained 2 lamps, 2 lamp ballasts and a...

  14. The PASTA chip for the silicon micro strip sensor of the PANDA MVD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Riccardi, Alberto; Brinkmann, Kai-Thomas; Di Pietro, Valentino; Quagli, Tommaso; Schnell, Robert; Zaunick, Hans-Georg [II. Physikalisches Institut, Justus-Liebig-Universitaet, Giessen (Germany); Ritman, James; Stockmanns, Tobias; Zambanini, Andre [Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany); Rivetti, Angelo; Rolo, Manuel [INFN Sezione di Torino (Italy); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

    2016-07-01

    In the Micro Vertex Detector, which is the innermost detector of PANDA, there are two different types of sensors: hybrid pixel and double sided micro strips. My work is focused on the development of the ASIC readout for the strips, which in the PANDA experiment must cope with a hit rate up to 50 kHz per channel. The energy loss measurement of the particles crossing the silicon sensor is obtained by implementing the Time over Threshold technique. The first PASTA (PANDA Strip ASIC) prototype is based on a Time to Digital Converter with an analog clock interpolator which combines good time resolution with a low power consumption. A full size chip was developed in a 0.11μ m CMOS technology and delivered in Autumn 2015. It features 64 channels with both analog and digital parts, a digital global controller, LVDS drivers and integrated bias. In the presentation, an overview of PASTA and the results of the first tests is presented.

  15. Influence of the distribution of noncondensibles on passive containment condenser performance in PANDA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bandurski, T.; Huggenberger, M.; Dreier, J.; Aubert, C.; Putz, F.; Gamble, R.E.; Yadigaroglu, G.

    2001-01-01

    Recently, passive cooling systems have been designed for the long-term decay heat removal from the containment of Advanced Light Water Reactors. In particular, the long-term LOCA response of the Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS) for the General Electric European Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) has been tested in the large scale PANDA facility. The PANDA tests achieved the dual objective of improving confidence in the performance of the passive heat removal mechanisms underlying the design of the tested systems and extending the data base available for containment analysis code qualification. The tests conducted subject the PCCS to a variety of conditions representing design-basis and beyond-design-basis accident conditions. These include operation in the presence of both heavier and lighter than steam noncondensible gases as well as a variety of asymmetric conditions and challenging start-up conditions. The present paper addresses the transient distribution of noncondensibles and their effect on the passive condenser performance in PANDA

  16. Influence of the distribution of noncondensibles on passive containment condenser performance in PANDA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bandurski, T. E-mail: thomas.bandurski@psi.ch; Huggenberger, M.; Dreier, J.; Aubert, C.; Putz, F.; Gamble, R.E. E-mail: robert.gamble@gene.ge.com; Yadigaroglu, G. E-mail: yadigaroglu@iet.mavt.ethz.ch

    2001-02-01

    Recently, passive cooling systems have been designed for the long-term decay heat removal from the containment of Advanced Light Water Reactors. In particular, the long-term LOCA response of the Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS) for the General Electric European Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) has been tested in the large scale PANDA facility. The PANDA tests achieved the dual objective of improving confidence in the performance of the passive heat removal mechanisms underlying the design of the tested systems and extending the data base available for containment analysis code qualification. The tests conducted subject the PCCS to a variety of conditions representing design-basis and beyond-design-basis accident conditions. These include operation in the presence of both heavier and lighter than steam noncondensible gases as well as a variety of asymmetric conditions and challenging start-up conditions. The present paper addresses the transient distribution of noncondensibles and their effect on the passive condenser performance in PANDA.

  17. Application of CMOS charge-sensitive preamplifier in triple-GEM detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lai Yongfang; Li Jin; Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing; Deng Zhi; Li Yulan; Liu Yinong; Li Yuanjing

    2006-01-01

    Among the various micro-pattern gas detectors (MPGD) that are available, the gas electron multiplier (GEM) detector is an attractive gas detector that has been used in particle physics experiments. However the GEM detector usually needs thousands of preamplifier units for its large number of micro-pattern readout strips or pads, which leads to considerable difficulties and complexities for front end electronics (FEE). Nowadays, by making use of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), it is feasible to integrate hundreds of preamplifier units and other signal process circuits in a small-sized chip, which can be bound to the readout strips or pads of a micro-pattern particle detector (MPPD). Therefore, CMOS ASIC may provide an ideal solution to the readout problem of MPPD. In this article, a triple GEM detector is constructed and one of its readout strips is connected to a CMOS charge-sensitive preamplifier chip. The chip was exposed to an 55 Fe source of 5.9 kev X-ray, and the amplitude spectrum of the chip was tested, and it was found that the energy resolution was approximately 27%, which indicates that the chip can be used in triple GEM detectors. (authors)

  18. China's endemic vertebrates sheltering under the protective umbrella of the giant panda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Binbin V; Pimm, Stuart L

    2016-04-01

    The giant panda attracts disproportionate conservation resources. How well does this emphasis protect other endemic species? Detailed data on geographical ranges are not available for plants or invertebrates, so we restrict our analyses to 3 vertebrate taxa: birds, mammals, and amphibians. There are gaps in their protection, and we recommend practical actions to fill them. We identified patterns of species richness, then identified which species are endemic to China, and then which, like the panda, live in forests. After refining each species' range by its known elevational range and remaining forest habitats as determined from remote sensing, we identified the top 5% richest areas as the centers of endemism. Southern mountains, especially the eastern Hengduan Mountains, were centers for all 3 taxa. Over 96% of the panda habitat overlapped the endemic centers. Thus, investing in almost any panda habitat will benefit many other endemics. Existing panda national nature reserves cover all but one of the endemic species that overlap with the panda's distribution. Of particular interest are 14 mammal, 20 bird, and 82 amphibian species that are inadequately protected. Most of these species the International Union for Conservation of Nature currently deems threatened. But 7 mammal, 3 bird, and 20 amphibian species are currently nonthreatened, yet their geographical ranges are pandas are absent and where there are no national nature reserves. The others concentrate in Yunnan, Nan Mountains, and Hainan. Here, 10 prefectures might establish new protected areas or upgrade local nature reserves to national status. © 2015 Society for Conservation Biology.

  19. PD2P: PanDA Dynamic Data Placement for ATLAS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeno, T; Panitkin, S; De, K

    2012-01-01

    The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) system plays a key role in the ATLAS distributed computing infrastructure. PanDA is the ATLAS workload management system for processing all Monte-Carlo (MC) simulation and data reprocessing jobs in addition to user and group analysis jobs. The PanDA Dynamic Data Placement (PD2P) system has been developed to cope with difficulties of data placement for ATLAS. We will describe the design of the new system, its performance during the past year of data taking, dramatic improvements it has brought about in the efficient use of storage and processing resources, and plans for the future.

  20. Surfactant mediated extraction of total phenolic contents (TPC) and antioxidants from fruits juices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Shweta; Kori, Shivpoojan; Parmar, Ankush

    2015-10-15

    The aim of this study was to enhance the extraction of total phenolic contents (TPC) and antioxidants from fruit juices by the application of surfactants formulations instead of conventional solvents (methanol, ethanol and acetone). A variety of fruit infusions: apple red delicious (apple (rd)) (Malus domestica), Mcintosh apple (apple (i)) (Malus pumila), sweet lemon (Citrus limetta) and mango (Magnifera indica) were studied. Effect of water, organic solvents and five different aqueous surfactant formulations viz. SDS, Brij-35, Brij-58, Triton X-100 and Span-40 were explored for the extraction of TPC and determining the antioxidant activity (AA). The TPC and AA (%) were determined using Folin-Ciocalteu (FCA) and DPPH assay, respectively. The effect of surfactant type, concentration and common organic solvents on the extraction of TPC and AA (%) was studied using UV-visible spectrophotometric technique. Among all the extracting systems employed, Brij-58 showed the highest extraction efficiency. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. PANDA experiment and International Standard Problem for passive cooling systems for afterheat removal; PANDA-Versuch und Internationales Standardproblem zu passiven Kuehlsystemen fuer die Nachwaermeabfuhr

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yadigaroglu, G.; Aksan, N.S. [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Lab. fuer Thermohydraulik

    1999-09-03

    In the context of OECD/NEA, Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) is working on an International Standard Problem which is to provide information on the efficiency and use of computer program systems for passive afterheat removal systems. The PANDA test facility of PSI was designed for these investigations. A six-phase PANDA experiment provides a basis for pre-calculation and recalculation of selected phases covering a limited number of system-typical operating states and phenomena. The experiment was specified and carried out in the year under report. [Deutsch] Im Rahmen der OECD/NEA fuehrt das Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) ein Internationales Standardproblem durch, das Aufschluss ueber die Leistungsfaehigkeit und Handhabung von Computer-Programmsystemen geben soll, die im Zusammenhang mit passiven Nachwaerme-Abfuhrsystemen eingesetzt werden. Die Versuchsanlage PANDA am PSI ist speziell auf die Untersuchung derartiger Systeme ausgerichtet. Ein PANDA-Versuch in sechs Phasen liefert den teilnehmenden Organisationen die Basis fuer Voraus- und Nachrechnungen einzelner oder mehrerer Phasen, die jeweils eine begrenzte Anzahl von systemtypischen Betriebszustaenden und Phaenomenen abdecken. Im Berichtsjahr wurde der Versuch spezifiziert und gefahren. (orig.)

  2. Recent Improvements in the ATLAS PanDA Pilot

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nilsson, P; De, K; Bejar, J Caballero; Maeno, T; Potekhin, M; Wenaus, T; Compostella, G; Contreras, C; Dos Santos, T

    2012-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis system (PanDA) in the ATLAS experiment uses pilots to execute submitted jobs on the worker nodes. The pilots are designed to deal with different runtime conditions and failure scenarios, and support many storage systems. This talk will give a brief overview of the PanDA pilot system and will present major features and recent improvements including CernVM File System integration, the job retry mechanism, advanced job monitoring including JEM technology, and validation of new pilot code using the HammerCloud stress-testing system. PanDA is used for all ATLAS distributed production and is the primary system for distributed analysis. It is currently used at over 130 sites worldwide. We analyze the performance of the pilot system in processing LHC data on the OSG, EGI and Nordugrid infrastructures used by ATLAS, and describe plans for its further evolution.

  3. Panda, Dr Subrat Kumar

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Panda, Dr Subrat Kumar M.B.B.S. (Utkal), M.D. (Path.) (AIIMS), FNA. Date of birth: 18 November 1954. Specialization: Liver Pathology, Viral Hepatitis and Molecular Biology/Virology Address: Professor, Department of Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110 029, U.T.. Contact:

  4. Assessment of giant panda habitat based on integration of expert system and neural network

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liu, X.; Skidmore, A.K.; Bronsveld, M.C.

    2006-01-01

    To conserve giant panda effectively, it is important to understand the spatial pattern and temporal change of its habitat. Mapping is an effective approach for wildlife habitat evaluation and monitoring. The application of recently developed artificial intelligence tools, including expert systems

  5. Inbetriebnahme und Kalibrierung der ALICE-TPC

    CERN Document Server

    Wiechula, Jens

    2008-01-01

    ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment), is the dedicated heavy-ion experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. It is optimised to reconstruct and identify the particles created in a lead-lead collision with a centre of mass energy of 5.5TeV. The main tracking detector is a large-volume time-projection chamber (TPC). With an active volume of about 88m^3 and a total readout area of 32.5m^2 it is the most challenging TPC ever build. A central electrode divides the 5m long detector into two drift regions. Each readout side is subdivided into 18 inner and 18 outer multi-wire proportional read-out chambers. The readout area is subdivide into 557568 pads, where each pad is read out by and electronics chanin. A complex calibration is needed in order to reach the design position-resolution of the reconstructed particle tracks of about 200um. One part of the calibration lies in understanding the electronic-response. The work at hand presents results of the pedestal and noise behaviour of the front-end elect...

  6. Detection and Imaging of High-Z Materials with a Muon Tomography Station Using GEM Detectors

    CERN Document Server

    Gnanvo, K; Bittner, W; Costa, F; Grasso, L; Hohlmann, M; Locke, J B; Martoiu, S; Muller, H; Staib, M; Tarazona, A; Toledo, J

    2010-01-01

    Muon tomography based on the measurement of multiple scattering of atmospheric cosmic ray muons is a promising technique for detecting and imaging heavily shielded high-Z nuclear materials such as enriched uranium. This technique could complement standard radiation detection portals currently deployed at international borders and ports, which are not very sensitive to heavily shielded nuclear materials. We image small targets in 3D using $2\\times 2 \\times 2$ mm^3 voxels with a minimal muon tomography station prototype that tracks muons with Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detectors read out in 2D with x-y microstrips of 400 micron pitch. With preliminary electronics, the GEM detectors achieve a spatial resolution of 130 microns in both dimensions. With the next GEM-based prototype station we plan to probe an active volume of ~27 liters. We present first results on reading out all 1536 microstrips of a $30 \\times 30$ cm^2 GEM detector for the next muon tomography prototype with final frontend electronics and DAQ...

  7. Study on the novel neutron-to-proton convertor for improving the detection efficiency of a triple GEM based fast neutron detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xiaodong; Yang Lei; Zhang Chunhui; Hu Bitao; Yang Herun; Zhang Junwei; Ren Zhongguo; Ha Ri-Ba-La; An Luxing

    2015-01-01

    A high-efficiency fast neutron detector prototype based on a triple Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detector, which, coupled with a novel multi-layered high-density polyethylene (HDPE) as a neutron-to-proton converter for improving the neutron detection efficiency, is introduced and tested with the Am-Be neutron source in the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) at Lanzhou in the present work. First, the developed triple GEM detector is tested by measuring its effective gain and energy resolution with "5"5Fe X-ray source to ensure that it has a good performance. The effective gain and obtained energy resolution is 5.0 × 10"4 and around 19.2%, respectively. Secondly, the novel multi-layered HDPE converter is coupled with the cathode of the triple GEM detector making it a high-efficiency fast neutron detector. Its effective neutron response is four times higher than that of the traditional single-layered conversion technique when the converter layer number is 38. (authors)

  8. A refined gravity model from Lageos /GEM-L2/

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lerch, F. J.; Klosko, S. M.; Patel, G. B.

    1982-01-01

    Lageos satellite laser ranging (SLR) data taken over a 2.5 yr period were employed to develop the Goddard Earth Model GEM-L2, a refined gravity field model. Additional data was gathered with 30 other satellites, resulting in spherical harmonics through degree and order 20, based on over 600,000 measurements. The Lageos data was accurate down to 10 cm, after which the GEM 9 data were used to make adjustments past order 7. The resolution of long wavelength activity, through degree and order 4, was made possible by the Lageos data. The GEM-L2 model features a 20 x 20 geopotential, tracking station coordinates (20), 5-day polar motion and A1-UT1 values, and a GM value of 398,600.607 cu km/sq sec. The accuracy of station positioning has been raised to within 6 cm total position globally and within 1.8 cm in baselines. It is concluded that SLR is useful for measuring tectonic plate motions and inter-plate deformations.

  9. nGEM fast neutron detectors for beam diagnostics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Croci, G.; Claps, G.; Cavenago, M.; Dalla Palma, M.; Grosso, G.; Murtas, F.; Pasqualotto, R.; Perelli Cippo, E.; Pietropaolo, A.; Rebai, M.; Tardocchi, M.; Tollin, M.; Gorini, G.

    2013-01-01

    Fast neutron detectors with a sub-millimetric space resolution are required in order to qualify neutron beams in applications related to magnetically-controlled nuclear fusion plasmas and to spallation sources. A nGEM detector has been developed for the CNESM diagnostic system of the SPIDER NBI prototype for ITER and as beam monitor for fast neutrons lines at spallation sources. The nGEM is a triple GEM gaseous detector equipped with polypropylene and polyethylene layers used to convert fast neutrons into recoil protons through the elastic scattering process. This paper describes the results obtained by testing a nGEM detector at the ISIS spallation source on the VESUVIO beam line. Beam profiles (σ x =14.35 mm, σ y =15.75 mm), nGEM counting efficiency (around 10 -4 for 3 MeV n <15 MeV), detector stability (≈4.5%) and the effect of filtering the beam with different type of materials were successfully measured. The x beam profile was compared to the one measured by a single crystal diamond detector. Finally, the efficiency of the detector was simulated exploiting the GEANT4 tool

  10. The PASTA chip. A free-running readout ASIC for silicon strip sensors in PANDA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goerres, Andre; Stockmanns, Tobias; Ritman, James [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, Juelich (Germany); Rivetti, Angelo [INFN Sezione di Torino, Torino (Italy); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

    2015-07-01

    The PANDA experiment is a multi purpose detector, investigating hadron physics in the charm quark mass regime. It is one of the main experiments at the future FAIR accelerator facility, using anti pp annihilations from a 1.5-15 GeV/c anti-proton beam. Because of the broad physics spectrum and the similarity of event and background signals, PANDA does an event selection based on the complete raw data of the detector. The innermost of PANDA's sub-systems is the Micro Vertex Detector (MVD), consisting of silicon pixel and strip sensors. The latter will be read out by a specialized, free-running readout front-end called PANDA Strip ASIC (PASTA). It has to face a high event rate of up to 40 kHz/ch in an radiation-intense environment. To fulfill the MVD's requirements, it has to give accurate timing information to incoming events (<10 ns) and determine the collected charge with an 8-bit precision. All this has to be done with a very low power design (<4 mW/ch) on a small footprint with less than 21 mm{sup 2} and 60 μm input pitch for 64 channels per chip. Therefore, a simple, time-based readout approach with two independent thresholds is chosen. In this talk, the conceptual design of the full front-end and some aspects of the digital part are presented.

  11. Fecal near infrared spectroscopy to discriminate physiological status in giant pandas.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erin E Wiedower

    Full Text Available Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca monitoring and research often require accurate estimates of population size and density. However, obtaining these estimates has been challenging. Innovative technologies, such as fecal near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (FNIRS, may be used to differentiate between sex, age class, and reproductive status as has been shown for several other species. The objective of this study was to determine if FNIRS could be similarly used for giant panda physiological discriminations. Based on samples from captive animals in four U.S. zoos, FNIRS calibrations correctly identified 78% of samples from adult males, 81% from adult females, 85% from adults, 89% from juveniles, 75% from pregnant and 70% from non-pregnant females. However, diet had an impact on the success of the calibrations. When diet was controlled for plant part such that "leaf only" feces were evaluated, FNIRS calibrations correctly identified 93% of samples from adult males and 95% from adult females. These data show that FNIRS has the potential to differentiate between the sex, age class, and reproductive status in the giant panda and may be applicable for surveying wild populations.

  12. PanDA for COMPASS at JINR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrosyan, A. Sh.

    2016-09-01

    PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis System) is a workload management system, widely used for data processing at experiments on Large Hadron Collider and others. COMPASS is a high-energy physics experiment at the Super Proton Synchrotron. Data processing for COMPASS runs locally at CERN, on lxbatch, the data itself stored in CASTOR. In 2014 an idea to start running COMPASS production through PanDA arose. Such transformation in experiment's data processing will allow COMPASS community to use not only CERN resources, but also Grid resources worldwide. During the spring and summer of 2015 installation, validation and migration work is being performed at JINR. Details and results of this process are presented in this paper.

  13. Atmospheric deposition exposes Qinling pandas to toxic pollutants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yi-Ping; Zheng, Ying-Juan; Liu, Qiang; Song, Yi; An, Zhi-Sheng; Ma, Qing-Yi; Ellison, Aaron M

    2017-03-01

    The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is one of the most endangered animals in the world, and it is recognized worldwide as a symbol for conservation. A previous study showed that wild and captive pandas, especially those of the Qinling subspecies, were exposed to toxicants in their diet of bamboo; the ultimate origin of these toxicants is unknown. Here we show that atmospheric deposition is the most likely origin of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the diets of captive and wild Qinling pandas. Average atmospheric deposition was 199, 115, and 49 g·m -2 ·yr -1 in the center of Xi'an City, at China's Shaanxi Wild Animal Research Center (SWARC), and at Foping National Nature Reserve (FNNR), respectively. Atmospheric deposition of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Hg, Co, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Ni) and POPs was highest at Xi'an City, intermediate at SWARC, and lowest at FNNR. Soil concentrations of the aforementioned heavy metals other than As and Zn also were significantly higher at SWARC than at FNNR. Efforts to conserve Qinling pandas may be compromised by air pollution attendant to China's economic development. Improvement of air quality and reductions of toxic emissions are urgently required to protect China's iconic species. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

  14. Improved model of the Earth's gravitational field: GEM-T1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marsh, J.G.; Lerch, F.J.; Christodoulidis, D.C.

    1987-07-01

    Goddard Earth Model T1 (GEM-T1), which was developed from an analysis of direct satellite tracking observations, is the first in a new series of such models. GEM-T1 is complete to degree and order 36. It was developed using consistent reference parameters and extensive earth and ocean tidal models. It was simultaneously solved for gravitational and tidal terms, earth orientation parameters, and the orbital parameters of 580 individual satellite arcs. The solution used only satellite tracking data acquired on 17 different satellites and is predominantly based upon the precise laser data taken by third generation systems. In all, 800,000 observations were used. A major improvement in field accuracy was obtained. For marine geodetic applications, long wavelength geoidal modeling is twice as good as in earlier satellite-only GEM models. Orbit determination accuracy has also been substantially advanced over a wide range of satellites that have been tested

  15. Dietary resources shape the adaptive changes of cyanide detoxification function in giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

    OpenAIRE

    He Huang; Shangmian Yie; Yuliang Liu; Chengdong Wang; Zhigang Cai; Wenping Zhang; Jingchao Lan; Xiangming Huang; Li Luo; Kailai Cai; Rong Hou; Zhihe Zhang

    2016-01-01

    The functional adaptive changes in cyanide detoxification in giant panda appear to be response to dietary transition from typical carnivore to herbivorous bear. We tested the absorption of cyanide contained in bamboo/bamboo shoots with a feeding trial in 20 adult giant pandas. We determined total cyanide content in bamboo shoots and giant panda?s feces, levels of urinary thiocyanate and tissue rhodanese activity using color reactions with a spectrophotometer. Rhodanese expression in liver and...

  16. Data links for the EOS TPC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bieser, F.; Jones, R.; McParland, C.

    1990-10-01

    We report on the design and performance of high speed data links and slower configuration control links used between the EOS TPC detector and the data processing electronics. Data rates of 5MBytes/s/link are maintained over 30m with optical isolation. Pedestal subtraction, hit detection, and data reordering are performed online. 3 refs., 1 fig

  17. from the Giant Panda

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2009-06-03

    Jun 3, 2009 ... 1College of Life Science, China West Normal University, 44# Yuying Road, 637002, Nanchong, China. 2Zhan Jiang educational ... in Escherichia coli and the RPS28 protein fusioned with the N-terminally GST -tagged protein gave rise ... long Conservation Center of the Giant Panda, Sichuan, China. The.

  18. Large-scale, multi-compartment tests in PANDA for LWR-containment analysis and code validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paladino, Domenico; Auban, Olivier; Zboray, Robert

    2006-01-01

    The large-scale thermal-hydraulic PANDA facility has been used for the last years for investigating passive decay heat removal systems and related containment phenomena relevant for next-generation and current light water reactors. As part of the 5. EURATOM framework program project TEMPEST, a series of tests was performed in PANDA to experimentally investigate the distribution of hydrogen inside the containment and its effect on the performance of the Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS) designed for the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR). In a postulated severe accident, a large amount of hydrogen could be released in the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) as a consequence of the cladding Metal- Water (M-W) reaction and discharged together with steam to the Drywell (DW) compartment. In PANDA tests, hydrogen was simulated by using helium. This paper illustrates the results of a TEMPEST test performed in PANDA and named as Test T1.2. In Test T1.2, the gas stratification (steam-helium) patterns forming in the large-scale multi-compartment PANDA DW, and the effect of non-condensable gas (helium) on the overall behaviour of the PCCS were identified. Gas mixing and stratification in a large-scale multi-compartment system are currently being further investigated in PANDA in the frame of the OECD project SETH. The testing philosophy in this new PANDA program is to produce data for code validation in relation to specific phenomena, such as: gas stratification in the containment, gas transport between containment compartments, wall condensation, etc. These types of phenomena are driven by buoyant high-momentum injections (jets) and/or low momentum injection (plumes), depending on the transient scenario. In this context, the new SETH tests in PANDA are particularly valuable to produce an experimental database for code assessment. This paper also presents an overview of the PANDA SETH tests and the major improvements in instrumentation carried out in the PANDA

  19. Tokamak plasma power balance calculation code (TPC code) outline and operation manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujieda, Hirobumi; Murakami, Yoshiki; Sugihara, Masayoshi.

    1992-11-01

    This report is a detailed description on the TPC code, that calculates the power balance of a tokamak plasma according to the ITER guidelines. The TPC code works on a personal computer (Macintosh or J-3100/ IBM-PC). Using input data such as the plasma shape, toroidal magnetic field, plasma current, electron temperature, electron density, impurities and heating power, TPC code can determine the operation point of the fusion reactor (Ion temperature is assumed to be equal to the electron temperature). Supplied flux (Volt · sec) and burn time are also estimated by coil design parameters. Calculated energy confinement time is compared with various L-mode scaling laws and the confinement enhancement factor (H-factor) is evaluated. Divertor heat load is predicted by using simple scaling models (constant-χ, Bohm-type-χ and JT-60U empirical scaling models). Frequently used data can be stored in a 'device file' and used as the default values. TPC code can generate 2-D mesh data and the POPCON plot is drawn by a contour line plotting program (CONPLT). The operation manual about CONPLT code is also described. (author)

  20. CCD's at TPC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeller, M.E.

    1977-01-01

    The CCD, Charge Coupled Device, is an analog shift register for which application to the readout of particle detectors has recently been realized. These devices can be used to detect optical information directly, providing an automated readout for streamer or other optical chambers, or as a single input shift register, acting in this instance as a delay line for analog information. A description is given of the latter mode of operation and its utility as a readout method for drift chambers. Most of the information contained herein has been obtained from tests performed in connection with PEP TPC project, PEP-4. That detector will employ approximately 10 4 CCD's making it a reasonable testing ground for ISABELLE size detectors

  1. Next Generation PanDA Pilot for ATLAS and Other Experiments

    CERN Document Server

    Nilsson, P; The ATLAS collaboration; Caballero Bejar, J; De, K; Hover, J; Love, P; Maeno, T; Medrano Llamas, R; Walker, R; Wenaus, T

    2013-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis system (PanDA) has been in use in the ATLAS Experiment since 2005. It uses a sophisticated pilot system to execute submitted jobs on the worker nodes. While originally designed for ATLAS, the PanDA Pilot has recently been refactored to facilitate use outside of ATLAS. Experiments are now handled as plug-ins such that a new PanDA Pilot user only has to implement a set of prototyped methods in the plug-in classes, and provide a script that configures and runs the experiment specific payload. We will give an overview of the Next Generation PanDA Pilot system and will present major features and recent improvements including live user payload debugging, data access via the Federated XRootD system, stage-out to alternative storage elements, support for the new ATLAS DDM system (Rucio), and an improved integration with glExec, as well as a description of the experiment specific plug-in classes. The performance of the pilot system in processing LHC data on the OSG, LCG and Nord...

  2. Next Generation PanDA Pilot for ATLAS and Other Experiments

    CERN Document Server

    Nilsson, P; The ATLAS collaboration; Caballero Bejar, J; De, K; Hover, J; Love, P; Maeno, T; Medrano Llamas, R; Walker, R; Wenaus, T

    2014-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis system (PanDA) has been in use in the ATLAS Experiment since 2005. It uses a sophisticated pilot system to execute submitted jobs on the worker nodes. While originally designed for ATLAS, the PanDA Pilot has recently been refactored to facilitate use outside of ATLAS. Experiments are now handled as plug-ins such that a new PanDA Pilot user only has to implement a set of prototyped methods in the plug-in classes, and provide a script that configures and runs the experiment specific payload. We will give an overview of the Next Generation PanDA Pilot system and will present major features and recent improvements including live user payload debugging, data access via the Federated XRootD system, stage-out to alternative storage elements, support for the new ATLAS DDM system (Rucio), and an improved integration with glExec, as well as a description of the experiment specific plug-in classes. The performance of the pilot system in processing LHC data on the OSG, LCG and Nord...

  3. The GEM Detector projective alignment simulation system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wuest, C.R.; Belser, F.C.; Holdener, F.R.; Roeben, M.D.; Paradiso, J.A.; Mitselmakher, G.; Ostapchuk, A.; Pier-Amory, J.

    1993-01-01

    Precision position knowledge (< 25 microns RMS) of the GEM Detector muon system at the Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory (SSCL) is an important physics requirement necessary to minimize sagitta error in detecting and tracking high energy muons that are deflected by the magnetic field within the GEM Detector. To validate the concept of the sagitta correction function determined by projective alignment of the muon detectors (Cathode Strip Chambers or CSCs), the basis of the proposed GEM alignment scheme, a facility, called the ''Alignment Test Stand'' (ATS), is being constructed. This system simulates the environment that the CSCs and chamber alignment systems are expected to experience in the GEM Detector, albeit without the 0.8 T magnetic field and radiation environment. The ATS experimental program will allow systematic study and characterization of the projective alignment approach, as well as general mechanical engineering of muon chamber mounting concepts, positioning systems and study of the mechanical behavior of the proposed 6 layer CSCs. The ATS will consist of a stable local coordinate system in which mock-ups of muon chambers (i.e., non-working mechanical analogs, representing the three superlayers of a selected barrel and endcap alignment tower) are implemented, together with a sufficient number of alignment monitors to overdetermine the sagitta correction function, providing a self-consistency check. This paper describes the approach to be used for the alignment of the GEM muon system, the design of the ATS, and the experiments to be conducted using the ATS

  4. Performance of 20:1 multiplexer for large area charge readouts in directional dark matter TPC detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ezeribe, A. C.; Robinson, M.; Robinson, N.; Scarff, A.; Spooner, N. J. C.; Yuriev, L.

    2018-02-01

    More target mass is required in current TPC based directional dark matter detectors for improved detector sensitivity. This can be achieved by scaling up the detector volumes, but this results in the need for more analogue signal channels. A possible solution to reducing the overall cost of the charge readout electronics is to multiplex the signal readout channels. Here, we present a multiplexer system in expanded mode based on LMH6574 chips produced by Texas Instruments, originally designed for video processing. The setup has a capability of reducing the number of readouts in such TPC detectors by a factor of 20. Results indicate that the important charge distribution asymmetry along an ionization track is retained after multiplexed signals are demultiplexed.

  5. Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Buccal Mucosa Tissue as a Source of Multipotent Progenitor Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prescott, Hilary M A; Manning, Craig; Gardner, Aaron; Ritchie, William A; Pizzi, Romain; Girling, Simon; Valentine, Iain; Wang, Chengdong; Jahoda, Colin A B

    2015-01-01

    Since the first mammal was cloned, the idea of using this technique to help endangered species has aroused considerable interest. However, several issues limit this possibility, including the relatively low success rate at every stage of the cloning process, and the dearth of usable tissues from these rare animals. iPS cells have been produced from cells from a number of rare mammalian species and this is the method of choice for strategies to improve cloning efficiency and create new gametes by directed differentiation. Nevertheless information about other stem cell/progenitor capabilities of cells from endangered species could prove important for future conservation approaches and adds to the knowledge base about cellular material that can be extremely limited. Multipotent progenitor cells, termed skin-derived precursor (SKP) cells, can be isolated directly from mammalian skin dermis, and human cheek tissue has also been shown to be a good source of SKP-like cells. Recently we showed that structures identical to SKPs termed m-SKPs could be obtained from monolayer/ two dimensional (2D) skin fibroblast cultures. Here we aimed to isolate m-SKPs from cultured cells of three endangered species; giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca); red panda (Ailurus fulgens); and Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica). m-SKP-like spheres were formed from the giant panda buccal mucosa fibroblasts; whereas dermal fibroblast (DF) cells cultured from abdominal skin of the other two species were unable to generate spheres. Under specific differentiation culture conditions giant panda spheres expressed neural, Schwann, adipogenic and osteogenic cell markers. Furthermore, these buccal mucosa derived spheres were shown to maintain expression of SKP markers: nestin, versican, fibronectin, and P75 and switch on expression of the stem cell marker ABCG2. These results demonstrate that giant panda cheek skin can be a useful source of m-SKP multipotent progenitors. At present lack of sample numbers

  6. Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca Buccal Mucosa Tissue as a Source of Multipotent Progenitor Cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hilary M A Prescott

    Full Text Available Since the first mammal was cloned, the idea of using this technique to help endangered species has aroused considerable interest. However, several issues limit this possibility, including the relatively low success rate at every stage of the cloning process, and the dearth of usable tissues from these rare animals. iPS cells have been produced from cells from a number of rare mammalian species and this is the method of choice for strategies to improve cloning efficiency and create new gametes by directed differentiation. Nevertheless information about other stem cell/progenitor capabilities of cells from endangered species could prove important for future conservation approaches and adds to the knowledge base about cellular material that can be extremely limited. Multipotent progenitor cells, termed skin-derived precursor (SKP cells, can be isolated directly from mammalian skin dermis, and human cheek tissue has also been shown to be a good source of SKP-like cells. Recently we showed that structures identical to SKPs termed m-SKPs could be obtained from monolayer/ two dimensional (2D skin fibroblast cultures. Here we aimed to isolate m-SKPs from cultured cells of three endangered species; giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca; red panda (Ailurus fulgens; and Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica. m-SKP-like spheres were formed from the giant panda buccal mucosa fibroblasts; whereas dermal fibroblast (DF cells cultured from abdominal skin of the other two species were unable to generate spheres. Under specific differentiation culture conditions giant panda spheres expressed neural, Schwann, adipogenic and osteogenic cell markers. Furthermore, these buccal mucosa derived spheres were shown to maintain expression of SKP markers: nestin, versican, fibronectin, and P75 and switch on expression of the stem cell marker ABCG2. These results demonstrate that giant panda cheek skin can be a useful source of m-SKP multipotent progenitors. At present lack of

  7. PANDA: A Multipurpose Integral Test Facility for LWR Safety Investigations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paladino, D.; Dreier, J.

    2012-01-01

    The PANDA facility is a large scale, multicompartmental thermal hydraulic facility suited for investigations related to the safety of current and advanced LWRs. The facility is multipurpose, and the applications cover integral containment response tests, component tests, primary system tests, and separate effect tests. Experimental investigations carried on in the PANDA facility have been embedded in international projects, most of which under the auspices of the EU and OECD and with the support of a large number of organizations (regulatory bodies, technical dupport organizations, national laboratories, electric utilities, industries) worldwide. The paper provides an overview of the research programs performed in the PANDA facility in relation to BWR containment systems and those planned for PWR containment systems.

  8. Quantifying the evidence for co-benefits between species conservation and climate change mitigation in giant panda habitats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Renqiang; Xu, Ming; Powers, Ryan; Zhao, Fen; Jetz, Walter; Wen, Hui; Sheng, Qingkai

    2017-10-05

    Conservationists strive for practical, cost-effective management solutions to forest-based species conservation and climate change mitigation. However, this is compromised by insufficient information about the effectiveness of protected areas in increasing carbon storage, and the co-benefits of species and carbon conservation remain poorly understood. Here, we present the first rigorous quantitative assessment of the roles of giant panda nature reserves (NRs) in carbon sequestration, and explore the co-benefits of habitat conservation and climate change mitigation. Results show that more than 90% of the studied panda NRs are effective in increasing carbon storage, with the mean biomass carbon density of the whole NRs exhibiting a 4.2% higher growth rate compared with lands not declared as NRs over the period 1988-2012, while this effectiveness in carbon storage masks important patterns of spatial heterogeneity across the giant panda habitats. Moreover, the significant associations have been identified between biomass carbon density and panda's habitat suitability in ~85% NRs and at the NR level. These findings suggest that the planning for carbon and species conservation co-benefits would enhance the greatest return on limited conservation investments, which is a critical need for the giant panda after its conservation status has been downgraded from "endangered" to "vulnerable".

  9. The PASTA chip - A free-running readout ASIC for silicon strip sensors in PANDA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goerres, Andre; Stockmanns, Tobias; Ritman, James [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Forschungszentrum Juelich, Juelich (Germany); Rivetti, Angelo [INFN Sezione di Torino, Torino (Italy); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

    2014-07-01

    The PANDA experiment is a multi purpose detector, investigating hadron physics in the charm quark mass regime. It is one of the main experiments at the future FAIR accelerator facility, using pp annihilations from a 1.5-15 GeV/c anti-proton beam. Because of the broad physics spectrum and the similarity of event and background signals, PANDA does not rely on a hardware-level trigger decision. The innermost of PANDA's sub-systems is the Micro Vertex Detector (MVD), consisting of silicon pixel and strip sensors. The latter will be read out by a specialized, free-running readout front-end called PANDA Strip ASIC (PASTA). It has to face a high event rate of up to 40 kHz/ch in an radiation-intense environment. To fulfill the MVD's requirements, it has to give accurate timing information to incoming events (<10 ns) and determine the collected charge with an 8-bit precision. The design has to meet cooling and placing restrictions, leading to a very low power consumption (<4 mW/ch) and limited dimensions. Therefore, a simple, time-based readout approach is chosen. In this talk, the conceptual design of the front-end is presented.

  10. AGS silicon gold collisions measured in the E-810 TPC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Love, W.A.; Etkin, A.; Foley, K.J.; Hackenburg, R.W.; Longacre, R.S.; Morris, T.W.; Platner, E.D.; Saulys, A.C.; Bonner, B.E.; Buchanan, J.A.; Chiou, C.N.; Clement, J.M.; Corcoran, M.D.; Kruk, J.W.; Miettinen, H.E.; Mutchler, G.S.; Nessi, M.; Nessi-Tedaldi, F.; Roberts, J.B.; Chan, C.S.; Kramer, M.A.; Hallman, T.J.; Madansky, L.; Lindenbaum, S.J.

    1990-01-01

    The tracking detector of AGS Experiment 810 is a three-piece Time Projection Chamber (TPC) intended to measure all charged tracks in the forward hemisphere of the nucleon-nucleon center of mass system, i.e. forward of an angle of about 20 degrees in the lab. Each module of the TPC contains twelve rows of short anode wires which give 3-D space points on each track, but no dE/dx information useable for particle identification. The TPC was operated in a beam of silicon ions at the end of June 1989 and this talk reports the results of analysis of the data taken with a thin gold target in that run. The authors have gathered a similar amount of data from thin copper and silicon targets, the analysis of which is in a less advanced state. The results of the investigation of the neutral strange particle decays appear in a separate contribution by Al Saulys. This paper presents the current state of the analysis of the charged tracks from the silicon gold collisions

  11. Extending the ATLAS PanDA Workload Management System for New Big Data Applications

    CERN Document Server

    De, K; The ATLAS collaboration; Maeno, T; Nilsson, P; Panitkin, S; Vaniachine, A; Wenaus, T; Yu, D

    2013-01-01

    The LHC experiments are today at the leading edge of large scale distributed data-intensive computational science. The LHC's ATLAS experiment processes data volumes which are particularly extreme, over 130 PB to date, distributed worldwide at over of 120 sites. An important element in the success of the exciting physics results from ATLAS is the highly scalable integrated workflow and dataflow management afforded by the PanDA workload management system, used for all the distributed computing needs of the experiment. The PanDA design is not experiment specific and PanDA is now being extended to support other data intensive scientific applications. Alpha-Magnetic Spectrometer, an astro-particle experiment on the International Space Station, and the Compact Muon Solenoid, an LHC experiment, have successfully evaluated PanDA and are pursuing its adoption. PanDA was cited as an example of "a high performance, fault tolerant software for fast, scalable access to data repositories of many kinds" during the "Big Data...

  12. PanDA: Exascale Federation of Resources for the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megino Fernando Barreiro

    2016-01-01

    The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis system was developed in 2005 for the ATLAS experiment on top of this heterogeneous infrastructure to seamlessly integrate the computational resources and give the users the feeling of a unique system. Since its origins, PanDA has evolved together with upcoming computing paradigms in and outside HEP, such as changes in the networking model, Cloud Computing and HPC. It is currently running steadily up to 200 thousand simultaneous cores (limited by the available resources for ATLAS, up to two million aggregated jobs per day and processes over an exabyte of data per year. The success of PanDA in ATLAS is triggering the widespread adoption and testing by other experiments. In this contribution we will give an overview of the PanDA components and focus on the new features and upcoming challenges that are relevant to the next decade of distributed computing workload management using PanDA.

  13. PD2P : PanDA Dynamic Data Placement for ATLAS

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2012-01-01

    The PanDA Dynamic Data Placement (PD2P) system has been developed to cope with difficulties of data placement for ATLAS. PD2P is an intelligent subsystem of PanDA to distribute data by taking the following factors into account: popularity, locality, the usage pattern of the data, the distribution of CPU and storage resources, ...

  14. Microbial diversity and evidence of novel homoacetogens in the gut of both geriatric and adult giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hein Min Tun

    Full Text Available Recent studies have described the bacterial community residing in the guts of giant pandas, together with the presence of lignocellulolytic enzymes. However, a more comprehensive understanding of the intestinal microbial composition and its functional capacity in giant pandas remains a major goal. Here, we conducted a comparison of bacterial, fungal and homoacetogenic microbial communities from fecal samples taken from two geriatric and two adult captive giant pandas. 16S rDNA amplicon pyrosequencing revealed that Firmicutes and Proteobacteria are the most abundant microbiota in both geriatric and adult giant pandas. However, members of phylum Actinobacteria found in adult giant pandas were absent in their geriatric counterparts. Similarly, ITS1 amplicon pyrosequencing identified developmental changes in the most abundant fungal classes from Sordariomycetes in adult pandas to Saccharomycetes in geriatric pandas. Geriatric pandas exhibited significantly higher abundance of a potential probiotic fungus (Candida tropicalis as compared to adult pandas, indicating their importance in the normal digestive physiology of aged pandas. Our study also reported the presence of a lignocellulolytic white-rot fungus, Perenniporia medulla-panis, and the evidence of novel homoacetogens residing in the guts of giant pandas.

  15. Construction and testing of the two meter diameter TPC thin superconducting solenoid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Green, M.A.; Eberhard, P.H.; Ross, R.R.; Taylor, J.D.

    1979-08-01

    High energy colliding beam physics often requires large detectors which contain large volumes of magnetic field. The TPC (Time Projection Chamber) experiment at PEP will use a 1.5T magnetic field within a cylindrical volume which is 2.04m in diameter bounded by iron poles which are separated by a gap of 3.25m. The TPC magnet, built in 1979 by the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL), is the largest high current density superconducting magnet built to date. It is designed to operate at a current density of 7 x 10 8 Am -2 and a stored energy of 11MJ, and it is protected by shorted secondary windings during a quench. The paper describes the basic parameters of the TPC magnet and the results of the first subassembly tests at LBL

  16. GPU Computing Gems Emerald Edition

    CERN Document Server

    Hwu, Wen-mei W

    2011-01-01

    ".the perfect companion to Programming Massively Parallel Processors by Hwu & Kirk." -Nicolas Pinto, Research Scientist at Harvard & MIT, NVIDIA Fellow 2009-2010 Graphics processing units (GPUs) can do much more than render graphics. Scientists and researchers increasingly look to GPUs to improve the efficiency and performance of computationally-intensive experiments across a range of disciplines. GPU Computing Gems: Emerald Edition brings their techniques to you, showcasing GPU-based solutions including: Black hole simulations with CUDA GPU-accelerated computation and interactive display of

  17. Game programming gems

    CERN Document Server

    DeLoura, Mark

    2000-01-01

    For the countless tasks involved in creating a game engine there are an equal number of possible solutions. But instead of spending hours and hours trying to develop your own answers, now you can find out how the pros do it! Game Programming Gems is a hands-on, comprehensive resource packed with a variety of game programming algorithms written by experts from the game industry and edited by Mark DeLoura, former software engineering lead for Nintendo of America, Inc. and now the newly appointed editor-in-chief of Game Developer magazine. From animation and artificial intelligence to Z-buffering, lighting calculations, weather effects, curved surfaces, mutliple layer Internet gaming, to music and sound effects, all of the major techniques needed to develop a competitive game engine are covered. Game Programming Gems is written in a style accessible to individuals with a range of expertise levels. All of the source code for each algorithm is included and can be used by advanced programmers immediately. For aspir...

  18. Genome-wide survey and analysis of microsatellites in giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), with a focus on the applications of a novel microsatellite marker system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jie; Li, Yu-Zhi; Du, Lian-Ming; Yang, Bo; Shen, Fu-Jun; Zhang, He-Min; Zhang, Zhi-He; Zhang, Xiu-Yue; Yue, Bi-Song

    2015-02-07

    The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a critically endangered species endemic to China. Microsatellites have been preferred as the most popular molecular markers and proven effective in estimating population size, paternity test, genetic diversity for the critically endangered species. The availability of the giant panda complete genome sequences provided the opportunity to carry out genome-wide scans for all types of microsatellites markers, which now opens the way for the analysis and development of microsatellites in giant panda. By screening the whole genome sequence of giant panda in silico mining, we identified microsatellites in the genome of giant panda and analyzed their frequency and distribution in different genomic regions. Based on our search criteria, a repertoire of 855,058 SSRs was detected, with mono-nucleotides being the most abundant. SSRs were found in all genomic regions and were more abundant in non-coding regions than coding regions. A total of 160 primer pairs were designed to screen for polymorphic microsatellites using the selected tetranucleotide microsatellite sequences. The 51 novel polymorphic tetranucleotide microsatellite loci were discovered based on genotyping blood DNA from 22 captive giant pandas in this study. Finally, a total of 15 markers, which showed good polymorphism, stability, and repetition in faecal samples, were used to establish the novel microsatellite marker system for giant panda. Meanwhile, a genotyping database for Chengdu captive giant pandas (n = 57) were set up using this standardized system. What's more, a universal individual identification method was established and the genetic diversity were analysed in this study as the applications of this marker system. The microsatellite abundance and diversity were characterized in giant panda genomes. A total of 154,677 tetranucleotide microsatellites were identified and 15 of them were discovered as the polymorphic and stable loci. The individual

  19. A novel polyomavirus from the nasal cavity of a giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Dunwu; Shan, Tongling; Liu, Zhijian; Deng, Xutao; Zhang, Zhihe; Bi, Wenlei; Owens, Jacob Robert; Feng, Feifei; Zheng, Lisong; Huang, Feng; Delwart, Eric; Hou, Rong; Zhang, Wen

    2017-10-27

    Polyomaviruses infect a wide variety of mammalian and avian hosts with a broad spectrum of outcomes including asymptomatic infection, acute systemic disease, and tumor induction. Viral metagenomics and general PCR methods were used to detected viral nucleic acid in the samples from a diseased and healthy giant pandas. A novel polyomavirus, the giant panda polyomavirus 1 (GPPyV1) from the nasal cavity of a dead giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) was characterized. The GPPyV1 genome is 5144 bp in size and reveals five putative open-reading frames coding for the classic small and large T antigens in the early region, and the VP1, VP2 and VP3 capsid proteins in the late region. Phylogenetic analyses of the large T antigen of the GPPyV1 indicated GPPyV1 belonged to a putative new species within genus Deltapolyomavirus, clustering with four human polyomavirus species. The GPPyV1 VP1 and VP2 clustered with genus Alphapolyomavirus. Our epidemiologic study indicated that this novel polyomavirus was also detected in nasal swabs and fecal samples collected from captive healthy giant pandas. A novel polyomavirus was detected in giant pandas and its complete genome was characterized, which may cause latency infection in giant pandas.

  20. Material screening with HPGe counting station for PandaX experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, X.; Chen, X.; Fu, C.; Ji, X.; Liu, X.; Xie, P.; Zhang, T.; Mao, Y.; Wang, S.; Wang, H.

    2016-01-01

    A gamma counting station based on high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector was set up for the material screening of the PandaX dark matter experiments in the China Jinping Underground Laboratory. Low background gamma rate of 2.6 counts/min within the energy range of 20 to 2700 keV is achieved due to the well-designed passive shield. The sentivities of the HPGe detetector reach mBq/kg level for isotopes like K, U, Th, and even better for Co and Cs, resulted from the low-background rate and the high relative detection efficiency of 175%. The structure and performance of the counting station are described in this article. Detailed counting results for the radioactivity in materials used by the PandaX dark-matter experiment are presented. The upgrading plan of the counting station is also discussed.

  1. Patterns of genetic differentiation at MHC class I genes and microsatellites identify conservation units in the giant panda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Ying; Wan, Qiu-Hong; Yu, Bin; Ge, Yun-Fa; Fang, Sheng-Guo

    2013-10-22

    Evaluating patterns of genetic variation is important to identify conservation units (i.e., evolutionarily significant units [ESUs], management units [MUs], and adaptive units [AUs]) in endangered species. While neutral markers could be used to infer population history, their application in the estimation of adaptive variation is limited. The capacity to adapt to various environments is vital for the long-term survival of endangered species. Hence, analysis of adaptive loci, such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, is critical for conservation genetics studies. Here, we investigated 4 classical MHC class I genes (Aime-C, Aime-F, Aime-I, and Aime-L) and 8 microsatellites to infer patterns of genetic variation in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and to further define conservation units. Overall, we identified 24 haplotypes (9 for Aime-C, 1 for Aime-F, 7 for Aime-I, and 7 for Aime-L) from 218 individuals obtained from 6 populations of giant panda. We found that the Xiaoxiangling population had the highest genetic variation at microsatellites among the 6 giant panda populations and higher genetic variation at Aime-MHC class I genes than other larger populations (Qinling, Qionglai, and Minshan populations). Differentiation index (FST)-based phylogenetic and Bayesian clustering analyses for Aime-MHC-I and microsatellite loci both supported that most populations were highly differentiated. The Qinling population was the most genetically differentiated. The giant panda showed a relatively higher level of genetic diversity at MHC class I genes compared with endangered felids. Using all of the loci, we found that the 6 giant panda populations fell into 2 ESUs: Qinling and non-Qinling populations. We defined 3 MUs based on microsatellites: Qinling, Minshan-Qionglai, and Daxiangling-Xiaoxiangling-Liangshan. We also recommended 3 possible AUs based on MHC loci: Qinling, Minshan-Qionglai, and Daxiangling-Xiaoxiangling-Liangshan. Furthermore, we recommend

  2. Giant pandas failed to show mirror self-recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Xiaozan; Jin, Yuan; Luo, Bo; Zhang, Guiquan; Wei, Rongping; Liu, Dingzhen

    2015-05-01

    Mirror self-recognition (MSR), i.e., the ability to recognize oneself in a mirror, is considered a potential index of self-recognition and the foundation of individual development. A wealth of literature on MSR is available for social animals, such as chimpanzees, Asian elephants and dolphins, yet little is known about MSR in solitary mammalian species. We aimed to evaluate whether the giant panda can recognize itself in the mirror, and whether this capacity varies with age. Thirty-four captive giant pandas (F:M = 18:16; juveniles, sub-adults and adults) were subjected to four mirror tests: covered mirror tests, open mirror tests, water mark control tests, and mark tests. The results showed that, though adult, sub-adult and juvenile pandas exposed to mirrors spent similar amounts of time in social mirror-directed behaviors (χ(2) = 0.719, P = 0.698), none of them used the mirror to touch the mark on their head, a self-directed behavior suggesting MSR. Individuals of all age groups initially displayed attacking, threatening, foot scraping and backwards walking behaviors when exposed to their self-images in the mirror. Our data indicate that, regardless of age, the giant pandas did not recognize their self-image in the mirror, but instead considered the image to be a conspecific. Our results add to the available information on mirror self-recognition in large mammals, provide new information on a solitary species, and will be useful for enclosure design and captive animal management.

  3. Development of a cluster-jet target for PANDA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gruber, A.; Marton, J.; Widmann, E.; Zmeskal, J.; Orth, H.; Luehning, J.

    2008-01-01

    Full text: The Stefan Meyer Institut (SMI) is part of the international PANDA collaboration. The universal detector will be constructed at the future high-energy antiproton storage ring HESR at FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research, GSI/Darmstadt). PANDA will use antiproton beams (1.5 to 15 GeV/c) for hadron physics in the charmonium region. The physics program of PANDA will encompass charmonium spectroscopy below and above open charm threshold, search for exotics (glueballs, hybrids), lambda and double-lambda hypernuclei studies and the investigation of in-medium modifications of charmed mesons - an experimentally unexplored field. SMI contributes to major parts of the PANDA detector like the hydrogen cluster-jet target and the vacuum system of the antiproton - target interaction zone. In order to reach the desired target density, an optimization of the cold head, the nozzle and the skimmer arrangement is essential. A density-profile monitor for the cluster-jet was designed and built at SMI. Several nozzle types will be studied using different gases, temperatures and inlet pressures. Additionally we, together with the cluster-jet target group at GSI, are carrying out R and D for improving the jet-density. The Genova/Fermilab cluster-jet target used for these measurements has been in use at Fermilab for the experiments E760 and E835 and has been transferred to GSI for this purpose. The setup of the density-profile monitor at SMI and several measurements at GSI will be presented. (author)

  4. Development of a cluster-jet target for PANDA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gruber, A.; Marton, J.; Widmann, E.; Zmeskal, J.; PANDA Cluster Jet Target Group

    2006-01-01

    Full text: The Stefan Meyer Institute (SMI) is part of the international PANDA collaboration. The universal detector will be constructed for the future high-energy antiproton storage ring HESR at FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research, GSI/Darmstadt). PANDA will use antiproton beams (1.5 to 15 GeV/c) for hadron physics in the charmonium region. The physics program of PANDA will comprehend charmonium spectroscopy below and above open charm threshold, search for exotics (glueballs, hybrids), lambda and double-lambda hypernuclei studies and the investigation of in-medium modifications of charmed mesons - an experimentally unexplored field. SMI contributes to major parts of the PANDA detector like the hydrogen cluster-jet target and the antiproton - cluster jet interaction zone: in order to reach the desired target density, an optimization of the nozzle and the skimmer arrangement is essential. A density-profile monitor for the cluster-jet was designed and built at SMI. Several nozzle types have been studied using different gases, temperatures and inlet pressures. To ensure low background the residual gas load in the interaction zone has to be minimized. The installation of NEG (non-evaporative-getter) coated beam pipes is planned. A prototype of the interaction zone has been set up at SMI. The pumping capacity of NEG and the reactivation cycles were tested. The status of the development of the cluster-jet target and studies of the interaction region will be presented (author)

  5. GEM - A novel gaseous particle detector

    CERN Document Server

    Meinschad, T

    2005-01-01

    The work carried out within the framework of this Ph.D. deals with the construction of gaseous prototype detectors using Gas Electron Multiplier electrodes for the amplification of charges released by ionizing particles. The Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) is a thin metal-clad polymer foil, etched with a high density of narrow holes, typically 50-100mm-2. On the application of a potential difference between the conductive top and bottom sides each hole acts as independent proportional counter. This new fast device permits to reach large amplification factors at high rates with a strong photon and ion-mediated feedback suppression due to the avalanche confinement in the GEM-holes. Here, in particular studies have been performed, which should prove, that the GEM-technology is applicable for an efficient measurement of single Cherenkov photons. These UV-photons can be detected in different ways. An elegant solution to develop large area RICH-detectors is to evaporate a pad-segmented readout-cathode of a multi-wire...

  6. Gain uniformity experimental study performed on triple-GEM gas detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dong Liyuan; Qi Huirong; Lu Xinyu; Ouyang Qun; Chen Yuanbo; Li Yuhong

    2012-01-01

    With the application of the two-dimensional GEM gaseous detector in X-ray imaging, the correction method of gain uniformity caused by triple-GEM avalanche structures and electric field uniformity should be studied. The paper reported the study of the triple-GEM detector with effective area 100 mm × 100 mm used the Pad's size of 9.5 mm × 9.5 mm. In the test, 100 readout channels were designed. Results showed that gain remained stable over time; at air flow increases, gain from increases obviously to changes very little. Particularly, triple-GEM's gain uniformity was very good (more than 80%) and the range of energy resolution was from 0.18 to 0.2. To improve gain consistency of results, the difference value revised was obtained to be about 0.1 by the least square method. It provided a better method to improve gain uniformity of GEM detector. (authors)

  7. A gravity model for crustal dynamics (GEM-L2)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lerch, F. J.; Klosko, S. M.; Patel, G. B.; Wagner, C. A.

    1985-01-01

    The Laser Geodynamics Satellite (Lageos) was the first NASA satellite which was placed into orbit exclusively for laser ranging applications. Lageos was designed to permit extremely accurate measurements of the earth's rotation and the movement of the tectonic plates. The Goddard earth model, GEM-L2, was derived mainly on the basis of the precise laser ranging data taken on many satellites. Douglas et al. (1984) have demonstrated the utility of GEM-L2 in detecting the broadest ocean circulations. As Lageos data constitute the most extensive set of satellite laser observations ever collected, the incorporation of 2-1/2 years of these data into the Goddard earth models (GEM) has substantially advanced the geodynamical objectives. The present paper discusses the products of the GEM-L2 solution.

  8. Low noise preamplifier ASIC for the PANDA experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Flemming, H; Wieczorek, P

    2011-01-01

    For the electromagnetic calorimeter of the PANDA detector a preamplifier ASIC named APFEL (ASIC for Panda Front-end ELectronics) has been developed at GSI. It is optimized for the readout of large area avalanche photodiodes (LAAPDs) with a capacitance of 300 pF and an event rate of 350 kHz. The ASIC has two equivalent analog channels each consisting of a charge sensitive amplifier, a shaper stage and differential output drivers. For operating the ASIC in a wide temperature range programmable voltage references are implemented on chip.

  9. Results from tests of the Delphi TPC prototype

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vilanova, D.

    1985-01-01

    Results from beam tests of a half-scale sector of the Delphi TPC are presented. The spatial resolution is slightly higher than predicted by Monte Carlo simulations, corresponding to an average value of about 300 μm. (orig.)

  10. The GEM code. A simulation program for the evaporation and the fission process of an excited nucleus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Furihata, Shiori [Mitsubishi Research Institute Inc., Tokyo (Japan); Niita, Koji [Research Organization for Information Science and Technology, Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan); Meigo, Shin-ichiro; Ikeda, Yujiro; Maekawa, Fujio [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    2001-03-01

    The GEM code is a simulation program which describes the de-excitation process of an excited nucleus, which is based on the Generalized Evaporation Model and the Atchison fission model. It has been shown that the combination of the Bertini intranuclear cascade model and GEM accurately predicts the cross sections of light fragments, such as Be produced from the proton-induced reactions. It has also been shown that the use of the reevaluated parameters in the Atchison model improves predictions of cross sections of fission fragments produced from the proton-induced reaction on Au. In this report, we present details and the usage of the GEM code. Furthermore, the results of benchmark calculations are shown by using the combination of the Bertini intranuclear cascade model and the GEM code (INC/GEM). Neutron spectra and isotope production cross sections from the reactions on various targets irradiated by protons are calculated with INC/GEM. Those results are compared with experimental data as well as the calculation results with LAHET. INC/GEM reproduces the experiments of double differential neutron emissions from the reaction on Al and Pb. The isotopic distributions for He, Li, and Be produced from the reaction on Ag are in good agreement with experimental data within 50%, although INC/GEM underestimates those of heavier nuclei than O. It is also shown that the predictions with INC/GEM for isotope production of light fragments, such as Li and Be, are better than those calculation with LAHET, particularly for heavy target. INC/GEM also gives better estimates of the cross sections of fission products than LAHET. (author)

  11. Readout and trigger electronics for the TPC vertex chamber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ronan, M.T.; Jared, R.C.; McGathen, T.K.; Eisner, A.M.; Broeder, W.J.; Godfrey, G.L.

    1987-10-01

    The introduction of the vertex chamber required the addition of new front-end electronics and a new 1024-channel, high-accuracy TDC system. The preamplifier/discriminator should be capable of triggering on the first electrons and the time digitzer should preserve the measurement resolution. For the TDC's, in order to maintain compatibility with the existing TPC readout system, an upgrade of a previous inner drift chamber digitizer system has been chosen. Tests of the accuracy and stability of the original design indicated that the new design specifications would be met. The TPC detector requires a fast pretrigger to turn on its gating grid within 500 ns of the e/sup +/e/sup -/ beam crossing time, to minimize the loss of ionization information. A pretrigger based on the Straw Chamber signals, operating at a rate of about 2 K/sec, will be used for charged particle final states. In addition, in order to reject low mass Two-Photon events at the final trigger level, an accurate transverse momentum cutoff will be made by the Straw Chamber trigger logic. In this paper, we describe the readout and trigger electronics systems which have been built to satisfy the above requirements. 5 refs., 8 figs

  12. A micro-TCA based data acquisition system for the Triple-GEM detectors for the upgrade of the CMS forward muon spectrometer

    CERN Document Server

    Lenzi, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    We will present the electronic and DAQ system being developed for TripleGEM detectors which will be installed in the CMS muon spectrometer. The microTCA system uses an Advanced Mezzanine Card equipped with an FPGA and the Versatile Link with the GBT chipset to link the front and back-end. On the detector an FPGA mezzanine board, the OptoHybrid, has to collect the data from the detector readout chips to transmit them optically to the microTCA boards using the GBT protocol. We will describe the hardware architecture, report on the status of the developments, and present results obtained with the system.In this contribution we will report on the progress of the design of the electronic readout and data acquisition (DAQ) system being developed for Triple-GEM detectors which will be installed in the forward region (1.5 < eta < 2.2) of the CMS muon spectrometer during the 2nd long shutdown of the LHC, planed for the period 2018-2019. The architecture of the Triple-GEM readout system is based on the use of the...

  13. A PHOTOMETRIC STUDY OF THE ALGOL-TYPE BINARY FG Gem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, J.; Qian, S.-B.

    2013-01-01

    High-quality three-color light curves of the binary FG Gem were measured and analyzed. A new method based on extensive searching of isochrones was used to investigate possible parameters for the binary. FG Gem is found to be an Algol-type semi-detached binary system with a primary star temperature of 8200 K and a mass ratio of 0.41(1). The correctness and reliability of our result requires the verification of precision spectroscopy or standard star observations. We investigate a new possible cause for the orbital period variations based on times of minimum light data. It is suggested from the quantitative analysis that variations in the orbital period can be explained by intermittent mass transfer and angular momentum loss from stellar winds leaving the system on rotating magnetic fields.

  14. Next generation PanDA pilot for ATLAS and other experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nilsson, P; De, K; Megino, F Barreiro; Llamas, R Medrano; Bejar, J Caballero; Hover, J; Maeno, T; Wenaus, T; Love, P; Walker, R

    2014-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis system (PanDA) has been in use in the ATLAS Experiment since 2005. It uses a sophisticated pilot system to execute submitted jobs on the worker nodes. While originally designed for ATLAS, the PanDA Pilot has recently been refactored to facilitate use outside of ATLAS. Experiments are now handled as plug-ins such that a new PanDA Pilot user only has to implement a set of prototyped methods in the plug-in classes, and provide a script that configures and runs the experiment-specific payload. We will give an overview of the Next Generation PanDA Pilot system and will present major features and recent improvements including live user payload debugging, data access via the Federated XRootD system, stage-out to alternative storage elements, support for the new ATLAS DDM system (Rucio), and an improved integration with glExec, as well as a description of the experiment-specific plug-in classes. The performance of the pilot system in processing LHC data on the OSG, LCG and Nordugrid infrastructures used by ATLAS will also be presented. We will describe plans for future development on the time scale of the next few years.

  15. The barrel and disc DIRC counters for the PANDA experiment at FAIR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmidt, Mustafa [II. Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Giessen (Germany); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

    2016-07-01

    The PANDA spectrometer for the future FAIR facility at GSI will be used to address open questions in hadronic physics by investigating antiproton collisions with a fixed target in the momentum range between 1.5 GeV/c and 15 GeV/c. In order to achieve a particle identification with a high precision, two different DIRC detector concepts have been developed by PANDA, which allow a compact detector design together with an excellent performance to cleanly separate pions, kaons, and protons. The Barrel DIRC in the target spectrometer of PANDA is based on the successful BaBar DIRC with several key improvements. It is designed for polar angles between θ = 22 and θ = 140 and momenta up to 3.5 GeV/c. The Disc DIRC is part of the endcap region of the spectrometer and covers the angular range from θ = 5 /10 to θ = 22 in the forward direction of PANDA. It will provide a π/K separation with a 4-σ separation power up to a momentum of 4 GeV/c. Both Cherenkov detectors will use MCP-PMTs for the photon detection in combination with fast readout electronics. The radiators are synthetic fused silica plates with precision polished surfaces that guarantee to have very little photon losses by total reflection and conserve the Cherenkov angle during propagation through the optical system. Simulations with Geant4 and tests with several prototypes at various test beam facilities have been used to evaluate the designs and validate the expected PID performance of the DIRC counters.

  16. T2K Liquid Argon TPC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meregaglia, Anselmo

    2006-09-01

    A 2 km LAr detector would be an important asset for the T2K experiment since it would play an important part in reducing the systematics and improving the ultimate θ sensitivity. It would also be an important milestone for the LAr TPC technique, providing in-situ R&D and paving the way for future large LAr detectors. Its main features are discussed in this talk.

  17. Analysis of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COX2) gene in giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, S S; Zhu, Y; Lan, D; Li, D S; Pang, H Z; Wang, Y; Li, D Y; Wei, R P; Zhang, H M; Wang, C D; Hu, Y D

    2017-01-23

    The giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca (Ursidae), has a unique bamboo-based diet; however, this low-energy intake has been sufficient to maintain the metabolic processes of this species since the fourth ice age. As mitochondria are the main sites for energy metabolism in animals, the protein-coding genes involved in mitochondrial respiratory chains, particularly cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COX2), which is the rate-limiting enzyme in electron transfer, could play an important role in giant panda metabolism. Therefore, the present study aimed to isolate, sequence, and analyze the COX2 DNA from individuals kept at the Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, China, and compare these sequences with those of the other Ursidae family members. Multiple sequence alignment showed that the COX2 gene had three point mutations that defined three haplotypes, with 60% of the sequences corresponding to haplotype I. The neutrality tests revealed that the COX2 gene was conserved throughout evolution, and the maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis, using homologous sequences from other Ursidae species, showed clustering of the COX2 sequences of giant pandas, suggesting that this gene evolved differently in them.

  18. Status of gastrointestinal parasites in Red Panda of Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bista, Damber; Shrestha, Saroj; Kunwar, Ajaya Jang; Acharya, Sakshi; Jnawali, Shant Raj; Acharya, Krishna Prasad

    2017-01-01

    Red pandas are known to be highly susceptible to endoparasites, which can have a prominent impact on the population dynamics of this endangered species. There are very limited published reports on prevalence and risk of parasites in wild populations of red panda, especially localized reports. This study attempts to provide an in-depth insight of the status of endoparasites in red pandas, which is critical for strengthening conservation efforts. A total of 272 fecal samples were collected through systematic sampling across the red panda distribution range in Nepal and coprological examination was completed using standard techniques. It was followed by an estimation of prevalence and mean intensity of parasites, as well as statistical analysis, which was carried out using R statistical software. Parasite prevalence was documented in 90.80% ( n  = 247) out of 272 samples examined which includes seven different species along with three genera of parasites belonging to Protozoans (3 species), Cestodes (1 genus, 1 species) and Nematodes (2 genera, 3 species). Nematodes predominated in all infected samples (87.62%). Prevalence of Ancyclostoma duodenale ( n  = 227, 70.06%), having a mean intensity of 3.45 ± 2.88 individuals per sample, was observed, followed by Ascaris lumbricoides ( n  = 19, 5.86%) and Entamoeba histolytica ( n  = 24, 7.41%). Eight variables for assessing the determinants of infestation were tested: protected areas; non-protected areas; aspect; elevation; slope; and distance to water sources, herding stations, and settlements. Only the settlement displayed significant association ( β = -1534e-04, t  =  - 2.192, p  = 0.0293) though each parasite species displayed dissimilar association with different variables. This study indicates the urgent need of improving existing herding practice through habitat zonation, rotational grazing, medication of livestock, and prohibition of open defecation within and around red panda habitat.

  19. Simulation studies for the PANDA endcap disc DIRC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmidt, Mustafa; Biguenko, Klim; Dueren, Michael; Hayrapetyan, Avetik; Kroeck, Benno; Merle, Oliver; Rieke, Julian [II. Physikalisches Institut, Justus-Liebig-Universitaet, Giessen (Germany); Foehl, Klaus [CERN, Genf (Switzerland); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

    2015-07-01

    The physics program of the PANDA detector at the future FAIR facility at GSI requires excellent particle identification. For the Panda forward endcap region a novel detector type called ''Disc DIRC'' has been designed. It covers the angular range between 5 and 22 degrees and uses internally reflected Cherenkov light in order to separate pions, kaons and protons up to a momentum of 4 GeV/c. During the design phase, extensive detector simulations have been performed to optimize and evaluate the design. The simulations were done using Geant4 and the PandaRoot framework in addition with a dedicated reconstruction software. An important aspect was the optimization of the imaging while taking the geometrical tolerances of the manufacturing process of the final detector into account. The main focus lies on the optimization process of the cylindrical and polynomial focussing optics at the edges of the detector plate, which has been performed with the merit function of a raytracer called PyOptics, written by one of the group members.

  20. Toward improved guideline quality: using the COGS statement with GEM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiffman, Richard N; Michel, Georges

    2004-01-01

    The Conference on Guideline Standardization (COGS) was convened to create a standardized documentation checklist for clinical practice guidelines in an effort to promote guideline quality and facilitate implementation. The statement was created by a multidisciplinary panel using a rigorous consensus development methodology. The Guideline Elements Model (GEM) provides a standardized approach to representing guideline documents using XML. In this work, we demonstrate the sufficiency of GEM for describing COGS components. Using the mapping between COGS and GEM elements we built an XSLT application to examine a guideline's adherence (or non-adherence) to the COGS checklist. Once a guideline has been marked up according to the GEM hierarchy, its knowledge content can be reused in multiple ways.