We highlight the progress, current status, and open challenges of QCD-driven physics, in theory and in experiment. We discuss how the strong interaction is intimately connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to strongly coupled, complex systems in particle and condensed-matter physics, as well as to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. We also discuss how success in describing the strong interaction impacts other fields, and, in turn, how such subjects can impact studies of the strong interaction. In the course of the work we offer a perspective on the many research streams which flow into and out of QCD, as well as a vision for future developments.

The Small Area Tracking system of the COMPASS experiment at CERN includes a set of 20 large area, fast position-sensitive Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detectors, designed to reliably operate in the harsh radiation environment of the experiment. We describe in detail the design, choice of materials, assembly procedures and quality controls used to manufacture the devices. The test procedure in the laboratory, the performance in test beams and in the initial commissioning phase in the experiment are presented and discussed.

The gas electron multiplier (GEM) used as single proportional counter or in a cascade of two or more elements, permits to attain high gains and to perform detection and localization of ionizing tracks at very high radiation rates. As in other micro-pattern detectors, however, the occasional occurrence of heavily ionizing trails may trigger a local breakdown, with possible harmful consequences on the device itself and on the readout electronics. This paper describes a systematic investigation of the discharge mechanisms in single and multiple GEM structures, and suggests various strategies to reduce both the energy and the probability of the discharges. r

The COMPASS Collaboration at CERN has measured the transverse spin azimuthal asymmetry of\ud charged hadrons produced in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering using a 160 GeV μ+ beam and a\ud transversely polarised NH3 target. The Sivers asymmetry of the proton has been extracted in the Bjorken\ud x range 0.003 < x < 0.7. The new measurements have small statistical and systematic uncertainties of\ud a few percent and confirm with considerably better accuracy the previous COMPASS measurement. The\ud Sivers asymmetry is found to be compatible with zero for negative hadrons and positive for positive\ud hadrons, a clear indication of a spin–orbit coupling of quarks in a transversely polarised proton. As\ud compared to measurements at lower energy, a smaller Sivers asymmetry for positive hadrons is found\ud in the region x > 0.03. The asymmetry is different from zero and positive also in the low x region,\ud where sea-quarks dominate. The kinematic dependence of the asymmetry has also been investigated and\ud results are given for various intervals of hadron and virtual photon fractional energy. In contrast to the\ud case of the Collins asymmetry, the results on the Sivers asymmetry suggest a strong dependence on the\ud four-momentum transfer to the nucleon, in agreement with the most recent calculations