The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory is an array of large water Cherenkov detectors sensitive to gamma rays and hadronic cosmic rays in the energy band between 100 GeV and 100 TeV. The observatory will be used to measure high-energy protons and cosmic rays via detection of the energetic secondary particles reaching the ground when one of these particles interacts in the atmosphere above the detector. HAWC is under construction at a site 4100 meters above sea level on the northern slope of the volcano Sierra Negra, which is located in central Mexico at 19• N latitude. It is scheduled for completion in 2014. In this paper we estimate the sensitivity of the HAWC instrument to point-like and extended sources of gamma rays. The source fluxes are modeled using both unbroken power laws and power laws with exponential cutoffs. HAWC, in one year, is sensitive to point sources with integral powerlaw spectra as low as 5 × 10 −13 cm −2 sec −1 above 2 TeV (approximately 50 mCrab) over 5 sr of the sky. This is a conservative estimate based on simple event parameters and is expected to improve as the data analysis techniques are refined. We discuss known TeV sources and the scientific contributions that HAWC can make to our understanding of particle acceleration in these sources.
We have observed bottom-charm mesons via the decay mode B-c(+/-) --> J/psi l(+/-)v in 1.8 TeV p (p) over bar collisions using the CDF detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. A fit of background and signal contributions to the J/psi l mass distribution yielded 20.4(-5.5)(+6.2) events from B-c mesons. A fit to the same distribution with background alone was rejected at the level of 4.8 standard deviations. We measured the B-c(+) mass to be 6.40 +/- 0.39(stat) +/- 0.13(syst) GeV/c(2) and the B-c(+) lifetime to be 0.46(-0.16)(+0.18)(stat) +/- 0.03(syst) ps. Our measured yield (production cross section times branching ratio) for B-c(+) --> J/psi l(+)v relative to that for B+ --> J/psi K+ is 0.132(-0.037)(+0.041)(stat) +/- 0.031 (syst)(-0.020)(+0.032)(lifetime)
We report the observation of bottom-charmed mesons B(c) in 1.8 TeV collisions using the CDF detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. The B(c) mesons were found through their semileptonic decays, B(c)(+/-) --> J/psi l(+/-)X. A fit to the J/psi l mass distribution yielded 20.4(-5.5)(+6.2) events from B(c) mesons. A test of the null hypothesis, i.e., an attempt to fit the data with background alone, was rejected at the level of 4.8 standard deviations. By studying the quality of the fit as a function of the assumed B(c) mass, we determined M(B(c)) = 6.40 +/- 0.39 (stat.)+/-0.13 (syst) GeV/c(2). From the distribution of trilepton intersection points in the plane transverse to the beam direction we measured the B(c) lifetime to be tau(B(c)) = 0.46(-0.16)(+0.18) (stat)+/-0.03 (syst) ps. We also measured the ratio of production cross section times branching fraction for Bc+ --> J/psi l(+) nu relative to that for B(+) --> J/psi K(+) to be sigma(B(c)) X B(B(c) --> J/psi l nu)/sigma(B) X B(B-->J/psi K) = 0.132(-0.037)(+0.041) (stat)+/-0.031 (syst)(-0.020)(+0.032)(lifetime)
Abstract. The observation of neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) would show that lepton number is violated, reveal that neutrinos are Majorana particles, and provide information on neutrino mass. A discovery-capable experiment covering the inverted ordering region, with effective Majorana neutrino masses of 15 − 50 meV, will require a tonne-scale experiment with excellent energy resolution and extremely low backgrounds, at the level of ∼0.1 count /(FWHM·t·yr) in the region of the signal. The current generation 76 Ge experiments GERDA and the Majorana Demonstrator, utilizing high purity Germanium detectors with an intrinsic energy resolution of 0.12%, have achieved the lowest backgrounds by over an order of magnitude in the 0νββ signal region of all 0νββ experiments. Building on this success, the LEGEND collaboration has been formed to pursue a tonne-scale 76 Ge experiment. The collaboration aims to develop a phased 0νββ experimental program with discovery potential at a half-life approaching or at 10 28 years, using existing resources as appropriate to expedite physics results.
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