It is in the nature of astrophysics that many of the processes and objects one tries to understand are physically inaccessible. Thus, it is important that those aspects that can be studied in the laboratory are rather well understood. One such aspect is the nuclear fusion reactions, which are at the heart of nuclear astrophysics. They sensitively influence the nucleosynthesis of the elements in the earliest stages of the universe and in all the objects formed thereafter, and control the associated energy generation, neutrino luminosity and evolution of stars. We review a new experimental approach for the study of nuclear fusion reactions based on an underground accelerator laboratory, named LUNA.

http://inspirehep.net/record/822348/files/arXiv:0906.1097.pdf

LUNA: a laboratory for underground nuclear astrophysics

The final analysis of atmospheric neutrino events collected with the MACRO detector is presented. Three different classes of events, generated by neutrinos in different energy ranges, are studied l ...

/pdf/measurements-of-atmospheric-muon-neutrino-oscillations-2g5ul27g2m.pdf

Measurements of atmospheric muon neutrino oscillations, global analysis of the data collected with MACRO detector

http://web.mit.edu/people/kats/publications/pub43_phys_lett_b_566_2003.pdf

Atmospheric neutrino oscillations from upward throughgoing muon multiple scattering in MACRO

A new method of momentum measurement of charged particles through multiple Coulomb scattering (MCS) in the OPERA lead-emulsion target is presented. It is based on precise measurements of track angular deviations carried out thanks to the very high resolution of nuclear emulsions. The algorithm has been tested with Monte Carlo pions. The results are found to describe within the expected uncertainties the data obtained from test beams. We also present a comparison of muon momenta evaluated through MCS in the OPERA lead-emulsion target with those determined by the electronic detectors for neutrino-charged current interaction events. The two independent measurements agree within the experimental uncertainties, and the results validate the algorithm developed for the emulsion detector of OPERA.

/pdf/momentum-measurement-by-the-multiple-coulomb-scattering-3jao3cq3vn.pdf

Momentum measurement by the Multiple Coulomb Scattering method in the OPERA lead emulsion target

Search for a Lorentz invariance violation contribution in atmospheric neutrino oscillations using MACRO data

Muon energy measurement represents an important issue for any experiment addressing neutrino-induced up-going muon studies. Since the neutrino oscillation probability depends on the neutrino energy, a measurement of the muon energy adds an important piece of information concerning the neutrino system. We show in this paper how the MACRO limited streamer tube system can be operated in drift mode by using the TDCs included in the QTPs, an electronics designed for magnetic monopole search. An improvement of the space resolution is obtained, through an analysis of the multiple scattering of muon tracks as they pass through our detector. This information can be used further to obtain an estimate of the energy of muons crossing the detector. Here we present the results of two dedicated tests, performed at CERN PS-T9 and SPS-X7 beam lines, to provide a full check of the electronics and to exploit the feasibility of such a multiple scattering analysis. We show that by using a neural network approach, we are able to reconstruct the muon energy for E μ GeV . The test beam data provide an absolute energy calibration, which allows us to apply this method to MACRO data.

/pdf/muon-energy-estimate-through-multiple-scattering-with-the-3pax12m4az.pdf

M. Vakili

Papers

Muon energy estimate through multiple scattering with the MACRO detector