Benedikt Ludwig Bergmann

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) was designed and constructed by a collaboration of six U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories. The SNS accelerator system consists of a 1 GeV linear accelerator and an accumulator ring providing 1.4 MW of proton beam power in microsecond-long beam pulses to a liquid mercury target for neutron production. The accelerator complex consists of a front-end negative hydrogen-ion injector system, an 87 MeV drift tube linear accelerator, a 186 MeV side-coupled linear accelerator, a 1 GeV superconducting linear accelerator, a 248-m circumference accumulator ring and associated beam transport lines. The accelerator complex is supported by ~100 high-power RF power systems, a 2 K cryogenic plant, ~400 DC and pulsed power supply systems, ~400 beam diagnostic devices and a distributed control system handling ~100,000 I/O signals. The beam dynamics design of the SNS accelerator is presented, as is the engineering design of the major accelerator subsystems.

We report on laser cooling of a large fraction of positronium (Ps) in free flight by strongly saturating the 1^{3}S-2^{3}P transition with a broadband, long-pulsed 243 nm alexandrite laser. The ground state Ps cloud is produced in a magnetic and electric field-free environment. We observe two different laser-induced effects. The first effect is an increase in the number of atoms in the ground state after the time Ps has spent in the long-lived 2^{3}P states. The second effect is one-dimensional Doppler cooling of Ps, reducing the cloud's temperature from 380(20) to 170(20) K. We demonstrate a 58(9)% increase in the fraction of Ps atoms with v_{1D}<3.7×10^{4} ms^{-1}.

Timepix3 detectors are the latest generation of hybrid active pixel detectors of the Medipix/Timepix family. Such detectors consist of an active sensor layer which is connected to the readout ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), segmenting the detector into a square matrix of 256 $$\times $$ 256 pixels (pixel pitch 55 $$\upmu $$ m). Particles interacting in the active sensor material create charge carriers, which drift towards the pixelated electrode, where they are collected. In each pixel, the time of the interaction (time resolution 1.56 ns) and the amount of created charge carriers are measured. Such a device was employed in an experiment in a 120 GeV/c pion beam. It is demonstrated, how the drift time information can be used for “4D” particle tracking, with the three spatial dimensions and the energy losses along the particle trajectory (dE/dx). Since the coordinates in the detector plane are given by the pixelation (x,y), the x- and y-resolution is determined by the pixel pitch (55 $$\upmu $$ m). A z-resolution of 50.4 $$\upmu $$ m could be achieved (for a 500 $$\upmu $$ m thick silicon sensor at 130 V bias), whereby the drift time model independent z-resolution was found to be 28.5 $$\upmu $$ m.

MoEDAL is designed to identify new physics in the form of long-lived highly ionizing particles produced in high-energy LHC collisions. Its arrays of plastic nuclear-track detectors and aluminium trapping volumes provide two independent passive detection techniques. We present here the results of a first search for magnetic monopole production in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions using the trapping technique, extending a previous publication with 8 TeV data during LHC Run 1. A total of 222 kg of MoEDAL trapping detector samples was exposed in the forward region and analyzed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer. Magnetic charges exceeding half the Dirac charge are excluded in all samples and limits are placed for the first time on the production of magnetic monopoles in 13 TeV pp collisions. The search probes mass ranges previously inaccessible to collider experiments for up to five times the Dirac charge.

MoEDAL is designed to identify new physics in the form of stable or pseudostable highly ionizing particles produced in high-energy Large Hadron Collider (LHC) collisions.Here we update our previous search for magnetic monopoles in Run 2 using the full trapping detector with almost four times more material and almost twice more integrated luminosity.For the first time at the LHC, the data were interpreted in terms of photon-fusion monopole direct production in addition to the Drell-Yan-like mechanism.The MoEDAL trapping detector, consisting of 794 kg of aluminum samples installed in the forward and lateral regions, was exposed to 4.0 fb -1 of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHCb interaction point and analyzed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer.Magnetic charges equal to or above the Dirac charge are excluded in all samples.Monopole spins 0, ½, and 1 are considered and both velocity-independent and-dependent

Electrically charged particles can be created by the decay of strong enough electric fields, a phenomenon known as the Schwinger mechanism1. By electromagnetic duality, a sufficiently strong magnetic field would similarly produce magnetic monopoles, if they exist2. Magnetic monopoles are hypothetical fundamental particles that are predicted by several theories beyond the standard model3-7 but have never been experimentally detected. Searching for the existence of magnetic monopoles via the Schwinger mechanism has not yet been attempted, but it is advantageous, owing to the possibility of calculating its rate through semi-classical techniques without perturbation theory, as well as that the production of the magnetic monopoles should be enhanced by their finite size8,9 and strong coupling to photons2,10. Here we present a search for magnetic monopole production by the Schwinger mechanism in Pb-Pb heavy ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, producing the strongest known magnetic fields in the current Universe11. It was conducted by the MoEDAL experiment, whose trapping detectors were exposed to 0.235 per nanobarn, or approximately 1.8 × 109, of Pb-Pb collisions with 5.02-teraelectronvolt center-of-mass energy per collision in November 2018. A superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer scanned the trapping detectors of MoEDAL for the presence of magnetic charge, which would induce a persistent current in the SQUID. Magnetic monopoles with integer Dirac charges of 1, 2 and 3 and masses up to 75 gigaelectronvolts per speed of light squared were excluded by the analysis at the 95% confidence level. This provides a lower mass limit for finite-size magnetic monopoles from a collider search and greatly extends previous mass bounds.

The Timepix3—the latest generation of hybrid particle pixel detectors of Medipix family—yields a lot of new possibilities, i.e. a high hit-rate, a time resolution of 1.56 ns, event data-driven readout mode, and the capability of measuring the Time-over-Threshold (ToT - energy) and the Time-of-Arrival (ToA) simultaneously. This paper introduces a newly developed readout device for the Timepix3, called "Katherine", featuring a Gigabit Ethernet interface. The primary benefit of the Katherine is the operation of Timepix3 at long distance (up to 100 m) from computer or server, which is advantageous for the installation at beam lines, where the access is difficult or where radiation levels are too high for human interventions. The maximal hit-rate is limited by the bandwidth of the Ethernet connection (peer-to-peer connection; up to 16 Mhit/s). Since the Katherine interface is equipped with a processor of high computational power (ARM Cortex-A9 dual-core processor), it permits the use as a stand-alone (autonomous) radiation detector. The key features of the device are described in detail. These are the implemented high voltage power supply offering both polarities of bias voltage (up to ± 300 V), the automatic data sending to a sever via SSH, the automatic compensation of ToA values from columns with shifted matrix clock, etc. A dedicated control software was developed, which can be used for the detector preparation (sensor equalization, the DACs dependency scan, and the THL scan) and measurement control. Measured energy spectra from photon fields are shown.

The MoEDAL trapping detector consists of approximately 800 kg of aluminum volumes.It was exposed during run 2 of the LHC program to 6.46 fb -1 of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHCb interaction point.Evidence for dyons (particles with electric and magnetic charge) captured in the trapping detector was sought by passing the aluminum volumes comprising the detector through a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer.The presence of a trapped dyon would be signaled by a persistent current induced in the SQUID magnetometer.On the basis of a Drell-Yan production model, we exclude dyons with a magnetic charge ranging up to five Dirac charges (5g D ) and an electric charge up to 200 times the fundamental electric charge for mass limits in the range 870-3120 GeV and also monopoles with magnetic charge up to and including 5g D with mass limits in the range 870-2040 GeV.

We present the characterization of a highly segmented “large area” hybrid pixel detector (Timepix3, 512 × 512 pixels, pixel pitch 55 µm) for application in space experiments. We demonstrate that the nominal power consumption of 6 W can be reduced by changing the settings of the Timepix3 analog front-end and reducing the matrix clock frequency (from the nominal 40 MHz to 5 MHz) to 2 W (in the best case). We then present a comprehensive study of the impact of these changes on the particle tracking performance, the energy resolution and time stamping precision by utilizing data measured at the Super-Proton-Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN and at the Danish Center for Particle Therapy (DCPT). While the impact of the slower sampling frequency on energy measurement can be mitigated by prolongation of the falling edge of the analog signal, we find a reduction of the time resolution from 1.8 ns (in standard settings) to 5.6 ns (in analog low-power), which is further reduced utilizing a lower sampling clock (e.g., 5 MHz, in digital low-power operation) to 73.5 ns. We have studied the temperature dependence of the energy measurement for ambient temperatures between −20 ∘ and 50 ∘C separately for the different settings.

We update our previous search for trapped magnetic monopoles in LHC Run 2 using nearly six times more integrated luminosity and including additional models for the interpretation of the data. The MoEDAL forward trapping detector, comprising 222~kg of aluminium samples, was exposed to 2.11~fb$^{-1}$ of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions near the LHCb interaction point and analysed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer. Magnetic charges equal to the Dirac charge or above are excluded in all samples. The results are interpreted in Drell-Yan production models for monopoles with spins 0, 1/2 and 1: in addition to standard point-like couplings, we also consider couplings with momentum-dependent form factors. The search provides the best current laboratory constraints for monopoles with magnetic charges ranging from two to five times the Dirac charge.

Abstract The miniaturized radiation camera MiniPIX TPX3 is designed for detailed and wide-range measurements of mixed-radiation fields present in many applications such as radiotherapy and space radiation in outer orbit. The highly integrated instrumentation utilizes a single connector for control and readout for flexible measurements and quick deployment. The device features an option to process the registered data on the same device with limited resolution and basic particle-type resolving power. A novel readout and data processing technique exploits the detector high granularity and double per-pixel signal electronics to measure and characterize radiation fields of high intensity over a wide range with basic particle-type discrimination.

A two-layer pixel detector setup (ATLAS-TPX), designed for thermal and fast neutron detection and radiation field characterization is presented. It consists of two segmented silicon detectors (256 × 256 pixels, pixel pitch 55 μm, thicknesses 300 μm and 500 μm) facing each other. To enhance the neutron detection efficiency a set of converter layers is inserted in between these detectors. The pixelation and the two-layer design allow a discrimination of neutrons against γs by pattern recognition and against charged particles by using the coincidence and anticoincidence information. The neutron conversion and detection efficiencies are measured in a thermal neutron field and fast neutron fields with energies up to 600 MeV. A Geant4 simulation model is presented, which is validated against the measured detector responses. The reliability of the coincidence and anticoincidence technique is demonstrated and possible applications of the detector setup are briefly outlined.

In Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in space electronic equipment aboard satellites and space crews are exposed to high ionizing radiation levels. To reduce radiation damage and the exposure of astronauts, to improve shielding and to assess dose levels, it is valuable to know the composition of the radiation fields and particle directions. The presented measurements are carried out with the Space Application of Timepix Radiation Monitor (SATRAM). There, a Timepix detector (300 μm thick silicon sensor, pixel pitch 55 μm, 256 × 256 pixels) is attached to the Proba-V, an earth observing satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA). The Timepix detector's capability was used to determine the directions of energetic charged particles and their corresponding stopping powers. Data are continuously taken at an altitude of 820 km on a sun-synchronous orbit. The particles pitch angles with respect to the sensor layer were measured and converted to an Earth Centred Earth Fixed (ECEF) coordinate system. Deviations from an isotropic field are extracted by normalization of the observed angular distributions by a Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation —taking the systematics of the reconstruction algorithm and the pixelation into account.

We demonstrate how the latest generation of hybrid pixel detectors of the Timepix family can be used to reconstruct 3 dimensional particle tracks on a microscopic scale, additionally determining the stopping power along the particles’ paths. In an experiment, a Timepix3 detector with a 2 mm thick planar CdTe sensor was irradiated in a 40 GeV/c pion beam and used in a similar way to a time-projection chamber: The coordinates x and y were given by the trajectory projection (pixel pitch: $$55\,\upmu \hbox {m}$$ ), the z-coordinate was reconstructed from the charge carrier drift time measurement (time binning: 1.5625 ns). The achievable z-resolution was studied at different bias voltages. Systematic inaccuracies due to an imprecise drift time model were determined and separated from the intrinsic uncertainty given by the time resolution. It was shown that a z-resolution of $$60\,\upmu \hbox {m}$$ could be achieved by a perfect modeling of the drift time. With the presented z-reconstruction methodology, we studied the charge collection efficiency as a function of interaction depth, which was then used to apply a charge loss correction to the per-pixel energy measurements. 3D event displays of pion, muon and electron tracks are shown.

Abstract Pix.PAN is a compact cylindrical magnetic spectrometer, intended to provide excellent high energy particle measurements under high rate and hostile operating conditions in space. Its principal design is composed of two Halbach-array magnetic sectors and six Timepix4-based tracking layers; the latest hybrid silicon pixel detector readout ASIC designed. Due to Pix.PAN’s compact and relatively simple design, it has the potential to be used for space missions exploring with measurements of unprecedented precision, high energy particles in radiation belts and the heliophere (solar energetic particles, anomalous and galactic cosmic rays). In this white paper, we discuss the design and expected performance of Pix.PAN for COMPASS ( C omprehensive O bservations of M agnetospheric P article A cceleration, S ources, and S inks), a mission concept submitted to NASA’s Call “B.16 Heliophysics Mission Concept Studies (HMCS)” in 2021 that targets the extreme high energy particle environment of Jupiter’s inner radiation belts. We also discuss PixPAN’s operational conditions and interface requirements. The conceptual design shows that is possible to achieve an energy resolution of&lt;12% for electrons in the range of 10 MeV-1 GeV and&lt;35% for protons between $$\sim $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mo>∼</mml:mo> </mml:math> 200 MeV to a few GeV. Due to the timestamp precision of Timepix4, a time resolution (on an instrument level) of about 100 ps can be achieved for time-of-flight measurements. In the most intense radiation environments of the COMPASS mission, Pix.PAN is expected to have a maximum hit rate of 44 $$\frac{\text {MHz}}{\text {cm}^2}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mfrac> <mml:mtext>MHz</mml:mtext> <mml:msup> <mml:mtext>cm</mml:mtext> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msup> </mml:mfrac> </mml:math> which is below the design limit of 360 $$\frac{\text {MHz}}{\text {cm}^2}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mfrac> <mml:mtext>MHz</mml:mtext> <mml:msup> <mml:mtext>cm</mml:mtext> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msup> </mml:mfrac> </mml:math> of Timepix4. Finally, a sensor design is proposed which allows the instrument to operate with a power budget of 20W without the loss of scientific performance.

The hybrid pixel detector technology brought to the X-ray imaging a low noise level at a high spatial resolution, thanks to the single photon counting. However, silicon as the most widespread detector material is marginally sensitive to photons with energies above 30 keV. Therefore, the high-Z alternatives to silicon such as gallium arsenide and cadmium telluride are increasingly attracting attention of the community for the development of X-ray imaging systems. The results of our investigations of the Timepix detectors bump bonded to sensors made of gallium arsenide compensated by chromium (GaAs:Cr) are presented in this work. The following properties are most important from the practical point of view: the IV characteristics, the charge transport characteristics, photon detection efficiency, operational stability, homogeneity, temperature dependence, as well as energy and spatial resolution are considered. The applicability of these detectors for spectroscopic X-ray imaging is discussed.

We present the analysis of data taken by the Space Application of Timepix Radiation Monitor (SATRAM). It is centred on a Timepix detector (300 μm thick silicon sensor, pixel pitch 55 μm, 256 × 256 pixels). It was flown on Proba-V, an Earth observing satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA) from an altitude of 820 km on a sun-synchronous orbit, launched on May 7, 2013. A Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to determine the detector response to electrons (0.5–7 MeV) and protons (10–400 MeV) in an omnidirectional field taking into account the shielding of the detector housing and the satellite. With the help of the simulation, a strategy was developed to separate electrons, protons and ions in the data. The measured dose rate and stopping power distribution are presented as well as SATRAM’s capability to measure some of the stronger events in Earth’s magnetosphere. The stopping power, the cluster height and the shape of the particle tracks in the sensor were used to separate electrons, protons and ions. The results are presented as well. Finally, the pitch angles for a short period of time were extracted from the data and corrected with the angular response determined by the simulation.

We present a study of the radiation field at various locations in the ATLAS experiment, using compact detector systems based on pixelated silicon sensors assembled with Timepix readout chips. The hodoscope design of the ATLAS-Timepix (TPX) detectors includes neutron converters in between two sensors, allowing the characterization of both neutron and charged particle fields on a track by track basis. Thermal and fast neutrons are discriminated by segmenting the sensor area with dedicated sensitive materials. Using specific pattern recognition algorithms, clusters from electrons and photons above ~10 keV, minimum ionizing particles (MIPs), and highly ionizing particles are classified. A coincidence method using the time-over-threshold mode of the chip is developed to extract stopping power and directional information of energetic charged particles. Thermal neutron fluences are obtained for each ATLAS-TPX unit, illustrating the effect of detector material and shielding in the experimental cavern. Reconstructed trajectories of energetic charged particles point out radiation coming from the interaction point and other hot spots.

We describe the technical design and show results of first measurements of a network based on the Timepix3 and the Katherine readout (with Gigabit Ethernet interface) installed in the ATLAS cavern in the LHC in January 2018. The network consists of four Timepix3 detectors, arranged in two two-layer telescopes. All detectors in the network are synchronized with each other and the LHC orbit clock. The technical solution and the concept of the project are described in details. Since the radiation field inside ATLAS is rather harsh, only the detector units (sensors with power supplies) of the system are placed in the cavern. The detectors are connected to the readout electronics (situated in a rack room with radiation levels comparable to the natural background radiation) by 80 m long cables. The technical design was tested for distances up to 120 m. First measurements are presented, which demonstrate the capabilities of the ATLAS-TPX3 network.

PAN is a scientific instrument suitable for deep space and interplanetary missions. It can precisely measure and monitor the flux, composition, and direction of highly penetrating particles (>∼100 MeV/nucleon) in deep space, over at least one full solar cycle (11 years). The science program of PAN is multi- and cross-disciplinary, covering cosmic ray physics, solar physics, space weather and space travel. PAN will fill an observation gap of galactic cosmic rays in the GeV region, and provide precise information of the spectrum, composition and emission time of energetic particle originated from the Sun. The precise measurement and monitoring of the energetic particles is also a unique contribution to space weather studies. PAN will map the flux and composition of penetrating particles, which cannot be shielded effectively, precisely and continuously, providing valuable input for the assessment of the related health risk, and for the development of an adequate mitigation strategy. PAN has the potential to become a standard on-board instrument for deep space human travel. PAN is based on the proven detection principle of a magnetic spectrometer, but with novel layout and detection concept. It will adopt advanced particle detection technologies and industrial processes optimized for deep space application. The device will require limited mass (20 kg) and power (20 W) budget. Dipole magnet sectors built from high field permanent magnet Halbach arrays, instrumented in a modular fashion with high resolution silicon strip detectors, allow to reach an energy resolution better than 10% for nuclei from H to Fe at 1 GeV/n. The charge of the particle, from 1 (proton) to 26 (Iron), can be determined by scintillating detectors and silicon strip detectors, with readout ASICs of large dynamic range. Silicon pixel detectors used in a low power setting will maintain the detection capabilities for even the strongest solar events. A fast scintillator with silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) readout will provide timing information to determine the entering direction of the particle, as well as a high rate particle counter. Low noise, low power and high density ASIC will be developed to satisfy the stringent requirement of the position resolution and the power consumption of the tracker.

A new generation magnetic spectrometer in space will open the opportunity to investigate the frontiers in direct high-energy cosmic ray measurements and to precisely measure the amount of the rare antimatter component in cosmic rays beyond the reach of current missions. We propose the concept for an Antimatter Large Acceptance Detector In Orbit (ALADInO), designed to take over the legacy of direct measurements of cosmic rays in space performed by PAMELA and AMS-02. ALADInO features technological solutions conceived to overcome the current limitations of magnetic spectrometers in space with a layout that provides an acceptance larger than 10 m2 sr. A superconducting magnet coupled to precision tracking and time-of-flight systems can provide the required matter–antimatter separation capabilities and rigidity measurement resolution with a Maximum Detectable Rigidity better than 20 TV. The inner 3D-imaging deep calorimeter, designed to maximize the isotropic acceptance of particles, allows for the measurement of cosmic rays up to PeV energies with accurate energy resolution to precisely measure features in the cosmic ray spectra. The operations of ALADInO in the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrangian point for at least 5 years would enable unique revolutionary observations with groundbreaking discovery potentials in the field of astroparticle physics by precision measurements of electrons, positrons, and antiprotons up to 10 TeV and of nuclear cosmic rays up to PeV energies, and by the possible unambiguous detection and measurement of low-energy antideuteron and antihelium components in cosmic rays.

Electron Emission Channeling (EC) is a powerful technique for the investigation of the lattice location of radioactive isotopes implanted into single crystals. After implantation the isotopes occupy certain lattice locations in the crystal, which can in some cases be altered by annealing. Upon decay, the emission of a charged particle, typically a beta, may result in a channeling trajectory when its starting lattice location is aligned with major symmetry axes or planes of the crystal. By measuring the emission anisotropy in the direction of these axes for distinct annealing temperatures, the lattice location of the isotope can be determined with great precision and insightful information can be obtained on how annealing affects the occupied sites. This work reports on the installation of a Timepix3 quad detector and Katherine Gen2 readout in an experimental setup located at ISOLDE at CERN. The large increase in the number of pixels of the Timepix3, in comparison to previously used pad detectors, required more sophisticated tools for data treatment and fitting of channeling patterns. From this need, the PyFDD software was born . Its latest update features an intuitive graphical interface, with tools for noise masking, pattern visualization, simulations browsing, chi-square or maximum likelihood based fits and gamma background correction.

Abstract Fast, incremental evolution of physics instrumentation raises the question of efficient software abstraction and transferability of algorithms across similar technologies. This contribution aims to provide an answer by introducing Track Lab, a modern data acquisition program focusing on extensibility and high performance. Shipping with documented API and more than 20 standard modules, Track Lab allows complex analysis pipelines to be constructed from simple, reusable building blocks. Thanks to multi-threaded infrastructure, data can be clustered, filtered, aggregated and plotted concurrently in real-time. In addition, full hardware support for Timepix2, Timepix3 pixel detectors and embedded photomultiplier systems enables such analysis to be carried out online during data acquisition. Repetitive procedures can be automated with support for motorized stages and X-ray tubes. Freely distributed on 7 popular operating systems and 2 CPU architectures, Track Lab is a versatile tool for high energy physics research.

CHIPS (CHerenkov detectors In mine PitS) was a prototype large-scale water Cherenkov detector located in northern Minnesota. The main aim of the R&D project was to demonstrate that construction costs of neutrino oscillation detectors could be reduced by at least an order of magnitude compared to other equivalent experiments. This article presents design features of the CHIPS detector along with details of the implementation and deployment of the prototype. While issues during and after the deployment of the detector prevented data taking, a number of key concepts and designs were successfully demonstrated.

Abstract We characterize a novel instrument designed for radiation field decomposition and particle trajectory reconstruction for application in harsh radiation environments. The device consists of two Timepix3 assemblies with 500 µm thick silicon sensors in a face-to-face geometry. These detectors are interleaved with a set of neutron converters: 6 LiF for thermal neutrons, polyethylene (PE) for fast neutrons above 1 MeV, and PE with an additional aluminum recoil proton filter for neutrons above ∼4 MeV. Application of the coincidence and anticoincidence technique together with pattern recognition allows improved separation of charged and neutral particles, their discrimination against γ -rays and assessment of the overall directionality of the fast neutron field. The instrument's charged particle tracking and separation capabilities were studied at the Danish Center for Particle Therapy (DCPT), the Proton Synchrotron, and Super Proton Synchrotron with protons (50–240 MeV), pions (1–10 GeV/c and 180 GeV/c). After developing temporal and spatial coincidence assignment methodology, we determine the relative amount of coincident detections as a function of the impact angle, present the device's impact angle resolving power (both in coincidence and anticoicidence channels). The detector response to neutrons was studied at the Czech Metrology Institute (CMI), at n_ToF and the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE), covering the entire spectrum from thermal up to 600 MeV. The measured tracks were assigned to their corresponding neutron energy by application of the time of flight technique. We present the achieved neutron detection efficiency as a function of neutron kinetic energy and demonstrate how the ratio of events found below the different converters can be used to assess the hardness of the neutron spectrum. As an application, we determine the neutron content within a PMMA phantom just behind the Bragg-peak during clinical irradiation condition with protons of 160 MeV.

Abstract A powerful and robust control system is a crucial, often neglected, pillar of any modern, complex physics experiment that requires the management of a multitude of different devices and their precise time synchronisation. The AEḡIS collaboration presents CIRCUS, a novel, autonomous control system optimised for time-critical experiments such as those at CERN’s Antiproton Decelerator and, more broadly, in atomic and quantum physics research. Its setup is based on Sinara/ARTIQ and TALOS, integrating the ALPACA analysis pipeline, the last two developed entirely in AEḡIS. It is suitable for strict synchronicity requirements and repeatable, automated operation of experiments, culminating in autonomous parameter optimisation via feedback from real-time data analysis. CIRCUS has been successfully deployed and tested in AEḡIS; being experiment-agnostic and released open-source, other experiments can leverage its capabilities.

We report on a search for magnetic monopoles (MMs) produced in ultraperipheral Pb--Pb collisions during Run-1 of the LHC. The beam pipe surrounding the interaction region of the CMS experiment was exposed to 174.29 $\mathrm{\mu}$b$^{-1}$ of Pb--Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV center-of-mass energy per collision in December 2011. It was scanned by the MoEDAL experiment using a SQUID magnetometer to search for trapped MMs. No MM signal was observed. The two distinctive features of this search are the use of a trapping volume very close to the collision point and ultra-high magnetic fields generated during the heavy-ion run that could produce MMs via the Schwinger effect. These two advantages allowed setting the first reliable, world-leading mass limits on MMs with high magnetic charge. In particular, the established limits are the strongest available in the range between 2 and 45 Dirac units, excluding MMs with masses of up to 80 GeV at 95% confidence level.

In space application, hybrid pixel detectors of the Timepix family have been considered mainly for the measurement of radiation levels and dosimetry in low earth orbits. Using the example of the Space Application of Timepix Radiation Monitor (SATRAM), we demonstrate the unique capabilities of Timepix-based miniaturized radiation detectors for particle separation. We present the incident proton energy spectrum in the geographic location of SAA obtained by using Bayesian unfolding of the stopping power spectrum measured with a single-layer Timepix. We assess the measurement stability and the resiliency of the detector to the space environment, thereby demonstrating that even though degradation is observed, data quality has not been affected significantly over more than 10 years. Based on the SATRAM heritage and the capabilities of the latest-generation Timepix series chips, we discuss their applicability for use in a compact magnetic spectrometer for a deep space mission or in the Jupiter radiation belts, as well as their capability for use as single-layer X- and γ-ray polarimeters. The latter was supported by the measurement of the polarization of scattered radiation in a laboratory experiment, where a modulation of 80% was found.

Timepix pixel detectors have been used to study the response of silicon hybrid pixel detectors to fast neutrons from a pulsed neutron beam at WNR FP30R, a 14 m long flight path, in the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. Neutrons with kinetic energies up to 600 MeV were available. In order to enhance the conversion of neutrons to energetic charged particles, several converter foils and filters were attached to the 300 μm thick silicon sensor, i.e. polyethylene, polyethylene with aluminum, 6LiF, 6LiF with aluminum, aluminum. The Time-of-Arrival mode of the Timepix detectors has permitted the application of the Time-of-Flight (TOF) technique for the assignment of the detected interactions in the form of clusters (groups of adjacent pixels) in the pixel matrix, to the kinetic energies of the incident neutrons.

A network of 16 Medipix-2 (MPX) silicon pixel devices was installed in the ATLAS detector cavern at CERN. It was designed to measure the composition and spectral characteristics of the radiation field in the ATLAS experiment and its surroundings. This study demonstrates that the MPX network can also be used as a self-sufficient luminosity monitoring system. The MPX detectors collect data independently of the ATLAS data-recording chain, and thus they provide independent measurements of the bunch-integrated ATLAS/LHC luminosity. In particular, the MPX detectors located close enough to the primary interaction point are used to perform van der Meer calibration scans with high precision. Results from the luminosity monitoring are presented for 2012 data taken at <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\sqrt s = 8$</tex></formula> TeV proton-proton collisions. The characteristics of the LHC luminosity reduction rate are studied and the effects of beam-beam (burn-off) and beam-gas (single bunch) interactions are evaluated. The systematic variations observed in the MPX luminosity measurements are below 0.3% for one minute intervals.

A network of Timepix (TPX) devices installed in the ATLAS cavern measures the LHC luminosity as a function of time as a stand-alone system. The data were recorded from 13-TeV proton-proton collisions in 2015. Using two TPX devices, the number of hits created by particles passing the pixel matrices was counted. A van der Meer scan of the LHC beams was analyzed using bunch-integrated luminosity averages over the different bunch profiles for an approximate absolute luminosity normalization. It is demonstrated that the TPX network has the capability to measure the reduction of LHC luminosity with precision. Comparative studies were performed among four sensors (two sensors in each TPX device) and the relative short-term precision of the luminosity measurement was determined to be 0.1% for 10-s time intervals. The internal long-term time stability of the measurements was below 0.5% for the data-taking period.

In this study we present the ionizing energy depositions in a 300 μm thick silicon layer after fast neutron impact. With the Time-of-Flight (ToF) technique, the ionizing energy deposition spectra of recoil silicons and secondary charged particles were assigned to (quasi-)monoenergetic neutron energies in the range from 180 keV to hundreds of MeV. We show and interpret representative measured energy spectra. By separating the ionizing energy losses of the recoil silicon from energy depositions by products of nuclear reactions, the competition of ionizing (IEL) and non-ionizing energy losses (NIEL) of a recoil silicon within the silicon lattice was investigated. The data give supplementary information to the results of a previous measurement and are compared with different theoretical predictions.

Growing energies of particles at modern or planned particle accelerator experiments as well as cosmic ray experiments require particle identification at gamma-factors (γ) of up to ∼ 105. At present there are no detectors capable of identifying charged particles with reliable efficiency in this range of γ. New developments in high granular pixel detectors allow one to perform simultaneous measurements of the energies and the emission angles of generated transition radiation (TR) X-rays and use the maximum available information to identify particles. First results of studies of TR energy-angular distributions using gallium arsenide (GaAs) sensors bonded to Timepix3 chips are presented. The results are compared with those obtained using a silicon (Si) sensor of the same thickness of 500 μm. The analysis techniques used for these experiments are discussed.

We present a concept of using Timepix detector for real-time and simultaneous measurements of various external dosimetry and operational quantities in X-ray/gamma fields with broad range of air kerma rates ranging from natural background levels to the order of Gy·h−1, including intensive pulsed sources used in medicine. Timepix is a hybrid semiconductor detector of ionizing radiation which can visualize tracks of particles interacting in the semiconductor pixelated sensor bump bonded to the Timepix readout chip. Energy deposited in the individual pixels and properties of these tracks enable us to classify the incident radiation and to assign the correct conversion coefficient between a number of detected events and the desired quantity, e.g. an ambient dose equivalent rate. This paper shows calibration measurements of such dosemeter and discusses its properties.

Timepix3 devices are hybrid pixel detectors developed within the Medipix3 collaboration at CERN providing a simultaneous measurement of energy (ToT) and time of arrival (ToA) in each of its 256 × 256 pixels (pixel pitch: 55 µm).The timestamp resolution below 2 ns allows a measurement of charge carrier drift times, so that particle trajectories can be reconstructed in 3D on a microscopic level (-resolution: 30-60 µm).The 3D trajectory reconstruction methodology developed elsewhere is validated against simulated data providing ground truth information of the incident angles.The detector response functions and the achievable track angular resolutions are determined.For the first time, data taken with Timepix3 in the MoEDAL experiment are presented.After extracting singly charged minimum ionizing particle (MIP) tracks from the mixed radiation field using characteristic track features, their impact angles are evaluated.The directionality of the MIP radiation field is shown in elevation angle () versus azimuthal angle () maps, "unfolded" using the simulated detector responses to an omnidirectional radiation field.

A search for highly electrically charged objects (HECOs) and magnetic monopoles is presented using 2.2 fb-1 of p - p collision data taken at a centre of mass energy (ECM) of 8 TeV by the MoEDAL detector during LHC's Run-1. The data were collected using MoEDAL's prototype Nuclear Track Detector array and the Trapping Detector array. The results are interpreted in terms of Drell-Yan pair production of stable HECO and monopole pairs with three spin hypotheses (0, 1/2 and 1). The search provides constraints on the direct production of magnetic monopoles carrying one to four Dirac magnetic charges (4gD) and with mass limits ranging from 590 GeV/c^2 to 1 TeV/c^2. Additionally, mass limits are placed on HECOs with charge in the range 10e to 180e, where e is the charge of an electron, for masses between 30 GeV/c^2 and 1 TeV/c^2.

Abstract Pix.PAN is a compact cylindrical magnetic spectrometer, intended to provide excellent high energy particle measurements under high rate and hostile operating conditions in space. Its principal design is composed of 2 Halbach-array magnetic sectors and 6 Timepix4-based tracking layers; the latest hybrid silicon pixel detector readout ASIC designed. Due to Pix.PAN's compact and relatively simple design, it has the potential to be used for space missions exploring with measurements of unprecedented precision, high energy particles in radiation belts and the heliophere (solar energetic particles, anomalous and galactic cosmic rays). In this white paper, we discuss the design and expected performance of Pix.PAN for COMPASS (Comprehensive Observations of Magnetospheric Particle Acceleration, Sources, and Sinks), a mission concept submitted to NASA’s Call "B.16 Heliophysics Mission Concept Studies (HMCS)" in 2021 that targets the extreme high energy particle environment of Jupiter's inner radiation belts. We also discuss PixPAN's operational conditions and interface requirements. The conceptual design shows that is possible to achieve an energy resolution of &lt;12% for electrons in the range of 10MeV-1GeV and &lt;35% for protons between ~200MeV to a few GeV. Due to the timestamp precision of Timepix4, a time resolution (on an instrument level) of about 100ps can be achieved for time-of-flight measurements. In the most intense radiation environments of the COMPASS mission, Pix.PAN is expected to have a maximum hit rate of 44MHz/cm2 which is below the design limit of 360MHz/cm2 of Timepix4. Finally, a sensor design is proposed which allows the instrument to operate with a power budget of 20W without the loss of scientific performance.

Fast, incremental evolution of physics instrumentation raises the question of efficient software abstraction and transferability of algorithms across similar technologies. This contribution aims to provide an answer by introducing Track Lab, a modern data acquisition program focusing on extensibility and high performance. Shipping with documented API and more than 20 standard modules, Track Lab allows complex analysis pipelines to be constructed from simple, reusable building blocks. Thanks to multi-threaded infrastructure, data can be clustered, filtered, aggregated and plotted concurrently in real-time. In addition, full hardware support for Timepix2, Timepix3 pixel detectors and embedded photomultiplier systems enables such analysis to be carried out online during data acquisition. Repetitive procedures can be automated with support for motorized stages and X-ray tubes. Freely distributed on 7 popular operating systems and 2 CPU architectures, Track Lab is a versatile tool for high energy physics research.

Abstract The present manuscript describes a comprehensive characterization of a novel highly segmented 5 mm CZT sensor attached to Timepix3. First, the sensor’s IV curve was measured and basic sensor characterization was done with laboratory γ -radiation sources. The sensor resistivity was determined to be (0.155± 0.02) GOhm · cm. The sensor showed decent homogeneity, both for the per-pixel count rate and electron mobility-lifetime product μ e τ e . The latter was measured to be <?CDATA $\overline{{\mu }_{{\rm{e}}}{\tau }_{{\rm{e}}}}$?> <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mover accent="true"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>μ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">e</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>τ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">e</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo stretchy="true">¯</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:mover> </mml:math> = 1.3 × 10 −3 cm 2 /V with a standard deviation σ = 0.4 × 10 −3 cm 2 /V describing the dispersion of values for different pixels. The basic sensor characterization is complemented by measurements at grazing angle in a 120 GeV/ c at the CERN’s Super Proton Synchrotron. The penetrating nature of these particles together with the pixelation of the sensor allows for a determination of the charge collection efficiency (CCE), as well as charge carrier drift properties (drift times, lateral charge cloud expansion) as a function of the interaction depths in the sensor. While CCE drops by 30%–40% towards the cathode side of the sensor, from the drift time dependency on interaction depth, the electron mobility μ e was extracted to be (944.8 ± 1.3) cm 2 /V/s and τ e = (1.38 ± 0.31) μ s. The spectroscopic performance was assessed in photon fields and extracted from energy loss spectra measured at different angles in the pion beam. While at photon energies below 120 keV incomplete charge collection leads to an underestimation of the photon energy when irradiated from the front-side, at higher energies the relative energy resolution was found to be ∼4.5%, while a relative energy resolution of ∼7.5% was found for the particle energy loss spectra. It is shown that the drift time information can be used to reconstruct particle interactions in the sensor in 3D, providing a spatial resolution of σ xyz = 241 μ m within the sensor volume and a particle trajectory measurement precision Δ xyz = 100 μ m, at a distance of 1 m from the sensor. We demonstrate by measurement with a 22 Na source, that the energy resolution combined with the 3D reconstruction allows for detection of γ -ray source location and polarity using Compton scattering within the sensor (Compton camera and scatter polarimeter).

In the presented work, we demonstrate how Timepix3 detectors, featuring the Katherine (Gigabit Ethernet interface) readout, can be used in a particle telescope. For the highly precise timestamp synchronization, a special timing unit (with time resolution ∼ 13 ps) based on a Time-to-Digital-Converter (TDC) is used and interconnected with the readouts. The designed concept of the measurement chain was tested at the SPS facilities at CERN in a 40 GeV/c pion beam using a telescope of 3 synchronized Timepix3 detectors. Evaluating spatially and temporally coincident events, an overall time resolution below 2 ns was determined, whereby a systematic error of <1 ns was present.

The Timepix3 readout chip—the latest member of the Medipix family of hybrid pixel detectors—brought several new functionalities in comparison with the older Timepix, i.e. a high hit-rate, a time granularity of 1.5625 ns, a data-driven readout scheme (with a per pixel dead time of approximately 475 ns), and the capability of measuring Time-over-Threshold (ToT) and Time-of-Arrival (ToA) in each pixel at the same time. However, the high power consumption of the Timepix3 in the standard setting prevents its use in applications with limited power budget. Moreover, the high power consumption poses the risk of overheating the sensor so that proper cooling is crucial. The presented work investigates the effect of different settings in the analogue and a digital part of the Timepix3 detector on its power consumption. Measurements were performed with the Timepix3 chipboard. The firmware of the Katherine readout was modified so that the user can monitor the power consumptions of analogue and digital part "on-line" (directly in the control software). In standard settings, a power consumption of approximately 1.3 W was found. By changes of internal DACs, the consumption could be reduced to 650 mW. Further reduction was achieved by the change of the clock management in the digital part of the Timepix3. In result, a power consumption of 216 mA could be achieved. In these low power settings, the ToA clock was reduced to 10 MHz and thus the time binning was 100 ns. The energy resolution was not affected significantly. The pixel dead time is also negatively affected when the matrix clock is reduced. In the case of 10 MHz, the minimal per pixel dead time is 1.9 μs.

The capability of Timepix3 detectors installed in ATLAS to measure luminosity is evaluated. It is described how noisy pixels are identified and excluded. Two different methods for luminosity determination, i.e. cluster counting and thermal neutron counting are described and compared with each other. The achieved short-term relative precision with both methods is determined by modeling the luminosity curve. It is shown that using cluster counting a short-term relative precision of < 0.5 % can be achieved for 60 s time intervals. For thermal neutrons, a short-term relative precision (for 60 s intervals) of ≈ 2 % was found. Hereby statistics was the limiting factor. The findings are discussed in view of Timepix3 upgrade plans for LHC Run-3.

Background: In electron-capture decay, a second $K$-shell vacancy is eventually created with a small probability. Measurements of the double-vacancy creation probability per $K$-shell electron capture ${P}_{KK}$ of various nuclei undergoing electron-capture decays have already been performed, but the statistical accuracy of ${P}_{KK}$ of several nuclides is still not satisfying.Purpose: The purpose of this experiment was to improve the statistical error of ${P}_{KK}$ in the decay of ${}^{55}\mathrm{Fe}$ and to demonstrate the possibility of detecting double-vacancy creation events with position resolving pixel detectors. This enables angle resolved measurements.Method: For the first time, two active-pixel detectors (A,B) were used to detect satellite- and hypersatellite-line photons in coincidence either both in two clusters of triggered pixels in only one detector (A,B) or in both detectors $(\text{A}\ensuremath{\wedge}\text{B})$. ${P}_{KK}$ was determined for the two detectors regarded as one single, larger detector (${P}_{KK}$), for each detector separately (single-sided analysis: ${P}_{KK,\text{A}\ensuremath{\veebar}\text{B}}$), and for both detectors in coincidence (double-sided analysis: ${P}_{KK,\text{A}\ensuremath{\wedge}\text{B}}$).Results: The result of the experiment is ${P}_{KK}=(1.531\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.079)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ with a systematic error of ${(\ensuremath{\Delta}{P}_{KK})}_{\text{syst}}=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.023\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$. This value is in agreement with the value previously measured by Campbell et al. of ${P}_{KK}=(1.3\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$. The discrepancy in literature between ${P}_{KK}$ of ${}^{54}\mathrm{Mn}$ to the expected value extrapolated from ${}^{55}\mathrm{Fe}$ almost vanished with our result. The asymmetry between the result of the single-sided analysis (${P}_{KK,\text{A}\ensuremath{\veebar}\text{B}}$) and the double-sided analysis (${P}_{KK,\text{A}\ensuremath{\wedge}\text{B}}$) is consistent with zero: $({P}_{KK,\text{A}\ensuremath{\veebar}\text{B}}\ensuremath{-}{P}_{KK,\text{A}\ensuremath{\wedge}\text{B}})/({P}_{KK,\text{A}\ensuremath{\veebar}\text{B}}+{P}_{KK,\text{A}\ensuremath{\wedge}\text{B}})=\ensuremath{-}0.003\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.051$. This supports the assumption that angular correlations between the two photons are negligible within the achieved level of statistical accuracy for the given angular acceptance of our detectors.Conclusions: One can conclude that hybrid photon counting pixel detectors can be used to measure angular correlations between the directions of emission of satellite and hypersatellite photons. Our result supports the suspicion that the reported discrepancy between ${P}_{KK}$ measured for the electron-capture decays of ${}^{54}\mathrm{Mn}$ and ${}^{55}\mathrm{Fe}$ was probably due to statistical fluctuations in the measurements. Furthermore, the ${Z}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ dependence of ${P}_{KK}$ predicted by Primakoff and Porter is supported. The improved statistical error of our measurements underlines the previously reported discrepancy between ${P}_{KK}$ expected for ${}^{65}\mathrm{Zn}$ if an extrapolation is carried out from our result on ${}^{55}\mathrm{Fe}$. Thus, our result strengthens the need for triple coincidence measurements of ${P}_{KK}$ on ${}^{65}\mathrm{Zn}$.

The Timepix chip has been exposed to the outer space for the first time with the SATRAM (Space Application of Timepix-based Radiation Monitor) instrument on Proba-V (Project for On-Board Autonomy Vegetation), a European Space Agency's (ESA) satellite.This study's objective is to develop a new technique to improve the separation of protons and electrons, which are detected by the single layer Timepix detector in SATRAM.The current identification method, proposed by S. Gohl et al. [1], is based on pattern recognition and stopping power measurements.In this article, the limitations of this method are discussed.A new method based on neural network trained with Geant4 data is proposed.Its validation with SATRAM data is presented.Similarly, a neural network trained with Geant4 data is introduced.Its purpose is to deduce the particles' incident energy using the energy deposited in the Timepix.

Abstract In the present work, we study the Timepix2 pixels’ high energy response in the so-called adaptive gain mode. Therefore, Timepix2 with a 500 μm thick silicon sensor was irradiated with protons of energies in the range from 400 keV to 2 MeV and α -particles of 5.5 MeV from 241 Am. A novel method was developed to determine the energy deposit in single pixels of particle imprints, which are spread out over a set of neighbor pixels (cluster). We show that each pixel is capable of measuring the deposited energy from 4 keV up to ∼3.2 MeV. Reconstructing the full energy content of the clusters, we found relative energy resolutions ( <?CDATA $\frac{\sigma }{E}$?> <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mfrac> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>σ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>E</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:mfrac> </mml:math> ) better than 2.7% and better than 4% for proton and α -particle data, respectively. In a simple experiment with a 5.5 MeV α -particle source, we demonstrate that energy losses in thin (organic) specimen can be spatially resolved, mapping out sample thickness variations, with a resolution around 1–2 μm, across the sensor area. The inherent spatial resolution of the device was determined to be 350 nm in the best case.

Abstract A Miniaturized Radiation Monitor (MIRAM) has been developed for the continuous measurement of the radiation field composition and ionizing dose rates in near earth orbits. Compared to currently used radiation monitors, the presented device has an order of magnitude lower weight while being comparable in power consumption and functionality. MIRAM is capable of on-board real-time self-diagnostic. Furthermore, it supports on-board analysis of the measured data to be able to work autonomously. The dose rate is calculated continuously based on the energy deposition in the Timepix3 detector. For the estimation of the particle species composition of the radiation environment, two methods are applied depending on the current flux. At lower fluxes (&lt;10 4 particles per cm 2 per s), a track-by-track analysis based on temporal coincidence is applied. At higher fluxes, a less power and memory consuming method is utilized. This method is using the averaged deposited energy per pixel to estimate the electron and proton content of the radiation field.

Abstract The half-life times of the relatively short-lived $$\alpha $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mi>α</mml:mi> </mml:math> -decaying isotopes $$^{212}\hbox {{Po}}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow /> <mml:mn>212</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mtext>Po</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> and $$^{214}\hbox {{Po}}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow /> <mml:mn>214</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mtext>Po</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> were measured with a hybrid pixel detector of Timepix3 technology. Radon daughter products were collected at the backside of a 1 mm thick silicon sensor so that subsequent decays inject the polonium isotopes of interest shallowly into the backside of the sensor. The detector’s high spatial and time resolution allow for particle identification and application of the delayed coincidence technique with low systematic uncertainty even at high rates. We find $$t_{1/2}^{^{212}{\hbox {Po}}} = ( 295.02 \pm 0.18{_{\mathrm{stat.}}} \pm 0.17_{\mathrm{syst.}} )\,\hbox {ns}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mi>t</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow /> <mml:mn>212</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mtext>Po</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:mn>295.02</mml:mn> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.18</mml:mn> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow /> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>stat</mml:mi> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> <mml:msub> <mml:mn>17</mml:mn> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>syst</mml:mi> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mspace /> <mml:mtext>ns</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> and $$t_{1/2}^{{}^{214}\mathrm{Po}} = ( 163.64 \pm 0.038{_{\mathrm{stat.}}} \pm 0.093_{\mathrm{syst.}} )\,\upmu \hbox {s}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mi>t</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow /> <mml:mn>214</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mi>Po</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:mn>163.64</mml:mn> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.038</mml:mn> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow /> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>stat</mml:mi> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> <mml:msub> <mml:mn>093</mml:mn> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>syst</mml:mi> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mspace /> <mml:mi>μ</mml:mi> <mml:mtext>s</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> . Studying the decay of the accumulated radon daughter products after removing the detector from the $$^{220}\hbox {{Rn}}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow /> <mml:mn>220</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mtext>Rn</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> field, the half-life time of the $$\beta $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mi>β</mml:mi> </mml:math> -decay of $$^{212}\hbox {{Pb}}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow /> <mml:mn>212</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mtext>Pb</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> was measured to be $$t_{1/2}^{^{212}{\mathrm{Pb}}} = ( 10.620 \pm 0.011_{\mathrm{stat.}} \pm 0.014_{\mathrm{syst.}} )\,\hbox {h}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mi>t</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow /> <mml:mn>212</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mi>Pb</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:mn>10.620</mml:mn> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> <mml:msub> <mml:mn>011</mml:mn> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>stat</mml:mi> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> <mml:msub> <mml:mn>014</mml:mn> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>syst</mml:mi> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mspace /> <mml:mtext>h</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> . The results are discussed in the context of previous works.

We used the hybrid semiconductor pixel detector Timepix as an area dosimeter in mixed neutron-gamma fields. The surface of the detector was covered with several converters based on 6Li, polyethylene, Th and enriched U. We used three different neutron sources for calibration of the device – thermal neutrons from graphite pile, 241Am-Be and 252Cf. The desired neutron component of dosimetry and operational quantities can be determined by counting events under the converters. The segmentation of the Timepix detector and its capability to measure energy deposition of each interacting quantum of ionizing radiation allows a separation of neutron events from X-ray/gamma or electron interaction. Thus, the device can also be used for simultaneous X-ray and gamma dosimetry, where it is in some aspects superior to most of the commercial devices, given its detection threshold of 3–5 keV.

Four hybrid pixel detectors of Timepix3 technology, installed in the ATLAS experiment, were continuously taking data from April 2018 until the end of the Run-2 data taking period (December 2019). These detectors are synchronized with each other and the LHC orbit clock. They are capable of resolving the bunch structure of the LHC beams due to their time resolution of ∼2ns. Thus, they allow the characterization of the radiation field inside and outside bunch-crossing periods. This is shown for Timepix3 detectors at the extended barrel (x=-3.58 m, y=0.97 m, z=2.83 m). We apply pattern recognition methods to decompose the radiation field and determine the directionality of the minimum ionizing particles (MIP) component of the radiation field.

The response of a Timepix3 detector (256 × 256 pixels, pixel pitch 55 μm) with a 300 μm thick silicon sensor was studied in relativistic charged particle beams at the Super-Proton-Synchrotron at CERN . The detector was irradiated at different angles in a 400 GeV/c primary proton beam and in a mixed beam created by a 330 GeV/c Pb beam hitting a beryllium target. We present and discuss energy deposition spectra and particle track features for relativistic particles of different stopping power. The proton data shows that a relative energy resolution of approximately 9 % can be achieved. Analysis of deposited energy spectra and tracks in the detector produced by heavier ions are carried out with the aim to investigate the capabilities of the Timepix3 detector for decomposing the mixed beam. Using spectrum stripping technique by iterative Landau curve fitting charge discrimination could be done up to Z = 7 for impact angle of 60 degrees (with respect to the sensor normal). For smaller impact angles the particle charge separation is decreased due to the saturation of the pixel electronics (∼600 keV) . Previous works describing the 3D track reconstruction for minimally ionizing particles (Z = 1) were extended in the present work by adding the methodology of heavier ions track reconstruction in 3D.

A network of Timepix (TPX) devices installed in the ATLAS cavern measures the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) luminosity as a stand-alone system. The data were recorded from 13-TeV proton–proton collisions in 2016. Using two TPX devices, the number of hits created by particles passing the pixel matrices was counted. Absolute luminosity is determined with the van der Meer scan technique by separating the LHC proton beams and measuring the widths of the beams in low-intensity LHC proton–proton collisions. The exact determination of the activation background contributes to the overall precision of the TPX luminosity measurements. The activation background varies in time due to induced radioactivity at the different positions of the TPX devices in the ATLAS cavern. The activation at a given time depends on the history of the LHC operation. A detailed study of induced radioactivity has been performed to reduce the uncertainty on both the relative and absolute luminosity measurements.

Funded by the European Space Agency, a miniaturized radiation monitor (MIRAM) is being developed in collaboration of the Institute for Experimental and Applied Physics, Czech Technical University in Prague and ADVACAM s.r.o. in Prague. Within a small, low power consumption and inexpensive unit, this tool provides measurement of the deposited dose and flux estimation for electrons and protons separately to the spacecraft it is attached to. The planned device will integrate a direct-converting pixel detector of the Timepix family (300-1000 μm thick sensor, 256 x 256 pixels, pixel pitch 55 μm), combined with four diodes, providing low power mode and coincidence measurements. Presented are the strategy for the particle-type identification and results from simulations of the detector response for electrons and protons. The strategy and design are based on the experience gained from the investigation of the data received from the Space Application of the Timepix Radiation Monitor (SATRAM) within the last five years. The proficiency of both is analysed using data from MC simulations in Geant4.

The performance and response of a Timepix3 detector with a 500 μm thick GaAs:Cr sensor layer was investigated in different radiation fields. The sensor resistivity was ρ ≈ 109 Ω cm. Fitting different modified Hecht functions, which take the small pixel effect into account, the mobility-lifetime products of μeτe = (0.773 ± 0.018) × 10−4 cm2V−1 and μeτe = (0.996 ± 0.056) × 10−4 cm2V−1 were determined. Hereby, the latter value is favored due to the better agreement of fit and data. In a measurement in a 40 GeV/c pion beam, the drift times and charge collection efficiencies were studied as a function of the interaction depth. We present the measured drift velocity as a function of the electric field strength and compare the determined dependence with a model. In a measurement in a mixed ion beam, we study the capability of the detector to separate different ion species. We show the detector response in the form of tracks and discuss heavy ion track features.

A luminosity determination based on thermal neutron counting with six MPX silicon pixel devices installed in the ATLAS cavern is presented. Recently, the ATLAS Collaboration published final √s=8 TeV luminosity results. This made possible to perform a detailed comparison and verify the potential of the thermal neutron counting as a novel method for luminosity measurements to supplement the well-established presently used procedures. This measurement is unique to the MPX network and has the advantage that the neutrons, which pass the MPX devices, cannot result from activation processes of material nearby. Good agreement is found between the MPX neutron counting results and the ATLAS reference luminosity. The differences between the ATLAS and MPX luminosity measurements are described by a Gaussian distribution with width of 1.5%.

Timepix and Timepix3 are hybrid pixel detectors ($256\times 256$ pixels), capable of tracking ionizing particles as isolated clusters of pixels. To efficiently analyze such clusters at potentially high rates, we introduce multiple randomized pattern recognition algorithms inspired by computer vision. Offering desirable probabilistic bounds on accuracy and complexity, the presented methods are well-suited for use in real-time applications, and some may even be modified to tackle trans-dimensional problems. In Timepix detectors, which do not support data-driven acquisition, they have been shown to correctly separate clusters of overlapping tracks. In Timepix3 detectors, simultaneous acquisition of Time-of-Arrival (ToA) and Time-over-Threshold (ToT) pixel data enables reconstruction of the depth, transitioning from 2D to 3D point clouds. The presented algorithms have been tested on simulated inputs, test beam data from the Heidelberg Ion therapy Center and the Super Proton Synchrotron and were applied to data acquired in the MoEDAL and ATLAS experiments at CERN.

This paper introduces a readout system for the Timepix2. Firstly, this chip is described and the readout modes are discussed in detail. The new readout system presented is based on the Gigabit Ethernet interface and implements pre-processing, i.e. decoding of the raw pixel data, directly in the hardware. The device suppresses zero pixels, so that only useful data are sent to the computer/server. In a special independent mode, the readout can send completed data files to a remote server via SSH and does not need to use a control software. In island mode, the device stores measured data to a local storage (SD card). The process of calibration and its results are also discussed. An energy resolution of approximately 1.5 keV was achieved for 60 keV gamma-rays from an 241Am source. We present enhanced features of the readout system facilitating measurements and data evaluation, such as the HW support of clustering and Matrix Occupation Control. The former implements the pixel clustering directly in the hardware and sends energy calibrated results of the cluster finding algorithm to the computer. The latter automatically controls acquisition time of detector in order to reduce cluster overlapping. Measurements with Timepix2 are presented in iron and electron test beams. Results show that pixels of Timepix2 saturate at a per-pixel energy deposition of 1.9 MeV.

Schwinger showed that electrically-charged particles can be produced in a strong electric field by quantum tunnelling through the Coulomb barrier. By electromagnetic duality, if magnetic monopoles (MMs) exist, they would be produced by the same mechanism in a sufficiently strong magnetic field. Unique advantages of the Schwinger mechanism are that its rate can be calculated using semiclassical techniques without relying on perturbation theory, and the finite MM size and strong MM-photon coupling are expected to enhance their production. Pb-Pb heavy-ion collisions at the LHC produce the strongest known magnetic fields in the current Universe, and this article presents the first search for MM production by the Schwinger mechanism. It was conducted by the MoEDAL experiment during the 5.02 TeV/nucleon heavy-ion run at the LHC in November 2018, during which the MoEDAL trapping detectors (MMTs) were exposed to 0.235 nb$^{-1}$ of Pb-Pb collisions. The MMTs were scanned for the presence of magnetic charge using a SQUID magnetometer. MMs with Dirac charges 1$g_D$$\leq$$g$$\leq$ 3$g_D$ and masses up to 75 GeV/c$^2$ were excluded by the analysis. This provides the first lower mass limit for finite-size MMs from a collider search and significantly extends previous mass bounds.

The first measurement of the hypersatellite-satellite two-photon angular correlation function following the electron capture decay of $^{55}\mathrm{Fe}$ was carried out. In particular, two hybrid active pixel detectors were employed to measure the anisotropy parameter ${\ensuremath{\beta}}_{2}^{\mathrm{eff}}(\mathrm{exp})=0.097\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.053$, which closely agreed with the theoretical value ${\ensuremath{\beta}}_{2}^{\mathrm{eff}}(\mathrm{theor})=0.09735$, calculated in the electric-dipole approximation. In addition, we also determined the double $K$-shell vacancy creation probability in this specific electron capture decay with improved accuracy. We found ${P}_{KK}=(1.388\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.037)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$, with a systematic error $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}{P}_{KK,\text{syst}}=0.042\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$.

The AEg̅IS collaboration at CERN’s AD produces antihydrogen atoms in the form of a pulsed, isotropic source with a precisely defined formation time. AEg̅IS has recently undergone major upgrades to fully benefit from the increased number of colder antiprotons provided by the new ELENA decelerator and to move toward forming a horizontal beam to directly investigate the influence of gravity on the H̅ atoms, thereby probing the Weak Equivalence Principle for antimatter. This contribution gives an overview of these upgrades as well as subsequent results from the first beam times with ELENA.

We present the determination of electron fluxes measured by the Space Application of Timepix Radiation Monitor (SATRAM), a pixelated single-layer particle detector and the comparison with the Energetic Particle Telescope (EPT), a science-class radiation spectrometer. Both are attached to the Proba-V satellite of the European Space Agency. SATRAM hosts a Timepix chip with a 300 μm thick silicon sensor divided into a 256 × 256 pixel matrix with 55 μm pixel pitch. Simulations were conducted to determine the geometric factor of the sensor and the effective area that includes the shielding effects from all directions. The simulation was further used to study the influence of secondary particle production, track interruption, and backscattering on the number of detected particles. Particle identification is performed using two different methods. The first method requires that particle tracks are individually identifiable. A neural network was developed for this purpose, achieving an accuracy of 90.2% for particle identification. If individual particle tracks could not be identified, a statistical approach was used utilizing the energy deposition, average cluster energy, and the last known fraction of electrons. A comparison of the two instruments shows good agreement within one order of magnitude for the majority of the data.

The response of Timepix3 detectors with 300 µm and 500 µm thick HR GaAs:Cr sensors was studied with particle beams at the Danish Centre for Particle Therapy in Aarhus, Denmark. Therefore, the detectors were irradiated at different angles with protons of 240 MeV. The precise per-pixel time and energy measurements were exploited in order to determine the charge carrier transport properties. Using the tracks left by the penetrating charged particles hitting the sensor at the grazing angle, we were able to determine the charge collection efficiency, the charge carrier drift times across the sensor thickness, the dependency of the electron, and for the first time, the hole drift velocity on the electric field. Moreover, extracting the dependence of the charge cloud size on the interaction depth for different bias voltages, it was possible to determine the dependence of the diffusion coefficient on the applied bias voltage. A good agreement was found with the previously reported values for n-type GaAs. The measurements were conducted for different detector assemblies to estimate the systematic differences between them, and to generalize the results. The experimental findings were implemented into the Allpix Squared simulation framework and validated by a comparison of the measurement and simulation for the 241Am γ-ray source.

We report on laser cooling of a large fraction of positronium (Ps) in free-flight by strongly saturating the $1^3S$-$2^3P$ transition with a broadband, long-pulsed 243 nm alexandrite laser. The ground state Ps cloud is produced in a magnetic and electric field-free environment. We observe two different laser-induced effects. The first effect is an increase in the number of atoms in the ground state after the time Ps has spent in the long-lived $3^3P$ states. The second effect is the one-dimensional Doppler cooling of Ps, reducing the cloud's temperature from 380(20) K to 170(20) K. We demonstrate a 58(9) % increase in the coldest fraction of the Ps ensemble.

Electron Emission Channeling (EC) is a powerful technique for the investigation of the lattice location of radioactive isotopes implanted into single crystals. After implantation the isotopes occupy certain lattice locations in the crystal, which can in some cases be altered by annealing. Upon decay, the emission of a charged particle, typically a beta, may result in a channeling trajectory when its starting lattice location is aligned with major symmetry axes or planes of the crystal. By measuring the emission anisotropy in the direction of these axes for distinct annealing temperatures, the lattice location of the isotope can be determined with great precision and insightful information can be obtained on how annealing affects the occupied sites. This work reports on the installation of a Timepix3 quad detector and Katherine Gen2 readout in an experimental setup located at ISOLDE at CERN. The large increase in the number of pixels of the Timepix3, in comparison to previously used pad detectors, required more sophisticated tools for data treatment and fitting of channeling patterns. From this need, the PyFDD software was born. Its latest update features an intuitive graphical interface, with tools for noise masking, pattern visualization, simulations browsing, chi-square or maximum likelihood based fits and gamma background correction.

In space application, hybrid pixel detectors of the Timepix family have been considered mainly for measurement of radiation levels and radiation dosimetry in low earth orbits. By the example of the Space Application of Timepix Radiation Monitor (SATRAM), we demonstrate the unique capabilities of Timepix-based miniaturized radiation detectors for particle separation. Using a novel method for proton spectrum reconstruction, we were able to measure the spectrum of protons trapped in the inner Van-Allen radiation belt, for the first time with a single-layer detector. We assess the measurement stability and the resiliency of the detector to the space environment demonstrating that, even though degradation is observed, data quality has not been affected significantly over more than 10 years. Based on the SATRAM heritage and the capabilities of the latest-generation Timepix-series chips, we discuss their applicability for use in a compact magnetic spectrometer for deep-space mission or in the high radiation environment of the Jupiter radiation belts, and their capability for use as single-layer X- and γ-ray polarimeter. The latter was supported by measurement of the polarization of scattered radiation in a laboratory experiment, where a modulation of 80% was found.

Low-temperature antihydrogen atoms are an effective tool to probe the validity of the fundamental laws of Physics, for example the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) for antimatter, and -generally speaking- it is obvious that colder atoms will increase the level of precision. After the first production of cold antihydrogen in 2002 [1], experimental efforts have substantially progressed, with really competitive results already reached by adapting to cold antiatoms some well-known techniques pre- viously developed for ordinary atoms. Unfortunately, the number of antihydrogen atoms that can be produced in dedicated experiments is many orders of magnitude smaller than of hydrogen atoms, so the development of novel techniques to enhance the production of antihydrogen with well defined (and possibly controlled) conditions is essential to improve the sensitivity. We present here some experimental results achieved by the AEgIS Collaboration, based at the CERN AD (Antiproton Decelerator) on the production of antihydrogen in a pulsed mode where the production time of 90% of atoms is known with an uncertainty of ~ 250 ns [2]. The pulsed antihydrogen source is generated by the charge-exchange reaction between Rydberg positronium ( Ps* ) and an antiproton ( p¯ ): p¯ + P s * → H¯ * + e − , where Ps* is produced via the implantation of a pulsed positron beam into a mesoporous silica target, and excited by two consecutive laser pulses, and antiprotons are trapped, cooled and manipulated in Penning-Malmberg traps. The pulsed production (which is a major milestone for AEgIS) makes it possible to select the antihydrogen axial temperature and opens the door for the tuning of the antihydrogen Rydberg states, their de-excitation by pulsed lasers and the manipulation through electric field gradients. In this paper, we present the results achieved by AEgIS in 2018, just before the Long Shutdown 2 (LS2), as well as some of the ongoing improvements to the system, aimed at exploiting the lower energy antiproton beam from ELENA [3].

Tests were performed at the SPS facilities at CERN using a 40 GeV/c pion beam with prototype 3D-Timepix3 detectors (3D detector). A planar-Timepix3 (planar detector) was placed along the beam axis together with the 3D detectors in a telescope arrangement for comparison and reference. We demonstrate that the combination of 3D-geometry silicon sensors and Timepix3 module can reduce the effect of charge sharing and lowers the carrier drift-time, while giving the same spectroscopy performance without sacrificing the timing or any performance advantages of the Timepix3 module.

The contribution describes the design of Timepix-based hodoscope for cubesat applications, such as PilsenCube2, developed by the University of West Bohemia. The hodoscope is composed of two Timepix detectors with silicon thickness of 300μm, placed in back-to-back arrangement and rotated relative to each other by 90°, forming a telescope set-up. A copper separator is placed between two detectors to distinguish electrons and protons. The payload hardware and firmware are designed to support single detector operation as well as dual detector operation mode, in which particle coincidence detection is possible. The hodoscope electronic has been designed with respect to harsh radiation environment present in LEO (Low Earth Orbit). The device involves independent radiation hardened power supplies, including bias high voltage supply (up to 250 V) and auxiliary threshold reference DAC for each Timepix detector. Considering highly limited achievable data throughput between the CubeSat and the ground control station, advanced on-board data processing has been developed to reduce the size of transmitted data. The on-board data processing is provided by the radiation hardened SoC (System on Chip) Smartfusion2.

Abstract New developments of pixel detectors based on GaAs sensors offer effective registration of the transition radiation (TR) X-rays and perform simultaneous measurements of their energies and emission angles. This unique feature opens new possibilities for particle identification on the basis of maximum available information about generated TR photons. Results of studies of TR energy-angular distributions using a 500 |j.m thick GaAs sensor attached to a Timepix3 chip are presented. Measurements, analysis techniques and a comparison with Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are described and discussed.

With the next-generation Timepix3 hybrid pixel detector, new possibilities and challenges have arisen. The Timepix3 segments active sensor area of 1.98 $cm^2$ into a square matrix of 256 x 256 pixels. In each pixel, the Time of Arrival (ToA, with a time binning of 1.56 $ns$) and Time over Threshold (ToT, energy) are measured simultaneously in a data-driven, i.e. self-triggered, read-out scheme. This contribution presents a framework for data acquisition, real-time clustering, visualization, classification and data saving. All of these tasks can be performed online, directly from multiple readouts through UDP protocol. Clusters are reconstructed on a pixel-by-pixel decision from the stream of not-necessarily chronologically sorted pixel data. To achieve quick spatial pixel-to-cluster matching, non-trivial data structures (quadtree) are utilized. Furthermore, parallelism (i.e multi-threaded architecture) is used to further improve the performance of the framework. Such real-time clustering offers the advantages of online filtering and classification of events. Versatility of the software is ensured by supporting all major operating systems (macOS, Windows and Linux) with both graphical and command-line interfaces. The performance of the real-time clustering and applied filtration methods are demonstrated using data from the Timepix3 network installed in the ATLAS and MoEDAL experiments at CERN.

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The Space Application of Timepix based Radiation Monitor (SATRAM) was launched in May 2013 onboard the Proba-V spacecraft into a low Earth orbit of 820 km. SATRAM has been measuring the radiation environment since then. Due to its pixelized structure, one can find properties in the particle tracks that identify those tracks as electrons or protons. The goal is to determine the electron and proton fluxes measured by SATRAM. The rather thick aluminium box surrounding the Timepix detector cuts off the low end of the energy spectrum for all particle species, limiting the energy range to 700 keV to 7 MeV for electrons and 15 MeV to 400 MeV for protons. For the particle identification, a neural network was utilized. It has an accuracy of about 90 % for both particle species. A Geant4 simulation was conducted to determine the efficiency of the detector for electrons and protons, respectively. Unfortunately, the proton fluxes cannot be measured that way, as the electron background is in the same order of magnitude as the number of protons. Alternatives are being discussed. Finally, the electron fluxes are compared with the data from the Energetic Particle Telescope (EPT) in the relevant energy range, which is also situated onboard the Proba-V satellite. The electron fluxes of both instruments agree with each other.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

A hodoscope based on pixel semiconductor detectors of the Timepix type (ATLAS-TPX) equipped with neutron converters and operating with common read-out was designed for remote measurements in mixed radiation field environments.

Abstract Timepix3 pixel detectors have demonstrated great potential for tracking applications. With 256 × 256 pixels, 55 µm pitch and improved resolution in time (1.56 ns) and energy (2 keV at 60 keV), they have become powerful instruments for characterization of unknown radiation fields. A crucial pre-processing step for such analysis is the determination of particle trajectories in 3D space from individual tracks. This study presents a comprehensive comparison of regression methods that tackle this task under the assumption of track linearity. The proposed methods were first evaluated on a simulation and assessed by their accuracy and computational time. Selected methods were then validated with a real-world dataset, which was measured in a well-known radiation field. Finally, the presented methods were applied to experimental data from the Large Hadron Collider. The best-performing methods achieved a mean absolute error of 1.99° and 3.90° in incidence angle θ and azimuth φ , respectively. The fastest presented method required a mean computational time of 0.02 ps per track. For all experimental applications, we present angular maps and stopping power spectra.

Abstract We present a hybrid imaging/timing detector for force sensitive inertial measurements designed for measurements on positronium, the metastable bound state of an electron and a positron, but also suitable for applications involving other low intensity, low energy beams of neutral (antimatter)-atoms, such as antihydrogen. The performance of the prototype detector was evaluated with a tunable low energy positron beam, resulting in a spatial resolution of <?CDATA ${\approx}$?> <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>≈</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> 12 mm, a detection efficiency of up to 40% and a time-resolution in the order of tens of ns.

A current renaissance of lunar exploration enables to search for lunar water deposits directly on the surface of the Moon with robotic rovers. We present a novel miniature semiconductor neutron spectrometer capable of mapping the water deposits using non-invasive detection of neutrons created underground by cosmic rays and thermalized by hydrogen. This prospecting package consists of a radiation detector to monitor the cosmic rays background, a thermal/epithermal neutron detector to measure flux of neutrons moderated by water, and a gamma spectrometer suitable for monitoring local changes of major elemental components of the lunar regolith. Using miniature semiconductor detectors allows to deploy them even on small commercial rovers where resources are extremely limited. The prospecting package is being developed for ispace lunar rover and studied for ESA EL3 rover. It is based on Timepix pixel sensors, with space heritage onboard NASA, ESA and JAXA vessels.

The AEgIS experiment located at the Antiproton Decelerator at CERN aims to measure the gravitational fall of a cold antihydrogen pulsed beam. The precise observation of the antiatoms in the Earth gravitational field requires a controlled production and manipulation of antihydrogen. The neutral antimatter is obtained via a charge exchange reaction between a cold plasma of antiprotons from ELENA decelerator and a pulse of Rydberg positronium atoms. The current custom electronics designed to operate the 5 and 1 T Penning traps are going to be replaced by a control system based on the ARTIQ &amp; Sinara open hardware and software ecosystem. This solution is present in many atomic, molecular and optical physics experiments and devices such as quantum computers. We report the status of the implementation as well as the main features of the new control system.

A network of Timepix (TPX) devices installed in the ATLAS cavern has the unique capability of measuring the luminosity with thermal neutron counting in Large Hadron Collider proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV. Compared with the hit-counting method, the method of thermal neutron counting has the advantage that it is not affected by induced radioactivity. The results of the luminosity determination are presented for several independently operated TPX detectors. The long-term time stability measurements of the luminosity are presented for individual devices and between different devices. The high-statistics data sets allow a detailed comparison between neutron counting and hit-counting luminosity determinations.

PAN is an instrument designed to precisely measure and monitor the flux, composition, and direction of highly penetrating particles (>100MeV/nucleon) in deep space and interplanetary missions with an energy resolution better than 10% for nuclei from H to Fe at 1GeV/n. The detector, limited to about 20kg in mass and 20W in power consumption, is based on the well-known magnetic spectrometer detection principle, and exploits the advantages provided by the integration of ultra-thin microstrip silicon detectors, hybrid silicon pixel detectors and silicon photomultipliers. This novel layout and detection concept facilitates the flexibility of the PAN instrument for a variegate spectrum of space missions and applications, and opens the possibility to deploy PAN instruments over a distributed array monitoring the radiation environment in different positions of the heliosphere. PAN will measure the properties of cosmic rays in the 100MeV/n - 20GeV/n energy range in deep space with unprecedented accuracy, providing novel results to investigate the mechanisms of origin, acceleration and propagation of galactic cosmic rays and of solar energetic particles, and producing unique information for solar system exploration missions.

In the framework of the MICADO project we proposed an active long-term nuclear waste monitoring system based on Timepix3 technology. Particle detectors based on Timepix3 are capable of particle type discrimination and provide spectrometric information in combination with precise timing information. To maximize the versatility of the setup, the Timepix3 detectors employed are equipped with a range of different sensors. To enable measurement of neutrons, two quadrants of the detectors are covered by neutron converters, allowing detection of thermal neutron by capture in 6 Li, as well as detection of fast neutrons through recoil protons generated in a polyethylene converter. Within this project a new housing for the detector unit and the readout was developed, with the network currently comprising of 9 such detectors. A specifically developed in-house software handles simultaneous operation of all devices, cluster analysis and data visualization. Energy calibration was performed using an X-ray tube with several fluorescence foils as well as photons from an 241 Am source. The neutron and gamma/X-ray detection efficiency calibration was carried out at the Czech Metrology Institute and the results are presented here. Tests on simultaneous operation of all 9 devices were performed using uraninite and 241 Am sources.

Abstract The response of a Timepix3 (256 × 256 pixels, pixel pitch 55 μm) detector with a 500 μm thick HR GaAs:Cr sensor was studied in proton beams of 125 MeV at the Danish Centre for Particle Therapy in Aarhus, Denmark and in a 120 GeV/ c pion beam at the Super-Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN. The sensor was biased at different voltages and irradiated at different angles. The readout chip was configured to operate in electron and hole collection modes. Measurements at grazing angles allowed to see elongated tracks with well-defined impact and exit points, so that charge carrier production depths could be determined in each pixel. We extracted the charge collection efficiencies and the charge carrier drift times as a function of the distance to the pixel plane. It was found that measured proton tracks are shorter in hole collection than in the case of electron collection, which is explained by the shorter lifetime of holes. At an angle of 60 degrees with respect to the sensor normal, the average track length in hole collection was ∼700 μm and 950 μm in electron collection mode. To understand the experimental findings, models describing the properties of HR GaAs:Cr were implemented into the Allpix 2 simulation framework. We added previously presented experimental results describing the dependence of the electron drift velocity on the electric field and validated the response by comparing measurement and simulation for various X- and gamma-ray sources in the energy range of 10–60 keV. By comparison of the experimental and the simulated results, the mobility μ h and the lifetime of holes τ h were estimated as μ h = (320 ± 10) cm 2 /V/s and τ h = (4.5 ± 0.5) ns.

A network of 16 Medipix-2 (MPX) silicon pixel devices was installed in the ATLAS detector cavern at CERN. It was designed to measure the composition and spectral characteristics of the radiation field in the ATLAS experiment and its surroundings. This study demonstrates that the MPX network can also be used as a self-sufficient luminosity monitoring system. The MPX detectors collect data independently of the ATLAS data-recording chain, and thus they provide independent measurements of the bunch-integrated ATLAS/LHC luminosity. In particular, the MPX detectors located close enough to the primary interaction point are used to perform van der Meer calibration scans with high precision. Results from the luminosity monitoring are presented for 2012 data taken at √s = 8 TeV proton-proton collisions. The characteristics of the LHC luminosity reduction rate are studied and the effects of beam-beam (burn-off) and beam-gas (single bunch) interactions are evaluated. The systematic variations observed in the MPX luminosity measurements are below 0.3% for one minute intervals.

A network of Timepix (TPX) devices installed in the ATLAS cavern measures the LHC luminosity as a function of time as a stand-alone system. The data were recorded from 13 TeV proton-proton collisions in 2015. Using two TPX devices, the number of hits created by particles passing the pixel matrices was counted. A van der Meer scan of the LHC beams was analysed using bunch-integrated luminosity averages over the different bunch profiles for an approximate absolute luminosity normalization. It is demonstrated that the TPX network has the capability to measure the reduction of LHC luminosity with precision. Comparative studies were performed among four sensors (two sensors in each TPX device) and the relative short-term precision of the luminosity measurement was determined to be 0.1% for 10s time intervals. The internal long-term time stability of the measurements was below 0.5% for the data-taking period.

A network of 15 Timepix pixel detectors was installed within the ATLAS experiment at CERN, Geneva. The network is capable of measuring the composition and spectral characteristics of the radiation fields in real-time. Its operation is managed by a dedicated software system. The presented article describes primary software components of this system responsible for communication with detector hardware, online operation monitoring, remote acquisition control, automated data verification and analysis. The processed data can be accessed through an interactive web-based Data Visualization Application, which is available to the scientific community.

Antiprotonic atoms have been fundamental in experiments which provide the most precise data on the strong interaction between protons and antiprotons and of the neutron skin of many nuclei thanks to the clean annihilation signal.In most of these experiments, the capture process of low energy antiprotons was done in a dense target leading to a significant suppression of specific transitions between deeply bound levels that are of particular interest.In particular, precise measurements of specific transitions in antiprotonic atoms with Z>2 are sparse.We propose to use the pulsed production scheme developed for antihydrogen and protonium for the formation of cold antiprotonic atoms.This technique has been recently achieved experimentally for the production of antihydrogen at AEgIS.The proposed experiments will have sub-ns synchronization thanks to an improved control and acquisition system.The formation in vacuum guarantees the absence of Stark mixing or annihilation from high n states and together with the sub-ns synchronization would resolve the previous experimental limitations.It will be possible to access the whole chain of the evolution of the system from its formation until annihilation with significantly improved signal-to-background ratio.

The primary goal of the AEgIS collaboration at CERN is to measure the gravitational acceleration on neutral antimatter. Positronium (Ps), the bound state of an electron and a positron, is a suitable candidate for a force-sensitive inertial measurement by means of deflectometry/interferometry. In order to conduct such an experiment, the impact position and time of arrival of Ps atoms at the detector must be detected simultaneously. The detection of a low-velocity Ps beam with a spatial resolution of (88 ± 5) μm was previously demonstrated [1]. Based on the methodology employed in [1] and [2], a hybrid imaging/timing detector with increased spatial resolution of about 10 μm was developed. The performance of a prototype was tested with a positron beam. The concept of the detector and first results are presented.

Hybrid pixel detectors of Timepix3 technology allow noiseless single particle detection and identification. We exploit this capability for a comprehensive study of ionizing energy losses and their spatial distribution in silicon sensors after exposure to charged particles and neutrons. (Abstract)

Since their introduction in 2015, AC-coupled Low Gain Avalanche Diode (AC-LGAD) sensors have attracted wide-spread interest in the scientific community for their ability to provide high spatial resolution while keeping the excellent timing capabilities typical of standard (DC-)LGAD sensors. This is achieved in AC-LGADs because the signal from particle interactions is capacitively induced on fine-pitched electrodes placed over an insulator and is shared among multiple electrodes. AC-LGADs are therefore considered as promising candidates for future detectors such as EIC to provide 4-dimensional measurements with high resolution in both space and time dimensions. AC-LGAD sensors designed and fabricated at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA) have been coupled to Timepix3, a pixel detector read-out chip for X-ray imaging and particle track reconstruction developed by the Medipix3 collaboration, offering pixel-level threshold adjustment on a 256x256 pixel matrix and high precision Time-of-Arrival and Time Over Threshold measurement of incoming particles. Three different AC-LGAD strip detectors, custom designed to fit the Timepix3 chip specifications, have been bonded onto a single Timepix3 chip. Studies of the electrical coupling of the two systems and the characterization of AC-LGAD signals readout by the Timepix3 chip are discussed in this work.

With the next-generation Timepix3 hybrid pixel detector, new possibilities and challenges have arisen. The Timepix3 segments active sensor area of 1.98 $cm^2$ into a square matrix of 256 x 256 pixels. In each pixel, the Time of Arrival (ToA, with a time binning of 1.56 $ns$) and Time over Threshold (ToT, energy) are measured simultaneously in a data-driven, i.e. self-triggered, read-out scheme. This contribution presents a framework for data acquisition, real-time clustering, visualization, classification and data saving. All of these tasks can be performed online, directly from multiple readouts through UDP protocol. Clusters are reconstructed on a pixel-by-pixel decision from the stream of not-necessarily chronologically sorted pixel data. To achieve quick spatial pixel-to-cluster matching, non-trivial data structures (quadtree) are utilized. Furthermore, parallelism (i.e multi-threaded architecture) is used to further improve the performance of the framework. Such real-time clustering offers the advantages of online filtering and classification of events. Versatility of the software is ensured by supporting all major operating systems (macOS, Windows and Linux) with both graphical and command-line interfaces. The performance of the real-time clustering and applied filtration methods are demonstrated using data from the Timepix3 network installed in the ATLAS and MoEDAL experiments at CERN.

The presentation summarizes INPPS (International Nuclear Power and Propulsion System) flagship non-human (2020th) and human (2030th) Mars exploration missions. The 2020th first flagship space flight is the complex, complete test mission for the second flagship towards Mars with humans (2030th). The most efficient approach is the completely tested first INPPS in the 2020th as the preparation of the second flagship with humans on board. The second INPPS (2030th) is also the regular space transportation tug Mars-Earth. International requests for human Mars space flight is realizable by rationales for pursuing two INPPS Mars missions in the proposed period: 1) successful finalization of the European-Russian DEMOCRITOS and MEGAHIT projects with their three concepts of space, ground and nuclear demonstrators for INPPS realization (2017), 2) successful ground based test of the Russian nuclear reactor with 1MWel plus the important thermal emission solution by droplet radiators (2018), 3) reactor space qualification by Russia until 2025 and 4) the perfect celestial Earth-Mars-Earth-Jupiter/Europa trajectory in 2026-2031 to carryout maximal INPPS space flight tests. Set of issues of INPPS space system and all subsystems became identified and studied during DEMOCRITOS. Consequently critical performance will be studied by parallel realizations of the ground and nuclear demonstrators (until 2025). The INPPS space demonstrator considers directly results of ground and nuclear demonstrator tests. Realization of the space demonstrator in form of the first space qualification of INPPS with all subsystems in the middle of the 2020th plus INPPS tests for about one to two years - first in high Earth orbit and later in nearby Earth space environment means a complete concepts driven approval for all INPPS technologies for non-human/human INPPS-Mars missions. Space subsystem results of MARS-INPPS design (with arrow wing shaped radiators) will be described. In dependence - from a cluster with worldwide selected electric thrusters - the MARS-INPPS payload mass is up to 18 tons. This very high payload mass allows to transport three different payloads at once - scientific, pure commercial and new media communication. The realization including tests is sketched: especially the need of non-human flagship Mars flight, the test towards Europa (including real time radiation monitoring) for maximal human Mars mission preparation for the second INPPS with humans to Mars. INPPS missions implicate Apollo and ISS comparable outcomes for science technologies, international dedication and in addition for space commercialization. Insofar - this MARS-INPPS presentation - convince high attendance of conference participants, commercial and new media investors.

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The Space Application of Timepix Radiation Monitor (SATRAM) on board the Proba-V satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA) was launched in May 2013 into a sun-synchronous orbit with an altitude of about 820 km. This technology demonstration payload is based on the Timepix technology developed by the CERN-based Medipix2 Collaboration. It is equipped with a 300 um thick silicon sensor with a pixel pitch of 55 um in a 256 x 256 pixel matrix. The device is sensitive to X-rays and all charged particles. A Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to determine the detector response to electrons (0.5&amp;amp;#8211;7 MeV) and protons (10&amp;amp;#8211;400 MeV) taking into account the shielding of the detector housing and the satellite. With the help of the simulation, a strategy was developed to estimate omnidirectional electron, proton, and ion fluxes around Earth using stopping power, maximum energy deposition per pixel of the particle track, and the shape of the particle tracks in the sensor. Presented are typical overall dose rates as well as fluxes of individual particle species. A superposed epoch analysis is used to analyze variations of particle fluxes related to geomagnetic storms and interplanetary shock arrivals as a function of time and L-shell.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

Detectors of the Medipix/Timepix family are hybrid pixel detectors developed by the Medipix collaboration(s) hosted at CERN. They consist of a sensor layer divided into a square matrix of 65,536 pixels with a pixel pitch of 55\,$\mu$m. In each of the pixels, the number of interactions, the deposited energy, and/or the time of arrival can be measured. In the presented thesis, the capabilities of Timepix and Timepix3 were evaluated for different applications profiting from the pixelation and/or the time-resolution. A dedicated methodology was developed for detector use in specific physics experiments.\\ In the first experiment, two synchronized Timepix detectors were placed on both sides of a point-like \isotope[55]{Fe} source, determining the probability of the rare production of a double K-shell vacancy $P_{\rm KK}$ after the electron capture decay of \isotope[55]{Fe} to \isotope[55]{Mn}. $P_{\rm KK}$ for \isotope[55]{Fe} has already been measured by different approaches, but the precision of the measurements was not high enough for proper theoretical model selection. Additionally, when comparing the \isotope[55]{Fe} value with $P_{\rm KK}$-measurements of the neighboring electron capture isotopes \isotope[54]{Mn} and \isotope[65]{Zn}, a discrepancy from the Primakoff-Porter scaling was reported. In the presented work, $P_{\rm KK}$ was found to to be $P_{\rm KK} = (1.388 \pm 0.037) \times 10^{-4} $, with a systematic uncertainty of $\Delta P_{\rm KK,syst} = 0.042 \times 10^{-4}$, which exceeds the precision of all previous measurements. This result is consistent on a 1.5\,$\sigma$ level with the values reported for \isotope[54]{Mn} assuming Primakoff-Porter scaling, but it also confirms the discrepancy with \isotope[65]{Zn} (values presented in other works had to be corrected for the differing fluorescence yields in the single and double vacancy states). Thus, further investigations are strongly encouraged, such as a triple coincidence experiment to eliminate the impact of the $\gamma$-ray from the relaxation of the \isotope[65]{Zn}. When compared with theoretical values, the presented result was not consistent with any of the proposed model calculations for $P_{\rm KK}$ prediction. Thanks to the pixelation of the detectors, the angular correlation between the hypersatellite and satellite photons emitted during the relaxation of the double vacancy state could be extracted for the first time. The experimentally determined anisotropy parameter $\beta_{2}^{\rm exp} = 0.097 \pm 0.053$ is in good agreement with $\beta_{2}^{\rm theo.} = 0.097 \pm 0.053$ obtained in the electric-dipole approximation. The presented measurements and evaluation techniques had to cope with a considerable amount of detector dead time and the fact that only crude energy information (cluster size and threshold) was available. Using the newly developed Timepix3 detectors for such investigations, measurement time and systematic error could be significantly reduced due to a data-driven readout scheme and the possibility to measure energy and time simultaneously.\\ The second use of Timepix type detectors for particle physics experiments was based on their adaptation for the detection of neutrons. Neutron converter materials were attached to the Timepix segmenting the Timepix into areas with higher detection efficiencies for neutrons of different energies. Proper selection of neutron converters together with a pattern recognition algorithm provided good separation of the neutron field from $\gamma$-rays. Neutron detection efficiencies were measured and compared to simulations. The probability of detecting thermal neutrons through the \isotope[6]{Li}(n,$\alpha$)\isotope[3]{H}-reaction (in an $\approx\,1.6$\,$\nicefrac{\rm mg}{{\rm cm}^2}$ thick \isotope[6]{LiF}-layer) was found to be $\approx$\,0.5\%. Fast neutrons with energies above 1\,MeV were detected through recoil protons from a 1.2\,mm thick CH$_{\rm 2}$ (polyethylene, PE) layer. Fast neutron interactions in the silicon sensor layer were estimated in an uncovered region and subtracted. The time-of-flight technique was used to study the energy dependence of the PE converter regions' detection efficiencies to fast neutrons in the energy range from few hundreds of keV up to 600\,MeV. A maximal efficiency of approximately 0.032\% was found around 16\,MeV. By adding an aluminum foil of $\approx 100\,\mu$m thickness below a part of the PE, a region with differing fast neutron response was created, which can be used together with the response below the PE layer to assess the hardness of the neutron spectrum. To increase the capability of separating neutrons from charged particles and to estimate the directionality of the fast neutron component, a two-layer approach was introduced. The data analysis and the performance of the device were illustrated by data evaluation in typical mixed radiation fields: in a particle therapy application, for radiation monitoring at a beam line, and by the determination of thermal neutron fluxes at 16 positions in the ATLAS experiment. The presented results of the ATLAS-TPX devices inside ATLAS are a valuable input for benchmarking simulations, which are used to estimate radiation doses and particle fluxes at the different ATLAS subdetector systems. It is also used for monitoring the stability of the ATLAS luminosity measurement.\\ In the third application, a Timepix3 detector was employed for a time-of-flight experiment in a fast neutron beam with the goal of improving the understanding of neutron interactions and the corresponding energy depositions in silicon. It was motivated by the needs of radiation damage assessment. With the capability of the Timepix3 to detect the energy and time simultaneously in each pixel, the energy deposition spectra of fast neutrons in a 300\,$\mu$m thick silicon sensor layer were recorded. By spectrum interpretation, the energy depositions of recoil silicon after neutron elastic scattering were separated from inelastic interactions so that the competition of ionizing (IEL) vs. non-ionizing energy losses (NIEL) could be studied in the neutron energy range from 200\,keV - 10\,MeV. The obtained partition function is in agreement with a previous measurement by Sattler and was compared with two theoretical models: the model of Norgett-Torrens and Robinson, which is based on the Lindhard equations and standardly used in NIEL simulation tools (such as SRIM), and the newer model of Akkerman and Barak. The presented data underlines the trend to prefer the Akkerman and Barak model, especially at low recoil silicon energies (down to $T_{\rm Si} \approx 20$\,keV). \\ The last part covered a methodological development for future applications of the Timepix3 for advanced particle tracking in physics experiments. It discusses the Timepix3's capabilities to perform 3D reconstructions of particle trajectories in a 500\,$\mu$m thick silicon sensor layer. Therefore, a similar technique to that of a time-projection chamber (TPC) was used. The 3D coordinates of particle tracks could be obtained in a silicon semiconductor device, thus profiting from all the advantages of solid state detectors (small dimensions, speed of operation, and high stopping power) compared to the gas-filled TPC. With the improved time resolution of the Timepix3, it was possible to determine the drift time of created charge carriers with a precision of 1.5625\,ns. The presented study investigated the achievable $z$-resolutions for different bias voltages and discussed the effect of an inaccurate drift time model. It was shown that a $z$-resolution of 50\,$\mu$m can be achieved (with a bias of 130\,V applied to a 500\,$\mu$m thick silicon sensor), which could be reduced to 28.5\,$\mu$m with an improved description of the drift time dependence on interaction depth. Timepix3 can thus be seen as a 3D detector with $55 \times 55 \times 50\,\mu$m$^{3}$ voxel size. The 3D paths of 120\,GeV/c pion tracks and associated $\delta$-rays through the 500\,$\mu$m thick silicon sensor layer were illustrated.

It is described the interplanetary INPPS flagship for Mars and Europa space exploration - without and with humans. INPPS - the International Nuclear Power and Propulsion System - fulfill all necessary UN regulations for NPS (Nuclear Power Source) in space: orbiting small satellites and the flagship itself will be equipped with particle and gamma ray detector like TIMEPIX.

This paper explicitly explains INPPS (International Nuclear Power and Propulsion System) flagship subsystems like nuclear reactor, shielding, power conversion, boom, radiators, building blocks for tanks / payload basket / PPU / cluster of electric thrusters as well as additional solar power ring electricity and real time radiation detectors. Differences between the two flagships - as high power space transportation tug - for non-human (second half of 2020th) Mars / Europa and human (2030th) Mars exploration missions are sketched. The international studied conditions for human Mars and exploration Europa space flights are realizable by rationales for pursuing high power space transportation by INPPS due to: 1) the successful finalization of the European-Russian DEMOCRITOS and MEGAHIT projects with their three concepts of space, ground and nuclear demonstrators for INPPS realization (reached in 2017), 2) the successful ground based test of the Russian nuclear reactor with 1MWel plus important heat dissipation solution via droplet radiators (confirmed in 2018), 3) the space qualification of the Russian reactor until 2025 and 4) the perfect celestial constellation for a Earth-Mars/Phobos-Earth-Jupiter/Europa trajectory in 2026-2035 for most maximal INPPS flagship tests. Critical performance will be studied by parallel realizations of the ground and nuclear demonstrators of DEMOCRITOS (until 2025). The space qualification of INPPS with all subsystems including the nuclear reactor in the middle of the 2020th plus the INPPS tests for about one to two years - first in high Earth orbit robotic assembly phase of INPPS and later extended in nearby Earth space environment flight - means a complete concepts driven approval for all applied INPPS space technologies for both Mars/Europa exploration missions by INPPS flagship. In dependence - from the cluster of electric thrusters - the Mars/Europa INPPS payload mass is up to 18/12 tons. This very high payload mass allows to transport scientific, pure commercial and new media communication payload sections. For example, Mars and Europa payload as well as scientific payload in form of s small INPPS co-flying satellite are envisaged. The INPPS flagship missions are visionary, comparable with Apollo project and ISS with dedicated outcomes for science / technologies, international peaceful cooperation in space and additionally for commercialization plus communication from Earth to INPPS, within INPPS – means in space - and back from INPPS to Earth.

Abstract. This paper presents a method of how to determine spatial angles of ionizing radiation incidence quickly, using a Timepix3 detector. This work focuses on the dosimetric applications where detectors and measured quantities show significant angle dependencies. A determined angle of incidence can be used to correct for the angle dependence of a planar Timepix3 detector. Up until now, only passive dosemeters have been able to provide a correct dose and preserve the corresponding incidence angle of the radiation. Unfortunately, passive dosemeters cannot provide this information in “real” time. In our special setup we were able to retrieve the spatial angles with a runtime of less than 600 ms. Employing the new Timepix3 detector enables the use of effective data analysis where the direction of incident radiation is computed from a simple photon event map. In order to obtain this angle, we combine the information extracted from the map with known 3D geometry surrounding the detector. Moreover, we analyze the computation time behavior, conditions and optimizations of the developed spatial angle calculation algorithm.