S. Xie

Improving the temporal resolution of single photon detectors has an impact on many applications, such as increased data rates and transmission distances for both classical and quantum optical communication systems, higher spatial resolution in laser ranging and observation of shorter-lived fluorophores in biomedical imaging. In recent years, superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have emerged as the highest efficiency time-resolving single-photon counting detectors available in the near infrared. As the detection mechanism in SNSPDs occurs on picosecond time scales, SNSPDs have been demonstrated with exquisite temporal resolution below 15 ps. We reduce this value to 2.7$\pm$0.2 ps at 400 nm and 4.6$\pm$0.2 ps at 1550 nm, using a specialized niobium nitride (NbN) SNSPD. The observed photon-energy dependence of the temporal resolution and detection latency suggests that intrinsic effects make a significant contribution.

In response to the dramatic increase in social media usage among the young generation, the patterns of manufacturing and consumption have changed. Social media has altered the green consumption market and completely changed consumer psychology and attitude. The influence of social media on the younger generation’s behavior regarding green consumption through subjective norms and perceived green value is hardly discussed in the earlier literature with special reference to China. This study has the objective to explore the impact of social media on the green purchase intentions of young people in the presence of subjective norms and perceived green value. A survey of 303 young people in China is conducted and multiple statistical techniques are applied to determine the reliability and validity of the data such as the Fisher F test, White’s test, the Durbin–Watson test, the Shapiro–Wilks test, and confirmatory factor analysis. The mediating impact of the variables are explored through the bootstrap method and multiple regression is applied for finding the relationship among dependent and independent variables. The findings of this study reveal that information shared on social media has a positive relationship with green consumption among the younger generation in China. In addition, perceptions about green environment and “subjective norms” have a strong mediating impact on increasing the intentions of consumers for purchasing of green products. Moreover, the occupation of consumers also has a mediating role in moderating the subjective norms regarding green consumption. The findings of the study have theoretical contributions as well as practical implications. It is found that social media has a stimulus role for green consumption among the younger generation to devise their subjective norms and perceptions. The practical implications of the present findings are helpful for policy makers to understand how social media is effective in combatting environmental deterioration in the context of China’s recent economic expansion. The future research may be extended through a splitting sample considering the location of respondents and in terms of responses’ quartiles.

Quantum teleportation is essential for many quantum information technologies, including long-distance quantum networks. Using fiber-coupled devices, including state-of-the-art low-noise superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors and off-the-shelf optics, we achieve conditional quantum teleportation of time-bin qubits at the telecommunication wavelength of 1536.5 nm. We measure teleportation fidelities of ≥90% that are consistent with an analytical model of our system, which includes realistic imperfections. To demonstrate the compatibility of our setup with deployed quantum networks, we teleport qubits over 22 km of single-mode fiber while transmitting qubits over an additional 22 km of fiber. Our systems, which are compatible with emerging solid-state quantum devices, provide a realistic foundation for a high-fidelity quantum Internet with practical devices.2 MoreReceived 28 July 2020Accepted 16 October 2020Corrected 22 July 2021DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.1.020317Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasQuantum channelsQuantum entanglementQuantum information architectures & platformsQuantum networksQuantum teleportationQuantum tomographyString dualitiesQuantum InformationParticles & Fields

A bstract We study the LHC discovery potential in the search for heavy neutral leptons (HNL) with a new signature: a displaced shower in the CMS muon detector, giving rise to a large cluster of hits forming a displaced shower. A new Delphes module is used to model the CMS detector response for such displaced decays. We reinterpret a dedicated CMS search for neutral long-lived particles decaying in the CMS muon endcap detectors for the minimal HNL scenario. We demonstrate that this new strategy is particularly sensitive to active-sterile mixings with τ leptons, due to hadronic τ decays. HNL masses between ~ 1–6 GeV can be accessed for mixings as low as | V τN | 2 ~10 −7 , probing unique regions of parameter space in the τ sector.

Delivering sparingly water-soluble drugs from ethylcellulose (EC) coated pellets with a controlled-release pattern remains challenging. In the present study, hydrophilic polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was used both as a binder and a pore-former in EC coated pellets to deliver sparingly water-soluble topiramate, and the key factors that influenced drug release were identified. When the binder PVP content in drug layers below 20% w/w was decreased, the physical state of topiramate changed from amorphous to crystalline, making much difference to drug solubility and dissolution rates while modifying the drug release profile from first-order to zero-order. In addition, without PVP in drug layering solution, drug layered particles were less sticky during layering process, thus leading to a shorter process and higher loading efficiency. Furthermore, PVP level as a pore-former in EC coating layers mainly governed drug release from the coated pellets with the sensitivity ranging from 23% to 29%. PVP leaching rate and water permeability from EC/PVP film increased with the PVP level, which was perfectly correlated with drug release rate. Additionally, drug release from this formulation was independent of pH of release media or of the paddle mixing speed, but inversely proportional to the osmolality of release media above the physiological range.

Abstract We present measurements of AC-LGADs performed at the Fermilab's test beam facility using 120 GeV protons. We studied the performance of various strip and pad AC-LGAD sensors that were produced by BNL and HPK. The measurements are performed with our upgraded test beam setup that utilizes a high precision telescope tracker, and a simultaneous readout of up to 7 channels per sensor, which allows detailed studies of signal sharing characteristics. These measurements allow us to assess the differences in designs between different manufacturers, and optimize them based on experimental performance. We then study several reconstruction algorithms to optimize position and time resolutions that utilize the signal sharing properties of each sensor. We present a world's first demonstration of silicon sensors in a test beam that simultaneously achieve better than 6–10 μm position and 30 ps time resolution. This represents a substantial improvement to the spatial resolution than would be obtained with binary readout of sensors with similar pitch.

The Illinois Express Quantum Network (IEQNET) is a program to realize metropolitan scale quantum networking over deployed optical fiber using currently available technology. IEQNET consists of multiple sites that are geographically dispersed in the Chicago metropolitan area. Each site has one or more quantum nodes (Q-nodes) representing the communication parties in a quantum network. Q-nodes generate or measure quantum signals such as entangled photons and communicate the measurement results via standard, classical signals and conventional networking processes. The entangled photons in IEQNET nodes are generated at multiple wavelengths, and are selectively distributed to the desired users via transparent optical switches. Here we describe the network architecture of IEQNET, including the Internet-inspired layered hierarchy that leverages software-defined networking (SDN) technology to perform traditional wavelength routing and assignment between the Q-nodes. Specifically, SDN decouples the control and data planes, with the control plane being entirely implemented in the classical domain. We also discuss the IEQNET processes that address issues associated with synchronization, calibration, network monitoring, and scheduling. An important goal of IEQNET is to demonstrate the extent to which the control plane classical signals can co-propagate with the data plane quantum signals in the same fiber lines (quantum-classical signal "coexistence"). This goal is furthered by the use of tunable narrow-band optical filtering at the receivers and, at least in some cases, a wide wavelength separation between the quantum and classical channels. We envision IEQNET to aid in developing robust and practical quantum networks by demonstrating metro-scale quantum communication tasks such as entanglement distribution and quantum-state teleportation.

S100A8/A9, which is a member of S100 proteins, may be involved in the pathophysiology of Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) that seriously threatens children's health. However, circulating markers to assess the severity of pneumonia in children are yet to be explored. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of serum S100A8/A9 level in determining the severity of CAP in children.In this prospective and observational study, we recruited 195 in-hospital children diagnosed with CAP. In comparison, 63 healthy children (HC) and 58 children with non-infectious pneumonia (pneumonitis) were included as control groups. Demographic and clinical data were collected. Serum S100A8/A9 levels, serum pro-calcitonin concentrations, and blood leucocyte counts were quantified.The serum S100A8/A9 levels in patients with CAP was 1.59 ± 1.32 ng/mL, which was approximately five and two times higher than those in healthy controls and those in children with pneumonitis, respectively. Serum S100A8/A9 was elevated parallelly with the clinical pulmonary infection score. The sensitivity, specificity, and Youden's index of S100A8/A9 ≥1.25 ng/mL for predicting the severity of CAP in children was optimal. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of S100A8/A9 was the highest among the indices used to evaluate severity.S100A8/A9 may serve as a biomarker for predicting the severity of the condition in children with CAP and establishing treatment grading.

The High Luminosity phase of the Large Hadron Collider will deliver 10 times more integrated luminosity than the existing collider, posing significant challenges for radiation tolerance and event pileup on detectors, especially for forward calorimetry. As part of its upgrade program, the Compact Muon Solenoid collaboration is designing a high-granularity calorimeter (HGCAL) to replace the existing endcap calorimeters. It will feature unprecedented transverse and longitudinal readout and triggering segmentation for both electromagnetic and hadronic sections. The electromagnetic section and a large fraction of the hadronic section will be based on hexagonal silicon sensors of 0.5–1 cm2 cell size, with the remainder of the hadronic section being based on highly-segmented scintillators with silicon photomultiplier readout. The intrinsic high-precision timing capabilities of the silicon sensors will add an extra dimension to event reconstruction, especially in terms of pileup rejection. First hexagonal silicon modules, using the existing Skiroc2 front-end ASIC developed for CALICE, have been tested in beams at Fermilab and CERN in 2016. We present results from these tests, in terms of system stability, calibration with minimum-ionizing particles and resolution (energy, position and timing) for electrons, and the comparisons of these quantities with GEANT4-based simulation.

Developing single molecule-assembled nanoprodrugs that can reverse the glutathione (GSH)-mediated drug resistance of tumors provides promising potentials for precision and effective cancer theranostics. Herein, we developed a novel single molecule-assembled nanoprodrug for effective photodynamic/chemotherapeutic eradication of drug-resistant tumors via the multistage GSH-depletion. The nanoprodrug MSSP-NP could be fancily fabricated by self-assembly of an amphiphilic activatable molecular MSSP, which is synthesized by covalently conjugating the photosensitizer methylene blue (MB) with a GSH-sensitive cisplatin prodrug via a tumor targeting thiolated polypeptide. Upon the nanoprodrug MSSP-NP systematic administrated, its photoactivities and pharmacological effects can be thoroughly switched on by intracellular GSH to produce the photosensitizer MB and chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin, along with the multi-step consumption of GSH, which could remarkably boost oxidative stress and reverse the drug resistance. As a result, the nanoprodrug could effectively disrupt the tumor GSH-defense system to afford high-efficiency photodynamic/chemotherapeutic inhibition of drug resistance tumors (96.4%) with minimum side effects.

AC-LGADs, also referred to as resistive silicon detectors, are a recent development of low-gain avalanche detectors (LGADs), based on a sensor design where the multiplication layer and n+ contact are continuous, and only the metal layer is patterned. In AC-LGADs, the signal is capacitively coupled from the continuous, resistive n+ layer over a dielectric to the metal electrodes. Therefore, the spatial resolution is not only influenced by the electrode pitch, but also the relative size of the metal electrodes. Signal propagation between the metallized areas and charge sharing between electrodes plays a larger role in these detectors than in conventional silicon sensors read out in DC mode. AC-LGADs from two manufacturers were studied in beam tests and with infrared laser scans. The impact of n+ layer resistivity and metal electrode pitch on the charge sharing and achievable position resolution is shown. For strips with 100 μm pitch, a resolution of ¡ 5 μm can be reached. The charge sharing between neighboring strips is investigated in more detail, indicating the induction of signal charge and subsequent re-sharing over the n+ layer. Furthermore, an approach to identify signal sharing over large distances is presented.

We demonstrate a three-node quantum network for C-band photon pairs using 2 pairs of 59 km of deployed fiber between Fermi and Argonne National Laboratories. The C-band pairs are directed to nodes using a standard telecommunication switch and synchronized to picosecond-scale timing resolution using a coexisting O- or L-band optical clock distribution system. We measure a reduction of coincidence-to-accidental ratio (CAR) of the C-band pairs from 51 $\pm$ 2 to 5.3 $\pm$ 0.4 due to Raman scattering of the O-band clock pulses. Despite this reduction, the CAR is nevertheless suitable for quantum networks.

Abstract We present the first beam test results with centimeter-scale AC-LGAD strip sensors, using the Fermilab Test Beam Facility and sensors manufactured by the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Sensors of this type are envisioned for applications that require large-area precision 4D tracking coverage with economical channel counts, including timing layers for the Electron Ion Collider (EIC), and space-based particle experiments. A survey of sensor designs is presented, with the aim of optimizing the electrode geometry for spatial resolution and timing performance. Several design considerations are discussed towards maintaining desirable signal characteristics with increasingly larger electrodes. The resolutions obtained with several prototypes are presented, reaching simultaneous 18 μm and 32 ps resolutions from strips of 1 cm length and 500 μm pitch. With only slight modifications, these sensors would be ideal candidates for a 4D timing layer at the EIC.

We present test beam studies and results on the timing performance and characterization of the time resolution of Lutetium–Yttrium Orthosilicate (LYSO)-based calorimeters. We demonstrate that a time resolution of 30 ps is achievable for a particular design. Furthermore, we discuss precision timing calorimetry as a tool for the mitigation of physics object performance degradation effects due to the large number of simultaneous interactions in the high luminosity environment foreseen at the Large Hadron Collider.

One possibility to make a fast and radiation resistant shower maximum (SM) detector is to use a secondary emitter as an active element. We present below test beam results, obtained with different types of photodetectors based on microchannel plates (MCPs) as the secondary emitter. We performed the measurements at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility with 120 GeV proton beam and 12 GeV and 32 GeV secondary beams. The goal of the measurement with 120 GeV protons was to determine time resolution for minimum ionizing particles (MIPs). The SM time resolution we obtained for this new type of detector is at the level of 20–30 ps. We estimate that a significant contribution to the detector response originates from secondary emission of the MCP. This work can be considered as the first step in building a new type of calorimeter based on this principle.

Deterministic generation of single photons is essential for many quantum information technologies. A bulk optical nonlinearity emitting a photon pair, where the measurement of one of the photons heralds the presence of the other, is commonly used with the caveat that the single-photon emission rate is constrained due to a trade-off between multiphoton events and pair emission rate. Using an efficient and low noise photon-number-resolving superconducting nanowire detector we herald, in real time, a single photon at telecommunication wavelength. We perform a second-order photon correlation ${g}^{2}(0)$ measurement of the signal mode conditioned on the measured photon number of the idler mode for various pump powers and demonstrate an improvement of a heralded single-photon source. We develop an analytical model using a phase-space formalism that encompasses all multiphoton effects and relevant imperfections, such as loss and multiple Schmidt modes. We perform a maximum-likelihood fit to test the agreement of the model to the data and extract the best-fit mean photon number $\ensuremath{\mu}$ of the pair source for each pump power. A maximum reduction of $0.118\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.012$ in the photon ${g}^{2}(0)$ correlation function at $\ensuremath{\mu}=0.327\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.007$ is obtained, indicating a strong suppression of multiphoton emissions. For a fixed ${g}^{2}(0)=7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$, we increase the single pair generation probability by 25%. Our experiment, built using fiber-coupled and off-the-shelf components, delineates a path to engineering ideal sources of single photons.

Reasonable allocation of production plans and saving the overall electricity cost are crucial for large manufacturing conglomerates, which is an effective way for conglomerates to realize open-source and cost-saving. This paper develops an optimization model of off-site industrial production scheduling for enterprises in response to the problems of high electricity costs due to the irrational allocation of production schedules on the demand side of China's electric power and the difficulty of promoting industrial and commercial distributed photovoltaic (PV) projects in China. The model makes full use of the conditions of different PV resources and different electricity prices in different places to optimize the scheduling of industrial production in different places. The model is embedded with two sub-models of the electricity price prediction model and distributed photovoltaic kWh cost model to complete the model parameters, in which the electricity price prediction model utilizes the LSTM neural network. The integrated model is then solved by the particle swarm algorithm. To verify the effectiveness of the model in solving the problem of off-site production scheduling on the demand side of electricity, the research team researched two off-site pharmaceutical factories belonging to the same large pharmaceutical company. Finally, the research data were substituted into the model for solving, and it was concluded that the optimization model could significantly reduce the cost of electricity consumption of the enterprise by about 7.9 %.

A reasonable allocation of production schedules and savings in overall electricity costs are crucial for large manufacturing conglomerates. In this study, we develop an optimization model of off-site industrial production scheduling to address the problems of high electricity costs due to the irrational allocation of production schedules on the demand side of China’s power supply, and the difficulty in promoting industrial and commercial distributed photovoltaic (PV) projects in China. The model makes full use of the conditions of different PV resources and variations in electricity prices in different places to optimize the scheduling of industrial production in various locations. The model is embedded with two sub-models, i.e., an electricity price prediction model and a distributed photovoltaic power cost model to complete the model parameters, in which the electricity price prediction model utilizes a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network. Then, the particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to solve the optimization model. Finally, the production data of two off-site pharmaceutical factories belonging to the same large group of enterprises are substituted into the model for example analysis, and it is concluded that the optimization model can significantly reduce the electricity consumption costs of the enterprises by about 7.9%. This verifies the effectiveness of the optimization model established in this paper in reducing the cost of electricity consumption on the demand side.

We continue the study of micro-channel plate photomultiplier (MCP-PMT) as the active element of a shower maximum (SM) detector. We present test beam results obtained with Photek 240 and Photonis XP85011 MCP-PMTs devices. For proton beams, we obtained a time resolution of 9.6 ps, representing a significant improvement over past results using the same time of flight system. For electron beams, the time resolution obtained for this new type of SM detector is measured to be at the level of 13 ps when we use Photek 240 as the active element of the SM. Using the Photonis XP85011 MCP-PMT as the active element of the SM, we performed time resolution measurements with pixel readout, and achieved a TR better than 30 ps, The pixel readout was observed to improve upon the TR compared to the case where the individual channels were summed.

Abstract BACKGROUND As a Chinese traditional flavor condiment, Pixian Douban (PXDB) is produced using a traditional open fermentation process. In this study, an experimental fermentation of PXDB was conducted at 40 °C for 90 days in a closed system, which has not been applied to PXDB production. The flavor, microbial community and correlations of the samples in the closed system were compared with those in the traditional fermentation. RESULTS The content of organic acids and free amino acids in the closed fermentation of constant temperature (CFCT) achieved the standards of product quality, although they were lower than those in the traditional fermentation. Of the 140 detected aroma components, 98 were shared in the two fermentation processes. Enterobacter , Bacteroides and Megamonas were the core microbial genera related to 26 flavor components in the traditional fermentation, while Pantoea was the core microbial genus related to 18 flavor components in CFCT. The CFCT has its own unique advantages over traditional fermentation in forming aromas. It produced a greater impact on the succession of fungi than those of bacteria after changing traditional fermentation to CFCT. The influence of microorganisms on the formation of flavor components was relatively more balanced in CFCT, while the changed fermentation process impacted greatly on the functions of Zygosaccharomomyces and Pichia but little on those of Sphingomonas , Megamonas and Parabacteroides . CONCLUSION The study indicated that it was feasible to ferment PXDB in the closed system, and provides a basis to realize controllable PXDB production. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

High-contrast photoacoustic sensing imaging (PASI) was greatly determined by optical absorption changes of the absorbers usually enabled by activatable probes via controllably converting the absorbed electromagnetic energy to ultrasound waves. However, most of current photoacoustic probes still suffer from limited imaging contrast towards specific species because of their small absorption spectral changes in the near infrared (NIR) region. Herein, we developed a methylene blue-based photoacoustic probe with its NIR optical absorption totally caged, which could afford dramatical "OFF-to-ON" absorption transition for high-contrast photoacoustic imaging towards the localized cysteine. The rationally designed methylene blue-based probe for cysteine (MB-Cys) would keep in off state with almost no absorption in NIR region, while upon activated by cysteine through cyclization reaction with acrylates, it would reconstruct the π-conjugation system to release the free methylene blue with strong absorption centered at 665 nm (>130-fold enhancement). The unique responsive behavior could enable the PASI for photoacoustic mapping the cysteine in orthotopic breast cancer in a high-contrast manner. Therefore, this work established an up-to-date strategy to originally eliminate the background photoacoustic signal for PASI to accurately monitor cysteine in vivo.

Melt solid polycondensation is an approach to increase the molecular weight of poly (L‐lactic acid) (PLLA). For this report, the effect of crystallization time of PLLA prepolymer on the molecular weight of the biomaterial was studied. In this process, PLLA prepolymer with a molecular weight of 18,000 was first prepared by the ordinary melt‐polycondensation process. The prepolymer was crystallized at 105°C for various times, and then heated at 135°C for 15–50 h for further solid state polycondensation (SSP). The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and viscosity measurements were used to characterize the crystalline properties and molecular weight of the resulting PLLA polymers, respectively. The results showed that the molecular weight of PLLA reached a maximum value under the condition of a crystallization time of 30 min and SSP of 35 h. Keywords: poly(L‐lactic acid)crystallizationsolid‐state polycondensation Acknowledgment This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 50573010 and No. 20504006).

In this paper we build a comprehensive analysis framework to perform direct extraction of all possible effective Higgs couplings to neutral electroweak gauge bosons in the decay to electrons and muons, the so called `golden channel'. Our framework is based on a maximum likelihood method constructed from analytic expressions of the fully differential cross sections for $h \rightarrow 4\ell$ and for the dominant irreducible $q\bar{q} \rightarrow 4\ell$ background, where $4\ell = 2e2\mu, 4e, 4\mu$. Detector effects are included by an explicit convolution of these analytic expressions with the appropriate transfer function over all center of mass variables. Using the full set of decay observables, we construct an unbinned 8-dimensional detector-level likelihood function which is continuous in the effective couplings and includes systematic uncertainties. We consider all possible $ZZ$, $Z\gamma$ and $\gamma\gamma$ couplings, allowing for general CP odd/even admixtures and any possible phases. We describe how the convolution is performed and demonstrate the validity and power of the framework with a number of supporting checks and example fits. The framework can be used to perform a variety of multi-parameter extractions, including their correlations, to determine the Higgs couplings to neutral electroweak gauge bosons using data obtained at the LHC and other future colliders.

In this paper we report measurements of the uniformity of time resolution, signal amplitude, and charged particle detection efficiency across the sensor surface of low-gain avalanche detectors (LGAD). Comparisons of the performance of sensors with different doping concentrations and different active thicknesses are presented, as well as their temperature dependence and radiation tolerance up to 6×1014 n/cm2. Results were obtained at the Fermilab test beam facility using 120 GeV proton beams, and a high precision pixel tracking detector. LGAD sensors manufactured by the Centro Nacional de Microelectrónica (CNM) and Hamamatsu Photonics (HPK) were studied. The uniformity of the sensor response in pulse height before irradiation was found to have a 2% spread. The signal detection efficiency and timing resolution in the sensitive areas before irradiation were found to be 100% and 30–40 ps, respectively. A “no-response” area between pads was measured to be about 130 μm for CNM and 170μm for HPK sensors. After a neutron fluence of 6×1014 n/cm2 the CNM sensor exhibits a large gain variation of up to a factor of 2.5 when comparing metalized and non-metalized sensor areas. An irradiated CNM sensor achieved a time resolution of 30 ps for the metalized area and 40 ps for the non-metalized area, while a HPK sensor irradiated to the same fluence achieved a 30 ps time resolution.

We continue the study of micro channel plates (MCP) as the active element of a shower maximum (SM) detector. We present below test beam results obtained with MCPs detecting directly secondary particles of an electromagnetic shower. The MCP efficiency to shower particles is close to 100%. The time resolution obtained for this new type of the SM detector is at the level of 40 ps.

The high luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) at CERN is expected to provide instantaneous luminosities of 5×1034cm−2s−1. The high luminosities expected at the HL-LHC will be accompanied by a factor of 5–10 more pileup compared with LHC conditions in 2015, further increasing the challenge for particle identification and event reconstruction. Precision timing allows us to extend calorimetric measurements into such a high density environment by subtracting the energy deposits from pileup interactions. Calorimeters employing silicon as the active component have recently become a viable choice for the HL-LHC and future collider experiments which face very high radiation environments. In this paper, we present studies of basic calorimetric and precision timing measurements using a prototype composed of tungsten absorber and silicon sensor as the active medium. We show that for the bulk of electromagnetic showers induced by electrons in the range of 20–30 GeV, we can achieve time resolutions better than 25 ps per single pad sensor.

The upgrades of the CMS and ATLAS experiments for the high luminosity phase of the Large Hadron Collider will employ precision timing detectors based on Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGADs). We present a suite of results combining measurements from the Fermilab Test Beam Facility, a beta source telescope, and a probe station, allowing full characterization of the HPK type 3.1 production of LGAD prototypes developed for these detectors. We demonstrate that the LGAD response to high energy test beam particles is accurately reproduced with a beta source. We further establish that probe station measurements of the gain implant accurately predict the particle response and operating parameters of each sensor, and conclude that the uniformity of the gain implant in this production is sufficient to produce full-sized sensors for the ATLAS and CMS timing detectors.

The operation of long-distance quantum networks requires photons to be synchronized and must account for length variations of quantum channels. We demonstrate a 200 MHz clock-rate fiber optic-based quantum network using off-the-shelf components combined with custom-made electronics and telecommunication C-band photons. The network is backed by a scalable and fully automated synchronization system with ps-scale timing resolution. Synchronization of the photons is achieved by distributing O-band-wavelength laser pulses between network nodes. Specifically, we distribute photon pairs between three nodes, and measure a reduction of coincidence-to-accidental ratio from 77 to only 42 when the synchronization system is enabled, which permits high-fidelity qubit transmission. Our demonstration sheds light on the role of noise in quantum communication and represents a key step in realizing deployed co-existing classical-quantum networks.

The Illinois Express Quantum Network (IEQNET) is a program to realize metro-scale quantum networking over deployed optical fiber using currently available technology. IEQNET consists of multiple sites that are geographically dispersed in the Chicago metropolitan area. Each site has one or more quantum nodes (Qnodes) representing the communication parties in a quantum network. Q-nodes generate or measure quantum signals such as entangled photons and communicate the results via standard, classical, means. The entangled photons in IEQNET nodes are generated at multiple wavelengths, and are selectively distributed to the desired users via optical switches. Here we describe the network architecture of IEQNET, including the Internet-inspired layered hierarchy that leverages software-defined-networking (SDN) technology to perform traditional wavelength routing and assignment between the Q-nodes. Specifically, SDN decouples the control and data planes, with the control plane being entirely classical. Issues associated with synchronization, calibration, network monitoring, and scheduling will be discussed. An important goal of IEQNET is demonstrating the extent to which the control plane can coexist with the data plane using the same fiber lines. This goal is furthered by the use of tunable narrow-band optical filtering at the receivers and, at least in some cases, a wide wavelength separation between the quantum and classical channels. We envision IEQNET to aid in developing robust and practical quantum networks by demonstrating metro-scale quantum communication tasks such as entanglement distribution and quantum-state teleportation.

Current and future high energy physics particle colliders are capable to provide instantaneous luminosities of 1034 cm-2s-1 and above. The high center of mass energy, the large number of simultaneous collision of beam particles in the experiments and the very high repetition rates of the collision events pose huge challenges. They result in extremely high particle fluxes, causing very high occupancies in the particle physics detectors operating at these machines. To reconstruct the physics events, the detectors have to make as much information as possible available on the final state particles. We discuss how timing information with a precision of around 10 ps and below can aid the reconstruction of the physics events under such challenging conditions. High energy photons play a crucial role in this context. About one third of the particle flux originating from high energy hadron collisions is detected as photons, stemming from the decays of neutral mesons. In addition, many key physics signatures under study are identified by high energy photons in the final state. They pose a particular challenge in that they can only be detected once they convert in the detector material. The particular challenge in measuring the time of arrival of a high energy photon lies in the stochastic component of the distance to the initial conversion and the size of the electromagnetic shower. They extend spatially over distances which propagation times of the initial photon and the subsequent electromagnetic shower which are large compared to the desired precision. We present studies and measurements from test beams and a cosmic muon test stand for calorimeter based timing measurements to explore the ultimate timing precision achievable for high energy photons of 10 GeV and above. We put particular focus on techniques to measure the timing with a precision of about 10 ps in association with the energy of the photon. For calorimeters utilizing scintillating materials and light guiding components, the propagation speed of the scintillation light in the calorimeter is important. We present studies and measurements of the propagation speed on a range of detector geometries. Finally, possible applications of precision timing in future high energy physics experiments are discussed.

A bstract We study the impact of precision timing detection systems on the LHC experiments’ long-lived particle search program during the HL-LHC era. We develop algorithms that allow us to reconstruct the mass of such charged particles and perform particle identification using the time-of-flight measurement. We investigate the reach for benchmark scenarios as a function of the timing resolution, and find sensitivity improvement of up to a factor of ten over searches that use ionization energy loss information, depending on the particle’s mass.

With the deepening of the concept of sustainable development, a green economy has become the primary goal of urban development. Therefore, to improve the sustainability and far-reaching development of the urban economy, this work first discusses the concept of sustainable development. Second, the concept of a “green economy” is discussed. Lastly, based on the concept of green economic development, this work studies carbon emissions in Hebei Province, China, and discusses the impact of carbon emissions on the urban economy. On this basis, the impact of carbon intensity and CO2 emissions on economic growth is analyzed by establishing an endogenous growth model and state-space model, thereby revealing the importance of carbon emissions to the economic development of Hebei Province. In the analysis process, sensitivity analysis and a robustness test are also used to verify the reliability and robustness of the model results. Finally, this work summarizes the research conclusions and puts forward relevant policy suggestions, which provide a reference for developing a green economy in Hebei Province. The results reveal that from 1999 to 2020, the average output elasticity of labor, capital, and CO2 in Hebei Province are 0.4002, 0.3057, and 0.2941, respectively. This shows that carbon emissions are essential to Hebei’s economic growth. In other words, Hebei’s economic development mainly depends on enterprises with high carbon emissions. Additionally, in the optimistic case, Hebei’s potential output growth rate will show a downward trend, but will soon rise. This indicates that even under strict carbon emission control, Hebei’s economic growth rate will still pick up based on the support of high-tech. This work not only provides a reference for the development of Hebei’s green economic system, but also contributes to the sustainable development of the urban economy in the future.

Abstract Most seismic data used for conventional exploration lack far‐offset signals and effective low‐frequency components. This makes it difficult for conventional full waveform inversion methods to recover the low‐wavenumber components of mid‐ and deep‐layer models. To resolve the bottleneck of ray‐theoretical reflection traveltime tomography, wave equations, such as reflection inversion methods, are receiving increasing attention. We reconstructed a wide‐spectrum velocity model based on the multiscale wave‐equation reflection inversion method for model decomposition. First, using the dynamic image warping method to obtain reflection traveltime residuals, the wave‐equation reflection traveltime inversion was used to recover the low‐wavenumber components of the background model, which also solved the cycle‐skipping problem. Second, the medium‐wavenumber component of the model is then supplemented by the reflection waveform inversion, while the reflectivity model is obtained relying on the least‐squares reverse time migration method. Based on this method, the background and perturbation models are updated alternately and iteratively. At the same time, the stratum structural tensor information was extracted using the perturbed model image to construct a preconditioned operator for the stratum structural constraint, suppress unreasonably high‐wavenumber components in the generalized gradient and improve the geological consistency of the inversion results. Testing of the model using the Sigsbee2b model and seismic field data from the East China Sea showed that, compared with the conventional reflection traveltime tomography method based on prestack depth migration, the wave‐equation reflection inversion strategy with well‐matched information from traveltimes to waveforms significantly improved the accuracy of the middle and deep velocity modelling and enhanced the imaging quality of the whole body.

We present the design and performance characterization results of the novel Fermilab Constant Fraction Discriminator ASIC (FCFD) developed to readout low gain avalanche detector (LGAD) signals by directly using a constant fraction discriminator (CFD) to measure signal arrival time. Silicon detectors with time resolutions less than 30 ps will play a critical role in future collider experiments, and LGADs have been demonstrated to provide the required time resolution and radiation tolerance for many such applications. The FCFD has a specially designed discriminator that is robust against amplitude variations of the signal from the LGAD that normally requires an additional correction step when using a traditional leading edge discriminator. The application of the CFD directly in the ASIC promises to be more reliable and reduces the complication of evolving time-walk corrections throughout the operational lifetime of the detector system. We will present a summary of the measured performance of the FCFD for input signals generated by internal charge injection, LGAD signals from an infrared laser, and LGAD signals from minimum-ionizing particles. The mean time response for LGAD signals with charge ranging between 5 and 26 fC has been measured to vary no more than 10 ps, orders of magnitude more stable than an uncorrected leading edge discriminator based measurement, and effectively removes the need for any additional time-walk correction. The measured contribution to the time resolution from the FCFD ASIC is found to be 10 ps for signals with charge above 20 fC.

We present a recast in different benchmark models of the recent CMS search that uses the end cap muon detector system to identify displaced showers produced by decays of long-lived particles (LLPs). The exceptional shielding provided by the steel between the stations of the muon system drastically reduces the Standard Model background that limits other existing ATLAS and CMS searches. At the same time, by using the muon system as a sampling calorimeter, the search is sensitive to LLPs energies rather than masses. We show that, thanks to these characteristics, this new search approach is sensitive to LLPs masses even lighter than a GeV, and can be complementary to proposed and existing dedicated LLP experiments.

A series of poly(L-lactic acid)/polybutadiene (PLA/PB) biodegradable multiblock elastomers was synthesized and characterized. A two-step process to prepare PLA/PB multiblock elastomers was applied. Melt polymerization was used to prepare poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA) terminated with hydroxyl groups and, at the same time, hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) and 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) were employed to synthesize diisocyanate-terminated polybutadiene (ITPB). Then, PLA and ITPB were reacted with different PLA/PB weight ratios. Consequently, a series of PLA/PB biodegradable poly(ester-urethane)s with crosslinked chains was obtained. Swelling characteristics and crosslink density of the crosslinked elastomer were investigated. DMA was applied to characterize its thermal properties. The measurement of mechanical properties showed that a PLA/PB elastomer with adjustable mechanical properties was synthesized. Micromorphology, hydrophobicity, and degradability of the material were also characterized.

One possibility to make a fast and radiation resistant shower maximum detector is to use a secondary emitter as an active element. We report our studies of microchannel plate photomultipliers (MCPs) as the active element of a shower-maximum detector. We present test beam results obtained using Photonis XP85011 to detect secondary particles of an electromagnetic shower. We focus on the use of the multiple pixels on the Photonis MCP in order to find a transverse two-dimensional shower distribution. A spatial resolution of 0.8 mm was obtained with an 8 GeV electron beam. A method for measuring the arrival time resolution for electromagnetic showers is presented, and we show that time resolution better than 40 ps can be achieved.

The present paper investigated on changes of species composition,ecological pattern,and output of fish resources in the middle and lower Yalong River dealing with the construction of the Ertan Reservoir.Data collected by surveys on commercial fisheries and field sampling in different stages showed that the assemblages have been dominated by lentic species in stead of lotic species after the impoundment of the Ertan Reservoir.Moreover,some small invasive species have already settled down and became harmful to the native species.Habitats of native and endemic species which preferred to lotic environments have been narrowed and were restricted in upper reach of the reservoir and a few tributaries.In the first years,fishery output has obviously increased due to the impoundment of the reservoir.According to the above ecological consequences caused by the construction of the Ertan Hydropower Plant,an integrated conservation plan including measures such as to establish river reserve,to restock artificially produced juveniles of native and endemic fish species,to make an ecological aimed operation schedule of dams,and to prevent invasion of alien fish species should be undertaken in order to protect native fish specise from harms of the step-wise construction of dams in the Yalong River in the future.

Particle colliders operating at high luminosities present challenging environments for high energy physics event reconstruction and analysis. We discuss how timing information, with a precision on the order of 10 ps, can aid in the reconstruction of physics events under such conditions. We present calorimeter based timing measurements from test beam experiments in which we explore the ultimate timing precision achievable for high energy photons or electrons of 10 GeV and above. Using a prototype calorimeter consisting of a 1.7×1.7×1.7 cm3 lutetium–yttrium oxyortho-silicate (LYSO) crystal cube, read out by micro-channel plate photomultipliers, we demonstrate a time resolution of 33.5±2.1 ps for an incoming beam energy of 32 GeV. In a second measurement, using a 2.5×2.5×20 cm3 LYSO crystal placed perpendicularly to the electron beam, we achieve a time resolution of 59±11 ps using a beam energy of 4 GeV. We also present timing measurements made using a shashlik-style calorimeter cell made of LYSO and tungsten plates, and demonstrate that the apparatus achieves a time resolution of 54±5 ps for an incoming beam energy of 32 GeV.

Precision timing detectors for high energy physics experiments with temporal resolutions of a few 10 ps are of pivotal importance to master the challenges posed by the highest energy particle accelerators such as the LHC. Calorimetric timing measurements have been a focus of recent research, enabled by exploiting the temporal coherence of electromagnetic showers. Scintillating crystals with high light yield as well as silicon sensors are viable sensitive materials for sampling calorimeters. Silicon sensors have very high efficiency for charged particles. However, their sensitivity to photons, which comprise a large fraction of the electromagnetic shower, is limited. To enhance the efficiency of detecting photons, materials with higher atomic numbers than silicon are preferable. In this paper we present test beam measurements with a Cadmium-Telluride (CdTe) sensor as the active element of a secondary emission calorimeter with focus on the timing performance of the detector. A Schottky type CdTe sensor with an active area of 1cm2 and a thickness of 1 mm is used in an arrangement with tungsten and lead absorbers. Measurements are performed with electron beams in the energy range from 2 GeV to 200 GeV. A timing resolution of 20 ps is achieved under the best conditions.

Scintillator based calorimeter technology is studied with the aim to achieve particle detection with a time resolution on the order of a few 10 ps for photons and electrons at energies of a few GeV and above. We present results from a prototype of a 1.4×1.4×11.4 cm3 sampling calorimeter cell consisting of tungsten absorber plates and Cerium-doped Lutetium Yttrium Orthosilicate (LYSO) crystal scintillator plates. The LYSO plates are read out with wave lengths shifting fibers which are optically coupled to fast photo detectors on both ends of the fibers. The measurements with electrons were performed at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility (FTBF) and the CERN SPS H2 test beam. In addition to the baseline setup plastic scintillation counter and a MCP-PMT were used as trigger and as a reference for a time of flight measurement (TOF). We also present measurements with a fast laser to further characterize the response of the prototype and the photo sensors. All data were recorded using a DRS4 fast sampling digitizer. These measurements are part of an R&D program whose aim is to demonstrate the feasibility of building a large scale electromagnetic calorimeter with a time resolution on the order of 10 ps, to be used in high energy physics experiments.

The planned luminosity increase at the Large Hadron Collider in the coming years has triggered interest in the use of the particles' time of arrival as additional information in specialized detectors to mitigate the impact of pile-up. The required time resolution is of the order of tens of picoseconds, with a spatial granularity of the order of 1 mm. A time measurement at this precision level will also be of interest beyond the LHC and beyond high energy particle physics. We present in this paper the first developments towards a radiation hard Depleted Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor (DMAPS), with high-resolution time measurement capability. The technology chosen is a standard high voltage CMOS process, in conjunction with a high resistivity detector material, which has already proven to efficiently detect particles in tracking applications after several hundred of Mrad of irradiation.

A two-step process to prepare poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA)/polybutadiene (PB) block copolymers was studied. Melt polymerization was used to prepare poly(L-lactic acid) terminated with hydroxy groups, at the same time hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene and 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate were employed to synthesize isocyanate-terminated polybutadiene (ITPB). Then PLLA and ITPB were reacted with different PB/PLLA weight ratios. Consequently, a series of PLLA/PB copolymers with linear or crosslinked chains was obtained. Viscosity of the linear copolymer was measured by an Ubbelohde viscometer. Swelling characteristics and crosslink density of the crosslink copolymer were investigated. Fourier transform infrared and proton nuclear magnetic resonance were used to characterize the structure of the copolymer, and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was applied to characterize its thermal properties. Mechanical property measurements showed that a toughened PLLA polymer was synthesized. Atomic force microscope was utilized to characterize its micro-morphology.

Abstract Particle detectors based on scintillation light are particularly well suited for precision timing applications with resolutions of a few 10’s of ps. The large primary signal and the initial rise time of the scintillation light result in very favorable signal-to-noise conditions with fast signals. In this paper we describe timing studies using a LYSO-based sampling calorimeter with wavelength-shifting capillary light extraction and silicon photomultipliers as photosensors. We study the contributions of various steps of the signal generation to the total time resolution, and demonstrate its feasibility as a radiation-hard technology for calorimeters at high intensity hadron colliders.

In this paper we report simulation results of a study aiming to optimize parameters of a detector that uses low-gain avalanche detectors (LGAD) for high-precision timing measurements. The detector is assumed to be composed of a 50μm LGAD sensor coupled to front-end readout electronics which is used to measure the time of arrival of minimum ionizing particles. The simulation includes modeling of signal fluctuations in the LGAD sensor, variations of the analog bandwidth and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the front-end electronics, time bin quantization, and radiation damage of the LGAD sensors. Two approaches to measure the timestamp are considered: leading edge and constant fraction. Simulated LGAD pulses before irradiation, and after irradiation with neutron fluences of 5×1014 n/cm2 and 1×1015 n/cm2, are studied. The time resolution for a 50μm LGADs was found to be 35 ps for front-end electronics bandwidths larger than 350 MHz and SNRs larger than 30. The time resolution at SNR of 30 for fluences of 5×1014 n/cm2 and 1×1015n/cm2 were found to be 31 ps and 37 ps, respectively.

We present the design and measurements of a proton detection system built using a single photon counting hybrid pixel array detector. The system uses the UFXC detector designed for operating with very high photon fluxes. We demonstrate, that with appropriately modified data acquisition firmware, the UFXC detector is capable of operating in the frame-triggered zero dead-time mode, which captures every frame containing desired information, at a rate of up to 50 kfps. The detector consists of a 128 x 256 matrix of square-shaped pixels with a pitch of 75 μm, which makes it suitable for particle tracking applications in test beam environments. We estimate the position resolution achieved with a single layer of the UFXC detector to be around 40 μm.

In our previous study, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was used both as a binder and a pore-former to prepare ethylcellulose (EC)-coated pellets to deliver topiramate (TPM) for a controlled release profile. The objective of this work was to further optimize the formulation and evaluate the in vivo profiles of TPM sustained-release pellets. Similar to the previous formulation with no binder, the in vitro drug release of TPM sustained-release pellets with 50% PVP binder in drug layer was sensitive to pore-former PVP level ranged from 27.0% to 29.0%. The higher the level of PVP was, the quicker release rate in vitro was. Moreover, when the proportion of poreformer PVP decreased, the Cmax decreased, and the tmax and mean residence time of TPM coated pellets were both prolonged. The in vitro release profile of optimal formulation showed biphasic release characteristics similar to reference formulation Trokendi XR®, i.e., involving immediate release of TPM in initial release stage followed by a sustained release up to 24 h. Moreover, the impact of the pH of release medium on the drug release rate of TPM sustained-release pellets was not significant. The release mechanism of TPM from the sustained-release pellets might be the interaction of diffusion (coating-film) and corrosion (drug layer). The in vivo pharmacokinetics results showed the TPM sustained-release pellets had the similar in vivo pattern compared with Trokendi XR®. These studies provide valuable basis for further development of TPM sustained-release pellets. Keywords: Binder, In vivo pharmacokinetics, Pore-former, Sustained-release pellets, Topiramate.

The CMS experiment has to move Petabytes of data among dozens of computing centres with low latency in order to make ecient use of its resources. Transfer operations are well established to achieve the desired level of throughput, but operators lack a system to identify early on transfers that will need manual intervention to reach completion. File transfer latencies are sensitive to the underlying problems in the transfer infrastructure, and their measurement can be used as prompt trigger for preventive actions. For this reason, PhEDEx, the CMS transfer management system, has recently implemented a monitoring system to measure the transfer latencies at the level of individual files. For the first time now, the system can predict the completion time for the transfer of a data set. The operators can detect abnormal patterns in transfer latencies early, and correct the issues while the transfer is still in progress. Statistics are aggregated for blocks of files, recording a historical log to monitor the long-term evolution of transfer latencies, which are used as cumulative metrics to evaluate the performance of the transfer infrastructure, and to plan the global data placement strategy. In this contribution, we present the typical patterns of transfer latencies that may be identified with the latency monitor, and we show how we are able to detect the sources of latency arising from the underlying infrastructure (such as stuck files) which need operator intervention.

Results are reported from a search for the effects of contact interactions using events with a high-mass, oppositely charged muon pair. The events are collected in proton-proton collisions at √s=7  TeV using the Compact Muon Solenoid detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.3  fb^(-1). The observed dimuon mass spectrum is consistent with that expected from the standard model. The data are interpreted in the context of a quark- and muon-compositeness model with a left-handed isoscalar current and an energy scale parameter Λ. The 95% confidence level lower limit on Λ is 9.5 TeV under the assumption of destructive interference between the standard model and contact-interaction amplitudes. For constructive interference, the limit is 13.1 TeV. These limits are comparable to the most stringent ones reported to date.

In this technical note we present technical details on various aspects of the framework introduced in arXiv:1401.2077 aimed at extracting effective Higgs couplings in the $h\to 4\ell$ `golden channel'. Since it is the primary feature of the framework, we focus in particular on the convolution integral which takes us from `truth' level to `detector' level and the numerical and analytic techniques used to obtain it. We also briefly discuss other aspects of the framework.

We report the first demonstration of using the Quantum Instrumentation and Control Kit (QICK) system on RFSoC-FPGA technology to drive the electro-optic intensity modulator that generate time-bin entangled photon pairs and to detect the photon signals. With the QICK system, we achieve high levels of performance metrics including coincidence-to-accidental ratio exceeding 150, and entanglement visibility exceeding 95%, consistent with performance metrics achieved using conventional waveform generators. We also demonstrate simultaneous detector readout using the digitization functional of QICK, achieving internal system synchronization time resolution of 3.2 ps. The work reported in this paper represents an explicit demonstration of the feasibility for replacing commercial waveform generators and time taggers with RFSoC-FPGA technology in the operation of a quantum network, representing a cost reduction of more than an order of magnitude.

We present a recast in different benchmark models of the recent CMS search that uses the endcap muon detector system to identify displaced showers produced by decays of long-lived particles (LLPs). The exceptional shielding provided by the steel between the stations of the muon system drastically reduces the Standard Model background that limits other existing ATLAS and CMS searches. At the same time, by using the muon system as a sampling calorimeter, the search is sensitive to LLPs energies rather than masses. We show that, thanks to these characteristics, this new search approach is sensitive to LLPs masses even lighter than a GeV, and can be complementary to proposed and existing dedicated LLP experiments.

We investigate the optimal coexisting classical light wavelengths to use alongside C- band quantum networks to minimize noise from spontaneous Raman scattering and discuss techniques for optimizing coexisting time synchronization systems for teleportation and entanglement swapping.

We present the design and performance characterization results of the novel Fermilab Constant Fraction Discriminator ASIC (FCFD) developed to readout low gain avalanche detector (LGAD) signals by directly using a constant fraction discriminator (CFD) to measure signal arrival time. Silicon detectors with time resolutions less than 30 ps will play a critical role in future collider experiments, and LGADs have been demonstrated to provide the required time resolution and radiation tolerance for many such applications. The FCFD has a specially designed discriminator that is robust against amplitude variations of the signal from the LGAD that normally requires an additional correction step when using a traditional leading edge discriminator based measurement. The application of the CFD directly in the ASIC promises to be more reliable and reduces the complication of timing detectors during their operation. We will present a summary of the measured performance of the FCFD for input signals generated by internal charge injection, LGAD signals from an infrared laser, and LGAD signals from minimum-ionizing particles. The mean time response for a wide range of LGAD signal amplitudes has been measured to vary no more than 15 ps, orders of magnitude more stable than an uncorrected leading edge discriminator based measurement, and effectively removes the need for any additional time-walk correction. The measured contribution to the time resolution from the FCFD ASIC is also found to be 10 ps for signals with charge above 20 fC.

The 2021 Snowmass Energy Frontier panel wrote in its final report "The realization of a Higgs factory will require an immediate, vigorous and targeted detector R&D program". Both linear and circular $e^+e^-$ collider efforts have developed a conceptual design for their detectors and are aggressively pursuing a path to formalize these detector concepts. The U.S. has world-class expertise in particle detectors, and is eager to play a leading role in the next generation $e^+e^-$ collider, currently slated to become operational in the 2040s. It is urgent that the U.S. organize its efforts to provide leadership and make significant contributions in detector R&D. These investments are necessary to build and retain the U.S. expertise in detector R&D and future projects, enable significant contributions during the construction phase and maintain its leadership in the Energy Frontier regardless of the choice of the collider project. In this document, we discuss areas where the U.S. can and must play a leading role in the conceptual design and R&D for detectors for $e^+e^-$ colliders.

In this paper we prove a lower bound result for extremely large values of $L(\frac{1}{2},\chi_p)$ with prime numbers $p\equiv 1\pmod 8$.

We demonstrate distribution of polarization entangled photon-pairs across multiple channels in a 6 km loop of deployed fiber. We use an all-optical networking switch to route Bell-state photons in three different wavelength pairs and verify entanglement distribution in all channel pairs by measuring two-photon interference fringes.

Strong motivation for investing in quantum sensing arises from the need to investigate phenomena that are very weakly coupled to the matter and fields well described by the Standard Model. These can be related to the problems of dark matter, dark sectors not necessarily related to dark matter (for example sterile neutrinos), dark energy and gravity, fundamental constants, and problems with the Standard Model itself including the Strong CP problem in QCD. Resulting experimental needs typically involve the measurement of very low energy impulses or low power periodic signals that are normally buried under large backgrounds. This report documents the findings of the 2023 Quantum Sensors for High Energy Physics workshop which identified enabling quantum information science technologies that could be utilized in future particle physics experiments, targeting high energy physics science goals.

An innovative approach utilizing 3D laser scanning technology has been introduced in open-pit mining for capturing spatial data of blast piles. RANSAC for plane fitting and DBSCAN for clustering are applied to outline rock block contours accurately. Quick calculation of rock block volumes and maximum particle sizes is enabled through 3D convex hulls and Oriented Bounding Boxes (OBB). Delaunay triangulation of 3D point cloud data is used to create a detailed mesh model for precise volume estimation of blast piles. Indoor testing revealed relative errors of approximately 4.61% for block volumes and 4.75% for particle sizes, while field applications showed an average rock block identification accuracy of 80.4%, increasing with block size. Estimated versus actual blast pile volumes showed a relative error of 4.85%, with computational errors for the pile's height, forward throw distance, and lateral extent being 2.92%, 3.91%, and 4.29%, respectively.

We present the results of studies aimed at developing 4D tracking technology for a wide range of physics experiments, including the Electron Ion Collider (EIC) and future Lepton Colliders. The studies focused on evaluating the performance of centimeter-scale AC-LGAD (AC-Low Gain Avalanche Detector) sensors and a new ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) called the Fermilab Constant Fraction Discriminator (FCFD). For the AC-LGADs, we present the resolutions obtained with several prototypes, which reach simultaneous resolutions of 18 microns and 32 ps from strips of 1 cm length and 500 micron pitch. Regarding the FCFD, the mean time response for a wide range of signal amplitudes has been measured to be no more than 15 ps. This is orders of magnitude more precise than an uncorrected leading-edge discriminator-based measurement and effectively eliminates the need for a signal amplitude-based correction. Furthermore, the measured contribution to the time resolution from the FCFD ASIC is found to be 10 ps for signals with charges above 20 fC.

With the increasing development of the new energy photovoltaic (PV) industry and in-depth research of PV materials, it has become crucial to measure the characteristics of such materials. This enables R&D personnel to quickly iterate PV materials for further advancements. In the traditional R&D of photovoltaic materials, researchers often need to continuously iterate the materials, repeatedly measure the experimental materials, and ultimately get the best material ratio structure. Therefore, this paper designed an experimental device based on the STM32 chip for measuring solar cell characteristics. It can accurately and quickly measure the characteristics of a certain solar cell. CIGS thin-film solar cells were used as the experimental materials, and the light-dark voltammetry and temperature resistance experiments were done in turn. Therefore, it proved that the device has great commercial prospects.

We investigate the optimal coexisting classical light wavelengths to use alongside C-band quantum networks to minimize noise from spontaneous Raman scattering and discuss techniques for optimizing coexisting time synchronization systems for teleportation and entanglement swapping.

Nova sposobnost umjetne inteligencije da kreira umjetnička djela smatra se velikim izazovom za suvremeno razumijevanje umjetnosti. Postoji jaka napetost između ljudi koji predviđaju da će AI zamijeniti umjetnike i kritičara koji tvrde da AI-umjetnost nikada neće biti umjetnost. Nadalje, nedavne studije dokumentirale su negativnu pristranost prema AI. Ovaj članak daje filozofsko objašnjenje ove negativne pristranosti temeljeno na našem zajedničkom razumijevanju ontoloških razlika među objektima. Tvrdimo da naša predodžba umjetnosti ovisi o našem razumijevanju konteksta njezina stvaranja: umjetnost koju su stvorili ljudi doživljava se kao međuigra između umjetnika i prirode. U umjetnosti koju je generirala umjetna inteligencija, ova međuigra je ili odsutna ili je minimalizirana. Zaključujemo da istiskivanje »ljudskog faktora« u umjetnosti neće dovesti do evolucije umjetnosti, nego do kraja umjetnosti.

In this report we outline the study of the development of calorimeter detectors using bright scintillating crystals. We discuss how timing information with a precision of a few tens of pico seconds and below can significantly improve the reconstruction of the physics events under challenging high pileup conditions to be faced at the High-Luminosity LHC or a future hadron collider. The particular challenge in measuring the time of arrival of a high energy photon lies in the stochastic component of the distance of initial conversion and the size of the electromagnetic shower. We present studies and measurements from test beams for calorimeter based timing measurements to explore the ultimate timing precision achievable for high energy photons of 10 GeV and above. We focus on techniques to measure the timing with a high precision in association with the energy of the photon. We present test-beam studies and results on the timing performance and characterization of the time resolution of LYSO-based calorimeters. We demonstrate time resolution of 30 ps is achievable for a particular design.

Long-lived particles (LLPs) are highly motivated signals of physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) with great discovery potential and unique experimental challenges. The LLP search programme made great advances during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), but many important regions of signal space remain unexplored. Dedicated triggers are crucial to improve the potential of LLP searches, and their development and expansion is necessary for the full exploitation of the new data. The public discussion of triggers has therefore been a relevant theme in the recent LLP literature, in the meetings of the LLP@LHC Community workshop and in the respective experiments. This paper documents the ideas collected during talks and discussions at these Workshops, benefiting as well from the ideas under development by the trigger community within the experimental collaborations. We summarise the theoretical motivations of various LLP scenarios leading to highly elusive signals, reviewing concrete ideas for triggers that could greatly extend the reach of the LHC experiments. We thus expect this document to encourage further thinking for both the phenomenological and experimental communities, as a stepping stone to further develop the LLP@LHC physics programme.

We present studies on the performance and characterization of the time resolution of LYSO-based calorimeters. Results for an LYSO sampling calorimeter and an LYSO-tungsten Shashlik calorimeter are presented. We demonstrate that a time resolution of 30 ps is achievable for the LYSO sampling calorimeter. We discuss timing calorimetry as a tool for mitigating the effects due to the large number of simultaneous interactions in the high luminosity environment foreseen for the Large Hadron Collider.

Current and future high energy physics particle colliders are capable to provide instantaneous luminosities of 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">34</sup> cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-2</sup> s <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-1</sup> and above. The high center of mass energy, the large number of simultaneous collision of beam particles in the experiments and the very high repetition rates of the collision events pose huge challenges. They result in extremely high particle fluxes, causing very high occupancies in the particle physics detectors operating at these machines. To reconstruct the physics events, the detectors have to make as much information as possible available on the final state particles. We discuss different detector concepts which can provide time measurements for charged particles and photons with a precision in the range of a few 10 ps. We present in detail measurements utilizing Lutetiumyttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) based calorimeter prototype. With an improved understanding of the signal creation, light propagation and detection characteristics we achieve a precision of down to 30 ps for electrons with energies of 30 GeV. Further we present beam test measurements with a multichannel plate based detectors and studies using semi-conductor based detectors. We discuss possible implementations based on these different technologies in a large scale particle physics detector for the high luminosity LHC (HL-LHC).

(Molecular Cell 60, 163–176, October 1, 2015) In the original publication of this article, the name of an author was inadvertently misspelled. The corrected author name is Randy Y.C. Poon. The spelling is now correct in the article online. The authors apologize for the inconvenience. Timeless Interacts with PARP-1 to Promote Homologous Recombination RepairXie et al.Molecular CellSeptember 3, 2015In BriefXie et al. present a high-resolution crystal structure of the Timeless-PARP-1 complex and show that this specific interaction is required for PARP-1 mediated, but PAR-independent, Timeless recruitment to damaged DNA and promotes efficient homologous recombination repair. Full-Text PDF Open Archive

Mooring area detection represents one of the key technological problems that must be solved in the development of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS). In view of the lack of research on the current detection methods for ship mooring area, a new intelligent detection algorithm of the single anchored mooring area for MASS was proposed in this study, aiming at improving the detection ability and accuracy of the MASS mooring area. Firstly, the laws of short period swinging motion, long period circumferential motion and reciprocating motion in the radial direction of an anchoring ship were summarized. Secondly, an anchorage circle radius model and safety distance model between the anchor positions were established and various constrains were considered including ship type, ship particulars, draft, safety impact caused by other ships passing through the anchoring ship. Thirdly, the Monte-Carlo stochastic simulation method was used to measure the mooring area, which can detect the anchor position intelligently. Finally, a case study on MATLAB demonstrated that the proposed intelligent detection algorithm for MASS is effective under various marine scenarios. The results enrich the theory of MASS mooring area detection; therefore, the algorithm has great potential to be equipped on MASS in the future.

We demonstrate a three-node quantum network for C-band photon pairs using 2 pairs of 59 km of deployed fiber between Fermi and Argonne National Laboratories. The C-band pairs are directed to nodes using a standard telecommunication switch and synchronized to picosecond-scale timing resolution using a coexisting O- or L-band optical clock distribution system. We measure a reduction of coincidence-to-accidental ratio (CAR) of the C-band pairs from 51 $\pm$ 2 to 5.3 $\pm$ 0.4 due to Raman scattering of the O-band clock pulses. Despite this reduction, the CAR is nevertheless suitable for quantum networks.

In this technical note we present technical details on various aspects of the framework introduced in arXiv:1401.2077 aimed at extracting effective Higgs couplings in the h → 4l `golden channel'. Since it is the primary feature of the framework, we focus in particular on the convolution integral which takes us from `truth' level to `detector' level and the numerical and analytic techniques used to obtain it. We also briefly discuss other aspects of the framework.

From facile preparation method and available low-cost raw materials, we have synthesized a novel kind of aniline-based organodisulfide bis(2-aminobenzyl) disulfide (OABD) and its homopolymer (POABD). The polymer POABD was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and cyclic voltammetry. The cyclic voltammetry tests reveal that the redox of the S-S bonds behavior in the anodic and cathodic peak potentials differences for poly(bis(2-aminobenzyl) disulfide) is 70 mV. The results indicated that poly(bis(2-aminobenzyl) disulfide) has an excellent electrochemical reversibility.

We report an updated measurement of the top quark mass in the lepton plus jets channel of t{bar t} events from p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. This measurement uses a dataset with integrated luminosity of 680 pb{sup -1}, containing 360 t{bar t} candidates separated into four subsamples. A top quark mass is reconstructed for each event by using energy and momentum constraints on the top quark pair decay products. We also employ the reconstructed mass of hadronic W boson decays W {yields} jj to constrain in situ the largest systematic uncertainty of the top quark mass measurement: the jet energy scale. Monte Carlo templates of the reconstructed top quark and W boson mass are produced as a function of the true top quark mass and the jet energy scale. The distribution of reconstructed top quark and W boson mass in the data are compared to the Monte Carlo templates using a likelihood fit to obtain: M{sub top} = 173.4 {+-} 2.8 GeV/c{sup 2}.

The Illinois Express Quantum Network (IEQNET) is a program to realize metro-scale quantum networking over deployed optical fiber using currently available technology. IEQNET consists of multiple sites that are geographically dispersed in the Chicago metropolitan area. Each site has one or more quantum nodes (Q-nodes) representing the communication parties in a quantum network. Q-nodes generate or measure quantum signals such as entangled photons and communicate the results via standard, classical, means. The entangled photons in IEQNET nodes are generated at multiple wavelengths, and are selectively distributed to the desired users via optical switches. Here we describe the network architecture of IEQNET, including the Internet-inspired layered hierarchy that leverages software-defined-networking (SDN) technology to perform traditional wavelength routing and assignment between the Q-nodes. Specifically, SDN decouples the control and data planes, with the control plane being entirely classical. Issues associated with synchronization, calibration, network monitoring, and scheduling will be discussed. An important goal of IEQNET is demonstrating the extent to which the control plane can coexist with the data plane using the same fiber lines. This goal is furthered by the use of tunable narrow-band optical filtering at the receivers and, at least in some cases, a wide wavelength separation between the quantum and classical channels. We envision IEQNET to aid in developing robust and practical quantum networks by demonstrating metro-scale quantum communication tasks such as entanglement distribution and quantum-state teleportation.

The Illinois Express Quantum Network (IEQNET) is a program to realize metro-scale quantum networking over deployed optical fiber using currently available technology. IEQNET consists of multiple sites that are geographically dispersed in the Chicago metropolitan area. Each site has one or more quantum nodes (Q-nodes) representing the communication parties in a quantum network. Q-nodes generate or measure quantum signals such as entangled photons and communicate the results via standard, classical, means. The entangled photons in IEQNET nodes are generated at multiple wavelengths, and are selectively distributed to the desired users via optical switches. Here we describe the network architecture of IEQNET, including the Internet-inspired layered hierarchy that leverages software-defined-networking (SDN) technology to perform traditional wavelength routing and assignment between the Q-nodes. Specifically, SDN decouples the control and data planes, with the control plane being entirely classical. Issues associated with synchronization, calibration, network monitoring, and scheduling will be discussed. An important goal of IEQNET is demonstrating the extent to which the control plane can coexist with the data plane using the same fiber lines. This goal is furthered by the use of tunable narrow-band optical filtering at the receivers and, at least in some cases, a wide wavelength separation between the quantum and classical channels. We envision IEQNET to aid in developing robust and practical quantum networks by demonstrating metro-scale quantum communication tasks such as entanglement distribution and quantum-state teleportation.

One possibility to make a fast and radiation resistant shower maximum (SM) detector is to use a secondary emitter as an active element. We present below test beam results, obtained with different types of photo detectors based on micro channel plates (MCP) as secondary emitter. The SM time resolution – we obtained for this new type of detector is at the level of 20-30 ps. We estimate that a significant contribution to the detector response originates from secondary emission of the MCP.

Current and future high energy physics particle colliders are capable to provide instantaneous luminosities of 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">34</sup> cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-2</sup> s <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-1</sup> and above. The high center of mass energy, the large number of simultaneous collision of beam particles in the experiments and the very high repetition rates of the collision events pose huge challenges. They result in extremely high particle fluxes, causing very high occupancies in the particle physics detectors operating at these machines. To reconstruct the physics events, the detectors have to make as much information as possible available on the final state particles. We briefly discuss how timing information with a precision of around 10 ps and below can aid the reconstruction of the physics events under such challenging conditions. We discuss different detector concepts which can provide time measurements for charged particles and photons with a precision in the range of a few 10 ps. We present in detail updated measurements utilizing a Lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) based calorimeter prototype. With an improved understanding of the signal creation, light propagation and detection characteristics we achieve a precision of down to 30 ps for electrons with energies of 30 GeV. Further we present beam test measurements with a multichannel plate based detectors and studies using silicon detectors. We discuss possible implementations based on these different technologies in a large scale particle physics detector.

This is a technical scope of work (TSW) between the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) the experimenters of University of Chicago and California Institute of Technology, who have committed to participate in beam tests to be carried out during the 2014-2015 Fermilab Test Beam Facility program. The TSW is intended primarily for the purpose of recording expectations for budget estimates and work allocations. The experimenters propose using large-area micro-channel plates assembled without the usual bialkali photocathodes as the active element in sampling calorimeters, Modules without photocathodes can be economically assembled in a glove box and then pumped and sealed using the process to construct photomultipliers, This electromagnetic calorimeter is based on W and Pb absorber plates sandwiched with detectors. Measurements can be made with bare plates and absorber inside the vacuum vessel.

A measurement of the ratio of the branching fractions of the B_s^0 meson to J/ψf_0(980) and to J/ψϕ(1020) is presented. The J/ψ, f_0(980), and ϕ(1020) are observed through their decays to μ^+μ^−, π^+π^−, and K^+K^−, respectively. The f_0 and the ϕ are identified by requiring |Mπ^+π^− − 974 MeV|<50 MeV| and |MK^+K^− − 1020 MeV|<10 MeV. The analysis is based on a data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.3 fb^(−1). The measured ratio is B(B_s^0→J/ψf_0)B(f_0→π^+π^−)/B(B_s^0→Jψϕ)B(ϕ→K^+K^−)=0.140±0.008(stat)±0.023(syst), where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.

Temperature has been widely used as a crystallization technique to control the process of protein crystallization.The effect of thermal history on protein crystallization has been paid more attentions.The control of changing temperature could lead to the shift of the solubility of the proteins,then,changed the supersaturation of the crystallization solution,thus effected the crystallization process.In this paper,the effect of temperature on crystallization has been summarized.The theoretical and experimental results can be used in the future of crystalliza tion research.

With the recent announcement of the discovery of a new bosonic state at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), hypothesized to be the long-sought Higgs boson, the correctness of the procedures used for characterization and classification of this state has become very relevant. This project worked on a number of different aspects in the analysis of the HZZ4l decay channel, related especially to lepton detection. Characterization of this channel relies on the accurate prediction of lepton detection efficiency and resolution, but currently used algorithms for prediction of these detector effects are computationally demanding. This project developed a validation procedure for a faster simulation algorithm written by the Caltech group, and showed its adequacy for predicting efficiency and resolution. Another issue analyzed in lepton detection was the use of multivariate analysis techniques, such as boosted decision trees, for reconstruction of the actual lepton energies from detected values, in order to discover whether the current reconstruction algorithms can be improved. Some questions outside of the scope of lepton detection were also analyzed, such as the distributions of the two intermediate Z in the HZZ4l decay. The official analysis uses an invariant mass proximity criterion to perform the pairing, but there are other possible pairing criteria that could be helpful in the detection of new physics. Current data in the signal region is scarce, but the algorithms developed for this pairing analysis will be available for future, larger datasets.