(SVD-2 Collaboration) A. G. Afonin, E. N. Ardashev, V. F. Golovkin, S. N. Golovnya, S. A. Gorokhov, A. A. Kiryakov, A. G. Kholodenko, V. V. Konstantinov, L. L. Kurchaninov, I. S. Lobanov, E. V. Lobanova, G. A. Mitrofanov, V. S. Petrov, A. V. Pleskach, M. K. Polkovnikov, V. N. Riadovikov*, V. N. Ronzhin, V. A. Senko,N. A. Shalanda, M. M. Soldatov, Yu. P. Tsyupa, A. P. Vorobiev, V. I. Yakimchuk, and V. N. Zapolskii∗ IHEP, Protvino, Moscow region, Russia.

The results of an analysis of data from the SERP-Е-184 experiment devoted to studying mechanisms of the production of charmed particles in proton–nucleus interactions at 70 GeV and their decays are presented. The data in question were obtained upon irradiating the SVD-2 active target consisting of carbon, silicon, and lead plates with a beam of 70-GeV protons. A detailed simulation on the basis of the FRITIOF7.02 and GEANT3.21 code packages made it possible to optimize event-selection criteria and to calculate the detection efficiency for Λ c + baryons. After selecting a signal from the threebody decay of a Λ c + baryon, the inclusive cross section for its production at near-threshold energies, its lifetime, and the parameter of the A dependence of the cross section were found. The Λ c + -baryon yields are tabulated along with data from other experiments and theoretical predictions.

The stages of development and the current status of the versatile “Spectrometer with a Vertex Detector” setup designed for physics experiments at the U-70 accelerator of the Institute for High Energy Physics (Protvino) is described. The main detectors of the setup are the vertex detector based on silicon microstrip detectors, the wide-aperture magnetic spectrometer based on multiwire proportional chambers, and the lead-glass hodoscope γ detector. In the setup, there is a fast two-level trigger system for selecting required particle interactions. The key characteristics of the setup systems are presented, and the physical results obtained on it are briefly listed.

Описаны этапы развития и современное состояние многоцелевой установки “Спектрометр с вершинным детектором”, созданной для проведения физических экспериментов на ускорителе У-70 Института физики высоких энергий (Протвино). Основными детекторами установки являются: вершинный детектор на основе кремниевых микростриповых детекторов, широкоапертурный магнитный спектрометр на основе пропорциональных камер, годоскопический детектор -квантов, собранный из свинцовых стекол. Для отбора нужных взаимодействий частиц в установке имеется быстродействующая двухуровневая система запуска. Приведены основные характеристики созданных систем установки, кратко перечислены полученные физические результаты.

Описывается прецизионный вершинный микростриповый детектор, созданный для установки “Спектрометр с вершинным детектором”, на которой исследуются свойства адронов и короткоживущих нестабильных частиц на ускорителе ГНЦ “Институт физики высоких энергий”. Приведены структура, конструкция и технология изготовления основных компонентов детектора – микростриповых сенсоров и активной мишени; описываются также электроника съема и регистрации сигналов, система сбора данных и ее программное обеспечение. Точность определения положения вершин составляет 70–250 мкм вдоль оси пучка и 8–15 мкм – поперек оси при быстродействии 500–1000 событий/с.

A precision vertex microstrip detector has been developed for the spectrometer with a vertex detector (SVD) setup on which the properties of hadrons and short-lived unstable particles are investigated on the accelerator of the Institute for High Energy Physics. The structure and the design of the main detector components—microstrip sensors and an active target—are presented, as well as techniques for manufacturing them. The readout electronics, the data acquisition system, and its software are also described. The accuracy in determining the vertex position is 70–250 µm along the beam axis and 8–15 µm in a transverse direction at a throughput of 500–1000 events/s.

Data from the SVD-2 experiment that were obtained at the IHEP accelerator in 70-GeV/c proton-nucleus interactions are analyzed with the aim of searches for an exotic Θ+ baryon that decays through the pK S 0 channel. The reaction pN → pK S 0 + X characterized by a bounded multiplicity of charged secondaries is used for this analysis. A resonance of mass M = 1526 ± 3(stat.) ± 3(syst.) MeV/c2 and width Γ < 24 MeV/c2 is observed in the invariant-mass spectrum of the pK S 0 system at a statistical significance of 5.6σ. The mass and the width of this resonance correspond to the recently found positive-strangeness Θ+ baryon, which was predicted to be an exotic baryon consisting of five quarks (pentaquark), \(uudd\bar s\). The total cross section for the production of a Θ+ baryon in pA interactions is estimated at a value within the range 30–120 μb for xF ≥ 0. An analysis of the A dependence of the cross section for Θ+-baryon production does not reveal a significant deviation from the A dependence for inelastic events (∼A0.7).