The aim of this study is to improve the characterization and modeling of the radiation field surrounding the Leksell Gamma Knife®-PerfexionTM. The improved characterization of the radiation field enables more accurate shielding calculations to be performed for the areas adjacent to the treatment room. With the aid of a high-purity germanium detector and a satellite dose rate meter, γ-ray spectra and ambient dose equivalent H*(10) data were acquired at various locations in the field of a Leksell Gamma Knife unit in a treatment room at Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden. These measurements were used to validate the results of the PEGASOS Monte Carlo simulation system with a PENELOPE kernel. The levels of the radiation that passes through the shielding of the machine (leakage radiation) are shown to be much lower than what is suggested by various bodies, e.g. the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, to be used when calculating radiation shielding barriers. The results clearly indicate that Monte Carlo simulations may be used in structural shielding design calculations for γ rays from the Leksell Gamma Knife.

PANDA (anti-Proton ANnihiliation at DArmstadt) is planned to be one of the four main experiments at the future international accelerator complex FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) in Darmstadt, Germany. It is going to address fundamental questions of hadron physics and quantum chromodynamics using cooled antiproton beams with a high intensity and and momenta between 1.5 and 15 GeV/c. PANDA is designed to reach a maximum luminosity of 2x10^32 cm^2 s. Most of the physics programs require an excellent particle identification (PID). The PID of hadronic states at the forward endcap of the target spectrometer will be done by a fast and compact Cherenkov detector that uses the detection of internally reflected Cherenkov light (DIRC) principle. It is designed to cover the polar angle range from 5{\deg} to 22{\deg} and to provide a separation power for the separation of charged pions and kaons up to 3 standard deviations (s.d.) for particle momenta up to 4 GeV/c in order to cover the important particle phase space. This document describes the technical design and the expected performance of the novel PANDA Disc DIRC detector that has not been used in any other high energy physics experiment (HEP) before. The performance has been studied with Monte-Carlo simulations and various beam tests at DESY and CERN. The final design meets all PANDA requirements and guarantees suffcient safety margins.

AbstractThe antiproton experiment PANDA at FAIR is designed to bring hadron physics to a new level in terms of scope, precision and accuracy. In this work, its unique capability for studies of hyperons is outlined. We discuss ground-state hyperons as diagnostic tools to study non-perturbative aspects of the strong interaction, and fundamental symmetries. New simulation studies have been carried out for two benchmark hyperon-antihyperon production channels: $${\bar{p}}p \rightarrow {\bar{\varLambda }}\varLambda $$ p ¯ p → Λ ¯ Λ and $${\bar{p}}p \rightarrow {\bar{\varXi }}^+\varXi ^-$$ p ¯ p → Ξ ¯ + Ξ - . The results, presented in detail in this paper, show that hyperon-antihyperon pairs from these reactions can be exclusively reconstructed with high efficiency and very low background contamination. In addition, the polarisation and spin correlations have been studied, exploiting the weak, self-analysing decay of hyperons and antihyperons. Two independent approaches to the finite efficiency have been applied and evaluated: one standard multidimensional efficiency correction approach, and one efficiency independent approach. The applicability of the latter was thoroughly evaluated for all channels, beam momenta and observables. The standard method yields good results in all cases, and shows that spin observables can be studied with high precision and accuracy already in the first phase of data taking with PANDA.

The study of baryon excitation spectra provides insight into the inner structure of baryons. So far, most of the world-wide efforts have been directed towards N^* and spectroscopy. Nevertheless, the study of the double and triple strange baryon spectrum provides independent information to the N^* and spectra. The future antiproton experiment P ANDA will provide direct access to final states containing a pair, for which production cross sections up to μ b are expected in p̅ p reactions. With a luminosity of L=10^31 cm ^-2 s ^-1 in the first phase of the experiment, the expected cross sections correspond to a production rate of ∼ 10^6 events /day . With a nearly 4π detector acceptance, P ANDA will thus be a hyperon factory. In this study, reactions of the type p̅ p → ^+ ^*- as well as p̅ p → ^*+ ^- with various decay modes are investigated. For the exclusive reconstruction of the signal events a full decay tree fit is used, resulting in reconstruction efficiencies between 3 and 5

A digital algorithm for real-time feature extraction, i.e. determination of pulse amplitude and timing, has been developed for the forward-spectrometer electromagnetic calorimeter in the PANDA experiment. The algorithm, which is based on the well known optimal-filter algorithm, has been designed to allow reconstruction of pile-up signals in real time and to work in a free-running DAQ system such as PANDA. To benchmark the algorithm, a Geant4-based Monte Carlo model of photon interactions in the calorimeter has been developed to generate realistic detector signals which were used as inputs to a VHDL simulation of the algorithm. The results of this simulation study show that the developed algorithm improves the time resolution by almost 50% compared to a conventional linear constant fraction discriminator algorithm. For the PANDA calorimeter, this results in a time root resolution close to 100 ps/ GeV per detector element at high energies. The algorithm allows reconstruction of the amplitude and timing of pile-up pulses separated by as little as 30 ns with good efficiency, fulfilling the PANDA requirements.

The antiproton experiment PANDA at FAIR is designed to bring hadron physics to a new level in terms of scope, precision and accuracy. In this work, its unique capability for studies of hyperons is outlined. We discuss ground-state hyperons as diagnostic tools to study non-perturbative aspects of the strong interaction, and fundamental symmetries. New simulation studies have been carried out for two benchmark hyperon-antihyperon production channels: $${\bar{p}}p \rightarrow {\bar{\varLambda }}\varLambda $$ p ¯ p → Λ ¯ Λ and $${\bar{p}}p \rightarrow {\bar{\varXi }}^+\varXi ^-$$ p ¯ p → Ξ ¯ + Ξ - . The results, presented in detail in this paper, show that hyperon-antihyperon pairs from these reactions can be exclusively reconstructed with high efficiency and very low background contamination. In addition, the polarisation and spin correlations have been studied, exploiting the weak, self-analysing decay of hyperons and antihyperons. Two independent approaches to the finite efficiency have been applied and evaluated: one standard multidimensional efficiency correction approach, and one efficiency independent approach. The applicability of the latter was thoroughly evaluated for all channels, beam momenta and observables. The standard method yields good results in all cases, and shows that spin observables can be studied with high precision and accuracy already in the first phase of data taking with PANDA.

The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Darmstadt, Germany, provides unique possibilities for a new generation of hadron-, nuclear- and atomic physics experiments. The future antiProton ANnihilations at DArmstadt (PANDA or PANDA) experiment at FAIR will offer a broad physics programme, covering different aspects of the strong interaction. Understanding the latter in the non-perturbative regime remains one of the greatest challenges in contemporary physics. The antiproton-nucleon interaction studied with PANDA provides crucial tests in this area. Furthermore, the high-intensity, low-energy domain of PANDA allows for searches for physics beyond the Standard Model, e.g. through high precision symmetry tests. This paper takes into account a staged approach for the detector setup and for the delivered luminosity from the accelerator. The available detector setup at the time of the delivery of the first antiproton beams in the HESR storage ring is referred to as the Phase One setup. The physics programme that is achievable during Phase One is outlined in this paper.

The study of baryon excitation spectra provides insight into the inner structure of baryons. So far, most of the world-wide efforts have been directed towards $$N^*$$ and $$\varDelta $$ spectroscopy. Nevertheless, the study of the double and triple strange baryon spectrum provides independent information to the $$N^*$$ and $$\varDelta $$ spectra. The future antiproton experiment $$\overline{\text{ P }}$$ ANDA will provide direct access to final states containing a $${\overline{\varXi }}\varXi $$ pair, for which production cross sections up to $$\mu \text{ b }$$ are expected in $$\bar{\text{ p }}$$ p reactions. With a luminosity of $$L=10^{31}$$ cm $$^{-2}$$ s $$^{-1}$$ in the first phase of the experiment, the expected cross sections correspond to a production rate of $$\sim 10^6\, \text{ events }/\text{day }$$ . With a nearly $$4\pi $$ detector acceptance, $$\overline{\text{ P }}$$ ANDA will thus be a hyperon factory. In this study, reactions of the type $$\bar{\text{ p }}$$ p $$\rightarrow $$ $${\overline{\varXi }}^{+}$$ $$\varXi ^{*-}$$ as well as $$\bar{\text{ p }}$$ p $$\rightarrow $$ $${\overline{\varXi }}^{*+}$$ $$\varXi ^{-}$$ with various decay modes are investigated. For the exclusive reconstruction of the signal events a full decay tree fit is used, resulting in reconstruction efficiencies between 3 and 5%. This allows high statistics data to be collected within a few weeks of data taking.

The antiproton experiment PANDA at FAIR is designed to bring hadron physics to a new level in terms of scope, precision and accuracy. In this work, its unique capability for studies of hyperons is outlined. We discuss ground-state hyperons as diagnostic tools to study non-perturbative aspects of the strong interaction, and fundamental symmetries. New simulation studies have been carried out for two benchmark hyperon-antihyperon production channels: $${\bar{p}}p \rightarrow {\bar{\varLambda }}\varLambda $$ and $${\bar{p}}p \rightarrow {\bar{\varXi }}^+\varXi ^-$$ . The results, presented in detail in this paper, show that hyperon-antihyperon pairs from these reactions can be exclusively reconstructed with high efficiency and very low background contamination. In addition, the polarisation and spin correlations have been studied, exploiting the weak, self-analysing decay of hyperons and antihyperons. Two independent approaches to the finite efficiency have been applied and evaluated: one standard multidimensional efficiency correction approach, and one efficiency independent approach. The applicability of the latter was thoroughly evaluated for all channels, beam momenta and observables. The standard method yields good results in all cases, and shows that spin observables can be studied with high precision and accuracy already in the first phase of data taking with PANDA.

This paper reports on Monte Carlo simulation results for future measurements of the moduli of time-like proton electromagnetic form factors, $$|G_{E}|$$ | G E | and $$|G_{M}|$$ | G M | , using the $$\bar{p} p \rightarrow \mu ^{+} \mu ^{-}$$ p ¯ p → μ + μ - reaction at $$\overline{\text {P}}\text {ANDA}$$ P ¯ ANDA (FAIR). The electromagnetic form factors are fundamental quantities parameterizing the electric and magnetic structure of hadrons. This work estimates the statistical and total accuracy with which the form factors can be measured at $$\overline{\text {P}}\text {ANDA}$$ P ¯ ANDA , using an analysis of simulated data within the PandaRoot software framework. The most crucial background channel is $$\bar{p} p \rightarrow \pi ^{+} \pi ^{-}$$ p ¯ p → π + π - , due to the very similar behavior of muons and pions in the detector. The suppression factors are evaluated for this and all other relevant background channels at different values of antiproton beam momentum. The signal/background separation is based on a multivariate analysis, using the Boosted Decision Trees method. An expected background subtraction is included in this study, based on realistic angular distributions of the background contribution. Systematic uncertainties are considered and the relative total uncertainties of the form factor measurements are presented.

The study of baryon excitation spectra provides insight into the inner structure of baryons. So far, most of the world-wide efforts have been directed towards N ∗ and Δ spectroscopy. Nevertheless, the study of the double and triple strange baryon spectrum provides independent information to the N ∗ and Δ spectra. The future antiproton experiment PANDA will provide direct access to final states containing a ΞΞ pair, for which production cross sections up to μ b are expected in ¯ pp reactions. With a luminosity of L = 10 31 cm − 2 s − 1 in the first phase of the experiment, the expected cross sections correspond to a production rate of ∼ 10 6 events / day. With a nearly 4 π detector acceptance, PANDA will thus be a hyperon factory. In this study, reactions of the type ¯ pp → Ξ + Ξ ∗− as well as ¯ pp → Ξ ∗+ Ξ − with various decay modes are investigated. For the exclusive reconstruction of the signal events a full decay tree fit is used, resulting in reconstruction efficiencies between 3 and 5%. This allows high statistics data to be collected within a few weeks of data taking.

This paper reports on Monte Carlo simulation results for future measurements of the moduli of time-like proton electromagnetic form factors, vertical bar G(E)vertical bar and vertical bar G(M)vertical bar, using the (p) over barp -> mu(+)mu(-) reaction at PANDA (FAIR). The electromagnetic form factors are fundamental quantities parameterizing the electric and magnetic structure of hadrons. This work estimates the statistical and total accuracy with which the form factors can be measured at PANDA, using an analysis of simulated data within the PandaRoot software framework. The most crucial background channel is (p) over barp -> pi(+)pi(-), due to the very similar behavior of muons and pions in the detector. The suppression factors are evaluated for this and all other relevant background channels at different values of antiproton beam momentum. The signal/background separation is based on a multivariate analysis, using the Boosted Decision Trees method. An expected background subtraction is included in this study, based on realistic angular distributions of the background contribution. Systematic uncertainties are considered and the relative total uncertainties of the form factor measurements are presented.

Single-event upsets (SEUs) affecting the configuration memory of a 28-nm field-programmable gate array (FPGA) have been studied through experiments and Monte Carlo modeling. This FPGA will be used in the front-end electronics of the electromagnetic calorimeter in PANDA (Antiproton Annihilation at Darmstadt), an upcoming hadron-physics experiment. Results from proton and neutron irradiations of the FPGA are presented and shown to be in agreement with previous experimental results. To estimate the mean time between SEUs during operation of PANDA, a Geant4-based Monte Carlo model of the phenomenon has been used. This model describes the energy deposition by particles in a silicon volume, the subsequent drift and diffusion of charges in the FPGA memory cell, and the eventual collection of charges in the sensitive regions of the cell. The values of the two free parameters of the model, the sensitive volume side $d = 87$ nm and the critical charge $Q_{\text {crit}} = 0.23$ fC, were determined by fitting the model to the experimental data. The results of the model agree well with both the proton and neutron data and are also shown to correctly predict the cross sections for upsets induced by other particles. The model-predicted energy dependence of the cross section for neutron-induced upsets has been used to estimate the rate of SEUs during initial operation of PANDA. At a luminosity of $1\cdot 10^{31}$ cm $^{-2}\,\,\text{s}^{-1}$ , the predicted mean time between upsets (MTBU) is between 120 and 170 h per FPGA, depending on the beam momentum.

PANDA is one of the four experimental pillars of the upcoming FAIR facility in Darmstadt, Germany. In PANDA, an antiproton beam with an energy between 1.5 and 15 GeV/c will interact in a hydrogen or nuclear target, allowing for studies of various aspects of non-perturbative QCD . Motivated by the high interaction rates and the diverse physics goals of the experiment, a triggerless readout approach will be employed. In this approach, each detector subsystem will be equipped with intelligent front-end electronics that independently identify signals of interest in real time. In order to detect the most forward-directed photons, electrons and positrons in PANDA, a shashlyk-type calorimeter is being constructed. This detector consists of 1512 individual cells of interleaved plastic scintillators and lead plates, and the output signals will be digitised by sampling ADCs and processed in real time by FPGAs. As part of the triggerless approach, these FPGAs will perform so-called feature extraction on the digitised signals, where the pulse-height and time of incoming pulses are extracted in real time. A substantial pile-up rate is expected, and it is foreseen that the chosen algorithm should enable reconstruction of such events. In this work we present the development of a real-time algorithm based on the well known Optimal Filter, which both improves the overall time resolution of the shashlyk detector and allows reconstruction of pile-up events with good time and energy resolution.

This documents describes the technical design and the expected performance of the Barrel DIRC detector for the PANDA experiment. The Barrel DIRC will provide hadronic charged particle identification in the polar angle range of $22^\circ$ to $140^\circ$ for particle momenta between 0.5 GeV/c and 3.5 GeV/c. The design is based on the successful BaBar DIRC with several key improvements. The performance and system cost were optimized in detailed detector simulations and validated with full system prototypes using particle beams at GSI and CERN. The final design meets or exceeds the PID goal of clean $π/K$ separation with at least 3 standard deviations over the entire phase space of charged kaons in the Barrel DIRC.

The (P) over bar ANDA (anti-Proton ANnihiliation at DArmstadt) experiment will be one of the four flagship experiments at the new international accelerator complex FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) in Darmstadt, Germany. (P) over bar ANDA will address fundamental questions of hadron physics and quantum chromodynamics using high-intensity cooled antiproton beams with momenta between 1.5 and 15 GeV/c and a design luminosity of up to 2 x 10(32) cm(-2) S-1. Excellent particle identification (PID) is crucial to the success of the (P) over bar ANDA physics program. Hadronic PID in the barrel region of the target spectrometer will be performed by a fast and compact Cherenkov counter using the detection of internally reflected Cherenkov light (DIRC) technology. It is designed to cover the polar angle range from 22 degrees to 140 degrees and will provide at least 3 standard deviations (s.d.) pi/K separation up to 3.5 GeV/c, matching the expected upper limit of the final state kaon momentum distribution from simulation. This documents describes the technical design and the expected performance of the (P) over bar ANDA Barrel DIRC detector. The design is based on the successful BaBar DIRC with several key improvements. The performance and system cost were optimized in detailed detector simulations and validated with full system prototypes using particle beams at GSI and CERN. The final design meets or exceeds the PID goal of clean pi/K separation with at least 3 s.d. over the entire phase space of charged kaons in the Barrel DIRC.

This paper summarises a comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation study for precision resonance energy scan measurements. Apart from the proof of principle for natural width and line shape measurements of very narrow resonances with PANDA, the achievable sensitivities are quantified for the concrete example of the charmonium-like X(3872) state discussed to be exotic, and for a larger parameter space of various assumed signal cross-sections, input widths and luminosity combinations. PANDA is the only experiment that will be able to perform precision resonance energy scans of such narrow states with quantum numbers of spin and parities that differ from $ J^{PC} = 1^{--}$.

Single-event upsets in the configuration memory of the 28-nm Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGA, used in the PANDA electromagnetic calorimeter, have been studied. Results from neutron and proton irradiations at energies up to 184 MeV are presented and compared with previous experimental results. In order to gain information about the energy-dependence of the single-event upset cross section, a GEANT4-based Monte Carlo simulation of upset mechanisms in nanometric silicon volumes has been developed. The results from this model are shown to agree with the experimental data for both neutrons and protons. Knowledge about the energy dependence of the cross section and of the particle flux at the location of the front-end modules in PANDA enables better estimates of the mean time between failures in the electromagnetic calorimeter. At PANDA, a total neutron flux of $1\cdot10^2$ cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ at the location of the front-end modules is expected at the lowest antiproton beam momentum and a luminosity of $1\cdot10^{31}$ cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, leading to a predicted Mean Time Between Failures of $47\pm10$ hours per FPGA in the electromagnetic calorimeter.

The exclusive charmonium production process in $\overline{p}p$ annihilation with an associated ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}$ meson $\overline{p}p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}J/\ensuremath{\psi}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}$ is studied in the framework of QCD collinear factorization. The feasibility of measuring this reaction through the $J/\ensuremath{\psi}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ decay channel with the AntiProton ANnihilation at DArmstadt ($\overline{\mathsf{P}}\mathsf{ANDA}$) experiment is investigated. Simulations on signal reconstruction efficiency as well as the background rejection from various sources including the $\overline{p}p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}$ and $\overline{p}p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}J/\ensuremath{\psi}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}$ reactions are performed with PandaRoot, the simulation and analysis software framework of the $\overline{\mathsf{P}}\mathsf{ANDA}$ experiment. It is shown that the measurement can be done at $\overline{\mathsf{P}}\mathsf{ANDA}$ with significant constraining power under the assumption of an integrated luminosity attainable in four to five months of data taking at the maximum design luminosity.

Bound nuclear systems with two units of strangeness are still poorly known despite their importance for many strong interaction phenomena. Stored antiprotons beams in the GeV range represent an unparalleled factory for various hyperon-antihyperon pairs. Their outstanding large production probability in antiproton collisions will open the floodgates for a series of new studies of systems which contain two or even more units of strangeness at the PANDA experiment at FAIR. For the first time, high resolution gamma-spectroscopy of doubly strange Lambda Lambda-hypernuclei will be performed, thus complementing measurements of ground state decays of Lambda Lambda-hypernuclei at J-PARC or possible decays of particle unstable hypernuclei in heavy ion reactions. High resolution spectroscopy of multistrange Xi(-) -atoms will be feasible and even the production of Omega(-) -atoms will be within reach. The latter might open the door to the vertical bar S vertical bar = 3 world in strangeness nuclear physics, by the study of the hadronic Omega(-) -nucleus interaction. For the first time it will be possible to study the behavior of Xi(+) in nuclear systems under well controlled conditions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.