Experiment to Detect Dark Energy Turns Up Nothing

Imperial College London scientists tested a proposed model of the missing dark energy force in which it acts inversely from gravity — powerful in a vacuum and nearly undetectable in the presence of a lot of matter.

The accelerated expansion of the universe motivates a wide class of scalar field theories that modify general relativity (GR) on large scales. Such theories require a screening mechanism to suppress the new force in regions where the weak field limit of GR has been experimentally tested. The scientists used atom interferometry to measure the acceleration of an atom toward a macroscopic test mass inside a high vacuum chamber, where new forces can be unscreened. The measurement show no evidence of new forces, a result that places stringent bounds on chameleon and symmetron theories of modified gravity.

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Nationwide Environmental Monitoring System

Gamma Spectroscopy by CAEN SyS

The Radiation Detection Specialists  

 

XENON Dark Matter Project

Dark-matter detector observes exotic nuclear decay
CAEN and the XENON Collaboration have been pioneers in the fully Digital Data Acquisition and Pulse Processing for Dark Matter research. A longstanding, prolific collaboration that keeps on delivering important science results and is ready for future challenges.

What is XENON1T Experiment
XENON experiment is a 3500kg liquid xenon detector to search for the elusive Dark Matter – construction of the next phase, XENON1T, started in Hall B of the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in 2014. The detector contains 3.5 tons of ultra radio-pure liquid Xenon, and has a fiducial volume of about 2 tons. The detector is housed in a 10 m water tank that serves as a muon veto. The TPC is 1 m in diameter and 1 m in height. The predicted sensitivity at 50 GeV/c2 is 2.0×10−47 cm2. This is 100x lower than the current limit published for XENON100.
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DAQ by CAEN
CAEN V1724 14 bit ADCs with 100 MHz sampling frequency and 40 MHz input bandwidth were used in XENON100 and used again in XENON1T but in this later stage the system has been upgraded to handle a larger amount of data. This lead to a rather short development time since old systems and software (also for data storage and data processing) can be largely re-used.

In XENON100, CAEN increased the maximum DAQ rate by more than one order of magnitude compared to XENON10 – although the drift length was doubled and the number of channels increased by a factor 2.7 – by using an online data reduction technique developed in cooperation with CAEN. This FPGA based method is basically rejecting all baseline between peaks and reduces the amount of data to be transferred and stored dramatically. However, the algorithm is still very simple. In cooperation with CAEN, we will exploit all possibilities to reduce the data size even further.

The Argentinosaurus Collider

We know that 5% of the Universe is directly observable. The Standard Model of Particle Physics describes it precisely. But what about the remaining 95%? 

No, Argentinosaurus Collider is not CERN's official name for the Future Circular Collider, just a nickname I've given it in view of its 100 km circumference and the ancient world's biggest dinosaur, the 100-ton Argentinosaurus (or "Argentine lizard") which lived on our planet almost 100 million years ago!

The discovery of the Higgs boson at the LHC was a milestone for particle physics. In a nutshell, it completed the Standard Model of Particle Physics, which describes the matter that forms the world around us. Yet many questions about our Universe remain unanswered. Is there more matter in the Universe than what is visible? What is dark matter made of? What happened to antimatter after the Big Bang? Are there extra dimensions in the Universe and, if so, can we explore them? To get answers and find out more about our Universe, scientists have to carry out experiments in more powerful particle accelerators. The higher energy frontier will expand our horizons and may shed light to the missing pieces of the puzzle of Nature.

Visit these websites for more details: 

1. https://fcc.web.cern.ch/Pages/news/FCC-publishes-concept-design-for-a-post-LHC-future-circular-collider-at-CERN.aspx
2. https://fcc-cdr.web.cern.ch
3. https://fcc.web.cern.ch/Pages/default.aspx 
4. http://clic-study.web.cern.ch 

VES-210 Production Vacuum Exhaust & Gas Backfill System

For over two decades xtronix has been delivering unique custom systems, instruments, cryostats and vacuum components.

Our latest shipment is a Vacuum Exhaust Station (VES-210) with gas backfill capability for an EU production plant of a very large multinational instrumentation firm.

xtronix custom designs removes the burdensome task of design engineering, parts procurement, assembly, testing and final qualification. We work with trusted suppliers, often companies we actively distribute products of, leaving our customers more time to focus on their own clients and less on worrying about all the intricacies of custom designs.

Past custom designs have varied from components as vacuum feedthrough assemblies for radar or night vision devices to Pirani vacuum gauges, cryostats, sputter coating and gas blending systems.

The VES-210 pictured here can be used for production of gas-backfilled devices typically as used in X-ray collection techniques such as X-ray Fluorescence / Diffraction products, or in the manufacture of appendage ion pumps, small communication devices or other pinch-off cavities. This concept can be expanded to a VES-310, -410 or reduced to a VES-110 concept.

High vacuum is achieved by a turbo-molecular pump with a scroll backing / roughing pump.

The vacuum cycle is fully automated via a touchscreen, menu-driven controller. Vacuum and gas hardware is stainless steel throughout and the vacuum components are mostly right out of our own 88-page vacuum components catalog. The system conforms to CE norms.

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Hermetic fiber optics are here!

Solid Sealing Technology now offers a full line of single and multimode fiber optic feedthrough adapters for ultra high vacuum!

SST's line of hermetic fiber optic adapters utilize a precision zirconia ferrule terminated to multimode or single mode (125µ OD) optical fiber. The zirconia ferrules are high temperature brazed into mating metal hardware to provide the highest reliability seal. This construction allows these connectors to be welded directly into packages or into a wide variety of flanges and fittings for easy installation.

Each product is helium leak checked to < 1x10 -10 cc/sec and optically tested before it leaves the factory to ensure performance. All SST optical feedthroughs and accessory connectors feature an industry standard UPC polish.

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Whole body counter WBC - HPGe detector based

Whole body counter developed by Baltic Scientific Instruments is intended for location and analysis of radionuclides in human body. The system is flexible to perform analysis of nearly any part of the body like joints, lungs, thyroid, etc. Having two HPGe detectors, the system provides outstanding measurement result in terms of accuracy and measurement speed. Depending of HPGe detector type (GCD or GCDX) it is possible to cover wide energy range, which means the list of radionuclides is so big that nothing will remain without attention of the specialist.

 

In some cases, longer acquisition is required, therefore, the examined person has comfortable ergonomic chair to be fixed for long measurement and still feel comfortable. Hydraulic mechanism of the chair together with adjustable positioning mechanisms of detectors allow to pick up almost any point of the body for measurement, keeping the examined person relaxed.

 

From the point of view of the specialist (operator), the software interface remains simple and intuitive allowing to control both HPGe detectors simultaneously summing the measurement result or operating each HPGe detector separately.

 

After measurement is finished, the operator will be able to see use electronic version of the report or print it out with one click. Content of the report is possible to adjust according to specific needs by editing the report template.

Features

• Quantitative and qualitative analysis using high-resolution HPGe detectors
• Adjustable to measure any part of the body
• Comfortable for the examined person
• Available with one or multiple HPGe detectors
• Option: available with scintillation detectors like NaI, LaBr, SrI, etc.
• Simple and intuitive software interface
• Automatic filling station for LN2

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CAEN 40th Year Anniversary Catalog

In just a few months, CAEN SpA will celebrate their 40^th anniversary. X-TRONIX AG/SA has been privileged to share 30 of those years, going back to when FASTBUS (IEEE 960) was the computer bus standard, and originally intended to replace Computer Automated Measurement and Control (CAMAC) in high-speed, large-scale data acquisition!

Going into the 40^th year of cutting-edge innovations.

We will shortly be distributing the 2019 anniversary edition of the CAEN Electronic Instrumentation Product Catalog to the Swiss customer base. Click here to download your advanced PDF copy.

You will find the index on the back, starting on page 283. It also depicts some 65 new products.

Since 2017, CAEN has become the exclusive worldwide distributor for Weeroc ASICs. X-TRONIX is here to assist you also on this exciting line of off-the-shelf programmable analog and mixed front-end ASIC chips for photon and particle detectors readout. You can see the standard range on pages 209 to 214. Also, take a peak on page 176 & 177 for the new Weeroc ASIC-based solution to readout SiPM arrays with coincidence trigger logic.

A new and recent release, the preamplifiers for Fission Chambers and Proton Recoil which earlier this year made their formal entry on the Swiss market through a team at EPFL. Details are on page 188.

To ensure your copy of the printed catalog, please drop us an email: info@xtronix.ch (Swiss market only - all others please contact info@caen.it)

DigiWaste Platform for Securing Nuclear Waste

CAEN SyS, has released World's First Digital Platform for Nuclear Waste Management.

The DigiWaste Platform is based around the RadHand 600 Pro, a handheld spectroscopic radiation detector developed for the platform. It features several major advantages in the D&D cycle that translates into cost savings, reduced operational time, improved quality assurance, enhanced ALARA, and traceability. The new DigiWaste Platform offers a novel approach to:

• Decommissioning & Dismantling: DigiWaste Platform manages the digitization of all relevant information produced throughout the Decommissioning & Dismantling cycle and supports integration of previous or legacy data
• Interim Storage of Nuclear Waste: DigiWaste Platform may also be adopted as an interim waste storage solution for monitoring activities and verifying waste status
• Legacy Waste: DigiWaste Platform is a complete solution for the evaluation and management of legacy waste
• Radioprotection: DigiWaste platform is an ideal solution for radioprotection applications at nuclear sites where periodic measurement patrols are required

These advantages are realized thanks to easy, fast, and reliable access to all the information collected at any point of the Decommissioning & Dismantling cycle of Nuclear Power Plants.

 

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Bioreactor or Culture Tank Process

HORIBA proposes a comprehensive range of fluid control and analytical solutions to improve yield, increase throughput and add value to the Bio Technology Process.

 

We are able to provide a complete flow control system for controlling the gas mixture entering the Bioreactor or culture tank using world-renowned HORIBA mass flow controllers.
 

HORIBA Advanced Techno concentration monitors and products can be used for monitoring various parameters during the Bio Technology process, including pH, dissolved oxygen and concentration of the Bio reactor broth.

 

 

 

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First Educational EasyPET for Switzerland

Positron Emission Tomography

We are very pleased to announce we have received from the Paul Scherrer Institute our first order for the Swiss market of an EasyPET educational kit by CAEN SpA. After familiarizing himself with the product, our PSI customer will use it in summer 2018 in connection with an IEEE Instrumentation School course in South Africa.

 

CAEN has conceived different modular Educational Kits. The set-up are all based on Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM) state of-the-art sensor of light with single photon sensitivity and unprecedented photon number capability. The goal is to inspire students and guide them towards the analysis and comprehension of different physics phenomena with a series of experiments based on state-of-the art technologies, instruments and methods.

The LHC’s Five New Particles

Back to the realm of quantum physics. The science of the “small” continues to grow, thanks to work done by scientists using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN Geneva.

The LHCb experiment at CERN is a hotbed of new and outstanding physics results. In just the last few months prior to March 2017, the collaboration had announced the measurement of a very rare particle decay and evidence of a new manifestation of matter-antimatter asymmetry, to name just two examples.

In a paper released March 16, 2017 by the LHCb collaboration, they announced the discovery of a new system of five particles all in a single analysis. The exceptionality of this discovery is that observing five new states all at once is a rather unique event.

Click for the CERN web page (disponible également en français !)

Video of New Products by CAEN SyS

Discover in image the newly emerging face of CAEN's drive into Radiation Safety & Security Systems!

Click to start the 6-minute video

Simplified fabrication process for high-efficiency solar cells

A team of EPFL and CSEM researchers in Neuchâtel presents in Nature Energy a new astonishing method of creating crystalline solar cells with electrical contacts at the rear, suppressing all shadowing at the front. Thanks to the new inexpensive approach, the fabrication process is strongly simplified with efficiencies in the laboratory already surpassing 23%.

In the quest for more efficient crystalline silicon solar cells with low manufacturing costs, one of the most promising approach is to bring all electrical contacts at the back of the device. This suppresses all shadowing at the front, increasing the current and the efficiency. This approach generally requires several delicate processing steps, because well-defined narrow negative and positive contact lines need to be created, which will then collect the electrons (negative charges) and holes (positive charges). This requires usually several steps of masking of photolithography to create the alternated positive (+) and negative (-) areas.
 

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Drone-deliverable Gamma Detectors

GLOBall system is a mapping tool based on gamma detection systems that can be easily deployed and have a fast reconstruction map of the investigated zone. If the positioning of the detectors is done using unmanned vehicles, such as drones, this will reduce the dose exposure for the in field operators from possible radiological hazards.

The equipment is based on a set of gamma detectors. Each spherical device embeds a radiological detector and an encrypted communication system in a waterproof, shockproof shell the size of a tennis ball. They are equipped with a localization system like (GPS, or embedded pseudolites for indoor localization), a data encryption system and a communication protocol (LoRA or WiFi) to  send data to the control station.

Software in Gamma-ray Spectroscopy

CAEN SyS now proposes radiation detection equipment for Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Neutron and X-ray radiation detection applications.

Let us focus here on Gamma-ray spectroscopy. While the company proposes various indoor and outdoor instruments for a variety of applications, it also has invested time and recourses on developing superior software to go along with the hardware.

A good gamma-ray spectrum analysis software is a key component in any radio-analytical or radiation measurement instrument. It has led the team of software developers to focus on:

 

Int. Conference on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material & Nuclear Facilities

November 13 - 17, 2017:  The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is organizing an International Conference on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities, to be held in Vienna, Austria.

 

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of the conference is to foster the exchange, among competent authorities, facility operators, shippers and carriers, and technical support organizations, of information, practices and experiences related to the physical protection of nuclear material and facilities, including nuclear material in transport.
 

Nuclear Instrumentation & Services

CAEN SyS is a new group within the CAEN network of companies that provides nuclear measurement solutions and technical expertise for a wide array of applications:

• Health Physics, Spectroscopy, and Radiation Measurements Systems
• Custom Nuclear Measurement Systems: Plant, Waste, Safeguards, Security
• Nuclear Waste characterization products and solutions
• Spectroscopic survey of large surfaces with real-time mapping information
• Detection of gamma and neutron sources; RPM Radiation Portal Monitor
• Identification of gamma radionuclides and SNM detection
• Networking of Radiation detectors and Robotics solutions
• Safeguards and Security products for non-proliferation and threats
• Fuel Cycle process monitoring and Fuel characterization
• Fresh & Spent Fuel Burn-up solutions/measurements
• Nuclear Emergency Preparedness: Training, Products, and Systems
• Site Remediation studies; products and solutions for mitigation plans

LHCb Just Discovered New System of Five Particles

🔊 March 16, 2017 - CERN announced an exceptional new discovery that was made by the LHCb, which unveiled five new states all at once.

In a paper released, the LHCb collaboration announced the discovery of a new system of five particles all in a single analysis. The exceptionality of this discovery is that observing five new states all at once is a rather unique event.

The particles were found to be excited states – a particle state that has a higher energy than the absolute minimum configuration (or ground state) – of a particle called "Omega-c-zero", Ω_c⁰. This Ω_c⁰ is a baryon, a particle with three quarks, containing two “strange” and one “charm” quark.
 

The team notes that this revelation improves our understanding of quantum theory in general and, most notably, gives us new clues about the earliest moments of our universe.

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21st International Conference on Cyclotrons and their Applications

CAEN Electronic Instrumentation and CAENels will exhibit innovative new products during the 21st International Conference on Cyclotrons and their Applications, September 11-16 at ETH Zentrum, Rämistrasse 101, 8092 Zürich / Audimax (HG F30).

 

                        

 

Conference website : https://indico.psi.ch/conferenceDisplay.py?confId=3238

We invite participants to drop by the CAEN booth where product experts will be on hand to discuss your instrumentation and power supply requirements.