During May 2012, the CERN-CNGS neutrino beam has been operated for two weeks for a total of 1.8 10^17 pot in bunched mode, with a 3 ns narrow width proton beam bunches, separated by 100 ns. This tightly bunched beam structure allows a very accurate t
ime of flight measurement of neutrinos from CERN to LNGS on an event-by-event basis. Both the ICARUS-T600 PMT-DAQ and the CERN-LNGS timing synchronization have been substantially improved for this campaign, taking ad-vantage of additional independent GPS receivers, both at CERN and LNGS as well as of the deployment of the White Rabbit protocol both at CERN and LNGS. The ICARUS-T600 detector has collected 25 beam-associated events; the corresponding time of flight has been accurately evaluated, using all different time synchronization paths. The measured neutrino time of flight is compatible with the arrival of all events with speed equivalent to the one of light: the difference between the expected value based on the speed of light and the measured value is tof_c - tof_nu = (0.10 pm 0.67stat. pm 2.39syst.) ns. This result is in agreement with the value previously reported by the ICARUS collaboration, tof_c - tof_nu = (0.3 pm 4.9stat. pm 9.0syst.) ns, but with improved statistical and systematic errors.
The AGILE scientific instrument has been calibrated with a tagged $gamma$-ray beam at the Beam Test Facility (BTF) of the INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (LNF). The goal of the calibration was the measure of the Point Spread Function (PSF) as a
function of the photon energy and incident angle and the validation of the Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of the silicon tracker operation. The calibration setup is described and some preliminary results are presented.
At the core of the AGILE scientific instrument, designed to operate on a satellite, there is the Gamma Ray Imaging Detector (GRID) consisting of a Silicon Tracker (ST), a Cesium Iodide Mini-Calorimeter and an Anti-Coincidence system of plastic scinti
llator bars. The ST needs an on-ground calibration with a $gamma$-ray beam to validate the simulation used to calculate the energy response function and the effective area versus the energy and the direction of the $gamma$ rays. A tagged $gamma$-ray beam line was designed at the Beam Test Facility (BTF) of the INFN Laboratori Nazionali of Frascati (LNF), based on an electron beam generating $gamma$ rays through bremsstrahlung in a position-sensitive target. The $gamma$-ray energy is deduced by difference with the post-bremsstrahlung electron energy cite{prest}-cite{hasan}. The electron energy is measured by a spectrometer consisting of a dipole magnet and an array of position sensitive silicon strip detectors, the Photon Tagging System (PTS). The use of the combined BTF-PTS system as tagged photon beam requires understanding the efficiency of $gamma$-ray tagging, the probability of fake tagging, the energy resolution and the relation of the PTS hit position versus the $gamma$-ray energy. This paper describes this study comparing data taken during the AGILE calibration occurred in 2005 with simulation.
Liquified noble gases are widely used as a target in direct Dark Matter searches. Signals from scintillation in the liquid, following energy deposition from the recoil nuclei scattered by Dark Matter particles (e.g. WIMPs), should be recorded down to
very low energies by photosensors suitably designed to operate at cryogenic temperatures. Liquid Argon based detectors for Dark Matter searches currently implement photo multiplier tubes for signal read-out. In the last few years PMTs with photocathodes operating down to liquid Argon temperatures (87 K) have been specially developed with increasing Quantum Efficiency characteristics. The most recent of these, Hamamatsu Photonics Mod. R11065 with peak QE up to about 35%, has been extensively tested within the R&D program of the WArP Collaboration. During these testes the Hamamatsu PMTs showed superb performance and allowed obtaining a light yield around 7 phel/keVee in a Liquid Argon detector with a photocathodic coverage in the 12% range, sufficient for detection of events down to few keVee of energy deposition. This shows that this new type of PMT is suited for experimental applications, in particular for new direct Dark Matter searches with LAr-based experiments.
