Alfredo Ferrari

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology | KIT · Institute for Nuclear Physics

According to NASA’s plans, a human travel to the Moon is planned by the end of 2025 with the Artemis II mission, and humans should land on the Moon again in 2026. Exposure to space radiation is one of the main risks for the crew members; while for these short missions the doses from galactic cosmic rays would be relatively low, the possible occurre...

Background In preparation of future clinical trials employing the Mobetron electron linear accelerator to deliver FLASH Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT), the development of a Monte Carlo (MC)‐based framework for dose calculation was required. Purpose To extend and validate the in‐house developed fast MC dose engine MonteRay (MR) for future...

Background Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are considered the gold‐standard for accuracy in radiotherapy dose calculation; so far however, no commercial treatment planning system (TPS) provides a fast MC for supporting clinical practice in carbon ion therapy. Purpose To extend and validate the in‐house developed fast MC dose engine MonteRay for carbo...

Background: The N14(n,p)C14 reaction is of interest in neutron capture therapy, where nitrogen-related dose is the main component due to low-energy neutrons, and in astrophysics, where N14 acts as a neutron poison in the s process. Several discrepancies remain between the existing data obtained in partial energy ranges: thermal energy, keV region,...

Neutron cross section measurements are often made relative to a neutron cross section standard. Thus, the accuracy of the neutron standards determines the best possible accuracy of the neutron measurements. The ²³⁵U(n,f) cross section is widely used as reference, while it is considered a standard at thermal point and between 0.15 to 200 MeV. For th...

Long-term human space missions such as a future journey to Mars could be characterized by several hazards, among which radiation is one the highest-priority problems for astronaut health. In this work, exploiting a pre-existing interface between the BIANCA biophysical model and the FLUKA Monte Carlo transport code, a study was performed to calculat...

Background Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are considered the gold‐standard for accuracy in radiotherapy dose calculation; however, general purpose MC engines are computationally demanding and require long runtimes. For this reason, several groups have recently developed fast MC systems dedicated mainly to photon and proton external beam therapy, affo...

Stopping power predictions in radiation transport codes are based on the Bethe-Bloch formula and different corrections. For very heavy ions at relativistic energies the available experimental data are scarce and therefore verification of stopping power predictions is only possible to a limited extent. In this work, a full experimental Bragg curve f...

A bstract A simultaneous measurement of the three components of the top-quark and top-antiquark polarisation vectors in t -channel single-top-quark production is presented. This analysis is based on data from proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb − 1 , collected with the AT...

A search for the pair production of heavy leptons as predicted by the type-III seesaw mechanism is presented. The search uses proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to 139fb-1 of integrated luminosity recorded by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis focuses on final sta...

Searches are performed for nonresonant and resonant di-Higgs boson production in the bb¯γγ final state. The dataset used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 of proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. No excess above the expected background is fou...

A bstract Measurements of the production cross-sections of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson ( H ) decaying into a pair of τ -leptons are presented. The measurements use data collected with the ATLAS detector from pp collisions produced at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integ...

The ²³⁵ U(n,f) cross section was measured in a wide energy range (18 meV–170 keV) at the n_TOF facility at CERN, relative to ⁶ Li(n,t) and ¹⁰ B(n,α) standard reactions, with high resolution and accuracy, with a setup based on a stack of six samples and six silicon detectors placed in the neutron beam. In this paper we report on the results in the r...

Several observables sensitive to the fragmentation of b quarks into b hadrons are measured using 36 fb−1 of s=13 TeV proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Jets containing b hadrons are obtained from a sample of dileptonic tt¯ events, and the associated set of charged-particle tracks is separated into those from...

A search for events with two displaced vertices from long-lived particle (LLP) pairs using data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. This analysis uses 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at s=13 TeV recorded in 2015–2018. The search employs techniques for reconstructing vertices of LLPs decaying to jets in the muon spectro...

A bstract A direct search for Higgs bosons produced via vector-boson fusion and subsequently decaying into invisible particles is reported. The analysis uses 139 fb − 1 of pp collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The observed numbers of events are found to be in agreement w...

Helium ion beam therapy for the treatment of cancer was one of several developed and studied particle modalities in the 1950’s, leading to clinical trials beginning in 1975 at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The trial shutdown was followed by decades of research and clinical silence on the topic while proton and carbon ion therapy made d...

A bstract A study of $$ {B}_c^{+}\to J/\psi {D}_s^{+} $$ B c + → J / ψ D s + and $$ {B}_c^{+}\to J/\psi {D}_s^{\ast +} $$ B c + → J / ψ D s ∗ + decays using 139 fb − 1 of integrated luminosity collected with the ATLAS detector from $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV pp collisions at the LHC is presented. The ratios of the branching fractions of the two deca...

A bstract This paper presents updated Monte Carlo configurations used to model the production of single electroweak vector bosons ( W , Z/γ ∗ ) in association with jets in proton-proton collisions for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Improvements pertaining to the electroweak input scheme, parton-shower splitting kernels and scale...

A study of B+c→J/ψD+s and B+c→J/ψD∗+s decays using 139 fb−1 of integrated luminosity collected with the ATLAS detector from s√ = 13 TeV pp collisions at the LHC is presented. The ratios of the branching fractions of the two decays to the branching fraction of the B+c → J/ψπ+ decay are measured: B(B+c→J/ψD+s)/B(B+c→J/ψπ+) = 2.76 ± 0.47 and B(B+c→J/ψ...

This Letter reports the observation of WWW production and a measurement of its cross section using 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with two same-sign leptons (electrons or muons) and at least two jets, as well as events with three charg...

A bstract A measurement of inclusive and differential fiducial cross-sections for the production of the Higgs boson decaying into two photons is performed using 139 fb − 1 of proton-proton collision data recorded at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The inclusive cross-section times branching ratio, in...

A search for the Higgs boson decaying into a pair of charm quarks is presented. The analysis uses proton–proton collisions to target the production of a Higgs boson in association with a leptonically decaying W or Z boson. The dataset delivered by the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of and recorded by the ATLAS detector corresponds to an integrated...

This paper presents studies of Bose–Einstein correlations (BEC) in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, using data from the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Data were collected in a special low-luminosity configuration with a minimum-bias trigger and a high-multiplicity track trigger, accumulating integrat...

A search for long-lived charginos produced either directly or in the cascade decay of heavy prompt gluino states is presented. The search is based on proton–proton collision data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of s = 13 TeV between 2015 and 2018 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 136 fb-1. Long-li...

This article presents the results of two studies of Higgs boson properties using the WW∗(→eνμν)jj final state, based on a dataset corresponding to 36.1fb-1 of s=13 TeV proton–proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The first study targets Higgs boson production via gluon–gluon fusion and constrains the CP pr...

The azimuthal variation of jet yields in heavy-ion collisions provides information about the path-length dependence of the energy loss experienced by partons passing through the hot, dense nuclear matter known as the quark–gluon plasma. This paper presents the azimuthal anisotropy coefficients v2, v3, and v4 measured for jets in Pb + Pb collisions...

A bstract A search for decays of pair-produced neutral long-lived particles (LLPs) is presented using 139 fb − 1 of proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015–2018 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Dedicated techniques were developed for the reconstruction of displaced jets produced by LLPs decaying hadronic...

A bstract Cross-section measurements of top-quark pair production where the hadronically decaying top quark has transverse momentum greater than 355 GeV and the other top quark decays into ℓνb are presented using 139 fb − 1 of data collected by the ATLAS experiment during proton-proton collisions at the LHC. The fiducial cross-section at $$ \sqrt{s...

A bstract The associated production of a Higgs boson and a top-quark pair is measured in events characterised by the presence of one or two electrons or muons. The Higgs boson decay into a b -quark pair is used. The analysed data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb − 1 , were collected in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadro...

Objective: This manuscript presents the first application, of the BIANCA (BIophysical ANalysis of Cell death and chromosome Aberrations) biophysical model to the Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) calculation for carbon-ion cancer patients, and comparison of the outcomes with the clinical LEM I model. The continuous development of heavy-ion c...

A search is made for a vectorlike T quark decaying into a Higgs boson and a top quark in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider with a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. The Higgs-boson and top-quark candidates are identified in the all-hadronic decay mode, where H→bb¯ a...

This paper reports constraints on Higgs boson production with transverse momentum above 1 TeV. The analyzed data from proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV were recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider from 2015 to 2018 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 136 fb−1. Higgs bosons decaying into bb...

A search for resonant Higgs boson pair production in the bb¯bb¯ final state is presented. The analysis uses 126 fb−1–139 fb−1 of pp collision data at s=13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis is divided into two channels, targeting Higgs boson decays which are reconstructed as pairs of small-radius jets o...

This paper presents an analysis at next-to-next-to-leading order in the theory of quantum chromodynamics for the determination of a new set of proton parton distribution functions using diverse measurements in pp collisions at s=7, 8 and 13 TeV, performed by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, together with deep inelastic scattering...

This paper presents an analysis at next-to-next-to-leading order in the theory of quantum chromodynamics for the determination of a new set of proton parton distribution functions using diverse measurements in pp collisions at s√=7, 8 and 13 TeV, performed by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, together with deep inelastic scattering...

A measurement of the energy asymmetry in jet-associated top-quark pair production is presented using $$139\,{\mathrm {fb}}^{-1}$$ 139 fb - 1 of data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider during pp collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=13\,\text {TeV}$$ s = 13 TeV . The observable measures the different probability of top and antitop quark...

Particle therapy relies on the advantageous dose deposition which permits to highly conform the dose to the target and better spare the surrounding healthy tissues and organs at risk with respect to conventional radiotherapy. In the case of treatments with heavier ions (like carbon ions already clinically used), another advantage is the enhanced ra...

Space research seems to be object of a renewed interest, also considering that human missions to the Moon, and possibly Mars, are being planned. Among the risks affecting such missions, astronauts’ exposure to space radiation is a major concern. In this work, the question of the evaluation of biological damage by Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) was addr...

A search is presented for the production of a single top quark via left-handed flavour-changing neutral-current (FCNC) interactions of a top quark, a gluon and an up or charm quark. Two production processes are considered: u+g→t and c+g→t. The analysis is based on proton–proton collision data taken at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the ATLA...

Heavy-flavour hadron production provides information about the transport properties and microscopic structure of the quark–gluon plasma created in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. A measurement of the muons from semileptonic decays of charm and bottom hadrons produced in Pb+Pb and pp collisions at a nucleon–nucleon centre-of-mass energy of...

A search for invisible decays of the Higgs boson as well as searches for dark matter candidates, produced together with a leptonically decaying Z boson, are presented. The analysis is performed using proton−proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, delivered by the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 and recorde...

This search, a type not previously performed at ATLAS, uses a comparison of the production cross sections for e+μ− and e−μ+ pairs to constrain physics processes beyond the Standard Model. It uses 139fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded at s=13 TeV at the LHC. Targeting sources of new physics which prefer final states containing e+μ− to e−μ...

A measurement of the energy asymmetry in jet-associated top-quark pair production is presented using 139fb-1 of data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider during pp collisions at s=13TeV. The observable measures the different probability of top and antitop quarks to have the higher energy as a function of the jet scattering a...

The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider has a broad physics programme ranging from precision measurements to direct searches for new particles and new interactions, requiring ever larger and ever more accurate datasets of simulated Monte Carlo events. Detector simulation with Geant4 is accurate but requires significant CPU resources. Over...

The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider has a broad physics programme ranging from precision measurements to direct searches for new particles and new interactions, requiring ever larger and ever more accurate datasets of simulated Monte Carlo events. Detector simulation with GEANT4 is accurate but requires significant CPU resources. Over...

The design and performance of the inner detector trigger for the high level trigger of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider during the 2016–2018 data taking period is discussed. In 2016, 2017, and 2018 the ATLAS detector recorded $$35.6~\mathrm {fb}^{-1}$$ 35.6 fb - 1 , $$46.9~\mathrm {fb}^{-1}$$ 46.9 fb - 1 , and $$60.6~\mathrm {fb}^{...

Searches are conducted for new spin-0 or spin-1 bosons using events where a Higgs boson with mass 125 GeV decays into four leptons (ℓ = e, μ). This decay is presumed to occur via an intermediate state which contains two on-shell, promptly decaying bosons: H → XX/ZX → 4ℓ, where the new boson X has a mass between 1 and 60 GeV. The search uses pp coll...

Searches are conducted for new spin-0 or spin-1 bosons using events where a Higgs boson with mass 125 GeV decays into four leptons (ℓ = e, μ). This decay is presumed to occur via an intermediate state which contains two on-shell, promptly decaying bosons: H → XX/ZX → 4ℓ, where the new boson X has a mass between 1 and 60 GeV. The search uses pp coll...

The design and performance of the inner detector trigger for the high level trigger of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider during the 2016–2018 data taking period is discussed. In 2016, 2017, and 2018 the ATLAS detector recorded 35.6 fb−1, 46.9 fb−1, and 60.6 fb−1 respectively of proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy...

Background: The photon strength functions (PSFs) and nuclear level density (NLD) are key ingredients for calculation of the photon interaction with nuclei, in particular the reaction cross sections. These cross sections are important especially in nuclear astrophysics and in the development of advanced nuclear technologies.

Background: Stellar nucleosynthesis of elements heavier than iron is driven by neutron capture processes. Zr92 is positioned at a strategic point along the slow nucleosynthesis path, given its proximity to the neutron magic number N=50 and its position at the matching region between the weak and main slow processes.

Secondary particles produced in spallation reactions of cosmic rays with the interstellar gas provide valuable information that allow us to investigate the injection and transport of charged particles in the Galaxy. A good understanding of the cross sections of production of these particles is crucial to correctly interpret our models, although the...

This paper presents a measurement of the electroweak production of two jets in association with a Zγ pair, with the Z boson decaying into two neutrinos. It also presents a search for invisible or partially invisible decays of a Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV produced through vector-boson fusion with a photon in the final state. These results us...

This paper presents a measurement of the electroweak production of two jets in association with a Zγ pair, with the Z boson decaying into two neutrinos. It also presents a search for invisible or partially invisible decays of a Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV produced through vector-boson fusion with a photon in the final state. These results us...

The accurate simulation of additional interactions at the ATLAS experiment for the analysis of proton–proton collisions delivered by the Large Hadron Collider presents a significant challenge to the computing resources. During the LHC Run 2 (2015–2018), there were up to 70 inelastic interactions per bunch crossing, which need to be accounted for in...

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/173237/1/10052_2021_Article_9929.pdf

This paper presents a search for decays of the Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV into a pair of new pseudoscalar particles, H→aa, where one a-boson decays into a b-quark pair and the other into a muon pair. The search uses 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of s=13 TeV recorded between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS ex...

A search optimized for new heavy particles decaying to two b-quarks and produced in association with additional b-quarks is reported. The sensitivity is improved by b-tagging at least one lower-pT jet in addition to the two highest-pT jets. The data used in this search correspond to an integrated luminosity of 103 fb−1 collected with a dedicated tr...

During LHC Run 2 (2015–2018) the ATLAS Level-1 topological trigger allowed efficient data-taking by the ATLAS experiment at luminosities up to 2.1×1034 cm−2s−1, which exceeds the design value by a factor of two. The system was installed in 2016 and operated in 2017 and 2018. It uses Field Programmable Gate Array processors to select interesting eve...