HARP
Collaboration:
Laboratory and Beam: CERN, CPS protons and pions
National Responsible: V. Palladino (NA)
1 Goal of the Experiment
The HARP experiment is a measurement of hadroproduction, a wide ranging campaign meant to reduce the uncertainties induced by hadroproduction in the field of both accelerator and atmospheric neutrino physics.
The HARP experiment is carrying out, at the CERN PS, a programme of precise measurements of secondary hadrons, over the full solid angle, produced on thin and thick nuclear targets by beams of protons and pions with momentum in the range 2 to 15 GeV/c.
2 Activities during 2002
The activity of the Collaboration was focussed on completing the collection of its data, during a data run that took place from early May to early November. All the planned data have been collected with all the foreseen targets material and thicknesses and at all the foreseen beam energies.
In general, all the planned milestones related to hardware & datataking have been fulfilled by the end of the Year 2002:
Delay must be acknowledged, however, in the area of data analysis. Our schedule has proven too optimistic and we have been adapting to a somewhat more conventional pace of progress. On one hand, the pressing demand of hardware and datataking effort left very little energies available.On the other, the effort of understanding data quality and detector performances, calibration, evaluation of efficiencies has proven more difficult and time consuming than anticipated. Evaluation and subtraction of cross talk effects among neighbour channels in the main TPC tracker, as well as absolute pad-by-pad recalibration, has also proven necessary. This work is still demanding dedicated attention, now in 2003 and requires also transfer and reinstallation of TPC and its ancillary equipment (magnet, gas system, calibration system etc ) to a neighbouring location in the PS East Hall due to the needs of other users of the Hall. A painful migration from Objectivity to Oracle databases was imposed on us by IT Division policies. The net result will be a significant delay, estimated slightly below one year, with respect to our original hopes for the delivery of both first and final physics results.
Milestones 2003
HARDWARE |
|
Completion of TPC cross talk
measurements |
1-3-2003 |
Moving of the TPC and
its ancillary equipment |
15-6-2003 |
Completion of TPC
recalibration with Mn and Co radioactive sources |
31-7-2003 |
DATA HANDLING |
|
Migration of complete 50
TeraByte HARP raw data sample to Oracle |
15-5-2003 |
FORWARD ANALYSIS |
|
Completion of realignement
of forward detectors |
15-3-2003 |
Production of n-tuples for
detector calibration |
15-4-2003 |
First complete calibration
of forward particle identification detectors (TOF, C,
e-id, mu-id) |
30-5-2003 |
First complete release of
forward track reconstruction software |
30-6-2003 |
First forward DST production |
31-8-2003 |
First forward results (K2K
& MiniBoone and more) |
31-10-2003 |
LARGE ANGLE ANALYSIS |
|
Definition of TPC cross talk
subtraction algorithms: first results |
30-6-2003 |
Completion of analysis of
TPC calibration data |
30-9-2003 |
Release of complete large
angle (TPC & RPC) reconstruction software |
15-10-2003 |
First large angle DST |
31-10-2003 |
First large angle results |
15-12-2003 |
3 INFN contribution to the experiment
Manpower:
INFN contributes to the experiment about 1/3 of is manpower, with 38 researchers (17.7 FTE) supported by their mechanical and electronics workshops.
Budget for the Year 2003: 1.1% of the total CSNII
budget
4 Number of publications in refereed
journals (in 2002): 0
5 Number of talks to conferences (in 2002): 2
6 Number of thesis on HARP:
7 Leadership roles in the experiment
U. Gastaldi (LNL) is driving the process of
full understanding and recalibration of the TPC and E. Radicioni
(BA), responsible of HARP DAQ from its realization, carries the
large majority of the related responsability in the experimental
areas and counting room. INFN groups have large responsabilities
in all aspects of software. M. G. Catanesi (BA) is responsible
for Large Angle (TPC & RPC) Reconstruction &
Analysis. A. Guglielmi (PD), M. Apollonio (TS), D. Orestano
(Roma3) are responsible for the software and reconstruction of
respectively TOF, Cerenkov, e-identifier. A. Demin (PD)
presented the last HARP status report to plenary SPSC and M. G.
Catanesi the last report to the SPSC referees.
8 Innovative instruments
The TPC , including its electronics , is a
first class modern device, thriving on the experience of the
ALEPH and ALICE TPC¤s,among many others.
The DAQ uses a modern LHC-era architecture: it features the
possibility of storing raw data in object-oriented format and it
is able to read out the TPC at the unprecedented rate of 3KHz.
HARP was one of the first experiment that
adopt modern software-engineering procedures and an architectural
Object-Oriented design was worked out.
All subdetectors are state-of-the-art devices.
9 Competitive experiments: Experiment E910 (R. Raja et al) is preparing datataking in the Meson Lab at Fermilab. It holds comparable promise. Reciprocal validation with HARP will hopefully strenghten our hold on hadronic uncertainties in neutrino physics.
10 International reviews
HARP was reviewed and approved
by the CERN SPSC and Research Board. Progress (through
construction, datataking and now data analysis) is kept under
close scrutiny by all these committees by means of very frequent
oral and/or written status reports.