Abstract:

Large detector systems for particle and astroparticle physics; Particle tracking detectors; Gaseous detectors; Calorimeters; Cherenkov detectors; Particle identification methods; Photon detectors for UV. visible and IR photons; Detector alignment and calibration methods; Detector cooling and thermo-stabilization; Detector design and construction technologies and materials. The LHCb experiment is dedicated to precision measurements of CP violation and rare decays of B hadrons at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (Geneva). The initial configuration and expected performance of the detector and associated systems. as established by test beam measurements and simulation studies. is described. © 2008 IOP Publishing Ltd and SISSA.

Abstract:

The LHCb experiment will make precision measurements of CP violation and rare b-hadron decays. Efficient particle identification with high purity over a wide momentum range is vital to these aims. The experiment employs two ring-imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detectors with three radiators, silica aerogel, C4F10 and CF4, to cover the momentum range from around 1-100 GeV/c. The RICH system employs a number of innovative techniques, both in hardware and software. A total of 484 custom-built pixel Hybrid Photon Detectors (HPDs) will be used to measure the spatial positions of Cherenkov photons with wavelengths in the range 200-600 nm, covering an active area of around 3.3 m2. The production of the HPDs has now been completed and the tube quality, including the photo-cathode quantum efficiency, far exceeds expectations. The installation of RICH 1 is almost complete; RICH 2 has been installed and aligned, and commissioning is almost complete. Reconstruction studies incorporating realistic backgrounds indicate excellent kaon efficiencies of around 97% and pion misidentification probabilities of around 6%, averaged over the full momentum range. This paper provides a general overview of the status of the LHCb RICH project, with emphasis on the readiness for LHC start-up and for physics. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract:

This paper summarises the B-physics prospects of the LHCb experiment. The focus is on the uniqueness of LHCb over and above the B-factories and the Tevatron experiments: the measurement of the unitarity angle γ using a number of complementary methods, the measurement of the Bs0 mixing phase φs in tree and penguin decay modes, and the expected observation of the rare decay mode Bs0 → μ+ μ- below Standard Model predictions. © 2008 World Scientific Publishing Company.

Abstract:

The design, manufacture and characterization of lightweight carbon-fiber spherical converging mirrors for the RICH 1 Cherenkov detector of the LHCb experiment at CERN are described. The mirrors need to be lightweight to minimize the material for traversing particles and fluorocarbon-compatible to avoid degradation in the C4F10 gas radiator of RICH 1. Four large-sized carbon-fiber mirrors covering a total surface area of ∼ 2 m2 were installed in RICH 1 in July 2007. The mirrors have a radius of curvature of ∼ 2700 mm, a high reflectivity of ∼ 90 % in the 200-600 nm wavelength band, a low areal density of ∼ 5 kg / m2 equivalent to ∼ 1.2 % of a radiation length. Results of the radiation and fluorocarbon testing of the mirror prototypes are also reported. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract:

This paper summarizes the B-physics prospects of the LHCb experiment. Firstly, a brief introduction to the CKM matrix and the mechanism of CP violation in the Standard Model is given. The advantages of the LHCb experiment for B-physics exploitation will then be described, together with a short description of the detector components. Finally, the LHCb physics aims and prospects will be summarized, focusing on the measurements of sin(2β) in tree and gluonic penguin diagrams, sin(2α) in B d0 → π + π - and π + π - π 0, neutral B-meson oscillations and the B s0 mixing phase, and the measurement of γ using a variety of complementary methods. © 2008 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.