Photoproduction of mesons and Compton scattering on the proton: Selected results from the A2 Collaboration at MAMI

The A2 Collaboration performs a manifold research program using real photons in the Crystal Ball/TAPS experiment at the MAMI accelerator facility in Mainz. The experiments take advantage of high- intensity unpolarized, linearly or circularly polarized photon beams, and unpolarized or polarized targets. The detector setup provides almost complete coverage in solid angle and is well suited for the detection of multi particle final states. In order to probe the internal structure of the nucleon, the spectrum of baryon resonances is studied via measurements of unpolarized cross sections and various polarization observables in single and double meson photoproduction. The program aiming to determine the scalar and spin polarizabilities of the nucleons with high precision is performed with the Compton scattering experiments. In 2017, the focal plane detector used in the tagging system of the Crystal Ball/TAPS experiment was completely renewed, allowing new measurements with unprecedentedly high precision. This paper presents recent selected results from the A2 Collaboration at MAMI.

Gamma-induced background in the KATRIN main spectrometer

The KATRIN experiment aims to measure the effective electron antineutrino mass $$m_{\overline{\nu }_e}$$mν¯e with a sensitivity of $${0.2}\,{\hbox {eV}/\hbox {c}^2}$$0.2eV/c2 using a gaseous tritium source combined with the MAC-E filter technique. A low background rate is crucial to achieving the proposed sensitivity, and dedicated measurements have been performed to study possible sources of background electrons. In this work, we test the hypothesis that gamma radiation from external radioactive sources significantly increases the rate of background events created in the main spectrometer (MS) and observed in the focal-plane detector. Using detailed simulations of the gamma flux in the experimental hall, combined with a series of experimental tests that artificially increased or decreased the local gamma flux to the MS, we set an upper limit of $${0.006}\,{\hbox {count}/\hbox {s}}$$0.006count/s (90% C.L.) from this mechanism. Our results indicate the effectiveness of the electrostatic and magnetic shielding used to block secondary electrons emitted from the inner surface of the MS.