12 GeV Upgrade
All sectors of the Forward Time of Flight 1-a and FTOF 1-b detector arrays for the CLAS12 spectrometer have been mounted on the forward carriage in Hall B. All “1-a” sectors and three “1-b” sectors have been connected to the new FADCs, discriminators and high voltage and have been read out. Three of the Region 1 Drift Chambers were shipped from Idaho State University to Jefferson Lab, with the remaining two to be shipped in late March. The sixth Region 3 Drift Chamber has had all of its guard and tension wires installed, and about half of its field wires have been strung. This is the last Drift Chamber sector to be built. The next set of production modules of the Silicon Vertex Tracker detector are being assembled and tested at Fermilab, with assembly expected to continue until the fall of 2014. The parts for the SVT assembly structure are now being acquired. The internal frame for the containment vessel for the High Threshold Cerenkov Counter (HTCC) has been assembled, and the carbon-fiber entry dish, Moller cone and related parts have been added. Nineteen coated production mirror segments for the HTCC have arrived and been tested. The mirror refurbishment is complete for the first of three types of mirrors for the existing Low Threshold Cerenkov Counter (LTCC). The box modifications and new supports for the LTCC are also underway.
The practice coil for the CLAS12 Torus magnet was shipped from Fermilab to Jefferson Lab, placed in a test box and cooled to liquid nitrogen temperatures to check stresses and electrical-plus-cooling behavior. The first production coil has been wound at Fermilab and transferred to the coil case. The second coil is being wound, and preparations are underway for the conductor for the third coil. The Torus cryostat factory has been set up and readied to receive the first production coil from Fermilab. The vendor for the CLAS12 Solenoid magnet has submitted the necessary documentation for the final design review scheduled for March 18 at Jefferson Lab.
Physics
Jefferson Lab Published Journal Articles, March 3-9
Remember to submit your papers for approval to the Jefferson Lab Publications database.
Center for Theoretical and Computational Physics
An update of the "JR" global fits for parton distribution functions, together with the highly correlated strong coupling, has been presented up to next-to-next-to-leading order in QCD utilizing most world data, including those from Jefferson Lab at high parton momentum fractions x. The stability and reliability of the results are ensured by including nonperturbative higher-twist terms, nuclear corrections as well as target mass corrections, and by applying various kinematic cuts on available data. In addition, the dependence on the input scale used in the analysis has been studied in detail. Predictions have been given, in particular for the LHC, on gauge and Higgs bosons, as well as for top-quark pair production.
Engineering
With the resumption of beam operations scheduled to start shortly, the various groups within electrical engineering support (EES) have been busy preparing for the turn-on of accelerator systems. The Safety Systems Group spent many long hours re-certifying the accelerator Personnel Safety System interlocks and getting the Hall A interlocks integrated into the system. Re-establishing Hall A interlocks is necessary to get ready for beam delivery commissioning to the hall. The Radiofrequency (RF) Group has been engaged in commissioning injector RF Zone 0L04 with the new R100 cryomodule and new controls. They also have been performing maintenance on the other 50-some RF systems and completing installation and testing of new RF separator hardware. Both the Instrument and Controls (I&C) and DC Power groups are busy completing 12 GeV installation and hot checkout on the last remaining items needed for the Hall A beam spinup and the first commissioning run to Hall D, scheduled for the end of April. The systems being worked by these groups include: instrumentation and controls, vacuum controls and many magnet power supplies. The Support Group shop has been working to help complete cable terminations or fabricate other items needed in the field by the other electrical groups. The Support Group electricians have been kept busy with AC power hookup as new equipment is placed. Many hours of overtime has been expended in the last month making sure all is ready for beam operation.
JLab Calendar of Events
March 12: Colloquium: Daniel McKinsey, Yale University
March 13-15: Q-weak Collaboration Meeting
March 17: Safety Shoe Vendor onsite
March 17-21: EIC14 Workshop
April 18-19: USQCD All-Hands Meeting
April 22-23: APEX Collaboration Meeting
|
Environment, Safety, Health and Quality
Spring Critter Migration
As spring approaches, many insects and other creatures are moving out of their winter homes or are becoming more active. Besides the normal hunting and mate-seeking activities that warmer weather and more daylight brings, critters may also emerge as seldom-used areas are disturbed and by the recent roadway and building construction activities nearby.
To prevent any surprise encounters in your area, look for signs of critters on or around boxes, disused items or seldom-accessed shelving, racks or quiet storage areas before you access these spaces. Critter clues can be chewed papers, holes that are not normally associated with that type of box or even webs or droppings. When outside, watch for snakes and deer along the road and in grassy areas; stay on the road or on sidewalks or cleared walking paths and don’t sit on logs or curbing.
If you encounter creatures and need to have them controlled immediately, call Facilities Maintenance at x7400. In less-urgent situations, you may submit a Facilities Work Request detailing the exact location and what type of animal or insect (or their indicators) was observed or report the encounter to Mike Lewellen. Jefferson Lab has standing contracts with the animal/insect control companies who frequently are on site; the contractors are properly credentialed and have experience in addressing these issues.
Computing and Networking Infrastructure
CNI Systems Maintenance Period Set for Tuesday, March 18, 5-7 p.m.
The IT Division is planning a systems maintenance period for 5-10 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18. During this time, the Zimbra email system will be down for an upgrade. It's expected that Zimbra email will be back up by 8 p.m. Also, all MIS applications will be down while a database configuration change is made. All MIS applications will be back in service by 6 p.m. Additionally, Thunderbird and the Flash player plugin will be updated on all Common User Environment desktops. Finally, Windows and Linux patches will be deployed to all managed desktops; this may cause some interruptions to central services while the system is rebooted to finalize the patch installation. Plan on rebooting your desktop system on Wednesday or Thursday following the maintenance to finalize the patch installation on your local desktop. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about these maintenance items, contact the IT Division Helpdesk, x7155.
Windows XP Systems Require Upgrades By April 1
Microsoft announced the End-of-Life for Windows XP systems some time ago. Since last fall, the CNI group has been working with staff and users with XP systems to upgrade them to Windows 7 in anticipation of this date. For various reasons, some systems may not be upgraded to Windows 7 by March 31. Those systems will be moved onto a new and more secure network segment on March 31. This network segment will only have access to the Windows terminal servers (jlabts) and the public Linux servers (jlabl1-4). All other access will be denied, including access to the central file servers (J, K, L, and M drives). In the coming weeks, CNI staff will be contacting staff and users with Windows XP systems to determine when they can be upgraded to Windows 7. If a system cannot be directly upgraded, it will either be converted to a thin client connecting to a central Windows 7 Virtual Machine, or it will be moved to the secure network segment described above. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the IT Division Helpdesk, x7155.
Introducing the BlueJeans Multimedia Collaboration System
The CNI group is currently working with several groups onsite to test the deployment of the BlueJeans Videoconferencing system. This system will provide multimedia collaboration and videoconferencing to Jefferson Lab staff and users. While the system is in limited testing now, once fully deployed, staff and users will be able to log in with their CUE username and password and start their own meetings or attend meetings hosted by others. Once these meetings are created, non-JLab users can be provided with connection information so that they can attend, as well. The system supports collaboration, including any combination of chat, video and audio, and it also supports media, desktop and application sharing. All this will be available from virtually any device through a web-based interface, including the installed Polycom phones; Windows, Mac and Linux desktops and laptops; tablets; and mobile phones running iOS (iPhone/iPad) or Android. Once testing is complete, the CNI group will make the system available lab wide and will offer training sessions on the new system. If you have any questions about this announcement, contact the IT Division Helpdesk, x7155.
Announcements
Required Reading on Workplace Harassment and Violence
A Workplace Harassment and Violence Policy has been developed that establishes preventive measures and resources to support those who believe they may have been subjected to harassment or acts of violence in the workplace: All employees should familiarize themselves with the policy and click the button at the end to receive credit for this required reading.
How to Respond to a Threatening Situation
The lab is providing guidance to all employees and users in the event there is an active threat that targets employees and/or facilities. You can review this guidance and take a few minutes to view the Department of Homeland Security video provided on its web site. You can find more information (including training opportunities) on the DHS active shooter preparedness website. Additionally, in the event of an active shooter emergency or a similar threatening situation at Jefferson Lab, remember to dial 911, and then follow up by calling Jefferson Lab Security at 269-5822.
Colloquium: First Science Results from the LUX Dark Matter Experiment
In this colloquium, Daniel McKinsey, Yale University, will present the first scientific results from the LUX Dark Matter experiment. The LUX (Large Underground Xenon) experiment is designed for the direct detection of dark matter particles via their collisions with xenon nuclei. The two-phase xenon time-projection chamber, operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (Lead, South Dakota), was cooled and filled in February 2013. Results will be presented from the first dark matter search data set, taken during the period April to August 2013 and corresponding to 85.3 live-days of data with a fiducial mass of 118 kg. The experiment exhibited a sensitivity to spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic scattering with a minimum upper limit on the cross section of 7.6 x 10-46 cm2 at a WIMP mass of 33 GeV/c2. The LUX results are inconsistent with the low-mass WIMP signal interpretations of data from several recent direct detection experiments. This talk will provide an overview of the LUX experiment, focusing on the recent science results. The talk will be presented in the CEBAF Center auditorium today at 3 p.m.
Ends Soon: Diversity and Inclusion Survey
Reminder to JSA employees: If you have not yet completed the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Council's survey, you are encouraged to do so at your earliest convenience. The more responses the D&I Council receives, the more representative of our workforce the results will be. You can access the survey online.
2014 Annual T-Shirt Design Contest Is Underway
Will your design be immortalized in a Jefferson Lab T-shirt? Jefferson Lab's Annual T-shirt Design Contest is underway! Entries are due before close of business on March 21. Each submission should include a front (pocket) and back design. "Jefferson Lab," "DOE," "JSA, LLC," and "2014" must be included in the design. Resubmission of previous non-winning designs is welcome. To enter, submit your design, username, division and telephone (contact) number to Mary Jo Bailey, x7277, Mail Stop 6B. For more information, see the JAG webpage. The lab community will vote on designs March 26-April 4.
Spread the Word About May 17 Open House
Word of mouth is one of the primary ways that people say they hear about Jefferson Lab’s events. Public Affairs is asking everyone to spread the word about Jefferson Lab’s Open House, which is set for Saturday, May 17. A variety of open house posters, fliers and business cards may be picked up from the table under the large TV screen in the CEBAF Center lobby. Please post, share and distribute these materials to family members, friends, neighbors, students, colleagues, business associates, groups, organizations and anyone else who might be interested in attending Jefferson Lab’s day of “Accelerating Discovery.” Hang the fliers only in places where you’ve gotten permission to post them. If you need larger quantities of any of these handout materials, contact Debbie Magaldi, x5102.
Upgrade to Timesheet System
Jefferson Lab has rolled out an upgrade to the Time and Expense system (Timesheet system). The upgrade differences are minor, with the main difference regarding how the menu information is displayed. You can review the updates, which are available in a Powerpoint presentation on Insight. If you have any questions about this upgrade, contact Bill Shelton, x7120.
Tracking Thomas at Jefferson Lab
Little Thomas is visiting all corners of the Jefferson Lab campus. If you can identify his location this week, email Kandice Carter with your guess. Guesses are accepted through Friday.
Silvia Niccolai correctly guessed the location for March 5. Honorable mentions go to Michael Haddox-Schatz, Marcy Stutzman, Jared Martin, and Dick Owen. Check out Tracking Thomas on flickr for a better view of his last location and this week's new mystery photo.
|
