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We present new exclusion bounds obtained at the European X-ray Free Electron Laser facility (EuXFEL) on axion-like particles (ALPs) in the mass range 10^{-3} eV < m_a < 10^4 eV. Our experiment exploits the Primakoff effect via which photons can, in the presence of a strong external electric field, decay into axions, which then convert back into photons after passing through an opaque wall. While similar searches have been performed previously at a 3^rd generation synchrotron, our work demonstrates improved sensitivity, exploiting the higher brightness of X-rays at EuXFEL.

We describe the commissioning of a system which has been built to investigate optimal operation of CCDs for the LSST telescope. The test system is designed for low vibration, high stability operation and is capable of illuminating a detector in flat-field, projected spot, projected pattern and Fe-55 configurations. We compare and describe some considerations when choosing a gain calibration method for CCDs which exhibit the brighter-fatter effect. An optimisation study on a prototype device of gain and full well with varying back substrate bias and gate clock levels is presented.

Searches for charged lepton flavor violation in the muon sector stand out among the most sensitive and clean probes for physics beyond the Standard Model. Currently, \\(\\mu^+ \\to \\mathrm{e}^+ \\gamma\\) experiments provide the best constraints in this field for a wide range of models while, in the coming years, new experiments investigating the processes of \\(\\mu^+ \\to \\mathrm{e}^+ \\mathrm{e}^+ \\mathrm{e}^-\\) and \\(\\mu \\to \\mathrm{e}\\) conversion in the nuclear field are anticipated to reach comparable or higher sensitivities. The High-Intensity Muon Beam (HIMB) facility at PSI, which is expected to deliver muon beam intensities up to two orders of magnitude higher than the existing beam lines, offers a unique opportunity to significantly enhance the sensitivity of \\(\\mu^+ \\to \\mathrm{e}^+ \\gamma\\) searches. The discovery potential could be substantially boosted and a sensitivity comparable to that of all the other projects could be reestablished, which is essential for discriminating among competing new-physics scenarios should an observation occur in any of the channels. In this document, we express our interest in developing a \\(\\mu^+ \\to \\mathrm{e}^+ \\gamma\\) experimental program at HIMB, with the goal of improving, within the next decade, the sensitivity of the \\(\\mu^+ \\to \\mathrm{e}^+ \\gamma\\) search by more than one order of magnitude relative to the expected final result of the current leading experiment, MEG II. This effort would ensure that PSI retains its leadership in this field.

This paper outlines the results of investigations into the effects of radiation damage in the mini-MALTA prototype. Measurements were carried out at Diamond Light Source using a micro-focus X-ray beam, which scanned across the surface of the device in 2 \\(\\mathrm{\\mu m}\\) steps. This allowed the in-pixel photon response to be measured directly with high statistics. Three pixel design variations were considered: one with the standard continuous \\(\\mathrm{n^-}\\) layer layout and front-end, and extra deep p-well and \\(\\mathrm{n^-}\\) gap designs with a modified front-end. Five chips were measured: one unirradiated, one neutron irradiated, and three proton irradiated.

[...]despite recent wobbles, the megacap index is up by around 15pc since the start of the year.

The largest house-builder in the UK stock market, Persimmon, is only now just about to enter the FTSE 100. The largest holiday firms, (First Choice and MyTravel) are nowhere near big enough to be in this index. While a few retailers (such as Next and M&S) are in the index, the vast majority are too small. The largest leisure companies are also minnows. So which companies dominate the UK stock market? The answer is a small number of groups that have successfully marketed their goods throughout the world. The market is dominated by seven of these: BP and Shell (oil); Vodafone (telecoms); Glaxo and Astrazeneca (pharmaceuticals); and HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland (banking). These make up 37pc of the equity market and the four sectors in which they operate comprise an even more staggering 52pc.

It is an extremely compelling time to invest in small and medium-sized companies. Not only has investing in smaller companies been historically a solid route to outperformance, this strategy also tends to deliver during periods of economic recovery, as smaller, more agile companies help to jump-start growth. Since performance measures began in 1955, investors would have made about six times as much money investing in small and mid cap stocks than they would have done in large cap stocks. Small and midcaps have outperformed the broader market by as much as 3.5% a year every year on average. With these immature and quickly changing companies, stockpickers can add a lot more value than they can if they only consider mature companies that change quite slowly. As such, it tends to be easier to find small companies that can grow materially to a multiple of their original size and therefore generate excess returns, than it is to find large companies with similar growth potential. Small and mid cap investment is a particularly sound strategy during the early periods of economic recovery.