11.7.2000, 16:00
Summary of the VFPS Meeting

Present: E.Elsen, R.Klanner, P.Marage, D.Pitzl and R.Roosen

Status:

P.Marage summarized the status of the project: Financial approval has been obtained by both the French and the Flemish authorities for a total of roughly 1 MDM. Lund University has requested support for a grant which is to be negotiated in autumn this year. Hamburg University will provide the electronics. Some help from Zeuthen will be given to build the detectors. The Belgian groups would like to start design and construction now.
Discussion of the Questions submitted by R.Klanner to the VFPS group on 28.4.2000:
  1. Background rates

    2. The issue has been addressed in a separate note which has been made available to the referees and the director.

    The question is considered to have been answered.
     

  2. xP- and t-resolution.

    3. This detector is positioned closed to the focal point of the beam optics, optimized for acceptance rather than resolution. The resolution is obtained from the angular measurement and the knowledge of the detector position.

    See appended note.

    The VFPS group will provide a statement on how the resolution affects the physics program accessible with the detector.
     

  3. Condensation of Gas Impurities

    4. The issue has been discussed with the experts from the vacuum group where it was felt that a set of two Ti sublimation pumps would provide sufficient safeguard.

    D.Pitzl will verify and hopefully confirm these statements with the machine group.
     

  4. Physics return

    5. The physics program has been outlined in the proposal. Evidently emphasis is put on the very large improvement in acceptance. Immediate benefits will be visible for the physics of diffractive charm and high-pt jet production. In particular it will be possible to eliminate the uncertainty of the proton dissociation contribution and its assumed t-dependence.
    The big improvement of acceptance alone will lead to e.g. some 650 clean charm events for the luminosity considered which will enable a differential measurement to be performed for a case in which the physics result is controversial to date.

    While R.Klanner felt that it would be appropriate to discuss the physics limitations further in terms of differential distributions the VFPS group stated that the yield of clean events alone justified the effort and the interpretation of the result and its significance would anyhow depend on the currently favoured physics model.
     

  5. Trigger

    6. Special measures have been taken to make a level 1 trigger signal available in time. In the unlikely case that this fails the trigger can be fed in at level 2.

    The trigger is not considered to be a problem.
     

  6. Infrastructure at DESY

    7. The design of the modifications to the cold section have to be continuously monitored.

    D.Pitzl will get in contact with the relevant machine groups to ensure that their involvement is estimated properly and that they realize now the parts for which they have to be responsible.

With a statement on 2) from the VFPS group and the consent of the machine group on 3) and 6) the referees should be asked whether they felt to be in a position to fully accept the proposal and to agree with the project to proceed on the time scaled outlined in the proposal.
E.Elsen