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Gaison, J. K.

Publications and source records attributed to Gaison, J. K..

Deep learning based event reconstruction for cyclotron radiation emission spectroscopy

The objective of the cyclotron radiation emission spectroscopy (CRES) technology is to build precise particle energy spectra. This is achieved by identifying the start frequencies of charged particle trajectories which, when exposed to an external magnetic field, leave semi-linear profiles (called tracks) in the time–frequency plane. Due to the need for excellent instrumental energy resolution in application, highly efficient and accurate track reconstruction methods are desired. Deep learning convolutional neural networks (CNNs) - particularly suited to deal with information-sparse data and which offer precise foreground localization—may be utilized to extract track properties from measured CRES signals (called events) with relative computational ease. In this work, we develop a novel machine learning based model which operates a CNN and a support vector machine in tandem to perform this reconstruction. A primary application of our method is shown on simulated CRES signals which mimic those of the Project 8 experiment—a novel effort to extract the unknown absolute neutrino mass value from a precise measurement of tritium β - -decay energy spectrum. When compared to a point-clustering based technique used as a baseline, we show a relative gain of 24.1% in event reconstruction efficiency and comparable performance in accuracy of track parameter reconstruction.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Calibration strategy of the PROSPECT-II detector with external and intrinsic sources

This paper presents an energy calibration scheme for an upgraded reactor antineutrino detector for the Precision Reactor Oscillation and Spectrum Experiment (PROSPECT). The PROSPECT collaboration is preparing an upgraded detector, PROSPECT-II (P-II), to advance capabilities for the investigation of fundamental neutrino physics, fission processes and associated reactor neutrino flux, and nuclear security applications. P-II will expand the statistical power of the original PROSPECT (P-I) dataset by at least an order of magnitude. The new design builds upon previous P-I design and focuses on improving the detector robustness and long-term stability to enable multi-year operation at one or more sites. The new design optimizes the fiducial volume by elimination of dead space previously occupied by internal calibration channels, which in turn necessitates the external deployment. In this paper, we describe a calibration strategy for P-II. Here, the expected performance of externally deployed calibration sources is evaluated using P-I data and a well-benchmarked simulation package by varying detector segmentation configurations in the analysis. The proposed external calibration scheme delivers a compatible energy scale model and achieves comparable performance with the inclusion of an additional AmBe neutron source, in comparison to the previous internal arrangement. Most importantly, the estimated uncertainty contribution from the external energy scale calibration model meets the precision requirements of the P-II experiment.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Joint Measurement of the 235 U Antineutrino Spectrum by PROSPECT and STEREO

The PROSPECT and STEREO collaborations present a combined measurement of the pure 235 U antineutrino spectrum, without site specific corrections or detector-dependent effects. The spectral measurements of the two highest precision experiments at research reactors are found to be compatible with χ 2 /ndf = 24.1/21, allowing a joint unfolding of the prompt energy measurements into antineutrino energy. This $\bar{ν}_e$ energy spectrum is provided to the community, and an excess of events relative to the Huber model is found in the 5-6 MeV region. When a Gaussian bump is fitted to the excess, the data-model χ 2 value is improved, corresponding to a 2.4σ significance.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Nonfuel antineutrino contributions in the ORNL High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR)

Reactor neutrino experiments have seen major improvements in precision in recent years. With the experimental uncertainties becoming lower than those from theory, carefully considering all sources of $\bar{ν}$ e is important when making theoretical predictions. One source of νe that is often neglected arises from the irradiation of the nonfuel materials in reactors. The $\bar{ν}$ e rates and energies from these sources vary widely based on the reactor type, configuration, and sampling stage during the reactor cycle and have to be carefully considered for each experiment independently. In this article, we present a formalism for selecting the possible $\bar{ν}$ e sources arising from the neutron captures on reactor and target materials. We apply this formalism to the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the $\bar{ν}$ e source for the the Precision Reactor Oscillation and Spectrum Measurement (PROSPECT) experiment. Overall, we observe that the nonfuel $\bar{ν}$ e contributions from HFIR to PROSPECT amount to 1% above the inverse beta decay threshold with a maximum contribution of 9% in the 1.8–2.0 MeV range. Nonfuel contributions can be particularly high for research reactors like HFIR because of the choice of structural and reflector material in addition to the intentional irradiation of target material for isotope production. We show that typical commercial pressurized water reactors fueled with low-enriched uranium will have significantly smaller nonfuel $\bar{ν}$ e contribution.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗