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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Phased plan for the implementation of the time-resolving magnetic recoil spectrometer on the National Ignition Facility (NIF)

The time-resolving magnetic recoil spectrometer (MRSt) is a transformative diagnostic that will be used to measure the time-resolved neutron spectrum from an inertial confinement fusion implosion at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). It uses a CD foil on the outside of the hohlraum to convert fusion neutrons to recoil deuterons. An ion-optical system positioned outside the NIF target chamber energy-disperses and focuses forward-scattered deuterons. A pulse-dilation drift tube (PDDT) subsequently dilates, un-skews, and detects the signal. While the foil and ion-optical system have been designed, the PDDT requires more development before it can be implemented. Therefore, a phased plan is presented that first uses the foil and ion-optical systems with detectors that can be implemented immediately—namely CR-39 and hDISC streak cameras. These detectors will allow the MRSt to be commissioned in an intermediate stage and begin collecting data on a reduced timescale, while the PDDT is developed in parallel. A CR-39 detector will be used in phase 1 for the measurement of the time-integrated neutron spectra with excellent energy-resolution, necessary for the energy calibration of the system. Streak cameras will be used in phase 2 for measurement of the time-resolved spectrum with limited spectral coverage, which is sufficient to diagnose the time-resolved ion temperature. Simulations are presented that predict the performance of the streak camera detector, indicating that it will achieve excellent burn history measurements at current yields, and good time-resolved ion-temperature measurements at yields above 3 × 10 17 . The PDDT will be used for optimal efficiency and resolution in phase 3.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Background studies and normalization of signal events in the Mu2e experiment

The Mu2e experiment is currently being constructed at Fermilab to search for the neutrino-less conversion of negative muons into electrons in the field of an aluminum nucleus. The experiment aims at a sensitivity of four orders of magnitude higher than previous related experiments, which implies highly demanding accuracy requirements both in the design and during the operation. To achieve such a goal, two important tasks should be accomplished. First, it is essential to estimate precisely the particle yields and all the backgrounds that could mimic the monoenergetic conversion electron signal. Second, it is necessary to normalize the signal events accurately. The normalization of the signal events is planned to be done using a detector system made of an HPGe detector and a Lanthanum Bromide detector, which will measure the rate of muons stopped on the aluminum target by looking at the emitted characteristic X-and γ-rays of energies up to 1809 keV. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate the detector system's performance before the start of the actual experiment. In this study, the first task was addressed by an extensive campaign of Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the relevant parameters and their impact on the experiment's sensitivity. The second task was handled by taking advantage of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) pulsed Bremsstrahlung photon beam at the ELBE facility. The detector system was tested at the ELBE facility under timing and background conditions similar to the ones expected at the Mu2e experiment. The study presents and discusses the simulation results and the detector system testing campaign.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2026

SBND Shower Reconstruction with SPINE

The Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND) is a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) neutrino detector in the Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) program at Fermilab. SBND is designed to investigate the Low-Energy Excess (LEE), an unexplained excess of electron-like events observed by previous short-baseline neutrino experiments that may point to physics beyond the Standard Model. In LArTPC detectors, precise shower reconstruction is essential for distinguishing electrons from photons, a key requirement for testing possible explanations of the LEE and improving $\nu_e$ event selection. In this poster, the reconstruction studies using the Scalable Particle Imaging with Neural Embeddings (SPINE), a machine learning based reconstruction framework for particle imaging detectors will be presented. SPINE combines sparse convolutional neural networks (CNN) and graph neural networks (GNN) to enable detailed reconstruction and characterization of neutrino interactions in LArTPC detectors. Shower calorimetry and kinematic reconstruction are performed in dedicated post-processing stages. Strong agreement between data and Monte Carlo simulation will be demonstrated, indicating high-precision detector calibration and reconstruction performance. The agreement between reconstructed and true electron shower energy will also be discussed, emphasizing the robustness of the shower reconstruction performance. These results demonstrate the unprecedented precision achievable with SPINE in SBND, highlighting their potential for future high-resolution neutrino measurements.

Fan, Castaly [Florida U.; Fermilab] (ORCID:0000000↗
DOE OSTI2023

Diffused trenches for high fill-factor Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes

Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes (LGADs) are a class of silicon detectors that have been specifically designed for the fast detection of minimum ionizing particles (mips) in High-Energy Physics experiments. While they provide timing resolution on the order of a few tens of picoseconds, they cannot achieve high spatial resolution due to the intrinsic characteristics of their structures. Thus, active R&D is on-going to develop detectors based on LGADs to improve their spatial resolution while maintaining the timing performance of the LGADs. Such devices are, for example, AC-coupled LGADs and Deep-Junction LGADs. Another device option is the Trench-Isolated LGAD (TI LGAD), where trenches etched at the periphery of the pixels isolate them while providing a high fill-factor. Here, in this paper, we present a variation of this latter approach, demonstrating its feasibility by means of 2-dimensional TCAD simulations.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

A new metrics framework for quantifying and intercomparing atmospheric rivers in observations, reanalyses, and climate models

We present a new atmospheric river (AR) analysis and benchmarking tool, namely Atmospheric River Metrics Package (ARMP). It includes a suite of new AR metrics that are designed for quick analysis of AR characteristics via statistics in gridded climate datasets such as model output and reanalysis. This package can be used for climate model evaluation in comparison with reanalysis and observational products. Integrated metrics such as mean bias and spatial pattern correlation are efficient for diagnosing systematic AR biases in climate models. For example, the package identifies the fact that, in CMIP5 and CMIP6 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phases 5 and 6) models, AR tracks in the South Atlantic are positioned farther poleward compared to ERA5 reanalysis, while in the South Pacific, tracks are generally biased towards the Equator. For the landfalling AR peak season, we find that most climate models simulate a completely opposite seasonal cycle over western Africa. This tool can also be used for identifying and characterizing structural differences among different AR detectors (ARDTs). For example, ARs detected with the Mundhenk algorithm exhibit systematically larger size, width, and length compared to the TempestExtremes (TE) method. The AR metrics developed from this work can be routinely applied for model benchmarking and during the development cycle to trace performance evolution across model versions or generations and set objective targets for the improvement of models. They can also be used by operational centers to perform near-real-time climate and extreme event impact assessments as part of their forecast cycle.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Fast neutron background characterization of the future Ricochet experiment at the ILL research nuclear reactor

Abstract The future Ricochet experiment aims at searching for new physics in the electroweak sector by providing a high precision measurement of the Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CENNS) process down to the sub-100 eV nuclear recoil energy range. The experiment will deploy a kg-scale low-energy-threshold detector array combining Ge and Zn target crystals 8.8 m away from the 58 MW research nuclear reactor core of the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France. Currently, the Ricochet Collaboration is characterizing the backgrounds at its future experimental site in order to optimize the experiment’s shielding design. The most threatening background component, which cannot be actively rejected by particle identification, consists of keV-scale neutron-induced nuclear recoils. These initial fast neutrons are generated by the reactor core and surrounding experiments (reactogenics), and by the cosmic rays producing primary neutrons and muon-induced neutrons in the surrounding materials. In this paper, we present the Ricochet neutron background characterization using $$^3$$ 3 He proportional counters which exhibit a high sensitivity to thermal, epithermal and fast neutrons. We compare these measurements to the Ricochet Geant4 simulations to validate our reactogenic and cosmogenic neutron background estimations. Eventually, we present our estimated neutron background for the future Ricochet experiment and the resulting CENNS detection significance. Our results show that depending on the effectiveness of the muon veto, we expect a total nuclear recoil background rate between 44 ± 3 and 9 ± 2 events/day/kg in the CENNS region of interest, i.e. between 50 eV and 1 keV. We therefore found that the Ricochet experiment should reach a statistical significance of 4.6 to 13.6 $$\sigma $$ σ for the detection of CENNS after one reactor cycle, when only the limiting neutron background is considered.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

MAGIS-100 environmental characterization and noise analysis

We investigate and analyze site specific systematics for the MAGIS-100 atomic interferometry experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. As atom interferometers move out of the laboratory environment passive and active mitigation for noise sources must be implemented. To inform the research and development of the experiment design, we measure ambient temperature, humidity, and vibrations of the installation site. We find that temperature fluctuations will necessitate enclosures for critical subsystems and a temperature controlled laser room for the laser system. We also measure and analyze the vibration spectrum above and below ground for the installation site. The seismic vibration effect of gravity gradient noise is also modeled using input from a low-noise seismometer at multiple locations and a mitigation scheme is studied using a stochastic simulation and characterized by a suppression factor.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Demonstration of neutron time-of-flight diffraction with an event-mode imaging detector

Neutron diffraction beamlines have traditionally relied on deploying large detector arrays of 3 He tubes or neutron-sensitive scintillators coupled with photomultipliers to efficiently probe crystallographic and microstructure information of a given material. Given the large upfront cost of custom-made data acquisition systems and the recent scarcity of 3 He, new diffraction beamlines or upgrades to existing ones demand innovative approaches. This paper introduces a novel Timepix3-based event-mode imaging neutron diffraction detector system as well as first results of a silicon powder diffraction measurement made at the HIPPO neutron powder diffractometer at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. Notably, these initial measurements were conducted simultaneously with the 3 He array on HIPPO, enabling direct comparison. Data reduction for this type of data was implemented in the MAUD code, enabling Rietveld analysis. Results from the Timepix3-based setup and HIPPO were benchmarked against McStas simulations, showing good agreement for peak resolution. With further development, systems such as the one presented here may substantially reduce the cost of detector systems for new neutron instrumentation as well as for upgrades of existing beamlines.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Abatement of ionizing radiation for superconducting quantum devices

Ionizing radiation has been shown to reduce the performance of superconducting quantum circuits. In this report, we evaluate the expected contributions of different sources of ambient radioactivity for typical superconducting qubit experiment platforms. Our assessment of radioactivity inside a typical cryostat highlights the importance of selecting appropriate materials for the experiment components nearest to qubit devices, such as packaging and electrical interconnects. We present a shallow underground facility (30-meter water equivalent) to reduce the flux of cosmic rays and a lead shielded cryostat to abate the naturally occurring radiogenic gamma-ray flux in the laboratory environment. We predict that superconducting qubit devices operated in this facility could experience a reduced rate of correlated multi-qubit errors by a factor of approximately 20 relative to the rate in a typical above-ground, unshielded facility. Finally, we outline overall design improvements that would be required to further reduce the residual ionizing radiation rate, down to the limit of current generation direct detection dark matter experiments.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Expected ${\boldsymbol H \xrightarrow{} {\boldsymbol{\mu^+\mu^-}}} $ measurement precision with ${\boldsymbol { e^{+}e^{-}}{\bf \xrightarrow{}}{ \boldsymbol{Z(q\bar{q})H}}}$ production at the CEPC *

Here, a search for the dimuon decay of the Standard Model Higgs boson is performed using Monte Carlo simulated events to mimic data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.6 ab -1 collected with the Circular Electron-Positron Collider detector in e + e - collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ =240 GeV. This study investigates the e + e - →ZH, Z → $q\bar{q}$, H → μ + μ - process, and the expected significance considering only the statistical uncertainty in the data for a background-only hypothesis for a Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV is found to be 6.1 σ, corresponding to a precision of 19%. The systematic impacts from the background Monte Carlo statistical fluctuations are estimated to be negligible. Moreover, the dependence of the measurement accuracy on the muon momentum resolution of the CEPC detector is investigated. It is found that the muon momentum resolution must be better than 204 MeV to discover the H →μμ process at the nominal integrated luminosity. If the resolution is 100% worse than the designed parameter, the integrated luminosity must be greater than 7.2 ab -1 to reach 5σ significance.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Multiplicity trigger detector for the S π RIT experiment

A multiplicity trigger detector (MTD) was developed for the SπRIT experiment that aims to probe the high- density symmetry energy via heavy-ion collisions (HICs). The MTD is designed to measure the charged-particle multiplicity in HICs to provide a trigger signal that can be used to select high-multiplicity events induced by central collisions. The MTD consists of two side-walls segmented into 30 plastic scintillation paddles, each equipped with a multi-pixel photon counter. A custom board with EASIROC front-end ASIC is used as readout electronics. A multiplicity logic signal is generated by an on-board FPGA that processes the discriminated signals from EASIROCs. The overall latency of the whole detector system for outputting the trigger is less than 100 ns, including 52 ns of electronics latency for processing the signals. During the measurement of 112 Sn + 124 Sn reactions at an incident energy of 270 MeV/nucleon, the minimum multiplicity threshold of the MTD was set to 4, where the overall trigger efficiency was obtained to be about 39 % for inclusive nuclear reactions. Furthermore, a simulation study with a numerical calculation of HICs found that the central collisions of impact parameters of less than 4 fm can be triggered with a high efficiency of more than 95 % by the experimental trigger condition.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Application of the Rossi-alpha method to simulations of HEU and organic scintillators

The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook contains thousands of high-quality benchmark measurements that include detailed descriptions of experiment designs and exhaustive accounting of uncertainties. These benchmarks are used extensively by the criticality safety and nuclear data communities. A subcritical benchmark involving bare, highly enriched uranium (HEU) has yet to be accepted to the handbook. The Measurement of Uranium Subcritical and Critical (MUSiC) was proposed to address this gap. MUSiC will be performed at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) and will leverage bare HEU hemisphere shells that can be assembled in a variety of configurations. The measurement has the following key benefits: it will be the first set of fast, subcritical measurements of HEU to be submitted to ICSBEP; ten configurations will be measured spanning from nearly no multiplication to critical (e.g., it is a measurement of similar systems with different re activities); measurements of an all-HEU system will be of value for nuclear data validation, providing results that assist in determining biases in both measurements and simulations. A variety of detector systems will be used including a Neutron Multiplicity Array Detector (NoMAD) system (similar to the MC-15), four small volume 0.635 cm (#8960;) × 7.59 cm 3He detectors (ideal for measuring prompt neutron decay constants due to their fast recovery speed), and an array of eight 5.08 cm (#8960;) × 5.08 cm EJ-309 organic scintillator detectors. The focus of this work is the simulation of the subcritical MUSiC configurations including the EJ-309 detectors and the application of the Rossi-α method. The EJ-309 organic scintillator detector array is a new detection system that will be deployed at NCERC. Organic scintillators are ideal for measurements of fast, subcritical systems due to their short time response on the order of nanoseconds.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Measurement of Neutron Multiplicity in Charged Current Neutrino Interactions on Oxygen

The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) is a 26-ton gadolinium-doped water Cherenkov detector located 100~meters downstream in the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). Its primary goals are to (1) measure the neutron yield from $\nu_\mu$ interactions as a function of momentum transfer $Q^2$ so that neutrino-nucleus interaction models can be better constrained, and (2) demonstrate the power of novel, fast-timing detectors with the first deployment of Large Area Picosecond PhotoDetectors (LAPPDs). Current knowledge of neutrino-nucleus interactions fall short in modeling the topologies of such interactions, leading to inaccurate reconstruction of event kinematics such as particle energy, direction, and vertex. As a consequence, the accuracy of cross section measurements is impacted, which is necessary for precise physics measurements. Neutrons are an indication of inelasticity and affect the determination of the energy of the parent neutrino. Quantifying the neutron yield is a step towards reducing the associated uncertainties, and thus improving our understanding of these complex interactions and benefiting the next generation of long-baseline neutrino experiments. ANNIE will make use of LAPPDs to measure neutron multiplicity of CC-0$\pi$ $\nu_\mu$ interactions on oxygen, making it the first experiment to deploy an array of these photodetectors. Because the LAPPD is a novel photodetection technology, much customization is required to integrate it into existing electronics. The first half of this thesis covers the significant progress made towards the first deployment of the LAPPD system. From its test stand at Fermilab, the LAPPD system was systematically tested and put together until deployment readiness was achieved. I present my contributions to the design, fabrication, and testing of the waterproof housing and cables, and the commissioning of the LVHV board that powers the LAPPD and its readout electronics. These efforts brought the LAPPD system significantly closer to deployment, and eventually first data. The second half of this thesis presents the vertex and energy reconstruction algorithms developed to analysis the beam data with PMT-only information. While much progress has been made towards the deployment of LAPPDs, with several in the detector tank, efforts to integrate the LAPPD datastream are in progress. Thus, I developed a ring edge detection technique using PMT data to fit the muon vertex and determine its energy. The analysis in this thesis finds average neutron yields of $\Bar{n}_{data} = 0.452 \pm 0.039 (\text{stat}) \pm 0.27 (\text{sys})$ for a selection of muon neutrino candidates in the fiducial volume of ANNIE and corrected with an averaged neutron detection efficiency. An equivalent analysis for simulated beam data results in an average neutron yield of $\Bar{n}_{MC} = 0.582 \pm 0.018 (\text{stat}) \pm 0.25 (\text{sys})$. Future work includes application of efficiency corrections at a positional level, quantification of all systematic uncertainties, and neutron multiplicity measurements with other event topologies.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Design and development of optical modules for the BUTTON-30 detector

BUTTON-30 is a neutrino detector demonstrator located in the STFC Boulby underground facility in the north-east of England. The main goal of the project is to deploy and test the performance of the gadolinium-loaded water-based liquid scintillator for neutrino detection in an underground environment. This will pave the way for a future large-volume neutrino observatory that can also perform remote monitoring of nuclear reactors for nonproliferation. This paper describes the design and construction of the watertight optical modules of the experiment.

COMSOL simulations↗
DOE OSTI2026

Bayesian Exploration and Surrogate Emulation of Nonlinear Beam-Response Geometry in the LBNF Beamline

Next-generation long-baseline neutrino experiments aim to achieve multi-MW proton beam power while reducing accelerator-induced systematic uncertainties. At Fermilab, the LBNF beamline is designed for 1.2 MW operation with PIP-II and is upgradeable to 2.4 MW. DUNE will probe the three-flavor neutrino paradigm and search for CP violation, requiring precise neutrino-flux normalization and improved control of accelerator-related uncertainties. Within the LBNF beamline, the System for On-Axis Neutrino Detection (SAND) will constrain flux uncertainties using precision near-detector measurements, while the Muon Monitor System (MuMS) will provide beamline diagnostics sensitive to the proton beam, target, and horn configuration. However, the pion phase space relevant for DUNE depends simultaneously on many correlated parameters, including beam centroid, beam width, horn current and alignment, target position, optics shifts, and radiation-induced changes. Consequently, MuMS observables exhibit nonlinear and coupled responses that are difficult to characterize using traditional one-parameter scans. To address this challenge, we are developing a Bayesian Exploration framework coupled to physics-informed surrogate emulators trained on Geant4 beamline simulations. Gaussian-process emulators provide both fast predictions and uncertainty estimates, enabling adaptive selection of new simulation points in beam-parameter space. As an initial demonstration, we construct surrogate emulators for MuMS response observables using a verified simulation campaign spanning proton-beam steering conditions. The emulators reproduce the simulated dependence of MuMS centroid and gradient observables while providing predictive uncertainties, and serve as the foundation for future multidimensional exploration including beam width, horn current, and additional beamline parameters. This work establishes a framework for uncertainty-aware beam monitoring, adaptive simulation campaigns, and rapid beam-response inference for future DUNE operations.

Ganguly, Sudeshna [Fermilab] (ORCID:00000003163482↗
DOE OSTI2021

Thermonuclear neutron emission from a sheared-flow stabilized Z-pinch

We report the fusion Z-pinch experiment (FuZE) is a sheared-flow stabilized Z-pinch designed to study the effects of flow stabilization on deuterium plasmas with densities and temperatures high enough to drive nuclear fusion reactions. Results from FuZE show high pinch currents and neutron emission durations thousands of times longer than instability growth times. While these results are consistent with thermonuclear neutron emission, energetically resolved neutron measurements are a stronger constraint on the origin of the fusion production. This stems from the strong anisotropy in energy created in beam-target fusion, compared to the relatively isotropic emission in thermonuclear fusion. In dense Z-pinch plasmas, a potential and undesirable cause of beam-target fusion reactions is the presence of fast-growing, “sausage” instabilities. This work introduces a new method for characterizing beam instabilities by recording individual neutron interactions in plastic scintillator detectors positioned at two different angles around the device chamber. Histograms of the pulse-integral spectra from the two locations are compared using detailed Monte Carlo simulations. These models infer the deuteron beam energy based on differences in the measured neutron spectra at the two angles, thereby discriminating beam-target from thermonuclear production. An analysis of neutron emission profiles from FuZE precludes the presence of deuteron beams with energies greater than 4.65 keV with a statistical uncertainty of 4.15 keV and a systematic uncertainty of 0.53 keV. This analysis demonstrates that axial, beam-target fusion reactions are not the dominant source of neutron emission from FuZE. These data are promising for scaling FuZE up to fusion reactor conditions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

The ATLAS Fast TracKer system

The ATLAS Fast TracKer (FTK) was designed to provide full tracking for the ATLAS high-level trigger by using pattern recognition based on Associative Memory (AM) chips and fitting in high-speed field programmable gate arrays. The tracks found by the FTK are based on inputs from all modules of the pixel and silicon microstrip trackers. The as-built FTK system and components are described, as is the online software used to control them while running in the ATLAS data acquisition system. Also described is the simulation of the FTK hardware and the optimization of the AM pattern banks. An optimization for long-lived particles with large impact parameter values is included. A test of the FTK system with the data playback facility that allowed the FTK to be commissioned during the shutdown between Run 2 and Run 3 of the LHC is reported. The resulting tracks from part of the FTK system covering a limited $\eta$-$\phi$ region of the detector are compared with the output from the FTK simulation. It is shown that FTK performance is in good agreement with the simulation.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron InteractionExperiment: Design, Construction and Preparationfor First Physics

This thesis covers work performed for the Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) between 2015 and 2020. ANNIE is a beamline neutrino experiment located at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Chicago. Its primary physics goals are the measurement of neutrino interaction cross-sections on oxygen, and a measurement of the multiplicity of final state neutrons from these interactions, both as functions of final state kinematics. In order to achieve these goals ANNIE will be pioneering the use of Large Area Picosecond Photodetectors and the use of gadolinium doping to enhance neutron visibility in a water Cherenkov detector. Over the time period of this thesis the ANNIE detector was constructed, an initial 'Phase I' background run was completed, the detector was decommissioned and then substantially upgraded in preparation for the main 'Phase II' physics run. At the time of writing ANNIE is being re-commissioned, with Phase II data taking anticipated to begin in 2021. During this time I spent 21/2 years on-site contributing to almost all aspects of hardware work, while performing software development for the simulation and analysis frameworks. As my first software task I developed Monte Carlo simulations of the detector response, based on the WCSim framework. While thismore » framework provided a starting point for the tank simulation significant modifications were required to implement the complete ANNIE detector system. This included a rewrite of the geometry, along with modifications to the photosensor definitions, hit collections, digitization, triggering, input and output interfaces, etc. To take advantage of improved modelling of neutrons in Geant4.10 the physics lists were also reimplemented in the new version format. As part of this work I determined performance metrics based on the output files, calculating kinematic acceptance, detector efficiency and expected event rates. My contributions on reconstruction focused primarily on the MRD, for which I implemented two track reconstruction algorithms, specialised for high and low energy muons. The high energy algorithm achieves >90% efficiency for tracks with at least 8 hits, and is robust against dead paddles and unrelated hits. The low energy algorithm performs a search in combination with tank information to provide sensitivity down to a single MRD hit. Early data handling work for the Phase I background run included writing the code for handling TDC hits and performing studies on neutron detection without the requirement of multi-hit coincidence. As the collaboration moved to a new framework for the Phase II analysis I performed a substantial amount of work to develop the codebase, implementing tools to perform tasks such as file IO, data parsing, waveform processing, event building, timestamp alignment, time clustering, hit residual calculation, event visualisation etc. I helped develop the python API for integrating multi-language tools, and ported the framework into a Singularity container to provide a self-contained environment that…« less

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗