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At least 433 records · Page 24

Hadron Physics with CLAS12

Hadron spectroscopy has been an essential part of the physics program with the CLAS detector in experimental Hall B at Jefferson Lab. Production of baryon and meson resonances with high energy (polarized) electron and photon beams was studied on a veriety of targets, ranging from hydrogen to lead. Physics topics of interest include: investigation of the spectrum of baryon and meson resonances, transition form-factors, meson-nucleon couplings (mesons in nuclei), and search for exotic and missing states. With the 12 GeV upgrade of the CEBAF machine, hadron spectroscopy in Hall B will be extended to a new domain of higher mass resonances and the range of higher transferred momentum using up to 11 GeV electron beams and the upgraded CLAS12 detector. In this paper a brief description of the CLAS12 detector and the physics program adopted for 12 GeV with emphasis to baryon and meson spectroscopy is presented.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Listening for new physics with quantum acoustics

We present a novel application of a qubit-coupled phonon detector to search for new physics, e.g., ultralight dark matter (DM) and high-frequency gravitational waves. The detector, motivated by recent advances in quantum acoustics, is composed of superconducting transmon qubits coupled to high-overtone bulk acoustic resonators (ℎ⁡BARs) and operates in the GHz−10 GHz frequency range. New physics can excite 𝒪⁡(10 μ⁢eV) phonons within the ℎ⁡BAR, which are then converted to qubit excitations via a transducer. We detail the design, operation, backgrounds, and expected sensitivity of a prototype detector, as well as a next-generation detector optimized for new physics signals. We find that a future detector can complement current haloscope experiments in the search for both dark photon DM and high-frequency gravitational waves. Lastly, we comment on such a detector’s ability to operate as a 𝒪⁡(10 μ⁢eV) athermal phonon sensor for sub-GeV DM detection.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

White Rabbit Time Synchronization for Radiation Detector Readout Electronics

As radiation detector arrays in nuclear physics applications become larger and physically more separated, the time synchronization and trigger distribution between many channels of detector readout electronics become more challenging. Clocks and triggers are traditionally distributed through dedicated cabling, but newer methods such as the IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol and White Rabbit allow clock synchronization through the exchange of timing messages over Ethernet. Consequently, we report here the use of White Rabbit in a new detector readout module, the Pixie-Net XL. Herein, the White Rabbit core, data capture from multiple digitizing channels, and subsequent pulse processing for pulse height and constant fraction timing are implemented in a Kintex 7 FPGA. The detector data records include White Rabbit time stamps and are transmitted to storage through the White Rabbit core's gigabit Ethernet data path or a slower diagnostic/control link using an embedded Zynq processor. The performance is characterized by time-of-flight style measurements and by time correlation of high energy background events from cosmic showers in detectors separated by longer distances. Software for the Zynq processor can implement "software triggering", for example to limit recording of data to events where a minimum number of channels from multiple modules detect radiation at the same time.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Applications of Emerging Parallel Optical Link Technology to High Energy Physics Experiments

Modern particle detectors depend upon optical fiber links to deliver event data to upstream trigger and data processing systems. Future detector systems can benefit from the development of dense arrangements of high speed optical links emerging from the telecommunications and storage area network market segments. These links support data transfers in each direction at rates up to 120 Gbps in packages that minimize or even eliminate edge connector requirements. Emerging products include a class of devices known as optical engines which permit assembly of the optical transceivers in close proximity to the electrical interfaces of ASICs and FPGAs which handle the data in parallel electrical format. Such assemblies will reduce required printed circuit board area and minimize electromagnetic interference and susceptibility. We will present test results of some of these parallel components and report on the development of pluggable FPGA Mezzanine Cards equipped with optical engines to provide to collaborators on the Versatile Link Common Project for the HI-LHC at CERN.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Neutrino physics with multi-ton scale liquid xenon detectors

We study the sensitivity of large-scale xenon detectors to low-energy solar neutrinos, to coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering and to neutrinoless double beta decay. As a concrete example, we consider the xenon part of the proposed DARWIN (Dark Matter WIMP Search with Noble Liquids) experiment. We perform detailed Monte Carlo simulations of the expected backgrounds, considering realistic energy resolutions and thresholds in the detector. In a low-energy window of 2–30 keV, where the sensitivity to solar pp and {sup 7}Be-neutrinos is highest, an integrated pp-neutrino rate of 5900 events can be reached in a fiducial mass of 14 tons of natural xenon, after 5 years of data. The pp-neutrino flux could thus be measured with a statistical uncertainty around 1%, reaching the precision of solar model predictions. These low-energy solar neutrinos will be the limiting background to the dark matter search channel for WIMP-nucleon cross sections below ∼ 2 × 10{sup −48} cm{sup 2} and WIMP masses around 50 GeV⋅c{sup −2}, for an assumed 99.5% rejection of electronic recoils due to elastic neutrino-electron scatters. Nuclear recoils from coherent scattering of solar neutrinos will limit the sensitivity to WIMP masses below ∼ 6 GeV⋅c{sup −2} to cross sections above ∼ 4 × 10{sup −45}cm{sup 2}. DARWIN could reach a competitive half-life sensitivity of 5.6 × 10{sup 26} y to the neutrinoless double beta decay of {sup 136}Xe after 5 years of data, using 6 tons of natural xenon in the central detector region.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

UPR/Mayaguez High Energy Physics

This year the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (UPRM) High Energy Physics (HEP) group continued with the ongoing research program outlined in the grant proposal. The program is centered on the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the proton-proton (pp) collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. The main research focus is on data analysis and on the preparation for the High Luminosity (HL) LHC or experiment detector upgrade. The physics data analysis included Higgs Doublet Search and measurement of the (1) Λ 0 b branching fraction, (2) B meson mass, and (3) hyperon θ - b lifetime. The detector upgrade included work on the preparations for the Forward Pixel (FPIX) detector Silicon Sensor Testing in a production run at Fermilab. In addition, the group has taken responsibilities on the Software Release through our former research associate Dr. Eric Brownson who acted until last December as a Level Two Offline Manager for the CMS Upgrade. In support of the CMS data analysis activities carried out locally, the UPRM group has built and maintains an excellent Tier3 analysis center in Mayaguez. This allowed us to analyze large data samples and to continue the development of algorithms for the upgrade tracking robustness we started several years ago, and we plan to resume in the near future. This project involves computer simulation of the radiation damage to be suffered at the higher luminosities of the upgraded LHC. This year we continued to serve as a source of outstanding students for the field of high energy physics. Three of our graduate students finished their MS work in May, 2014, Their theses research were on data analysis of heavy quark b-physics. All of them are currently enrolled at Ph.D. physics program across the nation. One of them (Hector Moreno) at New Mexico University (Hector Moreno), one at University of New Hampshire (Sandra Santiesteban) and one at University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras (Carlos Malca). The students H. Moreno and C. Malca has been directly supervised by Dr. Mendez and S. Santiesteban supervised by Dr. Ramirez. During the last 13 years, our group have graduated 23 MS students on experimental High Energy Physics data analysis and applied hardware techniques. Most of the students have been supported by DOE grants, included this grant. Since 2001, Dr. Mendez have directly supervised eleven students, Dr. Ramirez three students and the former PI (Dr. Lopez) nine students. These theses work are fully documented in the group web page (http://charma.uprm.edu). The High Energy Physics group at Mayaguez is small and presently consists of three Physics faculty members, the Senior Investigators Dr. Hector Mendez (Professor) and Dr. Juan Eduardo Ramirez (Professor), and Dr. Sudhir Malik who was just hired in July 2014. Dr. Ramirez is in charge of the UPRM Tier-3 computing and will be building the network bandwidth infrastructure for the campus, while Dr. Mendez will continues his effort in finishing the heavy quark physics data analysis and moving to work on SUSY analysis for the 2015 data. Our last grant application in 2012 was awarded only for 2013-2014. As a result our postdoc position was lost last month of March. Since then, we have hired Dr. Malik as a new faculty in order to reinforce the group and to continue our efforts with the CMS experiment. Our plan is to hire another junior faculty in the next two years to strengthen the HEP group even further. Dr. Mendez continues with QuarkNet activities involving an ever larger group of high school physics teachers from all around Puerto Rico.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

High Energy Physics Research at Texas A&M University

The High Energy Physics Group at Texas A&M University is submitting this final report for our grant number DE-FG02-95ER40917. This grant has supported our wide range of research activities for over a decade. The reports contained here summarize the latest work done by our research team. Task A (Collider Physics Program): CMS & CDF Profs. T. Kamon, A. Safonov, and D. Toback co-lead the Texas A&M (TAMU) collider program focusing on CDF and CMS experiments. Task D: Particle Physics Theory Our particle physics theory task is the combined effort of Profs. B. Dutta, D. Nanopoulos, and C. Pope. Task E (Underground Physics): LUX & NEXT Profs. R. Webb and J. White(deceased) lead the Xenon-based underground research program consisting of two main thrusts: the first, participation in the LUX two-phase xenon dark matter search experiment and the second, detector R&D primarily aimed at developing future detectors for underground physics (e.g. NEXT and LZ).

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for periodic signals in the dielectron and diphoton invariant mass spectra using 139 fb -1 of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for physics beyond the Standard Model inducing periodic signals in the dielectron and diphoton invariant mass spectra is presented using 139 fb -1 of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Novel search techniques based on continuous wavelet transforms are used to infer the frequency of periodic signals from the invariant mass spectra and neural network classifiers are used to enhance the sensitivity to periodic resonances. In the absence of a signal, exclusion limits are placed at the 95% confidence level in the two-dimensional parameter space of the clock work gravity model. Model-independent searches for deviations from the background-only hypothesis are also performed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Physical Properties of Candidate X-ray Detector Material Rb 4 Ag 2 BiBr 9

Recently, metal halide perovskites have emerged as promising semiconductor candidates for sensitive X-ray photon detection due to their suitable band gap energies, excellent charge transport properties, and low material cost afforded by their low-temperature solution-processing preparation. Furthermore, we report an improved methodology for single crystal growth and thermal and electrical properties of a two-dimensional (2D) layered halide material Rb 4 Ag 2 BiBr 9 , which has been identified as a potential candidate for X-ray radiation detection applications. The measured heat capacity for Rb 4 Ag 2 BiBr 9 implies that there are no structural phase transitions upon cooling. Temperature dependence of thermal transport measurements further suggests remarkably low thermal conductivities of Rb 4 Ag 2 BiBr 9 that are comparable to the lowest reported in literature. The bulk crystal resistivity is determined to be 2.59 × 10 9 Ω·cm from the current–voltage (I–V) curve. Density of trap states is estimated to be ~10 10 cm –3 using the space-charge-limited-current measurements. The fabricated Rb 4 Ag 2 BiBr 9 -based X-ray detector shows good operational stability with no apparent current drift, which may be ascribed to the 2D crystal structure of Rb 4 Ag 2 BiBr 9 . Finally, by varying the X-ray tube current to change the corresponding dose rate, the Rb4Ag2BiBr9 X-ray detector sensitivity is determined to be 222.03 μC Gy –1 cm –2 (at an electric field of E = 24 V/mm).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Integration of the full-acceptance detector into the JLEIC

For physics requirements, the JLEIC (Jefferson Lab Electron Ion Collider) has a full-acceptance detector, which brings many new challenges to the beam dynamics integration. For example, asymmetric lattice and beam envelopes at interaction region (IR), forward detection, and large crossing angle with crab dynamics. Also some common problems complicate the picture, like coupling and coherent orbit from detector solenoid, high chromaticity and high multipole sensitivity from low beta-star at interaction point (IP), collision mode with different energy and ion species. Meanwhile, to get a luminosity level of a few 1033 cm-2sec-1, small ?* are necessary at the IP, which also means large ? in the final focus area, chromaticity correction sections, etc. This sets a constraint on the field quality of magnets in large beta areas, in order to ensure a large enough dynamic aperture (DA). In this context, limiting multipole components of magnets are surveyed to get a standard line. And continuously, multipole magnets as dedicated correctors are studied to provide semi-local corrections of specific multipole components beyond the standard line. This report will mention those contents.

Wei, G.H.↗

Development of a Lightweight Silicon Pixel Detector for CMS to Search for New Physics in the Top Quark Sector

The discovery of a Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is one of the greatest achievements of experimental particle physics and a triumph for theoretical physics, which culminates in the very successful standard model (SM). Currently the LHC collider provides particle collisions at highest possible energies of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV, opening a new energy domain. Little Higgs models predict a heavy top quark partner, T, which would cancel the aforementioned top quark loop contributions to the Higgs boson mass. This particle is predicted to have a mass near the TeV scale. We search for a "vector-like" top partner which is an electroweak singlet and has vector couplings to W and Z bosons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Evaluating the purity of a {sup 57}Co flood source by PET

Purpose: Flood sources of {sup 57}Co are commonly used for quality control of gamma cameras. Flood uniformity may be affected by the contaminants {sup 56}Co and {sup 58}Co, which emit higher energy photons. Although vendors specify a maximum combined {sup 56}Co and {sup 58}Co activity, a convenient test for flood source purity that is feasible in a clinical environment would be desirable. Methods: Both {sup 56}Co and {sup 58}Co emit positrons with branching 19.6% and 14.9%, respectively. As is known from {sup 90}Y imaging, a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner is capable of quantitatively imaging very weak positron emission in a high single-photon background. To evaluate this approach, two {sup 57}Co flood sources were scanned with a clinical PET/CT multiple times over a period of months. The {sup 56}Co and {sup 58}Co activity was clearly visible in the reconstructed PET images. Total impurity activity was quantified from the PET images after background subtraction of prompt gamma coincidences. Results: Time-of-flight PET reconstruction was highly beneficial for accurate image quantification. Repeated measurements of the positron-emitting impurities showed excellent agreement with an exponential decay model. For both flood sources studied, the fit parameters indicated a zero intercept and a decay half-life consistent with a mixture of {sup 56}Co and {sup 58}Co. The total impurity activity at the reference date was estimated to be 0.06% and 0.07% for the two sources, which was consistent with the vendor’s specification of <0.12%. Conclusions: The robustness of the repeated measurements and a thorough analysis of the detector corrections and physics suggest that the accuracy is acceptable and that the technique is feasible. Further work is needed to validate the accuracy of this technique with a calibrated high resolution gamma spectrometer as a gold standard, which was not available for this study, and for other PET detector models.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Searches for decays of new particles in the DUNE Multi-Purpose near Detector

One proposed component of the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) near detector complex is a multi-purpose, magnetized, gaseous argon time projection chamber: the Multi-Purpose Detector (MPD). We explore the new-physics potential of the MPD, focusing on scenarios in which the MPD is significantly more sensitive to new physics than a liquid argon detector, specifically searches for semi-long-lived particles that are produced in/near the beam target and decay in the MPD. The specific physics possibilities studied are searches for dark vector bosons mixing kinetically with the Standard Model hypercharge group, leptophilic vector bosons, dark scalars mixing with the Standard Model Higgs boson, and heavy neutral leptons that mix with the Standard Model neutrinos. We demonstrate that the MPD can extend existing bounds in most of these scenarios. We illustrate how the ability of the MPD to measure the momentum and charge of the final state particles leads to these bounds.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Determining Optimal Running Conditions for TinyTPC Detector

Liquid argon time projection chambers, (LArTPCs), are particle detectors used to collect ionization charge information from particle trajectories, facilitating detailed particle track analysis. They are currently used as particle detectors in major physics projects such as the deep underground neutrino experiment (DUNE), to detect and study the nature of the elusive neutrino particle. TinyTPC is a small scale LArTPC featuring a pixelated readout system (LArPix) that we will use to study liquid argon doping. We expect this doping to enhance the resolution of LAr detectors, especially for low energy particles below 10 MeV which would expand the capabilities of currently running experiments. Housed within a cryostat filled with liquid argon, the TinyTPC will rely on a high and a low voltage system to collect data. In preparation for deployment we found and resolved issues in the HV and LV systems and we determined optimal running conditions in a test vessel. This presentation will go over the detector commissioning process that enabled data taking with the TinyTPC.

Gonzalez, Rebecca↗

Theia: Summary of physics program. Snowmass White Paper Submission

Theia would be a novel, "hybrid" optical neutrino detector, with a rich physics program. This paper is intended to provide a brief overview of the concepts and physics reach of Theia. Full details can be found in the Theia white paper [1].

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Research in High Energy Physics at Duke University

This is the Closeout Report for the research grant in experimental elementary particle physics, carried out by the Duke University High Energy Physics (HEP) group. We report on physics results and detector development carried out under this grant, focusing on the recent three-year grant period (2010 to 2013). The Duke HEP group consisted of seven faculty members, two senior scientists, five postdocs and eight graduate students. There were three thrusts of the research program. Measurements at the energy frontier at CDF and ATLAS were used to test aspects of elementary particle theory described by the Standard Model (SM) and to search for new forces and particles beyond those contained within the SM. The neutrino sector was explored using data obtained from a large neutrino detector located in Japan, and R & D was conducted on new experiments to be built in the US. The measurements provided information about neutrino masses and the manner in which neutrinos change species in particle beams. Two years ago we have started a new research program in rare processes based on the Mu2E experiment at Fermilab. This research is motivated by the search for the $\mu \longrightarrow e$ transition with unprecedented sensitivity, a transition forbidden in the standard model but allowed in supersymmetric and other models of new physics. The high energy research program used proton and antiproton colliding beams. The experiments were done at the Fermilab Tevatron (proton-antiproton collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV) and at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (proton-proton collisions at 7-8 TeV). The neutrino program used data obtained from the Super-Kamiokande detector. This water-filled Cherenkov counter was used to detect and measure the properties of neutrinos produced in cosmic ray showers, and from neutrino beams produced from accelerators in Japan. The Mu2E experiment will use a special stopped muon beam to be built at Fermilab.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Research in High Energy Physics at Duke University

This is the Closeout Report for the research grant in experimental elementary particle physics, carried out by the Duke University High Energy Physics (HEP) group. We re- port on physics results and detector development carried out under this grant, focussing on the recent three-year grant period (2010 to 2013). The Duke HEP group consisted of seven faculty members, two senior scientists, five postdocs and eight graduate students. There were three thrusts of the research program. Measurements at the energy frontier at CDF and ATLAS were used to test aspects of elementary particle theory described by the Stan- dard Model (SM) and to search for new forces and particles beyond those contained within the SM. The neutrino sector was explored using data obtained from a large neutrino detector located in Japan, and R & D was conducted on new experiments to be built in the US. The measurements provided information about neutrino masses and the manner in which neutri- nos change species in particle beams. Two years ago we have started a new research program in rare processes based on the Mu2E experiment at Fermilab. This research is motivated by the search for the {mu} {yields} e transition with unprecedented sensitivity, a transition forbidden in the standard model but allowed in supersymmetric and other models of new physics. The high energy research program used proton and antiproton colliding beams. The experiments were done at the Fermilab Tevatron (proton-antiproton collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV) and at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (proton-proton collisions at 7-8 TeV). The neutrino program used data obtained from the Super-Kamiokande detector. This water-filled Cherenkov counter was used to detect and measure the properties of neutrinos produced in cosmic ray showers, and from neutrino beams produced from acceler- ators in Japan. The Mu2E experiment will use a special stopped muon beam to be built at Fermilab.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗