Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “astroparticles”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Radon assay and purification techniques

Radon is a source of background in many astroparticle physics experiments searching for rare low energy events. In this paper an overview about radon in the field is given including radon detection techniques, radon sources and material screening with respect to radon emanation. Finally, also the problem of long-lived radioactive {sup 222}Rn-daughters and the question of gas purification from radon is addressed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2013

Water purification in Borexino

Astroparticle Physics and Underground experiments searching for rare nuclear events, need high purity materials to act as detectors or detector shielding. Water has the advantage of being cheap, dense and easily available. Most of all, water can be purified to the goal of obatining a high level of radiopurity. Water Purification can be achieved by means of a combination of processes, including filtration, reverse osmosis, deionization and gas stripping. The Water Purification System for the Borexino experiment, will be described together with its main performances.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Noise and spurious pulses for Cherenkov light detection with 10-inch and 3-inch photomultipliers

A large number of large photocathode area photomultipliers are widely used in astroparticle physics detectors to measure Cherenkov light in media like water or ice. In neutrino telescopes the key element of the detector is the optical module, which consists of one or more photodetectors inside a transparent pressure-resistant glass sphere. The glass sphere serves as mechanical protection while ensuring good light transmission. The performance of the telescope is largely dependent on the presence of noise pulses present on the anode of the photomultipliers. A study was conducted of noise pulses of Hamamatsu 10-inch and 3-inch diameter photomultipliers measuring time and charge distributions of dark pulses, pre-pulses, delayed pulses, and after-pulses. In particular, an analysis on multiple after-pulses was performed on both photomultiplier models. A digital oscilloscope was used to acquire all the pulses after the main pulse during a time window of 16μs for an off-line analysis to determine the charge and time spectra and a correlation between the arrival times and the charge of each after-pulse.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

On the origin of high-energy cosmic neutrinos

Recently, the IceCube collaboration made a big announcement of the first discovery of high-energy cosmic neutrinos. Their origin is a new interesting mystery in astroparticle physics, but the present data may give us hints of connection to cosmic-ray and/or gamma-ray sources. We will look over possible scenarios for the cosmic neutrino signal, and emphasize the importance of multimessenger approaches in order to identify the PeV neutrino sources and get crucial clues to the cosmic-ray origin. We also discuss some possibilities to study neutrino properties and probe new physics.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Status and perspectives of neutrino physics at present and future experiments

Neutrino Physics and Dark Matter searches play a crucial role in nowadays Particle and Astroparticle Physics. The present review paper will describe general properties of neutrinos and neutrino mass phenomenology (Dirac and Majorana masses). Space will be dedicated to the experimental attempts to answer the question of the neutrino mass hierarchy. We will give, then, a short review of the results of part of the experiments that have been running so far. We will also shortly summarize future experiments that plan to explore this very wide scientific area.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2013

Are IceCube neutrinos unveiling PeV-scale decaying dark matter?

Recent observations by IceCube, notably two PeV cascades accompanied by events at energies ∼ (30–400) TeV, are clearly in excess over atmospheric background fluxes and beg for an astroparticle physics explanation. Although some models of astrophysical accelerators can account for the observations within current statistics, intriguing features in the energy and possibly angular distributions of the events make worth exploring alternatives. Here, we entertain the possibility of interpreting the data with a few PeV mass scale decaying dark matter, with lifetime of the order of 10{sup 27} s. We discuss generic signatures of this scenario, including its unique energy spectrum distortion with respect to the benchmark E{sub ν}{sup −2} expectation for astrophysical sources, as well as peculiar anisotropies. A direct comparison with the data show a good match with the above-mentioned features. We further discuss possible future checks of this scenario.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

IceCube events and decaying dark matter: hints and constraints

In the light of the new IceCube data on the (yet unidentified) astrophysical neutrino flux in the PeV and sub-PeV range, we present an update on the status of decaying dark matter interpretation of the events. In particular, we develop further the angular distribution analysis and discuss the perspectives for diagnostics. By performing various statistical tests (maximum likelihood, Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Anderson-Darling tests) we conclude that currently the data show a mild preference (below the two sigma level) for the angular distribution expected from dark matter decay vs. the isotropic distribution foreseen for a conventional astrophysical flux of extragalactic origin. Also, we briefly develop some general considerations on heavy dark matter model building and on the compatibility of the expected energy spectrum of decay products with the IceCube data, as well as with existing bounds from gamma-rays. Alternatively, assuming that the IceCube data originate from conventional astrophysical sources, we derive bounds on both decaying and annihilating dark matter for various final states. The lower limits on heavy dark matter lifetime improve by up to an order of magnitude with respect to existing constraints, definitively making these events—even if astrophysical in origin—an important tool for astroparticle physics studies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Muon lifetime measurement in Chiapas and the Escaramujo project

Escaramujo is a project with the goal of promote scientific development and integration regarding science for Latin America. It consists of a series of Laboratories and Workshops for High Energy Physics, astroparticle and instrumentation, given by Federico Izraelevitch. Escaramujo has been conduced at several institutions in Latin America. In this work, the moun mean lifetime measurements performed during the workshop held in Chiapas are presented. Furthermore, the results are compared with the corresponding value reported by the Particle Data Group (PDG).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Charge trapping correction and energy performance of the Majorana Demonstrator

P-type point contact (PPC) high-purity germanium detectors are an important technology in astroparticle and nuclear physics due to their superb energy resolution, low noise, and pulse shape discrimination capabilities. Analysis of data from the Majorana Demonstrator, a neutrinoless double-β decay experiment deploying PPC detectors enriched in 76 Ge, has led to several novel improvements in the analysis of PPC signals. Here, in this work we discuss charge trapping in PPC detectors and its effect on energy resolution. Small dislocations or impurities in the crystal lattice result in trapping of charge carriers from an ionization event of interest, attenuating the signal, and degrading the measured energy. We present a modified digital pole-zero correction to the signal energy estimation that counters the effects of charge trapping and improves the energy resolution of the Majorana Demonstrator by approximately 30 % to around 2.4 keV full width at half-maximum at 2039 keV, the 76 Ge Q value. An alternative approach achieving similar resolution enhancement is also presented.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Ultrahigh-energy tau neutrino cross sections with GRAND and POEMMA

Next-generation neutrino experiments will push the limits in our understanding of astroparticle physics in the neutrino sector to energies orders of magnitude higher than the current state-of-the-art high-energy neutrino experiment, IceCube. These experiments will use neutrinos to tell us about the most extreme environments in the Universe while simultaneously leveraging these extreme environments as probes of neutrino properties at the highest energies accessible in the foreseeable future: $E \sim 10^9$ GeV. At these energies neutrinos are readily absorbed in Earth. Assuming an isotropic distribution, by looking at how the flux varies as a function of the angle through Earth, we show here that it is possible to extract the $ν_τ$-N cross section with precision at the ~20% level (1σ assuming Wilks' theorem) given $N_{events} \sim 100$ events.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2013

High intensity neutrino oscillation facilities in Europe

The EUROnu project has studied three possible options for future, high intensity neutrino oscillation facilities in Europe. The first is a Super Beam, in which the neutrinos come from the decay of pions created by bombarding targets with a 4 MW proton beam from the CERN High Power Superconducting Proton Linac. The far detector for this facility is the 500 kt MEMPHYS water Cherenkov, located in the Fréjus tunnel. The second facility is the Neutrino Factory, in which the neutrinos come from the decay of μ + and μ – beams in a storage ring. The far detector in this case is a 100 kt magnetized iron neutrino detector at a baseline of 2000 km. The third option is a Beta Beam, in which the neutrinos come from the decay of beta emitting isotopes, in particular 6 He and 18 Ne, also stored in a ring. The far detector is also the MEMPHYS detector in the Fréjus tunnel. EUROnu has undertaken conceptual designs of these facilities and studied the performance of the detectors. Based on this, it has determined the physics reach of each facility, in particular for the measurement of CP violation in the lepton sector, and estimated the cost of construction. These have demonstrated that the best facility to build is the Neutrino Factory. Furthermore, if a powerful proton driver is constructed for another purpose or if the MEMPHYS detector is built for astroparticle physics, the Super Beam also becomes very attractive.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2015

A SIMPLE Bubble Chamber for Dark Matter Searches: Testing and Development

SIMPLE (Superheated Instrument for Massive Particle Experiments) is one of only three experiments worldwide in search of evidence of astroparticle dark matter (WIMPs) using halocarbon-loaded superheated liquid (SHL) detectors. The 2012 Phase II SIMPLE measurements yielded the most restrictive exclusion contour in the spin-dependent (SD) sector of WIMP-proton interactions from a direct search experiment at the time, overlapping for the first time results previously obtained only indirectly [1]. In order to remain competitive with other experiments in the field, the next phase measurement requires larger exposure over shorter observation times with significantly improved neutron shielding. To increase exposure, SIMPLE plans, as a first step, to replace its superheated droplet detectors (SDDs), each containing an active mass of about 15 g of halocarbon, with bubble chambers capable of holding up to 20 kg of active halocarbon mass. We report on the development of the first 1 kg halocarbon SIMPLE bubble chamber prototype, including chamber recompression system design and testing and initial acoustic detection of bubble formation. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Physics at the e⁺e⁻ linear collider

A comprehensive review of physics at an e⁺e⁻ linear collider in the energy range of √s = 92 GeV–3 TeV is presented in view of recent and expected LHC results, experiments from low-energy as well as astroparticle physics. The report focuses in particular on Higgs-boson, top-quark and electroweak precision physics, but also discusses several models of beyond the standard model physics such as supersymmetry, little Higgs models and extra gauge bosons. The connection to cosmology has been analysed as well.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

First operation of the KATRIN experiment with tritium

The determination of the neutrino mass is one of the major challenges in astroparticle physics today. Direct neutrino mass experiments, based solely on the kinematics of β -decay, provide a largely model-independent probe to the neutrino mass scale. The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment is designed to directly measure the effective electron antineutrino mass with a sensitivity of 0.2 eV (90 % CL). In this work we report on the first operation of KATRIN with tritium which took place in 2018. During this commissioning phase of the tritium circulation system, excellent agreement of the theoretical prediction with the recorded spectra was found and stable conditions over a time period of 13 days could be established. These results are an essential prerequisite for the subsequent neutrino mass measurements with KATRIN in 2019.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Scientific program for the Forward Physics Facility

The recent direct detection of neutrinos at the LHC has opened a new window on high-energy particle physics and highlighted the potential of forward physics for groundbreaking discoveries. In the last year, the physics case for forward physics has continued to grow, and there has been extensive work on defining the Forward Physics Facility and its experiments to realize this physics potential in a timely and cost-effective manner. Following a 2-page Executive Summary, we first present the status of the FPF, beginning with the FPF’s unique potential to shed light on dark matter, new particles, neutrino physics, QCD, and astroparticle physics. We then summarize the current designs for the Facility and its experiments, FASER2, FASER 2, FORMOSA, and FLArE.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Horava-Lifshitz Theory and Applications to Cosmology and Astrophysics

This final report describes the activities of the Baylor University Gravity, Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (GCAP) group on the project: Horava-Lifshitz Theory and Applications to Cosmology and Astrophysics, during the time, August 15, 2010 - August 14, 2014. We are grateful for the financial support provided by the U.S. Department of Energy for this research, which leads to our exceptional success. We are very proud to say that we have achieved all the goals set up in our project and made significant contributions to the understanding of the field. In particular, with this DOE support, we have published 38 articles in the prestigious national/international journals, which have already received about 1000 citations so far.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Roadmap for the international, accelerator-based neutrino programme

In line with its terms of reference the ICFA Neutrino Panel has developed a roadmap for the international, accelerator-based neutrino programme. A "roadmap discussion document" was presented in May 2016 taking into account the peer-group-consultation described in the Panel's initial report. The "roadmap discussion document" was used to solicit feedback from the neutrino community---and more broadly, the particle- and astroparticle-physics communities---and the various stakeholders in the programme. The roadmap, the conclusions and recommendations presented in this document take into account the comments received following the publication of the roadmap discussion document. With its roadmap the Panel documents the approved objectives and milestones of the experiments that are presently in operation or under construction. Approval, construction and exploitation milestones are presented for experiments that are being considered for approval. The timetable proposed by the proponents is presented for experiments that are not yet being considered formally for approval. Based on this information, the evolution of the precision with which the critical parameters governinger the neutrino are known has been evaluated. Branch or decision points have been identified based on the anticipated evolution in precision. The branch or decision points have in turn been used to identify desirable timelines for the neutrino-nucleus cross section and hadro-production measurements that are required to maximise the integrated scientific output of the programme. The branch points have also been used to identify the timeline for the R&D required to take the programme beyond the horizon of the next generation of experiments. The theory and phenomenology programme, including nuclear theory, required to ensure that maximum benefit is derived from the experimental programme is also discussed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗