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At least 703 records · Page 39

Meteorological Aspects of Two Modes of Lightning Triggered Upward Lightning (LTUL) Events in Sprite-Producing MCSs

During the 2013 convective storm season, a high resolution 3-D Lightning Mapping Array was deployed to north central Kansas (Cummins et al, this conference.) In conjunction with fixed and mobile camera systems and electric field mills, this allowed for detailed investigations of lightning induced upward lighting (LTUL) discharges from tall objects in the region, including wind turbines. Also, concurrent observations using a network of low-light cameras deployed over the central U.S. as part of the PhOCAL program detected transient luminous events (TLEs) above the Kansas LMA (KSLMA). During the night of 29-30 May 2013, waves of precipitation associated with several large MCSs traversing Kansas moved through the KSLMA domain. We focus on two LTUL events that exemplify two modes of upward lightning production from tall structures. At 0859Z, 30 May 2013, a nearby + 92 kA CG, with extensive in-cloud branching passing overhead a wind farm, was followed by complex LTUL discharges from four turbines. In addition, a sprite was confirmed by the Bennett, CO SpriteNet camera. The parent flash covered a very large area. It initiated near the MCS convective leading line ~150 km to the south, and traveled into a stratiform precipitation maximum over the KSLMA. Typically when a +CG precedes an LTUL, the triggering component is either 1) the return stroke that traverses the leader network which initially forms near the towers or 2) new negative leader activity that develops once the return stroke reaches the end of the initial leader network that may not have initially been near the tower. In the latter case, the new leader development passes near the towers and triggers upward positive leaders similar to those associated with only an intracloud flash. The +CG return stroke may hit >10 km from the towers and the new leader development may travel extensive distances before getting close enough to the towers to trigger upward lightning. In this case, there was the typical long delay between the +CG return stroke and LTUL initiation (10s to 100s of ms). The parent lightning discharges for both sprites and LTULs have many common aspects and tend to occur in similar meteorological regimes, with the two phenomena often occurring together. An earlier LUTL, at 2320Z, 29 May 2013 was captured at 9900 fps by a Phantom camera in the PhOCAL mobile Lightning Investigation Vehicle (LIV). This discharge, exhibiting numerous recoil leaders, also occurred in a stratiform region some ~50-100 km north of an MCS convective core. While there was no preceding +CG, there was an extensive network of IC channels, one of which passed overhead close to the turbine. These observations are consistent with the ongoing UPLIGHTS studies of LTULs from tall towers in Rapid City. While a +CG is usually involved (~85% of the time), the LTUL occurs because of the associated extensive in cloud components passing over towers. The earlier case without a +CG typifies this second mode where the triggering component is a negative leader associated with the IC activity passing near the towers initiates the upward positive leaders. We will discuss the parent discharges, shown in their meteorological (radar and satellite) context, and attempt to better understand the charge structures present in both the convective and stratiform regions of the MCS. The sprite and its relationship to the parent discharge will similarly be discussed

Lyons, W. A.↗

Establishing a Disruptive New Capability for NASA to Fly UAV's into Hazardous Conditions

A 2015 NASA Aeronautics Mission "Seedling" Proposal is described for a Severe-Environment UAV (SE-UAV) that can perform in-situ measurements in hazardous atmospheric conditions like lightning, volcanic ash and radiation. Specifically, this paper describes the design of a proof-of-concept vehicle and measurement system that can survive lightning attachment during flight operations into thunderstorms. Elements from three NASA centers draw together for the SE-UAV concept. 1) The NASA KSC Genesis UAV was developed in collaboration with the DARPA Nimbus program to measure electric field and X-rays present within thunderstorms. 2) A novel NASA LaRC fiber-optic sensor uses Faraday-effect polarization rotation to measure total lightning electric current on an air vehicle fuselage. 3) NASA AFRC's state-of-the-art Fiber Optics and Systems Integration Laboratory is envisioned to transition the Faraday system to a compact, light-weight, all-fiber design. The SE-UAV will provide in-flight lightning electric-current return stroke and recoil leader data, and serve as a platform for development of emerging sensors and new missions into hazardous environments. NASA's Aeronautics and Science Missions are interested in a capability to perform in-situ volcanic plume measurements and long-endurance UAV operations in various weather conditions. (Figure 1 shows an artist concept of a SE-UAV flying near a volcano.) This paper concludes with an overview of the NASA Aeronautics Strategic Vision, Programs, and how a SE-UAV is envisioned to impact them. The SE-UAV concept leverages high-value legacy research products into a new capability for NASA to fly a pathfinder UAV into hazardous conditions, and is presented in the SPIE DSS venue to explore teaming, collaboration and advocacy opportunities outside NASA.

Ely, Jay↗

Use of Proton SEE Data as a Proxy for Bounding Heavy-Ion SEE Susceptibility

Although heavy-ion single-event effects (SEE) pose serious threats to semiconductor devices in space, many missions face difficulties testing such devices at heavy-ion accelerators. Low-cost missions often find such testing too costly. Even well funded missions face issues testing commercial off the shelf (COTS) due to packaging and integration. Some missions wish to fly COTS systems with little insight into their components. Heavy-ion testing such parts and systems requires access to expensive and hard-to-access ultra-high energy ion accelerators, or significant system modification. To avoid these problems, some have proposed using recoil ions from high-energy protons as a proxy to bound heavy-ion SEE rates.

reliability estimation↗

Tactile Data Entry System

The patent-pending Glove-Enabled Computer Operations (GECO) design leverages extravehicular activity (EVA) glove design features as platforms for instrumentation and tactile feedback, enabling the gloves to function as human-computer interface devices. Flexible sensors in each finger enable control inputs that can be mapped to any number of functions (e.g., a mouse click, a keyboard strike, or a button press). Tracking of hand motion is interpreted alternatively as movement of a mouse (change in cursor position on a graphical user interface) or a change in hand position on a virtual keyboard. Programmable vibro-tactile actuators aligned with each finger enrich the interface by creating the haptic sensations associated with control inputs, such as recoil of a button press.

Adams, Richard J.↗

Development of an Atom Interferometer Gravity Gradiometer for Earth Sciences

We report progress towards a prototype atom interferometer gravity gradiometer for Earth science studies from a satellite in low Earth orbit.The terrestrial prototype has a target sensitivity of 8 x 10(exp -2) E/Hz(sup 1/2) and consists of two atom sources running simultaneous interferometers with interrogation time T = 300 ms and 12 hk photon recoils, separated by a baseline of 2 m. By employing Raman side band cooling and magnetic lensing, we will generate atomic ensembles with N = 10(exp 6) atoms at a temperature of 3 nK. The sensitivity extrapolates to 7 x 10(exp -5) E/Hz(sup 1/2) in microgravity on board a satellite. Simulations derived from this sensitivity demonstrate a monthly time-variable gravity accuracy of 1 cm equivalent water height at 200 km resolution, yielding an improvement over GRACE by 1-2 orders of magnitude. A gravity gradiometer with this sensitivity would also benefit future planetary, lunar, and asteroidal missions.

Rakholia, A.↗

The Solar Neutron TRACking (SONTRAC) Instrument for the Detection of Fast Neutrons

The detection of fast neutrons has important applications in several fields including solar, Geospace and planetary physics. Neutrons are challenging to detect and measurements of them typically suffer from high background rates. High-energy neutrons (>50 MeV) pose even more challenges, because the traditional double-scatter technique based on a time-of-flight (ToF) measurement is limited by short flight paths and small detector sizes characteristic of small satellite platforms. It is now possible to perform high-energy neutron measurements inside a large monolithic detector by imaging the recoil proton tracks, thus eliminating the need for a measure of the time-of-flight. The concept is based on a spectrometer assembled from numerous thin hydrogenous scintillating fibers that allow ionization track imaging. Fine grained readout is now possible with arrays of1-mm pitch silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). The Solar Neutron TRACking (SONTRAC) instrument, equipped with scintillating fibers readout with SiPMs sensors, provides high-resolution, fine grained, imaging of fast (between 20-200 MeV) neutron scatters in a compact, low-power design ideal for small satellite(and aircraft) platforms. We discuss below applications of this technology and performance characteristics of the prototype SONTRAC instrument.

de Nolfo, Georgia A.↗

1D Projections Readout and Track Reconstruction for the SONTRAC Instrument

Neutron spectroscopy and imaging has improved considerably over the last decade with the advancement of modern scintillating materials and compact, low power readout devices. Though challenging to detect, fast (>0.5 MeV) neutrons are ubiquitous, contribute to the radiation exposure of astronauts and space hardware, and have been effectively used to examine physical processes both locally and within our heliosphere at large. The SOlar Neutron TRACking (SONTRAC) instrument is designed to measure neutrons between 20-200 MeV with good angular sensitivity. SONTRAC consists of orthogonally stacked scintillating fibers readout by silicon photomultipliers to detect and track the recoil protons from double scatter neutron events. Proton tracking provides high-resolution imaging of fast neutronsat energies where the bulk of solar and planetary neutrons resides. The SONTRAC readout system, algorithms for track reconstruction, and tracking performance are presented.

George Suarez↗

Anisotropy Measurements from the Near-Threshold Photodissociation of the N2−NO Complex

We have used velocity map ion imaging to measure the angular anisotropy of the NO (A) products from the photodissociation of the N 2 −NO complex. Our experiment ranged from 108 to 758 cm −1 above the threshold energy to form NO (A)+N 2 (X) products, and these measurements reveal, for the first time, a strong angular anisotropy from photodissociation. At 108 cm −1 above the photodissociation threshold, we observed NO (A) photoproducts recoil preferentially perpendicular to the laser polarization axis with an average anisotropy parameter, β = −0.25; however, as the available energy was increased, the anisotropy increased, and at 758 cm −1 above the threshold energy, we found an average β = +0.28. The observed changes in the angular anisotropy of the NO (A) photoproduct are qualitatively similar to those observed for the photodissociation of the Ar−NO complex and likely result from changes in the region of the excited state potential energy surface accessed during the electronic excitation. At the lowest available energy, we also noted a large contribution from hot band excitation; however, this contribution decreased as the available energy increased. The outsized contribution at the lowest available energy may result from hot bands having better Franck−Condon overlap with the excited electronic state near threshold. Finally, we contrast the experimental center of mass translational energy distribution with a statistical energy distribution determined from phase space theory. The experimental and statistical distributions show pronounced disagreement, particularly at low kinetic energies, with the experimental one showing less dissociation resulting in high rotational levels of the fragments.

Energy↗

Will LISA Detect Harmonic Gravitational Waves from Galactic Cosmic String Loops?

Rapid advancement in the observation of cosmic strings has been made in recent years placing increasingly stringent constraints on their properties, with $G\mu\lesssim 10^{-11}$ from Pulsar Timing Array (PTA). Cosmic string loops with low string tension clump in the Galaxy due to slow loop decay and low gravitational recoil, resulting in great enhancement to loop abundance in the Galaxy. With an average separation of down to just a fraction of a kpc, and the total power of gravitational wave (GW) emission dominated by harmonic modes spanning a wide angular scale, resolved loops located in proximity are powerful, persistent, and highly monochromatic sources of GW with a harmonic signature not replicated by any other sources, making them prime targets for direct detection by the upcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), whose frequency range is well-matched. Unlike detection of bursts where the detection rate scales with loop abundance, the detection rate for harmonic signal is the result of a complex interplay between the strength of GW emission, loop abundance, and other sources of noise, and is most suitably studied through numerical simulations. We develop a robust and flexible framework for simulating loops in the Galaxy for predicting direct detection of harmonic signal from resolved loops by LISA. Our simulation reveals that the most accessible region in the parameter space consists of large loops $\alpha=0.1$ with low tension $10^{-21}\lesssim G\mu\lesssim 10^{-19}$. Direct detection of field theory cosmic strings is unlikely, with the detection probability $p_{\mathrm{det}}\lesssim 2\%$ for a 1-year mission. An extension suggests that direct detection of cosmic superstrings with a low intercommutation probability is very promising. Searching for harmonic GW signal from resolved loops through LISA observations will potentially place physical constraints on string theory.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Results on low-mass weakly interacting massive particles from a 11 kg-day target exposure of DAMIC at SNOLAB

We present constraints on the existence of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) from a 11 kg-day target exposure of the DAMIC experiment at the SNOLAB underground laboratory. The observed energy spectrum and spatial distribution of ionization events with electron-equivalent energies $>$200 eV$_{\rm ee}$ in the DAMIC CCDs are consistent with backgrounds from natural radioactivity. An excess of ionization events is observed above the analysis threshold of 50 eV$_{\rm ee}$. While the origin of this low-energy excess requires further investigation, our data exclude spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering cross sections $\sigma_{\chi-n}$ as low as $3\times 10^{-41}$ cm$^2$ for WIMPs with masses $m_{\chi}$ from 7 to 10 GeV$c^{-2}$ . These results are the strongest constraints from a silicon target on the existence of WIMPs with $m_{\chi}$$<$9 GeV$c^{-2}$ and are directly relevant to any dark matter interpretation of the excess of nuclear-recoil events observed by the CDMS silicon experiment in 2013.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

MeV Scale Physics in MicroBooNE

This thesis presents the reconstruction and measurement of low-energy electromagnetic activity with beam neutrino interactions within the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC). LArTPCs have proven to be excellent detectors to measure neutrino interaction cross sections and are being used to perform precision measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters. The work presented in this thesis has demonstrated unprecedentedly low, sub-MeV energy thresholds that have increased sensitivity of LArTPCs to detect neutrino interactions from core collapse supernovae and Muon Decay at Rest (µDAR). In addition, such low thresholds have also increased measurement sensitivity for interactions from Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) candidates such as millicharged particles and nuclear and electron recoils from dark matter candidate particles. On the reconstruction side, this work has established an energy resolution of 6.3% for electromagnetic activity i the 0-5 MeV energy range within the MicroBooNE LArTPC. Additionally this work presents the quantitative analysis of the low-energy activity emanating from G-10 support ribs in MicroBooNE and discusses how such activity could be a problematic source of background for low-energy physics analyses in future neutrino detectors such as the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE).

Bhat, Avinay↗

Effective Field Theory Analysis of CDMSlite Run 2 Data

CDMSlite Run 2 was a search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with a cryogenic 600 g Ge detector operated in a high-voltage mode to optimize sensitivity to WIMPs of relatively low mass from 2 - 20 GeV/$c^2$. In this article, we present an effective field theory (EFT) analysis of the CDMSlite Run 2 data using an extended energy range and a comprehensive treatment of the expected background. A binned likelihood Bayesian analysis was performed on the recoil energy data, taking into account the parameters of the EFT interactions and optimizing the data selection with respect to the dominant background components. Energy regions within 5$\sigma$ of known activation peaks were removed from the analysis. The Bayesian evidences resulting from the different operator hypotheses show that the CDMSlite Run 2 data are consistent with the background-only models and do not allow for a signal interpretation assuming any additional EFT interaction. Consequently, upper limits on the WIMP mass and coupling-coefficient amplitudes and phases are presented for each EFT operator. These limits improve previous CDMSlite Run 2 bounds for WIMP masses above 5 GeV/$c^2$.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Precision measurement of Compton scattering in silicon with a skipper CCD for dark matter detection

Experiments aiming to directly detect dark matter through particle recoils can achieve energy thresholds of $\mathcal{O}(1\,\mathrm{eV})$. In this regime, ionization signals from small-angle Compton scatters of environmental $\gamma$-rays constitute a significant background. Monte Carlo simulations used to build background models have not been experimentally validated at these low energies. We report a precision measurement of Compton scattering on silicon atomic shell electrons down to 23$\,$eV. A skipper charge-coupled device (CCD) with single-electron resolution, developed for the DAMIC-M experiment, was exposed to a $^{241}$Am $\gamma$-ray source over several months. Features associated with the silicon K, L$_{1}$, and L$_{2,3}$-shells are clearly identified, and scattering on valence electrons is detected for the first time below 100$\,$eV. We find that the relativistic impulse approximation for Compton scattering, which is implemented in Monte Carlo simulations commonly used by direct detection experiments, does not reproduce the measured spectrum below 0.5$\,$keV. The data are in better agreement with $ab$$initio$ calculations originally developed for X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Snowmass 2021 Scintillating Bubble Chambers: Liquid-noble Bubble Chambers for Dark Matter and CE$\nu$NS Detection

The Scintillating Bubble Chamber (SBC) Collaboration is developing liquid-noble bubble chambers for the quasi-background-free detection of low-mass (GeV-scale) dark matter and coherent scattering (CE$\nu$NS) of low-energy (MeV-scale) neutrinos. The first physics-scale demonstrator of this technique, a 10-kg liquid argon bubble chamber dubbed SBC-LAr10, is now being commissioned at Fermilab. This device will calibrate the background discrimination power and sensitivity of superheated argon to nuclear recoils at energies down to 100 eV. A second functionally-identical detector with a focus on radiopure construction is being built for SBC's first dark matter search at SNOLAB. The projected spin-independent sensitivity of this search is approximately $10^{-43}$ cm$^2$ at 1 GeV$/c^2$ dark matter particle mass. The scalability and background discrimination power of the liquid-noble bubble chamber make this technique a compelling candidate for future dark matter searches to the solar neutrino fog at 1 GeV$/c^2$ particle mass (requiring a $\sim$ton-year exposure with non-neutrino backgrounds sub-dominant to the solar CE$\nu$NS signal) and for high-statistics CE$\nu$NS studies at nuclear reactors.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Studies of BONuS12 Radial GEM Detector and TCS Beam Spin Asymmetry in CLAS12

The Barely Offshell Nucleon Structure (BONuS12) experiment adopted the concept of spectator tagging technique to study the nearly-free neutron structure function Fn2 in the CLAS12 of Jefferson Lab. A novel Radial Time Projection Chamber (RTPC) detector was built, tested and integrated into the CLAS12 system to detect a back-moving low momentum tagged proton in d(e,ep)X deep-inelastic scattering. It was a 40 cm long gaseous detector consisting of 3 layers of cylindrical GEM foils for the charge amplification, with the data readout directly from the surrounding padboard. The RTPC detected the recoiling spectator proton, in coincidence with the scattered electron in the CLAS12. Nucleon structure functions are directly related to the partonic functions, quarks momentum distribution in one dimension. A Generalized Parton Distribution (GPD) came to the lime-light as it encodes the information of both longitudinal momentum and transverse position of partons inside the nucleons. Factorization of hard process such as DVCS allows to access GPDs. Timelike Compton Scattering (TCS), ?p ? ??p, is another process that allows to access the GPDs. TCS is studied experimentally in the CLAS12 of Jefferson lab using the quasi-real photoproduction of time-like photon which eventually decays to lepton pair. This dissertation presents the concept of spectator tagging in BONuS12, and the research and development efforts during the BONuS12 preparation leading up to the successful data-taking during spring and summer 2020. In addition, analysis framework to extract the beam spin asymmetry of TCS events through the CLAS12 Run group A data is presented.

Poudel, Jiwan↗

Towards a neutron multiplicity measurement with the Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment

The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) is a 26 ton Gadolinium (Gd)-loaded water Cherenkov detector located on the Booster Neutrino Beam line at Fermilab. Its main goals are the measurement of the neutron multiplicity in neutrino-nucleus interactions as well as the cross-section of Charged Current Quasi-Elastic (CCQE) neutrino interactions on water. Besides the physics goals, the experiment also aims to be a testbed for new technologies such as Large Area Picosecond Photodetectors (LAPPDs) and Water-based Liquid Scintillators (WbLS). This thesis presents a preliminary measurement of the neutron multiplicity with {ANNIE}, using an analysis conducted on a fraction of the 2021 beam year. As preparatory measures, the efficiency of ANNIE's Front Muon Veto (FMV) was determined to be {$\bar{\varepsilon}_{\mathrm{FMV}} = (95.6 \pm 1.6)\%$} while the average efficiency for active scintillator paddles in the Muon Range Detector (MRD) was found to be {$\bar{\varepsilon}_ {\mathrm{MRD}} = (92.1 \pm 7.9)\%$}. Furthermore, the simulation framework used for ANNIE was validated and adapted to reproduce the experimental data by comparing the detector response for samples of Michel electrons, Americium Beryllium neutrons, and through-going muons. The analysis finds average neutron yields of {$\bar{n}_{\mathrm{data}} (\mathrm{beam}) = (0.272 \pm 0.010_{\mathrm{stat}})$} for an inclusive set of all identified muon neutrino candidates and {$\bar{n}_{\mathrm{data}} (\mathrm{beam,FV}) = (0.287 \pm 0.044_{\mathrm{stat}})$ for interactions which happened inside of the Fiducial Volume of ANNIE, which was optimized to increase the neutron detection acceptance. The presented neutron multiplicity values represent the number of detected neutrons after all event selection cuts and are not yet corrected for the neutron detection efficiency. An equivalent analysis on a simulated beam sample predicts neutron yields of $\bar{n}_{\mathrm{MC}}(\mathrm{beam}) = (0.515 \pm 0.0 07_{\mathrm{stat}})$ and $\bar{n}_{\mathrm{MC}}(\mathrm{beam,FV}) = (0.627 \pm 0.031_{\mathrm{stat}})$, indicating that the models tend to overpredict the number of neutrons produced in such interactions. Systematic errors have been briefly considered to contribute {$\sigma_{\mathrm{sys,FMV}} \sim 0.01\,$neutrons/$\nu$-interaction} due to the slight FMV inefficiency and {$\sigma_{\mathrm{sys,n}} \sim 0.05\,$neutrons/$\nu$-interaction} due to the neutron detection efficiency. Simulation studies further highlighted the importance of neutron detection in Diffuse Supernova Background (DSNB) searches. A combination of neutron tagging and Convolutional Neural Networks was found to reduce the most relevant Neutral Current Quasi-Elastic (NCQE) interaction background below the signal level, achieving a Signal-to-Background ratio of 4:1. In a further study, we investigated the positive impact of a deployment of a WbLS target on the energy reconstruction in ANNIE. WbLS provides a scintillation signal from hadronic recoils in addition to the charged lepton that can be included in neutrino energy reconstruction. It was found that a deployed WbLS volume in ANNIE improves the neutrino energy reconstruction from 14\% to 12\%, with the potential of going beyond this if more sophisticated reconstruction algorithms are developed in the future.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for inelastic dark matter-nucleus scattering with the PICO-60 CF$_{3}$I and C$_{3}$F$_{8}$ bubble chambers

PICO bubble chambers have exceptional sensitivity to inelastic dark matter-nucleus interactions due to a combination of their extended nuclear recoil energy detection window from a few keV to $O$(100 keV) or more and the use of iodine as a heavy target. Inelastic dark matter-nucleus scattering is interesting for studying the properties of dark matter, where many theoretical scenarios have been developed. This study reports the results of a search for dark matter inelastic scattering with the PICO-60 bubble chambers. The analysis reported here comprises physics runs from PICO-60 bubble chambers using CF$_{3}$I and C$_{3}$F$_{8}$. The CF$_{3}$I run consisted of 36.8 kg of CF$_{3}$I reaching an exposure of 3415 kg-day operating at thermodynamic thresholds between 7 and 20 keV. The C$_{3}$F$_{8}$ runs consisted of 52 kg of C$_{3}$F$_{8}$ reaching exposures of 1404 kg-day and 1167 kg-day running at thermodynamic thresholds of 2.45 keV and 3.29 keV, respectively. The analysis disfavors various scenarios, in a wide region of parameter space, that provide a feasible explanation of the signal observed by DAMA, assuming an inelastic interaction, considering that the PICO CF$_{3}$I bubble chamber used iodine as the target material.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Experimental Investigation and Monte Carlo Simulation of Quasielastic Electron Scattering From Helium-3 Clusters in Helium-4

Experiment E04-018 was conducted in Hall A of the Jefferson National Laboratory (JLab) from November 2006 through July 2007. The experiment used the two superconducting, high-resolution magnetic spectrometers of Hall A to detect scattered electrons and recoil nuclei. One goal of this experiment was to provide accurate data on the elastic charge form factor of 4He to high momentum transfers (up to Q2 = 77 fm?2). The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and simulate a very unique and unexpected class of data from this experiment. The work performed involved the analysis of electron scattering data with the 4He target of the JLab E04-018 experiment and Monte Carlo simulation studies of elastic and quasielastic electron scattering from the 4He and 3He few-body nuclear systems. The results of this experiment and the simulations provide insights into the existence of A = 3 clustering in 4He, and possibly in heavier nuclei.

Alahmade, Walaa↗