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At least 793 records · Page 44
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Probing the sterile neutrino dipole portal with SN1987A and low-energy supernovae

Beyond the Standard Model electromagnetic properties of neutrinos may lead to copious production of sterile neutrinos in the hot and dense core of a core-collapse supernova. In this work, we focus on the active-sterile transition magnetic moment portal for heavy sterile neutrinos. Firstly, we revisit the SN1987A cooling bounds for dipole portal using the integrated luminosity method, which yields more reliable results (especially in the trapping regime) compared to the previously explored via emissivity loss, also known as the Raffelt criterion. Secondly, we obtain strong bounds on the dipole coupling strength reaching as low as 10 − 11 GeV − 1 from energy deposition, i.e., constrained from the observation of explosion energies of underluminous Type IIP supernovae. In addition, we find that sterile neutrino production from Primakoff upscattering off of a proton dominates over scattering off of an electron for low sterile neutrino masses. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2024

First Simultaneous Measurement of Differential Muon-Neutrino Charged-Current Cross Sections on Argon for Final States with and without Protons Using MicroBooNE Data

We report the first double-differential neutrino-argon cross section measurement made simultaneously for final states with and without protons for the inclusive muon neutrino charged-current interaction channel. The proton kinematics of this channel are further explored with a differential cross section measurement as a function of the leading proton’s kinetic energy that extends across the detection threshold. These measurements use data collected with the MicroBooNE detector from 6.4 × 10 20 protons on target from the Fermilab booster neutrino beam with a mean neutrino energy of ∼ 0.8 GeV . Extensive data-driven model validation utilizing the conditional constraint formalism is employed. This motivates enlarging the uncertainties with an empirical reweighting approach to minimize the possibility of extracting biased cross section results. The extracted nominal flux-averaged cross sections are compared to widely used event generator predictions revealing severe mismodeling of final states without protons for muon neutrino charged-current interactions, possibly from insufficient treatment of final state interactions. These measurements provide a wealth of new information useful for improving event generators which will enhance the sensitivity of precision measurements in neutrino experiments. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

AI-driven neutrino diagnostics and radiation-hard beam instrumentation for next-generation neutrino experiments

The Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) at Fermilab will deliver a high-intensity, multi-megawatt neutrino beam to the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), enabling precision tests of the three-neutrino paradigm, CP violation searches, neutrino mass ordering determination, and supernova neutrino studies. To accelerate DUNE’s physics reach and ensure robust beam operations, we propose an integrated AI-driven framework with real-time diagnostics and radiation-hardened instrumentation. At its core is a Real-Time Beam Integrity Monitor using a physics-informed Digital Twin. By reconstructing pion phase space from muon profiles and exploiting magnetic horn optic linearity, it enables spill-by-spill beam correction and flux stabilization. By using this approach, flux-related systematics could be reduced from 5% to 1%, potentially accelerating the discovery of CP violations by four to six years. Complementing this, a US–Japan R&D effort will deploy a LAPPD-based muon monitor in the NuMI beamline. ToF measurements can be acquired with picosecond precision using this radiation-hard system, enhancing sensitivity to horn chromatic effects. Simulations confirm strong response to these effects. ML models predict beam quality and horn current to sub-percent accuracy from muon data, enhancing anomaly detection and stability. This scalable, AI-enabled strategy improves beam fidelity, reduces systematics, and sets a new standard for high-power accelerator operations.

Ganguly, Sudeshna [Fermilab] (ORCID:00000003163482↗
DOE OSTI2024

Searches for Heavy Neutral Leptons (HNL) in CMS

The smallness of neutrino masses in conjunction with the observed flavor oscillations in the neutrino sector can be hinting to physics beyond the standard model. These observations can be naturally accommodated by the so-called "seesaw" mechanism, in which new Heavy Neutral Leptons (HNL) are postulated. Additionally, several HNL models provide a DM candidate or include a possible explanation for the observed baryon asymmetry. This talk presents an comprehensive overview of the CMS HNL program with a focus on the new experimental results as shown in a recently published review paper by CMS.The talk will highlight several novel and complementary approaches using both prompt and long-lived signatures using the full Run-II data-set collected at the LHC.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

AI-driven neutrino diagnostics and radiation-hard beam instrumentation for next-generation neutrino experiments

The Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) at Fermilab will deliver a high-intensity, multi-megawatt neutrino beam to the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), enabling precision tests of the three-neutrino paradigm, CP violation searches, neutrino mass ordering determination, and supernova neutrino studies. To accelerate DUNE’s physics reach and ensure robust beam operations, we propose an integrated AI-driven framework with real-time diagnostics and radiation-hardened instrumentation. At its core is a Real-Time Beam Integrity Monitor using a physics-informed Digital Twin. By reconstructing pion phase space from muon profiles and exploiting magnetic horn optic linearity, it enables spill-by-spill beam correction and flux stabilization. By using this approach, flux-related systematics could be reduced from 5% to 1%, potentially accelerating the discovery of CP violations by four to six years. Complementing this, a US–Japan R&D effort will deploy a LAPPD-based muon monitor in the NuMI beamline. ToF measurements can be acquired with picosecond precision using this radiation-hard system, enhancing sensitivity to horn chromatic effects. Simulations confirm strong response to these effects. ML models predict beam quality and horn current to sub-percent accuracy from muon data, enhancing anomaly detection and stability. This scalable, AI-enabled strategy improves beam fidelity, reduces systematics, and sets a new standard for high-power accelerator operations.

Ganguly, Sudeshna [Fermilab] (ORCID:00000003163482↗
DOE OSTI2026

MINERvA open-data product

MINERvA is THE neutrino cross section experiment Scintillator tracker/calorimeter ran in the NuMI beam at Fermilab same beam as the MINOS and NOvA oscillation experiments With our data, we are solving systematic shortcomings in neutrino interaction rate/spectra that are the largest part of the systematic uncertainty in today s (and tomorrow s) measurements. Some aspects have NO equivalent in the neutrino program future. Scientific scope includes both particle and nuclear physics GeV scale cross sections, A dependence, MeV scale effects most published measurements for a neutrino experiments ever (well, tied with T2K) with 25% more papers in the pipeline.

Gran, Rik [Minnesota U., Duluth] (ORCID:0000000216↗
NASA NTRS2004

Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays: Old Physics or New Physics?

We consider the advantages of and the problems associated with hypotheses to explain the origin of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECR: E greater than 10 EeV) and the "trans-GZK" cosmic rays (TGZK: E greater than 100 EeV) both through "old physics" (acceleration in cosmic sources) and "new physics" (new particles, topological defects, fat neutrino cross sections, Lorentz invariance violation).

Stecker, F. W.↗
DOE OSTI2022

SoLAr: Solar Neutrinos in Liquid Argon

SoLAr is a new concept for a liquid-argon neutrino detector technology to extend the sensitivities of these devices to the MeV energy range - expanding the physics reach of these next-generation detectors to include solar neutrinos. We propose this novel concept to significantly improve the precision on solar neutrino mixing parameters and to observe the "hep branch" of the proton-proton fusion chain. The SoLAr detector will achieve flavour-tagging of solar neutrinos in liquid argon. The SoLAr technology will be based on the concept of monolithic light-charge pixel-based readout which addresses the main requirements for such a detector: a low energy threshold with excellent energy resolution (approximately 7%) and background rejection through pulse-shape discrimination. The SoLAr concept is also timely as a possible technology choice for the DUNE "Module of Opportunity", which could serve as a next-generation multi-purpose observatory for neutrinos from the MeV to the GeV range. The goal of SoLAr is to observe solar neutrinos in a 10 ton-scale detector and to demonstrate that the required background suppression and energy resolution can be achieved. SoLAr will pave the way for a precise measurement of the 8-B flux, an improved precision on solar neutrino mixing parameters, and ultimately lead to the first observation of hep neutrinos in the DUNE Module of Opportunity.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Final state radiation from high and ultrahigh energy neutrino interactions

Charged leptons produced by high-energy and ultrahigh-energy neutrinos have a substantial probability of emitting prompt internal bremsstrahlung ν ℓ + N → ℓ + X + γ . This can have important consequences for neutrino detection. We discuss observable consequences at high- and ultrahigh-energy neutrino telescopes and the Large Hadron Collider’s (LHC’s) Forward Physics Facility. Logarithmic enhancements can be substantial (e.g., ∼ 20 % ) when either the charged lepton’s energy or the rest of the cascade is measured. We comment on final state radiation’s impacts on measuring the inelasticity distribution, ν / ν ¯ flux ratio, throughgoing muons, and double-bang signatures for high-energy neutrino observation. Furthermore, for ultrahigh-energy neutrino observation, we find that final state radiation increases the overall detectable energy by as much as 20%, affects flavor measurements, and decreases the energy of both Earth-emergent tau leptons and regenerated tau neutrinos. Many of these have significant impacts on measuring neutrino fluxes and spectra. Finally, for the LHC’s Forward Physics Facility, we find that final state radiation will impact future extractions of strange quark parton distribution functions. Final state radiation should be included in future analyses at neutrino telescopes and the Forward Physics Facility. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Experiment Simulation Configurations Approximating DUNE TDR

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next-generation long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment consisting of a high-power, broadband neutrino beam, a highly capable near detector located on site at Fermilab, in Batavia, Illinois, and a massive liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) far detector located at the 4850L of Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota. The long-baseline physics sensitivity calculations presented in the DUNE Physics TDR, and in a related physics paper, rely upon simulation of the neutrino beam line, simulation of neutrino interactions in the near and far detectors, fully automated event reconstruction and neutrino classification, and detailed implementation of systematic uncertainties. The purpose of this posting is to provide a simplified summary of the simulations that went into this analysis to the community, in order to facilitate phenomenological studies of long-baseline oscillation at DUNE. Simulated neutrino flux files and a GLoBES configuration describing the far detector reconstruction and selection performance are included as ancillary files to this posting. A simple analysis using these configurations in GLoBES produces sensitivity that is similar, but not identical, to the official DUNE sensitivity. DUNE welcomes those interested in performing phenomenological work as members of the collaboration, but also recognizes the benefit of making these configurations readily available to the wider community.

Abi, B↗
DOE OSTI2020

Cornering (quasi) degenerate neutrinos with cosmology

In light of the improved sensitivities of cosmological observations, we examine the status of quasi-degenerate neutrino mass scenarios. Within the simplest extension of the standard cosmological model with massive neutrinos, we find that quasi-degenerate neutrinos are severely constrained by present cosmological data and neutrino oscillation experiments. We find that Planck 2018 observations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies disfavour quasi-degenerate neutrino masses at 2.4 Gaussian >σ’s, while adding baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) data brings the rejection to 5.9 σ’s. The highest statistical significance with which one would be able to rule out quasi-degeneracy would arise if the sum of neutrino masses is Σm v = 60 meV (the minimum allowed by neutrino oscillation experiments); indeed a sensitivity of 15 meV, as expected from a combination of future cosmological probes, would further improve the rejection level up to 17σ. We discuss the robustness of these projections with respect to assumptions on the underlying cosmological model, and also compare them with bounds from β decay endpoint and neutrinoless double beta decay studies.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

The force explosion condition is consistent with spherically symmetric CCSN explosions

ABSTRACT One of the major challenges in core-collapse supernova (CCSN) theory is to predict which stars explode and which collapse to black holes. The analytic force explosion condition (FEC) shows promise in predicting which stars explode in that the FEC is consistent with CCSN simulations that use the light-bulb approximation for neutrino heating and cooling. In this follow-up manuscript, we take the next step and show that the FEC is consistent with the explosion condition when using actual neutrino transport in gr1d simulations. Since most 1D simulations do not explode, to facilitate this test, we enhance the heating efficiency within the gain region. To compare the analytic FEC and radiation-hydrodynamic simulations, this manuscript also presents a practical translation of the physical parameters. For example: we replace the neutrino power deposited in the gain region, Lντg, with the net neutrino heating in the gain region; rather than assuming that $\dot{M}$ is the same everywhere, we calculate $\dot{M}$ within the gain region; and we use the neutrino opacity at the gain radius. With small, yet practical modifications, we show that the FEC predicts the explosion conditions in spherically symmetric CCSN simulations that use neutrino transport.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Addressing the data and real-time challenges in large scale particle physics experiments through AI and in situ computing technologies

Modern high energy physics experiments are faced not only with the challenge of having to deal with extremely high data rates but with the need to process data quickly to meet real time constraints. At Fermilab, we explore the use of novel computing technologies and techniques to address these challenges. I will discuss my R&D efforts in applying such computing solutions to enhance the multi-messenger astronomy capabilities and improve the overall physics performance of large-scale LArTPC based neutrino experiments. These efforts offer excellent opportunities for fruitful collaboration.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗