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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Searches for violation of Lorentz invariance in top quark pair production using dilepton events in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions

A search for violation of Lorentz invariance in the production of top quark pairs ($t\bar{t}$) is presented. The measured normalized differential $t\bar{t}$production cross section, as a function of the sidereal time, is examined for potential modulations induced by Lorentz-invariance breaking operators in an effective field theory extension of the standard model (SM). The cross section is measured from collision events collected by the CMS detector at a center-of-mass-energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 77.8 fb −1 , and containing one electron and one muon. The results are found to be compatible with zero, in agreement with the SM, and are used to place upper limits at 68% confidence level on the magnitude of the Lorentz-violating couplings ranging from 1–8 × 10 −3 . This is the first precision test of the isotropy in special relativity with top quarks at the LHC, restricting further the bounds on such couplings by up to two orders of magnitude with respect to previous searches conducted at the Tevatron.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Search for a standard model-like Higgs boson in the mass range between 70 and 110 GeV in the diphoton final state in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV

The results of a search for a standard model-like Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range between 70 and 110 GeV are presented. The analysis uses the data set collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV corresponding to integrated luminosities of 36.3 fb -1 , 41.5 fb -1 and 54.4 fb -1 during the 2016, 2017, and 2018 LHC running periods, respectively. No significant excess over the background expectation is observed and 95% confidence level upper limits are set on the product of the cross section and branching fraction for decays of an additional Higgs boson into two photons. The maximum deviation with respect to the background is seen for a mass hypothesis of 95.4 GeV with a local (global) significance of 2.9 (1.3) standard deviations. The observed upper limit ranges from 15 to 73 fb.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Exploration of mass splitting and muon/tau mixing parameters for an eV-scale sterile neutrino with IceCube

We present the first three-parameter fit to a 3+1 sterile neutrino model using 7.634 years of data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory on $ν$ μ + $\overline{ν}$ μ charged-current interactions in the energy range 500–9976 GeV. Our analysis is sensitive to the mass-squared splitting between the heaviest and lightest mass state (Δm$^{2}_{41}$), the mixing matrix element connecting muon flavor to the fourth mass state (|U μ4 | 2 ), and the element connecting tau flavor to the fourth mass state (|U $\tau$4 | 2 ). Predicted propagation effects in matter enhance the signature through a resonance as atmospheric neutrinos from the Northern Hemisphere traverse the Earth to the IceCube detector at the South Pole. The remaining sterile neutrino matrix elements are left fixed, with |U e4 | 2 = 0 and δ 14 = 0, as they have a negligible effect, and δ 24 = π is set to give the most conservative limits. The result is consistent with the no-sterile neutrino hypothesis with a probability of 4.3%. Profiling the likelihood of each parameter yields the 90% confidence levels: 2.4eV 2 < Δm$^{2}_{41}$) < 9.6eV 2 , 0.0081< |U μ4 | 2 < 0.10, and |U $\tau$4 | 2 < 0.035, which narrows the allowed parameter-space for |U $\tau$4 | 2 . However, the primary result of this analysis is the first map of the 3+1 parameter space exploring the interdependence of Δm$^{2}_{41}$, |U μ4 | 2 , and |U $\tau$4 | 2 .

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Search for bottom quark associated production of the standard model Higgs boson in final states with leptons in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ =13 TeV

This Letter presents the first search for bottom quark associated production of the standard model Higgs boson, in final states with leptons. Higgs boson decays to pairs of tau leptons and pairs of leptonically decaying W bosons are considered. The search is performed using data collected from 2016 to 2018 by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb -1 . Upper limits at the 95% confidence level are placed on the signal strength for Higgs boson production in association with bottom quarks; the observed (expected) upper limit is 3.7 (6.1) times the standard model prediction

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Constraint on the total width of the Higgs boson from Higgs boson and four-top-quark measurements in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This Letter presents a constraint on the total width of the Higgs boson (Γ H ) using a combined measurement of on-shell Higgs boson production and the production of four top quarks, which involves contributions from off-shell Higgs boson-mediated processes. This method relies on the assumption that the tree-level Higgs-top Yukawa coupling strength is the same for on-shell and off-shell Higgs boson production processes, thereby avoiding any assumptions about the relationship between on-shell and off-shell gluon fusion Higgs production rates, which were central to previous measurements. The result is based on up to 140 fb -1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed (expected) 95% confidence level upper limit on Γ H is 450 MeV (75 MeV). Additionally, considering the constraint on the Higgs-top Yukawa coupling from loop-induced Higgs boson production and decay processes further yields an observed (expected) upper limit of 160 MeV (55 MeV).

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Search for the Higgs boson decays to a ρ 0 , ϕ, or K ⁎0 meson and a photon in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV

Three rare decay processes of the Higgs boson to a ρ(770) 0 , Φ(1020), or K ⁎ (892) 0 meson and a photon are searched for using $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV proton-proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. Events are selected assuming the mesons decay into a pair of charged pions, a pair of charged kaons, or a charged kaon and pion, respectively. Depending on the Higgs boson production mode, different triggering and reconstruction techniques are adopted. The analyzed data sets correspond to integrated luminosities up to 138 fb -1 , depending on the reconstructed final state. After combining various data sets and categories, no significant excess above the background expectations is observed. Upper limits at 95% confidence level on the Higgs boson branching fractions into ρ(770) 0 $γ$, Φ(1020)$γ$, and K ⁎ (892) 0 are determined to be 3.7 x 10 -4 , 3.0 x 10 -4 , and 3.0 x 10 -4 , respectively. In case of the ρ(770) 0 $γ$ and Φ(1020)$γ$ channels, these are the most stringent experimental limits to date.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Search for a new scalar decaying into new spin-1 bosons in four-lepton final states with the ATLAS detector

A search is conducted for a new scalar boson S, with a mass distinct from that of the Higgs boson, decaying promptly into four leptons ( ℓ = e , μ) via an intermediate state containing two on-shell, promptly decaying new spin-1 bosons Z d : S → Z d Z d → 4 ℓ , where the Z d boson has a mass between 15 and 300 GeV, and the S boson has a mass between either 30 and 115 GeV or 130 and 800 GeV. The search uses proton–proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 at a centre-of-mass energy of s = 13 TeV. No significant excess above the Standard Model background expectation is observed. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the production cross-section times branching ratio, σ ( g g → S ) × B ( S → Z d Z d → 4 ℓ ) , as a function of the mass of both particles, m S and m Z d .

Aad, G↗
DOE OSTI2025

Search for CP violation in events with top quarks and Z bosons at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 and 13.6 TeV

A search for the violation of the charge-parity (CP) symmetry in the production of top quarks in association with Z bosons is presented, using events with at least three charged leptons and additional jets. The search is performed in a sample of proton-proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in 2016–2018 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and in 2022 at 13.6 TeV, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 173 fb –1 . For the first time in this final state, observables that are odd under the CP transformation are employed. Also for the first time, physics-informed machine-learning techniques are used to construct these observables. While for standard model (SM) processes the distributions of these observables are predicted to be symmetric around zero, CP-violating modifications of the SM would introduce asymmetries. Two CP-odd operators $\mathcal{O}$$^{I}_{tW}$ and $\mathcal{O}$$^{I}_{tZ}$ in the SM effective field theory are considered that may modify the interactions between top quarks and electroweak bosons. The obtained results are consistent with the SM prediction within two standard deviations, and exclusion limits on the associated Wilson coefficients of –2.7 < $c$$^{I}_{tW}$ < 2.5 and –0.2 < $c$$^{I}_{tZ}$ < 2.0 and are set at 95 % confidence level. The largest discrepancy is observed in $c$$^{I}_{tZ}$ where data is consistent with positive values, with an observed local significance with respect to the SM hypothesis of 2.5 standard deviations, when only linear terms are considered.

CMS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Measurement of three-dimensional inclusive muon-neutrino charged-current cross sections on argon with the MicroBooNE detector

We report the measurement of the triple-differential cross section d 3 σ/dE vis d cos(θ μ )dP μ for inclusive muon-neutrino charged-current scattering on argon. This measurement utilizes data from 6.4 x 10 20 protons on target of exposure collected using the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber located along the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam with a mean neutrino energy of approximately 0.8 GeV. The mapping from reconstructed kinematics to truth quantities is validated within uncertainties by comparing the distribution of reconstructed hadronic energy in data to that of the model prediction in different muon scattering angle bins after applying a conditional constraint from the muon momentum distribution in data. The success of this validation provides confidence that the energy transfer in the MicroBooNE detector is well-modeled within simulation uncertainties, enabling a reliable unfolding to a triple-differential cross section defined at the nominal neutrino flux over muon momentum, muon scattering angle, and visible neutrino energy. This validation not only supports accurate cross-section extraction, but also establishes a critical foundation for tuning interaction models used in future neutrino oscillation measurements. The unfolded measurement covers an extensive phase space, providing a wealth of information useful for future liquid argon time projection chamber experiments measuring neutrino oscillations. Comparisons against a number of commonly used model predictions are included and their performance in different parts of the available phase-space is discussed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Search for a resonance decaying into a scalar particle and a Higgs boson in the final state with two bottom quarks and two photons with 199 fb −1 of data collected at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 and 13.6 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for the resonant production of a heavy scalar X decaying into a lighter scalar S and a Higgs boson, through the process X → S (→ $b\bar{b}$) H (→ γγ) , where the two photons are consistent with the Higgs boson decay, is performed. The search is conducted using integrated luminosities of 140 and 59 fb −1 of proton–proton collision data at centre-of-mass energies of 13 and 13.6 TeV, respectively, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The search is performed over the mass ranges of 170 ≤ m X ≤ 1000 GeV and 15 ≤ m S ≤ 500 GeV. No significant excess over the Standard Model background predictions is observed and limits at 95% confidence level are set on the product of cross section and branching fraction for the process X → S (→ $b\bar{b}$) H (→ γγ) at 13 TeV, ranging from 9 fb to 0.06 fb.

Aad, G. (ORCID:0000000266654934)↗
DOE OSTI2026

Search for a new heavy resonance decaying to a top quark and a neutral scalar boson in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

A first search at the LHC for a new heavy resonance decaying to a top quark and a neutral scalar boson ϕ in the fully hadronic final state is presented, where the ϕ boson is identified by its decay into a bottom quark-antiquark pair. The search is focused on final states in which the decay products of the highly Lorentz boosted top quark and ϕ boson are each reconstructed as a single, large-radius jet with distinct substructure. The analysis is performed using proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb −1 , recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016–2018. The single production of a vector-like top quark, T′, is used as a benchmark model for the signal process. The results of this search are combined with those of a previous CMS search in which semileptonic decays of the top quark were used. No significant excess of data is observed with respect to the background prediction. For the case where the neutral scalar is a standard model Higgs boson and the T′ quark width is 5% of its mass, T′ quark masses between 0.85 and 1.3 TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level and the most stringent limits to date are set for masses above 2 TeV . For other ϕ boson masses, upper limits as low as 0.1 fb are set on the product of the T′ quark production cross section and branching fraction for its decay to a top quark and a ϕ boson.

Boosted↗
DOE OSTI2023

Experimental demonstration of a data-driven control system for subcritical nuclear facility

Here this paper presents an experimental demonstration of a data-driven control system (DCS) designed for the MIT Graphite Exponential Pile (MGEP). The DCS aims to regulate the neutron flux profile such that symmetry is preserved. Neutron flux perturbations are introduced into the MGEP to test the DCS's capabilities by the movement of an initiating control rod (ICR). To realize this functionality, a control system that relies on an artificial neural network (ANN) was developed, and then demonstrated on the MGEP. A Helium-3 ( 3 He) neutron detector and dual control rods, including their moving mechanisms, were fabricated. The perturbed flux profile was monitored by the moving neutron detector. The prediction accuracy of the neural network (NN) was examined and the DCS response was presented. Our results show that neural network regression model trained by experimental data can achieve a prediction error of less than 2.5 cm with a 95% confidence interval. The demonstration experiment also shows that a perturbation of the ICR can be captured by the control system and flux symmetry can be maintained within 1% after the response of the responding control rod (RCR).

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Structural properties of aqueous grown polydopamine thin films determined by neutron reflectometry

Here, in this work, neutron reflectometry (NR) studies of the bio-mimetic polymer, polydopamine (PDA), deposited from differing initial concentrations of precursor material dopamine hydrochloride for a range of polymerization times, is reported. PDA can form a complex and highly versatile polymer film, with many structure studies having been performed previously, but a comprehensive structural determination of PDA by NR is lacking in the literature. It was found that simple box models were incapable of fully explaining the observed data, necessitating the use of a composite model consisting of the weighted average of both the 1 and 2 box models to fully capture the heterogeneous nature of the PDA film structure. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were performed to capture the surface structure and relative mechanical difference between the separate domains of the PDA. The CLSM results provide evidence that the PDA domains are larger than the coherent scattering length of a neutron used in these measurements, 10μm, supporting the need for a composite model. The AFM measurements show complex structure below the coherence length provide physical justification for the two box model. It was determined that film structure and quality are both heavily impacted by the initial concentration of dopamine hydrochloride and the polymerization time, giving confidence to the highly customizable nature of PDA as an adhesion promoting interface treatment in composite systems, such as plastic bonded explosives (PBX).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

SPH modeling of biomass granular flow: Theoretical implementation and experimental validation

The commercialization of biomass-derived energy is impeded by flowability challenges arising from the feeding and handling of granular biomass materials in full-scale biorefineries. To overcome these obstacles, a robust and accurate model to simulate the flow of granular biomass is indispensable. However, conventional mesh-based numerical codes are limited by inherent mesh distortion in simulating large deformation that commonly occurs in granular biomass handling. Here, in this study, we propose a graphics processing unit (GPU)-accelerated meshless Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code to model the flow of granular biomass materials. A modified void ratio-based mass conversation, a hybrid particle-to-particle/surface frictional boundary treatment, and a hypoplastic constitutive model are implemented. Four numerical examples, an elastic block sliding on inclined planes, sand column collapse, Angle of Repose, and axial compression tests for pine chips, were simulated using the developed SPH code. The results demonstrate good agreement between numerical predictions and analytical and experimental data for all four examples, validating the SPH code and increasing confidence that it can be applied to simulate more complex granular biomass handling processes, such as hopper feeding or auger conveyance.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Uncertainty evaluation for twist drilling stability model

This paper describes the first uncertainty analysis for drilling stability using a frequency-domain drilling stability model. The stability model inputs include: the modal parameters for the torsional-axial vibration mode from the twist drill-holder-spindle axial frequency response function; and the mechanistic coefficients that relate the torque and thrust force to chip area for the selected drill-workpiece material combination. Furthermore, Monte Carlo simulation is applied to propagate the input uncertainties to output uncertainty in the predicted stability map, which separates stable from unstable (chatter) zones in the spindle speed-chip width parameter space. Additionally, the mean stability boundary and its 95% confidence intervals are determined for five cases: varying all four inputs simultaneously and varying them individually. This enables the individual sensitivities to be compared. Experimental results from drilling tests are included for comparison to the prediction. Additionally, Matlab code is provided to implement the stability model and Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

The impact of the third O 2 addition reaction network on ignition delay times of neo-pentane

In this work, we studied the oxidation of neo-pentane by combining experiments, theoretical calculations, and mechanistic developments to elucidate the impact of the 3rd O 2 addition reaction network on ignition delay time predictions. The experiments are based on photoionization mass spectrometry in jet-stirred and time-resolved flow reactors allowing for sensitive detection of the keto-hydroperoxide (KHP) and keto-dihydroperoxide (KDHP) intermediates. With neo-pentane exhibiting a unique symmetric molecular structure, which consequently results only in single KHP and KDHP isomers, theoretical calculations of ionization and fragment appearance energies and of absolute photoionization cross sections enabled the unambiguous identification and quantification of the KHP intermediate. Its temperature and time-resolved profiles together with calculated and experimentally observed KHP-to-KDHP signal ratios were compared to simulation results based on a newly developed mechanism that describes the 3rd O 2 addition reaction network. A satisfactory agreement has been observed between the experimental data points and the simulation results, thus adding confidence to the model's overall performance. Finally, this mechanism was used to predict ignition delay times reported previously in shock tube and rapid compression machine experiments (J. Bugler et al., Combust. Flame 163 (2016) 138–156). While the model accurately reproduces the experimental data, simulations with and without the 3rd O 2 addition reaction network included reveal only a negligible effect on the predicted ignition delay times at 10 and 20 atm. According to model calculations, low temperatures and high pressures promote the importance of the 3rd O2 addition reactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Implementation of new mixture rules has a substantial impact on combustion predictions for H 2 and NH 3

Complex-forming reactions comprise a substantial fraction of all important combustion reactions and are central to combustion behavior. Despite being often called “pressure-dependent” reactions, their rate constants depend on not only the pressure but also the composition. While modern combustion codes allow arbitrarily high accuracy in treating pressure dependence, recent work has consistently demonstrated dramatic failures of essentially all available treatments of mixture dependence. In situations where mixture dependence is treated at all, it is inevitably treated through specification of pressure-dependent rate constants for a set of pure bath gases, which are then combined to estimate the rate constant in a mixture via a “mixture rule.” While there had been a generally unquestioning confidence in these mixture rules, they had, in reality, been scarcely tested until the last decade, when comparisons against master equation calculations revealed order-of-magnitude errors for important pressure-dependent reactions. New mixture rules, based on the reduced pressure, have recently been proposed and shown to reproduce master equation calculations for broad classes of complex-forming reactions very accurately. Here, in this work, we present an implementation of one such new mixture rule (“LMR-R”) in Cantera and then use it to enable simulations that use new high-accuracy ab initio data for individual bath gases (for the first time, since codes previously could not accommodate the complex bath gas dependence). Demonstrations focus on combustion of H 2 and NH 3 , where (1) high-accuracy ab initio data are available and (2) the impact is expected to be large due to the high fractions of efficient colliders (e.g., H 2 O and NH 3 ) in the burned and unburned gases. Indeed, we find the impact of this treatment to be substantial and may explain previous modeling difficulties for these important carbon-free fuels, particularly for NH 3 , whose extraordinarily high third-body efficiency (~20) is often omitted from kinetic models.

Ammonia↗
DOE OSTI2024

Measuring very low radiation doses in PTFE for nuclear forensic enrichment reconstruction

Every country that has made nuclear weapons has used uranium enrichment to do so. Despite the centrality of this technology to international security, there is still no reliable physical marker of past enrichment in the open literature that can be used to perform forensic verification of historically produced weapons on gas centrifuges. We show that the extremely low radioactivity from uranium alpha emissions during enrichment leaves detectable and irreversible calorimetric signatures in the common enrichment gasket material PTFE, allowing for historical reconstruction of past enrichment activities at a sensitivity better than one weapon’s quantity of highly enriched uranium. Fast scanning calorimetry also enables the measurement of recrystallization enthalpies of sequentially microtomed slices, confirming the magnitude and the type of radiation exposure while also providing detection of tampering and a method for analyzing field samples useful for treaty verification. Furthermore, this work opens the door for common items to be turned into precise dosimeters to detect the past presence of radioactivity, nuclear materials, and related activities with high confidence.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗