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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Reconstruction of neutrino events in the Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment. Part I

The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) was designed to reconstruct neutrino events from the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) with the parallel goals of measuring neutron production in interactions with oxygen and serving as a testbed for new technology. The ANNIE detector consists of a 26-ton water Cherenkov target tank instrumented with conventional photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), a downstream tracking muon spectrometer, and an upstream double wall of plastic scintillator to serve to veto charged particles incoming from neutrino events that occur upstream of the experimental setup. ANNIE has also deployed multiple Large-Area Picosecond PhotoDetectors (LAPPDs) and a test vessel of water-based liquid scintillator (WbLS). This paper describes the event reconstruction performance of the detector before implementation of these novel technologies, which will serve as a baseline against which their impact can be measured. That said, even the techniques used for event reconstruction using only the conventional PMT array and muon spectrometer are significantly different than those used in other water Cherenkov detectors due to the small size of ANNIE (which makes nanosecond-scale timing not as useful as in a large detector) and the availability of reconstruction information from the tracking muon spectrometer. We demonstrate that combining the information from these two elements into a single fit using only pattern recognition yields a muon vertex uncertainty of 60 cm, a directional uncertainty of 13.2 degrees, and energy reconstruction uncertainty of about 10% for BNB muon neutrino Charged Current Zero Pion (CC0π) events.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Instrumentation and Techniques in High Energy Physics

This book provides an introduction of some of the technology and techniques of modern particle physics. Each chapter is a deep dive into the relevant subject, which includes silicon pixel detectors, plastic scintillator in a high radiation environment, Cerenkov detectors, particle jet identification, noble gas neutrino detectors, and machine learning. The target audience is graduate students and more senior researchers who wish to learn a new technology or technique. The text pedagogical in nature and each chapter is a standalone treatment of a specific topic. The coverage focuses on state-of-the-art techniques, rather than describing the technology's history. Written by acknowledged experts in the subject matter, Instrumentation and Techniques in High Energy Physics, is an important addition to the library of any particle physicist.

Lincoln, Don↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cosmic Background Rejection of the ICARUS experiment at Fermilab

The Short Baseline Neutrino program at Fermilab aims to explore significant regions of parameter space, applicable to sterile neutrinos at the eV mass scale, as suggested by existing experimental anomalies. To this purpose it exploits Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber detectors located along the Booster Neutrino Beamline to measure both νe appearance and νµ disappearance: the Short Baseline Neutrino Detector and the ICARUS-T600 detector at 110 and 600 m from the neutrino source, respectively. The ICARUS T-600 Far Detector, located at shallow depth, is surrounded by a Cosmic Ray Tagger system to mitigate the cosmic ray background. On average ~ 11 muon tracks are expected to cross the detector during the ~ 1 ms drift time. The cosmic ray tagger is composed of plastic scintillator bars, ensuring near 4π coverage of the detector aiming at tagging cosmic muons and thus reject 𝛾s produced by muon interactions in the surrounding materials that can generate an electromagnetic showers mimicking a νe signal. The system allows one to disentangle cosmic rays from particles originated in a neutrino interaction inside the detector by measuring their position and crossing time. A synchronization of the cosmic ray tagger with the ICARUS photon detection system with a nanosecond accuracy allows one to reject cosmic particles recorded during the beam spill and thus select an enriched sample of neutrino triggered events ahead of the event reconstruction. An overview of the cosmic ray tagger system as well as its role in the neutrino events identification and cosmic background rejection will be presented.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Single-Volume Scatter Camera (Final Report)

This document serves as a comprehensive final report for the Single-Volume Scatter Camera (SVSC) project. Most of the work over the course of this project has been documented in journal articles, conference papers, and other reports. We therefore reference those materials for detailed presentation of our technical results. The most recent efforts on the project have not been published and are presented in detail here. We present characterizations of two neutron scatter camera prototypes; one using a monolithic geometry, and one using an optically segmented geometry. Both detectors employ plastic scintillator with SiPM-based readout. For the monolithic prototype, we present calibrations of several detector parameters made using a set of dark counts. In particular, we employ a coincidence analysis to characterize the distribution external optical crosstalk, along with the relative timing of the different SiPMs. For the optically segmented prototype we present the results of calibrations made using a tagged 22 Na source, as well as the results of an imaging measurement made using a tagged AmBe source.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Developments to the Distributed Holdup Monitoring System in Fiscal Year 2025

Permanently installed holdup monitoring would provide a myriad of benefits to nuclear facilities, ranging among decreased facility burden, increased safety bases, and increased accuracy of relevant material controls and accountancy metrics. However, the cost per detection system must be affordable to provide reliable coverage. For this project, the target unit price per system has been $\$$1,000. Recent work has focused on pushing costs lower through developing a plastic scintillator and silicon photomultiplier (SiPM)–based front end, which are components that are not commercially available in conjunction with each other. Other work has included further system development and use of a low-cost SiPM. Finally, a limited deployment at a processing facility was achieved. Results from this deployment and the development process are discussed in detail.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

FNCL Enhancements Implementation (FY25 Annual Report)

The FNCL investigations team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has completed research and development of hardware, signal processing, and analysis tools to enhance the measurement capabilities of both the current CAEN SyS VeryFuel Fast Neutron Collar (FNCL) instrument and a next-generation FNCL prototype. The team successfully built and commissioned the LLNL Demonstrator System: a fully integrated, three-panel detector system featuring higher segmentation, plastic scintillators (EJ-276D), Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs), no high-voltage requirement, a reduced electronic footprint, and the LLNL-developed Gaussian Mixture Model Pulse Shape Discrimination (GMM-PSD) signal processing. An extensive experimental campaign was conducted at LLNL’s Inherently Safe Subcritical Assembly (ISSA) facility using both the baseline FNCL and the LLNL Demonstrator. The campaign results validated system performance, calibration stability, and the effectiveness of advanced signal processing and analysis algorithms in a relevant environment.

and physical protection↗
DOE OSTI2024

MC-Lite: Development of a new lightweight multiplicity counter

This report details the development of a neutron multiplicity counter based on lithium doped plastic scintillators. This system has the capability to measure and discriminate fast neutrons, thermal neutrons, and gamma-rays allowing for multi-particle correlations in one device. The system was built and tested at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with Cf-252 in both bare configurations and surrounded by polyethylene and compared against the MC-15 multiplicity counter. Additionally, the detector was also placed outside of a subcritical assembly and demonstrated the ability to use correlated gamma-rays as a probe on the multiplication of the item.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Measuring Neutron Polarisation in Deuteron Photo-disintegration with the CLAS Start Counter [Thesis]

Deuteron photo-disintegration (γd → γp) is a reaction that represents the simplest case in which nuclear and hadron physics models can be tested. Despite this, associated polarization analyses are limited in terms of angular coverage and energy ranges, especially in observables related to the recoil neutron. This is largely due to a lack in dedicated polarimetry equipment, and represents a roadblock in global progress to understand high-energy phenomena such as hexaquarks, and quark-gluon degrees of freedom. To address this problem, this PhD thesis pioneers a new methodology for the parasitic measurement of nucleon polarization using kinematic reconstruction of (spin-dependent) nucleon-nucleus scattering of reaction products, prior to their detection in large acceptance particle detector apparatus. Following this novel approach, which requires no dedicated polarimeter, a determination of the double polarization observable, $C^n_{x'}$, from deuteron photo-disintegration is presented, using Jefferson Lab’s CLAS detector. The analysis utilizes the (n,p) charge exchange reaction in CLAS’s "start counter" (plastic scintillator) to determine the final state neutron polarizations. The results present the first ever data for this observable above 0.7 GeV (photon beam energy) and significantly extend the angular range of the world data set. This new data is largely statistically consistent with the previous measurement of $C^n_{x'}$ by Bashkanov et al . in the overlapping energy range of 0.4-0.7 GeV. It is planned for the statistical accuracy of the presented result to be increased by the inclusion of additional data. The analysis herein serves as a key proof of concept for future applications, including a recommended similar analysis to be implemented with data from the more modern CLAS12 detector. This paves the way for a plethora of additional analyses using existing data sets that would provide crucial new constraints for hadron and nuclear physics.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Understanding the temperature and humidity dependence of the SiPM characteristics

A miniature version of the ICAL experiment at the India-based Neutrino Observatory, the mini-ICALis in operation at the IICHEP, Madurai. The commissioning work of a Cosmic Muon Veto detector (CMVD)on top of the mini-ICAL is continued using extruded plastic scintillators with embeddedWLS fibers and the SiPM as a photo-transducer. The CMVD is being built to study thefeasibility of a cosmic muon veto for a shallow-depth neutrino experiment. The SiPM is calibratedusing an ultrafast LED driver andthe same calibration techniques will be used during the data taking period with a simplified LED in thesame readout PCB. An experimental setup wasdesigned to characterise the SiPMs in a temperature controlled environment. The readout electronicsinvolves trans-impedance amplifiers and a voltage followers of combined gain 1.24 mV/$\mu$A and adigital storage oscilloscope for the data collection with a minimal distortion of SiPM signal.Various characteristics of the Hamamatsu SiPM (S13360-2050VE), e.g. signal shape, optically correlatedand uncorrelated noise, recovery time etc were studied as a function of $V_{ov}$, number of photoelectrons,the ambient temperature and the humidity. This paper will cover the details of those results.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS1971

An experiment to study the nuclear component of primary cosmic rays

An apparatus has been designed and is being fabricated to study the charge composition, fluxes, and energy spectra of light nuclei in the energy region from 1 GeV to 100 GeV. The apparatus essentially consists of an array of a large number of particle detectors operated in coincidence and serving as a charged particle telescope. A mosaic silicon semiconductor detector, a plastic scintillation counter and a lucite Cerenkov detector are used to measure the charges of the incident nuclei. Two one-inch thick CsI detectors are used to study low energy particles. An ionization spectrometer is utilized to measure primary energies in the 1 to 100 GeV energy interval. A gas Cerenkov counter is being designed to distinguish between electrons and protons. It is planned to calibrate the apparatus at an accelerator using particles of known energy.

Paul, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Measurement of the nuclear electromagnetic cascade development in glass at energies above 200 GeV

The longitudinal development of nuclear-electromagnetic cascades with energies greater than 200 GeV was measured in a low-Z (glass) absorber. This was done in the course of operating an ionization spectrometer at mountain altitude in an experiment to study the properties of gamma rays emitted from individual interactions at energies around 10,000 GeV. The ionization produced by a cascade is sampled by 20 sheets of plastic scintillator spaced uniformly in depth every 2.2 radiation lengths. Adjacent pairs of scintillators are viewed by photomultipliers which measure the mean ionization produced by an individual cascade in 10 layers each 1.1 interaction length (4.4 radiation lengths) thick. The longitudinal development of the cascades was measured for about 250 cascades having energies ranging from 200 GeV to 2500 GeV. The observations are compared with the predictions of calculations made for this specific spectrometer using a three-dimensional Monte Carlo model of the nuclear-electromagnetic cascade.

Gillespie, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Comparison of the energy response of an ionization spectrometer for pions and protons

An ionization spectrometer consisting of a sandwich of iron absorbers and plastic scintillation counters was used to measure the energy of pions and protons in the interval 10 to 1000 GeV. For the limited energy interval of 10 to 40 GeV, pions and protons were identified by an air cerenkov counter. Interactions in carbon were studied in a multiplate cloud chamber placed between the cerenkov counter and the spectrometer. Knowledge of these interactions were used in conjunction with a Monte Carlo simulation of the cascade process to study differences in the response of the spectrometer to pions and protons.

Jones, W. V.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Advanced technical developments in support of scientific experiments in space

A technique was developed for preparing solid state, lithium-drifted silicon detectors. Hollow cylindrical detectors were built and tested for possible use as anticoincidence shields to replace conventional plastic scintillators and photomultipliers. A fission cell was developed for the Pioneer F/G instruments and the IMP I subsystem. An electron current detector was developed for Jovian belt measurements of electron flux. A number of circuits and semiconductor devices was also developed.

Lamport, J. E.↗