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At least 991 records · Page 55

Gauge Theory Bootstrap

We propose the gauge theory bootstrap, a method to compute the pion S matrix that describes the low-energy physics of the strong interaction and other similar gauge theories. The phase shifts of the S 0 , P 1 , and S 2 waves obtained are in good agreement with experimental results. The only numerical inputs are the quark mass m q , the QCD scale Λ QCD , the pion mass m π , and the pion decay constant f π without any other experimental data. We make use of the form-factor bootstrap recently proposed by Karateev, Kuhn, and Penedones together with a finite energy version of the Shifman-Veinshtein-Zakharov sum rules. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

He, Yifei (ORCID:0000000213666157)↗

Precision beam diagnostics at the NuMI facility using muon monitor observations

The Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) facility at Fermilab delivers an intense neutrino beam for multiple experiments by producing pions that decay into neutrinos, muons, and other particles. Magnetic horns—the primary pion focusing elements in the NuMI beamline—exhibit predominantly linear optics, enabling a predictable relationship between the proton beam and the resulting pion and muon phase spaces. This study has two primary objectives: first, to evaluate and confirm the linearity of the horn focusing mechanism using analytical models and numerical simulations; and second, to demonstrate that key beam parameters—such as proton beam intensity, beam position on target, and horn current—can be extracted from muon monitor observations within this linear optics framework. Using a machine learning model trained on spill-by-spill muon monitor data, we infer the horn current with a precision of ±0.05%, the beam intensity with ±0.1%, and the beam position on target with ±0.018⁢ mm horizontally and ±0.013⁢ mm vertically. This approach provides a reliable cross-check of beam parameters, helping to reduce systematic uncertainties that are critical for future experiments such as the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, which will rely on the neutrino beam produced by the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility.

Beam control↗

Measurement of 𝜋 0 production in $\bar{v}_μ$ charged-current interactions in the NOvA near detector

We present a high-statistics measurement of muon antineutrino-induced charged-current neutral pion production on a hydrocarbon target using the NOvA near detector. The differential cross sections as functions of the momenta and angles of the outgoing pion and muon, the squared four-momentum transfer, and the invariant mass of the hadronic system at an average neutrino energy of 2 GeV are measured and compared with predictions from various neutrino interaction models. The results agree with the GENIE prediction but suggest that other models underestimate the cross section in the Δ⁡(1232) resonance region. These results represent the most precise measurement of antineutrino-induced neutral pion production to date.

neutrino detection↗

Test of the CLAS12 RICH large-scale prototype in the direct proximity focusing configuration

A large-area ring-imaging Cherenkov detector has been designed to provide clean hadron identi- fication capability in the momentum range from 3 GeV/c up to 8 GeV/c for the CLAS12 experiment at the upgraded 12 GeV continuous electron beam accelerator facility of Jefferson Laboratory. The adopted solution foresees a novel hybrid optics design based on aerogel radiator, composite mirrors and highly packed and highly segmented photon detectors. Cherenkov light will either be imaged directly (forward tracks) or after two mirror reflections (large-angle tracks). We report here the results of the tests of a large-scale prototype of the RICH detector performed with the hadron beam of the CERN T9 experimental hall for the direct detection configuration. The tests demonstrated that the proposed design provides the required pion-to-kaon rejection factor of 1 : 500 in the whole momentum range.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

The electromagnetic Sigma-to-Lambda hyperon transition form factors at low energies

Using dispersion theory the low-energy electromagnetic form factors for the transition of a Sigma to a Lambda hyperon are related to the pion vector form factor. The additionally required input, i.e. the two-pion-Sigma-Lambda amplitudes are determined from relativistic next-to-leading-order (NLO) baryon chiral perturbation theory including the baryons from the octet and optionally from the decuplet. Pion rescattering is again taken into account by dispersion theory. It turns out that the inclusion of decuplet baryons is not an option but a necessity to obtain reasonable results. The electric transition form factor remains very small in the whole low-energy region. The magnetic transition form factor depends strongly on one not very well determined low-energy constant of the NLO Lagrangian. Furthermore, one obtains reasonable predictive power if this low-energy constant is determined from a measurement of the magnetic transition radius. Such a measurement can be performed at the future Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR).

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Identifying the nature of the QCD transition in relativistic collision of heavy nuclei with deep learning

Using deep convolutional neural network (CNN), the nature of the QCD transition can be identified from the final-state pion spectra from hybrid model simulations of heavy-ion collisions that combines a viscous hydrodynamic model with a hadronic cascade “after-burner”. Two different types of equations of state (EoS) of the medium are used in the hydrodynamic evolution. The resulting spectra in transverse momentum and azimuthal angle are used as the input data to train the neural network to distinguish different EoS. Different scenarios for the input data are studied and compared in a systematic way. A clear hierarchy is observed in the prediction accuracy when using the event-by-event, cascade-coarse-grained and event-fine-averaged spectra as input for the network, which are about 80%, 90% and 99%, respectively. A comparison with the prediction performance by deep neural network (DNN) with only the normalized pion transverse momentum spectra is also made. High-level features of pion spectra captured by a carefully-trained neural network were found to be able to distinguish the nature of the QCD transition even in a simulation scenario which is close to the experiments.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Neutrino interaction measurements with the MicroBooNE and ArgoNeuT liquid argon time projection chambers

Abstract Precise modeling of neutrino interactions on argon is crucial for the success of future experiments such as the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) and the Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) program, which will use liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) technology. Argon is a large nucleus, and nuclear effects—both on the initial and final-state particles in the interaction—are expected to be large in neutrino–argon interactions. Therefore, measurements of neutrino scattering cross sections on argon will be of particular importance to future DUNE and SBN oscillation measurements. This article presents a review of neutrino–argon interaction measurements from the MicroBooNE and ArgoNeuT collaborations, using two LArTPC detectors that have collected data in the NuMI and Booster Neutrino Beams at Fermilab. Measurements are presented of charged-current muon neutrino scattering in the inclusive channel, the ‘0 $$\pi $$ π ’ channel (in which no pions but some number of protons may be produced), and single pion production (including production of both charged and neutral pions). Measurements of electron neutrino scattering are presented in the form of $$\nu _e+\bar{\nu }_e$$ ν e + ν ¯ e inclusive scattering cross sections.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Light meson parton distribution functions from basis light-front quantization and QCD evolution

Here, we investigate the parton distribution functions (PDFs) of the pion and kaon from the eigenstates of a light-front effective Hamiltonian in the constituent quark-antiquark representation suitable for low-momentum scale applications. By taking these scales as the only free parameters, the valence quark distribution functions of the pion, after QCD evolving, are consistent with the E615 experiment at Fermilab. In addition, the ratio of the up quark distribution in the kaon to that in the pion also agrees with the NA3 experimental result at CERN.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Studies of the Electromagnetic Structure of Mesons at Jefferson Lab

The Jefferson Laboratory Hall B PrimEx Collaboration is using tagged photons to perform an absolute 1.4% level cross section measurement of the photoproduction of neutral pions in the Coulomb field of a nucleus. The absolute cross section for this process is directly proportional to the neutral pion radiative decay width and consequently the uncertainty in the luminosity is directly reflected in the final error bar of the measurement. The PI has taken primary responsibility for the photon flux determination and in this technical report, we outline the steps taken to limit the uncertainty in the tagged photon flux to the 1% level. These include the use of a total absorption counter for absolute flux calibration, a pair spectrometer for online relative flux monitoring, and updated procedures for postbremsstrahlung electron counting. The photon tagging technique has been used routinely in its various forms to provide quasimonochromatic photons for absolute photonuclear cross section measurements. The analysis of such experiments in the context of bremsstrahlung photon tagging was summarized by Owens in 1990. Since then, a number of developments have made possible significant improvements in the implementation of this technique. Here, we describe the steps taken by the PrimEx Collaboration in Hall B of Jefferson Laboratory to limit the systematic uncertainty in the absolute photon flux to 1%. They include an absolute flux calibration at low intensity with a total absorption counter, online relative flux monitoring with a pair spectrometer, and the use of multihit time to digital converters for post bremsstrahlung electron counting during production data runs. While this discussion focuses on the analysis techniques utilized by the PrimEx Collaboration which involves a bremsstrahlung based photon tagging system to measure the neutral pion lifetime, the methods described herein readily apply to other types of photon tagging systems.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Design of the beam combination section for stochastic injection

The stochastic injection scenario proposed by D. Neuffer in early 1980’s [1] features the injection and acceptance of pions into the muon storage ring, and is used in the design and simulation of nuSTORM injection and ring [2,3]. The pions decay to muons in the long decay straight section of the ring, then the secondary muons are accepted by the straight FODO structure. The critical design element in this scenario is the Beam Combination Section (BCS), which serially includes a defocusing quadrupole, a bending dipole, and a focusing quadrupole. This paper describes in detail the the design of such a BCS and the matching from this BCS to the downstream side of magnetic horn used to collect the pions after target.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Measurement of polarization observables in vector meson photoproduction using a transversely-polarized frozen-spin target and polarized photons at CLAS, Jefferson Lab

The study of baryon resonances provides a deeper understanding of the strong interaction because the dynamics and relevant degrees of freedom hidden within them are re ected by the properties of the excited states of baryons. Higher-lying excited states at and above 1.7 GeV/c 2 are generally predicted to have strong couplings to final states involving a heavier meson, e. g. one of the vector mesons, ρ, ω φ, as compared to a lighter pseudoscalar meson, e. g. π and η. Decays to the ππΝ final states via πΔ also become more important through the population of intermediate resonances. We observe that nature invests in mass rather than momentum. The excited states of the nucleon are usually found as broadly overlapping resonances which may decay into a multitude of final states involving mesons and baryons. Polarization observables make it possible to isolate single resonance contributions from other interference terms. The CLAS g9 (FROST) experiment, as part of the N* spectroscopy program at Jefferson Laboratory, accumulated photoproduction data using circularly- & linearly-polarized photons incident on a transversely-polarized butanol target (g9b experiment) in the photon energy range 0:3-2:4 GeV & 0:7-2:1 GeV, respectively. In this work, the analysis of reactions and polarization observables which involve two charged pions, either in the fully exclusive reaction γρ -> ρπ+π- or in the semi-exclusive reaction with a missing neutral pion, γρ -> ρπ + π - (π 0 ) will be presented. For the reaction ρπ + π - , eight polarization observables (I s , I c , P x , P y , $P^s_{x;y}$, $P^c_{x; y}$) have been extracted. The high statistics data rendered it possible to extract these observables in three dimensions. All of them are first-time measurements. The fairly good agreement of Is, Ic obtained from this analysis with the experimental results from a previous CLAS experiment provides support for the first-time measurements. For the reaction γρ -> ρω -> ρπ + π(π 0 , five polarization observables (T, Σ, F, H, P) have been extracted, four of which are first-time measurements at all energies. This analysis thus represents a comprehensive program on vector-meson photoproduction: The ω is observed and studied directly from the data and the polarization observables for the (broad) ω can be extracted from the double-pion reaction in a partial-wave analysis. The 13 polarization observables extracted in this analysis substantially augment the world database of polarization observables for these reactions and are expected to play a crucial role in identifying the contributing baryon resonances.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

An updated estimate of the Mu2e experiment sensitivity

The Mu2e experiment at Fermilab will search for the conversion of a negative muon into an electron inside the field of a nucleus. This process does not conserve charged-lepton flavour and is heavily suppressed in the Standard Model (SM), with a branching ratio < 10-50. Any evidence of it would be an undeniable evidence of new physics beyond the SM. The project sets out to achieve a single event sensitivity of $\sim 3 × 10^{-17}$ on the ratio between the probability for a conversion of a negative muon into an electron and the one for a muon capture by the nucleus. Such a sensitivity would represent a 4 orders of magnitude improvement on the previous upper limit for the process, making possible to test predictions of different extensions of the SM. Mu2e uses three superconducting solenoids to produce and measure the muon conversions. In the first solenoid, the Production Solenoid, pions and kaons are produced, together with other secondary products, by 8 GeV kinetic energy proton interactions in a tungsten target. A gradient magnetic field is specifically designed to direct low momentum particles into the Transport Solenoid, an S-shaped magnet that filters out particles with unwanted charge and momentum. Muons, produced by pion and kaon decays, finally reach the aluminum Stopping Target in the Detector Solenoid, where they eventually stop and convert. The result of the conversion process is a monochromatic electron of ~105 MeV/c momentum. The Detector Solenoid also hosts the two main detectors: a straw tube tracker and two CsI calorimeter disks, both providing measurement of event kinematics. A germanium detector and a LaBr crystal are located downstream of the Detector Solenoid to measure the X and gamma rays produced by the muon captures in the Stopping Target. A veto system of scintillators covering the Detector Solenoid and half of the Transport Solenoid is used to identify and reject cosmic rays interactions. With respect to the initial project, the Mu2e running plan has evolved to a staged configuration with 2 years at reduced intensity before the 2025 accelerator shutdown for the neutrino beam upgrade and 2 or 3 years at full intensity after that. This, together with geometry changes and a better knowledge of detector performances obtained by the first slice tests, has required a full revision of the signal over background selection that is the subject of this thesis. In order to achieve a new estimate of Mu2e sensitivity, the simulation of the data corresponding to the first 2 years of data acquisition has been performed. This includes both conversion electrons (CE) and the main sources of background: cosmics, decay-in orbits (DIO), radiative pion captures (RPC) and antiprotons. The characteristics of the signal and of the main backgrounds have been studied to define the best selection variables for CE. A special effort has been devoted to the evaluation of the antiproton background. The lack of experimental data for antiproton production cross section makes the systematic uncertainty on this background significant. A new parameterization of the cross section has been developed to fit the existing data and to provide a more reliable estimate of the systematic uncertainty by comparing the results of the old and the new model. A special effort has been devoted to the optimization of the antiprotons Monte Carlo generator. This study has also revealed that the dominant component within this background is represented by antiprotons produced in the opposite direction with respect to the Transport Solenoid entrance and then redirected to it by back-scattering processes in the Production Target. This ultimately highlights the sensitivity of the background estimate to the G4 handling of antiproton interactions in the 1 to 3 GeV/c momentum range. Finally, the final experimental sensitivity has been studied. The momentum and time selection have been optimized to obtain the 5-sigma discovery reach or, in case of no signal, the upper limit on conversion probability. The results confirm that, in the firs t two years of data taking, Mu2e will be able to improve the current experimental sensitivity for muon-to-electron conversion in an atomic field by more than 3 order of magnitudes.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Status of Measuring Cross Sections of Hadrons on Argon with ProtoDUNE-SP

ProtoDUNE Single-Phase is a 700-ton liquid argon detector operated in the CERN Neutrino Platform from 2018 to 2020. It is part of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment with a 40 kT liquid argon far detector to be built at the Sanford Underground Research Facility and a near detector, with both argon and non-argon detector technologies, to be hosted at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. A critical uncertainty to understand in the neutrino oscillation program of DUNE is the uncertainty on final state interactions, either reaction or elastic, of various hadrons on argon since the scattering of neutrino-induced hadrons off argon bias the hadron's measured energy. It can also prevent algorithms from identifying the hadron's particle type. Protons, kaons, and pions from the beam are especially important for the DUNE neutrino program as they represent common final state particles in neutrino interactions off a nucl eus. Therefore, ProtoDUNE is analyzing the test beam data to measure cross sections of pions, protons, and kaons on argon, aiming to tune parameters that model charged particle scattering off argon. This talk will discuss the data-taking program for ProtoDUNE and an overview of the status and results of measuring cross sections of pions, protons, and kaons on argon. It will conclude with a brief overview of how these measurements can be used for future liquid argon neutrino detectors.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Secondary Beamline Lattice Design at the MeV Test Area (MTA)

The MTA is currently configured to produce a secondary pion beam from a tungsten target, which subsequently generates muons from decay in flight. In its present lattice configuration, the currently installed air core quadrupoles are strength-limited in their ability to deliver a high muon flux to the end user. Recently, seven strong iron-core quadrupole spares from the 400-MeV Linac were acquired. Based on these quadrupoles, a new lattice has been designed that maximizes both pion transport and muon capture the line based on significantly shorter magnetic lengths, strong magnetic gradients, and consequently an enhanced angular acceptance. For this project, we demonstrated that the ratio of muons to pions increased by over an order of magnitude (approximately 75 for lattice configurations were studied), successfully capturing a phase space area as large as 13.2 [mm] x 24 [mRad] in simulation.

Winter, Wesley↗

Neutron Electric Dipole Moments with Clover Fermions

We present preliminary results for the contributions to the neutron EDM arising from the QCD θ-term, the Weinberg three-gluon and the quark chromo-EDM operators from our ongoing lattice calculations using clover valence quarks on the MILC HISQ lattices. We use the gradient-flow technique to smooth the lattices and renormalize the gluonic operators, and use the Schwinger source method to incorporate the quark chromo-EDM interactions in the quark propagator. For the QCD θ-term and the Weinberg three-gluon operator, we report results in the gradient-flow scheme from 8 ensembles at four lattice spacings and three pion masses, including 2 physical pion mass ensembles. For the quark chromo-EDM, unrenormalized results are presented at two lattice spacings, a=0.12 and 0.09 fm, and two pion masses, M π =310 MeV and 220 MeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

5 TeV pgun collisions, Single particles type, PARTICLE GUN generator: pgun_pi_single

Single particle gun for detector studies: A particle gun with single pions. One pion per event. Production at (x,y,z,t)=(0,0,0,0). Pi+ and Pi- are alternated. Momentum of pions is 0.5, 5, 50, 500 , 5000 GeV (alternated). Uniform distribution in Phi. Uniform distribution in in the range [-4.5, 4.5].

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

1 GeV pgun collisions, Single particles type, PARTICLE GUN generator: pgun_pi1gev

Single particle gun for ITK (ATLAS) detector studies: A particle gun with single pions. One pion per event. Production at (x,y,z,t)=(0,0,0,0). Pi+ and Pi- are alternated. Momentum of pions is 1 GeV (fixed). Uniform distribution in Phi. Uniform distribution in in the range [-4.5, 4.5].

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

1 GeV pgun collisions, Single particles type, PARTICLE GUN generator: pgun_pi1gev_z150r4

Single particle gun for ITK (ATLAS) detector studies: A particle gun with single pions. One pion per event. Production position is randomly distributed in a cylinder with the radios R=4 mm and -150 mm < Z < 150 mm. Pi+ and Pi- are alternated. Momentum of pions is 1 GeV (fixed). Uniform distribution in Phi. Uniform distribution in in the range [-4.5, 4.5]. The sample was created on the request by Simon Viel for the ATLAS ITK studies of pixel layouts.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗