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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Longitudinal form Factors of A ≤ 10 Nuclei in a Chiral Effective Field Theory Approach

Here, in this work, we present the elastic electron scattering longitudinal form factors of A ≤ 10 nuclei computed in a variational Monte Carlo approach. We employ the Norfolk family of local chiral interactions and a consistent electromagnetic charge operator. Our calculations are compared both to data and past theoretical evaluations. This work represents, to our knowledge, the first accurate calculation of longitudinal form factors using manybody methods based on interacting nucleon degrees of freedom in the 7 ≤ A ≤ 10 mass range. Finally, we identify 9 Be and 10 B as candidate targets for renewed experimental interest, as they exhibit the potential to provide more stringent constraints on the theoretical models.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Relativistic corrections for lepton-nucleus scattering in the short-time approximation

Here, we present an approach for including relativistic corrections in lepton-nucleus scattering calculations within the short-time approximation (STA). Previous ab initio studies employed electromagnetic currents expanded in powers of 𝑞/𝑚, where 𝑞 is the momentum transfer and 𝑚 is the nucleon mass, restricting their validity to low-𝑞 kinematics. We adopt an expansion scheme that treats the initial nucleon momentum perturbatively while allowing for arbitrary momentum transfer, thereby extending the applicability of the STA to high-𝑞 regimes. Additionally, we incorporate a relativistic treatment of the two-nucleon final-state energies. Calculations for 3 He and 4 He inclusive electron-scattering cross sections show a substantial improvement over previous results, achieving good agreement with experimental data in the quasi-elastic region for both low- and high-momentum transfer.

Andreoli, Lorenzo [Old Dominion Univ., Norfolk, VA↗
DOE OSTI2024

Unleashing the power of EFT in neutrino-nucleus scattering

Neutrino physics is advancing into a precision era with the construction of new experiments, particularly in the few GeV energy range. Within this energy range, neutrinos exhibit diverse interactions with nucleons and nuclei. This study delves in particular into neutrino-nucleus quasi-elastic cross sections, taking into account both standard and, for the first time, non-standard interactions, all within the framework of effective field theory (EFT). The main uncertainties in these cross sections stem from uncertainties in the nucleon-level form factors, and from the approximations necessary to solve the nuclear many-body problem. We explore how these uncertainties influence the potential of neutrino experiments to probe new physics introduced by left-handed, right-handed, scalar, pseudoscalar, and tensor interactions. For some of these interactions the cross section is enhanced, making long-baseline experiments an excellent place to search for them. Our results, including tabulated cross sections for all interaction types and all neutrino flavors, can serve as the foundation for such searches.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS2002

A method for calculating proton-nucleus elastic cross-sections

Recently [Nucl. Instr. and Meth. B 145 (1998) 277; Extraction of in-medium nucleon-nucleon amplitude from experiment, NASA-TP, 1998], we developed a method of extracting nucleon-nucleon (N-N) cross-sections in the medium directly from experiment. The in-medium N-N cross-sections form the basic ingredients of several heavy-ion scattering approaches including the coupled-channel approach developed at the NASA Langley Research Center. We investigated [Proton-nucleus total cross-sections in coupled-channel approach, NASA/TP, 2000; Nucl. Instr. and Meth. B 173-174 (2001) 391] the ratio of real to imaginary part of the two body scattering amplitude in the medium. These ratios are used in combination with the in-medium N-N cross-sections to calculate proton-nucleus elastic cross-sections. The agreement is excellent with the available experimental data. These cross-sections are needed for the radiation risk assessment of space missions. c2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

NASA Center LaRC↗
NASA NTRS1992

Quasi-elastic nuclear scattering at high energies

The quasi-elastic scattering of two nuclei is considered in the high-energy optical model. Energy loss and momentum transfer spectra for projectile ions are evaluated in terms of an inelastic multiple-scattering series corresponding to multiple knockout of target nucleons. The leading-order correction to the coherent projectile approximation is evaluated. Calculations are compared with experiments.

Cucinotta, Francis A.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Elastic scattering of 400-MeV protons by Pb-208

Cross-section and analyzing-power angular distributions for elastic scattering of 400-MeV protons by Pb-208 have been measured between 3 and 51 deg. Results have been compared to second-order Kerman-McManus-Thaler (1959) calculations of the optical potential. There is evidence that free nucleon-nucleon scattering amplitudes do not adequately describe nucleon propagation in nuclear matter at this energy.

Hutcheon, D. A.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Glauber-Theory Calculations of High-Energy Nuclear Scattering Observables Using Variational Monte Carlo Wave Functions

Experiments using intermediate- to high-energy radioactive nuclear beams present numerous findings. Extracting important properties of physical observables relies on a firm theoretical analysis. Though Glauber theory is believed to work well, no convincing calculation has so far been done. Here, we perform ab initio Glauber theory calculations of both elastic differential cross sections and total reaction cross sections for p+ 12 C, 12 C+ 12 C, and 6 He+ 12 C systems. The wave functions of both 6 He and 12 C are generated by variational Monte Carlo calculations with spatial and spin-isospin correlations induced by realistic two- and three-nucleon potentials. Glauber’s phase-shift function is computed by Monte Carlo integration up to all orders of nucleon-nucleon multiple scatterings. We show an excellent performance of the Glauber description to the selected data on the above systems. We also find that the cumulant expansion of the phase-shift function converges rapidly up to the second order for the above systems. This finding will open up interesting applications for the analysis of high-energy nuclear experiments.

Horiuchi, W. [Osaka Metropolitan University (Japan↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ab Initio Structure Factors for Spin-Dependent Dark Matter Direct Detection

We present converged ab initio calculations of structure factors for elastic spin-dependent WIMP scattering off all nuclei used in dark matter direct-detection searches: 19 F, 23 Na, 27 Al, 29 Si, 73 Ge, 12 7I, and 129,131 Xe. From a set of established two- and three-nucleon interactions derived within chiral effective field theory, we construct consistent WIMP-nucleon currents at the one-body level, including effects from axial-vector two-body currents. We then apply the in-medium similarity renormalization group to construct effective valence-space Hamiltonians and consistently transformed operators of nuclear responses. Combining the recent advances of natural orbitals with three-nucleon forces expressed in large spaces, we obtain basis-space converged structure factors even in heavy nuclei. Generally results are consistent with previous calculations but large uncertainties in 127 I highlight the need for further study.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Flavor-dependent radiative corrections in coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering

We calculate coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering cross sections on spin-0 nuclei (e.g. 40 Ar and 28 Si) at energies below 100 MeV within the Standard Model and account for all effects of permille size. We provide a complete error budget including uncertainties at nuclear, nucleon, hadronic, and quark levels separately as well as perturbative error. Our calculation starts from the four-fermion effective field theory to explicitly separate heavy-particle mediated corrections (which are absorbed by Wilson coefficients) from light-particle contributions. Electrons and muons running in loops introduce a non- trivial dependence on the momentum transfer due to their relatively light masses. These same loops, and those mediated by tau leptons, break the flavor universality because of mass-dependent electromagnetic radiative corrections. Nuclear physics uncertainties significantly cancel in flavor asymmetries resulting in subpercent relative errors. We find that for low neutrino energies, the cross section can be predicted with a relative precision that is competitive with neutrino-electron scattering. We highlight potentially useful applications of such a precise cross section prediction ranging from precision tests of the Standard Model, to searches for new physics and to the monitoring of nuclear reactors.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Forward doubly-virtual Compton scattering off an unpolarized deuteron in pionless effective field theory

In this work, we calculate the forward unpolarised doubly-virtual Compton scattering (VVCS) off the deuteron in the framework of pionless effective field theory, up to next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N3LO) for the longitudinal and next-to-leading order (NLO) for the transverse amplitude. The charge elastic form factor of the deuteron, obtained from the residue of the longitudinal VVCS amplitude, is used to extract the value of the single unknown two-nucleon one-photon contact coupling that enters the longitudinal amplitude at N3LO. We also study the lowest spin-independent generalised polarisabilities of the deuteron. The calculated unpolarised VVCS amplitude provides a high-precision model-independent input for a future calculation of the two-photon-exchange correction to the Lamb shift of muonic deuterium.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Elastic Antiproton-Nucleus Scattering from Chiral Forces

Elastic scattering of antiprotons off He 4 , C 12 , and O 16 , 18 is described for the first time with a consistent microscopic approach based on the calculation of an optical potential (OP) describing the antiproton-target interaction. The OP is derived using the recent antiproton-nucleon ( p ¯ N ) chiral interaction to calculate the p ¯ N t matrix, while the target densities are computed with the ab initio no-core shell model using chiral interactions as well. Here, our results are in good agreement with the existing experimental data and the results computed at different chiral orders of the p ¯ N interaction display a well-defined convergence pattern.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Large- N c constraints for elastic dark-matter–light-nucleus scattering in pionless effective field theory

Recent proposals for the use of light nuclei as dark-matter direct detection targets necessitate a strong theoretical understanding of the nuclear physics involved. We perform relevant calculations for dark-matter–light-nucleus scattering in a combined pionless effective field theory and large-N c expansion, where N c is the number of quark colors. Here, we include a general set of one-nucleon currents that have been used in other effective theories, as well as novel two-nucleon contact currents. First, we obtain constraints for the relative sizes of the dark-matter couplings to the one- and two-nucleon currents through the large-N c expansion. Then, we use these constraints to make predictions for the relative sizes of spin-dependent and spin-independent cross sections for dark-matter scattering off of a nucleon, a deuteron, a triton, and helium-3.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Investigating One Body and Two Body Interference In Neutrino Interactions with ACHILLES

Understanding neutrino-nucleus interactions is critical for conducting precise neutrino oscillation experiments, but uncertainties in neutrino-nucleus cross section measurements and our incomplete understanding of nuclear effects remain a significant challenge in neutrino physics. In this paper, we investigate contributions from the interference between one-body and two-body contributions to charged current quasi-elastic (CCQE) neutrino scattering using the ACHILLES event generator. Simulations are performed using muon neutrino flux from Fermilab’s Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB). We observe the neutrino flux interacting with Argon nuclei as detected by the Short Baseline Near Detector (SBND), a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC). Although SBND has Argon, it’s also important for us to see how effects scale the number of nucleons, so we observed neutrino interactions with Carbon nuclei as well. We focus on one muon and one proton final states with no further cascade interactions. And, we analyze multiple experimental observables including outgoing kinematic variables, energy-momentum transfer variables, and Transverse Kinematic Imbalance (TKI) variables. Cross section ratios between Argon and Carbon are also studied in order to identify potential variables where nuclear effects scale differently. The ultimate goal is to reduce systematic uncertainties from Monte Carlo simulations when conducting oscillation experiments (like the upcoming DUNE experiment).

Serumaga, Peera [UC, San Diego; Fermilab]↗
DOE OSTI2020

Neutron elastic scattering on calcium isotopes from chiral nuclear optical potentials

We formulate microscopic neutron-nucleus optical potentials from many-body perturbation theory based on chiral two- and three-body forces. The neutron self-energy is first calculated in homogeneous matter to second order in perturbation theory, which gives the central real and imaginary terms of the optical potential. Here, the real spin-orbit term is calculated separately from the density matrix expansion using the same chiral interaction as in the self-energy. Finally, the full neutron-nucleus optical potential is derived within the improved local density approximation utilizing mean-field models consistent with the chiral nuclear force employed. We compare the results of the microscopic calculations to phenomenological models and experimental data up to projectile energies of E = 200 MeV. Experimental elastic differential scattering cross sections and vector analyzing powers are generally well reproduced by the chiral optical potential, but we find that total cross sections are overestimated at high energies.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2017

Relativistic Three-Dimensional Lippmann-Schwinger Cross Sections for Space Radiation Applications

Radiation transport codes require accurate nuclear cross sections to compute particle fluences inside shielding materials. The Tripathi semi-empirical reaction cross section, which includes over 60 parameters tuned to nucleon-nucleus (NA) and nucleus-nucleus (AA) data, has been used in many of the world’s best-known transport codes. Although this parameterization fits well to reaction cross section data, the predictive capability of any parameterization is questionable when it is used beyond the range of the data to which it was tuned. Using uncertainty analysis, it is shown that a relativistic Three- Dimensional Lippmann-Schwinger (LS3D) equation model based on Multiple Scatter- ing Theory (MST) that uses 5 parameterizations—3 fundamental parameterizations to nucleon-nucleon (NN) data and 2 nuclear charge density parameterizations—predicts NA and AA reaction cross sections as well as the Tripathi cross section parameterization for reactions in which the kinetic energy of the projectile in the laboratory frame (TLab) is greater than 220 MeV/n. The relativistic LS3D model has the additional advantage of being able to predict highly accurate total and elastic cross sections. Consequently, it is recommended that the relativistic LS3D model be used for space radiation applications in which TLab > 220 MeV/n.

C M Werneth↗
DOE OSTI2025

Across the Scales of the Nucleus: Understanding Short Range Correlations from Medium Modification to Probe Independence

The atomic nucleus presents an intricate system due to the non-linear forces described by Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) that govern its structure. The range of scales involved is remarkable; the most massive nuclei weigh approximately five orders of magnitude more than the quarks that compose them. The nucleus can be analyzed at various levels, from quarks to hadrons to the nucleus as a whole. Short-Range Correlations (SRCs) within the nucleus play a significant role that spans these diverse scales. At the most fundamental level, SRCs influence the interaction between nucleons. The nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction, arising from QCD, is crucial in determining nuclear properties. SRCs serve as valuable probes for measuring this NN interaction, as the nucleons within SRCs become effectively decoupled from the rest of the nucleus. Multiple experimental techniques, including electron scattering, have been employed to investigate the NN interaction through SRCs. However, our first project demonstrates that inclusive measurements alone are inadequate to constrain this interaction fully. Moving to the scale of the nucleus, SRCs contribute to the high-momentum tail of the nuclear spectral function. While the low-momentum region is characterized by nucleons exhibiting bulk properties, nucleons begin to pair into SRCs at higher momenta. Our research aims to bridge the understanding between the mean-field portion of the nucleus and its high-momentum SRC components. Additionally, SRCs affect the quark structure of protons, as evidenced by the EMC effect, which indicates that quarks behave differently when protons are embedded within a nucleus—an effect referred to as medium modification. This thesis explores the correlation between SRCs and medium modification across various experimental setups. Finally, we seek to establish an interpretation of the nuclear ground state. Accomplishing this requires demonstrating that our SRC observables are independent of the probe’s scale and scheme. The concluding project of this thesis illustrates how we utilize triple coincidence quasi-elastic scattering across a range of (Q2) values to develop a model-dependent framework for understanding SRC distributions within the nucleus’s ground-state wavefunction.

Denniston, A. W. Denniston [University of Tel Aviv↗
DOE OSTI2026

Glauber-theory analysis of nuclear reactions on a 12 C target with variational Monte Carlo wave functions

The application of Glauber theory has been playing an increasingly important role with the study of unstable or exotic nuclei. Its adaptation to medium and high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions is severely limited because one has to evaluate the matrix elements of multiple-scattering operators. The extraction of physical observables has been done using ‘approximate’ Glauber theory whose validity is hard to evaluate. Here, we perform a full calculation of the matrix elements using Monte Carlo integration and analyze the elastic differential cross sections and the total reaction cross sections for p+¹²C, ⁴,⁶He+¹²C, and ¹²C+¹²C collisions. We use the variational Monte Carlo wave functions for ⁴,⁶He and ¹²C obtained by using realistic two- and three-nucleon potentials. We demonstrate the performance of the Glauber-theory calculations by comparing with available experimental data. We further discuss the accuracy of the conventional approximate methods in the light of the cumulant expansion for Glauber’s phase-shift function.

Horiuchi, W. [Osaka Metropolitan University (Japan↗
DOE OSTI2023

CHARGED-CURRENT DOUBLE-DIFFERENTIAL CROSS SECTION MEASUREMENT OF ELECTRON NEUTRINOS IN LOW RECOIL REGION ON HYDROCARBON AT ∼7 GEV

Measuring neutrino mixing angles, especially the CP violation phase and mass hierarchy, is one of the priorities of the neutrino community and long baseline neutrino oscillation programs, such as T2K and NOvA, provided the most precise measurements to date. One of the dominating uncertainties of the measurements is the neutrino interaction model due to the difficulty of modeling the nuclear effects from first principles. As a result, neutrino scattering experiments such as MINERvA were conducted to provide data as input to reduce this uncertainty. This thesis presents a charged-current double-differential cross section measurement of electron neutrinos using the MINERvA detector in terms of available energy (a proxy of energy transfer), three-momentum transfer, and/or transverse momentum of the final state electron. This measurement focuses on the transition region between quasi-elastic and resonance processes, where the multi-nucleon knockout process dominates. The result is compared to a modified GENIE model and similar measurements using muon neutrino samples. In addition, this measurement reproduces the photon-like excess seen by previous MINERvA electron neutrino measurements.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗