Browsing by Author "Link, Jonathan M."

Now showing 1 - 20 of 58
  • Thumbnail Image
    The 2010 Interim Report of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment Collaboration Physics Working Groups
    Collaboration, TLBNE; Akiri, T.; Allspach, D.; Andrews, M.; Arisaka, K.; Arrieta-Diaz, E.; Artuso, M.; Bai, X.; Balantekin, A. B.; Baller, B.; Barletta, W. A.; Barr, G.; Bass, M.; Beck, A.; Becker, B.; Bellini, V.; Benhar, Omar; Berger, B. E.; Bergevin, M.; Berman, E.; Berns, H.; Bernstein, A.; Beroz, F.; Bhatnagar, V.; Bhuyan, B.; Bionta, R.; Bishai, M.; Blake, A.; Blaufuss, E.; Bleakley, B.; Blucher, E.; Blusk, S.; Boehnlein, D.; Bolton, T.; Brack, J.; Bradford, R.; Breedon, R.; Bromberg, C.; Brown, R.; Buchanan, N.; Camilleri, Leslie; Campbell, M.; Carr, Rachel E.; Carminati, G.; Chen, A.; Chen, H.; Cherdack, D.; Chi, C.; Childress, S.; Choudhary, B.; Church, E.; Cline, D.; Coleman, S.; Corey, R.; D'Agostino, M. V.; Davies, G. S.; Dazeley, S.; Jong, J. D.; DeMaat, B.; Demuth, D.; Dighe, A.; Djurcic, Zelimir; Dolph, J.; Drake, G.; Drozhdin, A.; Duan, H.; Duyang, H.; Dye, S.; Dykhuis, T.; Edmunds, D.; Elliott, S.; Enomoto, S.; Escobar, C. O.; Felde, J.; Feyzi, F.; Fleming, B.; Fowler, J.; Fox, W.; Friedland, A.; Fujikawa, B. K.; Gallagher, H.; Garilli, G.; Garvey, G. T.; Gehman, V. M.; Geronimo, G. D.; Gill, R.; Goodman, M.; Goon, J.; Gorbunov, D.; Gran, R.; Guarino, V.; Guarnaccia, E.; Guenette, R.; Gupta, P.; Habig, A.; Hackenburg, R. W.; Hahn, A.; Hahn, R.; Haines, T.; Hans, S.; Harton, J.; Hays, S.; Hazen, E.; He, Q.; Heavey, A.; Heeger, K.; Hellauer, R.; Himmel, A.; Horton-Smith, Glenn A.; Howell, J.; Huber, Patrick; Hurh, P.; Huston, J.; Hylen, J.; Insler, J.; Jaffe, D.; James, C.; Johnson, C.; Johnson, M.; Johnson, R.; Johnson, W.; Johnston, W.; Johnstone, J.; Jones, B.; Jostlein, H.; Junk, T.; Junnarkar, S.; Kadel, R.; Kafka, T.; Kaminski, D.; Karagiorgi, Georgia S.; Karle, A.; Kaspar, J.; Katori, T.; Kayser, B.; Kearns, E.; Kettell, S. H.; Khanam, F.; Klein, J.; Kneller, J.; Koizumi, G.; Kopp, J.; Kopp, S.; Kropp, W.; Kudryavtsev, V. A.; Kumar, A.; Kumar, J.; Kutter, T.; Lackowski, T.; Lande, K.; Lane, C.; Lang, K.; Lanni, F.; Lanza, R.; Latorre, T.; Learned, J.; Lee, D.; Lee, K.; Li, Y.; Linden, S.; Ling, J.; Link, Jonathan M.; Littenberg, L.; Loiacono, L.; Liu, T.; Losecco, J.; Louis, W.; Lucas, P.; Lunardini, C.; Lundberg, B.; Lundin, T.; Makowiecki, D.; Malys, S.; Mandal, S.; Mann, A.; Mantsch, P.; Marciano, W. J.; Mariani, Camillo; Maricic, Jelena; Marino, A.; Marshak, M.; Maruyama, R.; Matthews, J.; Matsuno, S.; Mauger, C.; McCluskey, E.; McDonald, K.; McFarland, K. S.; McKeown, R.; McTaggart, R.; Mehdiyev, R.; Melnitchouk, W.; Meng, Y.; Mercurio, B.; Messier, M.; Metcalf, W.; Milincic, R.; Miller, W.; Mills, G.; Mishra, S.; MoedSher, S.; Mohapatra, D.; Mokhov, N.; Moore, C.; Morfin, J.; Morse, W.; Moss, A.; Mufson, S.; Musser, J.; Naples, D.; Napolitano, J.; Newcomer, M.; Norris, B.; Ouedraogo, S.; Page, B.; Pakvasa, S.; Paley, J.; Paolone, V.; Papadimitriou, V.; Parsa, Z.; Partyka, K.; Pavlovic, Z.; Pearson, C.; Perasso, S.; Petti, R.; Plunkett, R.; Polly, C. C.; Pordes, S.; Potenza, R.; Prakash, A.; Prokofiev, O.; Qian, X.; Raaf, J.; Radeka, V.; Raghavan, R.; Rameika, R.; Rebel, B.; Rescia, S.; Reitzner, D.; Richardson, M.; Riesselmann, K.; Robinson, M.; Rosen, M.; Rosenfeld, C.; Rucinski, R.; Russo, T.; Sahijpal, S.; Salon, S.; Samios, N.; Sanchez, Maria Cristina; Schmitt, R.; Schmitz, D.; Schneps, J.; Scholberg, K.; Seibert, S.; Sergiampietri, F.; Shaevitz, Marjorie Hansen; Shanahan, P.; Shaposhnikov, M.; Sharma, R.; Simos, N.; Singh, V.; Sinnis, G.; Sippach, W.; Skwarnicki, T.; Smy, M.; Sobel, H.; Soderberg, M.; Sondericker, J.; Sondheim, W.; Spitz, Joshua; Spooner, N.; Stancari, M.; Stancu, Ion; Stewart, J.; Stoler, P.; Stone, J.; Stone, S.; Strait, J.; Straszheim, T.; Striganov, S.; Sullivan, G.; Svoboda, R.; Szczerbinska, B.; Szelc, A.; Talaga, R.; Tanaka, H.; Tayloe, R.; Taylor, D.; Thomas, J.; Thompson, L.; Thomson, M.; Thorn, C.; Tian, X.; Toki, W.; Tolich, N.; Tripathi, M.; Trovato, M.; Tseung, H.; Tzanov, M.; Urheim, J.; Usman, S.; Vagins, M. R.; Berg, R. V.; Water, R. V. D.; Varner, G.; Vaziri, K.; Velev, G.; Viren, B.; Wachala, T.; Walter, C.; Wang, H.; Wang, Z.; Warner, D.; Webber, D.; Weber, A.; Wendell, R.; Wendt, C.; Wetstein, M.; White, H.; White, S.; Whitehead, L.; Willis, W.; Wilson, R. J.; Winslow, L.; Ye, J.; Yeh, M.; Yu, B.; Zeller, Geralyn P.; Zhang, C.; Zimmerman, E.; Zwaska, R. (2011-10-27)
    In early 2010, the Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) science collaboration initiated a study to investigate the physics potential of the experiment with a broad set of different beam, near- and far-detector configurations. Nine initial topics were identified as scientific areas that motivate construction of a long-baseline neutrino experiment with a very large far detector. We summarize the scientific justification for each topic and the estimated performance for a set of far detector reference configurations. We report also on a study of optimized beam parameters and the physics capability of proposed Near Detector configurations. This document was presented to the collaboration in fall 2010 and updated with minor modifications in early 2011.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Analysis of B Meson Decays to Three Charged Pions
    Li, Yao (Virginia Tech, 2015-12-23)
    Decays of B mesons to three-body charmless final states probe the properties of the weak interaction through their dependence on the complex quark couplings in the CKM matrix. They also test dynamical models for hadronic B decays. Based on a sample of 772 million BB pairs collected by the Belle experiment, we present a study of direct CP violation in the decay of charged B to three charged pions.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Annual Modulation Measurement of the Low Energy Solar Neutrino Flux with the Borexino Detector
    Manecki, Szymon M. (Virginia Tech, 2013-06-20)
    This work reports a first attempt to measure the solar neutrino annual
    flux modulation due to Earth\'s elliptical orbit with the Borexino detector. Borexino is a real-time calorimetric detector for low energy neutrino spectroscopy located in the underground laboratory of Gran Sasso, Italy. The experiment\'s main focus is the direct measurement of the 7Be solar neutrino flux of all flavors via neutrino-electron scattering in an ultra-pure scintillation liquid. The original goal of this work was to quantify sensitivity of the Borexino detector to a 7% peak-to-peak signal variation over the course of a year and study background stability. A Monte-Carlo simulated sample of the expected variation was prepared in two phases of data acquisition, Phase I that spans from May-2007 to May-2010 and Phase II from October-2011 to September-2012. The data was then fitted in the time domain with a sinusoidal function and analyzed with the Lomb-Scargle fast Fourier transformation in the search for significant periodicities between periods of 0.5 and 1.5 years. The search was performed in the energy window dominated by 7Be, [210; 760] keV, and 60-day bins in the case of the fit and 10-bins for the Lomb-Scargle scan. This work also contains study of the post-purification data of Phase II beyond September-2012 with a prediction for the future sensitivity and justification of the achieved background levels.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Antineutrino detection based on heterogeneous scintillation lattice
    (United States Patent and Trademark Office, 2019-10-01)
    A radiation detector and detection method comprising one or more antineutrino capture sections having a plurality of cells. The cells including hydrogen, act as scintillators and contain a wavelength shifter. Also included are a plurality of neutron capture layers containing a neutron capture agent. The cells are disposed between said neutron capture layers. The layers act as scintillators to convert the radiation emission of a neutron capture to light for transmission to at least one of the cells and the cells and layers have different scintillation time constants.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Antineutrino energy spectrum unfolding based on the Daya Bay measurement and its applications
    An, F. P.; Balantekin, A. B.; Bishai, M.; Blyth, S.; Cao, G. F.; Cao, J.; Chang, J. F.; Chang, Y.; Chen, H. S.; Chen, S. M.; Chen, Y.; Chen, Y. X.; Cheng, J.; Cheng, Z. K.; Cherwinka, J. J.; Chu, M. C.; Cummings, J. P.; Dalager, O.; Deng, F. S.; Ding, Y. Y.; Diwan, M.; Dohnal, T.; Dolzhikov, D.; Dove, J.; Dvorak, M.; Dwyer, D. A.; Gallo, J. P.; Gonchar, M.; Gong, G. H.; Gong, H.; Grassi, M.; Gu, W. Q.; Guo, J. Y.; Guo, L.; Guo, X. H.; Guo, Y. H.; Guo, Z.; Hackenburg, R. W.; Hans, S.; He, M.; Heeger, K. M.; Heng, Y. K.; Hor, Y. K.; Hsiung, Y. B.; Hu, B. Z.; Hu, J. R.; Hu, T.; Hu, Z. J.; Huang, H. X.; Huang, J. H.; Huang, X. T.; Huang, Y. B.; Huber, P.; Jaffe, D. E.; Jen, K. L.; Ji, X. L.; Ji, X. P.; Johnson, R. A.; Jones, D.; Kang, L.; Kettell, S. H.; Kohn, S.; Kramer, M.; Langford, T. J.; Lee, J.; Lee, J. H. C.; Lei, R. T.; Leitner, R.; Leung, J. K. C.; Li, F.; Li, H. L.; Li, J. J.; Li, Q. J.; Li, R. H.; Li, S.; Li, S. C.; Li, W. D.; Li, X. N.; Li, X. Q.; Li, Y. F.; Li, Z. B.; Liang, H.; Lin, C. J.; Lin, G. L.; Lin, S.; Ling, J. J.; Link, Jonathan M.; Littenberg, L.; Littlejohn, B. R.; Liu, J. C.; Liu, J. L.; Liu, J. X.; Lu, C.; Lu, H. Q.; Luk, K. B.; Ma, B. Z.; Ma, X. B.; Ma, X. Y.; Ma, Y. Q.; Mandujano, R. C.; Marshall, C.; McDonald, K. T.; McKeown, R. D.; Meng, Y.; Napolitano, J.; Naumov, D.; Naumova, E.; Nguyen, T. M. T.; Ochoa-Ricoux, J. P.; Olshevskiy, A.; Pan, H. -R.; Park, J.; Patton, S.; Peng, J. C.; Pun, C. S. J.; Qi, F. Z.; Qi, M.; Qian, X.; Raper, N.; Ren, J.; Reveco, C. Morales; Rosero, R.; Roskovec, B.; Ruan, X. C.; Steiner, H.; Sun, J. L.; Tmej, T.; Treskov, K.; Tse, W. -H.; Tull, C. E.; Viren, B.; Vorobel, V.; Wang, C. H.; Wang, J.; Wang, M.; Wang, N. Y.; Wang, R. G.; Wang, W.; Wang, W.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y.; Wang, Y. F.; Wang, Z.; Wang, Z.; Wang, Z. M.; Wei, H. Y.; Wei, L. H.; Wen, L. J.; Whisnant, K.; White, C. G.; Wong, H. L. H.; Worcester, E.; Wu, D. R.; Wu, F. L.; Wu, Q.; Wu, W. J.; Xia, D. M.; Xie, Z. Q.; Xing, Z. Z.; Xu, H. K.; Xu, J. L.; Xu, T.; Xue, T.; Yang, C. G.; Yang, L.; Yang, Y. Z.; Yao, H. F.; Ye, M.; Yeh, M.; Young, B. L.; Yu, H. Z.; Yu, Z. Y.; Yue, B. B.; Zavadskyi, V.; Zeng, S.; Zeng, Y.; Zhan, L.; Zhang, C.; Zhang, F. Y.; Zhang, H. H.; Zhang, J. W.; Zhang, Q. M.; Zhang, S. Q.; Zhang, X. T.; Zhang, Y. M.; Zhang, Y. X.; Zhang, Y. Y.; Zhang, Z. J.; Zhang, Z. P.; Zhang, Z. Y.; Zhao, J.; Zhao, R. Z.; Zhou, L.; Zhuang, H. L.; Zou, J. H. (IOP, 2021-07)
    The prediction of reactor antineutrino spectra will play a crucial role as reactor experiments enter the precision era. The positron energy spectrum of 3.5 million antineutrino inverse beta decay reactions observed by the Daya Bay experiment, in combination with the fission rates of fissile isotopes in the reactor, is used to extract the positron energy spectra resulting from the fission of specific isotopes. This information can be used to produce a precise, data-based prediction of the antineutrino energy spectrum in other reactor antineutrino experiments with different fission fractions than Daya Bay. The positron energy spectra are unfolded to obtain the antineutrino energy spectra by removing the contribution from detector response with the Wiener-SVD unfolding method. Consistent results are obtained with other unfolding methods. A technique to construct a data-based prediction of the reactor antineutrino energy spectrum is proposed and investigated. Given the reactor fission fractions, the technique can predict the energy spectrum to a 2% precision. In addition, we illustrate how to perform a rigorous comparison between the unfolded antineutrino spectrum and a theoretical model prediction that avoids the input model bias of the unfolding method.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Applications of Neutrino Physics
    Christensen, Eric Kurt (Virginia Tech, 2014-09-02)
    Neutrino physics has entered a precision era in which understanding backgrounds and systematic uncertainties is particularly important. With a precise understanding of neutrino physics, we can better understand neutrino sources. In this work, we demonstrate dependency of single detector oscillation experiments on reactor neutrino flux model. We fit the largest reactor neutrino flux model error, weak magnetism, using data from experiments. We use reactor burn-up simulations in combination with a reactor neutrino flux model to demonstrate the capability of a neutrino detector to measure the power, burn-up, and plutonium content of a nuclear reactor. In particular, North Korean reactors are examined prior to the 1994 nuclear crisis and waste removal detection is examined at the Iranian reactor. The strength of a neutrino detector is that it can acquire data without the need to shut the reactor down. We also simulate tau neutrino interactions to determine backgrounds to muon neutrino and electron neutrino measurements in neutrino factory experiments.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Calibration of the COHERENT Neutrino Flux Normalization Detector
    Tellez-Giron-Flores, Karla Rosita (Virginia Tech, 2023-11-14)
    Neutrinos hold the promise of untangling many unresolved questions in particle physics. Their unique properties and behaviors offer a distinctive window into understanding the fundamentals of the universe, potentially providing answers to some of the most deep puzzles in modern physics. CEνNS, or Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering, is a process where a neutrino interacts with an atomic nucleus and scatters away, leaving the nucleus to recoil. CEνNS is an important area of study for understanding neutrino properties as well as their role in the universe. The COHERENT collaboration was the first to measure CEνNS, using neutrinos from the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). The direct measurement of the SNS neutrino flux is vital for the precision of CEνNS measurements. This work introduces the latest addition to the COHERENT's armory –a D2O detector specifically designed to measure the SNS neutrino flux. In the present dissertation, the emphasis is made on the steps taken to operationalize COHERENT's D2O detector. This work unfolds the intensive simulation work directed to determine the detector's optimal design, ensuring it stands strong to the demands of neutrino physics experiments. Establishing the detector's calibration is essential to its operational phase. A dedicated calibration system, described in detail in this work, has been developed, utilizing encapsulated LED flashers controlled by a microcontroller unit to ensure the systematic and reliable calibration of the detector. A significant portion of the document is devoted to the calibration analysis, where we use Michel electrons to obtain an energy scale for the detector, thereby ensuring the reliability and accuracy of the future neutrino flux measurements.
  • Thumbnail Image
    CHANDLER: A New Technology for Surface-level Reactor Neutrino Detection
    Link, Jonathan M. (2016-12-16)
    Motivation ‒ Why do we need better reactor neutrino detectors? Technological Foundations ‒ Where do these ideas come from? The CHANDLER Technology ‒ The basics idea Detector R&D ‒ What we have learned so far CHANDLER and SoLid ‒ A sterile neutrino search
  • Thumbnail Image
  • Thumbnail Image
    COHERENT constraint on leptophobic dark matter using CsI data
    Akimov, D.; An, P.; Awe, C.; Barbeau, P. S.; Becker, B.; Belov, V.; Bernardi, I.; Blackston, M. A.; Bock, C.; Bolozdynya, A.; Bouabid, R.; Browning, J.; Cabrera-Palmer, B.; Chernyak, D.; Conley, E.; Daughhetee, J.; Detwiler, J.; Ding, K.; Durand, M. R.; Efremenko, Y.; Elliott, S. R.; Fabris, L.; Febbraro, M.; Rosso, A. Gallo; Galindo-Uribarri, A.; Green, M. P.; Heath, M. R.; Hedges, S.; Hoang, D.; Hughes, M.; Johnson, B. A.; Johnson, T.; Khromov, A.; Konovalov, A.; Kozlova, E.; Kumpan, A.; Li, L.; Link, Jonathan M.; Liu, J.; Major, A.; Mann, K.; Markoff, D. M.; Mastroberti, J.; Mattingly, J.; Mueller, P. E.; Newby, J.; Parno, D. S.; Penttila, S. I.; Pershey, D.; Prior, C.; Rapp, R.; Ray, H.; Razuvaeva, O.; Reyna, D.; Rich, G. C.; Ross, J.; Rudik, D.; Runge, J.; Salvat, D. J.; Salyapongse, A. M.; Sander, J.; Scholberg, K.; Shakirov, A.; Simakov, G.; Snow, W. M.; Sosnovstsev, V.; Suh, B.; Tayloe, R.; Tellez-Giron-Flores, K.; Tolstukhin, I.; Ujah, E.; Vanderwerp, J.; Varner, R. L.; Virtue, C. J.; Visser, G.; Wongjirad, T.; Yen, Y. -R.; Yoo, J.; Yu, C. -H.; Zettlemoyer, J. (American Physical Society, 2022-09-14)
    We use data from the COHERENT CsI[Na] scintillation detector to constrain sub-GeV leptophobic dark matter models. This detector was built to observe low-energy nuclear recoils from coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. These capabilities enable searches for dark matter particles produced at the Spallation Neutron Source mediated by a vector portal particle with masses between 2 and 400 MeV/c2. No evidence for dark matter is observed and a limit on the mediator coupling to quarks is placed. This constraint improves upon previous results by two orders of magnitude. This newly explored parameter space probes the region where the dark matter relic abundance is explained by leptophobic dark matter when the mediator mass is roughly twice the dark matter mass. COHERENT sets the best constraint on leptophobic dark matter at these masses.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Combining dark matter detectors and electron-capture sources to hunt for new physics in the neutrino sector
    Coloma, Pilar; Huber, Patrick; Link, Jonathan M. (Springer, 2014-11-10)
    In this letter we point out the possibility to study new physics in the neutrino sector using dark matter detectors based on liquid xenon. These are characterized by very good spatial resolution and extremely low thresholds for electron recoil energies. When combined with a radioactive nu e source, both features in combination allow for a very competitive sensitivity to neutrino magnetic moments and sterile neutrino oscillations. We find that, for realistic values of detector size and source strength, the bound on the neutrino magnetic moment can be improved by an order of magnitude with respect to the present value. Regarding sterile neutrino searches, we find that most of the gallium anomaly could be explored at the 95% confidence level just using shape information.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Corrections to and Applications of the Antineutrino Spectrum Generated by Nuclear Reactors
    Jaffke, Patrick John (Virginia Tech, 2015-11-16)
    In this work, the antineutrino spectrum as specifically generated by nuclear reactors is studied. The topics covered include corrections and higher-order effects in reactor antineutrino experiments, one of which is covered in Ref. [1] and another contributes to Ref. [2]. In addition, a practical application, antineutrino safeguards for nuclear reactors, as summarized in Ref. [3,4] and Ref. [5], is explored to determine its viability and limits. The work will focus heavily on theory, simulation, and statistical analyses to explain the corrections, their origins, and their sizes, as well as the applications of the antineutrino signal from nuclear reactors. Chapter [1] serves as an introduction to neutrinos. Their origin is briefly covered, along with neutrino properties and some experimental highlights. The next chapter, Chapter [2], will specifically cover antineutrinos as generated in nuclear reactors. In this chapter, the production and detection methods of reactor neutrinos are introduced as well as a discussion of the theories behind determining the antineutrino spectrum. The mathematical formulation of neutrino oscillation will also be introduced and explained. The first half of this work focuses on two corrections to the reactor antineutrino spectrum. These corrections are generated from two specific sources and are thus named the spent nuclear fuel contribution and the non-linear correction for their respective sources. Chapter [3] contains a discussion of the spent fuel contribution. This correction arises from spent nuclear fuel near the reactor site and involves a detailed application of spent fuel to current reactor antineutrino experiments. Chapter [4] will focus on the non-linear correction, which is caused by neutron-captures within the nuclear reactor environment. Its quantification and impact on future antineutrino experiments are discussed. The research projects presented in the second half, Chapter [5], focus on neutrino applications, specifically reactor monitoring. Chapter [5] is a comprehensive examination of the use of antineutrinos as a reactor safeguards mechanism. This chapter will include the theory behind safeguards, the statistical derivation of power and plutonium measurements, the details of reactor simulations, and the future outlook for non-proliferation through antineutrino monitoring.
  • Thumbnail Image
    A D2O detector for flux normalization of a pion decay-at-rest neutrino source
    Akimov, D.; An, P.; Awe, C.; Barbeau, P. S.; Becker, B.; Belov, V.; Bernardi, I.; Blackston, M. A.; Bolozdynya, A.; Cabrera-Palmer, B.; Chernyak, D.; Conley, E.; Daughhetee, J.; Day, E.; Detwiler, J.; Ding, K.; Durand, M. R.; Efremenko, Y.; Elliott, S. R.; Fabris, L.; Febbraro, M.; Rosso, A. Gallo; Galindo-Uribarri, A.; Green, M. P.; Heath, M. R.; Hedges, S.; Hoang, D.; Hughes, M.; Johnson, T.; Khromov, A.; Konovalov, A.; Koros, J.; Kozlova, E.; Kumpan, A.; Li, L.; Link, Jonathan M.; Liu, J.; Mann, K.; Markoff, D. M.; Mastroberti, J.; Mueller, P. E.; Newby, J.; Parno, D. S.; Penttila, S. I.; Pershey, D.; Rapp, R.; Ray, H.; Raybern, J.; Razuvaeva, O.; Reyna, D.; Rich, G. C.; Ross, J.; Rudik, D.; Runge, J.; Salvat, D. J.; Salyapongse, A. M.; Scholberg, K.; Shakirov, A.; Simakov, G.; Sinev, G.; Snow, W. M.; Sosnovstsev, V.; Suh, B.; Tayloe, R.; Tellez-Giron-Flores, K.; Tolstukhin, I.; Ujah, E.; Vanderwerp, J.; Varner, R. L.; Virtue, C. J.; Visser, G.; Ward, E. M.; Wiseman, C.; Wongjirad, T.; Yen, Y. -R.; Yoo, J.; Yu, C. -H.; Zettlemoyer, J. (IOP, 2021-08-16)
    We report on the technical design and expected performance of a 592 kg heavy-water-Cherenkov detector to measure the absolute neutrino flux from the pion-decay-at-rest neutrino source at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The detector will be located roughly 20 m from the SNS target and will measure the neutrino flux with better than 5% statistical uncertainty in 2 years. This heavy-water detector will serve as the first module of a two-module detector system to ultimately measure the neutrino flux to 2-3% at both the First Target Station and the planned Second Target Station of the SNS. This detector will significantly reduce a dominant systematic uncertainty for neutrino cross-section measurements at the SNS, increasing the sensitivity of searches for new physics.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Dalitz plot analysis of the D+ -> K-pi(+)pi(+) decay in the FOCUS experiment
    Link, Jonathan M.; Yager, P. M.; Anjos, J. C.; Bediaga, I.; Castromonte, C.; Machado, A. A.; Magnin, J.; Massafferri, A.; de Miranda, J. M.; Pepe, I. M.; Polycarpo, E.; dos Reis, A. C.; Carrillo, S.; Casimiro, E.; Cuautle, E.; Sánchez-Hernández, A.; Uribe, C.; Vázquez, F.; Agostino, L.; Cinquini, L.; Cumalat, J. P.; Frisullo, V.; O'Reilly, B.; Segoni, I.; Stenson, K.; Butler, J. N.; Cheung, H. W. K.; Chiodini, G.; Gaines, I.; Garbincius, P. H.; Garren, L. A.; Gottschalk, E.; Kasper, P. H.; Kreymer, A. E.; Kutschke, R.; Wang, M.; Benussi, L.; Bianco, S.; Fabbri, F. L.; Zallo, A.; Reyes, M.; Cawlfield, C.; Kim, D. Y.; Rahimi, A.; Wiss, J.; Gardner, R.; Kryemadhi, A.; Chung, Y. S.; Kang, J. S.; Ko, B. R.; Kwak, J. W.; Lee, K. B.; Cho, K.; Park, H.; Alimonti, G.; Barberis, S.; Boschini, M.; Cerutti, A.; D'Angelo, P.; DiCorato, M.; Dini, P.; Edera, L.; Erba, S.; Inzani, P.; Leveraro, E.; Malvezzi, S.; Menasce, D.; Mezzadri, M.; Moroni, L.; Pedrini, D.; Pontoglio, C.; Prelz, F.; Rovere, M.; Sala, S.; Davenport, T. F. III; Arena, V.; Boca, G.; Bonomi, G.; Gianini, G.; Liguori, G.; Pegna, D. L.; Merlo, M. M.; Pantea, D.; Ratti, S. P.; Riccardi, C.; Vitulo, P.; Goebel, C.; Otalora, J.; Hemandez, H.; Lopez, A. M.; Mendez, H.; Paris, A.; Quinones, J.; Ramirez, J. E.; Zhang, Y.; Wilson, J. R.; Handler, T.; Mitchell, R.; Engh, D.; Hosack, M.; Johns, W. E.; Luiggi, E.; Nehring, M.; Sheldon, P. D.; Vaandering, E. W.; Webster, M.; Sheaff, M.; Pennington, M. R. (2007-09-13)
    Using data collected by the high energy photoproduction experiment FOCUS at Fermilab we performed a Dalitz plot analysis of the Cabibbo favored decay D+ ! K−π+π+. This study uses 53653 Dalitz-plot events with a signal fraction of 97%, and represents the highest statistics, most complete Dalitz plot analysis for this channel. Results are presented and discussed using two different formalisms. The first is a simple sum of Breit–Wigner functions with freely fitted masses and widths. It is the model traditionally adopted and serves as comparison with the already published analyses. The second uses a K-matrix approach for the dominant S-wave, in which the parameters are fixed by first fitting Kπ scattering data and continued to threshold by Chiral Perturbation Theory. We show that the Dalitz plot distribution for this decay is consistent with the assumption of two body dominance of the final state interactions and the description of these interactions is in agreement with other data on the Kπ final state.
  • Thumbnail Image
    The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment
    Hor, Yuenkeung (Virginia Tech, 2014-09-18)
    The Daya Bay experiment has determined the last unknown mixing angle $theta_{13}$. This thesis describes the layout of the experiment and the detector design. The analysis presented in the thesis covered the water attenuation, spent fuel neutrino and electron anti-neutrino spectrum. Other physics analysis and impact to future experiments are also discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment
    Meng, Yue (Virginia Tech, 2014-09-22)
    The Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment is a high sensitivity experiment designed to determine the last unknown neutrino mixing angle $theta_{13}$ by measuring disappearance of reactor antineutrinos emitted from six 2.9 $GW_{th}$ reactors at the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station. There are eight identical Gd-loaded liquid scintillator detectors deployed in two near (flux-weighted baseline 512 $m$ and 561 $m$) and one far (1579 $m$) underground experimental halls to detect the inverse beta decay interaction. This dissertation describes the Daya Bay Experiment and individual contributions to this experiment. Chapter 1 reviews the history of the neutrino and the neutrino oscillation phenomena. The reactor based neutrino experiments in different times are described in this chapter in detail. It presents the motivation of the Daya Bay Experiment. In Chapter 2, the neutrino detection method and the $theta_{13}$ relative measurement method are introduced. This chapter focuses on the design of the Daya Bay Experiment, including antineutrino detector, calibration system, muon veto system and muon tagging system. Chapter 3 shows the design, development, construction, and assembly of Muon Pool PMT calibration system, and presents an algorithm of calculating the muon pool PMT timing offset values. Chapter 4 focuses on the manufacture, installation and commissioning of RPC HV system. Chapter 5 presents the analyses of the radioactive isotopes induced by comic muons. The Daya Bay detector energy response model is also described in detail. The relative rate analysis results exclude a zero value from $sin^22theta_{13}$ with a significance of 7.7 standard deviation using 139 days of data, 28909 (205308) antineutrino candidates which were recorded at the far hall (near halls) and shows $sin^22theta_{13} = 0.089pm0.011$ in a three-neutrino framework. A combined analysis of the $overline nu_e$ rates and energy spectra based on the detector energy response model improved measurement of the mixing angle $sin^22theta_{13} = 0.090^{+0.008}_{-0.009}$ by using 217 days of data, 41589 (203809 and 92912) antineutrino candidates were detected in the far hall (near halls). Also the first direct measurement of the $overline nu_e$ mass-squared difference $|Delta m^2_{ee}|= (2.59^{+0.19}_{-0.20})times10^{-3}$ $eV^2$. It is consistent with $|Delta m^2_{mumu}|$ measured by muon neutrino disappearance, supporting the three-flavor oscillation model.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Detection of Antineutrinos at the North Anna Nuclear Generating Station
    Li, Shengchao (Virginia Tech, 2020-10-28)
    Nuclear reactors have played an essential role in developing our current understanding of neutrinos. The precision measurement of these high-flux, pure-flavor and controllable artificial neutrino sources shed lights on a wide range of fundamental questions in physics. Specifically, the Reactor Antineutrino Anomaly hints that there may exist a novel eV-scale sterile neutrino, which requires new physics beyond the Standard Model. Performing reactor neutrino spectrum measurements at very-short baseline will improve our imperfect understanding of antineutrino emission from fissile material. CHANDLER is a new-generation neutrino experiment aiming for reactor antineutrino spectrum measurements, to test the eV-scale sterile neutrino oscillation hypothesis unambiguously. The second prototype detector, MiniCHANDLER, was deployed 25 meters from a $2.9~GW_{th}$ commercial nuclear reactor in North Anna, Virginia. To fight against the overwhelming background arising from its surface-level deployment, CHANDLER detectors adopt a novel design using lithium-6 ($^6$Li) loaded zinc sulfide (ZnS) scintillator to tag neutron capture events, which significantly improves the IBD detection efficiency. The use of the Raghavan optical lattice brings enormous enhancement of light collection towards high energy resolution, which unlocks reconstruction of event topology to further suppress backgrounds. The ability of measuring reactor antineutrino spectra enables the potential application of CHANDLER technology in nuclear nonproliferation. This thesis features the prototype detectors instrumentation, data analysis development and Monte Carlo study for the CHANDLER experiment during 2016 to 2020. The detector calibration and energy reconstruction with vertical muon forms a core piece of this thesis. We report our observation of IBD spectrum with 5.5$sigma$ significance with a four month deployment of the minimal shielded MiniCHANDLER prototype at North Anna. The application of separation cuts and topological selections in the analysis are instrumental for a segmented plastic scintillator detector. We also present our results from the proton scintillation quenching measurement at Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, with the deployment of the first prototype detector, MicroCHANDLER, at a neutron beam.
  • Experimental Neutrino Physics
    Link, Jonathan M. (2016-02-11)
  • Experimental Neutrino Physics: Review and Summary
    Link, Jonathan M. (2016-09-22)