arXiv subjects

Benjamin Richards

Publications and source records attributed to Benjamin Richards.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Deep-learning-based low-energy trigger algorithms for the Hyper-Kamiokande experiment

Modern machine learning techniques have become increasingly important in particle physics because of their powerful pattern-recognition capabilities, including in real-time data acquisition where stringent runtime constraints apply. This paper details the performance of deep-learning-based trigger algorithms for a large water Cherenkov detector such as Hyper-Kamiokande aimed at low-energy neutrino events (below 7 MeV). The performance of custom neural-network supervised classifiers is shown alongside two anomaly-detection approaches trained solely on detector noise: a pure autoencoder and an energy-based model based on Manifold Projection--Diffusion Recovery (MPDR). The supervised model shows signal identification efficiencies of 76.7% for single electrons of 3 MeV kinetic energy, significantly exceeding signal efficiencies obtained from a traditional hit-count-based trigger of 26.4%, as does the MPDR approach with 31.8%. Runtime evaluations on GPU yield per-window inference latencies well below the millisecond scale, indicating that real-time operation is feasible.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Physical Consistency of Aurora's Encoder: A Quantitative Study

The high accuracy of large-scale weather forecasting models like Aurora is often accompanied by a lack of transparency, as their internal representations remain largely opaque. This "black box" nature hinders their adoption in high-stakes operational settings. In this work, we probe the physical consistency of Aurora's encoder by investigating whether its latent representations align with known physical and meteorological concepts. Using a large-scale dataset of embeddings, we train linear classifiers to identify three distinct concepts: the fundamental land-sea boundary, high-impact extreme temperature events, and atmospheric instability. Our findings provide quantitative evidence that Aurora learns physically consistent features, while also highlighting its limitations in capturing the rarest events. This work underscores the critical need for interpretability methods to validate and build trust in the next generation of Al-driven weather models.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2025

Silicate mineralogy and bulk composition of exoplanetary material in polluted white dwarfs

White dwarf planetary systems uniquely link the bulk elemental composition of exoplanetary material to the mineralogy as photospheric abundances can be compared to circumstellar dust mineralogy. This study re-examines Spitzer/IRS spectra of eight white dwarfs with both circumstellar dust and photospheric metals. All systems show 10$\mu$m silicate emission features consistent with a mixture of olivine and pyroxene silicates, with varying dominance. New Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet spectroscopic observations of two of these systems, GD56 and WD1150-153, reveal that both are accreting dry, rocky material. WD1150-153 is accreting material consistent with Bulk Earth, while GD56 is accreting core-rich material with an inferred core mass fraction of 0.59$^{+0.08}_{-0.09}$ (0.37$^{+0.08}_{-0.08}$ by mole). A comparison between the bulk elemental composition of the accreted planetary material and the dust mineralogy of the eight systems reveals a tentative correlation between the dominant silicate mineralogy and the Mg/Si ratio, indicating that the circumstellar and photospheric material are compositionally similar. This suggests that rapid and well-mixed accretion is occurring with minimal compositional alteration. Furthermore, new GGCHEM equilibrium chemistry models confirm that Mg-rich planetary material preferentially forms olivine-rich dust, highlighting the importance of equilibrium in planetary chemistry and that a host star or rock's Mg/Si can be used to predict whether its silicate mineralogy is olivine- or pyroxene-dominated, influencing its capacity to structurally store water, recycle key nutrients, and possibly habitability.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2023

Convex Ancient Solutions to Anisotropic Curve Shortening Flow

We construct a translating solution to anisotropic curve shortening flow and show that for a given anisotropic factor $g:S^1\to\mathbb{R}_+$, and a given direction and speed, this translator is unique. We then construct an ancient compact solution to anisotropic curve shortening flow, and show that this solution, along with the appropriate translating solution, are the unique solutions to anisotropic curve shortening flow that lie in a slab of a given width and no smaller.

math.DG↗

arXiv2019

Measurement of Beam-Correlated Background Neutrons from the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam in ANNIE Phase-I

The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) aims to make a unique measurement of neutron yield from neutrino-nucleus interactions and to perform R&D for the next generation of water-based neutrino detectors. In this paper, we characterize beam-induced neutron backgrounds in the experimental hall at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. It is shown that the background levels are sufficiently low to allow the next stage of the experiment to proceed. These measurements are relevant to other Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) experiments located adjacent to ANNIE Hall, where dirt neutrons and sky-shine could present similar backgrounds.

physics.ins-det↗