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D. Franco

Publications and source records attributed to D. Franco.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
arXiv2012

First Test of Lorentz Violation with a Reactor-based Antineutrino Experiment

We present a search for Lorentz violation with 8249 candidate electron antineutrino events taken by the Double Chooz experiment in 227.9 live days of running. This analysis, featuring a search for a sidereal time dependence of the events, is the first test of Lorentz invariance using a reactor-based antineutrino source. No sidereal variation is present in the data and the disappearance results are consistent with sidereal time independent oscillations. Under the Standard-Model Extension (SME), we set the first limits on fourteen Lorentz violating coefficients associated with transitions between electron and tau flavor, and set two competitive limits associated with transitions between electron and muon flavor.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2012

Borexino calibrations: Hardware, Methods, and Results

Borexino was the first experiment to detect solar neutrinos in real-time in the sub-MeV region. In order to achieve high precision in the determination of neutrino rates, the detector design includes an internal and an external calibration system. This paper describes both calibration systems and the calibration campaigns that were carried out in the period between 2008 and 2011. We discuss some of the results and show that the calibration procedures preserved the radiopurity of the scintillator. The calibrations provided a detailed understanding of the detector response and led to a significant reduction of the systematic uncertainties in the Borexino measurements.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2012

Cosmic-muon flux and annual modulation in Borexino at 3800 m water-equivalent depth

We have measured the muon flux at the underground Gran Sasso National Laboratory (3800 m w.e.) to be (3.41 \pm 0.01) \times 10-4m-2s-1 using four years of Borexino data. A modulation of this signal is observed with a period of (366\pm3) days and a relative amplitude of (1.29 \pm 0.07)%. The measured phase is (179 \pm 6) days, corresponding to a maximum on the 28th of June. Using the most complete atmospheric data models available, muon rate fluctuations are shown to be positively correlated with atmospheric temperature, with an effective coefficient αT = 0.93 \pm 0.04. This result represents the most precise study of the muon flux modulation for this site and is in good agreement with expectations.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2012

Direct Measurement of Backgrounds using Reactor-Off Data in Double Chooz

Double Chooz is unique among modern reactor-based neutrino experiments studying $\bar ν_e$ disappearance in that data can be collected with all reactors off. In this paper, we present data from 7.53 days of reactor-off running. Applying the same selection criteria as used in the Double Chooz reactor-on oscillation analysis, a measured background rate of 1.0$\pm$0.4 events/day is obtained. The background model for accidentals, cosmogenic $β$-$n$-emitting isotopes, fast neutrons from cosmic muons, and stopped-$μ$ decays used in the oscillation analysis is demonstrated to be correct within the uncertainties. Kinematic distributions of the events, which are dominantly cosmic-ray-produced correlated-background events, are provided. The background rates are scaled to the shielding depths of two other reactor-based oscillation experiments, Daya Bay and RENO.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2012

Reactor electron antineutrino disappearance in the Double Chooz experiment

The Double Chooz experiment has observed 8,249 candidate electron antineutrino events in 227.93 live days with 33.71 GW-ton-years (reactor power x detector mass x livetime) exposure using a 10.3 cubic meter fiducial volume detector located at 1050 m from the reactor cores of the Chooz nuclear power plant in France. The expectation in case of theta13 = 0 is 8,937 events. The deficit is interpreted as evidence of electron antineutrino disappearance. From a rate plus spectral shape analysis we find sin^2 2θ13 = 0.109 \pm 0.030(stat) \pm 0.025(syst). The data exclude the no-oscillation hypothesis at 99.8% CL (2.9σ).

hep-ex↗
arXiv2012

Search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay in $^{136}$Xe with EXO-200

We report on a search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of $^{136}$Xe with EXO-200. No signal is observed for an exposure of 32.5 kg-yr, with a background of ~1.5 x 10^{-3} /(kg yr keV) in the $\pm 1σ$ region of interest. This sets a lower limit on the half-life of the neutrinoless double-beta decay $T_{1/2}^{0νββ}$($^{136}$Xe) > 1.6 x 10$^{25}$ yr (90% CL), corresponding to effective Majorana masses of less than 140-380 meV, depending on the matrix element calculation.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2012

The EXO-200 detector, part I: Detector design and construction

EXO-200 is an experiment designed to search for double beta decay of $^{136}$Xe with a single-phase, liquid xenon detector. It uses an active mass of 110 kg of xenon enriched to 80.6% in the isotope 136 in an ultra-low background time projection chamber capable of simultaneous detection of ionization and scintillation. This paper describes the EXO-200 detector with particular attention to the most innovative aspects of the design that revolve around the reduction of backgrounds, the efficient use of the expensive isotopically enriched xenon, and the optimization of the energy resolution in a relatively large volume.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2012

Solar neutrino physics with Borexino I

Borexino is a large-volume liquid scintillator detector installed in the underground halls of the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy. After several years of construction, data taking started in May 2007. The Borexino phase I ended after about three years of data taking. Borexino provided the first real time measurement of the $^{7}$Be solar neutrino interaction rate with accuracy better than 5% and confirmed the absence of its day-night asymmetry with 1.4% precision. This latter Borexino results alone rejects the LOW region of solar neutrino oscillation parameters at more than 8.5 $σ$ C.L. Combined with the other solar neutrino data, Borexino measurements isolate the MSW-LMA solution of neutrino oscillations without assuming CPT invariance in the neutrino sector. Borexino has also directly observed solar neutrinos in the 1.0-1.5 MeV energy range, leading to the first direct evidence of the $pep$ solar neutrino signal and the strongest constraint of the CNO solar neutrino flux up to date. Borexino provided the measurement of the solar $^{8}$B neutrino rate with 3 MeV energy threshold.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2012

Light Sterile Neutrinos: A White Paper

This white paper addresses the hypothesis of light sterile neutrinos based on recent anomalies observed in neutrino experiments and the latest astrophysical data.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2012

Indication for the disappearance of reactor electron antineutrinos in the Double Chooz experiment

The Double Chooz Experiment presents an indication of reactor electron antineutrino disappearance consistent with neutrino oscillations. A ratio of 0.944 $\pm$ 0.016 (stat) $\pm$ 0.040 (syst) observed to predicted events was obtained in 101 days of running at the Chooz Nuclear Power Plant in France, with two 4.25 GW$_{th}$ reactors. The results were obtained from a single 10 m$^3$ fiducial volume detector located 1050 m from the two reactor cores. The reactor antineutrino flux prediction used the Bugey4 measurement as an anchor point. The deficit can be interpreted as an indication of a non-zero value of the still unmeasured neutrino mixing parameter \sang. Analyzing both the rate of the prompt positrons and their energy spectrum we find \sang = 0.086 $\pm$ 0.041 (stat) $\pm$ 0.030 (syst), or, at 90% CL, 0.015 $<$ \sang $\ <$ 0.16.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2011

Observation of Two-Neutrino Double-Beta Decay in Xe-136 with EXO-200

We report the observation of two-neutrino double-beta decay in Xe-136 with T_1/2 = 2.11 +- 0.04 (stat.) +- 0.21 (sys.) x 10^21 yr. This second order process, predicted by the Standard Model, has been observed for several nuclei but not for Xe-136. The observed decay rate provides new input to matrix element calculations and to the search for the more interesting neutrino-less double-beta decay, the most sensitive probe for the existence of Majorana particles and the measurement of the neutrino mass scale.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2011

Xenon purity analysis for EXO-200 via mass spectrometry

We describe purity measurements of the natural and enriched xenon stockpiles used by the EXO-200 double beta decay experiment based on a mass spectrometry technique. The sensitivity of the spectrometer is enhanced by several orders of magnitude by the presence of a liquid nitrogen cold trap, and many impurity species of interest can be detected at the level of one part-per-billion or better. We have used the technique to screen the EXO-200 xenon before, during, and after its use in our detector, and these measurements have proven useful. This is the first application of the cold trap mass spectrometry technique to an operating physics experiment.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2011

A magnetically-driven piston pump for ultra-clean applications

A magnetically driven piston pump for xenon gas recirculation is presented. The pump is designed to satisfy extreme purity and containment requirements, as is appropriate for the recirculation of isotopically enriched xenon through the purification system and large liquid xenon TPC of EXO-200. The pump, using sprung polymer gaskets, is capable of pumping more than 16 standard liters per minute (SLPM) of xenon gas with 750 torr differential pressure.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2011

Positronium signature in organic liquid scintillators for neutrino experiments

Electron anti-neutrinos are commonly detected in liquid scintillator experiments via inverse beta decay, by looking at the coincidence between the reaction products, neutron and positron. Prior to positron annihilation, an electron-positron pair may form an orthopositronium (o-Ps) state, with a mean life of a few ns. Even if the o-Ps decay is speeded up by spin flip or pick off effects, it may introduce distortions in the photon emission time distribution, crucial for position reconstruction and pulse shape discrimination algorithms in anti-neutrino experiments. Reversing the problem, the o-Ps induced time distortion represents a new signature for tagging anti-neutrinos in liquid scintillator. In this paper, we report the results of measurements of the o-Ps formation probability and lifetime, for the most used solvents for organic liquid scintillators in neutrino physics (pseudocumene, linear alkyl benzene, phenylxylylethane, and dodecane). We characterize also a mixture of pseudocumene +1.5 g/l of 2,5-diphenyloxazole, a fluor acting as wavelength shifter. In the second part of the paper, we demonstrate that the o-Ps induced distortion of the scintillation photon emission time distributions represent an optimal signature for tagging positrons on an event by event basis, potentially enhancing the anti-neutrino detection.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2011

Muon and Cosmogenic Neutron Detection in Borexino

Borexino, a liquid scintillator detector at LNGS, is designed for the detection of neutrinos and antineutrinos from the Sun, supernovae, nuclear reactors, and the Earth. The feeble nature of these signals requires a strong suppression of backgrounds below a few MeV. Very low intrinsic radiogenic contamination of all detector components needs to be accompanied by the efficient identification of muons and of muon-induced backgrounds. Muons produce unstable nuclei by spallation processes along their trajectory through the detector whose decays can mimic the expected signals; for isotopes with half-lives longer than a few seconds, the dead time induced by a muon-related veto becomes unacceptably long, unless its application can be restricted to a sub-volume along the muon track. Consequently, not only the identification of muons with very high efficiency but also a precise reconstruction of their tracks is of primary importance for the physics program of the experiment. The Borexino inner detector is surrounded by an outer water-Cherenkov detector that plays a fundamental role in accomplishing this task. The detector design principles and their implementation are described. The strategies adopted to identify muons are reviewed and their efficiency is evaluated. The overall muon veto efficiency is found to be 99.992% or better. Ad-hoc track reconstruction algorithms developed are presented. Their performance is tested against muon events of known direction such as those from the CNGS neutrino beam, test tracks available from a dedicated External Muon Tracker and cosmic muons whose angular distribution reflects the local overburden profile. The achieved angular resolution is 3-5 deg and the lateral resolution is 35-50 cm, depending on the impact parameter of the crossing muon. The methods implemented to efficiently tag cosmogenic neutrons are also presented.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2010

Limits on light-speed anisotropies from Compton scattering of high-energy electrons

The possibility of anisotropies in the speed of light relative to the limiting speed of electrons is considered. The absence of sidereal variations in the energy of Compton-edge photons at the ESRF's GRAAL facility constrains such anisotropies representing the first non-threshold collision-kinematics study of Lorentz violation. When interpreted within the minimal Standard-Model Extension, this result yields the two-sided limit of 1.6 x 10^{-14} at 95% confidence level on a combination of the parity-violating photon and electron coefficients kappa_{o+} and c. This new constraint provides an improvement over previous bounds by one order of magnitude.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2010

A new limit on the light speed isotropy from the GRAAL experiment at the ESRF

When the electrons stored in the ring of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF, Grenoble) scatter on a laser beam (Compton scattering in flight) the lower energy of the scattered electron spectra, the Compton Edge (CE), is given by the two body photon-electron relativistic kinematics and depends on the velocity of light. A precision measurement of the position of this CE as a function of the daily variations of the direction of the electron beam in an absolute reference frame provides a one-way test of Relativistic Kinematics and the isotropy of the velocity of light. The results of GRAAL-ESRF measurements improve the previously existing one-way limits, thus showing the efficiency of this method and the interest of further studies in this direction.

physics.acc-ph↗