arXiv subjects

E. S. Smith

Publications and source records attributed to E. S. Smith.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Dark matter search with the BDX-MINI experiment

BDX-MINI is a beam dump experiment optimized to search for Light Dark Matter produced in the interaction of the intense CEBAF 2.176 GeV electron beam with the Hall A beam dump at Jefferson Lab. The BDX-MINI detector consists of a PbWO$_4$ electromagnetic calorimeter surrounded by a hermetic veto system for background rejection. The experiment accumulated $2.56 \times 10^{21}$ EOT in six months of running. Simulations of fermionic and scalar Dark Matter interactions with electrons of the active volume of the BDX-MINI detector were used to estimate the expected signal. Data collected during the beam-off time allowed us to characterize the background dominated by cosmic rays. A blind data analysis based on a maximum-likelihood approach was used to optimize the experiment sensitivity. An upper limit on the production of light dark matter was set using the combined event samples collected during beam-on and beam-off configurations. In some kinematics, this pilot experiment is sensitive to the parameter space covered by some of the most sensitive experiments to date, which demonstrates the discovery potential of the next generation beam dump experiment planned at intense electron beam facilities.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

The BDX-MINI detector for Light Dark Matter search at JLab

This paper describes the design and performance of a compact detector, BDX-MINI, that incorporates all features of a concept that optimized the detection of light dark matter produced by electrons in a beam dump. It represents a reduced version of the future BDX experiment expected to run at JLAB. BDX-MINI was exposed to penetrating particles produced by a 2.176 GeV electron beam incident on the beam dump of Hall A at Jefferson Lab. The detector consists of 30.5 kg of PbWO4 crystals with sufficient material following the beam dump to eliminate all known particles except neutrinos. The crystals are read out using silicon photomultipliers. Completely surrounding the detector are a passive layer of tungsten and two active scintillator veto systems, which are also read out using silicon photomultipliers. The design was validated and the performance of the robust detector was shown to be stable during a six month period during which the detector was operated with minimal access.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

Dark matter search in a Beam-Dump eXperiment (BDX) at Jefferson Lab -- 2018 update to PR12-16-001

This document complements and completes what was submitted last year to PAC45 as an update to the proposal PR12-16-001 "Dark matter search in a Beam-Dump eXperiment (BDX)" at Jefferson Lab submitted to JLab-PAC44 in 2016. Following the suggestions contained in the PAC45 report, in coordination with the lab, we ran a test to assess the beam-related backgrounds and validate the simulation framework used to design the BDX experiment. Using a common Monte Carlo framework for the test and the proposed experiment, we optimized the selection cuts to maximize the reach considering simultaneously the signal, cosmic-ray background (assessed in Catania test with BDX-Proto) and beam-related backgrounds (irreducible NC and CC neutrino interactions as determined by simulation). Our results confirmed what was presented in the original proposal: with 285 days of a parasitic run at 65 $μ$A (corresponding to $10^{22}$ EOT) the BDX experiment will lower the exclusion limits in the case of no signal by one to two orders of magnitude in the parameter space of dark-matter coupling versus mass.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2018

Dark matter search in a Beam-Dump eXperiment (BDX) at Jefferson Lab: an update on PR12-16-001

This document is an update to the proposal PR12-16-001 Dark matter search in a Beam-Dump eXperiment (BDX) at Jefferson Lab submitted to JLab-PAC44 in 2016 reporting progress in addressing questions raised regarding the beam-on backgrounds. The concerns are addressed by adopting a new simulation tool, FLUKA, and planning measurements of muon fluxes from the dump with its existing shielding around the dump. First, we have implemented the detailed BDX experimental geometry into a FLUKA simulation, in consultation with experts from the JLab Radiation Control Group. The FLUKA simulation has been compared directly to our GEANT4 simulations and shown to agree in regions of validity. The FLUKA interaction package, with a tuned set of biasing weights, is naturally able to generate reliable particle distributions with very small probabilities and therefore predict rates at the detector location beyond the planned shielding around the beam dump. Second, we have developed a plan to conduct measurements of the muon ux from the Hall-A dump in its current configuration to validate our simulations.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

Measurement of the beam asymmetry $Σ$ for $π^0$ and $η$ photoproduction on the proton at $E_γ= 9$ GeV

We report measurements of the photon beam asymmetry $Σ$ for the reactions $\vecγp\to pπ^0$ and $\vecγp\to pη$ from the GlueX experiment using a 9 GeV linearly-polarized, tagged photon beam incident on a liquid hydrogen target in Jefferson Lab's Hall D. The asymmetries, measured as a function of the proton momentum transfer, possess greater precision than previous $π^0$ measurements and are the first $η$ measurements in this energy regime. The results are compared with theoretical predictions based on $t$-channel, quasi-particle exchange and constrain the axial-vector component of the neutral meson production mechanism in these models.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2016

Dark matter search in a Beam-Dump eXperiment (BDX) at Jefferson Lab

MeV-GeV dark matter (DM) is theoretically well motivated but remarkably unexplored. This proposal presents the MeV-GeV DM discovery potential for a $\sim$1 m$^3$ segmented CsI(Tl) scintillator detector placed downstream of the Hall A beam-dump at Jefferson Lab, receiving up to 10$^{22}$ electrons-on-target (EOT) in 285 days. This experiment (Beam-Dump eXperiment or BDX) would be sensitive to elastic DM-electron and to inelastic DM scattering at the level of 10 counts per year, reaching the limit of the neutrino irreducible background. The distinct signature of a DM interaction will be an electromagnetic shower of few hundreds of MeV, together with a reduced activity in the surrounding active veto counters. A detailed description of the DM particle $χ$ production in the dump and subsequent interaction in the detector has been performed by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Different approaches have been used to evaluate the expected backgrounds: the cosmogenic background has been extrapolated from the results obtained with a prototype detector running at INFN-LNS (Italy), while the beam-related background has been evaluated by GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulations. The proposed experiment will be sensitive to large regions of DM parameter space, exceeding the discovery potential of existing and planned experiments in the MeV-GeV DM mass range by up to two orders of magnitude.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

First Results from The GlueX Experiment

The GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab ran with its first commissioning beam in late 2014 and the spring of 2015. Data were collected on both plastic and liquid hydrogen targets, and much of the detector has been commissioned. All of the detector systems are now performing at or near design specifications and events are being fully reconstructed, including exclusive production of $π^{0}$, $η$ and $ω$ mesons. Linearly-polarized photons were successfully produced through coherent bremsstrahlung and polarization transfer to the $ρ$ has been observed.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2013

An initial study of mesons and baryons containing strange quarks with GlueX

The primary motivation of the GlueX experiment is to search for and ultimately study the pattern of gluonic excitations in the meson spectrum produced in $γp$ collisions. Recent lattice QCD calculations predict a rich spectrum of hybrid mesons that have both exotic and non-exotic $J^{PC}$, corresponding to $q\bar{q}$ states ($q=u,$ $d,$ or $s$) coupled with a gluonic field. A thorough study of the hybrid spectrum, including the identification of the isovector triplet, with charges 0 and $\pm1$, and both isoscalar members, $|s\bar{s}\ >$ and $|u\bar{u}\ > + |d\bar{d}\ >$, for each predicted hybrid combination of $J^{PC}$, may only be achieved by conducting a systematic amplitude analysis of many different hadronic final states. Detailed studies of the performance of the \gx detector have indicated that identification of particular final states with kaons is possible using the baseline detector configuration. The efficiency of kaon detection coupled with the relatively lower production cross section for particles containing hidden strangeness will require a high intensity run in order for analyses of such states to be feasible. We propose to collect a total of 200 days of physics analysis data at an average intensity of $5\times 10^7$ tagged photons on target per second. This data sample will provide an order of magnitude statistical improvement over the initial GlueX running, which will allow us to begin a program of studying mesons and baryons containing strange quarks. In addition, the increased intensity will permit us to study reactions that may have been statistically limited in the initial phases of GlueX. Overall, this will lead to a significant increase in the potential for \gx to make key experimental advances in our knowledge of hybrid mesons and excited $Ξ$ baryons.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2012

A study of meson and baryon decays to strange final states with GlueX in Hall D (A proposal to the 39th Jefferson Lab Program Advisory Committee)

The primary motivation of the GlueX experiment is to search for and ultimately study the pattern of gluonic excitations in the meson spectrum produced in gamma p collisions. Recent lattice QCD calculations predict a rich spectrum of hybrid mesons that have both exotic and non-exotic JPC, corresponding to q q-bar (q=u, d, or s) states coupled with a gluonic field. A thorough study of the hybrid spectrum, including the identification of the isovector triplet, with charges 0 and +-1, and both isoscalar members, |s s-bar> and |u u-bar> + |d d-bar>, for each predicted hybrid combination of JPC, may only be achieved by conducting a systematic amplitude analysis of many different hadronic final states. We propose the development of a kaon identification system, supplementing the existing GlueX forward time-of-flight detector, in order to cleanly select meson and baryon decay channels that include kaons. Once this detector has been installed and commissioned, we plan to collect a total of 200 days of physics analysis data at an average intensity of 5 x 10^7 tagged photons on target per second. This data sample will provide an order of magnitude statistical improvement over the initial GlueX data set and, with the developed kaon identification system, a significant increase in the potential for GlueX to make key experimental advances in our knowledge of hybrid mesons and Cascade baryons.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2012

Comment on the narrow structure reported by Amaryan et al

The CLAS Collaboration provides a comment on the physics interpretation of the results presented in a paper published by M. Amaryan et al. regarding the possible observation of a narrow structure in the mass spectrum of a photoproduction experiment.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2011

Upper limits for the photoproduction cross section for the Phi--(1860) pentaquark state off the deuteron

We searched for the Phi--(1860) pentaquark in the photoproduction process off the deuteron in the Xi- pi- decay channel using CLAS. The invariant mass spectrum of the Xi- pi- system does not indicate any statistically significant enhancement near the reported mass M = 1.860 GeV. The statistical analysis of the sideband-subtracted mass spectrum yields a 90% confidence level upper limit of 0.7 nb for the photoproduction cross section of Phi--(1860) with a consecutive decay into Xi- pi- in the photon energy range 4.5 GeV < Egamma < 5.5 GeV.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2009

Multiplicative scale uncertainties in the unified approach for constructing confidence intervals

We have investigated how uncertainties in the estimation of the detection efficiency affect the 90% confidence intervals in the unified approach for constructing confidence intervals. The study has been conducted for experiments where the number of detected events is large and can be described by a Gaussian probability density function. We also assume the detection efficiency has a Gaussian probability density and study the range of the relative uncertainties $σ_ε$ between 0 and 30%. We find that the confidence intervals provide proper coverage over a wide signal range and increase smoothly and continuously from the intervals that ignore scale uncertainties with a quadratic dependence on $σ_ε$.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2008

Electroproduction of $ϕ(1020)$ mesons at $1.4\leq Q^2\leq$ GeV$^2$ measured with the CLAS spectrometer

Electroproduction of exclusive $ϕ$ vector mesons has been studied with the CLAS detector in the kinematical range $1.4\leq Q^2\leq 3.8$ GeV$^{2}$, $0.0\leq t^{\prime}\leq 3.6$ GeV$^{2}$, and $2.0\leq W\leq 3.0$ GeV. The scaling exponent for the total cross section as $1/(Q^2+M_ϕ^2)^n$ was determined to be $n=2.49\pm 0.33$. The slope of the four-momentum transfer $t'$ distribution is $b_ϕ=0.98 \pm 0.17$ GeV$^{-2}$. Under the assumption of s-channel helicity conservation (SCHC), we determine the ratio of longitudinal to transverse cross sections to be $R=0.86 \pm 0.24$. A 2-gluon exchange model is able to reproduce the main features of the data.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2005

Time resolution of Burle 85001 micro-channel plate photo-multipliers in comparison with Hamamatsu R2083

The CLAS detector will require improvements in its particle identification system to take advantage of the higher energies provided by the Jefferson Laboratory accelerator upgrade to 12 GeV. To this end, we have studied the timing characteristics of the micro-channel plate photo-multiplier 85001 from Burle, which can be operated in a high magnetic field environment. For reference and comparison, measurements were also made using the standard PMT R2083 from Hamamatsu using two timing methods. The cosmic ray method, which utilizes three identical scintillating counters 2cmx3cmx50cm with PMs at the ends, yields 59.1(0.7)ps. The location method of particles from radiative source with known coordiantes has been used to compare timing resolutions of R2083 and Burle-85001.This ``coordinate method'' requires only one counter instrumented with two PMs and it yields 59.5(0.7)ps. For the micro-channel plate photomultiplier from Burle with an external amplification of 10 to the signals, the coordinate method yields 130(4)ps. This method also makes it possible to estimate the number of primary photo-electrons.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2001

Exclusive electroproduction of phi mesons at 4.2 GeV

We studied the exclusive reaction e p --> e' p' phi using the phi --> K^+ K^- decay mode. The data were collected using a 4.2 GeV incident electron beam and the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab. Our experiment covers the range in Q^2 from 0.7 to 2.2 GeV^2, and W from 2.0 to 2.6 GeV. Taken together with all previous data, we find a consistent picture of phi production on the proton. Our measurement shows the expected decrease of the t-slope with the vector meson formation time c Delta tau below 2 fm. At = 0.6 fm, we measure b_phi = 2.27 +- 0.42 GeV^-2. The cross section dependence on W as W^{0.2+-0.1} at Q^2 = 1.3 GeV^2 was determined by comparison with phi production at HERA after correcting for threshold effects. This is the same dependence as observed in photoproduction.

hep-ex↗