arXiv subjects

G. F. Cao

Publications and source records attributed to G. F. Cao.

At least 793 records · Page 44Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

An apparatus to manipulate and identify individual Ba ions from bulk liquid Xe

We describe a system to transport and identify barium ions produced in liquid xenon, as part of R&D towards the second phase of a double beta decay experiment, nEXO. The goal is to identify the Ba ion resulting from an extremely rare nuclear decay of the isotope $^{136}$Xe, hence providing a confirmation of the occurrence of the decay. This is achieved through Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy (RIS). In the test setup described here, Ba ions can be produced in liquid xenon or vacuum and collected on a clean substrate. This substrate is then removed to an analysis chamber under vacuum, where laser-induced thermal desorption and RIS are used with time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectroscopy for positive identification of the barium decay product.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

An Optimal Energy Estimator to Reduce Correlated Noise for the EXO-200 Light Readout

The energy resolution of the EXO-200 detector is limited by electronics noise in the measurement of the scintillation response. Here we present a new technique to extract optimal scintillation energy measurements for signals split across multiple channels in the presence of correlated noise. The implementation of these techniques improves the energy resolution of the detector at the neutrinoless double beta decay Q-value from $\left[1.9641\pm 0.0039\right]\%$ to $\left[1.5820\pm 0.0044\right]\%$.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

Search for $2νββ$ decay of $^{136}$Xe to the 0$_1^+$ excited state of $^{136}$Ba with EXO-200

EXO-200 is a single phase liquid xenon detector designed to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of $^{136}$Xe to the ground state of $^{136}$Ba. We report here on a search for the two-neutrino double-beta decay of $^{136}$Xe to the first $0^+$ excited state, $0^+_1$, of $^{136}$Ba based on a 100 kg$\cdot$yr exposure of $^{136}$Xe. Using a specialized analysis employing a machine learning algorithm, we obtain a 90% CL half-life sensitivity of $1.7 \times 10^{24}$ yr. We find no statistically significant evidence for the $2νββ$ decay to the excited state resulting in a lower limit of $T^{2ν}_{1/2}$ ($0^+ \rightarrow 0^+_1$) $> 6.9 \times 10^{23}$ yr at 90% CL. This observed limit is consistent with the estimated half-life of $2.5\times10^{25}$ yr.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2017

Measurement of the Drift Velocity and Transverse Diffusion of Electrons in Liquid Xenon with the EXO-200 Detector

The EXO-200 Collaboration is searching for neutrinoless double beta decay using a liquid xenon (LXe) time projection chamber. This measurement relies on modeling the transport of charge deposits produced by interactions in the LXe to allow discrimination between signal and background events. Here we present measurements of the transverse diffusion constant and drift velocity of electrons at drift fields between 20~V/cm and 615~V/cm using EXO-200 data. At the operating field of 380~V/cm EXO-200 measures a drift velocity of 1.705$_{-0.010}^{+0.014}$~mm/$μ$s and a transverse diffusion coefficient of 55$\pm$4~cm$^2$/s.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

Observation of $Λ^+_{c}\to nK^0_Sπ^+$

We report the first direct measurement of decays of the $Λ^+_c$ baryon involving the neutron. The analysis is performed using 567 pb$^{-1}$ of $e^+e^-$ collision data collected at $\sqrt{s}=4.599$ GeV with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. We observe the decay $Λ^+_{c}\rightarrow n K^0_Sπ^+$ and measure the absolute branching fraction to be $\mathcal{B}({Λ^+_{c}\rightarrow n K^0_Sπ^+})=(1.82\pm0.23({\rm stat})\pm0.11({\rm syst}))\%$. A comparison to $\mathcal{B}({Λ^+_{c}\rightarrow p(\bar{K}π)^0})$ provides an important test of isospin symmetry and final state interactions.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2017

Evidence of Two Resonant Structures in $e^+ e^- \to π^+ π^- h_c$

The cross sections of $e^{+}e^{-}\toπ^{+}π^{-}h_c$ at center-of-mass energies from 3.896 to 4.600 GeV are measured using data samples collected with the BESIII detector operating at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider. The cross sections are found to be of the same order of magnitude as those of $e^{+}e^{-}\toπ^{+}π^{-}J/ψ$ and $e^{+}e^{-}\toπ^{+}π^{-}ψ(2S)$, but the line shape is inconsistent with the $Y$ states observed in the latter two modes. Two structures are observed in the $e^{+}e^{-}\toπ^{+}π^{-}h_c$ cross sections around 4.22 and 4.39 GeV/$c^{2}$, which we call $Y(4220)$ and $Y(4390)$, respectively. A fit with a coherent sum of two Breit-Wigner functions results in a mass of $(4218.4^{+5.5}_{-4.5}\pm0.9)$ MeV/$c^{2}$ and a width of $(66.0^{+12.3}_{-8.3}\pm0.4)$ MeV for the $Y(4220)$, and a mass of $(4391.6^{+6.3}_{-6.8}\pm1.0)$ MeV/$c^{2}$ and a width of $(139.5^{+16.2}_{-20.6}\pm0.6)$ MeV for the $Y(4390)$, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second ones systematic. The statistical significance of $Y(4220)$ and $Y(4390)$ is 10$σ$ over one structure assumption.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2017

Search for the Radiative Leptonic Decay $D^{+}\to γe^{+} ν_{e}$

Using an electron-positron collision data sample of 2.93 fb$^{-1}$ collected at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=3.773$ GeV with the BESIII detector, we present the first search for the radiative leptonic decay $D^{+} \rightarrow γe^{+}ν_{e}$. The analysis is performed with a double tag method. We do not observe a significant $D^{+} \rightarrow γe^{+}ν_{e}$ signal, and obtain an upper limit on the branching fraction of $D^{+} \rightarrow γe^{+}ν_{e}$ decay with the energy of radiative photon larger than 10 MeV of $3.0\times10^{-5}$ at the 90% confidence level.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2017

Amplitude analysis of the $χ_{c1} \to ηπ^+π^-$ decays

Using $448.0 \times 10^6$~$ψ(3686)$ events collected with the BESIII detector, an amplitude analysis is performed for $ψ(3686)\toγχ_{c1}$, $χ_{c1}\toηπ^+π^-$ decays. The most dominant two-body structure observed is $a_0(980)^{\pm}π^{\mp}$; $a_0(980)^{\pm}\toηπ^{\pm}$. The $a_0(980)$ line shape is modeled using a dispersion relation, and a significant non-zero $a_0(980)$ coupling to the $η^{\prime}π$ channel is measured. We observe $χ_{c1}\to a_2(1700)π$ production for the first time, with a significance larger than 17$σ$. The production of mesons with exotic quantum numbers, $J^{PC}=1^{-+}$, is investigated, and upper limits for the branching fractions $χ_{c1}\to π_1(1400)^{\pm}π^{\mp}$, $χ_{c1}\to π_1(1600)^{\pm}π^{\mp}$, and $χ_{c1}\toπ_1(2015)^{\pm}π^{\mp}$, with subsequent $π_1(X)^{\pm} \to ηπ^{\pm}$ decay, are determined.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2017

Luminosity measurements for the R scan experiment at BESIII

By analyzing the large-angle Bhabha scattering events $e^{+}e^{-}$ $\to$ ($γ$)$e^{+}e^{-}$ and diphoton events $e^{+}e^{-}$ $\to$ $γγ$ for the data sets collected at center-of-mass (c.m.) energies between 2.2324 and 4.5900 GeV (131 energy points in total) with the upgraded Beijing Spectrometer (BESIII) at the Beijing Electron-Positron Collider (BEPCII), the integrated luminosities have been measured at the different c.m. energies, individually. The results are the important inputs for R value and $J/ψ$ resonance parameter measurements.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2017

Precise measurement of the $e^+e^-\to π^+π^-J/ψ$ cross section at center-of-mass energies from 3.77 to 4.60 GeV

The cross section for the process $e^+e^-\to π^+π^-J/ψ$ is measured precisely at center-of-mass energies from 3.77 to 4.60~GeV using 9~fb$^{-1}$ of data collected with the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII storage ring. Two resonant structures are observed in a fit to the cross section. The first resonance has a mass of $(4222.0\pm 3.1\pm 1.4)$~MeV/$c^2$ and a width of $(44.1\pm 4.3\pm 2.0)$~MeV, while the second one has a mass of $(4320.0\pm 10.4 \pm 7.0)$~MeV/$c^2$ and a width of $(101.4^{+25.3}_{-19.7}\pm 10.2)$~MeV, where the first errors are statistical and second ones are systematic. The first resonance agrees with the $Y(4260)$ resonance reported by previous experiments. The precision of its resonant parameters is improved significantly. The second resonance is observed in $e^+e^-\to π^+π^-J/ψ$ for the first time. The statistical significance of this resonance is estimated to be larger than $7.6σ$. The mass and width of the second resonance agree with the $Y(4360)$ resonance reported by the $BABAR$ and Belle experiments within errors. Finally, the $Y(4008)$ resonance previously observed by the Belle experiment is not confirmed in the description of the BESIII data.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2017

Cross section measurements of $e^{+}e^{-}\rightarrow p \bar{p} π^{0}$ at center-of-mass energies between 4.008 and 4.600 GeV

Based on $e^+e^-$ annihilation data samples collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider at 13 center of mass energies from 4.008 to 4.600 GeV, measurements of the Born cross section of $e^{+}e^{-}\rightarrow p \bar{p} π^{0}$ are performed. No significant resonant structure is observed in the measured energy-dependent cross section. The upper limit on the Born cross section of $e^{+}e^{-}\rightarrow Y(4260) \rightarrow p \bar{p} π^{0}$ at the 90\% C.L. is determined to be 0.01 pb.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2017

Amplitude Analysis of the Decays $η^\prime \rightarrow π^+π^-π^0$ and $η^\prime \rightarrow π^0π^0π^0$

Based on a sample of $1.31 \times 10^9$ $J/ψ$ events collected with the BESIII detector, an amplitude analysis of the isospin-violating decays $η^\prime \rightarrow π^+π^-π^0$ and $η^\prime \rightarrow π^0π^0π^0$ is performed. A significant $P$-wave contribution from $η^\prime \rightarrow ρ^{\pm} π^{\mp}$ is observed for the first time in $η^\prime \rightarrow π^+π^-π^0$. The branching fraction is determined to be ${\mathcal B}(η^\prime \rightarrow ρ^{\pm}π^{\mp})=(7.44\pm0.60\pm1.26\pm1.84)\times 10^{-4}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic, and the third model dependent. In addition to the nonresonant $S$-wave component, there is a significant $σ$ meson component. The branching fractions of the combined $S$-wave components are determined to be ${\mathcal B}(η^\prime \rightarrow π^+π^-π^0)_S=(37.63\pm0.77\pm2.22\pm4.48)\times 10^{-4}$ and ${\mathcal B}(η^\prime \rightarrow π^0π^0π^0)=(35.22\pm0.82\pm2.54)\times 10^{-4}$, respectively. The latter one is consistent with previous BESIII measurements.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2017

Improved Measurement of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay

A new measurement of the reactor antineutrino flux and energy spectrum by the Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment is reported. The antineutrinos were generated by six 2.9~GW$_{\mathrm{th}}$ nuclear reactors and detected by eight antineutrino detectors deployed in two near (560~m and 600~m flux-weighted baselines) and one far (1640~m flux-weighted baseline) underground experimental halls. With 621 days of data, more than 1.2 million inverse beta decay (IBD) candidates were detected. The IBD yield in the eight detectors was measured, and the ratio of measured to predicted flux was found to be $0.946\pm0.020$ ($0.992\pm0.021$) for the Huber+Mueller (ILL+Vogel) model. A 2.9~$σ$ deviation was found in the measured IBD positron energy spectrum compared to the predictions. In particular, an excess of events in the region of 4-6~MeV was found in the measured spectrum, with a local significance of 4.4~$σ$. A reactor antineutrino spectrum weighted by the IBD cross section is extracted for model-independent predictions.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

Measurements of the absolute branching fractions for $D_{s}^{+}\rightarrowηe^{+}ν_{e}$ and $D_{s}^{+}\rightarrowη^{\prime} e^{+}ν_{e}$

By analyzing 482 pb$^{-1}$ of $e^+e^-$ collision data collected at $\sqrt s=4.009$ GeV with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider, we measure the absolute branching fractions for the semileptonic decays $D_{s}^{+}\toηe^{+}ν_{e}$ and $D_{s}^{+}\to η'e^{+}ν_{e}$ to be ${B}(D_{s}^{+}\rightarrowηe^{+}ν_{e})=(2.30\pm0.31\pm0.08)$\% and ${B}(D_{s}^{+}\rightarrowη'e^{+} ν_{e}) = (0.93\pm0.30\pm0.05)$\%, respectively, and their ratio $\frac{{B}(D_{s}^{+}\rightarrowη'e^{+}ν_{e})} {{B}(D_{s}^{+}\rightarrowηe^{+}ν_{e})}=0.40\pm0.14\pm0.02$, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second ones are systematic. The results are in good agreement with previous measurements within uncertainties; they can be used to determine the $η-η'$ mixing angle and improve upon the $D_s^+$ semileptonic branching ratio precision.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

Measurements of the branching fractions for $D^+\to K^0_SK^0_SK^+$, $K^0_SK^0_Sπ^+$ and $D^0\to K^0_SK^0_S$, $K^0_SK^0_SK^0_S$

By analyzing $2.93\ \rm fb^{-1}$ of data taken at the $ψ(3770)$ resonance peak with the BESIII detector, we measure the branching fractions for the hadronic decays $D^+\to K^0_SK^0_S K^+$, $D^+\to K^0_SK^0_S π^+$, $D^0\to K^0_S K^0_S$ and $D^0\to K^0_SK^0_SK^0_S$. They are determined to be ${\mathcal B}(D^+\to K^0_SK^0_SK^+)=(2.54 \pm 0.05_{\rm stat.} \pm 0.12_{\rm sys.})\times 10^{-3}$, ${\mathcal B}(D^+\to K^0_SK^0_Sπ^+)=(2.70 \pm 0.05_{\rm stat.} \pm 0.12_{\rm sys.})\times 10^{-3}$, ${\mathcal B}(D^0\to K^0_SK^0_S)=(1.67 \pm 0.11_{\rm stat.} \pm 0.11_{\rm sys.})\times 10^{-4}$ and ${\mathcal B}(D^0\to K^0_SK^0_SK^0_S)=(7.21 \pm 0.33_{\rm stat.} \pm 0.44_{\rm sys.})\times 10^{-4}$, where the second one is measured for the first time and the others are measured with significantly improved precision over the previous measurements.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

Measurement of the Absolute Branching Fraction for $Λ_c^+\rightarrow Λμ^+ν_μ$

We report the first measurement of the absolute branching fraction for $Λ^+_{c}\rightarrow Λμ^+ν_μ$. This measurement is based on a sample of $e^+e^-$ annihilation data at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=4.6$ GeV collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII storage rings. The sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 567 pb$^{-1}$. The branching fraction is determined to be $\mathcal B({Λ^+_c\rightarrow Λμ^+ν_μ})=(3.49\pm0.46({\rm stat})\pm0.27({\rm syst}))\%$. In addition, we calculate the ratio $\mathcal{B}(Λ^+_c\rightarrow Λμ^+ν_μ)/\mathcal{B}(Λ^+_c\rightarrow Λe^+ν_{e})$ to be $0.96\pm0.16({\rm stat})\pm0.04({\rm syst})$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

Limits on Active to Sterile Neutrino Oscillations from Disappearance Searches in the MINOS, Daya Bay, and Bugey-3 Experiments

Searches for a light sterile neutrino have been performed independently by the MINOS and the Daya Bay experiments using the muon (anti)neutrino and electron antineutrino disappearance channels, respectively. In this Letter, results from both experiments are combined with those from the Bugey-3 reactor neutrino experiment to constrain oscillations into light sterile neutrinos. The three experiments are sensitive to complementary regions of parameter space, enabling the combined analysis to probe regions allowed by the LSND and MiniBooNE experiments in a minimally extended four-neutrino flavor framework. Stringent limits on $\sin^2 2θ_{μe}$ are set over 6 orders of magnitude in the sterile mass-squared splitting $Δm^2_{41}$. The sterile-neutrino mixing phase space allowed by the LSND and MiniBooNE experiments is excluded for $Δm^2_{41} < 0.8$ eV$^2$ at 95% CL$_s$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

Measurement of electron antineutrino oscillation based on 1230 days of operation of the Daya Bay experiment

A measurement of electron antineutrino oscillation by the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment is described in detail. Six 2.9-GW$_{\rm th}$ nuclear power reactors of the Daya Bay and Ling Ao nuclear power facilities served as intense sources of $\overlineν_{e}$'s. Comparison of the $\overlineν_{e}$ rate and energy spectrum measured by antineutrino detectors far from the nuclear reactors ($\sim$1500-1950 m) relative to detectors near the reactors ($\sim$350-600 m) allowed a precise measurement of $\overlineν_{e}$ disappearance. More than 2.5 million $\overlineν_{e}$ inverse beta decay interactions were observed, based on the combination of 217 days of operation of six antineutrino detectors (Dec. 2011--Jul. 2012) with a subsequent 1013 days using the complete configuration of eight detectors (Oct. 2012--Jul. 2015). The $\overlineν_{e}$ rate observed at the far detectors relative to the near detectors showed a significant deficit, $R=0.949 \pm 0.002(\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 0.002(\mathrm{syst.})$. The energy dependence of $\overlineν_{e}$ disappearance showed the distinct variation predicted by neutrino oscillation. Analysis using an approximation for the three-flavor oscillation probability yielded the flavor-mixing angle $\sin^22θ_{13}=0.0841 \pm 0.0027(\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 0.0019(\mathrm{syst.})$ and the effective neutrino mass-squared difference of $\left|Δm^2_{\mathrm{ee}}\right|=(2.50 \pm 0.06(\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 0.06(\mathrm{syst.})) \times 10^{-3}\ {\rm eV}^2$. Analysis using the exact three-flavor probability found $Δm^2_{32}=(2.45 \pm 0.06(\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 0.06(\mathrm{syst.})) \times 10^{-3}\ {\rm eV}^2$ assuming the normal neutrino mass hierarchy and $Δm^2_{32}=(-2.56 \pm 0.06(\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 0.06(\mathrm{syst.})) \times 10^{-3}\ {\rm eV}^2$ for the inverted hierarchy.

hep-ex↗