Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

J. Asaadi

Publications and source records attributed to J. Asaadi.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
arXiv2021

Search for a Higgs portal scalar decaying to electron-positron pairs in the MicroBooNE detector

We present a search for the decays of a neutral scalar boson produced by kaons decaying at rest, in the context of the Higgs portal model, using the MicroBooNE detector. We analyze data triggered in time with the Fermilab NuMI neutrino beam spill, with an exposure of $1.93\times10^{20}$ protons on target. We look for monoenergetic scalars that come from the direction of the NuMI hadron absorber, at a distance of 100 m from the detector, and decay to electron-positron pairs. We observe one candidate event, with a Standard Model background prediction of $1.9\pm0.8$. We set an upper limit on the scalar-Higgs mixing angle of $θ<(3.3-4.6)\times10^{-4}$ at the 95% confidence level for scalar boson masses in the range $(100-200)$ MeV$/c^2$. We exclude at the 95% confidence level the remaining model parameters required to explain the central value of a possible excess of $K^0_L\rightarrowπ^0ν\barν$ decays reported by the KOTO collaboration. We also provide a model-independent limit on a new boson $X$ produced in $K\rightarrowπX$ decays and decaying to $e^+e^-$.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2021

Design, construction and operation of the ProtoDUNE-SP Liquid Argon TPC

The ProtoDUNE-SP detector is a single-phase liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) that was constructed and operated in the CERN North Area at the end of the H4 beamline. This detector is a prototype for the first far detector module of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), which will be constructed at the Sandford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota, USA. The ProtoDUNE-SP detector incorporates full-size components as designed for DUNE and has an active volume of $7\times 6\times 7.2$~m$^3$. The H4 beam delivers incident particles with well-measured momenta and high-purity particle identification. ProtoDUNE-SP's successful operation between 2018 and 2020 demonstrates the effectiveness of the single-phase far detector design. This paper describes the design, construction, assembly and operation of the detector components.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2021

Low exposure long-baseline neutrino oscillation sensitivity of the DUNE experiment

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will produce world-leading neutrino oscillation measurements over the lifetime of the experiment. In this work, we explore DUNE's sensitivity to observe charge-parity violation (CPV) in the neutrino sector, and to resolve the mass ordering, for exposures of up to 100 kiloton-megawatt-years (kt-MW-yr). The analysis includes detailed uncertainties on the flux prediction, the neutrino interaction model, and detector effects. We demonstrate that DUNE will be able to unambiguously resolve the neutrino mass ordering at a 3$σ$ (5$σ$) level, with a 66 (100) kt-MW-yr far detector exposure, and has the ability to make strong statements at significantly shorter exposures depending on the true value of other oscillation parameters. We also show that DUNE has the potential to make a robust measurement of CPV at a 3$σ$ level with a 100 kt-MW-yr exposure for the maximally CP-violating values $δ_{\rm CP}} = \pmπ/2$. Additionally, the dependence of DUNE's sensitivity on the exposure taken in neutrino-enhanced and antineutrino-enhanced running is discussed. An equal fraction of exposure taken in each beam mode is found to be close to optimal when considered over the entire space of interest.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2021

High-performance Generic Neutrino Detection in a LArTPC near the Earth's Surface with the MicroBooNE Detector

Large Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs) are being increasingly adopted in neutrino oscillation experiments because of their superb imaging capabilities through the combination of both tracking and calorimetry in a fully active volume. Active LArTPC neutrino detectors at or near the Earth's surface, such as the MicroBooNE experiment, present a unique analysis challenge because of the large flux of cosmic-ray muons and the slow drift of ionization electrons. We present a novel Wire-Cell-based high-performance generic neutrino-detection technique implemented in MicroBooNE. The cosmic-ray background is reduced by a factor of 1.4$\times10^{5}$ resulting in a 9.7\% cosmic contamination in the selected neutrino candidate events, for visible energies greater than 200~MeV, while the neutrino signal efficiency is retained at 88.4\% for $ν_μ$ charged-current interactions in the fiducial volume in the same energy region. This significantly improved performance compared to existing reconstruction algorithms, marks a major milestone toward reaching the scientific goals of LArTPC neutrino oscillation experiments operating near the Earth's surface.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2021

New constraints on tau-coupled Heavy Neutral Leptons with masses $m_N = 280-970$ MeV

A search for Heavy Neutral Leptons has been performed with the ArgoNeuT detector exposed to the NuMI neutrino beam at Fermilab. We search for the decay signature $N \to νμ^+ μ^-$, considering decays occurring both inside ArgoNeuT and in the upstream cavern. In the data, corresponding to an exposure to $1.25 \times 10^{20}$ POT, zero passing events are observed consistent with the expected background. This measurement leads to a new constraint at 90\% confidence level on the mixing angle $\left\vert U_{τN}\right\rvert^2$ of tau-coupled Dirac Heavy Neutral Leptons with masses $m_N =$ 280 - 970 MeV, assuming $\left\vert U_{eN}\right\rvert^2 = \left\vert U_{μN}\right\rvert^2 = 0$.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2021

Measurement of the Longitudinal Diffusion of Ionization Electrons in the MicroBooNE Detector

Accurate knowledge of electron transport properties is vital to understanding the information provided by liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). Ionization electron drift-lifetime, local electric field distortions caused by positive ion accumulation, and electron diffusion can all significantly impact the measured signal waveforms. This paper presents a measurement of the effective longitudinal electron diffusion coefficient, $D_L$, in MicroBooNE at the nominal electric field strength of 273.9 V/cm. Historically, this measurement has been made in LArTPC prototype detectors. This represents the first measurement in a large-scale (85 tonne active volume) LArTPC operating in a neutrino beam. This is the largest dataset ever used for this measurement. Using a sample of $\sim$70,000 through-going cosmic ray muon tracks tagged with MicroBooNE's cosmic ray tagger system, we measure $D_L = 3.74^{+0.28}_{-0.29}$ cm$^2$/s.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2021

First results on ProtoDUNE-SP liquid argon time projection chamber performance from a beam test at the CERN Neutrino Platform

The ProtoDUNE-SP detector is a single-phase liquid argon time projection chamber with an active volume of $7.2\times 6.0\times 6.9$ m$^3$. It is installed at the CERN Neutrino Platform in a specially-constructed beam that delivers charged pions, kaons, protons, muons and electrons with momenta in the range 0.3 GeV$/c$ to 7 GeV/$c$. Beam line instrumentation provides accurate momentum measurements and particle identification. The ProtoDUNE-SP detector is a prototype for the first far detector module of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, and it incorporates full-size components as designed for that module. This paper describes the beam line, the time projection chamber, the photon detectors, the cosmic-ray tagger, the signal processing and particle reconstruction. It presents the first results on ProtoDUNE-SP's performance, including noise and gain measurements, $dE/dx$ calibration for muons, protons, pions and electrons, drift electron lifetime measurements, and photon detector noise, signal sensitivity and time resolution measurements. The measured values meet or exceed the specifications for the DUNE far detector, in several cases by large margins. ProtoDUNE-SP's successful operation starting in 2018 and its production of large samples of high-quality data demonstrate the effectiveness of the single-phase far detector design.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2021

Supernova Neutrino Burst Detection with the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), a 40-kton underground liquid argon time projection chamber experiment, will be sensitive to the electron-neutrino flavor component of the burst of neutrinos expected from the next Galactic core-collapse supernova. Such an observation will bring unique insight into the astrophysics of core collapse as well as into the properties of neutrinos. The general capabilities of DUNE for neutrino detection in the relevant few- to few-tens-of-MeV neutrino energy range will be described. As an example, DUNE's ability to constrain the $ν_e$ spectral parameters of the neutrino burst will be considered.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2021

First principles studies of the surface and opto-electronic properties of ultra-thin t-Se

Selenium is a crucial earth-abundant and non-toxic semiconductor with a wide range of applications across the semiconductor industries. Selenium has drawn attention from scientific communities for its wide range of applicability: from photovoltaics to imaging devices. Its usage as a photosensitive material largely involves the synthesis of the amorphous phase (a-Se) via various experimental techniques. However, the ground state crystalline phase of this material, known as the trigonal selenium (\textit{t}-Se), is not extensively studied for its optimum electronic and optical properties. In this work, we present density functional theory (DFT) based systematic studies on the ultra-thin $(10\overline{1}0)$ surface slabs of \textit{t}-Se. We report the surface energies, work function, electronic and optical properties as a function of number of layers for $(10\overline{1}0)$ surface slabs to access its suitability for applications as a photosensitive material.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2021

Wavelength-Shifting Performance of Polyethylene Naphthalate Films in a Liquid Argon Environment

Liquid argon is commonly used as a detector medium for neutrino physics and dark matter experiments in part due to its copious scintillation light production in response to its excitation and ionization by charged particle interactions. As argon scintillation appears in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) regime and is difficult to detect, wavelength-shifting materials are typically used to convert VUV light to visible wavelengths more easily detectable by conventional means. In this work, we examine the wavelength-shifting and optical properties of poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN), a recently proposed alternative to tetraphenyl butadiene (TPB), the most widely-used wavelength-shifter in argon-based experiments. In a custom cryostat system with well-demonstrated geometric and response stability, we use 128~nm argon scintillation light to examine various PEN-including reflective samples' light-producing capabilities, and study the stability of PEN when immersed in liquid argon. The best-performing PEN-including test reflector was found to produce 34% as much visible light as a TPB-including reference sample, with widely varying levels of light production between different PEN-including test reflectors. Plausible origins for these variations, including differences in optical properties and molecular orientation, are then identified using additional measurements. Unlike TPB-coated samples, PEN-coated samples did not produce long-timescale light collection increases associated with solvation or suspension of wavelength-shifting material in bulk liquid argon.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2021

Prospects for Beyond the Standard Model Physics Searches at the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will be a powerful tool for a variety of physics topics. The high-intensity proton beams provide a large neutrino flux, sampled by a near detector system consisting of a combination of capable precision detectors, and by the massive far detector system located deep underground. This configuration sets up DUNE as a machine for discovery, as it enables opportunities not only to perform precision neutrino measurements that may uncover deviations from the present three-flavor mixing paradigm, but also to discover new particles and unveil new interactions and symmetries beyond those predicted in the Standard Model (SM). Of the many potential beyond the Standard Model (BSM) topics DUNE will probe, this paper presents a selection of studies quantifying DUNE's sensitivities to sterile neutrino mixing, heavy neutral leptons, non-standard interactions, CPT symmetry violation, Lorentz invariance violation, neutrino trident production, dark matter from both beam induced and cosmogenic sources, baryon number violation, and other new physics topics that complement those at high-energy colliders and significantly extend the present reach.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2021

Cosmic Background Removal with Deep Neural Networks in SBND

In liquid argon time projection chambers exposed to neutrino beams and running on or near surface levels, cosmic muons and other cosmic particles are incident on the detectors while a single neutrino-induced event is being recorded. In practice, this means that data from surface liquid argon time projection chambers will be dominated by cosmic particles, both as a source of event triggers and as the majority of the particle count in true neutrino-triggered events. In this work, we demonstrate a novel application of deep learning techniques to remove these background particles by applying semantic segmentation on full detector images from the SBND detector, the near detector in the Fermilab Short-Baseline Neutrino Program. We use this technique to identify, at single image-pixel level, whether recorded activity originated from cosmic particles or neutrino interactions.

physics.data-an↗
arXiv2021

Measurement of the Atmospheric Muon Rate with the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon TPC

MicroBooNE is a near-surface liquid argon (LAr) time projection chamber (TPC) located at Fermilab. We measure the characterisation of muons originating from cosmic interactions in the atmosphere using both the charge collection and light readout detectors. The data is compared with the CORSIKA cosmic-ray simulation. Good agreement is found between the observation, simulation and previous results. Furthermore, the angular resolution of the reconstructed muons inside the TPC is studied in simulation.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2021

Semantic Segmentation with a Sparse Convolutional Neural Network for Event Reconstruction in MicroBooNE

We present the performance of a semantic segmentation network, SparseSSNet, that provides pixel-level classification of MicroBooNE data. The MicroBooNE experiment employs a liquid argon time projection chamber for the study of neutrino properties and interactions. SparseSSNet is a submanifold sparse convolutional neural network, which provides the initial machine learning based algorithm utilized in one of MicroBooNE's $ν_e$-appearance oscillation analyses. The network is trained to categorize pixels into five classes, which are re-classified into two classes more relevant to the current analysis. The output of SparseSSNet is a key input in further analysis steps. This technique, used for the first time in liquid argon time projection chambers data and is an improvement compared to a previously used convolutional neural network, both in accuracy and computing resource utilization. The accuracy achieved on the test sample is $\geq 99\%$. For full neutrino interaction simulations, the time for processing one image is $\approx$ 0.5 sec, the memory usage is at 1 GB level, which allows utilization of most typical CPU worker machine.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2021

A Convolutional Neural Network for Multiple Particle Identification in the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber

We present the multiple particle identification (MPID) network, a convolutional neural network (CNN) for multiple object classification, developed by MicroBooNE. MPID provides the probabilities of $e^-$, $γ$, $μ^-$, $π^\pm$, and protons in a single liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) readout plane. The network extends the single particle identification network previously developed by MicroBooNE. MPID takes as input an image either cropped around a reconstructed interaction vertex or containing only activity connected to a reconstructed vertex, therefore relieving the tool from inefficiencies in vertex finding and particle clustering. The network serves as an important component in MicroBooNE's deep learning based $ν_e$ search analysis. In this paper, we present the network's design, training, and performance on simulation and data from the MicroBooNE detector.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2021

Experiment Simulation Configurations Approximating DUNE TDR

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next-generation long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment consisting of a high-power, broadband neutrino beam, a highly capable near detector located on site at Fermilab, in Batavia, Illinois, and a massive liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) far detector located at the 4850L of Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota. The long-baseline physics sensitivity calculations presented in the DUNE Physics TDR, and in a related physics paper, rely upon simulation of the neutrino beam line, simulation of neutrino interactions in the near and far detectors, fully automated event reconstruction and neutrino classification, and detailed implementation of systematic uncertainties. The purpose of this posting is to provide a simplified summary of the simulations that went into this analysis to the community, in order to facilitate phenomenological studies of long-baseline oscillation at DUNE. Simulated neutrino flux files and a GLoBES configuration describing the far detector reconstruction and selection performance are included as ancillary files to this posting. A simple analysis using these configurations in GLoBES produces sensitivity that is similar, but not identical, to the official DUNE sensitivity. DUNE welcomes those interested in performing phenomenological work as members of the collaboration, but also recognizes the benefit of making these configurations readily available to the wider community.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2021

The Continuous Readout Stream of the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber for Detection of Supernova Burst Neutrinos

The MicroBooNE continuous readout stream is a parallel readout of the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) which enables detection of non-beam events such as those from a supernova neutrino burst. The low energies of the supernova neutrinos and the intense cosmic-ray background flux due to the near-surface detector location makes triggering on these events very challenging. Instead, MicroBooNE relies on a delayed trigger generated by SNEWS (the Supernova Early Warning System) for detecting supernova neutrinos. The continuous readout of the LArTPC generates large data volumes, and requires the use of real-time compression algorithms (zero suppression and Huffman compression) implemented in an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) in the readout electronics. We present the results of the optimization of the data reduction algorithms, and their operational performance. To demonstrate the capability of the continuous stream to detect low-energy electrons, a sample of Michel electrons from stopping cosmic-ray muons is reconstructed and compared to a similar sample from the lossless triggered readout stream.

physics.ins-det↗