arXiv subjects

J. Chen

Publications and source records attributed to J. Chen.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2025

Extension of the particle x-ray coincidence technique: The lifetimes and branching ratios apparatus

The particle x-ray coincidence technique (PXCT) was originally developed to measure average lifetimes in the $10^{-17}-10^{-15}$~s range for proton-unbound states populated by electron capture (EC). We have designed and built the Lifetimes and Branching Ratios Apparatus (LIBRA) to be used in the stopped-beam area at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams that extends PXCT to measure lifetimes and decay branching ratios of resonances populated by EC/$β^+$ decay. The first application of LIBRA aims to obtain essential nuclear data from $^{60}$Ga EC/$β^+$ decay to constrain the thermonuclear rates of the $^{59}$Cu$(p,γ)^{60}$Zn and $^{59}$Cu$(p,α)^{56}$Ni reactions, and in turn, the strength of the NiCu nucleosynthesis cycle, which is predicted to significantly impact the modeling of type I x-ray burst light curves and the composition of the burst ashes. Detailed theoretical calculations, Monte Carlo simulations, and performance tests with radioactive sources have been conducted to validate the feasibility of employing LIBRA for the $^{60}$Ga experiment. LIBRA can be utilized to measure most essential ingredients needed for charged-particle reaction rate calculations in a single experiment, in the absence of direct measurements, which are often impractical for radioactive reactants.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

A space-resolved visible spectrometer system using compact endoscopic optics for full vertical profile measurement of impurity line emissions in superconducting EAST tokamak

In Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST tokamak) with tungsten divertors and molybdenum first wall, lithiumization and boronization have been frequently carried out to improve the plasma performance, in particular, in long pulse discharges. A study on impurity behaviors of lithium, boron and tungsten atoms/ions in the edge plasma is then crucially important. For the purpose, a space-resolved visible spectrometer system has been newly developed to observe full vertical profiles over a length of 1.7m of impurity line emissions in wavelength range of 320-800nm. For the full vertical profile measurement compact endoscopic optics is employed with an optical fiber bundle for the system, which can be inserted into a 1.5m long extension tube called 'long nose', because the distance between the diagnostic port and plasma center is considerably long. Therefore, a quartz glass window mounted from the vacuum vessel side is designed to withstand the reverse pressure. A mechanical shutter is also designed to open at a large angle of 235 degree so that the viewing angle of nearby ports is not blocked. Two sets of the fiber bundle, 60-channel linear array and 11*10 channel planar array , with a length of 30m are attached to two sets of Czerny-Turner visible spectrometers for one-dimensional (1D) vertical profile measurement of core plasma and two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy of divertor plasma, respectively. A complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) detector with 2048*2048 pixels is used for the visible spectrometers. A preliminary result on the full vertical profile is obtained for BII line emission at 703.19nm in the 1D system

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2025

Pressure-induced structural and superconducting transitions in black arsenic

We report high-pressure Raman spectra and resistance measurements of black arsenic (b-As) up to 58 GPa, along with phonon density of states (DOS) and enthalpy calculations for four reported arsenic phases up to 50 GPa. It is found that metastable b-As transforms into gray arsenic (g-As) phase at a critical pressure of 1.51 GPa, followed by subsequent transitions to simple cubic arsenic (c-As) and incommensurate host-guest arsenic (hg-As) phases at 25.9 and 44.8 GPa, respectively. Superconductivity emerges above 25 GPa in the c-As phase, with the superconducting transition temperature ($T$$\rm_c$) remaining nearly a constant of 3 K. Upon further compression, $T$$\rm_c$ steeply increases to a higher value around 4.5 K in the incommensurate hg-As phase above 43 GPa. We use our results to update the structural and superconducting phase diagrams under pressure for the novel semiconductor, black arsenic.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Exploring Scintillators and Cherenkov Radiators for MIP Timing Detectors

This article presents the timing performance of materials with fast light emission, tested as Minimum Ionizing Particle detectors using 150 GeV hadron beams in Monte Carlo simulations and at the CERN SPS North Area. Pixels of cross-section 2 x 2 mm2 or 3 x 3 mm2 and length of 3 or 10 mm were coupled to Hamamatsu SiPM and read out by fast high-frequency electronics. Materials whose timing performance relies on Cherenkov emission, namely BGSO, PWO, and PbF2, achieved time resolutions in the range 24-36ps. Scintillators as L(Y)SO:Ce, GAGG, and BaF2 reached below 15 ps, the best topping at 12.1 +/- 0.4 ps. These fast materials are compared to LYSO and their additional benefit is discussed. Given the promising results of BaF2, the study is completed with measurements of the scintillation properties of a set doped with yttrium to quench the slow light emission.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Near-threshold dipole strength in {^{10}}Be with isoscalar character

Isoscalar dipole transitions are a distinctive fingerprint of cluster structures. A {1^-} resonance at 7.27(10) MeV, located just below the α-emission threshold, has been observed in the deuteron inelastic scattering reactions off 10Be. The deformation lengths of the excited states in 10Be below 9 MeV have been inferred from the differential cross sections using coupled channel calculations. This observed {1^-} resonance has isoscalar characteristics and exhausts approximately 5{\%}-15{\%} of the isoscalar dipole energy-weighted sum rule, providing evidence for pronounced α cluster structure in 10Be. The Gamow coupled channel approach supports this interpretation and suggests the near-threshold effect might be playing an important role in this excitation energy domain. The α+α+n+n four-body calculation reproduces the observed enhanced dipole strength, implying that the four-body cluster structure is essential to describe the {1^-} states in 10Be.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

Robust and Sparse Portfolio Selection: Quantitative Insights and Efficient Algorithms

We extend the classical mean-variance (MV) framework and propose a robust and sparse portfolio selection model incorporating an ellipsoidal uncertainty set to reduce the impact of estimation errors and fixed transaction costs to penalize over-diversification. In the literature, the MV model under fixed transaction costs is referred to as the sparse or cardinality-constrained MV optimization, which is a mixed integer problem and is challenging to solve when the number of assets is large. We develop an efficient semismooth Newton-based proximal difference-of-convex algorithm to solve the proposed model and prove its convergence to at least a local minimizer with a locally linear convergence rate. We explore properties of the robust and sparse portfolio both analytically and numerically. In particular, we show that the MV optimization is indeed a robust procedure as long as an investor makes the proper choice on the risk-aversion coefficient. We contribute to the literature by proving that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the risk-aversion coefficient and the level of robustness. Moreover, we characterize how the number of traded assets changes with respect to the interaction between the level of uncertainty on model parameters and the magnitude of transaction cost.

q-fin.PM↗

arXiv2024

Using graph neural networks to reconstruct charged pion showers in the CMS High Granularity Calorimeter

A novel method to reconstruct the energy of hadronic showers in the CMS High Granularity Calorimeter (HGCAL) is presented. The HGCAL is a sampling calorimeter with very fine transverse and longitudinal granularity. The active media are silicon sensors and scintillator tiles readout by SiPMs and the absorbers are a combination of lead and Cu/CuW in the electromagnetic section, and steel in the hadronic section. The shower reconstruction method is based on graph neural networks and it makes use of a dynamic reduction network architecture. It is shown that the algorithm is able to capture and mitigate the main effects that normally hinder the reconstruction of hadronic showers using classical reconstruction methods, by compensating for fluctuations in the multiplicity, energy, and spatial distributions of the shower's constituents. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using test beam data collected in 2018 prototype of the CMS HGCAL accompanied by a section of the CALICE AHCAL prototype. The capability of the method to mitigate the impact of energy leakage from the calorimeter is also demonstrated.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2024

Quadrupolar Density Structures in Driven Magnetic Reconnection Experiments with a Guide Field

Magnetic reconnection is a ubiquitous process in plasma physics, driving rapid and energetic events such as coronal mass ejections. Reconnection between magnetic fields with arbitrary shear can be decomposed into an anti-parallel, reconnecting component, and a non-reconnecting guide-field component which is parallel to the reconnecting electric field. This guide field modifies the structure of the reconnection layer and the reconnection rate. We present results from experiments on the MAIZE pulsed-power generator (500 kA peak current, 200 ns rise-time) which use two exploding wire arrays, tilted in opposite directions, to embed a guide field in the plasma flows with a relative strength $b\equiv B_g/B_{rec}=\text{0, 0.4, or 1}$. The reconnection layers in these experiments have widths which are less than the ion skin depth, $d_i=c/ω_{pi}$, indicating the importance of the Hall term, which generates a distinctive quadrupolar magnetic field structure along the separatrices of the reconnection layer. Using laser imaging interferometry, we observe quadrupolar structures in the line-integrated electron density, consistent with the interaction of the embedded guide field with the quadrupolar Hall field. Our measurements extend over much larger length scales ($40 d_i$) at higher $β$ ($\sim 1$) than previous experiments, providing an insight into the global structure of the reconnection layer.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2024

Measurement of flow coefficients in high-multiplicity $p$+Au, $d$+Au and $^{3}$He$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}$=200 GeV

Flow coefficients ($v_2$ and $v_3$) are measured in high-multiplicity $p$+Au, $d$+Au, and $^{3}$He$+$Au collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}$ = 200 GeV using the STAR detector. The measurements utilize two-particle correlations with a pseudorapidity requirement of $|η| <$ 0.9 and a pair gap of $|Δη|>1.0$. The primary focus is on analysis methods, particularly the subtraction of non-flow contributions. Four established non-flow subtraction methods are applied to determine $v_n$, validated using the HIJING event generator. $v_n$ values are compared across the three collision systems at similar multiplicities; this comparison cancels the final state effects and isolates the impact of initial geometry. While $v_2$ values show differences among these collision systems, $v_3$ values are largely similar, consistent with expectations of subnucleon fluctuations in the initial geometry. The ordering of $v_n$ differs quantitatively from previous measurements using two-particle correlations with a larger rapidity gap, which, according to model calculations, can be partially attributed to the effects of longitudinal flow decorrelations. The prospects for future measurements to improve our understanding of flow decorrelation and subnucleonic fluctuations are also discussed.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

Production of Protons and Light Nuclei in Au+Au Collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 3 GeV with the STAR Detector

We report the systematic measurement of protons and light nuclei production in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 3 GeV by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The transverse momentum ($p_{T}$) spectra of protons ($p$), deuterons ($d$), tritons ($t$), $^{3}\mathrm{He}$, and $^{4}\mathrm{He}$ are measured from mid-rapidity to target rapidity for different collision centralities. We present the rapidity and centrality dependence of particle yields ($dN/dy$), average transverse momentum ($\langle p_{T}\rangle$), yield ratios ($d/p$, $t/p$,$^{3}\mathrm{He}/p$, $^{4}\mathrm{He}/p$), as well as the coalescence parameters ($B_2$, $B_3$). The 4$π$ yields for various particles are determined by utilizing the measured rapidity distributions, $dN/dy$. Furthermore, we present the energy, centrality, and rapidity dependence of the compound yield ratios ($N_{p} \times N_{t} / N_{d}^{2}$) and compare them with various model calculations. The physics implications of those results on the production mechanism of light nuclei and on QCD phase structure are discussed.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

Correlations of event activity with hard and soft processes in $p$ + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 200 GeV at STAR

With the STAR experiment at the BNL Relativisic Heavy Ion Collider, we characterize $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 200 GeV p+Au collisions by event activity (EA) measured within the pseudorapidity range $eta$ $in$ [-5, -3.4] in the Au-going direction and report correlations between this EA and hard- and soft- scale particle production at midrapidity ($η$ $\in$ [-1, 1]). At the soft scale, charged particle production in low-EA p+Au collisions is comparable to that in p+p collisions and increases monotonically with increasing EA. At the hard scale, we report measurements of high transverse momentum (pT) jets in events of different EAs. In contrast with the soft particle production, high-pT particle production and EA are found to be inversely related. To investigate whether this is a signal of jet quenching in high-EA events, we also report ratios of pT imbalance and azimuthal separation of dijets in high- and low-EA events. Within our measurement precision, no significant differences are observed, disfavoring the presence of jet quenching in the highest 30% EA p+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 200 GeV.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

Quasielastic $\overrightarrow{^{3}\mathrm{He}}(\overrightarrow{e},{e'})$ Asymmetry in the Threshold Region

A measurement of the double-spin asymmetry from electron-$^{3}$He scattering in the threshold region of two- and three-body breakup of $^{3}$He was performed at Jefferson Lab, for Q$^{2}$ values of 0.1 and 0.2 (GeV/$c$)$^{2}$. The results of this measurement serve as a stringent test of our understanding of few-body systems. When compared with calculations from plane wave impulse approximation and Faddeev theory, we found that the Faddeev calculations, which use modern nuclear potentials and prescriptions for meson-exchange currents, demonstrate an overall good agreement with data.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

Resonant molecular transitions in second harmonic generation spectroscopy of Fe-octaethylporphyrin adsorbed on Cu(001)

Metal-organic molecular adsorbates on metallic surfaces offer the potential to both generate materials for future (spin-)electronics applications as well as a better fundamental understanding of molecule-substrate interaction, provided that the electronic properties of such interfaces can be analyzed and/or manipulated in a targeted manner. To investigate electronic interactions at such interfaces, we measure optical second harmonic generation (SHG) from iron-octaethylporphyrin (FeOEP) adsorbed on Cu(001), and perform electronic structure calculations using coupled cluster methods including optical excitations. We find that the SHG response of FeOEP/Cu(001) is modified at 2.15-2.35 eV fundamental photon energy compared to the bare Cu(001) surface. Our polarization-dependent analysis shows that the $χ_{zzz}^{(2)}$ non-linear susceptibility tensor element dominates this modification. The first-principles calculations confirm this effect and conclude a resonantly enhanced SHG by molecular transitions at $\hbarω\geq 2$ eV. We show that the enhancement of $χ^{(2)}_{zzz}$ results from a strong charge-transfer character of the molecule-substrate interaction. Our findings demonstrate the suitability of surface SHG for the characterization of such interfaces and the potential to employ it for time-resolved SHG experiments on optically induced electronic dynamics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Flavor Dependence of Charged Pion Fragmentation Functions

We have measured the flavor dependence of multiplicities for pi^+ and pi^- production in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering (SIDIS) on proton and deuteron targets to explore a possible charge symmetry violation in fragmentation functions. The experiment used an electron beam with energies of 10.2 and 10.6 GeV at Jefferson Lab and the Hall-C spectrometers. The electron kinematics spanned the range 0.3<x<0.6, 2<Q^2<5.5 GeV^2, and 4<W^2<11 GeV^2. The pion fractional momentum range was 0.3< z <0.7, and the transverse momentum range was 0<p_T<0.25 GeV/c. Assuming factorization at low p_T and allowing for isospin breaking, we find that the results can be described by two "favored" and two "un-favored" effective low $p_T$ fragmentation functions that are flavor-dependent. However, they converge to a common flavor-independent value at the lowest x or highest W of this experiment.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

Measurements of charged-particle multiplicity dependence of higher-order net-proton cumulants in $p$+$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 200 GeV from STAR at RHIC

We report on the charged-particle multiplicity dependence of net-proton cumulant ratios up to sixth order from $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV $p$+$p$ collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The measured ratios $C_{4}/C_{2}$, $C_{5}/C_{1}$, and $C_{6}/C_{2}$ decrease with increased charged-particle multiplicity and rapidity acceptance. Neither the Skellam baselines nor PYTHIA8 calculations account for the observed multiplicity dependence. In addition, the ratios $C_{5}/C_{1}$ and $C_{6}/C_{2}$ approach negative values in the highest-multiplicity events, which implies that thermalized QCD matter may be formed in $p$+$p$ collisions.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

Enhanced triplet superconductivity in next generation ultraclean UTe2

The unconventional superconductor UTe$_2$ exhibits numerous signatures of spin-triplet superconductivity -- a rare state of matter which could enable quantum computation protected against decoherence. UTe$_2$ possesses a complex phase landscape comprising two magnetic field-induced superconducting phases, a metamagnetic transition to a field-polarised state, along with pair- and charge-density wave orders. However, contradictory reports between studies performed on UTe$_2$ specimens of varying quality have severely impeded theoretical efforts to understand the microscopic origins of the exotic superconductivity. Here, we report a comprehensive suite of high magnetic field measurements on a new generation of pristine quality UTe$_2$ crystals. Our experiments reveal a significantly revised high magnetic field superconducting phase diagram in the ultraclean limit, showing a pronounced sensitivity of field-induced superconductivity to the presence of crystalline disorder. We employ a Ginzburg-Landau model that excellently captures this acute dependence on sample quality. Our results suggest that in close proximity to a field--induced metamagnetic transition the enhanced role of magnetic fluctuations -- that are strongly suppressed by disorder -- is likely responsible for tuning UTe$_2$ between two distinct spin-triplet superconducting phases.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Electroproduction of the Lambda/Sigma^0 hyperons at Q^2~0.5 (GeV/c)^2 at forward angles

In 2018, the E12-17-003 experiment was conducted at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) to explore the possible existence of an nnLambda state in the reconstructed missing mass distribution from a tritium gas target [K. N. Suzuki et al., Prog. Theor. Exp. Phys. 2022, 013D01 (2022), B. Pandey et al., Phys. Rev. C 105, L051001 (2022)]. As part of this investigation, data was also collected using a gaseous hydrogen target, not only for a precise absolute mass scale calibration but also for the study of Lambda/Sigma^0 electroproduction. This dataset was acquired at Q^2~0.5 (GeV/c)^2, W=2.14 GeV, and theta_{gamma K}^{c.m.}~8 deg. It covers forward angles where photoproduction data is scarce and a low-Q^2 region that is of interest for hypernuclear experiments. On the other hand, this kinematic region is at a slightly higher Q^2 than previous hypernuclear experiments, thus providing crucial information for understanding the Q^2 dependence of the differential cross sections for Lambda/Sigma^0 hyperon electroproduction. This paper reports on the Q^2 dependence of the differential cross section for the e + p -> e' + K^+ + Lambda/Sigma^0 reaction in the 0.2-0.8 (GeV/c)^2, and provides comparisons with the currently available theoretical models.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

Estimate of Background Baseline and Upper Limit on the Chiral Magnetic Effect in Isobar Collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}}=200$ GeV at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider

For the search of the chiral magnetic effect (CME), STAR previously presented the results from isobar collisions (${^{96}_{44}\text{Ru}}+{^{96}_{44}\text{Ru}}$, ${^{96}_{40}\text{Zr}}+{^{96}_{40}\text{Zr}}$) obtained through a blind analysis. The ratio of results in Ru+Ru to Zr+Zr collisions for the CME-sensitive charge-dependent azimuthal correlator ($Δγ$), normalized by elliptic anisotropy ($v_{2}$), was observed to be close to but systematically larger than the inverse multiplicity ratio. The background baseline for the isobar ratio, $Y = \frac{(Δγ/v_{2})^{\text{Ru}}}{(Δγ/v_{2})^{\text{Zr}}}$, is naively expected to be $\frac{(1/N)^{\text{Ru}}}{(1/N)^{\text{Zr}}}$; however, genuine two- and three-particle correlations are expected to alter it. We estimate the contributions to $Y$ from those correlations, utilizing both the isobar data and HIJING simulations. After including those contributions, we arrive at a final background baseline for $Y$, which is consistent with the isobar data. We extract an upper limit for the CME fraction in the $Δγ$ measurement of approximately $10\%$ at a $95\%$ confidence level on in isobar collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}} = 200$ GeV, with an expected $15\%$ difference in their squared magnetic fields.

nucl-ex↗