arXiv subjects

Nhan Tran

Publications and source records attributed to Nhan Tran.

89 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Prospects for a measurement of the $W$ boson mass in the all-jets final state at hadron colliders

Precise measurements of the mass of the $W$ boson are important to test the overall consistency of the Standard Model of particle physics. The current best measurements of the $W$ boson mass come from single production measurements at hadron colliders in its decay mode to a lepton (electron or muon) and a neutrino and pair production of $W$ bosons at lepton colliders, where also the decay mode of the $W$ boson to hadrons has been considered. In this study, prospects for a measurement of the $W$ boson mass in the all-jet final state at hadron colliders are presented. The feasibility of this measurement takes advantage of numerous recent developments in the field of jet substructure. Compared to other methods for measuring the $W$ mass, a measurement in the all-jets final state would be complementary in methodology and have systematic uncertainties orthogonal to previous measurements. We have estimated the main experimental and theoretical uncertainties affecting a measurement in the all-jet final state. With new trigger strategies, a statistical uncertainty for the measurement of the mass difference between the $Z$ and $W$ bosons of 30 MeV could be reached with HL-LHC data corresponding to 3000 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. However, in order to reach that precision, the current understanding of non-perturbative contributions to the invariant mass of $W\to q\bar{q}'$ and $Z\to b\bar{b}$ jets will need to be refined. Similar strategies will also allow the reach for generic boosted resonances searches in hadronic channels to be extended.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2018

Light Dark Matter eXperiment (LDMX)

We present an initial design study for LDMX, the Light Dark Matter Experiment, a small-scale accelerator experiment having broad sensitivity to both direct dark matter and mediator particle production in the sub-GeV mass region. LDMX employs missing momentum and energy techniques in multi-GeV electro-nuclear fixed-target collisions to explore couplings to electrons in uncharted regions that extend down to and below levels that are motivated by direct thermal freeze-out mechanisms. LDMX would also be sensitive to a wide range of visibly and invisibly decaying dark sector particles, thereby addressing many of the science drivers highlighted in the 2017 US Cosmic Visions New Ideas in Dark Matter Community Report. LDMX would achieve the required sensitivity by leveraging existing and developing detector technologies from the CMS, HPS and Mu2e experiments. In this paper, we present our initial design concept, detailed GEANT-based studies of detector performance, signal and background processes, and a preliminary analysis approach. We demonstrate how a first phase of LDMX could expand sensitivity to a variety of light dark matter, mediator, and millicharge particles by several orders of magnitude in coupling over the broad sub-GeV mass range.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2018

Fast inference of deep neural networks in FPGAs for particle physics

Recent results at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have pointed to enhanced physics capabilities through the improvement of the real-time event processing techniques. Machine learning methods are ubiquitous and have proven to be very powerful in LHC physics, and particle physics as a whole. However, exploration of the use of such techniques in low-latency, low-power FPGA hardware has only just begun. FPGA-based trigger and data acquisition (DAQ) systems have extremely low, sub-microsecond latency requirements that are unique to particle physics. We present a case study for neural network inference in FPGAs focusing on a classifier for jet substructure which would enable, among many other physics scenarios, searches for new dark sector particles and novel measurements of the Higgs boson. While we focus on a specific example, the lessons are far-reaching. We develop a package based on High-Level Synthesis (HLS) called hls4ml to build machine learning models in FPGAs. The use of HLS increases accessibility across a broad user community and allows for a drastic decrease in firmware development time. We map out FPGA resource usage and latency versus neural network hyperparameters to identify the problems in particle physics that would benefit from performing neural network inference with FPGAs. For our example jet substructure model, we fit well within the available resources of modern FPGAs with a latency on the scale of 100 ns.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2018

M$^3$: A New Muon Missing Momentum Experiment to Probe $(g-2)_μ$ and Dark Matter at Fermilab

New light, weakly-coupled particles are commonly invoked to address the persistent $\sim 4σ$ anomaly in $(g-2)_μ$ and serve as mediators between dark and visible matter. If such particles couple predominantly to heavier generations and decay invisibly, much of their best-motivated parameter space is inaccessible with existing experimental techniques. In this paper, we present a new fixed-target, missing-momentum search strategy to probe invisibly decaying particles that couple preferentially to muons. In our setup, a relativistic muon beam impinges on a thick active target. The signal consists of events in which a muon loses a large fraction of its incident momentum inside the target without initiating any detectable electromagnetic or hadronic activity in downstream veto systems. We propose a two-phase experiment, M$^3$ (Muon Missing Momentum), based at Fermilab. Phase 1 with $\sim 10^{10}$ muons on target can test the remaining parameter space for which light invisibly-decaying particles can resolve the $(g-2)_μ$ anomaly, while Phase 2 with $\sim 10^{13}$ muons on target can test much of the predictive parameter space over which sub-GeV dark matter achieves freeze-out via muon-philic forces, including gauged $U(1)_{L_μ- L_τ}$.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

The importance of calorimetry for highly-boosted jet substructure

Jet substructure techniques are playing an essential role in exploring the TeV scale at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), since they facilitate the efficient reconstruction and identification of highly-boosted objects. Both for the LHC and for future colliders, there is a growing interest in using jet substructure methods based only on charged-particle information. The reason is that silicon-based tracking detectors offer excellent granularity and precise vertexing, which can improve the angular resolution on highly-collimated jets and mitigate the impact of pileup. In this paper, we assess how much jet substructure performance degrades by using track-only information, and we demonstrate physics contexts in which calorimetry is most beneficial. Specifically, we consider five different hadronic final states - W bosons, Z bosons, top quarks, light quarks, gluons - and test the pairwise discrimination power with a multi-variate combination of substructure observables. In the idealized case of perfect reconstruction, we quantify the loss in discrimination performance when using just charged particles compared to using all detected particles. We also consider the intermediate case of using charged particles plus photons, which provides valuable information about neutral pions. In the more realistic case of a segmented calorimeter, we assess the potential performance gains from improving calorimeter granularity and resolution, comparing a CMS-like detector to more ambitious future detector concepts. Broadly speaking, we find large performance gains from neutral-particle information and from improved calorimetry in cases where jet mass resolution drives the discrimination power, whereas the gains are more modest if an absolute mass scale calibration is not required.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Applications of potential theoretic mother bodies in Electrostatics

Any polyhedron accommodates a type of potential theoretic skeleton called a mother body. The study of such mother bodies was originally from Mathematical Physics, initiated by Zidarov and developed by Björn Gustafson and Makoto Sakai. In this paper, we attempt to apply the brilliant idea of mother body to Electrostatics to compute the potentials of electric fields.

cs.CG↗

arXiv2017

Numerical method for solving electromagnetic scattering problem by many small impedance bodies

In this paper, we study the problem of electromagnetic (EM) wave scattering by many small impedance bodies. A numerical method for solving this problem is presented. The problem is solved under the physical assumptions $a\ll d \ll λ$, where $a$ is the characteristic size of the bodies, $d$ is the minimal distance between neighboring bodies, $λ=2π/k$ is the wave length and $k$ is the wave number. This problem is solved asymptotically and numerical results for the cases of 125 and 1000 small bodies are presented to illustrate the method. Error estimates for the asymptotic solutions are also provided.

physics.class-ph↗

arXiv2017

Numerical method for solving electromagnetic wave scattering by one and many small perfectly conducting bodies

In this paper, we investigate the problem of electromagnetic (EM) wave scattering by one and many small perfectly conducting bodies and present a numerical method for solving it. For the case of one body, the problem is solved for a body of arbitrary shape, using the corresponding boundary integral equation. For the case of many bodies, the problem is solved asymptotically under the physical assumptions $a\ll d \ll λ$, where $a$ is the characteristic size of the bodies, $d$ is the minimal distance between neighboring bodies, $λ=2π/k$ is the wave length and $k$ is the wave number. Numerical results for the cases of one and many small bodies are presented. Error analysis for the numerical method are also provided.

math.NA↗

arXiv2017

Numerical solution of many-body wave scattering problem and creating materials with a desired refraction coefficient

Scalar wave scattering by many small particles with impedance boundary condition and creating material with a desired refraction coefficient are studied. The acoustic wave scattering problem is solved asymptotically and numerically under the assumptions $ka \ll 1, ζ_m = \frac{h(x_m)}{a^κ}, d = O(a^{\frac{2-κ}{3}}), M = O(\frac{1}{a^{2-κ}}), κ\in [0,1)$, where $k = 2π/λ$ is the wave number, $λ$ is the wave length, $a$ is the radius of the particles, $d$ is the distance between neighboring particles, $M$ is the total number of the particles embedded in a bounded domain $Ω\subset \RRR$, $ζ_m$ is the boundary impedance of the m\textsuperscript{th} particle $D_m$, $h \in C(D)$, $D := \bigcup_{m=1}^M D_m$, is a given arbitrary function which satisfies Im$h \le 0$, $x_m \in Ω$ is the position of the m\textsuperscript{th} particle, and $1 \leq m \leq M$. Numerical results are presented for which the number of particles equals $10^4, 10^5$, and $10^6$.

math.NA↗

arXiv2017

Performance Study of the First 2D Prototype of Vertically Integrated Pattern Recognition Associative Memory (VIPRAM)

Extremely fast pattern recognition capabilities are necessary to find and fit billions of tracks at the hardware trigger level produced every second anticipated at high luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) running conditions. Associative Memory (AM) based approaches for fast pattern recognition have been proposed as a potential solution to the tracking trigger. However, at the HL-LHC, there is much less time available and speed performance must be improved over previous systems while maintaining a comparable number of patterns. The Vertically Integrated Pattern Recognition Associative Memory (VIPRAM) Project aims to achieve the target pattern density and performance goal using 3DIC technology. The first step taken in the VIPRAM work was the development of a 2D prototype (protoVIPRAM00) in which the associative memory building blocks were designed to be compatible with the 3D integration. In this paper, we present the results from extensive performance studies of the protoVIPRAM00 chip in both realistic HL-LHC and extreme conditions. Results indicate that the chip operates at the design frequency of 100 MHz with perfect correctness in realistic conditions and conclude that the building blocks are ready for 3D stacking. We also present performance boundary characterization of the chip under extreme conditions.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

Big Data in HEP: A comprehensive use case study

Experimental Particle Physics has been at the forefront of analyzing the worlds largest datasets for decades. The HEP community was the first to develop suitable software and computing tools for this task. In recent times, new toolkits and systems collectively called Big Data technologies have emerged to support the analysis of Petabyte and Exabyte datasets in industry. While the principles of data analysis in HEP have not changed (filtering and transforming experiment-specific data formats), these new technologies use different approaches and promise a fresh look at analysis of very large datasets and could potentially reduce the time-to-physics with increased interactivity. In this talk, we present an active LHC Run 2 analysis, searching for dark matter with the CMS detector, as a testbed for Big Data technologies. We directly compare the traditional NTuple-based analysis with an equivalent analysis using Apache Spark on the Hadoop ecosystem and beyond. In both cases, we start the analysis with the official experiment data formats and produce publication physics plots. We will discuss advantages and disadvantages of each approach and give an outlook on further studies needed.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2016

Dissecting Jets and Missing Energy Searches Using $n$-body Extended Simplified Models

Simplified Models are a useful way to characterize new physics scenarios for the LHC. Particle decays are often represented using non-renormalizable operators that involve the minimal number of fields required by symmetries. Generalizing to a wider class of decay operators allows one to model a variety of final states. This approach, which we dub the $n$-body extension of Simplified Models, provides a unifying treatment of the signal phase space resulting from a variety of signals. In this paper, we present the first application of this framework in the context of multijet plus missing energy searches. The main result of this work is a global performance study with the goal of identifying which set of observables yields the best discriminating power against the largest Standard Model backgrounds for a wide range of signal jet multiplicities. Our analysis compares combinations of one, two and three variables, placing emphasis on the enhanced sensitivity gain resulting from non-trivial correlations. Utilizing boosted decision trees, we compare and classify the performance of missing energy, energy scale and energy structure observables. We demonstrate that including an observable from each of these three classes is required to achieve optimal performance. This work additionally serves to establish the utility of $n$-body extended Simplified Models as a diagnostic for unpacking the relative merits of different search strategies, thereby motivating their application to new physics signatures beyond jets and missing energy.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Thinking outside the ROCs: Designing Decorrelated Taggers (DDT) for jet substructure

We explore the scale-dependence and correlations of jet substructure observables to improve upon existing techniques in the identification of highly Lorentz-boosted objects. Modified observables are designed to remove correlations from existing theoretically well-understood observables, providing practical advantages for experimental measurements and searches for new phenomena. We study such observables in $W$ jet tagging and provide recommendations for observables based on considerations beyond signal and background efficiencies.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

A Fast Algorithm for Solving Scalar Wave Scattering Problem by Billions of Particles

Scalar wave scattering by many small particles of arbitrary shapes with impedance boundary condition is studied. The problem is solved asymptotically and numerically under the assumptions a << d << lambda, where k = 2pi/lambda is the wave number, lambda is the wave length, a is the characteristic size of the particles, and d is the smallest distance between neighboring particles. A fast algorithm for solving this wave scattering problem by billions of particles is presented. The algorithm comprises the derivation of the (ORI) linear system and makes use of Conjugate Orthogonal Conjugate Gradient method and Fast Fourier Transform. Numerical solutions of the scalar wave scattering problem with 1, 4, 7, and 10 billions of small impedance particles are achieved for the first time. In these numerical examples, the problem of creating a material with negative refraction coefficient is also described and a recipe for creating materials with a desired refraction coefficient is tested.

math.NA↗

arXiv2014

Pileup Per Particle Identification

We propose a new method for pileup mitigation by implementing "pileup per particle identification" (PUPPI). For each particle we first define a local shape $α$ which probes the collinear versus soft diffuse structure in the neighborhood of the particle. The former is indicative of particles originating from the hard scatter and the latter of particles originating from pileup interactions. The distribution of $α$ for charged pileup, assumed as a proxy for all pileup, is used on an event-by-event basis to calculate a weight for each particle. The weights describe the degree to which particles are pileup-like and are used to rescale their four-momenta, superseding the need for jet-based corrections. Furthermore, the algorithm flexibly allows combination with other, possibly experimental, probabilistic information associated with particles such as vertexing and timing performance. We demonstrate the algorithm improves over existing methods by looking at jet $p_T$ and jet mass. We also find an improvement on non-jet quantities like missing transverse energy.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Scrutinizing the Higgs Signal and Background in the $2e2μ$ Golden Channel

Kinematic distributions in the decays of the newly discovered resonance to four leptons are a powerful test of the tensor structure of its couplings to electroweak gauge bosons. We present an analytic calculation for both signal and background of the fully differential cross section for the `Golden Channel' $e^+e^-μ^+μ^-$ final state. We include all interference effects between intermediate gauge bosons and allow them to be on- or off-shell. For the signal we compute the fully differential cross section for general scalar couplings to $ZZ$, $γγ$, and $Zγ$. For the background we compute the leading order fully differential cross section for the dominant contribution coming from $q\bar{q}$ annihilation into $Z$ and $γ$ gauge bosons, including the contribution from the resonant $Z\rightarrow 2e2μ$ process. We also present singly and doubly differential projections and study the interference effects on the differential spectra. These expressions can be used in a variety of ways to uncover the nature of the newly discovered resonance or any new scalars decaying to neutral gauge bosons which might be discovered in the future.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Observation of scalar nuclear spin-spin coupling in van der Waals molecules

Scalar couplings between covalently bound nuclear spins are a ubiquitous feature in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments, imparting valuable information to NMR spectra regarding molecular structure and conformation. Such couplings arise due to a second-order hyperfine interaction, and, in principle, the same mechanism should lead to scalar couplings between nuclear spins in unbound van der Waals complexes. Here, we report the first observation of scalar couplings between nuclei in van der Waals molecules. Our measurements are performed in a solution of hyperpolarized ${\rm ^{129}Xe}$ and pentane, using superconducting quantum interference devices to detect NMR in 10 mG fields, and are in good agreement with calculations based on density functional theory. van der Waals forces play an important role in many physical phenomena, and hence the techniques presented here may provide a new method for probing such interactions.

physics.chem-ph↗