arXiv subjects

Paola Sala

Publications and source records attributed to Paola Sala.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Neutron Reconstruction via Blips in Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers

Neutrons are important final-state particles in neutrino interactions, yet they are not considered or reconstructed in most current neutrino LArTPC physics analyses. In this paper, we present a simulation-based proof-of-concept study of neutron reconstruction in a generic LArTPC detector. Leveraging isolated, MeV-scale energy deposits, or blips, from neutron inelastic scattering, and using realistic blip response from published experimental results, we demonstrate the capability to identify neutrons and to reconstruct the direction and energy of the final-state neutron system in sub-GeV neutrino interactions. We then explore how neutron-related blip attributes can be used to improve physics studies of neutrino interactions, such as enhancing neutrino-antineutrino separation in atmospheric neutrinos and reverse-horn-current beam neutrinos. This simple study provides an initial quantification of LArTPC neutron reconstruction capabilities, which we expect to improve with future advancements in blip reconstruction, identification, and classification algorithms, as well as the modeling of neutrons.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

The Final Frontier for Proton Decay

We present a novel experimental concept to search for proton decay. Using paleo-detectors, ancient minerals acquired from deep underground which can hold traces of charged particles, it may be possible to conduct a search for $p \to \barν K^+$ via the track produced at the endpoint of the kaon. Such a search is not possible on Earth due to large atmospheric-neutrino-induced backgrounds. However, the Moon offers a reprieve from this background, since the conventional component of the cosmic-ray-induced neutrino flux at the Moon is significantly suppressed due to the Moon's lack of atmosphere. For a 100 g, $10^9$ year old (100 kton$\cdot$year exposure) sample of olivine extracted from the Moon, we expect about 0.5 kaon endpoints due to neutrino backgrounds, including secondary interactions. If such a lunar paleo-detector sample can be acquired and efficiently analyzed, proton decay sensitivity exceeding $τ_p\sim10^{34}$ years may be achieved, competitive with Super-Kamiokande's current published limit ($τ_p>5.9\times 10^{33}$ years at 90% CL) and the projected reach of DUNE and Hyper-Kamiokande in the $p \to \barν K^+$ channel. This concept is clearly futuristic, not least since it relies on extracting mineral samples from a few kilometers below the surface of the Moon and then efficiently scanning them for kaon endpoint induced crystal defects with sub-micron-scale resolution. However, the search for proton decay is in urgent need of a paradigm shift, and paleo-detectors could provide a promising alternative to conventional experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Mineral Detection of Neutrinos and Dark Matter. A Whitepaper

Minerals are solid state nuclear track detectors - nuclear recoils in a mineral leave latent damage to the crystal structure. Depending on the mineral and its temperature, the damage features are retained in the material from minutes (in low-melting point materials such as salts at a few hundred degrees C) to timescales much larger than the 4.5 Gyr-age of the Solar System (in refractory materials at room temperature). The damage features from the $O(50)$ MeV fission fragments left by spontaneous fission of $^{238}$U and other heavy unstable isotopes have long been used for fission track dating of geological samples. Laboratory studies have demonstrated the readout of defects caused by nuclear recoils with energies as small as $O(1)$ keV. This whitepaper discusses a wide range of possible applications of minerals as detectors for $E_R \gtrsim O(1)$ keV nuclear recoils: Using natural minerals, one could use the damage features accumulated over $O(10)$ Myr$-O(1)$ Gyr to measure astrophysical neutrino fluxes (from the Sun, supernovae, or cosmic rays interacting with the atmosphere) as well as search for Dark Matter. Using signals accumulated over months to few-years timescales in laboratory-manufactured minerals, one could measure reactor neutrinos or use them as Dark Matter detectors, potentially with directional sensitivity. Research groups in Europe, Asia, and America have started developing microscopy techniques to read out the $O(1) - O(100)$ nm damage features in crystals left by $O(0.1) - O(100)$ keV nuclear recoils. We report on the status and plans of these programs. The research program towards the realization of such detectors is highly interdisciplinary, combining geoscience, material science, applied and fundamental physics with techniques from quantum information and Artificial Intelligence.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2022

FLUKA cross sections for cosmic-ray interactions with the DRAGON2 code

Secondary particles produced in spallation reactions of cosmic rays with the interstellar gas provide valuable information that allow us to investigate the injection and transport of charged particles in the Galaxy. A good understanding of the cross sections of production of these particles is crucial to correctly interpret our models, although the existing experimental data is very scarce and uncertain. We have developed a new set of cross sections, both inelastic and inclusive, computed with the {\tt FLUKA} Monte Carlo nuclear code and tested its compatibility with CR data. Inelastic and inclusive cross sections have been compared to the most up-to-date data and parameterisations finding a general good agreement. Then, these cross sections have been implemented in the {\tt DRAGON2} code to characterize the spectra of CR nuclei up to $Z=26$ and the secondary-to-primary ratios of B, Be and Li. Interestingly, we find that the FLUKA cross sections allow us to predict an energy-dependence of the B, Be and Li flux ratios which is compatible with AMS-02 data and to reproduce simultaneously these flux ratios with a scaling lower than $20\%$. Finally, we implement the cross sections of production of gamma rays, calculated with {\tt FLUKA}, in the {\tt Gammasky} code and compute diffuse gamma-ray sky maps and the local HI emissivity spectrum, finding a very good agreement with Fermi Large Area Telescope data.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Advanced assessment of Beam Induced Background at a Muon Collider

Renewed international interest in muon colliders motivates the continued investigation of the impacts of beam-induced background on detector performance. This continues the effort initiated by the Muon Accelerator Program and carried out until 2017. The beam-induced background from muon decays directly impacts detector performance and must be mitigated by optimizing the overall machine design, with particular attention paid to the machine detector interface region. In order to produce beam-induced background events and to study their characteristics in coordination with the collider optimization, a flexible simulation approach is needed. To achieve this goal we have chosen to utilize the combination of LineBuilder and Monte Carlo FLUKA codes. We report the results of beam-induced background studies with these tools obtained for a 1.5 TeV center of mass energy collider configuration. Good agreement with previous simulations using the MARS15 code demonstrate that our choice of tools meet the accuracy and performance requirements to perform future optimization studies on muon collider designs.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2020

Measuring Changes in the Atmospheric Neutrino Rate Over Gigayear Timescales

Measuring the cosmic ray flux over timescales comparable to the age of the solar system, $\sim 4.5\,$Gyr, could provide a new window on the history of the Earth, the solar system, and even our galaxy. We present a technique to indirectly measure the rate of cosmic rays as a function of time using the imprints of atmospheric neutrinos in paleo-detectors, natural minerals which record damage tracks from nuclear recoils. Minerals commonly found on Earth are $\lesssim 1\,$Gyr old, providing the ability to look back across cosmic ray history on timescales of the same order as the age of the solar system. Given a collection of differently aged samples dated with reasonable accuracy, this technique is particularly well-suited to measuring historical changes in the cosmic ray flux at Earth and is broadly applicable in astrophysics and geophysics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Detector and Physics Performance at a Muon Collider

A muon collider represents the ideal machine to reach very high center-of-mass energies and luminosities by colliding elementary particles. This is the result of the low level of beamstrahlung and synchrotron radiation compared to linear or circular electron-positron colliders. In contrast with other lepton machines, the design of a detector for a multi-TeV muon collider requires the knowledge of the interaction region due to the presence of a large amount of background induced by muon beam decays. The physics reaches can be properly evaluated only when the detector performance is determined. In this work, the background generated by muon beams of $750$ GeV is characterized and the performance of the tracking system and the calorimeter detector are illustrated. Solutions to minimize the effect of the beam-induced background are discussed and applied to obtain track and jet reconstruction performance. The $μ^+μ^-\to Hν\barν\to b\bar b ν\barν$ process is fully simulated and reconstructed to demonstrate that physics measurements are possible in this harsh environment. The precision on Higgs boson coupling to $b\bar b$ is evaluated for $\sqrt{s}=1.5$, 3, and 10 TeV and compared to other proposed machines.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2019

Preliminary Report on the Study of Beam-Induced Background Effects at a Muon Collider

Physics at a multi-TeV muon collider needs a change of perspective for the detector design due to the large amount of background induced by muon beam decays. Preliminary studies, based on simulated data, on the composition and the characteristics of the particles originated from the muon decays and reaching the detectors are presented here. The reconstruction performance of the physics processes $H\to b\bar b$ and $Z\to b\bar b$ has been investigated for the time being without the effect of the machine induced background. A preliminary study of the environment hazard due to the radiation induced by neutrino interactions with the matter is presented using the FLUKA simulation program.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2019

Research and Development for Near Detector Systems Towards Long Term Evolution of Ultra-precise Long-baseline Neutrino Experiments

With the discovery of non-zero value of $θ_{13}$ mixing angle, the next generation of long-baseline neutrino (LBN) experiments offers the possibility of obtaining statistically significant samples of muon and electron neutrinos and anti-neutrinos with large oscillation effects. In this document we intend to highlight the importance of Near Detector facilities in LBN experiments to both constrain the systematic uncertainties affecting oscillation analyses but also to perform, thanks to their close location, measurements of broad benefit for LBN physics goals. A strong European contribution to these efforts is possible.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

Muon momentum measurement in ICARUS-T600 LAr-TPC via multiple scattering in few-GeV range

The measurement of muon momentum by Multiple Coulomb Scattering is a crucial ingredient to the reconstruction of νμ CC events in the ICARUS-T600 liquid argon TPC in absence of magnetic field, as in the search for sterile neutrinos at Fermilab where ICARUS will be exposed to ~1 GeV Booster neutrino beam. A sample of ~1000 stopping muons produced by charged current interactions of CNGS νμ in the surrounding rock at the INFN Gran Sasso underground Laboratory provides an ideal benchmark in the few-GeV range since their momentum can be directly and independently obtained by the calorimetric measurement. Stopping muon momentum in the 0.5- 4.5 GeV/c range has been reconstructed via Multiple Coulomb Scattering with resolution ranging from 10 to 25 % depending on muon energy, track length and uniformity of the electric field in the drift volume.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2013

Sterile neutrinos: the necessity for a 5 sigma definitive clarification

Several different experiments have hinted to the existence of "anomalies" in the neutrino sector, implying the possible presence of additional sterile neutrinos or of other options. A definitive experimental search, capable to clarify either in favour or against all these anomalies at the appropriate > 5 sigma level has been proposed by the ICARUS-NESSIE Collaboration. The technique is based on two innovative concepts, namely (1) a large mass Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LAr-TPC) now in full operation at LNGS and (2) the search for spectral differences in two identical detectors at different distances along the (anti-)neutrino line(s).

hep-ph↗