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R. Carr

Publications and source records attributed to R. Carr.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
arXiv2017

Cryogenic magnetic coil and superconducting magnetic shield for neutron electric dipole moment searches

A magnetic coil operated at cryogenic temperatures is used to produce spatial, relative field gradients below 6 ppm/cm, stable for several hours. The apparatus is a prototype of the magnetic components for a neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) search, which will take place at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory using ultra-cold neutrons (UCN). That search requires a uniform magnetic field to mitigate systematic effects and obtain long polarization lifetimes for neutron spin precession measurements. This paper details upgrades to a previously described apparatus, particularly the introduction of super-conducting magnetic shielding and the associated cryogenic apparatus. The magnetic gradients observed are sufficiently low for the nEDM search at SNS.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2017

Cosmic-muon characterization and annual modulation measurement with Double Chooz detectors

A study on cosmic muons has been performed for the two identical near and far neutrino detectors of the Double Chooz experiment, placed at $\sim$120 and $\sim$300 m.w.e. underground respectively, including the corresponding simulations using the MUSIC simulation package. This characterization has allowed to measure the muon flux reaching both detectors to be (3.64 $\pm$ 0.04) $\times$ 10$^{-4}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ for the near detector and (7.00 $\pm$ 0.05) $\times$ 10$^{-5}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ for the far one. The seasonal modulation of the signal has also been studied observing a positive correlation with the atmospheric temperature, leading to an effective temperature coefficient of $α_{T}$ = 0.212 $\pm$ 0.024 and 0.355 $\pm$ 0.019 for the near and far detectors respectively. These measurements, in good agreement with expectations based on theoretical models, represent one of the first measurements of this coefficient in shallow depth installations.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2016

Characterization of the Spontaneous Light Emission of the PMTs used in the Double Chooz Experiment

During the commissioning of the first of the two detectors of the Double Chooz experiment, an unexpected and dominant background caused by the emission of light inside the optical volume has been observed. A specific study of the ensemble of phenomena called "Light Noise" has been carried out in-situ, and in an external laboratory, in order to characterize the signals and to identify the possible processes underlying the effect. Some mechanisms of instrumental noise originating from the PMTs were identified and it has been found that the leading one arises from the light emission localized on the photomultiplier base and produced by the combined effect of heat and high voltage across the transparent epoxy resin covering the electric components. The correlation of the rate and the amplitude of the signal with the temperature has been observed. For the first detector in operation the induced background has been mitigated using online and offline analysis selections based on timing and light pattern of the signals, while a modification of the photomultiplier assembly has been implemented for the second detector in order to blacken the PMT bases.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2016

Muon capture on light isotopes in Double Chooz

Using the Double Chooz detector, designed to measure the neutrino mixing angle $θ_{13}$, the products of $μ^-$ capture on $^{12}$C, $^{13}$C, $^{14}$N and $^{16}$O have been measured. Over a period of 489.5 days, $2.3\times10^6$ stopping cosmic $μ^-$ have been collected, of which $1.8\times10^5$ captured on carbon, nitrogen, or oxygen nuclei in the inner detector scintillator or acrylic vessels. The resulting isotopes were tagged using prompt neutron emission (when applicable), the subsequent beta decays, and, in some cases, $β$-delayed neutrons. The most precise measurement of the rate of $^{12}\mathrm C(μ^-,ν)^{12}\mathrm B$ to date is reported: $6.57^{+0.11}_{-0.21}\times10^{3}\,\mathrm s^{-1}$, or $(17.35^{+0.35}_{-0.59})\%$ of nuclear captures. By tagging excited states emitting gammas, the ground state transition rate to $^{12}$B has been determined to be $5.68^{+0.14}_{-0.23}\times10^3\,\mathrm s^{-1}$. The heretofore unobserved reactions $^{12}\mathrm C(μ^-,να)^{8}\mathrm{Li}$, $^{13}\mathrm C(μ^-,ν\mathrm nα)^{8}\mathrm{Li}$, and $^{13}\mathrm C(μ^-,ν\mathrm n)^{12}\mathrm B$ are measured. Further, a population of $β$n decays following stopping muons is identified with $5.5σ$ significance. Statistics limit our ability to identify these decays definitively. Assuming negligible production of $^{8}$He, the reaction $^{13}\mathrm C(μ^-,να)^{9}\mathrm{Li}$ is found to be present at the $2.7σ$ level. Limits are set on a variety of other processes.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2016

The Detector System of The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment

The Daya Bay experiment was the first to report simultaneous measurements of reactor antineutrinos at multiple baselines leading to the discovery of $\barν_e$ oscillations over km-baselines. Subsequent data has provided the world's most precise measurement of $\rm{sin}^22θ_{13}$ and the effective mass splitting $Δm_{ee}^2$. The experiment is located in Daya Bay, China where the cluster of six nuclear reactors is among the world's most prolific sources of electron antineutrinos. Multiple antineutrino detectors are deployed in three underground water pools at different distances from the reactor cores to search for deviations in the antineutrino rate and energy spectrum due to neutrino mixing. Instrumented with photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), the water pools serve as shielding against natural radioactivity from the surrounding rock and provide efficient muon tagging. Arrays of resistive plate chambers over the top of each pool provide additional muon detection. The antineutrino detectors were specifically designed for measurements of the antineutrino flux with minimal systematic uncertainty. Relative detector efficiencies between the near and far detectors are known to better than 0.2%. With the unblinding of the final two detectors' baselines and target masses, a complete description and comparison of the eight antineutrino detectors can now be presented. This paper describes the Daya Bay detector systems, consisting of eight antineutrino detectors in three instrumented water pools in three underground halls, and their operation through the first year of eight detector data-taking.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2015

Measurement of $θ_{13}$ in Double Chooz using neutron captures on hydrogen with novel background rejection techniques

The Double Chooz collaboration presents a measurement of the neutrino mixing angle $θ_{13}$ using reactor $\overlineν_{e}$ observed via the inverse beta decay reaction in which the neutron is captured on hydrogen. This measurement is based on 462.72 live days data, approximately twice as much data as in the previous such analysis, collected with a detector positioned at an average distance of 1050m from two reactor cores. Several novel techniques have been developed to achieve significant reductions of the backgrounds and systematic uncertainties. Accidental coincidences, the dominant background in this analysis, are suppressed by more than an order of magnitude with respect to our previous publication by a multi-variate analysis. These improvements demonstrate the capability of precise measurement of reactor $\overlineν_{e}$ without gadolinium loading. Spectral distortions from the $\overlineν_{e}$ reactor flux predictions previously reported with the neutron capture on gadolinium events are confirmed in the independent data sample presented here. A value of $\sin^{2}2θ_{13} = 0.095^{+0.038}_{-0.039}$(stat+syst) is obtained from a fit to the observed event rate as a function of the reactor power, a method insensitive to the energy spectrum shape. A simultaneous fit of the hydrogen capture events and of the gadolinium capture events yields a measurement of $\sin^{2}2θ_{13} = 0.088\pm0.033$(stat+syst).

hep-ex↗
arXiv2015

Neutron Calibration Sources in the Daya Bay Experiment

We describe the design and construction of the low rate neutron calibration sources used in the Daya Bay Reactor Anti-neutrino Experiment. Such sources are free of correlated gamma-neutron emission, which is essential in minimizing induced background in the anti-neutrino detector. The design characteristics have been validated in the Daya Bay anti-neutrino detector.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2015

Improved measurements of the neutrino mixing angle $θ_{13}$ with the Double Chooz detector

The Double Chooz experiment presents improved measurements of the neutrino mixing angle $θ_{13}$ using the data collected in 467.90 live days from a detector positioned at an average distance of 1050 m from two reactor cores at the Chooz nuclear power plant. Several novel techniques have been developed to achieve significant reductions of the backgrounds and systematic uncertainties with respect to previous publications, whereas the efficiency of the $\barν_{e}$ signal has increased. The value of $θ_{13}$ is measured to be $\sin^{2}2θ_{13} = 0.090 ^{+0.032}_{-0.029}$ from a fit to the observed energy spectrum. Deviations from the reactor $\barν_{e}$ prediction observed above a prompt signal energy of 4 MeV and possible explanations are also reported. A consistent value of $θ_{13}$ is obtained from a fit to the observed rate as a function of the reactor power independently of the spectrum shape and background estimation, demonstrating the robustness of the $θ_{13}$ measurement despite the observed distortion.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2014

Ortho-positronium observation in the Double Chooz Experiment

The Double Chooz experiment measures the neutrino mixing angle $θ_{13}$ by detecting reactor $\barν_e$ via inverse beta decay. The positron-neutron space and time coincidence allows for a sizable background rejection, nonetheless liquid scintillator detectors would profit from a positron/electron discrimination, if feasible in large detector, to suppress the remaining background. Standard particle identification, based on particle dependent time profile of photon emission in liquid scintillator, can not be used given the identical mass of the two particles. However, the positron annihilation is sometimes delayed by the ortho-positronium (o-Ps) metastable state formation, which induces a pulse shape distortion that could be used for positron identification. In this paper we report on the first observation of positronium formation in a large liquid scintillator detector based on pulse shape analysis of single events. The o-Ps formation fraction and its lifetime were measured, finding the values of 44$\%$ $\pm$ 12$\%$ (sys.) $\pm$ 5$\%$ (stat.) and $3.68$ns $\pm$ 0.17ns (sys.) $\pm$ 0.15ns (stat.) respectively, in agreement with the results obtained with a dedicated positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy setup.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2014

Precision Muon Reconstruction in Double Chooz

We describe a muon track reconstruction algorithm for the reactor anti-neutrino experiment Double Chooz. The Double Chooz detector consists of two optically isolated volumes of liquid scintillator viewed by PMTs, and an Outer Veto above these made of crossed scintillator strips. Muons are reconstructed by their Outer Veto hit positions along with timing information from the other two detector volumes. All muons are fit under the hypothesis that they are through-going and ultrarelativistic. If the energy depositions suggest that the muon may have stopped, the reconstruction fits also for this hypothesis and chooses between the two via the relative goodness-of-fit. In the ideal case of a through-going muon intersecting the center of the detector, the resolution is ~40 mm in each transverse dimension. High quality muon reconstruction is an important tool for reducing the impact of the cosmogenic isotope background in Double Chooz.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2014

Planck 2013 results. I. Overview of products and scientific results

The ESA's Planck satellite, dedicated to studying the early Universe and its subsequent evolution, was launched 14 May 2009 and has been scanning the microwave and submillimetre sky continuously since 12 August 2009. This paper gives an overview of the mission and its performance, the processing, analysis, and characteristics of the data, the scientific results, and the science data products and papers in the release. The science products include maps of the CMB and diffuse extragalactic foregrounds, a catalogue of compact Galactic and extragalactic sources, and a list of sources detected through the SZ effect. The likelihood code used to assess cosmological models against the Planck data and a lensing likelihood are described. Scientific results include robust support for the standard six-parameter LCDM model of cosmology and improved measurements of its parameters, including a highly significant deviation from scale invariance of the primordial power spectrum. The Planck values for these parameters and others derived from them are significantly different from those previously determined. Several large-scale anomalies in the temperature distribution of the CMB, first detected by WMAP, are confirmed with higher confidence. Planck sets new limits on the number and mass of neutrinos, and has measured gravitational lensing of CMB anisotropies at greater than 25 sigma. Planck finds no evidence for non-Gaussianity in the CMB. Planck's results agree well with results from the measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations. Planck finds a lower Hubble constant than found in some more local measures. Some tension is also present between the amplitude of matter fluctuations derived from CMB data and that derived from SZ data. The Planck and WMAP power spectra are offset from each other by an average level of about 2% around the first acoustic peak.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2014

Background-independent measurement of $θ_{13}$ in Double Chooz

The oscillation results published by the Double Chooz collaboration in 2011 and 2012 rely on background models substantiated by reactor-on data. In this analysis, we present a background-model-independent measurement of the mixing angle $θ_{13}$ by including 7.53 days of reactor-off data. A global fit of the observed neutrino rates for different reactor power conditions is performed, yielding a measurement of both $θ_{13}$ and the total background rate. The results on the mixing angle are improved significantly by including the reactor-off data in the fit, as it provides a direct measurement of the total background rate. This reactor rate modulation analysis considers antineutrino candidates with neutron captures on both Gd and H, whose combination yields $\sin^2(2θ_{13})=$ 0.102 $\pm$ 0.028(stat.) $\pm$ 0.033(syst.). The results presented in this study are fully consistent with the ones already published by Double Chooz, achieving a competitive precision. They provide, for the first time, a determination of $θ_{13}$ that does not depend on a background model.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2014

Spectral measurement of electron antineutrino oscillation amplitude and frequency at Daya Bay

A measurement of the energy dependence of antineutrino disappearance at the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment is reported. Electron antineutrinos ($\overlineν_{e}$) from six $2.9$ GW$_{\rm th}$ reactors were detected with six detectors deployed in two near (effective baselines 512 m and 561 m) and one far (1579 m) underground experimental halls. Using 217 days of data, 41589 (203809 and 92912) antineutrino candidates were detected in the far hall (near halls). An improved measurement of the oscillation amplitude $\sin^{2}2θ_{13} = 0.090^{+0.008}_{-0.009} $ and the first direct measurement of the $\overlineν_{e}$ mass-squared difference $|Δm^{2}_{ee}|= (2.59_{-0.20}^{+0.19}) \times 10^{-3}\ {\rm eV}^2 $ is obtained using the observed $\overlineν_{e}$ rates and energy spectra in a three-neutrino framework. This value of $|Δm^{2}_{ee}|$ is consistent with $|Δm^{2}_{μμ}|$ measured by muon neutrino disappearance, supporting the three-flavor oscillation model.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2013

Assembly and Installation of the Daya Bay Antineutrino Detectors

The Daya Bay reactor antineutrino experiment is designed to make a precision measurement of the neutrino mixing angle theta13, and recently made the definitive discovery of its nonzero value. It utilizes a set of eight, functionally identical antineutrino detectors to measure the reactor flux and spectrum at baselines of 300 - 2000m from the Daya Bay and Ling Ao Nuclear Power Plants. The Daya Bay antineutrino detectors were built in an above-ground facility and deployed side-by-side at three underground experimental sites near and far from the nuclear reactors. This configuration allows the experiment to make a precision measurement of reactor antineutrino disappearance over km-long baselines and reduces relative systematic uncertainties between detectors and nuclear reactors. This paper describes the assembly and installation of the Daya Bay antineutrino detectors.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2013

First Measurement of θ_13 from Delayed Neutron Capture on Hydrogen in the Double Chooz Experiment

The Double Chooz experiment has determined the value of the neutrino oscillation parameter $θ_{13}$ from an analysis of inverse beta decay interactions with neutron capture on hydrogen. This analysis uses a three times larger fiducial volume than the standard Double Chooz assessment, which is restricted to a region doped with gadolinium (Gd), yielding an exposure of 113.1 GW-ton-years. The data sample used in this analysis is distinct from that of the Gd analysis, and the systematic uncertainties are also largely independent, with some exceptions, such as the reactor neutrino flux prediction. A combined rate- and energy-dependent fit finds $\sin^2 2θ_{13}=0.097\pm 0.034(stat.) \pm 0.034 (syst.)$, excluding the no-oscillation hypothesis at 2.0 σ. This result is consistent with previous measurements of $\sin^2 2θ_{13}$.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2013

Automated Calibration System for a High-Precision Measurement of Neutrino Mixing Angle $θ_{13}$ with the Daya Bay Antineutrino Detectors

We describe the automated calibration system for the antineutrino detectors in the Daya Bay Neutrino Experiment. This system consists of 24 identical units instrumented on 8 identical 20-ton liquid scintillator detectors. Each unit is a fully automated robotic system capable of deploying an LED and various radioactive sources into the detector along given vertical axes. Selected results from performance studies of the calibration system are reported.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2013

Precision Measurement of the Neutron Beta-Decay Asymmetry

A new measurement of the neutron $β$-decay asymmetry $A_0$ has been carried out by the UCNA collaboration using polarized ultracold neutrons (UCN) from the solid deuterium UCN source at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). Improvements in the experiment have led to reductions in both statistical and systematic uncertainties leading to $A_0 = -0.11954(55)_{\rm stat.}(98)_{\rm syst.}$, corresponding to the ratio of axial-vector to vector coupling $λ\equiv g_A/g_V = -1.2756(30)$.

nucl-ex↗