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S. Cao

Publications and source records attributed to S. Cao.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
arXiv2023

Multiscale evolution of heavy flavor in the QGP

Shower development dynamics for a jet traveling through the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) is a multiscale process, where the heavy flavor mass is an important scale. During the high virtuality portion of the jet evolution in the QGP, emission of gluons from a heavy flavor is modified owing to heavy quark mass. Medium-induced radiation of heavy flavor is sensitive to microscopic processes (e.g. diffusion), whose virtuality dependence is phenomenologically explored in this study. In the lower virtuality part of shower evolution, i.e. when the mass is comparable to the virtuality of the parton, scattering and radiation processes of heavy quarks differ from light quarks. The effects of these mechanisms on shower development in heavy flavor tagged showers in the QGP is explored here. Furthermore, this multiscale study examines dynamical pair production of heavy flavor (via virtual gluon splittings) and their subsequent evolution in the QGP, which is not possible otherwise. A realistic event-by-event simulation is performed using the JETSCAPE framework. Energy-momentum exchange with the medium proceeds using a weak coupling recoil approach. Using leading hadron and open heavy flavor observables, differences in heavy versus light quark energy-loss mechanisms are explored, while the importance of heavy flavor pair production is highlighted along with future directions to study.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2023

A new metric improving Bayesian calibration of a multistage approach studying hadron and inclusive jet suppression

We study parton energy-momentum exchange with the quark gluon plasma (QGP) within a multistage approach composed of in-medium DGLAP evolution at high virtuality, and (linearized) Boltzmann Transport formalism at lower virtuality. This multistage simulation is then calibrated in comparison with high $p_T$ charged hadrons, D-mesons, and the inclusive jet nuclear modification factors, using Bayesian model-to-data comparison, to extract the virtuality-dependent transverse momentum broadening transport coefficient $\hat{q}$. To facilitate this undertaking, we develop a quantitative metric for validating the Bayesian workflow, which is used to analyze the sensitivity of various model parameters to individual observables. The usefulness of this new metric in improving Bayesian model emulation is shown to be highly beneficial for future such analyses.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2023

Measurement of the cosmogenic neutron yield in Super-Kamiokande with gadolinium loaded water

Cosmic-ray muons that enter the Super-Kamiokande detector cause hadronic showers due to spallation in water, producing neutrons and radioactive isotopes. Those are a major background source for studies of MeV-scale neutrinos and searches for rare events. Since 2020, gadolinium was introduced in the ultra-pure water in the Super-Kamiokande detector to improve the detection efficiency of neutrons. In this study, the cosmogenic neutron yield was measured using data acquired during the period after the gadolinium loading. The yield was found to be $(2.76 \pm 0.02\,\mathrm{(stat.) \pm 0.19\,\mathrm{(syst.)}}) \times 10^{-4}\,μ^{-1} \mathrm{g^{-1} cm^{2}}$ at 259 GeV of average muon energy at the Super-Kamiokande detector.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

First measurement of muon neutrino charged-current interactions on hydrocarbon without pions in the final state using multiple detectors with correlated energy spectra at T2K

This paper reports the first measurement of muon neutrino charged-current interactions without pions in the final state using multiple detectors with correlated energy spectra at T2K. The data was collected on hydrocarbon targets using the off-axis T2K near detector (ND280) and the on-axis T2K near detector (INGRID) with neutrino energy spectra peaked at 0.6 GeV and 1.1 GeV respectively. The correlated neutrino flux presents an opportunity to reduce the impact of the flux uncertainty and to study the energy dependence of neutrino interactions. The extracted double-differential cross sections are compared to several Monte Carlo neutrino-nucleus interaction event generators showing the agreement between both detectors individually and with the correlated result.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Updated T2K measurements of muon neutrino and antineutrino disappearance using 3.6 $\times$ 10$^{21}$ protons on target

Muon neutrino and antineutrino disappearance probabilities are identical in the standard three-flavor neutrino oscillation framework, but CPT violation and non-standard interactions can violate this symmetry. In this work we report the measurements of $\sin^{2} θ_{23}$ and $Δm_{32}^2$ independently for neutrinos and antineutrinos. The aforementioned symmetry violation would manifest as an inconsistency in the neutrino and antineutrino oscillation parameters. The analysis discussed here uses a total of 1.97$\times$10$^{21}$ and 1.63$\times$10$^{21}$ protons on target taken with a neutrino and antineutrino beam respectively, and benefits from improved flux and cross-section models, new near detector samples and more than double the data reducing the overall uncertainty of the result. No significant deviation is observed, consistent with the standard neutrino oscillation picture.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Measurements of the $ν_μ$ and $\barν_μ$-induced Coherent Charged Pion Production Cross Sections on $^{12}C$ by the T2K experiment

We report an updated measurement of the $ν_μ$-induced, and the first measurement of the $\barν_μ$-induced coherent charged pion production cross section on $^{12}C$ nuclei in the T2K experiment. This is measured in a restricted region of the final-state phase space for which $p_{μ,π} > 0.2$ GeV, $\cos(θ_μ) > 0.8$ and $\cos(θ_π) > 0.6$, and at a mean (anti)neutrino energy of 0.85 GeV using the T2K near detector. The measured $ν_μ$ CC coherent pion production flux-averaged cross section on $^{12}C$ is $(2.98 \pm 0.37 (stat.) \pm 0.31 (syst.) \substack{ +0.49 \\ -0.00 } \mathrm{ (Q^2\,model)}) \times 10^{-40}~\mathrm{cm}^{2}$. The new measurement of the $\barν_μ$-induced cross section on $^{12}{C}$ is $(3.05 \pm 0.71 (stat.) \pm 0.39 (syst.) \substack{ +0.74 \\ -0.00 } \mathrm{(Q^2\,model)}) \times 10^{-40}~\mathrm{cm}^{2}$. The results are compatible with both the NEUT 5.4.0 Berger-Sehgal (2009) and GENIE 2.8.0 Rein-Sehgal (2007) model predictions.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters from the T2K experiment using $3.6\times10^{21}$ protons on target

The T2K experiment presents new measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters using $19.7(16.3)\times10^{20}$ protons on target (POT) in (anti-)neutrino mode at the far detector (FD). Compared to the previous analysis, an additional $4.7\times10^{20}$ POT neutrino data was collected at the FD. Significant improvements were made to the analysis methodology, with the near-detector analysis introducing new selections and using more than double the data. Additionally, this is the first T2K oscillation analysis to use NA61/SHINE data on a replica of the T2K target to tune the neutrino flux model, and the neutrino interaction model was improved to include new nuclear effects and calculations. Frequentist and Bayesian analyses are presented, including results on $\sin^2θ_{13}$ and the impact of priors on the $δ_\mathrm{CP}$ measurement. Both analyses prefer the normal mass ordering and upper octant of $\sin^2θ_{23}$ with a nearly maximally CP-violating phase. Assuming the normal ordering and using the constraint on $\sin^2θ_{13}$ from reactors, $\sin^2θ_{23}=0.561^{+0.021}_{-0.032}$ using Feldman--Cousins corrected intervals, and $Δm^2_{32}=2.494_{-0.058}^{+0.041}\times10^{-3}~\mathrm{eV^2}$ using constant $Δχ^{2}$ intervals. The CP-violating phase is constrained to $δ_\mathrm{CP}=-1.97_{-0.70}^{+0.97}$ using Feldman--Cousins corrected intervals, and $δ_\mathrm{CP}=0,π$ is excluded at more than 90% confidence level. A Jarlskog invariant of zero is excluded at more than $2σ$ credible level using a flat prior in $δ_\mathrm{CP}$, and just below $2σ$ using a flat prior in $\sinδ_\mathrm{CP}$. When the external constraint on $\sin^2θ_{13}$ is removed, $\sin^2θ_{13}=28.0^{+2.8}_{-6.5}\times10^{-3}$, in agreement with measurements from reactor experiments. These results are consistent with previous T2K analyses.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Search for Cosmic-ray Boosted Sub-GeV Dark Matter using Recoil Protons at Super-Kamiokande

We report a search for cosmic-ray boosted dark matter with protons using the 0.37 megaton$\times$years data collected at Super-Kamiokande experiment during the 1996-2018 period (SKI-IV phase). We searched for an excess of proton recoils above the atmospheric neutrino background from the vicinity of the Galactic Center. No such excess is observed, and limits are calculated for two reference models of dark matter with either a constant interaction cross-section or through a scalar mediator. This is the first experimental search for boosted dark matter with hadrons using directional information. The results present the most stringent limits on cosmic-ray boosted dark matter and exclude the dark matter-nucleon elastic scattering cross-section between $10^{-33}\text{ cm}^{2}$ and $10^{-27}\text{ cm}^{2}$ for dark matter mass from 10 MeV/$c^2$ to 1 GeV/$c^2$.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Effects of multi-scale jet-medium interactions on jet substructures

We utilize event-by-event Monte Carlo simulations within the JETSCAPE framework to examine scale-dependent jet-medium interactions in heavy-ion collisions. The reduction in jet-medium interaction during the early high-virtuality stage, where the medium is resolved at a short distance scale, is emphasized as a key element in explaining multiple jet observables, particularly substructures, simultaneously. By employing the MATTER+LBT setup, which incorporates this explicit reduction of medium effects at high virtuality, we investigate jet substructure observables, such as Soft Drop groomed observables. When contrasted with existing data, our findings spotlight the significant influence of the reduction at the early high-virtuality stages. Furthermore, we study the substructure of gamma-tagged jets, providing predictive insights for future experimental analyses. This broadens our understanding of the various contributing factors involved in modifying jet substructures.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2023

Search for astrophysical electron antineutrinos in Super-Kamiokande with 0.01wt% gadolinium-loaded water

We report the first search result for the flux of astrophysical electron antineutrinos for energies O(10) MeV in the gadolinium-loaded Super-Kamiokande (SK) detector. In June 2020, gadolinium was introduced to the ultra-pure water of the SK detector in order to detect neutrons more efficiently. In this new experimental phase, SK-Gd, we can search for electron antineutrinos via inverse beta decay with efficient background rejection and higher signal efficiency thanks to the high efficiency of the neutron tagging technique. In this paper, we report the result for the initial stage of SK-Gd with a $22.5\times552$ $\rm kton\cdot day$ exposure at 0.01% Gd mass concentration. No significant excess over the expected background in the observed events is found for the neutrino energies below 31.3 MeV. Thus, the flux upper limits are placed at the 90% confidence level. The limits and sensitivities are already comparable with the previous SK result with pure-water ($22.5 \times 2970 \rm kton\cdot day$) owing to the enhanced neutron tagging.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2023

Multi-scale evolution of charmed particles in a nuclear medium

Parton energy-momentum exchange with the quark gluon plasma (QGP) is a multi-scale problem. In this work, we calculate the interaction of charm quarks with the QGP within the higher twist formalism at high virtuality and high energy using the MATTER model, while the low virtuality and high energy portion is treated via a (linearized) Boltzmann Transport (LBT) formalism. Coherence effect that reduces the medium-induced emission rate in the MATTER model is also taken into account. The interplay between these two formalisms is studied in detail and used to produce a good description of the D-meson and charged hadron nuclear modification factor RAA across multiple centralities. All calculations were carried out utilizing the JETSCAPE framework.

nucl-th↗
arXiv2023

Inclusive jet and hadron suppression in a multistage approach

We present a new study of jet interactions in the quark-gluon plasma created in high-energy heavy-ion collisions, using a multistage event generator within the JETSCAPE framework. We focus on medium-induced modifications in the rate of inclusive jets and high transverse momentum (high-$p_{\mathrm{T}}$) hadrons. Scattering-induced jet energy loss is calculated in two stages: A high virtuality stage based on the MATTER model, in which scattering of highly virtual partons modifies the vacuum radiation pattern, and a second stage at lower jet virtuality based on the LBT model, in which leading partons gain and lose virtuality by scattering and radiation. Coherence effects that reduce the medium-induced emission rate in the MATTER phase are also included. The TRENTo model is used for initial conditions, and the (2+1)dimensional VISHNU model is used for viscous hydrodynamic evolution. Jet interactions with the medium are modeled via 2-to-2 scattering with Debye screened potentials, in which the recoiling partons are tracked, hadronized, and included in the jet clustering. Holes left in the medium are also tracked and subtracted to conserve transverse momentum. Calculations of the nuclear modification factor ($R_{\mathrm{AA}}$) for inclusive jets and high-$p_{\mathrm{T}}$ hadrons are compared to experimental measurements at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Within this framework, we find that with one extra parameter which codifies the transition between stages of jet modification -- along with the typical parameters such as the coupling in the medium, the start and stop criteria etc. -- we can describe these data at all energies for central and semicentral collisions without a rescaling of the jet transport coefficient $\hat{q}$.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2022

Stringent constraint on CPT violation with the synergy of T2K-II, NO$ν$A extension, and JUNO

Neutrino oscillation experiments have measured precisely the mass-squared differences of three neutrino mass eigenstates, and three leptonic mixing angles by utilizing both neutrino and anti-neutrino oscillations. The possible CPT violation may manifest itself in the difference of neutrino and anti-neutrino oscillation parameters, making these experiments promising tools for testing CPT invariance. We investigate empirically the sensitivity of the CPT test via the difference in mass-squared splittings ($Δm^2_{31} - Δ\overline{m}^2_{31}$) and in leptonic mixing angles ($\sin^2θ_{23} - \sin^2\overlineθ_{23}$) with the synergy of T2K-II, NO$ν$A extension, and JUNO experiments. If the CPT symmetry is found to be conserved, the joint analysis of the three experiments will be able to establish limits of $|Δm^2_{31} - Δ\overline{m}^2_{31}|$ < $5.3\times 10^{-3} \text{eV}^2$ and $|\sin^2θ_{23} - \sin^2\overlineθ_{23}|$ < $0.10$ at 3$σ$ C. L. on the possible CPT violation. We find that with ($Δm^2_{31} - Δ\overline{m}^2_{31}$), the dependence of the statistical significance on the relevant parameters to exclude the CPT conservation is marginal, and that, if the difference in the best-fit values of $Δm^2_{31}$ and $Δ\overline{m}^2_{31}$ measured by MINOS(+) and NO$ν$A persists as the true, the combined analysis will rule out the CPT conservation at 4$σ$ C. L.. With the ($\sin^2θ_{23} - \sin^2\overlineθ_{23}$), the statistical significance to exclude CPT invariance depends strongly on the true value of $θ_{23}(\overlineθ_{23})$. In case of maximal mixing of $θ_{23}$, the CPT conservation will be excluded at 3$σ$ C. L. or more if the difference in the best-fit values of $θ_{23}$ and $\overlineθ_{23}$ remains as the true.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2022

Comprehensive Study of Multi-scale Jet-medium Interaction

We explore jet-medium interactions at various scales in high-energy heavy-ion collisions using the JETSCAPE framework. The physics of the multi-stage modeling and the coherence effect at high virtuality is discussed through the results of multiple jet and high-$p_{\mathrm{T}}$ particle observables, compared with experimental data. Furthermore, we investigate the jet-medium interaction involved in the hadronization process.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2022

Searching for neutrinos from solar flares across solar cycles 23 and 24 with the Super-Kamiokande detector

Neutrinos associated with solar flares (solar-flare neutrinos) provide information on particle acceleration mechanisms during the impulsive phase of solar flares. We searched using the Super-Kamiokande detector for neutrinos from solar flares that occurred during solar cycles $23$ and $24$, including the largest solar flare (X28.0) on November 4th, 2003. In order to minimize the background rate we searched for neutrino interactions within narrow time windows coincident with $γ$-rays and soft X-rays recorded by satellites. In addition, we performed the first attempt to search for solar-flare neutrinos from solar flares on the invisible side of the Sun by using the emission time of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). By selecting twenty powerful solar flares above X5.0 on the visible side and eight CMEs whose emission speed exceeds $2000$ $\mathrm{km \, s^{-1}}$ on the invisible side from 1996 to 2018, we found two (six) neutrino events coincident with solar flares occurring on the visible (invisible) side of the Sun, with a typical background rate of $0.10$ ($0.62$) events per flare in the MeV-GeV energy range. No significant solar-flare neutrino signal above the estimated background rate was observed. As a result we set the following upper limit on neutrino fluence at the Earth $\mathitΦ<1.1\times10^{6}$ $\mathrm{cm^{-2}}$ at the $90\%$ confidence level for the largest solar flare. The resulting fluence limits allow us to constrain some of the theoretical models for solar-flare neutrino emission.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2022

Search for proton decay via $p\rightarrow μ^+K^0$ in 0.37 megaton-years exposure of Super-Kamiokande

We searched for proton decay via $p\toμ^+K^0$ in 0.37\,Mton$\cdot$years of data collected between 1996 and 2018 from the Super-Kamiokande water Cherenkov experiment. The selection criteria were defined separately for $K^0_S$ and $K^0_L$ channels. No significant event excess has been observed. As a result of this analysis, which extends the previous search by an additional 0.2\,Mton$\cdot$years of exposure and uses an improved event reconstruction, we set a lower limit of $3.6\times10^{33}$ years on the proton lifetime.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2022

Pre-Supernova Alert System for Super-Kamiokande

In 2020, the Super-Kamiokande (SK) experiment moved to a new stage (SK-Gd) in which gadolinium (Gd) sulfate octahydrate was added to the water in the detector, enhancing the efficiency to detect thermal neutrons and consequently improving the sensitivity to low energy electron anti-neutrinos from inverse beta decay (IBD) interactions. SK-Gd has the potential to provide early alerts of incipient core-collapse supernovae through detection of electron anti-neutrinos from thermal and nuclear processes responsible for the cooling of massive stars before the gravitational collapse of their cores. These pre-supernova neutrinos emitted during the silicon burning phase can exceed the energy threshold for IBD reactions. We present the sensitivity of SK-Gd to pre-supernova stars and the techniques used for the development of a pre-supernova alarm based on the detection of these neutrinos in SK, as well as prospects for future SK-Gd phases with higher concentrations of Gd. For the current SK-Gd phase, high-confidence alerts for Betelgeuse could be issued up to nine hours in advance of the core-collapse itself.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2022

Bayesian analysis of QGP jet transport using multi-scale modeling applied to inclusive hadron and reconstructed jet data

The JETSCAPE Collaboration reports a new determination of jet transport coefficients in the Quark-Gluon Plasma, using both reconstructed jet and hadron data measured at RHIC and the LHC. The JETSCAPE framework incorporates detailed modeling of the dynamical evolution of the QGP; a multi-stage theoretical approach to in-medium jet evolution and medium response; and Bayesian inference for quantitative comparison of model calculations and data. The multi-stage framework incorporates multiple models to cover a broad range in scale of the in-medium parton shower evolution, with dynamical choice of model that depends on the current virtuality or energy of the parton. We will discuss the physics of the multi-stage modeling, and then present a new Bayesian analysis incorporating it. This analysis extends the recently published JETSCAPE determination of the jet transport parameter $\hat{q}$ that was based solely on inclusive hadron suppression data, by incorporating reconstructed jet measurements of quenching. We explore the functional dependence of jet transport coefficients on QGP temperature and jet energy and virtuality, and report the consistency and tensions found for current jet quenching modeling with hadron and reconstructed jet data over a wide range in kinematics and $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}}$. This analysis represents the next step in the program of comprehensive analysis of jet quenching phenomenology and its constraint of properties of the QGP.

hep-ph↗