Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

T. Mitsui

Publications and source records attributed to T. Mitsui.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Search for electron antineutrinos associated with gravitational wave events GW150914 and GW151226 using KamLAND

We present a search for low energy antineutrino events coincident with the gravitational wave events GW150914 and GW151226, and the candidate event LVT151012 using KamLAND, a kiloton-scale antineutrino detector. We find no inverse beta-decay neutrino events within $\pm 500$ seconds of either gravitational wave signal. This non-detection is used to constrain the electron antineutrino fluence and the luminosity of the astrophysical sources.

astro-ph.HE↗

KamLAND Sensitivity to Neutrinos from Pre-Supernova Stars

In the late stages of nuclear burning for massive stars ($M>8~M_{\sun}$), the production of neutrino-antineutrino pairs through various processes becomes the dominant stellar cooling mechanism. As the star evolves, the energy of these neutrinos increases and in the days preceding the supernova a significant fraction of emitted electron anti-neutrinos exceeds the energy threshold for inverse beta decay on free hydrogen. This is the golden channel for liquid scintillator detectors because the coincidence signature allows for significant reductions in background signals. We find that the kiloton-scale liquid scintillator detector KamLAND can detect these pre-supernova neutrinos from a star with a mass of $25~M_{\sun}$ at a distance less than 690~pc with 3$σ$ significance before the supernova. This limit is dependent on the neutrino mass ordering and background levels. KamLAND takes data continuously and can provide a supernova alert to the community.

astro-ph.HE↗

Search for double-beta decay of 136Xe to excited states of 136Ba with the KamLAND-Zen experiment

A search for double-beta decays of 136Xe to excited states of 136Ba has been performed with the first phase data set of the KamLAND-Zen experiment. The 0+1, 2+1 and 2+2 transitions of 0ν\{beta}\{beta} decay were evaluated in an exposure of 89.5kg-yr of 136Xe, while the same transitions of 2ν\{beta}\{beta} decay were evaluated in an exposure of 61.8kg-yr. No excess over background was found for all decay modes. The lower half-life limits of the 2+1 state transitions of 0ν\{beta}\{beta} and 2ν\{beta}\{beta} decay were improved to T(0ν, 0+ \rightarrow 2+) > 2.6\times10^25 yr and T(2ν, 0+ \rightarrow 2+) > 4.6\times10^23 yr (90% C.L.), respectively. We report on the first experimental lower half-life limits for the transitions to the 0+1 state of 136Xe for 0ν\{beta}\{beta} and 2ν\{beta}\{beta} decay. They are T (0ν, 0+ \rightarrow 0+) > 2.4\times10^25 yr and T(2ν, 0+ \rightarrow 0+) > 8.3\times10^23 yr (90% C.L.). The transitions to the 2+2 states are also evaluated for the first time to be T(0ν, 0+ \rightarrow 2+) > 2.6\times10^25 yr and T(2ν, 0+ \rightarrow 2+) > 9.0\times10^23 yr (90% C.L.). These results are compared to recent theoretical predictions.

hep-ex↗

7Be Solar Neutrino Measurement with KamLAND

We report a measurement of the neutrino-electron elastic scattering rate of 862 keV 7Be solar neutrinos based on a 165.4 kton-day exposure of KamLAND. The observed rate is 582 +/- 90 (kton-day)^-1, which corresponds to a 862 keV 7Be solar neutrino flux of (3.26 +/- 0.50) x 10^9 cm^-2s^-1, assuming a pure electron flavor flux. Comparing this flux with the standard solar model prediction and further assuming three flavor mixing, a nu_e survival probability of 0.66 +/- 0.14 is determined from the KamLAND data. Utilizing a global three flavor oscillation analysis, we obtain a total 7Be solar neutrino flux of (5.82 +/- 0.98) x 10^9 cm^-2s^-1, which is consistent with the standard solar model predictions.

hep-ex↗

Study of electron anti-neutrinos associated with gamma-ray bursts using KamLAND

We search for electron anti-neutrinos ($\overlineν_e$) from long and short-duration gamma-ray bursts~(GRBs) using data taken by the KamLAND detector from August 2002 to June 2013. No statistically significant excess over the background level is found. We place the tightest upper limits on $\overlineν_e$ fluence from GRBs below 7 MeV and place first constraints on the relation between $\overlineν_e$ luminosity and effective temperature.

astro-ph.HE↗

A compact ultra-clean system for deploying radioactive sources inside the KamLAND detector

We describe a compact, ultra-clean device used to deploy radioactive sources along the vertical axis of the KamLAND liquid-scintillator neutrino detector for purposes of calibration. The device worked by paying out and reeling in precise lengths of a hanging, small-gauge wire rope (cable); an assortment of interchangeable radioactive sources could be attached to a weight at the end of the cable. All components exposed to the radiopure liquid scintillator were made of chemically compatible UHV-cleaned materials, primarily stainless steel, in order to avoid contaminating or degrading the scintillator. To prevent radon intrusion, the apparatus was enclosed in a hermetically sealed housing inside a glove box, and both volumes were regularly flushed with purified nitrogen gas. An infrared camera attached to the side of the housing permitted real-time visual monitoring of the cable's motion, and the system was controlled via a graphical user interface.

physics.ins-det↗

CeLAND: search for a 4th light neutrino state with a 3 PBq 144Ce-144Pr electron antineutrino generator in KamLAND

The reactor neutrino and gallium anomalies can be tested with a 3-4 PBq (75-100 kCi scale) 144Ce-144Pr antineutrino beta-source deployed at the center or next to a large low-background liquid scintillator detector. The antineutrino generator will be produced by the Russian reprocessing plant PA Mayak as early as 2014, transported to Japan, and deployed in the Kamioka Liquid Scintillator Anti-Neutrino Detector (KamLAND) as early as 2015. KamLAND's 13 m diameter target volume provides a suitable environment to measure the energy and position dependence of the detected neutrino flux. A characteristic oscillation pattern would be visible for a baseline of about 10 m or less, providing a very clean signal of neutrino disappearance into a yet-unknown, sterile neutrino state. This will provide a comprehensive test of the electron dissaperance neutrino anomalies and could lead to the discovery of a 4th neutrino state for Delta_m^2 > 0.1 eV^2 and sin^2(2theta) > 0.05.

physics.ins-det↗

Laboratory Studies on the Removal of Radon-Born Lead from KamLAND's Organic Liquid Scintillator

The removal of radioactivity from liquid scintillator has been studied in preparation of a low background phase of KamLAND. This paper describes the methods and techniques developed to measure and efficiently extract radon decay products from liquid scintillator. We report the radio-isotope reduction factors obtained when applying various extraction methods. During this study, distillation was identified as the most efficient method for removing radon daughters from liquid scintillator.

physics.ins-det↗

White paper: CeLAND - Investigation of the reactor antineutrino anomaly with an intense 144Ce-144Pr antineutrino source in KamLAND

We propose to test for short baseline neutrino oscillations, implied by the recent reevaluation of the reactor antineutrino flux and by anomalous results from the gallium solar neutrino detectors. The test will consist of producing a 75 kCi 144Ce - 144Pr antineutrino source to be deployed in the Kamioka Liquid Scintillator Anti-Neutrino Detector (KamLAND). KamLAND's 13m diameter target volume provides a suitable environment to measure energy and position dependence of the detected neutrino flux. A characteristic oscillation pattern would be visible for a baseline of about 10 m or less, providing a very clean signal of neutrino disappearance into a yet-unknown, "sterile" state. Such a measurement will be free of any reactor-related uncertainties. After 1.5 years of data taking the Reactor Antineutrino Anomaly parameter space will be tested at > 95% C.L.

hep-ex↗

Limits on Majoron-emitting double-beta decays of Xe-136 in the KamLAND-Zen experiment

We present limits on Majoron-emitting neutrinoless double-beta decay modes based on an exposure of 112.3 days with 125 kg of Xe-136. In particular, a lower limit on the ordinary (spectral index n = 1) Majoron-emitting decay half-life of Xe-136 is obtained as T_{1/2}^{0νχ^{0}} > 2.6 x 10^{24} yr at 90% C.L., a factor of five more stringent than previous limits. The corresponding upper limit on the effective Majoron-neutrino coupling, using a range of available nuclear matrix calculations, is < (0.8 - 1.6) x 10^{-5}. This excludes a previously unconstrained region of parameter space and strongly limits the possible contribution of ordinary Majoron emission modes to 0νββdecay for neutrino masses in the inverted hierarchy scheme.

hep-ex↗

Measurement of the 8B Solar Neutrino Flux with the KamLAND Liquid Scintillator Detector

We report a measurement of the neutrino-electron elastic scattering rate from 8B solar neutrinos based on a 123 kton-day exposure of KamLAND. The background-subtracted electron recoil rate, above a 5.5 MeV analysis threshold is 1.49+/-0.14(stat)+/-0.17(syst) events per kton-day. Interpreted as due to a pure electron flavor flux with a 8B neutrino spectrum, this corresponds to a spectrum integrated flux of 2.77+/-0.26(stat)+/-0.32(syst) x 10^6 cm^-2s^-1. The analysis threshold is driven by 208Tl present in the liquid scintillator, and the main source of systematic uncertainty is due to background from cosmogenic 11Be. The measured rate is consistent with existing measurements and with Standard Solar Model predictions which include matter enhanced neutrino oscillation.

hep-ex↗

Element-Specific Phonon Density of States of Iron in LaFeAsO_{1-x}F_{x} and La_{1-x}Ca_{x}FePO

We have measured element-specific Fe-phonon densities of states (Fe-PDOS) of LaFeAsO_{1-x}F_{x} (x = 0, 0.11) and La_{1-x}Ca_{x}FePO (x = 0.13) by using nuclear resonant inelastic scattering of synchrotron radiation. The Fe-PDOS of superconductor LaFeAsO_{0.89}F_{0.11} (Tc = 26 K) and that of non-superconductor LaFeAsO have similar structures to both below Tc (15 K) and above Tc (298 K) and, therefore, fluorine doping does not have notable effect on the Fe-PDOS. As for the superconductor La_{0.87}Ca_{0.13}FePO (Tc = 5.4K), the entire structure of Fe-PDOS resembles with that of LaFeAsO_{1-x}F_{x}, but the energy of the highest peak is higher than that of LaFeAsO_{1-x}F_{x}. These peaks are attributed to vibrational modes between Fe and pnicogen (As and P) and the temperature-dependent energy shifts are observed for LaFeAsO_{1-x}F_{x}. Observed Fe-PDOS of LaFeAsO_{1-x}F_{x} agrees well with an previously calculated Fe-PDOS spectrum with a first-principles calculation and shows the structural resemblance with an calculated Eliashberg function #alpha^2F(x) giving small electron-phonon coupling. Therefore, our results indicate that phonons are not the main contributors to the Tc superconductivity of LaFeAsO_{1-x}F_{x}. From the experimental viewpoint, comparison of our observed Fe-PDOS and an experimentally obtained bosonic glue spectrum will be an important clue as to whether phonons are the main contributors to superconductivity in iron-pnictide superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

Spin Ordering in LaOFeAs and Its Suppression in Superconductor LaO0.89F0.11FeAs Probed by Mössbauer Spectroscopy

The 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy was applied to an iron-based layered superconductor LaO0.89F0.11FeAs with a transition temperature of 26 K and its parent material LaOFeAs. Throughout the temperature range from 4.2 to 298 K, a singlet spectrum with no magnetic splitting was observed as a main component of each Mössbauer spectrum of the F-doped superconductor. No additional internal magnetic field was observed for the spectrum measured at 4.2 K under a magnetic field of 7 T. On the other hand, the parent LaOFeAs shows a magnetic transition at around 140 K, and this temperature is slightly lower than that of a structural phase transition from tetragonal to orthorhombic phase, which accompanies the resistivity anomaly at around 150 K. The magnetic moment is estimated to be ~0.35 $μ$B/Fe at 4.2 K in the orthorhombic phase, and the spin disorder remains in the magnetic ordered state even at 4.2 K. The fact that no magnetic transition in LaO0.89F0.11FeAs was observed even at 4.2 K under 7 T implies a strong spin fluctuation above Tc or small magnetic moment in this system. Therefore, the present results show that the F-doping effectively suppresses the magnetic and structural transitions in the parent material and the suppression leads to emergence of superconductivity in this system.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

Precise Measurements of Atmospheric Muon Fluxes with the BESS Spectrometer

The vertical absolute fluxes of atmospheric muons and muon charge ratio have been measured precisely at different geomagnetic locations by using the BESS spectrometer. The observations had been performed at sea level (30 m above sea level) in Tsukuba, Japan, and at 360 m above sea level in Lynn Lake, Canada. The vertical cutoff rigidities in Tsukuba (36.2 N, 140.1 E) and in Lynn Lake (56.5 N, 101.0 W) are 11.4 GV and 0.4 GV, respectively. We have obtained vertical fluxes of positive and negative muons in a momentum range from 0.6 to 20 GeV/c with systematic errors less than 3 % in both measurements. By comparing the data collected at two different geomagnetic latitudes, we have seen an effect of cutoff rigidity. The dependence on the atmospheric pressure and temperature, and the solar modulation effect have been also clearly observed. We also clearly observed the decrease of charge ratio of muons at low momentum side with at higher cutoff rigidity region.

astro-ph↗

Measurements of Cosmic-ray Low-energy Antiproton and Proton Spectra in a Transient Period of the Solar Field Reversal

The energy spectra of cosmic-ray low-energy antiprotons and protons have been measured by BESS in 1999 and 2000, during a period covering the solar magnetic field reversal. Based on these measurements, a sudden increase of the antiproton to proton flux ratio following the solar magnetic field reversal was observed, and it generally agrees with a drift model of the solar modulation.

astro-ph↗

Precise Measurement of Cosmic-Ray Proton and Helium Spectra with the BESS Spectrometer

We report cosmic-ray proton and helium spectra in energy ranges of 1 to 120 GeV and 1 to 54 GeV/nucleon, respectively, measured by a balloon flight of the BESS spectrometer in 1998. The magnetic-rigidity of the cosmic-rays was reliably determined by highly precise measurement of the circular track in a uniform solenoidal magnetic field of 1 Tesla. Those spectra were determined within overall uncertainties of +-5 % for protons and +- 10 % for helium nuclei including statistical and systematic errors.

astro-ph↗

Large-Area Scintillator Hodoscope with 50 ps Timing Resolution Onboard BESS

We describe the design and performance of a large-area scintillator hodoscope onboard the BESS rigidity spectrometer; an instrument with an acceptance of 0.3 m^{2}sr. The hodoscope is configured such that 10 and 12 counters are respectively situated in upper and lower layers. Each counter is viewed from its ends by 2.5 inch fine-mesh photomultiplier tubes placed in a stray magnetic field of 0.2 Tesla. Various beam-test data are presented. Use of cosmic-ray muons at ground-level confirmed 50 ps timing resolution for each layer, giving an overall time-of-flight resolution of 70 ps rms using a pure Gaussian resolution function. Comparison with previous measurements on a similar scintillator hodoscope indicates good agreement with the scaling law that timing resolution is proportional to 1/$\sqrt{N_{\rm pe}}$, where $N_{\rm pe}$ is the effective number of photoelectrons.

hep-ex↗

Precision Measurement of Cosmic-Ray Antiproton Spectrum

The energy spectrum of cosmic-ray antiprotons has been measured in the range 0.18 to 3.56 GeV, based on 458 antiprotons collected by BESS in recent solar-minimum period. We have detected for the first time a distinctive peak at 2 GeV of antiprotons originating from cosmic-ray interactions with the interstellar gas. The peak spectrum is reproduced by theoretical calculations, implying that the propagation models are basically correct and that different cosmic-ray species undergo a universal propagation. Future BESS flights toward the solar maximum will help us to study the solar modulation and the propagation in detail and to search for primary antiproton components.

astro-ph↗