arXiv subjects

V. Popa

Publications and source records attributed to V. Popa.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

MoEDAL search in the CMS beam pipe for magnetic monopoles produced via the Schwinger effect

We report on a search for magnetic monopoles (MMs) produced in ultraperipheral Pb--Pb collisions during Run-1 of the LHC. The beam pipe surrounding the interaction region of the CMS experiment was exposed to 184.07 \textmu b$^{-1}$ of Pb--Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV center-of-mass energy per collision in December 2011, before being removed in 2013. It was scanned by the MoEDAL experiment using a SQUID magnetometer to search for trapped MMs. No MM signal was observed. The two distinctive features of this search are the use of a trapping volume very close to the collision point and ultra-high magnetic fields generated during the heavy-ion run that could produce MMs via the Schwinger effect. These two advantages allowed setting the first reliable, world-leading mass limits on MMs with high magnetic charge. In particular, the established limits are the strongest available in the range between 2 and 45 Dirac units, excluding MMs with masses of up to 80 GeV at 95\% confidence level.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2021

Search for Highly-Ionizing Particles in pp Collisions at the LHC's Run-1 Using the Prototype MoEDAL Detector

A search for highly electrically charged objects (HECOs) and magnetic monopoles is presented using 2.2 fb-1 of p - p collision data taken at a centre of mass energy (ECM) of 8 TeV by the MoEDAL detector during LHC's Run-1. The data were collected using MoEDAL's prototype Nuclear Track Detector array and the Trapping Detector array. The results are interpreted in terms of Drell-Yan pair production of stable HECO and monopole pairs with three spin hypotheses (0, 1/2 and 1). The search provides constraints on the direct production of magnetic monopoles carrying one to four Dirac magnetic charges (4gD) and with mass limits ranging from 590 GeV/c^2 to 1 TeV/c^2. Additionally, mass limits are placed on HECOs with charge in the range 10e to 180e, where e is the charge of an electron, for masses between 30 GeV/c^2 and 1 TeV/c^2.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2021

First experimental search for production of magnetic monopoles via the Schwinger mechanism

Schwinger showed that electrically-charged particles can be produced in a strong electric field by quantum tunnelling through the Coulomb barrier. By electromagnetic duality, if magnetic monopoles (MMs) exist, they would be produced by the same mechanism in a sufficiently strong magnetic field. Unique advantages of the Schwinger mechanism are that its rate can be calculated using semiclassical techniques without relying on perturbation theory, and the finite MM size and strong MM-photon coupling are expected to enhance their production. Pb-Pb heavy-ion collisions at the LHC produce the strongest known magnetic fields in the current Universe, and this article presents the first search for MM production by the Schwinger mechanism. It was conducted by the MoEDAL experiment during the 5.02 TeV/nucleon heavy-ion run at the LHC in November 2018, during which the MoEDAL trapping detectors (MMTs) were exposed to 0.235 nb$^{-1}$ of Pb-Pb collisions. The MMTs were scanned for the presence of magnetic charge using a SQUID magnetometer. MMs with Dirac charges 1$g_D$ $\leq$ $g$ $\leq$ 3$g_D$ and masses up to 75 GeV/c$^2$ were excluded by the analysis. This provides the first lower mass limit for finite-size MMs from a collider search and significantly extends previous mass bounds.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

First search for dyons with the full MoEDAL trapping detector in 13 TeV pp collisions

The MoEDAL trapping detector, consists of approximately 800 kg of aluminium volumes. It was exposed during Run-2 of the LHC program to 6.46 fb^-1 of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHCb interaction point. Evidence for dyons (particles with electric and magnetic charge) captured in the trapping detector was sought by passing the aluminium volumes comprising the detector through a SQUID magnetometer. The presence of a trapped dyon would be signalled by a persistent current induced in the SQUID magnetometer. On the basis of a Drell-Yan production model, we exclude dyons with a magnetic charge ranging up to 5 Dirac charges, and an electric charge up to 200 times the fundamental electric charge for mass limits in the range 790 - 3130 GeV.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2019

Magnetic monopole search with the full MoEDAL trapping detector in 13 TeV $pp$ collisions interpreted in photon-fusion and Drell-Yan production

MoEDAL is designed to identify new physics in the form of stable or pseudostable highly ionizing particles produced in high-energy Large Hadron Collider (LHC) collisions. Here we update our previous search for magnetic monopoles in Run 2 using the full trapping detector with almost four times more material and almost twice more integrated luminosity. For the first time at the LHC, the data were interpreted in terms of photon-fusion monopole direct production in addition to the Drell-Yan-like mechanism. The MoEDAL trapping detector, consisting of 794 kg of aluminum samples installed in the forward and lateral regions, was exposed to 4.0 fb$^{-1}$ of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHCb interaction point and analyzed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer. Magnetic charges equal to or above the Dirac charge are excluded in all samples. Monopole spins 0, 1/2 and 1 are considered and both velocity-independent and -dependent couplings are assumed. This search provides the best current laboratory constraints for monopoles with magnetic charges ranging from two to five times the Dirac charge.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2017

Search for magnetic monopoles with the MoEDAL forward trapping detector in 2.11 fb$^{-1}$ of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC

We update our previous search for trapped magnetic monopoles in LHC Run 2 using nearly six times more integrated luminosity and including additional models for the interpretation of the data. The MoEDAL forward trapping detector, comprising 222~kg of aluminium samples, was exposed to 2.11~fb$^{-1}$ of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions near the LHCb interaction point and analysed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer. Magnetic charges equal to the Dirac charge or above are excluded in all samples. The results are interpreted in Drell-Yan production models for monopoles with spins 0, 1/2 and 1: in addition to standard point-like couplings, we also consider couplings with momentum-dependent form factors. The search provides the best current laboratory constraints for monopoles with magnetic charges ranging from two to five times the Dirac charge.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2017

Search for High-energy Neutrinos from Binary Neutron Star Merger GW170817 with ANTARES, IceCube, and the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo observatories recently discovered gravitational waves from a binary neutron star inspiral. A short gamma-ray burst (GRB) that followed the merger of this binary was also recorded by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (Fermi-GBM), and the Anticoincidence Shield for the Spectrometer for the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), indicating particle acceleration by the source. The precise location of the event was determined by optical detections of emission following the merger. We searched for high-energy neutrinos from the merger in the GeV--EeV energy range using the ANTARES, IceCube, and Pierre Auger Observatories. No neutrinos directionally coincident with the source were detected within $\pm500$ s around the merger time. Additionally, no MeV neutrino burst signal was detected coincident with the merger. We further carried out an extended search in the direction of the source for high-energy neutrinos within the 14-day period following the merger, but found no evidence of emission. We used these results to probe dissipation mechanisms in relativistic outflows driven by the binary neutron star merger. The non-detection is consistent with model predictions of short GRBs observed at a large off-axis angle.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

An algorithm for the reconstruction of neutrino-induced showers in the ANTARES neutrino telescope

Muons created by $\nu_\mu$ charged current (CC) interactions in the water surrounding the ANTARES neutrino telescope have been almost exclusively used so far in searches for cosmic neutrino sources. Due to their long range, highly energetic muons inducing Cherenkov radiation in the water are reconstructed with dedicated algorithms that allow the determination of the parent neutrino direction with a median angular resolution of about \unit{0.4}{\degree} for an $E^{-2}$ neutrino spectrum. In this paper, an algorithm optimised for accurate reconstruction of energy and direction of shower events in the ANTARES detector is presented. Hadronic showers of electrically charged particles are produced by the disintegration of the nucleus both in CC and neutral current (NC) interactions of neutrinos in water. In addition, electromagnetic showers result from the CC interactions of electron neutrinos while the decay of a tau lepton produced in $\nu_\tau$ CC interactions will in most cases lead to either a hadronic or an electromagnetic shower. A shower can be approximated as a point source of photons. With the presented method, the shower position is reconstructed with a precision of about \unit{1}{\metre}, the neutrino direction is reconstructed with a median angular resolution between \unit{2}{\degree} and \unit{3}{\degree} in the energy range of \SIrange{1}{1000}{TeV}. In this energy interval, the uncertainty on the reconstructed neutrino energy is about \SIrange{5}{10}{\%}. The increase in the detector sensitivity due to the use of additional information from shower events in the searches for a cosmic neutrino flux is also presented.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2017

New Constraints on all flavour Galactic diffuse neutrino emission with the ANTARES telescope

The flux of very high-energy neutrinos produced in our Galaxy by the interaction of accelerated cosmic rays with the interstellar medium is not yet determined. The characterization of this flux will shed light on Galactic accelerator features, gas distribution morphology and Galactic cosmic ray transport. The central Galactic plane can be the site of an enhanced neutrino production, thus leading to anisotropies in the extraterrestrial neutrino signal as measured by the IceCube Collaboration. The ANTARES neutrino telescope, located in the Mediterranean Sea, offers a favourable view on this part of the sky, thereby allowing for a contribution to the determination of this flux. The expected diffuse Galactic neutrino emission can be obtained linking a model of generation and propagation of cosmic rays with the morphology of the gas distribution in the Milky Way. In this paper, the so-called "Gamma model" introduced recently to explain the high-energy gamma ray diffuse Galactic emission, is assumed as reference. The neutrino flux predicted by the "Gamma model" depends of the assumed primary cosmic ray spectrum cut-off. Considering a radially-dependent diffusion coefficient, this proposed scenario is able to account for the local cosmic ray measurements, as well as for the Galactic gamma ray observations. Nine years of ANTARES data are used in this work to search for a possible Galactic contribution according to this scenario. All flavour neutrino interactions are considered. No excess of events is observed and an upper limit is set on the neutrino flux of $1.1$ ($1.2$) times the prediction of the "Gamma model" assuming the primary cosmic ray spectrum cut-off at 5 (50) PeV. This limit excludes the diffuse Galactic neutrino emission as the major cause of the "spectral anomaly" between the two hemispheres measured by IceCube.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Search for High-energy Neutrinos from Gravitational Wave Event GW151226 and Candidate LVT151012 with ANTARES and IceCube

The Advanced LIGO observatories detected gravitational waves from two binary black hole mergers during their first observation run (O1). We present a high-energy neutrino follow-up search for the second gravitational wave event, GW151226, as well as for gravitational wave candidate LVT151012. We find 2 and 4 neutrino candidates detected by IceCube, and 1 and 0 detected by ANTARES, within $\pm500$ s around the respective gravitational wave signals, consistent with the expected background rate. None of these neutrino candidates are found to be directionally coincident with GW151226 or LVT151012. We use non-detection to constrain isotropic-equivalent high-energy neutrino emission from GW151226 adopting the GW event's 3D localization, to less than $2\times 10^{51}-2\times10^{54}$ erg.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Model-independent search for neutrino sources with the ANTARES neutrino telescope

A novel method to analyse the spatial distribution of neutrino candidates recorded with the ANTARES neutrino telescope is introduced, searching for an excess of neutrinos in a region of arbitrary size and shape from any direction in the sky. Techniques originating from the domains of machine learning, pattern recognition and image processing are used to purify the sample of neutrino candidates and for the analysis of the obtained skymap. In contrast to a dedicated search for a specific neutrino emission model, this approach is sensitive to a wide range of possible morphologies of potential sources of high-energy neutrino emission. The application of these methods to ANTARES data yields a large-scale excess with a post-trial significance of 2.5$\sigma$. Applied to public data from IceCube in its IC40 configuration, an excess consistent with the results from ANTARES is observed with a post-trial significance of 2.1$\sigma$.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

An algorithm for the reconstruction of high-energy neutrino-induced particle showers and its application to the ANTARES neutrino telescope

A novel algorithm to reconstruct neutrino-induced particle showers within the ANTARES neutrino telescope is presented. The method achieves a median angular resolution of $6^\circ$ for shower energies below 100 TeV. Applying this algorithm to 6 years of data taken with the ANTARES detector, 8 events with reconstructed shower energies above 10 TeV are observed. This is consistent with the expectation of about 5 events from atmospheric backgrounds, but also compatible with diffuse astrophysical flux measurements by the IceCube collaboration, from which 2 - 4 additional events are expected. A 90% C.L. upper limit on the diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux with a value per neutrino flavour of $E^2\cdot \Phi^{90\%} = 4.9 \cdot 10^{-8}$ GeV $\cdot$ cm$^{-2} \cdot$ s$^{-1} \cdot$ sr$^{-1}$ is set, applicable to the energy range from 23 TeV to 7.8 PeV, assuming an unbroken $E^{-2}$ spectrum and neutrino flavour equipartition at Earth.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Search for relativistic magnetic monopoles with five years of the ANTARES detector data

A search for magnetic monopoles using five years of data recorded with the ANTARES neutrino telescope from January 2008 to December 2012 with a total live time of 1121 days is presented. The analysis is carried out in the range $\beta$ $>$ $0.6$ of magnetic monopole velocities using a strategy based on run-by-run Monte Carlo simulations. No signal above the background expectation from atmospheric muons and atmospheric neutrinos is observed, and upper limits are set on the magnetic monopole flux ranging from $5.7 \times 10^{-16}$ to $1.5 \times 10^{-18}$ cm$^{-2} \cdot $ s$^{-1} \cdot $ sr$^{-1}$.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

Search for high-energy neutrinos from bright GRBs with ANTARES

Gamma-ray bursts are thought to be sites of hadronic acceleration, thus neutrinos are expected from the decay of charged particles, produced in p{\gamma} interactions. The methods and results of a search for muon neutrinos in the data of the ANTARES neutrino telescope from four bright GRBs (GRB 080916C, GRB 110918A, GRB 130427A and GRB 130505A) observed between 2008 and 2013 are presented. Two scenarios of the fireball model have been investigated: the internal shock scenario, leading to the production of neutrinos with energies mainly above 100 TeV, and the photospheric scenario, characterised by a low-energy component in neutrino spectra due to the assumption of neutrino production closer to the central engine. Since no neutrino events have been detected in temporal and spatial coincidence with these bursts, upper limits at 90% C.L. on the expected neutrino fluxes are derived. The non-detection allows for directly constraining the bulk Lorentz factor of the jet {\Gamma} and the baryon loading fp.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

Search for Dark Matter Annihilation in the Earth using the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope

A search for a neutrino signal from WIMP pair annihilations in the centre of the Earth has been performed with the data collected with the ANTARES neutrino telescope from 2007 to 2012. The event selection criteria have been developed and tuned to maximise the sensitivity of the experiment to such a neutrino signal. No significant excess of neutrinos over the expected background has been observed. Upper limits at $90\%$ C.L. on the WIMP annihilation rate in the Earth and the spin independent scattering cross-section of WIMPs to nucleons $\sigma^{SI}_p$ were calculated for WIMP pair annihilations into either $\tau^{+}\tau^{-}$, $W^+W^-$, $b\overline{b}$ or the non-SUSY $\nu_{\mu}\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ as a function of the WIMP mass (between $25\,\mathrm{GeV/c^2}$ and $1000\,\mathrm{GeV/c^2}$) and as a function of the thermally averaged annihilation cross section times velocity $\langle\sigma_{A} v\rangle_{Earth}$ of the WIMPs in the centre of the Earth. For masses of the WIMP close to the mass of iron nuclei ($50\,\mathrm{GeV/c^2}$), the obtained limits on $\sigma^{SI}_p$ are more stringent than those obtained by other indirect searches.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

Results from the search for dark matter in the Milky Way with 9 years of data of the ANTARES neutrino telescope

Using data recorded with the ANTARES telescope from 2007 to 2015, a new search for dark matter annihilation in the Milky Way has been performed. Three halo models and five annihilation channels, $\rm WIMP + WIMP \to b \bar b, W^+ W^-, \tau^+ \tau^-, \mu^{+} \mu^{-}$ and $\nu \bar{\nu}$, with WIMP masses ranging from 50 $\frac{\text{GeV}}{\text{c}^2}$ to 100 $\frac{\text{TeV}}{\text{c}^2}$, were considered. No excess over the expected background was found, and limits on the thermally averaged annihilation cross--section were set.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

Search for magnetic monopoles with the MoEDAL forward trapping detector in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC

MoEDAL is designed to identify new physics in the form of long-lived highly-ionising particles produced in high-energy LHC collisions. Its arrays of plastic nuclear-track detectors and aluminium trapping volumes provide two independent passive detection techniques. We present here the results of a first search for magnetic monopole production in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions using the trapping technique, extending a previous publication with 8 TeV data during LHC run-1. A total of 222 kg of MoEDAL trapping detector samples was exposed in the forward region and analysed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer. Magnetic charges exceeding half the Dirac charge are excluded in all samples and limits are placed for the first time on the production of magnetic monopoles in 13 TeV $pp$ collisions. The search probes mass ranges previously inaccessible to collider experiments for up to five times the Dirac charge.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

Time-dependent search for neutrino emission from x-ray binaries with the ANTARES telescope

ANTARES is currently the largest neutrino telescope operating in the Northern Hemisphere, aiming at the detection of high-energy neutrinos from astrophysical sources. Neutrino telescopes constantly monitor at least one complete hemisphere of the sky, and are thus well-suited to detect neutrinos produced in transient astrophysical sources. A timedependent search has been applied to a list of 33 x-ray binaries undergoing high flaring activities in satellite data (RXTE/ASM, MAXI and Swift/BAT) and during hardness transition states in the 2008-2012 period. The background originating from interactions of charged cosmic rays in the Earth's atmosphere is drastically reduced by requiring a directional and temporal coincidence with astrophysical phenomena. The results of this search are presented together with comparisons between the neutrino flux upper limits and the neutrino flux predictions from astrophysical models. The neutrino flux upper limits resulting from this search limit the jet parameter predictions for some astrophysical models.

astro-ph.HE↗