Response to Comment on Daya Bay's definition and use of Delta(m^2_ee)
The Daya Bay Collaboration responds to comments posted by S. Parke and R. Zukanovich Funchal regarding our use of Delta(m^2_ee).
hep-ex↗
arXiv subjects
Z. Guo
Publications and source records attributed to Z. Guo.
Radiative deflection by spin effect in the quantum radiation-reaction regime
The colliding between ultra-relativistic electrons and an ultra-intense laser pulse is a powerful approach to testify the physics in strong-field QED regime. By considering spin-dependent radiation-reaction during laser-electron collision we find anti-symmetric deflection of electrons with different spin states. We revealed that such deflection is induced by the non-zero work done by radiation-reaction force along field polarization-direction in a half-period of phase, which is larger for spin-anti-paralleled electrons and smaller for spin-paralleled electrons. The spin-projection on the magnetic field of an electron gets inversed in adjacent half-periods due to oscillating magnetic field and therefore the deflection due to spin-dependent radiation is accumulated rather than vanishing. The new mechanism provides an extra dimension to observe quantum radiation-reaction effect in the strong-field QED regime by measuring the anti-symmetric distribution.
physics.plasm-ph↗
Anchoring Magnetic Fields in Turbulent Molecular Clouds II - from 0.1 to 0.01 parsec
We (Li et al. 2009; Paper-I) compared the magnetic field directions inferred from polarimetry data obtained from 100-pc scale inter-cloud media (ICM) and from sub-pc scale molecular cloud cores. The highly correlated result led us to conclude that cloud turbulence must be sub-Alfvenic. Here we extend the study with 0.01-pc cores observed by interferometers. The inferred field directions at this scale significantly deviate from that of the surrounding ICM. An obvious question to ask is whether this high-resolution result contradicts the sub-Alfvenic picture concluded earlier. We performed MHD simulations of a slightly super-critical (magnetic criticality = 2) clouds with Alfvenic Mach number $M_A = 0.63$, which can reproduce the Paper-I results, and observed the development towards smaller scales. Interestingly, all subregions hosting cores with $n_H$$_2$ > $10^{5}$/cc (the typical density observed by interferometers) possess $M_A = 2-3$. Not too surprisingly, these slightly super-Alfvenic cores result in B-field orientation offsets comparable to the interferometer observations. The result suggests that gravity can concentrate (and maybe also contribute to, which takes more study to confirm) turbulent energy and create slightly super-Alfvenic cores out from sub-Alfvenic clouds. The results of our simulations also agree with the observed velocity-scale (Kauffmann et al. 2013), mass-scale (Lombardi et al. 2010) and field strength-density (Li et al. 2015; Crutcher et al. 2010) relations.
astro-ph.GA↗
Measurement of electron antineutrino oscillation with 1958 days of operation at Daya Bay
We report a measurement of electron antineutrino oscillation from the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment with nearly 4 million reactor $\overlineν_{e}$ inverse beta decay candidates observed over 1958 days of data collection. The installation of a Flash-ADC readout system and a special calibration campaign using different source enclosures reduce uncertainties in the absolute energy calibration to less than 0.5% for visible energies larger than 2 MeV. The uncertainty in the cosmogenic $^9$Li and $^8$He background is reduced from 45% to 30% in the near detectors. A detailed investigation of the spent nuclear fuel history improves its uncertainty from 100% to 30%. Analysis of the relative $\overlineν_{e}$ rates and energy spectra among detectors yields $\sin^{2}2θ_{13} = 0.0856\pm 0.0029$ and $Δm^2_{32}=(2.471^{+0.068}_{-0.070})\times 10^{-3}~\mathrm{eV}^2$ assuming the normal hierarchy, and $Δm^2_{32}=-(2.575^{+0.068}_{-0.070})\times 10^{-3}~\mathrm{eV}^2$ assuming the inverted hierarchy.
hep-ex↗
Search for a time-varying electron antineutrino signal at Daya Bay
A search for a time-varying $\barν_{e}$ signal was performed with 621 days of data acquired by the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment over 704 calendar days. The time spectrum of the measured $\overlineν_e$ flux normalized to its prediction was analyzed with a Lomb-Scargle periodogram, which yielded no significant signal for periods ranging from 2 hours to nearly 2 years. The normalized time spectrum was also fit for a sidereal modulation under the Standard Model extension (SME) framework to search for Lorentz and CPT violation (LV-CPTV). Limits were obtained for all six flavor pairs $\bar{e}\barμ$, $\bar{e}\barτ$, $\barμ\barτ$, $\bar{e}\bar{e},\barμ\barμ$ and $\barτ\barτ$ by fitting them one at a time, constituting the first experimental constraints on the latter three. Daya Bay's high statistics and unique layout of multiple directions from three pairs of reactors to three experimental halls allowed the simultaneous constraint of individual SME LV-CPTV coefficients without assuming others contribute negligibly, a first for a neutrino experiment.
hep-ex↗
Quantum Reflection above the Classical Radiation-reaction Barrier in the QED Regime
The colliding between an ultra-intense laser pulse with a high energy electron beam is not only an important source for high-brightness gamma-rays but also a powerful approach to exploit new physics in the exotic strong-field QED regime. In the cross-colliding geometry, when radiation-reaction (RR) force is interpreted by the classical Landau-Lifshitz equation, we found that there is a distinctive barrier that allows penetration of electrons at energies beyond the barrier and blocks those of lower energies. While in the QED perspective, electrons can be well reflected (transmit) in the regime where complete transmission (reflection) is allowed classically. The reflection (transmission) is guaranteed by the quantum nature of radiation but forbidden by classical description. This effect is accompanied by the blurring of the angular distribution for scattered electrons and becomes significant for laser intensities at $2\times10^{23}\ \mathrm{W/cm^2}$ and electron energies of $\sim 10^2\ \mathrm{MeV}$; thus could be measured in the up-coming 10-100PW laser facilities. By detecting the reflection rate of the energetic electron beam after colliding and resolve the angular distribution, the results are capable of identifying the boundaries between classical and QED approaches in the strong field regime and testifying the various models describing the fundamental process.
physics.plasm-ph↗
Resistive cooling of highly charged ions in a Penning trap to a fluid-like state
We have performed a detailed experimental study of resistive cooling of large ensembles of highly charged ions such as Ar$^{13+}$ in a cryogenic Penning trap. Different from the measurements reported in [M. Vogel et al., Phys. Rev. A, 043412 (2014)], we observe purely exponential cooling behavior when conditions are chosen to allow collisional thermalization of the ions. We provide evidence that in this situation, resistive cooling time constants and final temperatures are independent of the initial ion energy, and that the cooling time constant of a thermalized ion ensemble is identical to the single-ion cooling time constant. For sufficiently high ion number densities, our measurements show discontinuities in the spectra of motional resonances which indicate a transition of the ion ensemble to a fluid-like state when cooled to temperatures below approximately 14 K. With the final ion temperature presently being 7.5 K, ions of the highest charge states are expected to form ion crystals by mere resistive cooling, in particular not requiring the use of laser cooling.
physics.atom-ph↗
Improved Measurement of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux at Daya Bay
This work reports a precise measurement of the reactor antineutrino flux using 2.2 million inverse beta decay (IBD) events collected with the Daya Bay near detectors in 1230 days. The dominant uncertainty on the neutron detection efficiency is reduced by 56% with respect to the previous measurement through a comprehensive neutron calibration and detailed data and simulation analysis. The new average IBD yield is determined to be $(5.91\pm0.09)\times10^{-43}~\rm{cm}^2/\rm{fission}$ with total uncertainty improved by 29%. The corresponding mean fission fractions from the four main fission isotopes $^{235}$U, $^{238}$U, $^{239}$Pu, and $^{241}$Pu are 0.564, 0.076, 0.304, and 0.056, respectively. The ratio of measured to predicted antineutrino yield is found to be $0.952\pm0.014\pm0.023$ ($1.001\pm0.015\pm0.027$) for the Huber-Mueller (ILL-Vogel) model, where the first and second uncertainty are experimental and theoretical model uncertainty, respectively. This measurement confirms the discrepancy between the world average of reactor antineutrino flux and the Huber-Mueller model.
hep-ex↗
Cosmogenic neutron production at Daya Bay
Neutrons produced by cosmic ray muons are an important background for underground experiments studying neutrino oscillations, neutrinoless double beta decay, dark matter, and other rare-event signals. A measurement of the neutron yield in the three different experimental halls of the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment at varying depth is reported. The neutron yield in Daya Bay's liquid scintillator is measured to be $Y_n=(10.26\pm 0.86)\times 10^{-5}$, $(10.22\pm 0.87)\times 10^{-5}$, and $(17.03\pm 1.22)\times 10^{-5}~μ^{-1}~$g$^{-1}~$cm$^2$ at depths of 250, 265, and 860 meters-water-equivalent. These results are compared to other measurements and the simulated neutron yield in Fluka and Geant4. A global fit including the Daya Bay measurements yields a power law coefficient of $0.77 \pm 0.03$ for the dependence of the neutron yield on muon energy.
hep-ex↗
Seasonal Variation of the Underground Cosmic Muon Flux Observed at Daya Bay
The Daya Bay Experiment consists of eight identically designed detectors located in three underground experimental halls named as EH1, EH2, EH3, with 250, 265 and 860 meters of water equivalent vertical overburden, respectively. Cosmic muon events have been recorded over a two-year period. The underground muon rate is observed to be positively correlated with the effective atmospheric temperature and to follow a seasonal modulation pattern. The correlation coefficient $α$, describing how a variation in the muon rate relates to a variation in the effective atmospheric temperature, is found to be $α_{\text{EH1}} = 0.362\pm0.031$, $α_{\text{EH2}} = 0.433\pm0.038$ and $α_{\text{EH3}} = 0.641\pm0.057$ for each experimental hall.
physics.ins-det↗
Precise surface gravities of $δ$ Scuti stars from asteroseismology
The work reported here demonstrates that it is possible to accurately determine surface gravities of $δ$ Sct stars using the frequency content from high precision photometry and a measurement of the parallax. Using a sample of 10 eclipsing binary systems with a $δ$ Sct component and the unique $δ$ Sct star discovered with a transiting planet, WASP-33, we were able to refine the $Δν-\barρ$ relation. Using this relation and parallaxes, we obtained independent values for the masses and radii, allowing us to calculate the surface gravities without any constraints from spectroscopic or binary analysis. A remarkably good agreement was found between our results and those published, extracted from the analysis of the radial velocities and light curves of the systems. This reinforces the potential of $Δν$ as a valuable observable for $δ$ Sct stars and settles the degeneracy problem for the $\log g$ determination through spectroscopy.
astro-ph.SR↗
Evolution of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay
The Daya Bay experiment has observed correlations between reactor core fuel evolution and changes in the reactor antineutrino flux and energy spectrum. Four antineutrino detectors in two experimental halls were used to identify 2.2 million inverse beta decays (IBDs) over 1230 days spanning multiple fuel cycles for each of six 2.9 GW$_{\textrm{th}}$ reactor cores at the Daya Bay and Ling Ao nuclear power plants. Using detector data spanning effective $^{239}$Pu fission fractions, $F_{239}$, from 0.25 to 0.35, Daya Bay measures an average IBD yield, $\barσ_f$, of $(5.90 \pm 0.13) \times 10^{-43}$ cm$^2$/fission and a fuel-dependent variation in the IBD yield, $dσ_f/dF_{239}$, of $(-1.86 \pm 0.18) \times 10^{-43}$ cm$^2$/fission. This observation rejects the hypothesis of a constant antineutrino flux as a function of the $^{239}$Pu fission fraction at 10 standard deviations. The variation in IBD yield was found to be energy-dependent, rejecting the hypothesis of a constant antineutrino energy spectrum at 5.1 standard deviations. While measurements of the evolution in the IBD spectrum show general agreement with predictions from recent reactor models, the measured evolution in total IBD yield disagrees with recent predictions at 3.1$σ$. This discrepancy indicates that an overall deficit in measured flux with respect to predictions does not result from equal fractional deficits from the primary fission isotopes $^{235}$U, $^{239}$Pu, $^{238}$U, and $^{241}$Pu. Based on measured IBD yield variations, yields of $(6.17 \pm 0.17)$ and $(4.27 \pm 0.26) \times 10^{-43}$ cm$^2$/fission have been determined for the two dominant fission parent isotopes $^{235}$U and $^{239}$Pu. A 7.8% discrepancy between the observed and predicted $^{235}$U yield suggests that this isotope may be the primary contributor to the reactor antineutrino anomaly.
hep-ex↗
Improved Measurement of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay
A new measurement of the reactor antineutrino flux and energy spectrum by the Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment is reported. The antineutrinos were generated by six 2.9~GW$_{\mathrm{th}}$ nuclear reactors and detected by eight antineutrino detectors deployed in two near (560~m and 600~m flux-weighted baselines) and one far (1640~m flux-weighted baseline) underground experimental halls. With 621 days of data, more than 1.2 million inverse beta decay (IBD) candidates were detected. The IBD yield in the eight detectors was measured, and the ratio of measured to predicted flux was found to be $0.946\pm0.020$ ($0.992\pm0.021$) for the Huber+Mueller (ILL+Vogel) model. A 2.9~$σ$ deviation was found in the measured IBD positron energy spectrum compared to the predictions. In particular, an excess of events in the region of 4-6~MeV was found in the measured spectrum, with a local significance of 4.4~$σ$. A reactor antineutrino spectrum weighted by the IBD cross section is extracted for model-independent predictions.
hep-ex↗
Limits on Active to Sterile Neutrino Oscillations from Disappearance Searches in the MINOS, Daya Bay, and Bugey-3 Experiments
Searches for a light sterile neutrino have been performed independently by the MINOS and the Daya Bay experiments using the muon (anti)neutrino and electron antineutrino disappearance channels, respectively. In this Letter, results from both experiments are combined with those from the Bugey-3 reactor neutrino experiment to constrain oscillations into light sterile neutrinos. The three experiments are sensitive to complementary regions of parameter space, enabling the combined analysis to probe regions allowed by the LSND and MiniBooNE experiments in a minimally extended four-neutrino flavor framework. Stringent limits on $\sin^2 2θ_{μe}$ are set over 6 orders of magnitude in the sterile mass-squared splitting $Δm^2_{41}$. The sterile-neutrino mixing phase space allowed by the LSND and MiniBooNE experiments is excluded for $Δm^2_{41} < 0.8$ eV$^2$ at 95% CL$_s$.
hep-ex↗
Measurement of electron antineutrino oscillation based on 1230 days of operation of the Daya Bay experiment
A measurement of electron antineutrino oscillation by the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment is described in detail. Six 2.9-GW$_{\rm th}$ nuclear power reactors of the Daya Bay and Ling Ao nuclear power facilities served as intense sources of $\overlineν_{e}$'s. Comparison of the $\overlineν_{e}$ rate and energy spectrum measured by antineutrino detectors far from the nuclear reactors ($\sim$1500-1950 m) relative to detectors near the reactors ($\sim$350-600 m) allowed a precise measurement of $\overlineν_{e}$ disappearance. More than 2.5 million $\overlineν_{e}$ inverse beta decay interactions were observed, based on the combination of 217 days of operation of six antineutrino detectors (Dec. 2011--Jul. 2012) with a subsequent 1013 days using the complete configuration of eight detectors (Oct. 2012--Jul. 2015). The $\overlineν_{e}$ rate observed at the far detectors relative to the near detectors showed a significant deficit, $R=0.949 \pm 0.002(\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 0.002(\mathrm{syst.})$. The energy dependence of $\overlineν_{e}$ disappearance showed the distinct variation predicted by neutrino oscillation. Analysis using an approximation for the three-flavor oscillation probability yielded the flavor-mixing angle $\sin^22θ_{13}=0.0841 \pm 0.0027(\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 0.0019(\mathrm{syst.})$ and the effective neutrino mass-squared difference of $\left|Δm^2_{\mathrm{ee}}\right|=(2.50 \pm 0.06(\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 0.06(\mathrm{syst.})) \times 10^{-3}\ {\rm eV}^2$. Analysis using the exact three-flavor probability found $Δm^2_{32}=(2.45 \pm 0.06(\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 0.06(\mathrm{syst.})) \times 10^{-3}\ {\rm eV}^2$ assuming the normal neutrino mass hierarchy and $Δm^2_{32}=(-2.56 \pm 0.06(\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 0.06(\mathrm{syst.})) \times 10^{-3}\ {\rm eV}^2$ for the inverted hierarchy.
hep-ex↗
Improved Search for a Light Sterile Neutrino with the Full Configuration of the Daya Bay Experiment
This Letter reports an improved search for light sterile neutrino mixing in the electron antineutrino disappearance channel with the full configuration of the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment. With an additional 404 days of data collected in eight antineutrino detectors, this search benefits from 3.6 times the statistics available to the previous publication, as well as from improvements in energy calibration and background reduction. A relative comparison of the rate and energy spectrum of reactor antineutrinos in the three experimental halls yields no evidence of sterile neutrino mixing in the $2\times10^{-4} \lesssim |Δm^{2}_{41}| \lesssim 0.3$ eV$^{2}$ mass range. The resulting limits on $\sin^{2}2θ_{14}$ are improved by approximately a factor of 2 over previous results and constitute the most stringent constraints to date in the $|Δm^{2}_{41}| \lesssim 0.2$ eV$^{2}$ region.
hep-ex↗
Study of the wave packet treatment of neutrino oscillation at Daya Bay
The disappearance of reactor $\barν_e$ observed by the Daya Bay experiment is examined in the framework of a model in which the neutrino is described by a wave packet with a relative intrinsic momentum dispersion $σ_\text{rel}$. Three pairs of nuclear reactors and eight antineutrino detectors, each with good energy resolution, distributed among three experimental halls, supply a high-statistics sample of $\barν_e$ acquired at nine different baselines. This provides a unique platform to test the effects which arise from the wave packet treatment of neutrino oscillation. The modified survival probability formula was used to fit Daya Bay data, providing the first experimental limits: $2.38 \cdot 10^{-17} < σ_{\rm rel} < 0.23$. Treating the dimensions of the reactor cores and detectors as constraints, the limits are improved: $10^{-14} \lesssim σ_{\rm rel} < 0.23$, and an upper limit of $σ_{\rm rel} <0.20$ is obtained. All limits correspond to a 95\% C.L. Furthermore, the effect due to the wave packet nature of neutrino oscillation is found to be insignificant for reactor antineutrinos detected by the Daya Bay experiment thus ensuring an unbiased measurement of the oscillation parameters $\sin^22θ_{13}$ and $Δm^2_{32}$ within the plane wave model.
hep-ex↗
Tellurene-a monolayer of tellurium from first-principles prediction
A two dimensional (2D) Group-VI Te monolayer, tellurene, is predicted by using the first-principles calculations, which consists of planner four-membered and chair-like six-membered rings arranged alternately in a 2D lattice. The phonon spectra calculations, combined with ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, demonstrate that tellurene is kinetically very stable. The tellurene shows a desirable direct band gap of 1.04 eV and its band structure can be effectively tuned by strain. The effective mass calculations imply that tellurene should also exhibit a relatively high carrier mobility, e.g. compared with MoS2. The significant direct band gap and the high carrier mobility imply that tellurene is a very promising candidate for a new generation of nanoelectronic devices.
cond-mat.mes-hall↗