Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Antonakis, Alexander [UC, Santa Barbara]

Publications and source records attributed to Antonakis, Alexander [UC, Santa Barbara].

A Bayesian approach to the long-baseline neutrino oscillation sensitivity of DUNE

The sensitivity of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) to neutrino oscillation is evaluated using a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach. This analysis uses the same underlying sensitivity inputs as previous DUNE studies [Eur. Phys. J. C 80, 978 (2020)], and therefore does not present updated DUNE sensitivities, but instead explores the additional inferences accessible using a Bayesian approach. We present four-dimensional posterior probability distributions of the oscillation parameters, highlighting the breadth of correlation in the parameter space of interest, especially between $\sin^2 θ_{23}$ and $\sin^2 θ_{13}$. We exploit the flexibility of the Bayesian framework to incorporate parameter constraints post hoc and assess the impact of applying a reactor short-baseline $θ_{13}$ constraint. A significant increase in the sensitivity to the $θ_{23}$ octant is found when including the constraint. Posterior distributions of derived quantities can be easily constructed from MCMC results. This work presents the first study of DUNE's sensitivity to the Jarlskog invariant, $J$, a quantity that provides a parametrisation-independent measure of charge-parity violation in the leptonic sector.

Abbaslu, Saeed [IPM, Tehran] (ORCID:00000003356771↗

LArCADe | Liquid Argon Charge Amplification Devices

The Liquid Argon Charge Amplification Devices (LArCADe) project is an R$\&$D effort aimed at developing instrumentation capable of lowering detection thresholds for ionization signatures in liquid and gaseous argon detectors and achieving O(100 $\mu$m) position resolution. The core concept is the use of sharp “tip arrays” that generate strong local electric-field enhancement, enabling charge amplification and collection with improved spatial resolution. A key physics motivation for this work is to enhance the experimental sensitivity of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CEvNS) measurements to low-energy nuclear recoils by enabling spatially resolved charge reconstruction at reduced ionization thresholds, with the goal of achieving event-by-event energy reconstruction for interactions originating from localized accelerator or astrophysical neutrino sources. This poster will present the current status of the instrumentation R$\&$D, which leverages Fermilab’s Noble Liquid Test Facility and UC Santa Barbara’s Nanofabrication Facility, and will discuss the potential physics impact of this technology.

Antonakis, Alexander [UC, Santa Barbara]↗

Toward $\nu_{\mu}$CC $\eta$ Meson Cross Sections on Argon in SBND

The modeling of resonant neutrino interactions on argon is critical for achieving precision neutrino oscillation measurements and searching for physics beyond the Standard Model with both DUNE and the Short-Baseline Neutrino Program. Higher mass resonances beyond the $\Delta$(1232) baryon are particularly poorly constrained experimentally, and yet contribute a significant rate in multi-GeV interactions. The measurement of $\eta$(548) meson production from the decay of these resonances provides a unique probe, as well as the opportunity to measure observables sensitive to final state interactions with the nucleus. This poster will present progress towards the measurement of meson production with the Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND) at Fermilab, leveraging the clean $\eta \rightarrow \gamma \gamma$ decay channel. The large statistics of the SBND dataset will provide high-precision measurements of this channel capable of constraining uncertainties in the modeling of higher order resonant interactions. This analysis further provides important handles on electromagnetic shower reconstruction performance through evaluation of the 548 MeV $\eta$ invariant mass peak.

Antonakis, Alexander [UC, Santa Barbara]↗