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Bai, X

Publications and source records attributed to Bai, X.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Strangeness enhancement at its extremes: multiple (multi-)strange hadron production in pp collisions at \(\sqrt{s}=5.02\) TeV

The probability to observe a specific number of strange and multi-strange hadrons (nS), denoted as P(nS), is measured by ALICE at midrapidity (|y| < 0.5) in $$\sqrt{s}=5.02$$ TeV proton-proton (pp) collisions, dividing events into several multiplicity-density classes. Exploiting, for the first time, a technique based on counting the number of strange-particle candidates event-by-event, this measurement allows one to extend the study of strangeness production beyond the mean of the distribution. This constitutes a new test bench for production mechanisms, probing events with a large imbalance between strange and non-strange content. The analysis of a large-statistics data sample makes it possible to extract P(nS) up to a maximum nS of 7 for $${\text{K}}_{\text{S}}^{0}$$, 5 for Λ and $$\overline{\Lambda }$$, 4 for Ξ− and $${\overline{\Xi } }^{+}$$, and 2 for Ω− and $${\overline{\Omega } }^{+}$$. From this, the probability of producing strange hadron multiplets per event is calculated, thereby enabling the extension of the study of strangeness enhancement to extreme situations where several strange quarks hadronize in a single event at midrapidity. Moreover, comparing hadron combinations with different u and d quark compositions and equal overall s quark content, the contribution to the enhancement pattern coming from non-strangeness related mechanisms is isolated. The results are compared with state-of-the-art phenomenological models implemented in commonly used Monte Carlo event generators, including PYTHIA 8 Monash 2013, PYTHIA 8 with QCD-based Color Reconnection and Rope Hadronization (QCD-CR + Ropes), and EPOS LHC, which incorporates both partonic interactions and hydrodynamic evolution. These comparisons show that the new approach dramatically enhances the sensitivity to the different underlying physics mechanisms modeled by each generator.

Abualrob, I J↗
DOE OSTI2026

Observation of flow vector fluctuations in p–Pb collisions at \(\sqrt{{s}_{NN}}=5.02\) TeV

Measurements of transverse momentum (pT) and pseudorapidity (η) dependent flow vector fluctuations in p–Pb collisions at $$\sqrt{{s}_{NN}}=5.02$$ TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider are presented. By studying long-range two-particle correlations with a template fit method, potential biases from non-flow effects such as jets and resonance decays are effectively suppressed. Significant pT- and η-dependent fluctuations of the second-harmonic flow vector are observed with more than 5σ confidence in p–Pb collisions, similar to the observations in Pb–Pb collisions. The influence of residual non-flow effects has been evaluated and cannot account for the observed fluctuations, thereby confirming the observation of flow vector fluctuations in small collision systems at the LHC. Comparisons to model calculations from 3DGlauber+MUSIC+UrQMD and the parton transport model from AMPT are also presented. The measurements provide constraints on the theoretical modelling of the three-dimensional initial geometry and its event-by-event fluctuations, offering critical insights into the origin of collective flow in small collision systems at the LHC.

Abdallah, D A H↗
DOE OSTI2026

Search for GeV-scale dark matter from the Galactic Center with IceCube-DeepCore

Models describing dark matter as a novel particle often predict that its annihilation or decay into Standard Model particles could produce a detectable neutrino flux in regions of high dark matter density, such as the Galactic Center. In this work, we search for these neutrinos using ∼9 years of IceCube-DeepCore data with an event selection optimized for energies between 15 to 200 GeV. We considered several annihilation and decay channels and dark matter masses ranging from 15 GeV up to 8 TeV. No significant deviation from the background expectation from atmospheric neutrinos and muons was found. The most significant result was found for a dark matter mass of 201.6 GeV annihilating into a pair of bb¯ quarks assuming the Navarro–Frenk–White halo profile with a post-trial significance of 1.08σ. We present upper limits on the thermally averaged annihilation cross section of the order of 10-24 cm3 s-1, as well as lower limits on the dark matter decay lifetime up to 1026 s for dark matter masses between 5 GeV up to 8 TeV. These results strengthen the current IceCube limits on dark matter masses above 20 GeV and provide an order of magnitude improvement at lower masses. In addition, they represent the strongest constraints from any neutrino telescope on GeV-scale dark matter and are among the world-leading limits for several dark matter scenarios.

Abbasi, R↗
DOE OSTI2026

Identification and denoising of radio signals from cosmic-ray air showers using convolutional neural networks

Radio pulses generated by cosmic-ray air showers can be used to reconstruct key properties like the energy and depth of the electromagnetic component of cosmic-ray air showers. Radio detection threshold, influenced by natural and anthropogenic radio background, can be reduced through various techniques. In this work, we demonstrate that convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are an effective way to lower the threshold. We developed two CNNs: a classifier to distinguish radio signal waveforms from background noise and a denoiser to clean contaminated radio signals. Following the training and testing phases, we applied the networks to air-shower data triggered by scintillation detectors of the prototype station for the enhancement of IceTop, IceCube’s surface array at the South Pole. Over a four-month period, we identified 554 cosmic-ray events in coincidence with IceTop, approximately five times more compared to a reference method based on a cut on the signal-to-noise ratio. Comparisons with IceTop measurements of the same air showers confirmed that the CNNs reliably identified cosmic-ray radio pulses and outperformed the reference method. Additionally, we find that CNNs reduce the false-positive rate of air-shower candidates and effectively denoise radio waveforms, thereby improving the accuracy of the power and arrival time reconstruction of radio pulses.

Abbasi, R↗
DOE OSTI2025

Measurement of the inelasticity distribution of neutrino-nucleon interactions for 80 GeV

We report a study of the inelasticity distribution in the scattering of neutrinos of energy 80–560 GeV off nucleons. Using atmospheric muon neutrinos detected in IceCube’s sub-array DeepCore during 2012–2021, we fit the observed inelasticity in the data to a parameterized expectation and extract the values that describe it best. Finally, we compare the results to predictions from various combinations of perturbative QCD calculations and atmospheric neutrino flux models.

Abbasi, R↗
DOE OSTI2025

Search for dark matter from the center of the Earth with 10 years of IceCube data

The nature of dark matter remains unresolved in fundamental physics. Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), which could explain the nature of dark matter, can be captured by celestial bodies like the Sun or Earth, leading to enhanced self-annihilation into Standard Model particles including neutrinos detectable by neutrino telescopes such as the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. This article presents a search for muon neutrinos from the center of the Earth performed with 10 years of IceCube data using a track-like event selection. We considered a number of WIMP annihilation channels (χχ→τ+τ-$$\chi \chi \rightarrow \tau ^+\tau ^-$$/W+W-$$W^+W^-$$/bb¯$$b\bar{b}$$) and masses ranging from 10 GeV to 10 TeV. No significant excess over background due to a dark matter signal was found while the most significant result corresponds to the annihilation channel χχ→bb¯$$\chi \chi \rightarrow b\bar{b}$$ for the mass mχ=250$$m_{\chi }=250$$ GeV with a post-trial significance of 1.06σ$$1.06\sigma $$. Our results are competitive with previous such searches and direct detection experiments. Our upper limits on the spin-independent WIMP scattering are world-leading among neutrino telescopes for WIMP masses mχ>100$$m_{\chi }>100$$ GeV.

Abbasi, R↗
DOE OSTI2024

Search for an eV-Scale Sterile Neutrino Using Improved High-Energy νμ Event Reconstruction in IceCube

This Letter presents the result of a 3+1 sterile neutrino search using 10.7 yr of IceCube data. We analyze atmospheric muon neutrinos that traverse the Earth with energies ranging from 0.5 to 100 TeV, incorporating significant improvements in modeling neutrino flux and detector response compared to earlier studies. Notably, for the first time, we categorize data into starting and throughgoing events, distinguishing neutrino interactions with vertices inside or outside the instrumented volume, to improve energy resolution. The best-fit point for a 3+1 model is found to be at sin^{2}(2θ_{24})=0.16 and Δm_{41}^{2}=3.5 eV^{2}, which agrees with previous iterations of this Letter. The result is consistent with the null hypothesis of no sterile neutrinos with a p value of 3.1%.

Neutrino detection↗
DOE OSTI2022

A next-generation liquid xenon observatory for dark matter and neutrino physics

The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the most pressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the available parameter space for weakly interacting massive particles, while featuring extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates. These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decay and through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-based detector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantly advance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, and cosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Searching for High-energy Neutrino Emission from Galaxy Clusters with IceCube

Galaxy clusters have the potential to accelerate cosmic rays (CRs) to ultrahigh energies via accretion shocks or embedded CR acceleration sites. The CRs with energies below the Hillas condition will be confined within the cluster and eventually interact with the intracluster medium gas to produce secondary neutrinos and gamma rays. Using 9.5 yr of muon neutrino track events from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, we report the results of a stacking analysis of 1094 galaxy clusters with masses ≳10 14 M ⊙ and redshifts between 0.01 and ~1 detected by the Planck mission via the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich effect. We find no evidence for significant neutrino emission and report upper limits on the cumulative unresolved neutrino flux from massive galaxy clusters after accounting for the completeness of the catalog up to a redshift of 2, assuming three different weighting scenarios for the stacking and three different power-law spectra. Weighting the sources according to mass and distance, we set upper limits at a 90% confidence level that constrain the flux of neutrinos from massive galaxy clusters (≳10 14 M ⊙ ) to be no more than 4.6% of the diffuse IceCube observations at 100 TeV, assuming an unbroken E -2.5 power-law spectrum.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Prompt and non-prompt J/ψ production cross sections at midrapidity in proton-proton collisions at $ \sqrt{\mathrm{s}} $ = 5.02 and 13 TeV

The production of J /ψ is measured at midrapidity ( |y| < 0 . 9) in proton-proton collisions at \( \sqrt{s} \) = 5 . 02 and 13 TeV, through the dielectron decay channel, using the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The data sets used for the analyses correspond to integrated luminosities of \( \mathcal{L} \) int = 19.4 ± 0.4 nb - 1 and \( \mathcal{L} \) int = 32.2 ± 0.5 nb - 1 at \( \sqrt{s} \) = 5 . 02 and 13 TeV, respectively. The fraction of non-prompt J /ψ mesons, i.e. those originating from the decay of beauty hadrons, is measured down to a transverse momentum p T = 2 GeV /c (1 GeV /c ) at \( \sqrt{s} \) = 5 . 02 TeV (13 TeV). The p T and rapidity ( y ) differential cross sections, as well as the corresponding values integrated over p T and y , are carried out separately for prompt and non-prompt J /ψ mesons. The results are compared with measurements from other experiments and theoretical calculations based on quantum chromodynamics (QCD). The shapes of the p T and y distributions of beauty quarks predicted by state-of-the-art perturbative QCD models are used to extrapolate an estimate of the \( \mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}} \) pair cross section at midrapidity and in the total phase space. The total \( \mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}} \) cross sections are found to be \( {\sigma}_{\mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}} \) = 541 ± 45 (stat . ) ± 69 \( {\left(\mathrm{syst}.\right)}_{-12}^{+10} \) (extr . ) μ b and \( {\sigma}_{\mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}} \) = 218 ± 37 (stat . ) ± 31 \( {\left(\mathrm{syst}.\right)}_{-9.1}^{+8.2} \) (extr . ) μ b at \( \sqrt{s} \) = 13 and 5.02 TeV, respectively. The value obtained from the combination of ALICE and LHCb measurements in pp collisions at \( \sqrt{s} \) = 13 TeV is also provided.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Production of pions, kaons, (anti-)protons and &straightphi; mesons in Xe–Xe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.44 TeV

The first measurement of the production of pions, kaons, (anti-)protons and &straightphi; mesons at midrapidity in Xe–Xe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.44 TeV is presented. Transverse momentum (p T ) spectra and p T -integrated yields are extracted in several centrality intervals bridging from p–Pb to mid-central Pb–Pb collisions in terms of final-state multiplicity. The study of Xe–Xe and Pb–Pb collisions allows systems at similar charged-particle multiplicities but with different initial geometrical eccentricities to be investigated. A detailed comparison of the spectral shapes in the two systems reveals an opposite behaviour for radial and elliptic flow. In particular, this study shows that the radial flow does not depend on the colliding system when compared at similar charged-particle multiplicity. In terms of hadron chemistry, the previously observed smooth evolution of particle ratios with multiplicity from small to large collision systems is also found to hold in Xe–Xe. In addition, our results confirm that two remarkable features of particle production at LHC energies are also valid in the collision of medium-sized nuclei: the lower proton-to-pion ratio with respect to the thermal model expectations and the increase of the &straightphi;-to-pion ratio with increasing final-state multiplicity.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

First measurement of the |t|-dependence of coherent J/ψ photonuclear production

The first measurement of the cross section for coherent J/ψ photoproduction as a function of |t|, the square of the momentum transferred between the incoming and outgoing target nucleus, is presented. The data were measured with the ALICE detector in ultra-peripheral Pb–Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=5.02TeV with the J/ψ produced in the central rapidity region |y|<0.8, which corresponds to the small Bjorken-x range (0.3-1.4)×10 -3 . The measured |t|-dependence is not described by computations based only on the Pb nuclear form factor, while the photonuclear cross section is better reproduced by models including shadowing according to the leading-twist approximation, or gluon-saturation effects from the impact-parameter dependent Balitsky–Kovchegov equation. These new results are therefore a valid tool to constrain the relevant model parameters and to investigate the transverse gluonic structure at very low Bjorken-x.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

A search for time-dependent astrophysical neutrino emission with icecube data from 2012 to 2017

High-energy neutrinos are unique messengers of the high-energy universe, tracing the processes of cosmic ray acceleration. This work presents analyses focusing on time-dependent neutrino point-source searches. A scan of the whole sky, making no prior assumption about source candidates, is performed, looking for a space and time clustering of high-energy neutrinos in data collected by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory between 2012 and 2017. No statistically significant evidence for a time-dependent neutrino signal is found with this search during this period, as all results are consistent with the background expectation. Within this study period, the blazar 3C 279, showed strong variability, inducing a very prominent gamma-ray flare observed in 2015 June. This event motivated a dedicated study of the blazar, which consists of searching for a time-dependent neutrino signal correlated with the gamma-ray emission. No evidence for a time-dependent signal is found. Hence, an upper limit on the neutrino fluence is derived, allowing us to constrain a hadronic emission model.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Enhancing the sensitivity of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) dark matter experiment to low energy signals

Two-phase xenon detectors, such as that at the core of the forthcoming LZ dark matter experiment, use photomultiplier tubes to sense the primary (S1) and secondary (S2) scintillation signals resulting from particle interactions in their liquid xenon target. This paper describes a simulation study exploring two techniques to lower the energy threshold of LZ to gain sensitivity to low-mass dark matter and astrophysical neutrinos, which will be applicable to other liquid xenon detectors. The energy threshold is determined by the number of detected S1 photons; typically, these must be recorded in three or more photomultiplier channels to avoid dark count coincidences that mimic real signals. To lower this threshold: a) we take advantage of the double photoelectron emission effect, whereby a single vacuum ultraviolet photon has a $\sim20\%$ probability of ejecting two photoelectrons from a photomultiplier tube photocathode; and b) we drop the requirement of an S1 signal altogether, and use only the ionization signal, which can be detected more efficiently. For both techniques we develop signal and background models for the nominal exposure, and explore accompanying systematic effects, including the dependence on the free electron lifetime in the liquid xenon. When incorporating double photoelectron signals, we predict a factor of $\sim 4$ sensitivity improvement to the dark matter-nucleon scattering cross-section at $2.5$ GeV/c$^2$, and a factor of $\sim1.6$ increase in the solar $^8$B neutrino detection rate. Dropping the S1 requirement may allow sensitivity gains of two orders of magnitude in both cases. Finally, we apply these techniques to even lower masses by taking into account the atomic Migdal effect; this could lower the dark matter particle mass threshold to $80$ MeV/c$^2$.

Akerib, DS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Characteristics of the Diffuse Astrophysical Electron and Tau Neutrino Flux with Six Years of IceCube High Energy Cascade Data

In this work, we report on the first measurement of the astrophysical neutrino flux using particle showers (cascades) in IceCube data from 2010-2015. Assuming standard oscillations, the astrophysical neutrinos in this dedicated cascade sample are dominated (~90%) by electron and tau flavors. The flux, observed in the sensitive energy range from 16 TeV to 2.6 PeV, is consistent with a single power-law model as expected from Fermi-type acceleration of high energy particles at astrophysical sources. We find the flux spectral index to be γ=2.53±0.07 and a flux normalization for each neutrino flavor of $\phi$ astro =1.66$_{-0.27}^{+0.25}$ at E 0 =100 TeV, in agreement with IceCube's complementary muon neutrino results and with all-neutrino flavor fit results. In the measured energy range we reject spectral indices γ≤2.28 at ≥3σ significance level. Because of high neutrino energy resolution and low atmospheric neutrino backgrounds, this analysis provides the most detailed characterization of the neutrino flux at energies below ~100 TeV compared to previous IceCube results. Results from fits assuming more complex neutrino flux models suggest a flux softening at high energies and a flux hardening at low energies (p value ≥0.06). The sizable and smooth flux measured below ~100 TeV remains a puzzle. In order to not violate the isotropic diffuse gamma-ray background as measured by the Fermi Large Area Telescope, it suggests the existence of astrophysical neutrino sources characterized by dense environments which are opaque to gamma rays.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

IceCube Search for High-energy Neutrino Emission from TeV Pulsar Wind Nebulae

Pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) are the main gamma-ray emitters in the Galactic plane. They are diffuse nebulae that emit nonthermal radiation. Pulsar winds, relativistic magnetized outflows from the central star, shocked in the ambient medium produce a multiwavelength emission from the radio through gamma-rays. Although the leptonic scenario is able to explain most PWNe emission, a hadronic contribution cannot be excluded. A possible hadronic contribution to the high-energy gamma-ray emission inevitably leads to the production of neutrinos. Using 9.5 yr of all-sky IceCube data, we report results from a stacking analysis to search for neutrino emission from 35 PWNe that are high-energy gamma-ray emitters. Additionally, in the absence of any significant correlation, we set upper limits on the total neutrino emission from those PWNe and constraints on hadronic spectral components.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Higher harmonic non-linear flow modes of charged hadrons in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV

Anisotropic flow coefficients, v n , non-linear flow mode coefficients, χ n,mk , and correlations among different symmetry planes, ρ n,mk are measured in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV. Results obtained with multi-particle correlations are reported for the transverse momentum interval 0.2 < p T < 5.0 GeV/c within the pseudorapidity interval 0.4 < |η| < 0.8 as a function of collision centrality. The v n coefficients and χ n,mk and ρ n,mk are presented up to the ninth and seventh harmonic order, respectively. Calculations suggest that the correlations measured in different symmetry planes and the non-linear flow mode coefficients are dependent on the shear and bulk viscosity to entropy ratios of the medium created in heavy-ion collisions. The comparison between these measurements and those at lower energies and calculations from hydrodynamic models places strong constraints on the initial conditions and transport properties of the system.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Investigation of background electron emission in the LUX detector

Dual-phase xenon detectors, as currently used in direct detection dark matter experiments, have observed elevated rates of signals from electron emission processes in the low energy region. While this background negatively impacts detector performance in various ways, its origins have only been partially studied. In this paper, we report a systematic investigation of the electron pathologies observed in the LUX dark matter experiment. We characterize different electron populations based on their emission intensities and their correlations with preceding energy depositions in the detector. By studying these electron backgrounds under different experimental conditions, we identified the possible mechanisms that may contribute to the electron emission. We report the observed electron event rate in LUX after background rejection, and discuss how such backgrounds can be further mitigated in ongoing and future xenon-based dark matter experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗