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Bai, X.

Publications and source records attributed to Bai, X..

At least 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

First measurements of N -subjettiness in central Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s{NN}}$= 2.76 TeV

The ALICE Collaboration reports the first fully-corrected measurements of the N-subjettiness observable for track-based jets in heavy-ion collisions. This study is performed using data recorded in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at centre-of-mass energies of $\sqrt{s}$= 7 TeV and $\sqrt{s{NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV, respectively. In particular the ratio of 2-subjettiness to 1-subjettiness, τ 2 /τ 1 , which is sensitive to the rate of two-pronged jet substructure, is presented. Energy loss of jets traversing the strongly interacting medium in heavy-ion collisions is expected to change the rate of two-pronged substructure relative to vacuum. The results are presented for jets with a resolution parameter of R = 0.4 and charged jet transverse momentum of 40 ≤ pτ, jet ≤ 60 GeV/c, which constitute a larger jet resolution and lower jet transverse momentum interval than previous measurements in heavy-ion collisions. This has been achieved by utilising a semi-inclusive hadron-jet coincidence technique to suppress the larger jet combinatorial background in this kinematic region. No significant modification of the τ 2 /τ 1 observable for track-based jets in Pb-Pb collisions is observed relative to vacuum PYTHIA6 and PYTHIA8 references at the same collision energy. The measurements of τ 2 /τ 1 , together with the splitting aperture angle ΔR, are also performed in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV for inclusive jets. These results are compared with PYTHIA calculations at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV, in order to validate the model as a vacuum reference for the Pb-Pb centre-of-mass energy. The PYTHIA references for τ 2 /τ 1 are shifted to larger values compared to the measurement in pp collisions. This hints at a reduction in the rate of two-pronged jets in Pb-Pb collisions compared to pp collisions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Jet fragmentation transverse momentum distributions in pp and p-Pb collisions at $ \sqrt{s}$, $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV

Jet fragmentation transverse momentum ( j T ) distributions are measured in proton-proton (pp) and proton-lead (p-Pb) collisions at s NN = 5 . 02 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. Jets are reconstructed with the ALICE tracking detectors and electromagnetic calorimeter using the anti- k T algorithm with resolution parameter R = 0 . 4 in the pseudorapidity range |η| < 0 . 25. The j T values are calculated for charged particles inside a fixed cone with a radius R = 0 . 4 around the reconstructed jet axis. The measured j T distributions are compared with a variety of parton-shower models. Herwig and P ythia 8 based models describe the data well for the higher j T region, while they underestimate the lower j T region. The j T distributions are further characterised by fitting them with a function composed of an inverse gamma function for higher j T values (called the “wide component”), related to the perturbative component of the fragmentation process, and with a Gaussian for lower j T values (called the “narrow component”), predominantly connected to the hadronisation process. The width of the Gaussian has only a weak dependence on jet transverse momentum, while that of the inverse gamma function increases with increasing jet transverse momentum. For the narrow component, the measured trends are successfully described by all models except for Herwig. For the wide component, Herwig and PYTHIA 8 based models slightly underestimate the data for the higher jet transverse momentum region. These measurements set constraints on models of jet fragmentation and hadronisation.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Constraints on effective field theory couplings using 311.2 days of LUX data

We report here the results of an Effective Field Theory (EFT) WIMP search analysis using LUX data. We build upon previous LUX analyses by extending the search window to include nuclear recoil energies up to $\sim$180 keV$_{nr}$, requiring a reassessment of data quality cuts and background models. In order to use a binned Profile Likelihood statistical framework, the development of new analysis techniques to account for higher-energy backgrounds was required. With a 3.14$\times10^4$ kg$\cdot$day exposure using data collected between 2014 and 2016, we set 90\% C.L. exclusion limits on non-relativistic EFT WIMP couplings to neutrons and protons, providing the most stringent constraints on a significant fraction of the possible EFT WIMP interactions. Additionally, we report world-leading exclusion limits on inelastic EFT WIMP-nucleon recoils.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

An experimental program with high duty-cycle polarized and unpolarized positron beams at Jefferson Lab

Positron beams, both polarized and unpolarized, are identified as important ingredients for the experimental programs at the next generation of lepton accelerators. In the context of the hadronic physics program at Jefferson Lab (JLab), positron beams are complementary, even essential, tools for a precise understanding of the electromagnetic structure of nucleons and nuclei, in both the elastic and deep-inelastic regimes. For instance, elastic scattering of polarized and unpolarized electrons and positrons from the nucleon enables a model independent determination of its electromagnetic form factors. Also, the deeply-virtual scattering of polarized and unpolarized electrons and positrons allows unambiguous separation of the different contributions to the cross section of the lepto-production of photons and of lepton-pairs, enabling an accurate determination of the nucleons and nuclei generalized parton distributions, and providing an access to the gravitational form factors of the energy-momentum tensor. Furthermore, positron beams offer the possibility of alternative tests of the Standard Model of particle physics through the search of a dark photon, the precise measurement of electroweak couplings, and the investigation of charged lepton flavor violation. This document discusses the perspectives of an experimental program with high duty-cycle positron beams at JLab.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Energy dependence of \(\phi \) meson production at forward rapidity in pp collisions at the LHC

The production of Φ mesons has been studied in pp collisions at LHC energies with the ALICE detector via the dimuon decay channel in the rapidity region 2.5 < y < 4. Measurements of the differential cross section d 2 σ / dydpT are presented as a function of the transverse momentum (p T ) at the center-of-mass energies √s = 5.02, 8 and 13 TeV and compared with the ALICE results at midrapidity. The differential cross sections at √s = 5.02 and 13 TeV are also studied in several rapidity intervals as a function of p T , and as a function of rapidity in three p T intervals. A hardening of the p T -differential cross section with the collision energy is observed, while, for a given energy, p T spectra soften with increasing rapidity and, conversely, rapidity distributions get slightly narrower at increasing p T . The new results, complementing the published measurements at √s = 2.76 and 7 TeV, allow one to establish the energy dependence of Φ meson production and to compare the measured cross sections with phenomenological models. None of the considered models manages to describe the evolution of the cross section with p T and rapidity at all the energies.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Υ production and nuclear modification at forward rapidity in Pb–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{S_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV

The production of Υ mesons in Pb–Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{S_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV is measured with the muon spectrometer of the ALICE detector at the LHC. The yields as well as the nuclear modification factors are determined in the forward rapidity region 2.5 < y < 4.0, as a function of rapidity, transverse momentum and collision centrality. The results show that the production of the Υ(1S) meson is suppressed by a factor of about three with respect to the production in proton– proton collisions. For the first time, a significant signal for the Υ(2S) meson is observed at forward rapidity, indicating a suppression stronger by about a factor 2–3 with respect to the ground state. The measurements are compared with transport, hydrodynamic, comover and statistical hadronisation model calculations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Coherent $\mathrm{J}/\psi $ and &#x03C8; photoproduction at midrapidity in ultra-peripheral Pb–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm {NN}}}~=~5.02$ TeV

The coherent photoproduction of J/ψ and ψ' mesons was measured in ultra-peripheral Pb–Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm {NN}}}~=~5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector. Charmonia are detected in the central rapidity region for events where the hadronic interactions are strongly suppressed. The J/ψ is reconstructed using the dilepton (l + l - ) and proton–antiproton decay channels, while for the ψ' the dilepton and the l + l - π + π - decay channels are studied. The analysis is based on an event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 233 μb -1 . The results are compared with theoretical models for coherent J/ψ and ψ' photoproduction. The coherent cross section is found to be in a good agreement with models incorporating moderate nuclear gluon shadowing of about 0.64 at a Bjorken-x of around 6×10 -4 , such as the EPS09 parametrization, however none of the models is able to fully describe the rapidity dependence of the coherent J/ψ cross section including ALICE measurements at forward rapidity. The ratio of ψ' to J/ψ coherent photoproduction cross sections was also measured and found to be consistent with the one for photoproduction off protons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Production of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays at high transverse momentum in Pb–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=5.02 and 2.76 TeV

Measurements of the production of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in Pb–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 and 2.76 TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC are reported. The nuclear modification factor R AA at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV is measured at forward rapidity (2.5 < y < 4) as a function of transverse momentum p T in central, semi-central, and peripheral collisions over a wide p T interval, 3 < p T < 20 GeV/c, in which muons from beauty-hadron decays are expected to take over from charm as the dominant source at high p T (p T > 7 GeV/c). The R AA shows an increase of the suppression of the yields of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays with increasing centrality. A suppression by a factor of about three is observed in the 10% most central collisions. The R AA at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV is similar to that at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV. The precise R AA measurements have the potential to distinguish between model predictions implementing different mechanisms of parton energy loss in the high-density medium formed in heavy-ion collisions. They place important constraints for the understanding of the heavy-quark interaction with the hot and dense QCD medium.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Inclusive heavy-flavour production at central and forward rapidity in Xe–Xe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.44 TeV

The first measurements of the production of muons and electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in Xe–Xe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ =5.44 TeV, using the ALICE detector at the LHC, are reported. The measurement of the nuclear modification factor R AA is performed as a function of transverse momentum p T in several centrality classes at forward rapidity (2.5 < y < 4) and midrapidity (|y| < 0.8) for muons and electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays, respectively. A suppression by a factor up to about 2.5 compared to the binary-scaled pp reference is observed in central collisions at both central and forward rapidities. The R AA of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays is compared to previous measurements in Pb–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV. When the nuclear modification factors are compared in the centrality classes 0–10% for Xe–Xe collisions and 10–20% for Pb–Pb collisions, which have similar charged-particle multiplicity density, a similar suppression, with R AA ~ 0.4 in the p T interval 4 < p T < 8 GeV/c, is observed. The comparison of the measured R AA values in the two collision systems brings new insights on the properties of the quark-gluon plasma by investigating the system-size and geometry dependence of medium-induced parton energy loss. The results of muons and electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays provide new constraints to model calculations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Jet-associated deuteron production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ =13 TeV

Deuteron production in high-energy collisions is sensitive to the space–time evolution of the collision system, and is typically described by a coalescence mechanism. For the first time, we present results on jet-associated deuteron production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ =13 TeV, providing an opportunity to test the established picture for deuteron production in events with a hard scattering. Using a trigger particle with high transverse-momentum (p T > GeV/c) as a proxy for the presence of a jet at midrapidity, we observe a measurable population of deuterons being produced around the jet proxy. The associated deuteron yield measured in a narrow angular range around the trigger particle differs by 2.4–4.8 standard deviations from the uncorrelated background. The data are described by PYTHIA model calculations featuring baryon coalescence.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Pseudorapidity distributions of charged particles as a function of mid- and forward rapidity multiplicities in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 5.02, 7 and 13 TeV

The multiplicity dependence of the pseudorapidity density of charged particles in proton–proton (pp) collisions at centre-of-mass energies √s = 5.02, 7 and 13 TeV measured by ALICE is reported. The analysis relies on track segments measured in the midrapidity range (|η| < 1.5). Results are presented for inelastic events having at least one charged particle produced in the pseudorapidity interval |η| < 1. The multiplicity dependence of the pseudorapidity density of charged particles is measured with mid- and forward rapidity multiplicity estimators, the latter being less affected by autocorrelations. A detailed comparison with predictions from the PYTHIA 8 and EPOS LHC event generators is also presented. The results can be used to constrain models for particle production as a function of multiplicity in pp collisions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

IceCube high-energy starting event sample: Description and flux characterization with 7.5 years of data

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has established the existence of a high-energy all-sky neutrino flux of astrophysical origin. This discovery was made using events interacting within a fiducial region of the detector surrounded by an active veto and with reconstructed energy above 60 TeV, commonly known as the high-energy starting event sample (HESE). Here, we revisit the analysis of the HESE sample with an additional 4.5 years of data, newer glacial ice models, and improved systematics treatment. This paper describes the sample in detail, reports on the latest astrophysical neutrino flux measurements, and presents a source search for astrophysical neutrinos. We give the compatibility of these observations with specific isotropic flux models proposed in the literature as well as generic power-law-like scenarios. Assuming ν e :ν μ :ν τ =1:1:1, and an equal flux of neutrinos and antineutrinos, we find that the astrophysical neutrino spectrum is compatible with an unbroken power law, with a preferred spectral index of $2.87_{-0.19}^{+0.20}$ for the 68% confidence interval.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

First measurement of coherent ρ 0 photoproduction in ultra-peripheral Xe–Xe collisions at s NN = 5.44 TeV

The first measurement of the coherent photoproduction of ρ 0 vector mesons in ultra-peripheral Xe–Xe collisions at s NN = 5.44 TeV is presented. This result, together with previous HERA γ p data and γ –Pb measurements from ALICE, describes the atomic number ( A ) dependence of this process, which is particularly sensitive to nuclear shadowing effects and to the approach to the black-disc limit of QCD at a semi-hard scale. The cross section of the Xe + Xe → ρ 0 + Xe + Xe process, measured at midrapidity through the decay channel ρ 0 → π + π – , is found to be d σ / d y = 131.5 ± 5.6 ( stat . ) – 16.9 + 17.5 ( syst . ) mb. The ratio of the continuum to resonant contributions for the production of pion pairs is also measured. In addition, the fraction of events accompanied by electromagnetic dissociation of either one or both colliding nuclei is reported. The dependence on A of cross section for the coherent ρ 0 photoproduction at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon of the γA system of W γ A , n = 65 GeV is found to be consistent with a power-law behaviour σ ( γ A → ρ 0 A ) ∝ A α with a slope α = 0.96 ± 0.02 ( syst . ) . This slope signals important shadowing effects, but it is still far from the behaviour expected in the black-disc limit.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Effective field theory analysis of the first LUX dark matter search

The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) dark matter search was a 250-kg active mass dual-phase time projection chamber that operated by detecting light and ionization signals from particles incident on a xenon target. In December 2015, LUX reported a minimum 90% upper C.L. of 6 x 10 -46 cm 2 on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic scattering cross section based on a 1.4 x 10 4 kg ∙ day exposure in its first science run. Tension between experiments and the absence of a definitive positive detection suggest it would be prudent to search for WIMPs outside the standard spin-independent/spin-dependent paradigm. Recent theoretical work has identified a complete basis of 14 independent effective field theory (EFT) operators to describe WIMP-nucleon interactions. In addition to spin-independent and spin-dependent nuclear responses, these operators can produce novel responses such as angular-momentum-dependent and spin-orbit couplings. Here we report on a search for all 14 of these EFT couplings with data from LUX's first science run. Limits are placed on each coupling as a function of WIMP mass.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗