Engineering topics

Messerly, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Messerly, B..

31 records · Page 2

DOE OSTI2021

Measurements of ${\Xi \left( 1530\right) ^{0}} $ and ${\overline{\Xi }\left( 1530\right) ^{0}} $ production in proton–proton interactions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 17.3 $\text{ GeV }$ in the NA61/SHINE experiment

Double-differential yields of ${\Xi \left( 1530\right) ^{0}} $ and ${\overline{\Xi }\left( 1530\right) ^{0}} $ resonances produced in p+p interactions were measured at a laboratory beam momentum of 158 $\text{ GeV }\!/\!c$. This measurement is the first of its kind in p+p interactions below LHC energies. It was performed at the CERN SPS by the NA61/SHINE collaboration. Double-differential distributions in rapidity and transverse momentum were obtained from a sample of $26\times 10^6$ inelastic events. The spectra are extrapolated to full phase space resulting in mean multiplicity of ${\Xi \left( 1530\right) ^{0}} $ ($6.73 \pm 0.25\pm 0.67)\times 10^{-4}$ and ${\overline{\Xi }\left( 1530\right) ^{0}} $ ($2.71 \pm 0.18\pm 0.18)\times 10^{-4}$. The rapidity and transverse momentum spectra and mean multiplicities were compared to predictions of string-hadronic and statistical model calculations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Use of Neutrino Scattering Events with Low Hadronic Recoil to Inform Neutrino Flux and Detector Energy Scale

Charged-current neutrino interactions with low hadronic recoil ("low-nu") have a cross-section that is approximately constant versus neutrino energy. These interactions have been used to measure the shape of neutrino fluxes as a function of neutrino energy at accelerator-based neutrino experiments such as CCFR, NuTeV, MINOS and MINERvA. In this paper, we demonstrate that low-nu events can be used to measure parameters of neutrino flux and detector models and that utilization of event distributions over the upstream detector face can discriminate among parameters that affect the neutrino flux model. From fitting a large sample of low-nu events obtained by exposing MINERvA to the NuMI medium-energy beam, we find that the best-fit flux parameters are within their a priori uncertainties, but the energy scale of muons reconstructed in the MINOS detector is shifted by 3.6% (or 1.8 times the a priori uncertainty on that parameter). These fit results are now used in all MINERvA cross-section measurements, and this technique can be applied by other experiments operating at MINERvA energies, such as DUNE.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Neutral pion reconstruction using machine learning in the experiment at 〈E ν〉 6 GeV

This paper presents a novel neutral-pion reconstruction that takes advantage of the machine learning technique of semantic segmentation using MINERvA data collected between 2013–2017, with an average neutrino energy of 6 GeV. Semantic segmentation improves the purity of neutral pion reconstruction from two γs from 70.7 ± 0.9% to 89.3 ± 0.7% and improves the efficiency of the reconstruction by approximately 40%. We demonstrate our method in a charged current neutral pion production analysis where a single neutral pion is reconstructed. This technique is applicable to modern tracking calorimeters, such as the new generation of liquid-argon time projection chambers, exposed to neutrino beams with 〈E ν〉 between 1–10 GeV. In such experiments it can facilitate the identification of ionization hits which are associated with electromagnetic showers, thereby enabling improved reconstruction of charged-current νe events arising from νμ → νe appearance.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2021

Spectra and mean multiplicities of $π^-$ in central 40 Ar+ 45 Sc collisions at 13A, 19A, 30A, 40A, 75A and 150A Ge V / c beam momenta measured by the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS

The physics goal of the strong interaction program of the NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) is to study the phase diagram of hadronic matter by a scan of particle production in collisions of nuclei with various sizes at a set of energies covering the SPS energy range. This paper presents differential inclusive spectra of transverse momentum, transverse mass and rapidity of π - mesons produced in central 40 Ar+ 45 Sc collisions at beam momenta of 13A, 19A, 30A, 40A, 75A and 150A Ge V /c. Energy and system size dependence of parameters of these distributions – mean transverse mass, the inverse slope parameter of transverse mass spectra, width of the rapidity distribution and mean multiplicity – are presented and discussed. Furthermore, the dependence of the ratio of the mean number of produced pions to the mean number of wounded nucleons on the collision energy was derived. The results are compared to predictions of several models.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Measurements of multiplicity fluctuations of identified hadrons in inelastic proton–proton interactions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron

Measurements of multiplicity fluctuations of identified hadrons produced in inelastic p+p interactions at 31, 40, 80, and 158 $\text {Ge}\text {V}/c$ beam momentum are presented. Three different measures of multiplicity fluctuations are used: the scaled variance $\omega $ and strongly intensive measures $\Sigma $ and $\Delta $. These fluctuation measures involve second and first moments of joint multiplicity distributions. Data analysis is preformed using the Identity method which corrects for incomplete particle identification. Strongly intensive quantities are calculated in order to allow for a direct comparison to corresponding results on nucleus–nucleus collisions. The results for different hadron types are shown as a function of collision energy. A comparison with predictions of string-resonance Monte-Carlo models: Epos, Smash and Venus, is also presented.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Measurements of $\pi ^\pm $, $K^\pm $, p and $\bar{p}$ spectra in $^7$Be+$^9$Be collisions at beam momenta from 19A to 150A ${\mathrm{Ge} \mathrm{V}}\!/\!c$ with the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS

The NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) studies the onset of deconfinement in hadron matter by a scan of particle production in collisions of nuclei with various sizes at a set of energies covering the SPS energy range. This paper presents results on inclusive double-differential spectra, transverse momentum and rapidity distributions and mean multiplicities of $\pi^, \pm K^\pm$ p and $\bar{p}$ produced in the 20% most central Be+$^9$ Be collisions at beam momenta of 19A, 30A, 40A, 75A and 150A ${\mathrm{Ge} \mathrm{V}}\!/\!c$. The energy dependence of the $K^\pm/ \pi^\pm$ ratios as well as of inverse slope parameters of the $K^\pm$ transverse mass distributions are close to those found in inelastic $p+p$ reactions. The new results are compared to the world data on $p+p and Pb+Pb collisions as well as to predictions of the Epos , U r qmd , Ampt , Phsd and Smash models.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Measurement of the production cross section of 31 GeV/ c protons on carbon via beam attenuation in a 90-cm-long target

The production cross section of 30.92 GeV/c protons on carbon is measured by the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron by means of beam attenuation in a copy (replica) of the 90-cm-long target of the T2K neutrino oscillation experiment. The employed method for direct production cross-section estimation minimizes model corrections for elastic and quasielastic interactions. The obtained production cross section is $σ_{\text{prod}}$ = 227.6 ± 0.8(stat)$_{\text{-3.2}}^{\text{+1.9}}$(sys) – 0.8(mod) mb. It is in agreement with previous NA61/SHINE results obtained with a thin carbon target, while providing improved precision with a total fractional uncertainty of less than 2%. This direct measurement will reduce the uncertainty of the T2K neutrino flux prediction.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Two-particle correlations in azimuthal angle and pseudorapidity in central $^7\hbox {Be}+{}^9\hbox {Be}$ collisions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron

A measurement of charged hadron pair correlations in two-dimensional $\Delta \eta \Delta \phi $ space is presented. The analysis is based on total 30 million central Be + Be collisions observed in the NA61/SHINE detector at the CERN SPS for incident beam momenta of 19A, 30A, 40A, 75A, and 150A $\text {Ge} \text {V}/c$. Measurements were carried out for unlike-sign and like-sign charge hadron pairs independently. The $C(\Delta \eta ,\Delta \phi )$ correlation functions were compared with results from a similar analysis on p + p interactions at similar beam momenta per nucleon. General trends of the back-to-back correlations are similar in central Be + Be collisions and p + p interactions, but are suppressed in magnitude due to the increased combinatorial background. Predictions from the Epos and UrQMD models are compared to the measurements. Evolution of an enhancement around $(\Delta \eta ,\Delta \phi ) = (0,0)$ with incident energy is observed in central Be + Be collisions. It is not predicted by both models and almost non-existing in proton–proton collisions at the same momentum per nucleon.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Probing nuclear effects with neutrino-induced charged-current neutral pion production

We study neutrino-induced charged-current (CC) $\pi^0$ production on carbon nuclei using events with fully imaged final-state proton-$\pi^0$ systems. Novel use of final-state correlations based on transverse kinematic imbalance enable the first measurements of the struck nucleon's Fermi motion, of the intranuclear momentum transfer (IMT) dynamics, and of the final-state hadronic momentum configuration in neutrino pion production. Event distributions are presented for i) the momenta of neutrino-struck neutrons below the Fermi surface, ii) the direction of missing transverse momentum characterizing the strength of IMT, and iii) proton-pion momentum imbalance with respect to the lepton scattering plane. The observed Fermi motion and IMT strength are compared to the previous MINERvA measurement of neutrino CC quasielastic-like production. The measured shapes and absolute rates of these distributions, as well as the cross-section asymmetries show tensions with predictions from current neutrino generator models.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Measurements of $\pi^-$ production in $^7$Be+$^9$Be collisions at beam momenta from 19$A$ to 150$A$GeV/$c$ in the NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN SPS

The NA61/SHINE collaboration studies at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) the onset of deconfinement in hadronic matter by the measurement of particle production in collisions of nuclei with various sizes at a set of energies covering the SPS energy range. This paper presents results on inclusive double-differential spectra and mean multiplicities of $\pi^{-}$ mesons produced in the 5% most central $^7$Be + $^9$Be collisions at beam momenta of 19$A$, 30$A$, 40$A$, 75$A$ and 150$A$ GeV/$c$ obtained by the so-called $h^-$ method which does not require any particle identification. The shape of the transverse mass spectra differs from the shapes measured in central Pb + Pb collisions and inelastic p + p interactions. The normalized width of the rapidity distribution decreases with increasing collision energy and is in between the results for inelastic nucleon-nucleon and central Pb + Pb collisions. The mean multiplicity of pions per wounded nucleon in central $^7$Be + $^9$Be collisions is close to that in central Pb + Pb collisions up to 75$A$GeV/$c$. However, at the top SPS energy the result is close to the one for inelastic nucleon-nucleon interactions. The results are discussed in the context of predictions for the onset of deconfinement at the CERN SPS collision energies.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Data Preservation at MINERvA

Over the past ten years, MINERvA has collected an accelerator neutrino interaction dataset that is uniquely relevant to the energy range of DUNE. These are the only currently available data at intermediate and high momentum transfers for multiple nuclear targets in the same beam. MINERvA is undertaking a campaign to preserve these data and make them publicly available so that they may be analyzed beyond the end of the MINERvA collaboration. We encourage the community to consider the development of centralized resources to enable long-term access to these data and analysis tools for the entire HEP community.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Measurements of ${\Xi }{^-}$ and $\overline{\Xi }{^+}$ production in proton–proton interactions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 17.3 $\hbox {Ge}\hbox {V}$ in the NA61/SHINE experiment

The production of $\Xi (1321)^{-}$ and $\overline{\Xi }(1321)^{+}$ hyperons in inelastic $p+p$ interactions is studied in a fixed target experiment at a beam momentum of 158 $\hbox {Ge}\hbox {V}\!/\!c$. Double differential distributions in rapidity ${y}$ and transverse momentum $p_{T}$ are obtained from a sample of 33M inelastic events. They allow to extrapolate the spectra to full phase space and to determine the mean multiplicity of both ${\Xi }{^-}$ and $\overline{\Xi }{^+} $. The rapidity and transverse momentum spectra are compared to transport model predictions. The ${\Xi }{^-} $ mean multiplicity in inelastic $p+p$ interactions at 158 $\hbox {Ge}\hbox {V}\!/\!c$ is used to quantify the strangeness enhancement in A+A collisions at the same centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Proton-proton interactions and onset of deconfinement

The experiment of the NA61/SHINE Collaboration at the CERN SPS is performing a unique study of the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter by varying collision energy and nuclear mass number of colliding nuclei. In central Pb + Pb collisions, the experiment of the NA49 Collaboration found structures in the energy dependence of several observables in the energy range of the CERN SPS that had been predicted for the transition to a deconfined phase. New measurements of the NA61/SHINE Collaboration find intriguing similarities in $p + p$ interactions for which no deconfinement transition is expected at the energies of the SPS. Possible implications will be discussed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗