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Narayan, Amrendra

Publications and source records attributed to Narayan, Amrendra.

A test of local Lorentz invariance with Compton scattering asymmetry

Here, we report on a measurement of the constancy and anisotropy of the speed of light relative to the electrons in photon-electron scattering. We also used the Compton scattering asymmetry measured by the new Compton polarimeter in Hall~C at Jefferson Lab to test for deviations from unity of the vacuum refractive index ($n$). For photon energies in the range of 9 - 46 MeV, we obtain a new limit of $1-n < 1.4 \times 10^{-8}$. In addition, the absence of sidereal variation over the six month period of the measurement constrains any anisotropies in the speed of light. These constitute the first study of Lorentz invariance using Compton asymmetry. Within the minimal standard model extension framework, our result yield limits on the photon and electron coefficients $\tilde{\kappa}_{0^+}^{YZ}, c_{TX}, \tilde{\kappa}_{0^+}^{ZX}$, and $c_{TY}$. Though, these limits are several orders of magnitude larger than the current best limits, they demonstrate the feasibility of using Compton asymmetry for tests of Lorentz invariance. For future parity violating electron scattering experiments at Jefferson Lab we will use higher energy electrons enabling better constraints.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Determination of electron beam polarization using electron detector in Compton polarimeter with less than 1% statistical and systematic uncertainty

The Q-weak experiment aims to measure the weak charge of proton with a precision of 4.2%. The proposed precision on weak charge required a 2.5% measurement of the parity violating asymmetry in elastic electron - proton scattering. Polarimetry was the largest experimental contribution to this uncertainty and a new Compton polarimeter was installed in Hall C at Jefferson Lab to make the goal achievable. In this polarimeter the electron beam collides with green laser light in a low gain Fabry-Perot Cavity; the scattered electrons are detected in 4 planes of a novel diamond micro strip detector while the back scattered photons are detected in lead tungstate crystals. This diamond micro-strip detector is the first such device to be used as a tracking detector in a nuclear and particle physics experiment. The diamond detectors are read out using custom built electronic modules that include a preamplifier, a pulse shaping amplifier and a discriminator for each detector micro-strip. We use field programmable gate array based general purpose logic modules for event selection and histogramming. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations and data acquisition simulations were performed to estimate the systematic uncertainties. Additionally, the Moller and Compton polarimeters were cross calibrated at low electron beam currents using a series of interleaved measurements. In this dissertation, we describe all the subsystems of the Compton polarimeter with emphasis on the electron detector. We focus on the FPGA based data acquisition system built by the author and the data analysis methods implemented by the author. The simulations of the data acquisition and the polarimeter that helped rigorously establish the systematic uncertainties of the polarimeter are also elaborated, resulting in the first sub 1% measurement of low energy (?1 GeV) electron beam polarization with a Compton electron detector. We have demonstrated that diamond based micro-strip detectors can be used for tracking in a high radiation environment and it has enabled us to achieve the desired precision in the measurement of the electron beam polarization which in turn has allowed the most precise determination of the weak charge of the proton.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Precision Measurement of the Neutron Twist-3 Matrix Element dn2: Probing Color Forces

Double-spin asymmetries and absolute cross sections were measured at large Bjorken x (0.25 lte x lte 0.90), in both the deep-inelastic and resonance regions, by scattering longitudinally polarized electrons at beam energies of 4.7 and 5.9 GeV from a transversely and longitudinally polarized 3He target. In this dedicated experiment, the spin structure function g2 on 3He was determined with precision at large x, and the neutron twist-three matrix element dn2 was measured at ?Q2? of 3.21 and 4.32 GeV2/c2, with an absolute precision of about 10?5. Our results are found to be in agreement with lattice QCD calculations and resolve the disagreement found with previous data at ?Q2?= 5 GeV2/c2. Combining dn2 and a newly extracted twist-four matrix element, fn2, the average neutron color electric and magnetic forces were extracted and found to be of opposite sign and about 60 MeV/fm in magnitude.

Posik, Matthew↗

Precise polarization measurements via detection of compton scattered electrons

The Qweak experiment at Jefferson Lab aims to make a 4% measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in elastic scattering at very low Q{sup 2} of a longitudinally polarized electron beam off a proton target. One of the dominant experimental systematic uncertainties in Qweak will result from determining the beam polarization. A new Compton polarimeter was installed in the fall of 2010 to provide a non-invasive and continuous monitoring of the electron beam polarization in Hall C at Jefferson Lab. The Compton-scattered electrons are detected in four planes of diamond micro-strip detectors. We have achieved the design goals of <1% statistical uncertainty per hour and expect to achieve <1% systematic uncertainty.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

The Compton Polarimeter in Hall C of Jefferson

A new Compton polarimeter was installed in Hall C at Jefferson Lab and used during the Qweak experiment which aims to measure the weak charge of proton with a precision of 4.1%. In this polarimeter the electron beam collides with green laser light stored in a low gain Fabry-Perot Cavity; the scattered electrons are detected in 4 planes of a novel diamond micro strip detector while the back scattered photons are detected in a lead tungstate crystal. We extract the beam polarization by fitting the experimental asymmetry for each detector strip to the corresponding asymmetry calculated in QED. During the experiment, we took data to cross-calibrate Moller and Compton polarimeters in Hall C. We will share our preliminary conclusions from this comparison. In this talk, we will also present the results from Monte Carlo studies performed to estimate the systematic uncertainties of the polarization measurement along with comparing results from two independent extraction of the polarization involving very different time scales. The Compton polarimeter has achieved the design goals of 1% statistical uncertainty per hour and we expect to achieve less than 1% systematic uncertainty.

Narayan, Amrendra↗

Compton polarimeter during the Qweak experiment

Compton Polarimeter was successfully used during the Q$_{weak}$ experiment from Nov 2010 to May 2012 in Hall C, Jefferson Lab. In this newly installed Compton polarimeter the electron beam collides with green laser stored in a low gain Fabry-Perot Cavity; the scattered electrons are detected in 4 planes of a novel diamond micro strip detector while the back scattered photons are detected in four crystals of PbWO$_4$ detector. The analyzing power is computed using a Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation to match the real detector energy resolution and non-linearity in the response of the detector are folded in. The Compton polarimeter has achieved the design goals of 1\% statistical uncertainty per hour and we expect to achieve 1\% systematic uncertainty. We have done specific tests to understand various properties of the electron and photon detectors. We will share our study of the contributions to the electron and photon detector's systematic uncertainty along with the preliminary polarization results.

Narayan, Amrendra↗