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At least 307 records · Page 17

Redesigning the Jefferson Lab Hall A beam line for high precision parity experiments

The Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) was built with a thermionic electron source and the three original experimental hall lines reflected this. A few years after beam delivery began a parity violation experiment was approved and two polarimeters were installed in the Hall A beam line. The beam raster system was placed after the new Compton polarimeter, before one accelerator quadrupole and four quadrupoles in the new Moller polarimeter. It was very difficult to meet experimental requirements on envelope functions and raster shape with this arrangement so a sixth quadrupole was installed downstream of the Moller polarimeter to provide an additional degree of freedome. All of the parity experiments in Hall A have been run with this still-unsatisfactory configuration. The MOLLER experiment is predicated on achieving a 2% error on a 32 ppb asymmetry. Beam line changes are required to meet the systematic error budget. This work documents the existing beam line, an interim change which can be accomplished during a annual maintenance down, and the final configuration for MOLLER and subsequent experiments.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

TU-C-BRE-07: Quantifying the Clinical Impact of VMAT Delivery Errors Relative to Prior Patients’ Plans and Adjusted for Anatomical Differences

Purpose: There is increased interest in the Radiation Oncology Physics community regarding sensitivity of pre-treatment IMRT/VMAT QA to delivery errors. Consequently, tools mapping pre-treatment QA to the patient DVH have been developed. However, the quantity of plan degradation that is acceptable remains uncertain. Using DVHs adapted from prior patients’ plans, we developed a technique to determine the magnitude of various delivery errors required to degrade a treatment plan to outside the clinically accepted range. Methods: DVHs for relevant organs at risk were adapted from a population of prior patients’ plans using a machine learning algorithm to establish the clinically acceptable DVH range specific to the patient’s anatomy. We applied this technique to six low-risk prostate cancer patients treated with single-arc VMAT and compared error-induced DVH changes to the adapted DVHs to determine the magnitude of error required to push the plan outside of the acceptable range. The procedure follows: (1) Errors (systematic ' random shift of MLCs, gantry-MLC desynchronization, dose rate fluctuations, etc.) were simulated and degraded DVHs calculated using the Varian Eclipse TPS. (2) Adapted DVHs and acceptable ranges for DVHs were established. (3) Relevant dosimetric indices and corresponding acceptable ranges were calculated from the DVHs. Key indices included NTCP (Lyman-Kutcher-Burman Model) and QUANTEC’s dose-volume Objectives: s of V75Gy≤0.15 for the rectum and V75Gy≤0.25 for the bladder. Results: Degradations to the clinical plan became “unacceptable” for 19±29mm and 1.9±2.0mm systematic outward shifts of a single leaf and leaf bank, respectively. All other simulated errors fell within the acceptable range. Conclusion: Utilizing machine learning and prior patients’ plans one can predict a clinically acceptable range of DVH degradation for a specific patient. Comparing error-induced DVH degradations to this range, it is shown that single-arc VMAT plans for low-risk prostate are relatively insensitive to many potential delivery errors.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Sub-divertor fuel isotopic content detection limit for JET and its impact on ICRF core heating and DTE2 operation

The ability to detect and control fuel isotopic content down to a 1% concentration level is greatly important for the upcoming JET DTE2 campaign, as well as its associated TT and DD phases. A reduction of H minority concentration even from 2% down to 1% is shown in this paper to have significant impact on the effectiveness of ion cyclotron range of frequencies core heating, while the ability to maintain T or D concentration at or below 1% is critical to limiting fusion neutron generation in the DD and TT phases, correspondingly. The sub-divertor measurement of (global) isotopic concentration, based on Penning-activated optical spectroscopy, can deliver minimally this 1% detection for DTE2 as long as light collection from the Penning emission can be optimized and gradual window transmission deterioration can be minimized. Here, this is simulated with a statistical analysis developed to understand the uncertainty sources in the JET DTE1 data, as well as to guide the optimization of an upgraded, fuel-isotopic content (and helium-ash concentration) gas analysis system for the JET divertor in preparation for DTE2. While this random error can be reduced to allow measurement substantially below 1% concentration, analysis also shows a systematic error of up to 1% understood to be due to plasma–surface interactions in the Penning excitation, suggesting that 1% may still be the low-end limit for the sub-divertor measurement, unless a Penning-source conditioning approach is also developed.

fusion fuel isotopic content↗

DETECTION OF GAMMA-RAY POLARIZATION IN PROMPT EMISSION OF GRB 100826A

We report the polarization measurement in prompt {gamma}-ray emission of GRB 100826A with the Gamma-Ray Burst Polarimeter on board the small solar-power-sail demonstrator IKAROS. We detected the firm change of polarization angle (PA) during the prompt emission with 99.9% (3.5{sigma}) confidence level, and the average polarization degree ({Pi}) of 27% {+-} 11% with 99.4% (2.9{sigma}) confidence level. Here the quoted errors are given at 1{sigma} confidence level for the two parameters of interest. The systematic errors have been carefully included in this analysis, unlike other previous reports. Such a high {Pi} can be obtained in several emission models of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), including synchrotron and photospheric models. However, it is difficult to explain the observed significant change of PA within the framework of axisymmetric jet as considered in many theoretical works. The non-axisymmetric (e.g., patchy) structures of the magnetic fields and/or brightness inside the relativistic jet are therefore required within the observable angular scale of {approx}{Gamma}{sup -1}. Our observation strongly indicates that the polarization measurement is a powerful tool to constrain the GRB production mechanism, and more theoretical works are needed to discuss the data in more detail.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Modelling galaxy cluster triaxiality in stacked cluster weak lensing analyses

Counts of galaxy clusters offer a high-precision probe of cosmology, but control of systematic errors will determine the accuracy of this measurement. Using Buzzard simulations, we quantify one such systematic, the triaxiality distribution of clusters identified with the redMaPPer optical cluster finding algorithm, which was used in the Dark Energy Survey Year-1 (DES Y1) cluster cosmology analysis. We test whether redMaPPer selection biases the clusters’ shape and orientation and find that it only biases orientation, preferentially selecting clusters with their major axes oriented along the line of sight. Modelling the richness–mass relation as log-linear, we find that the log-richness amplitude ln (A) is boosted from the lowest to highest orientation bin with a significance of 14σ, while the orientation dependence of the richness-mass slope and intrinsic scatter is minimal. We also find that the weak lensing shear-profile ratios of cluster-associated dark haloes in different orientation bins resemble a ‘bottleneck’ shape that can be quantified with a Cauchy function. We test the correlation of orientation with two other leading systematics in cluster cosmology – miscentering and projection – and find a null correlation. The resulting mass bias predicted from our templates confirms the DES Y1 finding that triaxiality is a leading source of bias in cluster cosmology. However, the richness-dependence of the bias confirms that triaxiality does not fully resolve the tension at low-richness between DES Y1 cluster cosmology and other probes. Our model can be used for quantifying the impact of triaxiality bias on cosmological constraints for upcoming weak lensing surveys of galaxy clusters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

IMRT QA: Selecting gamma criteria based on error detection sensitivity

Purpose: The gamma comparison is widely used to evaluate the agreement between measurements and treatment planning system calculations in patient-specific intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) quality assurance (QA). However, recent publications have raised concerns about the lack of sensitivity when employing commonly used gamma criteria. Understanding the actual sensitivity of a wide range of different gamma criteria may allow the definition of more meaningful gamma criteria and tolerance limits in IMRT QA. We present a method that allows the quantitative determination of gamma criteria sensitivity to induced errors which can be applied to any unique combination of device, delivery technique, and software utilized in a specific clinic. Methods: A total of 21 DMLC IMRT QA measurements (ArcCHECK®, Sun Nuclear) were compared to QA plan calculations with induced errors. Three scenarios were studied: MU errors, multi-leaf collimator (MLC) errors, and the sensitivity of the gamma comparison to changes in penumbra width. Gamma comparisons were performed between measurements and error-induced calculations using a wide range of gamma criteria, resulting in a total of over 20 000 gamma comparisons. Gamma passing rates for each error class and case were graphed against error magnitude to create error curves in order to represent the range of missed errors in routine IMRT QA using 36 different gamma criteria. Results: This study demonstrates that systematic errors and case-specific errors can be detected by the error curve analysis. Depending on the location of the error curve peak (e.g., not centered about zero), 3%/3 mm threshold = 10% at 90% pixels passing may miss errors as large as 15% MU errors and ±1 cm random MLC errors for some cases. As the dose threshold parameter was increased for a given %Diff/distance-to-agreement (DTA) setting, error sensitivity was increased by up to a factor of two for select cases. This increased sensitivity with increasing dose threshold was consistent across all studied combinations of %Diff/DTA. Criteria such as 2%/3 mm and 3%/2 mm with a 50% threshold at 90% pixels passing are shown to be more appropriately sensitive without being overly strict. However, a broadening of the penumbra by as much as 5 mm in the beam configuration was difficult to detect with commonly used criteria, as well as with the previously mentioned criteria utilizing a threshold of 50%. Conclusions: We have introduced the error curve method, an analysis technique which allows the quantitative determination of gamma criteria sensitivity to induced errors. The application of the error curve method using DMLC IMRT plans measured on the ArcCHECK® device demonstrated that large errors can potentially be missed in IMRT QA with commonly used gamma criteria (e.g., 3%/3 mm, threshold = 10%, 90% pixels passing). Additionally, increasing the dose threshold value can offer dramatic increases in error sensitivity. This approach may allow the selection of more meaningful gamma criteria for IMRT QA and is straightforward to apply to other combinations of devices and treatment techniques.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Fast Correction of Errors in the DFT‐Calculated Energies of Gaseous Nitrogen‐Containing Species

Abstract Modeling adsorption phenomena on surfaces by DFT calculations often involves substantial errors, resulting in inaccurate predictions of catalytic activities. Such errors partly stem from the inaccurate description of the energetics of free molecules. Herein, we use a semiempirical group‐additivity method to correct the DFT‐calculated heats of formation of 106 carbon‐ and nitrogen‐containing gaseous compounds belonging to 15 different chemical families. PBE, PW91, RPBE and BEEF‐vdW initially yield mean absolute errors (MAEs) with respect to experiments in the range of 0.32–0.75 eV. After correcting the systematic errors, the overall MAEs decrease to ∼0.05 eV. Additionally, upon applying the corrections to three types of reaction enthalpies, the resulting MAEs are below 0.10 eV. These functional‐group corrections can be used in (electro)catalysis to correct the gas‐phase references necessary to evaluate equilibrium potentials and adsorption energies, predict error cancellation, and assess conflicting experimental data.

Urrego‐Ortiz, Ricardo↗

Emulating Baryonic Effects in Weak Lensing Measurements

Baryonic effects are one of the most serious systematics to the tomographic analysis of weak lensing statistical measurements. We are working on a novel method for correcting cosmological observations for baryonic effects - a term used to label the fact that we observe galaxies, while theoretical modeling at present is only accurate enough for the dynamics of dark matter. Although modern cosmological simulations of dark matter (the “dark matter only", or DMO simulations) consistently reach the required 1% level of precision, the effect of baryonic physics on cosmological scales is expected to be a source of a much more severe systematic error in weak lensing measurements. In this analysis we apply a general framework to consistently include systematic effects into a likelihood analysis for cosmological surveys, such as the Dark Energy Survey (DES), and future Large Synoptic Survey Telescope survey (LSST).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Atmospheric PSF Interpolation for Weak Lensing in Short Exposure Imaging Data

A main science goal for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is to measure the cosmic shear signal from weak lensing to extreme accuracy. One difficulty, however, is that with the short exposure time ({approx_equal}15 seconds) proposed, the spatial variation of the Point Spread Function (PSF) shapes may be dominated by the atmosphere, in addition to optics errors. While optics errors mainly cause the PSF to vary on angular scales similar or larger than a single CCD sensor, the atmosphere generates stochastic structures on a wide range of angular scales. It thus becomes a challenge to infer the multi-scale, complex atmospheric PSF patterns by interpolating the sparsely sampled stars in the field. In this paper we present a new method, psfent, for interpolating the PSF shape parameters, based on reconstructing underlying shape parameter maps with a multi-scale maximum entropy algorithm. We demonstrate, using images from the LSST Photon Simulator, the performance of our approach relative to a 5th-order polynomial fit (representing the current standard) and a simple boxcar smoothing technique. Quantitatively, psfent predicts more accurate PSF models in all scenarios and the residual PSF errors are spatially less correlated. This improvement in PSF interpolation leads to a factor of 3.5 lower systematic errors in the shear power spectrum on scales smaller than {approx} 13, compared to polynomial fitting. We estimate that with psfent and for stellar densities greater than {approx_equal}1/arcmin{sup 2}, the spurious shear correlation from PSF interpolation, after combining a complete 10-year dataset from LSST, is lower than the corresponding statistical uncertainties on the cosmic shear power spectrum, even under a conservative scenario.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

SIMULTANEOUS ESTIMATION OF PHOTOMETRIC REDSHIFTS AND SED PARAMETERS: IMPROVED TECHNIQUES AND A REALISTIC ERROR BUDGET

We seek to improve the accuracy of joint galaxy photometric redshift estimation and spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting. By simulating different sources of uncorrected systematic errors, we demonstrate that if the uncertainties in the photometric redshifts are estimated correctly, so are those on the other SED fitting parameters, such as stellar mass, stellar age, and dust reddening. Furthermore, we find that if the redshift uncertainties are over(under)-estimated, the uncertainties in SED parameters tend to be over(under)-estimated by similar amounts. These results hold even in the presence of severe systematics and provide, for the first time, a mechanism to validate the uncertainties on these parameters via comparison with spectroscopic redshifts. We propose a new technique (annealing) to re-calibrate the joint uncertainties in the photo-z and SED fitting parameters without compromising the performance of the SED fitting + photo-z estimation. This procedure provides a consistent estimation of the multi-dimensional probability distribution function in SED fitting + z parameter space, including all correlations. While the performance of joint SED fitting and photo-z estimation might be hindered by template incompleteness, we demonstrate that the latter is “flagged” by a large fraction of outliers in redshift, and that significant improvements can be achieved by using flexible stellar populations synthesis models and more realistic star formation histories. In all cases, we find that the median stellar age is better recovered than the time elapsed from the onset of star formation. Finally, we show that using a photometric redshift code such as EAZY to obtain redshift probability distributions that are then used as priors for SED fitting codes leads to only a modest bias in the SED fitting parameters and is thus a viable alternative to the simultaneous estimation of SED parameters and photometric redshifts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Noise analysis for the Sorkin and Peres tests performed on a quantum computer

We use quantum computers to test the foundations of quantum mechanics through quantum algorithms that implement some of the experimental tests as the basis of the theory's postulates. These algorithms can be used as a test of the physical theory under the premise of a perfect hardware or as a test of the hardware under the premise that quantum theory is correct. In this paper, we show how the algorithms can be used to test the efficacy of a quantum computer in obeying the postulates of quantum mechanics. We study the effect of different types of errors on the results of experimental tests of the postulates. A salient feature of this error analysis is that it is deeply rooted in the fundamentals of quantum mechanics as it highlights how systematic errors affect the quantumness of the quantum computer.

Sadana, Simanraj↗

Improved RF measurements of SRF cavity quality factors

SRF cavity quality factors can be accurately measured using RF-power based techniques only when the cavity is very close to critically coupled. This limitation is from systematic errors driven by non-ideal RF components. When the cavity is not close to critically coupled, these systematic effects limit the accuracy of the measurements. The combination of the complex base-band envelopes of the cavity RF signals in combination with a trombone in the circuit allow the relative calibration of the RF signals to be extracted from the data and systematic effects to be characterized and suppressed. The improved calibration allows accurate measurements to be made over a much wider range of couplings. Demonstration of these techniques during testing of a single-spoke resonator with a coupling factor of near 7 will be presented, along with recommendations for application of these techniques.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

THE FOURTH US NAVAL OBSERVATORY CCD ASTROGRAPH CATALOG (UCAC4)

The fourth United States Naval Observatory (USNO) CCD Astrograph Catalog, UCAC4, was released in 2012 August (double-sided DVD and CDS data center Vizier catalog I/322). It is the final release in this series and contains over 113 million objects; over 105 million of them with proper motions (PMs). UCAC4 is an updated version of UCAC3 with about the same number of stars also covering all-sky. Bugs were fixed, Schmidt plate survey data were avoided, and precise five-band photometry was added for about half the stars. Astrograph observations have been supplemented for bright stars by FK6, Hipparcos, and Tycho-2 data to compile a UCAC4 star catalog complete from the brightest stars to about magnitude R = 16. Epoch 1998-2004 positions are obtained from observations with the 20 cm aperture USNO Astrograph's 'red lens', equipped with a 4k by 4k CCD. Mean positions and PMs are derived by combining these observations with over 140 ground- and space-based catalogs, including Hipparcos/Tycho and the AC2000.2, as well as unpublished measures of over 5000 plates from other astrographs. For most of the faint stars in the southern hemisphere, the first epoch plates from the Southern Proper Motion program form the basis for PMs, while the Northern Proper Motion first epoch plates serve the same purpose for the rest of the sky. These data are supplemented by 2MASS near-IR photometry for about 110 million stars and five-band (B, V, g, r, i) APASS data for over 51 million stars. Thus the published UCAC4, as were UCAC3 and UCAC2, is a compiled catalog with the UCAC observational program being a major component. The positional accuracy of stars in UCAC4 at mean epoch is about 15-100 mas per coordinate, depending on magnitude, while the formal errors in PMs range from about 1 to 10 mas yr{sup -1} depending on magnitude and observing history. Systematic errors in PMs are estimated to be about 1-4 mas yr{sup -1}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

H0LiCOW – II. Spectroscopic survey and galaxy-group identification of the strong gravitational lens system HE 0435-1223

Galaxies located in the environment or on the line of sight towards gravitational lenses can significantly affect lensing observables, and can lead to systematic errors on the measurement of H 0 from the time-delay technique. We present the results of a systematic spectroscopic identi cation of the galaxies in the field of view of the lensed quasar HE0435-1223 using the W. M. Keck, Gemini and ESO-Very Large telescopes. Our new catalog triples the number of known galaxy redshifts in the direct vicinity of the lens, expanding to 102 the number of measured redshifts for galaxies separated by less than 30 from the lens. We complement our catalog with literature data to gather redshifts up to 150 from the lens, and search for galaxy groups or clusters projected towards HE0435-1223. We con rm that the lens is a member of a small group that includes at least 12 galaxies, and nd 8 other group candidates near the line of sight of the lens. The flexion shift, namely the shift of lensed images produced by high order perturbation of the lens potential, is calculated for each galaxy/group and used to identify which objects produce the largest perturbation of the lens potential. This analysis demonstrates that i) at most three of the five brightest galaxies projected within 1200 of the lens need to be explicitly used in the lens models, and ii) the groups can be treated in the lens model as an external tidal field (shear) contribution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Systematic uncertainties in the measurement of the neutron lifetime using the Lunar Prospector neutron spectrometer

The lifetime of free neutrons measured in the laboratory has a longstanding disparity of ≈9 s. A space-based technique has recently been proposed to independently measure the neutron lifetime using interactions between the galactic cosmic rays and a low atmosphere planetary body. This technique has not produced competitive results yet due to constraints of nonoptimized data that contain large systematic errors. We use data from the neutron spectrometer on-board NASA's Lunar Prospector, and study two large systematics in the measurement of neutron lifetime: the lunar subsurface temperature and the lunar surface composition. We use the HeCd and HeSn neutron spectrometer data when the spacecraft was in a highly elliptical orbit during the orbit insertion period. We report the neutron lifetime using four different models that each have different choices of surface temperature and composition. The 5° [Prettyman et al ., J. Geophys. Res.: Planets 111, 2005JE002656 (2006)] and 2° [Wilson et al., Phys. Rev. C 104, 045501 (2021)] rebinned maps result in 777.6±11.7 s and 739.6±10.8 s, respectively. For the 20° map (Prettyman et al., 2006), constant equatorial and a latitude-dependent temperature model result in 738.6±10.8 s and 767.3±11.2 s, respectively. Increasing the complexities of the models accounting for the systematic effects increase the measured lifetime. However, the reported measurements are not competitive with the laboratory results due to large unaccounted systematics resulting from nonoptimized measurements and modeling assumptions. This work serves as a study of systematic uncertainties for future neutron lifetime measurements using the space-based technique. We estimate the effect on the lifetime from the choice of temperature model to be to be 28.7 ±15.5 s, and choice of compositional map (for 20° and 5° maps) to be 10.3 ±12.2 s.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

TU-C-BRE-08: IMRT QA: Selecting Meaningful Gamma Criteria Based On Error Detection Sensitivity

Purpose: To develop a strategy for defining meaningful tolerance limits and studying the sensitivity of IMRT QA gamma criteria by inducing known errors in QA plans. Methods: IMRT QA measurements (ArcCHECK, Sun Nuclear) were compared to QA plan calculations with induced errors. Many (>24) gamma comparisons between data and calculations were performed for each of several kinds of cases and classes of induced error types with varying magnitudes (e.g. MU errors ranging from -10% to +10%), resulting in over 3,000 comparisons. Gamma passing rates for each error class and case were graphed against error magnitude to create error curves in order to represent the range of missed errors in routine IMRT QA using various gamma criteria. Results: This study demonstrates that random, case-specific, and systematic errors can be detected by the error curve analysis. Depending on location of the peak of the error curve (e.g., not centered about zero), 3%/3mm threshold=10% criteria may miss MU errors of up to 10% and random MLC errors of up to 5 mm. Additionally, using larger dose thresholds for specific devices may increase error sensitivity (for the same X%/Ymm criteria) by up to a factor of two. This analysis will allow clinics to select more meaningful gamma criteria based on QA device, treatment techniques, and acceptable error tolerances. Conclusion: We propose a strategy for selecting gamma parameters based on the sensitivity of gamma criteria and individual QA devices to induced calculation errors in QA plans. Our data suggest large errors may be missed using conventional gamma criteria and that using stricter criteria with an increased dose threshold may reduce the range of missed errors. This approach allows quantification of gamma criteria sensitivity and is straightforward to apply to other combinations of devices and treatment techniques.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Performance of Laser-Based Electronic Devices for Structural Analysis of Amazonian Terra-Firme Forests

Tropical vegetation biomass represents a key component of the carbon stored in global forest ecosystems. Estimates of aboveground biomass commonly rely on measurements of tree size (diameter and height) and then indirectly relate, via allometric relationships and wood density, to biomass sampled from a relatively small number of harvested and weighed trees. Recently, however, novel in situ remote sensing techniques have been proposed, which may provide nondestructive alternative approaches to derive biomass estimates. Nonetheless, we still lack knowledge of the measurement uncertainties, as both the calibration and validation of estimates using different techniques and instruments requires consistent assessment of the underlying errors. To that end, we investigate different approaches estimating the tropical aboveground biomass in situ. We quantify the total and systematic errors among measurements obtained from terrestrial light detection and ranging (LiDAR), hypsometer-based trigonometry, and traditional forest inventory. We show that laser-based estimates of aboveground biomass are in good agreement (<10% measurement uncertainty) with traditional measurements. However, relative uncertainties vary among the allometric equations based on the vegetation parameters used for parameterization. We report the error metrics for measurements of tree diameter and tree height and discuss the consequences for estimated biomass. Despite methodological differences detected in this study, we conclude that laser-based electronic devices could complement conventional measurement techniques, thereby potentially improving estimates of tropical vegetation biomass.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗