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DOE OSTI2023

Toward the discovery of matter creation with neutrinoless β β decay

The discovery of neutrinoless ββ decay could soon be within reach. This hypothetical ultrarare nuclear decay offers a privileged portal to physics beyond the standard model of particle physics. Its observation would constitute the discovery of a matter-creating process, corroborating leading theories of why the Universe contains more matter than antimatter, and how forces unify at high energy scales. It would also prove that neutrinos and antineutrinos are not two distinct particles but can transform into each other, with their mass described by a unique mechanism conceived by Majorana. The recognition that neutrinos are not massless necessitates an explanation and has boosted interest in neutrinoless ββ decay. The field stands now at a turning point. Further, a new round of experiments is currently being prepared for the next decade to cover an important region of parameter space. In parallel, advances in nuclear theory are laying the groundwork to connect the nuclear decay with the underlying new physics. Meanwhile, the particle theory landscape continues to find new motivations for neutrinos to be their own antiparticle. This review brings together the experimental, nuclear theory, and particle theory aspects connected to neutrinoless ββ decay to explore the path toward, and beyond, its discovery.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2023

A 32-channels readout ASIC for X-ray spectrometry and tracking in the GAPS experiment

Here this work describes the architecture and the experimental results from the characterization of a 32-channels mixed-signal Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) developed for the readout of the lithium-drifted silicon, Si(Li), detectors of the General AntiParticle Spectrometer (GAPS) experiment dedicated to searching for dark matter. The instrument is designed for the identification of antiprotons, antideuterons and antihelium nuclei from cosmic rays during an Antarctic balloon mission scheduled for late 2024. A full custom integrated circuit, named SLIDER32 (32-channels Si-LI DEtector Readout) ASIC, has been produced in a commercial 180 nm CMOS technology. The ASIC is comprised of 32 low-noise analog readout channels featuring dynamic signal compression to comply with the wide input range, an 11-bit SAR ADC and a digital back-end section which is responsible for channel setting and for sending digital information to the data acquisition system (DAQ). The circuit design criteria and the experimental results are discussed in the paper.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2025

X-Ray and Particle Detection With the Si(Li) Tracker Module of the GAPS Experiment

Here, this work describes the architecture and the experimental results from the characterization of the lithium-drifted silicon (Si(Li)) detector module, which constitutes the building block of the tracker in the general antiparticle spectrometer (GAPS) experiment to search for dark matter. The instrument is designed for the identification of low-energy cosmic anti-nuclei (antiprotons, antideuterons, and antihelium) to be performed during an Antarctic long-duration balloon flight scheduled for late 2025. The GAPS Si(Li) tracker, that is the core of the instrument, is the assembly of 252 modules, each comprised of four Si(Li) detectors and a full custom-integrated circuit designed for detector readout and produced in a commercial 180-nm planar CMOS technology. A general overview of the detector module architecture and its components is provided, together with a description of the test setup and the experimental results obtained from the characterization of the low-noise analog readout channel. In order to verify the effective operation of the entire module, results concerning the detection of X-rays from a 241Am source and cosmic muons are also provided.

Manghisoni, Massimo [Università di Bergamo (Italy)↗

DOE OSTI2017

Chiral Majorana fermion modes in a quantum anomalous Hall insulator–superconductor structure

Majorana fermion is a hypothetical particle that is its own antiparticle. We report transport measurements that suggest the existence of one-dimensional chiral Majorana fermion modes in the hybrid system of a quantum anomalous Hall insulator thin film coupled with a superconductor. As the external magnetic field is swept, half-integer quantized conductance plateaus are observed at the locations of magnetization reversals, giving a distinct signature of the Majorana fermion modes. This transport signature is reproducible over many magnetic field sweeps and appears at different temperatures. This finding may open up an avenue to control Majorana fermions for implementing robust topological quantum computing.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2019

Nearly quantized conductance plateau of vortex zero mode in an iron-based superconductor

Majorana zero modes (MZMs) are spatially-localized zero-energy fractional quasiparticles with non-Abelian braiding statistics that hold promise for topological quantum computing. Owing to the particle-antiparticle equivalence, MZMs reflect quantized conductance at low temperature. By utilizing variable-tunnel-coupled scanning tunneling spectroscopy, we study tunneling conductance of vortex bound states on FeTe 0.55 Se 0.45 superconductors. Here, we report observations of conductance plateaus as a function of tunnel coupling for zero-energy vortex bound states with values close to or even reaching the 2 e 2 / h quantum conductance (here e is the electron charge and h is Planck’s constant). In contrast, no plateaus were observed on either finite energy vortex bound states or in the continuum of electronic states outside the superconducting gap. This behavior of the zero-mode conductance confirms the existence of MZMs in FeTe 0.55 Se 0.45 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2015

Electromagnetic and strange probes of dense nuclear matter at NICA/MPD: a feasibility study

The main task of the NICA/MPD physics program is a study of the properties of nuclear matter under extreme conditions achieved in collisions of heavy ions. These properties can reveal themselves through different probes, the most promising among those being the lepton-antilepton pairs and strange hadrons. In this paper the MPD performance for measuring the electron-positron pairs and strange particles (Λ, Ξ{sup –} and Ω{sup –} hyperons and their antiparticles Λ̄, Ξ̄{sup +} and Ω̄{sup +} as well as hypernuclei {sub 3}{sup Λ}Λ) in central Au + Au collisions at NICA energies is presented.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Ten years of CR physics with PAMELA

The satellite borne Pamela instrument is dedicated to the precise and high statistics study of CR fluxes on a four decades energy range. Pamela experiment is the last step of the “Russian-Italian Mission” (RIM) program established in 1992 between several Italian and Russian institutes and with the participation of Sweden and Germany. Designed as a cosmic ray observatory at 1 AU, it extensive program is made possible thanks to the outstanding performance of the instrument, the low energy threshold, the quasi-polar orbit and the 10 years duration of the observation. The physics program pays particular attention to the study of particles and antiparticles fluxes and includes search for dark matter, primordial antimatter, new matter in the Universe, study of cosmic-ray propagation, solar physics and solar modulation, and terrestrial magnetosphere. Very important is the discovery of the anomalous increase of the positron flux at energies higher that 50 GeV (the so called “Pamela anomaly”), and the abrupt spectral hardening of H and He, challenging the current paradigm of cosmic-ray acceleration and propagation in the Galaxy.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Production of light-flavor hadrons in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}~=~7\text { and }\sqrt{s} = 13 \, \text { TeV} $

The production of $\pi ^{\pm }$ , $\mathrm{K}^{\pm }$ , $\mathrm{K}^{0}_{S}$ , $\mathrm{K}^{*}(892)^{0}$ , $\mathrm{p}$ , $\phi (1020)$ , $\Lambda $ , $\Xi ^{-}$ , $\Omega ^{-}$ , and their antiparticles was measured in inelastic proton–proton (pp) collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at midrapidity ( $|y|<0.5$ ) as a function of transverse momentum ( $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ ) using the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. Furthermore, the single-particle $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ distributions of $\mathrm{K}^{0}_{S}$ , $\Lambda $ , and $\overline{\Lambda }$ in inelastic pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV are reported here for the first time. The $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ distributions are studied at midrapidity within the transverse momentum range $0\le p_{\mathrm{T}}\le 20$ GeV/ c , depending on the particle species. The $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ spectra, integrated yields, and particle yield ratios are discussed as a function of collision energy and compared with measurements at lower $\sqrt{s}$ and with results from various general-purpose QCD-inspired Monte Carlo models. A hardening of the spectra at high $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ with increasing collision energy is observed, which is similar for all particle species under study. The transverse mass and $x_{\mathrm{T}}\equiv 2p_{\mathrm{T}}/\sqrt{s}$ scaling properties of hadron production are also studied. As the collision energy increases from $\sqrt{s}$ = 7–13 TeV, the yields of non- and single-strange hadrons normalized to the pion yields remain approximately constant as a function of $\sqrt{s}$ , while ratios for multi-strange hadrons indicate enhancements. The $p_\mathrm{{T}}$ -differential cross sections of $\pi ^{\pm }$ , $\mathrm {K}^{\pm }$ and $\mathrm {p}$ ( $\overline{\mathrm{p}}$ ) are compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations, which are found to overestimate the cross sections for $\pi ^{\pm }$ and $\mathrm{p}$ ( $\overline{\mathrm{p}}$ ) at high $p_\mathrm{{T}}$ .

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2015

Status of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR: A search for neutrinoless double-beta decay

If neutrinos are Majorana particles, i.e. fermions that are their own antiparticles, then neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay is possible. In such a process, two neutrons can simultaneously decay into two protons and two electrons without emitting neutrinos. Neutrinos being Majorana particles would explicitly violate lepton number conservation, and might play a role in the matter–antimatter asymmetry in the universe. The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR experiment is under construction at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, SD and will search for the neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay of the 76 Ge isotope. The goal of the experiment is to demonstrate that it is possible to achieve a sufficiently low background rate in the 4 keV region of interest (ROI) around the 2039 keV Q-value to justify building a tonne-scale experiment. In this study, we discuss the physics and design of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, its approach to achieving ultra-low background and the status of the experiment.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2014

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay Experiment

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR will search for the neutrinoless double-beta (ββ(0ν)) decay of the isotope 76 Ge with a mixed array of enriched and natural germanium detectors. The observation of this rare decay would indicate that the neutrino is its own antiparticle, demonstrate that lepton number is not conserved, and provide information on the absolute mass scale of the neutrino. The DEMONSTRATOR is being assembled at the 4850-foot level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota. The array will be situated in a low-background environment and surrounded by passive and active shielding. Here we describe the science goals of the DEMONSTRATOR and the details of its design.

Abgrall, N.↗

DOE OSTI2026

Geant4 RApid Pair Production Application (GRAPPA) v1.0.0

GRAPPA is a Geant4 application that simulates the interaction of an incoming particle beam (typically electron or photons) with an High-Z material. Particles are generated at a certain energy and interact with a solid target. The product of this interaction is detected and saved on file. The application implements a basic target that is just a simple box, and it accepts complex target descriptions via GDML files. The user has the freedom to set detectors to capture the desired particles. This application enables studying processes such as antiparticle production, muon generation, and atomic decay.

Terzani, Davide [Lawrence Berkeley National Labora↗

DOE OSTI2017

Search for pair production of heavy vector-like quarks decaying to high- p m a t h r m T W bosons and b quarks in the lepton-plus-jets final state in p p collisions at s =13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

CERN-LHC, ATLAS. Limits on pair production of a heavy vector-like T quark together with its antiparticle, where the T quark decays to a W boson and a b quark. The search is based on 36.1 +\- 1.2 fb^{-1} of pp collisions at sqrt{s} = 13 TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Data are analysed in the lepton plus jets final state, including at least one b-tagged jet and a large-radius jet identified as originating from the hadronic decay of a high-momentum W boson. The search is also sensitive to a heavy vector-like B quark, in particular in the decay to Wt and the results are thus reinterpreted to provide limits on the B mass. Mass limits on both T and B production are also set as a function of the decay branching ratios.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Search for Higgs boson pair production in the γ γ b b ¯ final state with 13 TeV p p collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment

Limits on pair production of Higgs bosons in the final state where one Higgs boson decays to two photons and the other to a b-quark together with its antiparticle. The search is based on 36.1 +/- 1.2 fb^{-1} of pp collisions at sqrt{s} = 13 TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Data include at least one b-tagged jet and two well-identified isolated photons. The search is sensitive to both resonant and non-resonant production of Higgs boson pairs.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Search for pair production of heavy vector-like quarks decaying into high- p T W bosons and top quarks in the lepton-plus-jets final state in p p collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

CERN-LHC, ATLAS. Limits on pair production of a heavy vector-like B quark together with its antiparticle, where the B quark decays to a W boson and a top quark. The search is based on 36.1 +\- 0.8 fb^{-1} of pp collisions at sqrt{s} = 13 TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Data are analysed in the lepton plus jets final state, including at least four small jets out of which at least one is required to be b-tagged jet and a large-radius jet. Mass limits on B production are set as a function of the decay branching ratios.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Search for Higgs boson pair production in the γ γ W W ∗ channel using p p collision data recorded at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Limits on pair production of Higgs bosons in the final state where one Higgs boson (H) decays to two photons and the other to a b-quark together with its antiparticle. The search is based on 36.1 +/- 1.2 fb^{-1} of pp collisions at sqrt{s} = 13 TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Investigation of Neutrino Properties with Bolometric Detectors

Neutrino mass and mixing are amongst the major discoveries of the past decade. The particle nature of neutrinos and the hierarchy of mass eigenstates, however, are unknown. Neutrinoless double beta-decay (0νββ) is the only known mechanism to test whether neutrinos are their own antiparticles. The observation of 0νββ would imply lepton number violation and show that neutrinos have Majorana mass. This report describes research activities performed at the University of Wisconsin in 2011-2014 aimed at the search for 0νββ with CUORE-0 and CUORE with the goal of exploring the inverted mass hierarchy region and probing an effective neutrino mass of ~40- 120 meV.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

A Search for WW$\gamma$ and WZ$\gamma$ Triboson Production and Anomalous Quartic Gauge Couplings at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 and 13~TeV within the Compact Muon Solenoid

An analysis probing for the standard model production of three electroweak vector bosons, WV$\gamma$ with V = W or Z gauge boson, is presented. The W boson decays leptonically to an electron or muon, or their respective antiparticle, paired with the appropriate neutrino. The second boson V decays hadronically into two jets, and additionally a photon is required in the event. The data analyzed correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.6~fb$^{-1}$ and 2.3~fb$^{-1}$ from proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8~TeV and 13~TeV, respectively, collected in 2012 and 2015 by the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The event selection criteria used in these analyses yields 322 and 46 observed events in data in 2012 and 2015, respectively, while the estimated background yield from theoretical predictions is 342.1~$\pm$~22.2 and 54.3~$\pm$~17.7. These observations are consistent with the standard model next-to-leading order QCD predictions. Given the limitation in statistics to measure the cross section for this production process, an upper limit of 3.4 times the standard model predictions is made at a 95\% confidence level for WV$\gamma$ with photon $p_{T}$ greater than 30~GeV and absolute pseudorapidity less than 1.44. Physics beyond the standard model, such as anomalous couplings between the gauge bosons at the quartic vertex, may lead to enhancement in the number of WV$\gamma$ events produced within high energy collisions. Such enhancements can be observed in kinematic distributions, particularly in the higher energy regions. No evidence of anomalous WW$\gamma\gamma$ and WWZ$\gamma$ quartic gauge boson couplings is found, while 95\% confidence level upper limits are obtained for various couplings.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Neutrino Physics with SNO+

SNO+ is a neutrino experiment with a broad physics program, the primary goal being a search for the phenomenon of neutrinoless double beta decay, a process possible only if the neutrino is its own antiparticle, or a "Majorana" fermion. Such a discovery would substantially alter our understanding of particle physics, including introducing the need for a non-Higgs mechanism for generating particle mass, and place constraints on the as-yet-unknown neutrino mass scale. SNO+ will also detect neutrinos from the solar core, furthering our understanding of the fusion cycles that power the sun, and antineutrinos produced inside the Earth (geoneutrinos), which will enable a better understanding of heat production beneath the Earth's surface. We will continually monitor for neutrinos from nearby supernovae, which, if detected, could allow us to better understand the role of neutrinos in stellar core collapse, and potentially to determine the unknown neutrino mass hierarchy. With such a broad physics program, SNO+ has great potential both to advance our understanding of neutrinos, and to use neutrinos to understand the formation and behavior of our Universe. This report describes a targeted plan of optical calibrations of the SNO+ detector, with the goal of measuring and monitoring the PMT optical response independently of liquid scintillator properties. To this end we describe the design, construction, and operation of a source of Cherenkov light for deployment in SNO+. Successful deployment in the initial light water phase is described, demonstrating the capabilities of this calibration mechanism. The results of this work form a critical input to the SNO+ detector model, directly impacting the sensitivity of all SNO+ physics results. Also described is significant work on detector commissioning, DAQ and operations, the implementation of calibration efforts in multiple physics analyses, involvement in all levels of analysis activities, and leadership in SNO+ science.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗