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At least 1,081 records · Page 60

Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering Cross Sections at Medium Energies

The weak interactions of neutrinos with other Standard Model particles are well described within the Standard Model of particle physics. However, modern accelerator-based neutrino experiments employ nuclei as targets, where neutrinos interact with bound nucleons, turning a seemingly simple electroweak process into a complex many-body problem in nuclear physics. At the time of writing this Encyclopedia of Particle Physics chapter, neutrino-nucleus interactions remain one of the leading sources of systematic uncertainty in accelerator-based neutrino oscillation measurements. This chapter provides a pedagogical overview of neutrino interactions with nuclei in the medium-energy regime, spanning a few hundred MeV to several GeV. It introduces the fundamental electroweak formalism, outlines the dominant interaction mechanisms - including quasielastic scattering, resonance production, and deep inelastic scattering - and discusses how nuclear effects such as Fermi motion, nucleon-nucleon correlations, meson-exchange currents, and final-state interactions modify observable cross sections. The chapter also presents a brief survey of the foundational and most widely used theoretical models for neutrino-nucleus cross sections, together with an overview of current and upcoming accelerator-based neutrino oscillation experiments that are shaping the field. Rather than targeting experts, this chapter serves as a primer for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and early-career researchers entering the field. It provides a concise foundation for understanding neutrino-nucleus scattering, its relevance to oscillation experiments, and its broader connections to both particle and nuclear physics.

Pandey, Vishvas [Fermilab] (ORCID:0000000230827987↗

Integrating continuous atmospheric boundary layer and tower-based flux measurements to advance understanding of land-atmosphere interactions

The atmospheric boundary layer mediates the exchange of energy, matter, and momentum between the land surface and the free troposphere, integrating a range of physical, chemical, and biological processes and is defined as the lowest layer of the atmosphere (ranging from a few meters to 3 km). In this review, we investigate how continuous, automated observations of the atmospheric boundary layer can enhance the scientific value of co-located eddy covariance measurements of land-atmosphere fluxes of carbon, water, and energy, as are being made at FLUXNET sites worldwide. We highlight four key opportunities to integrate tower-based flux measurements with continuous, long-term atmospheric boundary layer measurements: (1) to interpret surface flux and atmospheric boundary layer exchange dynamics and feedbacks at flux tower sites, (2) to support flux footprint modelling, the interpretation of surface fluxes in heterogeneous terrain, and quality control of eddy covariance flux measurements, (3) to support regional-scale modeling and upscaling of surface fluxes to continental scales, and (4) to quantify land-atmosphere coupling and validate its representation in Earth system models. Adding a suite of atmospheric boundary layer measurements to eddy covariance flux tower sites, and supporting the sharing of these data to tower networks, would allow the Earth science community to address new emerging research questions, better interpret ongoing flux tower measurements, and would present novel opportunities for collaborations between FLUXNET scientists and atmospheric and remote sensing scientists.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Tracer exchange between tropics and middle latitudes

The interaction between the tropics and middle latitudes is studied using a tracer emitted at 50 hPa along a great circle route between Los Angeles, USA and Sydney, Australia. Though designed to examine the impact of stratospheric aircraft, the study more generally addresses the transport between tropics and middle latitudes for a three month period from January through March 1989. The results show that air is transported from the tropics to middle latitudes by planetary scale and tropospheric cyclonic scale waves. Except for intrusions by these wave events, the tropics are substantially isolated throughout the lower stratosphere. These waves draw material out of the tropics which ends up in the middle latitude westerly jets, with little material entering the winter polar latitudes prior to the springtime transition. The summer Southern Hemisphere is characterized by tracer being drawn out in streamers that extend from north and west to south and east. The material in the tropics is zonally asymmetric. The material that reaches the troposphere comes down in the synoptic scale eddies and is concentrated in the middle latitude jet stream. These characteristics are similar to those observed during the dispersion of volcanic clouds.

Rood, Richard↗

Integrating continuous atmospheric boundary layer and tower-based flux measurements to advance understanding of land-atmosphere interactions

The atmospheric boundary layer mediates the exchange of energy, matter, and momentum between the land surface and the free troposphere, integrating a range of physical, chemical, and biological processes and is defined as the lowest layer of the atmosphere (ranging from a few meters to 3 km). In this review, we investigate how continuous, automated observations of the atmospheric boundary layer can enhance the scientific value of co-located eddy covariance measurements of land-atmosphere fluxes of carbon, water, and energy, as are being made at FLUXNET sites worldwide. We highlight four key opportunities to integrate tower-based flux measurements with continuous, long-term atmospheric boundary layer measurements: (1) to interpret surface flux and atmospheric boundary layer exchange dynamics and feedbacks at flux tower sites, (2) to support flux footprint modelling, the interpretation of surface fluxes in heterogeneous and mountainous terrain, and quality control of eddy covariance flux measurements, (3) to support regional-scale modeling and upscaling of surface fluxes to continental scales, and (4) to quantify land-atmosphere coupling and validate its representation in Earth system models. Adding a suite of atmospheric boundary layer measurements to eddy covariance flux tower sites, and supporting the sharing of these data to tower networks, would allow the Earth science community to address new emerging research questions, better interpret ongoing flux tower measurements, and would present novel opportunities for collaborations between FLUXNET scientists and atmospheric and remote sensing scientists.

Manuel Helbig↗

Cosmological constraints on dark matter interactions with ordinary matter

Dark matter interactions with electrons or protons during the early Universe leave imprints on the cosmic microwave background and the matter power spectrum, and can be probed through cosmological and astrophysical observations. These interactions lead to momentum and heat exchange between the ordinary and dark matter components, which in turn results in a transfer of pressure from the ordinary to the dark matter. We explore these interactions using a diverse suite of data: cosmic microwave background anisotropies, baryon acoustic oscillations, the Lyman-α forest, and the abundance of Milky-Way subhalos. We derive constraints using model-independent parameterizations of the dark matter–electron and dark matter–proton interaction cross sections and map these constraints onto concrete dark matter models. Our constraints are complementary to other probes of dark matter interactions with ordinary matter, such as direct detection, big bang nucleosynthesis, various astrophysical systems, and accelerator based experiments. They exclude sufficiently large cross sections for a large range of dark matter masses, which cannot be accessed by direct-detection experiments due to the overburden from the Earth’s atmosphere or crust.

Manuel A. Buen-Abad↗

Dynamical model of φ meson photoproduction on the nucleon and 4 He

We investigate φ meson photoproduction on the nucleon and the 4 He targets within a dynamical model approach based on a Hamiltonian which describes the production mechanisms by the Pomeron-exchange, meson-exchanges, φ radiations, and nucleon resonance excitations mechanisms. The final φN interactions are included being described by the gluon-exchange, direct φN couplings, and the box-diagrams arising from the couplings with πN, ρN, KΛ, and KΣ channels. The parameters of the Hamiltonian are determined by the experimental data of γp → φp from the CLAS Collaboration. The resulting Hamiltonian is then used to predict the coherent φ-meson production on the 4 He targets by using the distorted-wave impulse approximation. For the proton target, the final φN rescattering effects, as required by the unitarity condition, are found to be very weak, which supports the earlier calculations in the literature. For the 4 He targets, the predicted differential cross sections are in good agreement with the data obtained by the LEPS Collaboration. Furthermore, the role of each mechanism in this reaction is discussed and predictions for a wide range of scattering angles are presented, which can be tested in future experiments.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Hyporheic Exchange Driven by Submerged Rigid Vegetation: A Modeling Study

Flow-vegetation interaction affects fluid flow hydraulics and associated material transport in river corridors. Concomitant changes in pressure within the flow field due to the presence of vegetation may act as a driver for the formation of hyporheic flow across the sediment-water interface. This potentially important process, however, has yet to be studied. In order to investigate vegetation-induced hyporheic exchange, a series of numerical models of interlinked surface-subsurface flow modified by plant stems was conducted. Periodically staggered plant stem arrays on a flat sediment bed were considered within a coupled multiphysics computational fluid dynamics approach. Plants were idealized as rigid cylinders and arranged in different streamwise and spanwise spacing distances. Each vegetation array was then subjected to a broad range of flow Reynolds Numbers (Re). The results showed that hyporheic flow occurs in all conditions with the presence of vegetation. The vegetation-induced hyporheic flux is found to be a function of Re via a power law. The flux increases with interstem space until the space reaches the distance that rigid stems no longer affect the flow structures in the vicinity of each other. Larger intervegetation distances lead to a larger hyporheic zone. A direct comparison with bedforminduced hyporheic flow showed that vegetation can induce higher hyporheic flux through relatively shallower exchange zones. The results of all the simulations were synthesized into predictive models for hyporheic flux, bulk residence time and exchange depth based on drag coefficient, vegetation density, and Reynolds Number.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Cosmological constraints on dark matter interactions with ordinary matter

Dark matter interactions with electrons or protons during the early Universe leave imprints on the cosmic microwave background and the matter power spectrum, and can be probed through cosmological and astrophysical observations. These interactions lead to momentum and heat exchange between the ordinary and dark matter components, which in turn results in a transfer of pressure from the ordinary to the dark matter. Here, we explore these interactions using a diverse suite of data: cosmic microwave background anisotropies, baryon acoustic oscillations, the Lyman-α forest, and the abundance of Milky-Way subhalos. We derive constraints using model-independent parameterizations of the dark matter–electron and dark matter–proton interaction cross sections and map these constraints onto concrete dark matter models. Our constraints are complementary to other probes of dark matter interactions with ordinary matter, such as direct detection, big bang nucleosynthesis, various astrophysical systems, and accelerator-based experiments. They exclude sufficiently large cross sections for a large range of dark matter masses, which cannot be accessed by direct-detection experiments due to the overburden from the Earth’s atmosphere or crust.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Decomposition of Nonlinear Dynamical Networks via Comparison Systems

In analysis and control of large-scale nonlinear dynamical systems, a distributed approach is often an attractive option due to its computational tractability and usually low communication requirements. Success of the distributed control design relies on the separability of the network into weakly interacting subsystems such that minimal information exchange between subsystems is sufficient to achieve satisfactory control performance. While distributed analysis and control design for dynamical network have been well studied, decomposition of nonlinear networks into weakly interacting subsystems has not received as much attention. In this article we propose a vector Lyapunov functions based approach to quantify the energy-flow in a dynamical network via a model of a comparison system. Introducing a notion of power and energy flow in a dynamical network, we use sum-of-squares programming tools to partition polynomial networks into weakly interacting subsystems. Examples are provided to illustrate the proposed method of decomposition.

Maruf, Abdullah Al↗

Renewal: Coherent control of spin states in organic electronics – discovery and investigation of complex room-temperature magnetic quantum excitations

In the course of four funding cycles of this project, its research focused on the exploration and understanding of spin-dependent electronic processes in organic semiconductors. It aimed to investigate the potential of harnessing the spin degree of freedom in organic materials for various applications such as spin electronics, quantum information, sensors, and as well as quantum coherent spin phenomena of charge carrier states in organic semiconductors, with the aim to develop room-temperature-based quantum applications. Specifically, the project aimed to: Apply new diagnostic tools, i.e. spin spectroscopy techniques, for paramagnetic charge carrier states in organic semiconductors, based on coherent control with pulsed electron spin resonance to understand spin relaxation and spin mixing mechanisms in organic semiconductor materials and devices such as OLEDs. Explore the nature of charge carrier spin-coupling and pathways for its manipulation to control the physical behaviors of these materials. This involves investigating spin interactions through materials structure, composition, morphological dependencies, isotopic effects, and externally applied electric and magnetic fields, with the goal to manipulate electrical and optical material properties by adjusting spin-orbit, spin-dipolar, spin-exchange, as well as spin-hyperfine interactions to open up this materials class for new applications. Study spin-dependent charge carrier transport and recombination and how these observables are governed by spin-propagation, especially coherent spin propagation as well as collective spin-effects such as the spin-Dicke effect and resonant multi-photon magnetic dipole transitions. The project utilized pulsed electrically detected magnetic resonance (pEDMR) and pulsed optically detected magnetic resonance (pODMR) techniques over a wide frequency range. These techniques enabled the observation and quantification of various spin-spin coupling types, including spin-exchange, spin-dipolar, hyperfine, and spin-orbit interactions. The project will leverage low- to mid-frequency pEDMR/pODMR facilities and collaboration with the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Experimental Evidence of Chiral Ferrimagnetism in Amorphous GdCo Films

Inversion symmetry breaking has become a vital research area in modern magnetism with phenomena including the Rashba effect, spin Hall effect, and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI)-a vector spin exchange. The latter one may stabilize chiral spin textures with topologically nontrivial properties, such as Skyrmions. So far, chiral spin textures have mainly been studied in helimagnets and thin ferromagnets with heavy-element capping. Here, the concept of chirality driven by interfacial DMI is generalized to complex multicomponent systems and demonstrated on the example of chiral ferrimagnetism in amorphous GdCo films. Utilizing Lorentz microscopy and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy, and tailoring thickness, capping, and rare-earth composition, reveal that 2 nm thick GdCo films preserve ferrimagnetism and stabilize chiral domain walls. Finally, the type of chiral domain walls depends on the rare-earth composition/saturation magnetization, enabling a possible temperature control of the intrinsic properties of ferrimagnetic domain walls.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Implications of the XENON1T excess on the dark matter interpretation

The dark matter interpretation for a recent observation of excessive electron recoil events at the XENON1T detector seems challenging because its velocity is not large enough to give rise to recoiling electrons of O(keV). Fast-moving or boosted dark matter scenarios are receiving attention as a remedy for this issue, rendering the dark matter interpretation a possibility to explain the anomaly. We investigate various scenarios where such dark matter of spin 0 and 1/2 interacts with electrons via an exchange of vector, axial-vector, pseudo-scalar, or scalar mediators. We find parameter values not only to reproduce the excess but to be consistent with existing bounds. Our study suggests that the scales of mass and coupling parameters preferred by the excess can be mostly affected by the type of mediator, and that significantly boosted dark matter can explain the excess depending on the mediator type and its mass choice. The method proposed in this work is general, and hence readily applicable to the interpretation of observed data in the dark matter direct detection experiment.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Millicharged particles in liquid argon neutrino experiments

We investigate the potential of Liquid Argon (LAr) neutrino detectors to search for millicharged particles, a well-motivated extension of the standard model. Detectors located downstream of an intense proton beam that is striking a target may be exposed to a large flux of millicharged particles. Millicharged particles interact primarily through low momentum exchange producing electron recoil events near detector threshold. Recently, sub-MeV detection capabilities were demonstrated by the Fermilab ArgoNeuT detector, a small LAr detector which was exposed to the NuMI neutrino beam. Despite high background rates and its small size, we show that ArgoNeuT is capable of probing unexplored parameter space with its existing dataset. In particular, we show that the excellent spatial resolution in LAr detectors allows rejecting backgrounds by requiring two soft hits that are aligned with the upstream target. We further discuss the prospects of these types of searches in future larger LAr neutrino detectors such as the DUNE near detector.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Reconciling large- and small-scale structure in Twin Higgs models

Here, we study possible extensions of the Twin Higgs model that solve the Hierarchy problem and simultaneously address problems of the large- and small-scale structures of the Universe. Besides naturally providing dark matter (DM) candidates as the lightest charged twin fermions, the twin sector contains a light photon and neutrinos, which can modify structure formation relative to the prediction from the ΛCDM paradigm. We focus on two viable scenarios. First, we study a Fraternal Twin Higgs model in which the spin-3/2 baryon $\hat{Ω}$~($\hat{b}$$\hat{b}$$\hat{b}$) and the lepton twin tau $\hat{τ}$ contribute to the dominant and subcomponent dark matter densities. A non-decoupled scattering between the twin tau and twin neutrino arising from a gauged twin lepton number symmetry provides a drag force that damps the density inhomogeneity of a dark matter subcomponent. Next, we consider the possibility of introducing a twin hydrogen atom $\hat{H}$ as the dominant DM component. After recombination, a small fraction of the twin protons and leptons remains ionized during structure formation, and their scattering to twin neutrinos through a gauged U(1) B-L force provides the mechanism that damps the density inhomogeneity. Both scenarios realize the Partially Acoustic dark matter (PAcDM) scenario and explain the σ 8 discrepancy between the CMB and weak lensing results. Moreover, the self-scattering neutrino behaves as a dark fluid that enhances the size of the Hubble rate H 0 to accommodate the local measurement result while satisfying the CMB constraint. For the small-scale structure, the scattering of $\hat{Ω}$ ’s and $\hat{H}$’s through the twin photon exchange generates a self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) model that solves the mass deficit problem from dwarf galaxy to galaxy cluster scales. Furthermore, when varying general choices of the twin photon coupling, bounds from the dwarf galaxy and the cluster merger observations can set an upper limit on the twin electric coupling.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Anomalous Electron Spectrum and Its Relation to Peak Structure of Electron Scattering Rate in Cuprate Superconductors

The recent discovery of a direct link between the sharp peak in the electron quasiparticle scattering rate of cuprate superconductors and the well-known peak–dip–hump structure in the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum is calling for an explanation. Within the framework of the kinetic-energy-driven superconducting mechanism, the complicated line-shape in the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum of cuprate superconductors is investigated. It is shown that the interaction between electrons by the exchange of spin excitations generates a notable peak structure in the electron quasiparticle scattering rate around the antinodal and nodal regions. However, this peak structure disappears at the hot spots, which leads to that the striking peak–dip–hump structure is developed around the antinodal and nodal regions, and vanishes at the hot spots. The theory also confirms that the sharp peak observed in the electron quasiparticle scattering rate is directly responsible for the remarkable peak–dip–hump structure in the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum of cuprate superconductors.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Strong-coupling expansion of multi-band interacting models: Mapping onto the transverse-field J 1 - J 2 Ising model

We investigate a class of two-dimensional two-band microscopic models in which the inter-band repulsive interactions play the dominant role. We first demonstrate three different schemes of constraining the ratios between the three types of inter-band interactions – density-density, spin exchange, and pair-hopping – that render the model free of the fermionic sign-problem for any filling and, consequently, amenable to efficient Quantum Monte Carlo simulations. We then study the behavior of these sign-problem-free models in the strong-coupling regime. In the cases where spin-rotational invariance is preserved or lowered to a planar symmetry, the strong-coupling ground state is a quantum paramagnet. However, in the case where there is only a residual Ising symmetry, the strong-coupling expansion maps onto the transverse-field J 1 - J 2 Ising model, whose pseudospins are associated with local inter-band magnetic order. We show that by varying the band structure parameters within a reasonable range of values, a variety of ground states and quantum critical points can be accessed in the strong-coupling regime, some of which are not realized in the weak-coupling regime. Here, we compare these results with the case of the single-band Hubbard model, where only intra-band repulsion is present, and whose strong-coupling behavior is captured by a simple Heisenberg model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗