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At least 127 records · Page 7

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NASA NTRS1993

Momentum loss in proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions

An optical model description, based on multiple scattering theory, of longitudinal momentum loss in proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions is presented. The crucial role of the imaginary component of the nucleon-nucleon transition matrix in accounting for longitudinal momentum transfer is demonstrated. Results obtained with this model are compared with Intranuclear Cascade (INC) calculations, as well as with predictions from Vlasov-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (VUU) and quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) simulations. Comparisons are also made with experimental data where available. These indicate that the present model is adequate to account for longitudinal momentum transfer in both proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions over a wide range of energies.

Khan, Ferdous↗

NASA NTRS2000

Proton-Nucleus Total Cross Sections in Coupled-Channel Approach

Recently, nucleon-nucleon (N-N) cross sections in the medium have been extracted directly from experiment. The in-medium N-N cross sections form the basic ingredients of several heavy-ion scattering approaches including the coupled-channel approach developed at the Langley Research Center. In the present study the ratio of the real to the imaginary part of the two-body scattering amplitude in the medium was investigated. These ratios are used in combination with the in-medium N-N cross sections to calculate total proton-nucleus cross sections. The agreement is excellent with the available experimental data. These cross sections are needed for the radiation risk assessment of space missions.

Tripathi, R. K.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Proton-Nucleus Elastic Cross Sections Using Two-Body In-Medium Scattering Amplitudes

Recently, a method was developed of extracting nucleon-nucleon (NN) cross sections in the medium directly from experiment. The in-medium NN cross sections form the basic ingredients of several heavy-ion scattering approaches including the coupled-channel approach developed at the Langley Research Center. The ratio of the real to the imaginary part of the two-body scattering amplitude in the medium was investigated. These ratios are used in combination with the in-medium NN cross sections to calculate elastic proton-nucleus cross sections. The agreement is excellent with the available experimental data. These cross sections are needed for the radiation risk assessment of space missions.

Tripathi, R. K.↗

NASA NTRS2002

A method for calculating proton-nucleus elastic cross-sections

Recently [Nucl. Instr. and Meth. B 145 (1998) 277; Extraction of in-medium nucleon-nucleon amplitude from experiment, NASA-TP, 1998], we developed a method of extracting nucleon-nucleon (N-N) cross-sections in the medium directly from experiment. The in-medium N-N cross-sections form the basic ingredients of several heavy-ion scattering approaches including the coupled-channel approach developed at the NASA Langley Research Center. We investigated [Proton-nucleus total cross-sections in coupled-channel approach, NASA/TP, 2000; Nucl. Instr. and Meth. B 173-174 (2001) 391] the ratio of real to imaginary part of the two body scattering amplitude in the medium. These ratios are used in combination with the in-medium N-N cross-sections to calculate proton-nucleus elastic cross-sections. The agreement is excellent with the available experimental data. These cross-sections are needed for the radiation risk assessment of space missions. c2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

NASA Center LaRC↗

NASA NTRS2001

Medium modified two-body scattering amplitude from proton-nucleus total cross-sections

Recently (R.K. Tripathi, J.W. Wilson, F.A. Cucinotta, Nucl. Instr. and Meth. B 145 (1998) 277; R.K. Tripathi, F.A. Cucinotta, J.W. Wilson, NASA-TP-1998-208438), we have extracted nucleon-nucleon (N-N) cross-sections in the medium directly from experiment. The in-medium N-N cross-sections form the basic ingredients of several heavy-ion scattering approaches including the coupled-channel approach developed at the NASA Langley Research Center. Here, we investigate the ratio of real to imaginary part of the two-body scattering amplitude in the medium. These ratios are used in combination with the in-medium N-N cross-sections to calculate total proton-nucleus cross-sections. The agreement is excellent with the available experimental data. These cross-sections are needed for the radiation risk assessment of space missions. c2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗

NASA NTRS1996

Microscopic optical model calculations of 4He, 12C-nucleus absorption cross sections

Calculations of absorption cross sections using a microscopic first-order optical potential for heavy-ion scattering are compared with experiments. In-medium nucleon-nucleon (NN) cross sections were used to calculate the two-body scattering amplitude. A medium-modified first-order optical potential was obtained for heavy-ion scattering using the in-medium two-body scattering amplitude. A partial wave expansion of the Lippmann-Schwinger equation in momentum space was used to calculate the absorption cross sections for various systems. The results are presented for the absorption cross sections for 4He-nucleus and 12C-nucleus scattering systems and are compared with the experimental values in the energy range 18-83A MeV. The use of the in-medium NN cross sections is found to result in significant reduction of the free space absorption cross sections in agreement with experiment.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗

NASA NTRS2009

Differential Cross Sections for Proton-Proton Elastic Scattering

Proton-proton elastic scattering is investigated within the framework of the one pion exchange model in an attempt to model nucleon-nucleon interactions spanning the large range of energies important to cosmic ray shielding. A quantum field theoretic calculation is used to compute both differential and total cross sections. A scalar theory is then presented and compared to the one pion exchange model. The theoretical cross sections are compared to proton-proton scattering data to determine the validity of the models.

Norman, Ryan B.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Relativistic Three-Dimensional Lippmann-Schwinger Cross Sections for Space Radiation Applications

Radiation transport codes require accurate nuclear cross sections to compute particle fluences inside shielding materials. The Tripathi semi-empirical reaction cross section, which includes over 60 parameters tuned to nucleon-nucleus (NA) and nucleus-nucleus (AA) data, has been used in many of the world’s best-known transport codes. Although this parameterization fits well to reaction cross section data, the predictive capability of any parameterization is questionable when it is used beyond the range of the data to which it was tuned. Using uncertainty analysis, it is shown that a relativistic Three- Dimensional Lippmann-Schwinger (LS3D) equation model based on Multiple Scatter- ing Theory (MST) that uses 5 parameterizations—3 fundamental parameterizations to nucleon-nucleon (NN) data and 2 nuclear charge density parameterizations—predicts NA and AA reaction cross sections as well as the Tripathi cross section parameterization for reactions in which the kinetic energy of the projectile in the laboratory frame (TLab) is greater than 220 MeV/n. The relativistic LS3D model has the additional advantage of being able to predict highly accurate total and elastic cross sections. Consequently, it is recommended that the relativistic LS3D model be used for space radiation applications in which TLab > 220 MeV/n.

C M Werneth↗

DOE OSTI2021

Transport Estimations of Final State Interaction Effects on Short-range Correlation Studies Using the $(e,e'p)$ and $(e,e'pp)$ Reactions

Short range correlated (SRC) nucleon-nucleon pairs in nuclei are typically studied using measurements of electron-induced hard nucleon-knockout reactions (e.g. $(e,e'p)$ and $(e,e'pN)$), where the kinematics of the knocked-out nucleons are used to infer their initial state prior to the interaction. The validity of this inference relies on our understanding of the scattering reaction, most importantly how rescattering of the detected nucleons (final state interactions or FSI) distort their kinematical distributions. Recent SRC measurements on medium to heavy nuclei have been performed at high-$x_B$ (i.e., anti-parallel kinematics) where calculations of light nuclei indicate that such distortion effects are small. Here we study the impact of FSI on recent $^{12}$C$(e,e'p)$ and $^{12}$C$(e,e'pp)$ measurements using a transport approach. We find that while FSI can significantly distort the measured kinematical distributions of SRC breakup events, selecting high-$x_B$ anti-parallel events strongly suppresses such distortions. In addition, including the effects of FSI improves the agreement between Generalized Contact Formalism-based calculations and data and can help identify those observables that have minimal sensitivity to FSI effects. This result helps confirm the interpretation of experimental data in terms of initial-state momentum distributions and provides a new tool for the study of SRCs using lepton-scattering reactions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Disentangling the EMC effect: from free to bound nucleon structure

Deep inelastic scattering experiments using electron beams on fixed targets allow for the study of the structure of nucleons. While the structure of the free proton has been well measured, the free neutron structure and the modification of nucleon structure in the nuclear environment, the EMC effect, remain open questions. Studies suggest that the EMC effect may arise due to strongly-interacting nucleon-nucleon systems, referred to as short-range correlations. The BAND experiment at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility seeks to probe the bound proton structure when in a strongly-interacting state, using spectator-tagged deep inelastic scattering. This thesis presents the results of the BAND experiment, demonstrating the proton is modified when strongly-interacting with the spectator neutron in deuterium. This thesis also explores efforts to describe inclusive and tagged deep inelastic scattering data within a uniform theoretical framework to explore nucleon structure modification effects and extract the free neutron structure.

Segarra, Efrain↗

DOE OSTI2021

Short Range Correlations and Few Body Precision Measurements

This talk will discuss the exciting experimental program studying short range correlations and few body dynamics at Jefferson Lab in ?=3 nuclei. Quasi-elastic electron scattering on these light nuclei have readily calculable ground states but can already exhibit complex nuclear behavior including nucleon-nucleon (NN) short range correlations (SRCs). 3H and 3He, being mirror nuclei, exploit the maximum available isospin asymmetry and can be compared directly with ab initio calculations. This talk will summarize the recent Hall A 3H and 3He results. The first measurement of SRC nucleons in 3He using the CLAS detector from Hall B and identifying lead neutrons in ?? pairs at high missing momentum will be shown. These fascinating results will be extended in an approved experiment using the CLAS12 detector to measure high-statistics and absolute cross sections on 2H, 3He, and 3H with a wide range of kinematical coverage. This talk will discuss the recent and proposed measurements and their implications on nuclear models for few body nuclear dynamics and short range structure.

Szumila-Vance, Holly↗

DOE OSTI2025

Shining a Light on the Nucleus: Photonuclear Measurements from Correlations to Charmonium

The atomic nucleus is comprised of a collection of nucleons (protons and neutrons), which are bound together by the nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction that originates from Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). While most nucleons experience the force from the rest of the nu- cleus as a single net “mean-field” interaction that binds them relatively weakly, a small but impactful fraction are in configurations called “Short-Range Correlations” (SRCs), in which they pair with another nucleon at very short distance to experience strong interactions, sig- nificant binding, and high momentum. Hard, high-energy scattering reactions in which an SRC pair is broken apart, knocking both nucleons out of the nucleus, provide the ability to probe the details of these SRC configurations in the nucleus. Previous measurements have had limited statistics and kinematic reach, and the theoretical tools available were in- sufficient to draw quantitative conclusions regarding the ground-state properties of SRCs. The studies described in this thesis represent the first global analysis of SRC breakup mea- surements in order to present a unified picture of SRCs within light- to medium-size nuclei. This includes the use of a novel theoretical framework, the Generalized Contact Formalism, which connects scattering cross-section measurements and the ground-state properties of the SRC pair, to quantitatively interpret a variety of electron-scattering measurements. This is brought to culmination by a report on the first measurement of SRC pairs via the use of hard meson photoproduction reactions, which, despite differing significantly from the me- chanics of electron-scattering, is well-described under a common framework, pointing to a consistent and universal picture of SRCs across reaction channels. I also report on the first measurement of J/¿ photoproduction in the near- and below-threshold kinematic region, giving the first insights to the gluonic structure of bound nucleons in the large-x “valence” region and providing constraints on a gluonic “EMC effect”. In addition to these studies, I provide details on the search for Primakoff production of axion-like particles using the pho- toproduction data taken for this experiment, and I conclude by describing studies of nucleon spin structure measurements that will be performed at the forthcoming U.S. Electron-Ion Collider.

Pybus, Jackson↗

DOE OSTI2025

A study of the 2H(e, e ' p)X reaction at large 4-momentum transfers and high missing momenta

The short-range region (r < 1 fm) of the nucleon-nucleon potential may be studied via deuteron electro-disintegration. Such an experiment was done at Hall C of Jefferson Lab at 4-momentum transfers of Q^2 = 4.07 (GeV/c)^2 and reaching missing momenta up to 900 MeV/c. At such settings, complications arising from Meson Exchange Currents (MEC) and Isobar Currents are expected to be signifi cantly minimized, as well as Final State Interactions (FSI) at recoiling angles of ¿_Xq ~ 40 deg. This makes comparisons of experimental and theoretical cross sections less model dependent. A luminosity study was done to determine the reduction of liquid deuterium targets with increasing beam current. A 2.8% in the charge yield was found between 0 to 70 µA. Electron scattering from the walls of the target chamber was determined to be negligible, but caution was taken by considering scattering events away from the walls. A neutron was found to be contained in the missing mass spectrum for each missing momentum setting. Extraction of the deuteron total cross section is still on going.

Love, Shawn [California State Univ. (CalState), Lo↗

DOE OSTI2026

Excited-state uncertainties in lattice-QCD calculations of multi-hadron systems

Excited-state effects lead to hard-to-quantify systematic uncertainties in lattice quantum chromodynamics (LQCD) spectroscopy calculations when computationally accessible imaginary times are smaller than inverse excitation gaps, as often arises for multi-hadron systems with signal-to-noise problems. Lanczos residual bounds address this by providing two-sided constraints on energies that do not require assumptions beyond Hermiticity, but often give very conservative systematic uncertainty estimates. Here, a more-constraining set of gap bounds is introduced for hadron spectroscopy. These bounds provide tighter constraints whose validity requires an explicit assumption about an energy gap. Exactly solvable lattice field theory correlators are used to test the utility of residual and gap bounds at finite and infinite statistics. Two-sided bounds and other analysis methods are then applied to a high-statistics LQCD calculation of nucleon-nucleon scattering at $m_π\sim 800$ MeV. Generalized eigenvalue problem (GEVP) and Lanczos energy estimators are compatible when applied to the same correlator data, but analyses including different interpolating operators show statistically significant inconsistencies. However, two-sided bounds from all operators are consistent. Under the assumption that the number of energy levels below $NΔ$ and $ΔΔ$ thresholds is the same as for non-interacting nucleons, gap bounds are sufficient to constrain nucleon-nucleon scattering amplitudes at phenomenologically relevant precision. Lanczos methods further reveal that energy-eigenstate estimates from previously studied asymmetric correlators have not converged over accessible imaginary times. Nevertheless, data-driven examples demonstrate why assumptions are required to draw conclusions about the natures of two-nucleon ground states at these masses.

Detmold, William [MIT, Cambridge, CTP]↗

DOE OSTI2026

Excited-state uncertainties in lattice-QCD calculations of hadron masses and scattering phase shifts

Lattice QCD has historically produced energy results interpretable as either estimates relying on implicit assumptions about asymptotic behavior or one-sided upper bounds. New Lanczos methods providing two-sided bounds with less-restrictive assumptions are introduced and quantified in a high-statistics calculation with unphysical quark masses. Two-sided bounds without spectral assumptions provide sub-percent constraints on the nucleon mass. Other bounds, which assume all states in a given energy window are resolved, provide meaningful two-sided constraints on nucleon-nucleon scattering phase shifts.

Detmold, William [MIT, Cambridge, CTP]↗

DOE OSTI2026

Probing early parton emissions in heavy ion collisions using the Lund jet plane

In scattering experiments, high-virtuality partons, i.e., quarks and gluons, initiate a series of additional parton emissions to create collimated sprays of particles known as jets. This paper presents a measurement of the Lund jet plane (LJP) of high-energy jets produced in lead-lead (PbPb) collisions and compares the results to data for proton-proton (pp) collisions. The LJP is formed by iteratively declustering the constituents of a jet into consecutive emissions and recording the relative transverse momentum ($k_\mathrm{T}$) and angle of the resulting emission with respect to its emitter. The angular distributions of two different $k_\mathrm{T}$ slices of the LJP are investigated for jets with radius parameter of 0.4 and transverse momentum in the range 200$-$1000 GeV. The PbPb (pp) data were recorded by the CMS experiment in 2018 (2017) and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 1.7 nb$^{-1}$ (301 pb$^{-1}$) at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV. The measurement was designed to test whether the earliest jet emissions are produced before the formation of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) in PbPb collisions. Within the experimental uncertainties, no significant difference is observed between the angular distribution of high-$k_\mathrm{T}$ emissions in \pp and PbPb collisions, which is consistent with these emissions occurring early in the jet evolution, before substantial interaction with the QGP.

Belyaev, Andrey [Yerevan Phys. Inst.] (ORCID:00000↗

DOE OSTI2025

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↗

DOE OSTI2025

Across the Scales of the Nucleus: Understanding Short Range Correlations from Medium Modification to Probe Independence

The atomic nucleus presents an intricate system due to the non-linear forces described by Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) that govern its structure. The range of scales involved is remarkable; the most massive nuclei weigh approximately five orders of magnitude more than the quarks that compose them. The nucleus can be analyzed at various levels, from quarks to hadrons to the nucleus as a whole. Short-Range Correlations (SRCs) within the nucleus play a significant role that spans these diverse scales. At the most fundamental level, SRCs influence the interaction between nucleons. The nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction, arising from QCD, is crucial in determining nuclear properties. SRCs serve as valuable probes for measuring this NN interaction, as the nucleons within SRCs become effectively decoupled from the rest of the nucleus. Multiple experimental techniques, including electron scattering, have been employed to investigate the NN interaction through SRCs. However, our first project demonstrates that inclusive measurements alone are inadequate to constrain this interaction fully. Moving to the scale of the nucleus, SRCs contribute to the high-momentum tail of the nuclear spectral function. While the low-momentum region is characterized by nucleons exhibiting bulk properties, nucleons begin to pair into SRCs at higher momenta. Our research aims to bridge the understanding between the mean-field portion of the nucleus and its high-momentum SRC components. Additionally, SRCs affect the quark structure of protons, as evidenced by the EMC effect, which indicates that quarks behave differently when protons are embedded within a nucleus—an effect referred to as medium modification. This thesis explores the correlation between SRCs and medium modification across various experimental setups. Finally, we seek to establish an interpretation of the nuclear ground state. Accomplishing this requires demonstrating that our SRC observables are independent of the probe’s scale and scheme. The concluding project of this thesis illustrates how we utilize triple coincidence quasi-elastic scattering across a range of (Q2) values to develop a model-dependent framework for understanding SRC distributions within the nucleus’s ground-state wavefunction.

Denniston, A. W. Denniston [University of Tel Aviv↗