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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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DOE OSTI2020

Proceedings of RIKEN BNL Research Center Workshop: Jet Observables at the Electron-Ion Collider (Volume 136) [Slides]

As the realization of an Electron Ion Collider (EIC) moves forward, efforts from the nuclear physics community continue to grow. In addition to the ongoing detector R&D efforts, plans for novel analysis topics must be demonstrated to aid in the detector designs, so that we can maximize the physics output of the EIC. This relies on input from both the experimental and theory communities. The aim of this workshop is to gather experts as well as those with a developing interest in the EIC so that theorists and experimentalists with experience measuring jets in a variety of hadronic collision systems can discuss the possible advantages and challenges of making measurements of jets in e+p and for the first time ever jets in e+A collisions at the EIC. In the time since the EIC white paper was written in 2011, there has been a growing recognition that jet observables could be a powerful probe of many of the physics topics which will be addressed by the EIC. Recent years have seen a multitude of both theoretical and experimental papers exploring the utility of jets for topics as diverse as determining the hadronic structure of photons, studying the 3D structure of the nucleon, and characterizing the properties of the matter found in nuclei. The aim of this workshop is to provide a forum for both theorists and experimentalists to discuss the possible advantages and challenges of jet measurements in e+p and e+A collisions at the EIC, learn about the status of necessary simulation tools, consider requirements on detector performance, and propose new ideas for jet observables and measurements. This proceedings report is a compilation of slides from the presentations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

The case for an EIC Theory Alliance: Theoretical Challenges of the EIC

We outline the physics opportunities provided by the Electron Ion Collider (EIC). These include the study of the parton structure of the nucleon and nuclei, the onset of gluon saturation, the production of jets and heavy flavor, hadron spectroscopy and tests of fundamental symmetries. We review the present status and future challenges in EIC theory that have to be addressed in order to realize this ambitious and impactful physics program, including how to engage a diverse and inclusive workforce. In order to address these many-fold challenges, we propose a coordinated effort involving theory groups with differing expertise is needed. We discuss the scientific goals and scope of such an EIC Theory Alliance.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Update On Meson Structure Studies at Jefferson Lab Hall C

The development of the GPD formalism in the last 25 years has been a groundbreaking advance in our understanding of the structure of the nucleon. Unifying the concepts of parton distributions and of hadronic form factors, GPDs contain a wealth of new information about how quarks and gluons make up hadrons. For example, GPDs correlate different parton configurations within the hadron at the quantum mechanical level. A recent theorem allows the reaction amplitude to be factorized into a hard part, representing the interaction of the incident virtual photon probe with the parton, and a soft part, containing the GPD and, representing the response of the nucleon to this interaction. Importantly this factorization relies on several assumptions that may not be true at low four momentum transfer squared (Q^2) for meson production. The main assumption is that the cross section will depend on Q^-6. This presentation will give the projected results of the recently completed Pion-LT experiment fro

Heinrich, Nathan↗
DOE OSTI2020

1 K refrigerator for the CLAS12 Polarized Target Design, Construction, and First Results

A dynamically polarized target of protons and deuterons in irradiated NH3 and ND3 will be employed with the CLAS12 detector system to explore the spin structure of the nucleon in Hall B at Jefferson Lab. This target will feature a versatile, horizontal 1 K refrigerator that has been constructed by a collaboration of Christopher Newport University, Old Dominion University, the University of Virginia, and the JLab Target Group. A description of the challenges involved with designing the target for the CLAS12 experiments and the collaboration’s solutions will be presented. These include a modular and compact design of the 1 K refrigerator and its ancillary equipment, as well as a novel mechanism for loading the target samples. Initial test results of the system will also be included.

Brock, James↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dihadron beam spin asymmetries on an unpolarized hydrogen target with CLAS12

The semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering process, where an electron scatters off a proton target at high enough energy that the process can be described by the scattering off a single constituent particle, offers targeted access to the internal structure of the nucleon. The process can be described in two phases by parton distribution functions (PDFs), which describe the likelihood of finding a quark or gluon in a particular state inside of the nucleon and then by fragmentation functions (FFs) which describe the likelihood of forming a particular final state particle.

Hayward, Timothy↗
DOE OSTI2020

Kinematic Dependence of the Dilution Factor in the SpinQuest Experiment E1039 at Fermilab

Thirty years after the "Spin Crisis" began, there is still uncertainty surrounding the spin structure of the nucleon. SpinQuest Experiment E1039 at FermiLab will attempt to probe the internal transverse dynamics of the nucleon via Drell-Yan scattering of a 120 GeV proton beam from a polarized proton target to determine if the orbital angular momentum of the sea-quarks contributes to the overall spin of the nucleon. In order to understand a leading contribution to the overall systematic uncertainty in this experiment, a study was performed to calculate and evaluate the uncertainty in the dilution factor of the experimental target. This thesis catalogs that effort, highlights where it overlaps with other sources of systematic error, and suggests future work aimed at reducing the overall systematic error of the experiment.

Conover, Arthur↗
DOE OSTI2022

First Measurement of $\Lambda$ Electroproduction off Nuclei in the Current and Target Fragmentation Regions

We report results of $\Lambda$ hyperon production in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering off deuterium, carbon, iron, and lead targets obtained with the CLAS detector and the CEBAF 5.014 GeV electron beam. These results represent the first measurements of the $\Lambda$ multiplicity ratio and transverse momentum broadening as a function of the energy fraction ($z$) in the current and target fragmentation regions. The multiplicity ratio exhibits a strong suppression at high $z$ and an enhancement at low $z$. The measured transverse momentum broadening is an order of magnitude greater than that seen for light mesons. This indicates that the propagating entity interacts very strongly with the nuclear medium, which suggests that propagation of di-quark configurations in the nuclear medium takes place at least part of the time, even at high $z$. The trends of these results are qualitatively described by the GiBUU transport model, particularly for the multiplicity ratios. These observations will potentially open a new era of studies of the structure of the nucleon as well as of strange baryons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Nuclear spin features relevant to ab initio nucleon-nucleus elastic scattering

Effective interactions for elastic nucleon-nucleus scattering from first principles require the use of the same nucleon-nucleon interaction in the structure and reaction calculations, as well as a consistent treatment of the relevant operators at each order. Previous work using these interactions has shown good agreement with available data. Here, we study the physical relevance of one of these operators, which involves the spin of the struck nucleon, and examine the interpretation of this quantity in a nuclear structure context. Using the framework of the spectator expansion and the underlying framework of the no-core shell model, we calculate and examine spin-projected, one-body momentum distributions required for effective nucleon-nucleus interactions in $J=0$ nuclear states. The calculated spin-projected, one-body momentum distributions for $^4$He, $^6$He, and $^8$He display characteristic behavior based on the occupation of protons and neutrons in single particle levels, with more nucleons of one type yielding momentum distributions with larger values. Additionally, we find this quantity is strongly correlated to the magnetic moment of the $2^+$ excited state in the ground state rotational band for each nucleus considered. In conclusion, we find that spin-projected, one-body momentum distributions can probe the spin content of a $J=0$ wave function. This feature may allow future ab initio nucleon-nucleus scattering studies to inform spin properties of the underlying nucleon-nucleon interactions. The observed correlation to the magnetic moment of excited states illustrates a previously unknown connection between reaction observables such as the analyzing power and structure observables like the magnetic moment.

6 ≤ A ≤ 19↗
DOE OSTI2024

Precision three-dimensional imaging of nuclei using recoil-free jets

In this study, we explore the azimuthal angle decorrelation of lepton-jet pairs in e-p and e-A collisions as a means for precision measurements of the three-dimensional structure of bound and free nucleons. Utilizing soft-collinear effective theory, we perform the first-ever resummation of this process in e-p collisions at NNLL accuracy using a recoil-free jet axis. Our results are validated against Pythia simulations. In e-A collisions, we address the complex interplay between three characteristic length scales: the medium length L, the mean free path of the energetic parton in the medium λ, and the hadronization length L h . We demonstrate that in the thin-dilute limit, where L $\ll$ L h and L ~ λ, this process can serve as a robust probe of the three-dimensional structure for bound nucleons. We conclude by offering predictions for future experiments at the Electron-Ion Collider within this limit.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Gluon EMC effects in nuclear matter

In this work, we investigate the gluonic structure of nuclei within a mean-field model of nuclear structure based upon the modification of the structure of a bound nucleon, with the nucleon described by the Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model. This approach has been shown to reproduce the European Muon Collaboration (EMC) effect, involving the ratio of the spin-independent structure functions of a heavier nucleus to that of the deuteron. It also predicts a significant nuclear modification for the spin structure functions, known as the polarized EMC effect. Here we report sizeable nuclear modifications of the gluon distributions (a ‘gluon EMC effect’) for the ratios of both the unpolarized and polarized gluon distributions in nuclear matter to those of a free nucleon.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ab initio nucleon-nucleus elastic scattering with chiral effective field theory uncertainties

Effective interactions for nucleon-nucleus elastic scattering from first principles require the use of the same nucleon-nucleon interaction in the structure and reaction calculations and a consistent treatment of the relevant operators at each order. Systematic investigations of the effect of truncation uncertainties of chiral nucleon-nucleon ( N N ) forces have been carried out for scattering observables in the two- and three-nucleons system as well as for bound-state properties of light nuclei. Here we extend this type of study to proton and neutron elastic scattering for 16 O and 12 C. Using the frameworks of the spectator expansion of multiple scattering theory as well as the no-core shell model, we employ one specific chiral interaction from the LENPIC collaboration and consistently calculate the leading-order effective nucleon-nucleus interaction up to the third chiral order, from which we extract elastic scattering observables. Then we apply pointwise as well as correlated uncertainty quantification for the estimation of the chiral truncation error. We calculate and analyze proton elastic scattering observables for 16 O and 12 C as well as neutron elastic scattering observables for 12 C between 65 and 185 MeV projectile kinetic energy. We find in all cases qualitatively similar results for the chiral truncation uncertainties as in few-body systems and assess them using similar diagnostic tools. The order-by-order convergence of the scattering observables for 16 O and 12 C is very reasonable around 100 MeV, while for higher energies the chiral expansion parameter becomes too large for convergence. Comparing proton and neutron differential cross sections reveals that their description is comparable up to around 100 MeV. Here, we also find a nearly perfect correlation between the differential cross section for neutron scattering and the N N Wolfenstein amplitudes for small momentum transfers. The diagnostic tools for studying order-by-order convergence in observables in few-body systems can be employed for observables in nucleon-nucleus scattering with only minor modifications provided the momentum scale in the problems is not too large. We also find that the chiral N N interaction on which our study is based gives a very good description of differential cross sections for 16 O and 12 C as low as 65-MeV projectile energy, particularly in the forward direction. In addition, the very forward direction of the neutron differential cross section mirrors the behavior of the N N interaction amazingly well.

6 ≤ A ≤ 19↗
DOE OSTI2022

Isospin-symmetry implications for nuclear two-body distributions and short-range correlations

Here, we study the implications of isospin symmetry in nuclear systems on two-body distributions and derive relations between different densities or momentum distributions of a given nucleus or of different nuclei in the same isospin multiplet. A connection between neutrinoless double beta decay transition of mirror nuclei and two-body densities is also obtained. The relations are numerically verified by means of quantum Monte Carlo calculations. We discuss the relevance of these results to the analysis of nuclear short-range correlations and also show that isospin symmetry allows us to extract information about the spectator nucleons when a short-range correlated pair is formed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Extracting the number of short-range correlated nucleon pairs from inclusive electron scattering data

The extraction of the relative abundances of short-range correlated (SRC) nucleon pairs from inclusive electron scattering is studied using the generalized contact formalism (GCF) with several nuclear interaction models. GCF calculations can reproduce the observed scaling of the cross-section ratios for nuclei relative to deuterium at high xB and large Q 2 , a 2 =(σ A /A)/(σ d /2). In the nonrelativistic instant-form formulation, the calculation is very sensitive to the model parameters and only reproduces the data using parameters that are inconsistent with ab initio many-body calculations. Using a light-cone GCF formulation significantly decreases this sensitivity and improves the agreement with ab initio calculations. The ratio of similar mass isotopes, such as 40 Ca and 48 Ca, should be sensitive to the nuclear asymmetry dependence of SRCs, but is found to also be sensitive to low-energy nuclear structure. Thus the empirical association of SRC pair abundances with the measured a2 values is only accurate to about 20%. Finally, improving this will require cross-section calculations that reproduce the data while properly accounting for both nuclear structure and relativistic effects.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ab initio coupled-cluster calculations of ground and dipole excited states in He 8

We perform coupled-cluster calculations of ground- and dipole excited-state properties of the 8 He halo nucleus with nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon interactions from chiral effective field theory, both with and without explicit delta degrees of freedom. By increasing the precision in our coupled-cluster calculations via the inclusion of leading-order three-particle three-hole excitations in the cluster operator, we obtain a ground-state energy and a charge radius that are consistent with experiment, albeit with a slight underbinding. We also investigate the excited states induced by the electric dipole operator and present a discussion on the Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn and cluster sum rules. Lastly, we compute the electric dipole polarizability, providing a theoretical benchmark for future experimental determinations that will study this exotic nucleus.

6 ≤ A ≤ 19↗
DOE OSTI2025

Experimental scheme for polarizing boron nuclei

Unraveling the internal structure of hadrons and nuclei in terms of the quarks and gluons of quantum chromodynamics is a central focus of current nuclear physics research. Directly observing gluonic states in the nucleus would be groundbreaking and is an objective of the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). Over 30 years ago, Jaffe and Manohar [R. L. Jaffe and A. Manohar, Phys. Lett. B 223 , 218 (1989)] identified a new double-helicity flip structure function, directly sensitive to exotic gluons. They pointed out that this could be measured in inclusive high-energy electron scattering from a transversely polarized nuclear target with spin 𝐼 ≥ 1. Here, in this work, we identify the spin-3 nucleus boron-10 as a particularly interesting system to search for exotic gluons. Leveraging technical advances in atomic physics over the past decade, we outline an experimental scheme to directly optically pump a beam of stable boron atoms to polarize the nuclear spin. Technical challenges to realize a spin-polarized beam of boron-10 in the EIC are discussed. The proposed scheme will also polarize the 11 B nucleus, which could significantly enhance the proton-boron fusion cross section.

atomic spectra↗
DOE OSTI2022

Shape of atomic nuclei in heavy ion collisions

In the hydrodynamic model description of heavy ion collisions, the final-state anisotropic flows v n are linearly related to the strengths of the multipole shape of the distribution of nucleons in the transverse plane, ε n : v n ∝ε n . The ε n , for n=1, 2, 3, 4, are sensitive to the shapes of the colliding ions, characterized by the quadrupole β 2 , octupole β 3 , and hexadecapole β 4 deformations. This sensitivity is investigated analytically and also in a Monte Carlo Glauber model. One observes a robust linear relation, $\langleε^{2}_{n}\rangle$ = $a^{'}_{n} + b^{'}_{n}β^{2}_{n}$, for events in a fixed centrality. The $\langleε^{2}_{1}\rangle$ has a contribution from β 3 and β 4 , and $\langleε^{2}_{3}\rangle$ from β 4 . In ultracentral collisions, there are little cross contributions between β 2 and ε 3 and between β 3 and ε 2 , but clear cross contributions are present in noncentral collisions. Additionally, $\langleε^{2}_{n}\rangle$ are insensitive to nonaxial shape parameters such as the triaxiality. This is good news because the measurements of v 2 , v 3 , and v 4 can be used to constrain simultaneously the β 2 , β 3 , and β 4 values. This is best done by comparing two colliding ions with similar mass numbers and therefore nearly identical $a^{'}_{n}$, to obtain a simple equation that relates the β n of the two species. Finally, this opens up the possibility to map the shape of the atomic nuclei at a timescale (<10 –24 s) much shorter than probed by low-energy nuclear structure physics (<10 –21 s), which ultimately may provide information complementary to that obtained in the nuclear structure experiments.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Nucleon-pair approximation for nuclei from spherical to deformed regions

Here we model low-lying states of atomic nuclei in the nucleon-pair approximation of the shell model, using three approaches to select collective nucleon pairs: the generalized seniority scheme, the conjugate gradient method, and the Hartree-Fock approach. We find the collective pairs obtained from the generalized seniority scheme provide a good description for nearly spherical nuclei, and those from the conjugate gradient method or the Hartree-Fock approach work well for transitional and deformed nuclei. Our NPA calculations using collective pairs with angular momenta 0, 2, and 4 (denoted by S D G pairs) reproduce the nuclear shape evolution in the N = 26 isotones, Ca 46 , Ti 48 , Cr 50 , and Fe 52 , and yield good agreement with full configuration-interaction calculations of low-lying states in medium-heavy transitional and deformed nuclei: Ti 44 – 48 , Cr 48 , Cr 50 , Fe 52 , Zn 60 – 64 , Ge 64 , 66 , Mo 84 , and Xe 108 – 112 . Finally, using the S D G I -pair approximation we describe low-lying states of Ba 112 , 114 , cases difficult to reach by conventional configuration-interaction methods.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗