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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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16 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Proton Track Identication in MicroBooNE Simulation for Neutral Current Elastic Events

The net contribution of the strange quark spins to the proton spin, Δs, can be determined from neutral current elastic neutrino-proton interactions at low momentum transfer combined with data from electron-proton scattering. The probability of neutrino-proton interactions depends in part on the axial form factor, which represents the spin structure of the proton and can be separated into its quark flavor contributions. Low momentum transfer neutrino neutral current interactions can be measured in MicroBooNE, a high-resolution liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) in its first year of running in the Booster Neutrino Beamline at Fermilab. The signal for these interactions in MicroBooNE is a single short proton track. We present our work on the automated reconstruction and classification of proton tracks in LArTPCs, an important step in the determination of neutrinonucleon cross sections and the measurement of Δs.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

Exploring Nucleon Spin Structure Through Neutrino Neutral-Current Interactions in MicroBooNE

The net contribution of the strange quark spins to the proton spin, $\Delta s$, can be determined from neutral current elastic neutrino-proton interactions at low momentum transfer combined with data from electron-proton scattering. The probability of neutrino-proton interactions depends in part on the axial form factor, which represents the spin structure of the proton and can be separated into its quark flavor contributions. Low momentum transfer neutrino neutral current interactions can be measured in MicroBooNE, a high-resolution liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) in its first year of running in the Booster Neutrino Beamline at Fermilab. The signal for these interactions in MicroBooNE is a single short proton track. We present our work on the automated reconstruction and classification of proton tracks in LArTPCs, an important step in the determination of neutrino- nucleon cross sections and the measurement of $\Delta s$.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2011

Nuclear quests for supernova dynamics and nucleosynthesis

Nuclear physics plays a crucial role in various aspects of core collapse supernovae. The collapse dynamics is strongly influenced by electron captures. Using modern many-body theory improved capture rates have been derived recently with the important result that the process is dominated by capture on nuclei until neutrino trapping is achieved. Following the core bounce the ejected matter is the site of interesting nucleosynthesis. The early ejecta are proton-rich and give rise to the recently discovered {nu}p-process. Later ejecta might be neutron-rich and can be one site of the r-process. The manuscript discusses recent progress in describing nuclear input relevant for the supernova dynamics and nucleosynthesis.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2011

New observations in the MiniBooNE experiment

The MiniBooNE neutrino oscillation search experiment at Fermilab has recently reported results from a search for microe oscillations, using a data sample corresponding to 5.66 x 1020 protons on target in anti-neutrino mode. The experiment is now se nsitive to the excess of microe events observed by Los Alamos Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND). MiniBooNE data are consistent with microe oscillations in the m2 range of 0.1 to 1.0 eV2 and with the evidence for antineutrino oscillations from L SND.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2011

EUROv Super Beam Studies

Neutrino Super Beams use conventional techniques to significantly increase the neutrino beam intensity compared to the present neutrino facilities. An essential part of these facilities is an intense proton driver producing a beam power higher than a MW. The protons hit a target able to accept the high proton beam intensity. The produced charged particles are focused by a system of magnetic horns towards the experiment detectors. The main challenge of these projects is to deal with the high beam intensity for many years. New high power neutrino facilities could be build at CERN profiting from an eventual construction of a high power proton driver. The European FP7 Design Study EUROv, among other neutrino beams, studies this Super Beam possibility. This paper will give the latest developments in this direction.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Improvements to MINOS CCQE Analysis

The MINOS experiment has the world's largest data set of neutrino interactions in the 1-10 GeV energy range. In addition, the data are neutrino interactions on iron, allowing us to explore the nuclear effects on neutrino scattering. We present two improvements to the MINOS charged current quasi-elastic analysis presented at NuInt 2009: a background correction function extracted from two resonance enhanced selections, and an improved fit procedure that includes event samples selected by looking for the recoil proton.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2011

N-{Delta} weak transition

A short review of the Rein-Sehgal and isobar models is presented. The attention is focused on the nucleon-{Delta}(1232) weak transition form-factors. The results of the recent re-analyses of the ANL and BNL bubble chamber neutrino-deuteron scattering data are discussed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Progress of the equation of state table for supernova simulations and its influence

We describe recent progress of the EOS tables for numerical simulations of core-collapse supernovae and related astrophysical phenomena. Based on the Shen EOS table, which has been widely used in supernova simulations, there is systematic progress by extending the degrees of freedom such as hyperons and quarks. These extended EOS tables have been used, for example, to study the neutrino bursts from the gravitational collapse of massive stars leading to the black hole formation. Observations of such neutrinos from galactic events in future will provide us with the information on the EOS. Recently, studies of the supernova EOS with the multi-composition of nuclei under the nuclear statistical equilibrium have been made beyond the single nucleus approximation as used in the Shen EOS. It has been found that light elements including deuterons are abundant in wide regions of the supernova cores. We discuss that neutrino-deuteron reactions may have a possible influence on the explosion mechanism through modifications of neutrino heating rates.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Probing neutrino mass hierarchy by comparing the charged-current and neutral-current interaction rates of supernova neutrinos

The neutrino mass hierarchy is one of the neutrino fundamental properties yet to be determined. We introduce a method to determine neutrino mass hierarchy by comparing the interaction rate of neutral current (NC) interactions, ν(ν-bar)+p→ν(ν-bar)+p, and inverse beta decays (IBD), ν-bar{sub e}+p→n+e{sup +}, of supernova neutrinos in scintillation detectors. Neutrino flavor conversions inside the supernova are sensitive to neutrino mass hierarchy. Due to Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein effects, the full swapping of ν-bar{sub e} flux with the ν-bar{sub x} (x=μ, τ) one occurs in the inverted hierarchy, while such a swapping does not occur in the normal hierarchy. As a result, more high energy IBD events occur in the detector for the inverted hierarchy than the high energy IBD events in the normal hierarchy. By comparing IBD interaction rate with the mass hierarchy independent NC interaction rate, one can determine the neutrino mass hierarchy.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Proton-rich nucleosynthesis and nuclear physics

Although the detailed conditions for explosive nucleosynthesis are derived from astrophysical modeling, nuclear physics determines fundamental patterns in abundance yields, not only for equilibrium processes. Focussing on the {nu}p- and the {gamma}-process, general nucleosynthesis features within the range of astrophysical models, but (mostly) independent of details in the modelling, are presented. Remaining uncertainties due to uncertain Q-values and reaction rates are discussed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Experimental challenge to nuclear physics problems in the {nu}p-process

Astrophysical stellar reactions at extremely high temperatures involve a variety of problems both in nuclear reactions and nuclear structures. Specifically, the problems in the {nu}pprocess were discussed in this talk based on our recent experimental results with low-energy RI beams and a simulation study. The {nu}p-process is one of the key processes for investigating the mechanism of type II supernovae, and the process could be possibly responsible for 'the excess production' of p-nuclei around mass 90-100. Alpha cluster resonances have been discovered experimentally to play a crucial role for the stellar ({alpha}, p) reactions just above the alpha threshold. Neutron induced reactions in the proton-rich nuclear regions in the {nu}p-process are also suggested to play an important role, which involve nuclear structures of high level density at high excitation energies, probably giant resonances. The discussion also covered the p-nuclei production through the {nu}p-process at around mass 100.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Reaction rate uncertainties and the {nu}p-process

Current hydrodynamical simulations of core collapse supernovae find proton-rich early ejecta. At the same time, the models fail to eject neutron-rich matter, thus leaving the origin of the main r-process elements unsolved. However, the proton-rich neutrino-driven winds from supernovae have been identified as a possible production site for light n-capture elements beyond iron (such as Ge, Sr, Y, Zr) through the {nu}p-process. The detailed nucleosynthesis patterns of the {nu}p-process depend on the hydrodynamic conditions and the nuclear reaction rates of key reactions. We investigate the impact of reaction rate uncertainties on the {nu}p-process nucleosynthesis.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Low-energy RI beam technology and nuclear clusters in the explosive pp-chain breakout process

The lecture includes two parts: One is a discussion on the technology for developing RIB beam facility based on the in-flight method and relevant experimental technology. The second part is a discussion on experimental efforts for studying the breakout process from the pp-chain region based on recent works with low energy RI beams. The discussion of the second part specifically covers the problem of the vp-process in type II supernovae in terms of alpha cluster nature for the reactions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

IMPACT OF SUPERNOVA DYNAMICS ON THE {nu}p-PROCESS

We study the impact of the late-time dynamical evolution of ejecta from core-collapse supernovae on {nu}p-process nucleosynthesis. Our results are based on hydrodynamical simulations of neutrino-driven wind ejecta. Motivated by recent two-dimensional wind simulations, we vary the dynamical evolution during the {nu}p-process and show that final abundances strongly depend on the temperature evolution. When the expansion is very fast, there is not enough time for antineutrino absorption on protons to produce enough neutrons to overcome the {beta}{sup +}-decay waiting points and no heavy elements beyond A = 64 are produced. The wind termination shock or reverse shock dramatically reduces the expansion speed of the ejecta. This extends the period during which matter remains at relatively high temperatures and is exposed to high neutrino fluxes, thus allowing for further (p, {gamma}) and (n, p) reactions to occur and to synthesize elements beyond iron. We find that the {nu}p-process starts to efficiently produce heavy elements only when the temperature drops below {approx}3 GK. At higher temperatures, due to the low alpha separation energy of {sup 60}Zn (S{sub {alpha}} = 2.7 MeV) the reaction {sup 59}Cu(p, {alpha}){sup 56}Ni is faster than the reaction {sup 59}Cu(p, {gamma}){sup 60}Zn. This results in the closed NiCu cycle that we identify and discuss here for the first time. We also investigate the late phase of the {nu}p-process when the temperatures become too low to maintain proton captures. Depending on the late neutron density, the evolution to stability is dominated by {beta}{sup +} decays or by (n, {gamma}) reactions. In the latter case, the matter flow can even reach the neutron-rich side of stability and the isotopic composition of a given element is then dominated by neutron-rich isotopes.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Studies of QCD at the Intersection of the Perturbative and Non-Perturbative Regimes

New sets of spin observables and relations/sum rules were developed that could be tested in a class of experiments including exclusive deeply virtual electron and neutrino proton/nucleus scattering. Advancements in the phenomenology for the following outstanding problems at the next QCD frontier of nuclear physics were obtained: (1) the origin of the proton spin and its decomposition into quark and gluon spin and orbital angular momentum components; (2) the size of the hadronic matrix elements entering processes at the Intensity Frontier, from neutron and nuclear beta decay, to the experimental extraction of the neutron Electric Dipole Moment; (3) Monitoring the transition of quarks and gluons into protons, neutrons and pions to form the atomic nucleus.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Neutral Current Elastic Scattering and the Strange Spin Structure of the Proton

Neutrinos can be used as a unique and informative probe of the structure within nucleons. This thesis presents the tools and methodology for studying the strange quark spin in the nucleon through neutral current elastic neutrino-proton scattering in the MicroBooNE experiment located at the Fermi National Accelerator Lab. An automated boosted decision tree based proton identification algorithm is used to select proton in liquid argon TPC data with a 70\% efficiency. After a set of protons are selected, a logistic regression model is used to select neutral current elastic proton interactions in MicroBooNE. Neutral current elastic proton interactions are selected with an 11\% efficiency and 30\% purity. The number of selected events measured in MicroBooNE data as a function of $Q^2$ is compared directly to the number of selected events in MicroBooNE simulation. An event reweighting scheme is used to vary the expected number of eventsin MicroBooNE simulation based on the values o f the physics parameters of interest. The likelihood for any given value of the physical parameters can then be easily calculated and the probability distributions of the physics parameters can be sampled using Markov Chain Monte Carlo. Future improvements to the detector physics models in MicroBooNE are required for a precise determination of the strange quark spin structure in the proton. With the current level of uncertainty on the detector physics models, we are only able to constrain the net strange quark spin, $\Delta s$ to the range $-1.8 < \Delta s < 3.8$ with 95\% confidence.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗