Musings on the current status of HEP
I give a brief review of theoretical high energy physics as we know it today in the general picture of quantum physics. Furthermore, prospects for future developments are outlined.
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I give a brief review of theoretical high energy physics as we know it today in the general picture of quantum physics. Furthermore, prospects for future developments are outlined.
Eu-doped strontium iodide single crystal growth has reached maturity and prototype SrI 2 (Eu)-based gamma ray spectrometers provide detection performance advantages over standard detectors. SrI 2 (Eu) offers a high, proportional light yield of >80,000 photons/MeV. Energy resolution of <3% at 662 keV with 1.5” x 1.5” SrI2(Eu) crystals is routinely achieved, by employing either a small taper at the top of the crystal or a digital readout technique. These methods overcome light-trapping, in which scintillation light is re-absorbed and re-emitted in Eu 2+ -doped crystals. As a result, its excellent energy resolution, lack of intrinsic radioactivity or toxicity, and commercial availability make SrI 2 (Eu) the ideal scintillator for use in handheld radioisotope identification devices. A 6-lb SrI 2 (Eu) radioisotope identifier is described.
Batteries based on multivalent metals have the potential to meet the future needs of large-scale energy storage, due to the relatively high abundance of elements such as magnesium, calcium, aluminium and zinc in the Earth’s crust. However, the com- plexity of multivalent metal-ion chemistries has led to rampant confusions, technical challenges, and eventually doubts and uncertainties about the future of these technologies. In this Review, we clarify the key strengths as well as common misconceptions of multivalent metal-based batteries. We then examine the growth behaviour of metal anodes, which is crucial for their safety promises but hitherto unestablished. We further discuss scrutiny of anode efficiency and cathode storage mechanism pertaining to complications arising from electrolyte solutions. Lastly, we critically review existing cathode materials and discuss design strategies to enable genuine multivalent metal-ion-based energy storage materials with competitive performance.
In 2011, the US Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) developed and piloted a 2-week nuclear criticality safety (NCS) practitioner course to support training and qualification of new NCS staff. The course was developed in accordance with the American National Standard Institute/American Nuclear Society (ANSI/ANS) standard for NCS training and qualifications (ANSI/ANS-8.26-2007). In 2013, an NCS manager’s course was developed for process supervisors, managers, regulators, and other professionals with NCS-related responsibilities. These courses consist of classroom education, facility training, and hands-on subcritical and critical experiments training. Each course is currently offered twice per year. The 2-week practitioner course offers a week of classroom training, with practical workshops and exercises focused on teaching students how to perform an NCS evaluation. The second week of training involves hands-on critical and subcritical experiments and measurements. The first week is offered in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the DOE Nevada Field Office or the National Atomic Testing Museum. Depending on the student’s clearance level, the second week is offered at Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) (uncleared and L-cleared students) or at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) (Q-cleared students). The 1-week manager’s course is offered at SNL or NCERC, depending on clearance or interest, and includes classroom and hands-on critical and subcritical experiments and measurements. This paper provides an overview and status report for the DOE/NNSA NCSP training courses in NCS and provides information about future course offerings.
NOvA (NuMI Off-axis {\nu}e Appearance) experiment is designed to study long-baseline neutrino oscillations using two detectors, the Near Detector (ND) at Fermilab and the Far Detector (FD) at a distance 810 km in Northern Minnesota. NOvA looks for the $\nu_{e}$ appearance at the FD using a narrow band $\nu_\mu$ beam peaked at 2 GeV in energy. Neutral Current (NC) interactions with a $\pi^{0}$ in the final state represent the main background in the $\nu_{e}$ appearance measurement. The $\pi^{0}$ decay into two photons can fake the $\nu_{e}$ appearance signal in two ways either two photon showers merge together or one of the two photons may escape the detection. Therefore, a complete understanding of $\nu_{\mu}$ induced NC interactions with $\pi^{0}$ in the final state is very important. It will also help in reducing the background uncertainties for current and future long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. We present here the current status of the analysis related to the inclusive NC $\pi^{0}$ production cross section measurement with the NOvA ND.
LBNF Beamline Overview & Current Status Presented at the13th International Workshop on Neutrino Beams and Instrumentation (NBI2024)
NOvA (NuMI Off-axis ne Appearance) experiment is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. It uses two functionally identical detectors, the NOvA near detector (ND) at Fermilab and the NOvA far detector (FD) at a distance 810 km in northern Minnesota to measure ne appearance in a narrow-band beam of nm peaked at 2 GeV in energy. Neutrino induced Neutral Current (NC) interactions with a p0 in the final state are a significant background in the ne appearance measurement. The p0 decay into two photons can fake the ne appearance signal either due to merging of two photon showers or one of the two photons escaping the detection. Therefore, a complete understanding of NC interactions with p0 in the final state is very important. To constrain this background, NOvA will perform cross section measurement of inclusive NC p0 production using data from the NOvA ND. It will also help in reducing the background uncertainties for current and future long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments.
To reveal the current landscape and prospective role and influence of hydropower operations on the nation’s electric grid, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) commissioned the Hydropower Value Study (HVS): Current Status and Future Opportunities. HVS explores current hydropower operations and resulting value in examples across the country. HVS shows that hydropower operations are changing in some regions, but hydropower continues to be a strong contributor to grid reliability and resilience.
This presentation provides and overview of the current status of the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB).
The Muon $g$ - 2 experiment at Fermilab (E989) is currently measuring the muon magnetic anomaly with a goal precision of 140 part per billion, which will be a fourfold precision improvement over the current best measurement by the previous Muon $g$ -2 experiment at the Brookhaven Laboratory (BNL). The BNL-measured value of the muon magnetic anomaly and the corresponding Standard Model (SM) best estimate differ by more than three standard deviation which inspired the current measurement as well as a theoretical drive for a significantly more precise calculation of the muon magnetic anomaly to rule out (or establish) statistical fluctuation as the origin of such a huge discrepancy. Stable central values along with 4-fold precision improvements in both theoretical (SM) and experimental fronts, would imply a ~ 7σ discrepancy and that will be a clear hint of the physics beyond the Standard Model. Such an unprecedented precision demands state-of-the-art technological improvements in all involved components to keep the systematic uncertainty below 70 ppb. This paper reports the current status of the E989 experiment after two years of data acquisition.
Utilization of food waste (FW) and food processing waste streams in waste-to-energy technologies has increased over the years in United States (US). This review paper compiled information from published literature and open data sources to obtain a holistic view of the current state of FW availability and its management using anaerobic digestion (AD). The review examined the usage of FW as a feedstock for AD by considering the feedstock composition and availability of FW in the US as well as challenges and opportunities with implementing FW in mono- and co-digestion. Also presented are global trends in FW digestion and the current status of FW codigestion in the US. FW in the US was characterized with regard to volume and composition to show a need for waste management and an opportunity for valuable resource recovery. Challenges and opportunities of processing via AcoD were presented to review best practices for successful operations. Environmental standards, economic incentives, and governmental policies in the US and around the world regarding waste management and utilization were discussed to identify barriers and sources of opportunity for large-scale implementation of AcoD. Additionally, a range of facilities throughout the US was examined for information regarding digestion type, feedstock (s), biogas production and utilization, and energy self-sufficiency to better understand the current status of FW digestion. Several US facilities were outlined as case studies that co-digest FW and produce and utilize biogas for various applications. Future strategies, perspectives, and roadmaps were discussed to elucidate the shaping of future FW management practices.
We survey current status of chirped-pulse amplification development and its applications. We start with the review of optical compressor and stretcher as well as the amplification techniques. The methods to control spatial and temporal profile of the laser pulse as well as the state-of-the-arts spatiotemporal control techniques and designs of high repetition-rate amplifiers are discussed. Examples of applications in medical and particle acceleration are introduced.
This work will describe the current status of the FFA@CEBAF energy upgrade feasibility studies. Technical updates are given, but more specific details are left to separate contributions. Specifically, this work will discuss improvements to the FFA arcs, a new recirculating injector proposal, and numerous modifications to the current 12 GeV CEBAF which will be required, such as the spreaders and recombiners architecture, splitters (time-of-flight chicanes), the extraction system, and the hall lines.
These slides present a summary of the current status of the RELAP5-3D validation activities being performed based on the High Temperature Test Facility (HTTF) and the status of the corresponding HTGR T/H Benchmark
Jefferson Lab’s Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) is currently investigating the feasibility of upgrading its maximum operating energy using Fixed-Field Alternating-gradient (FFA) recirculating arcs to increase the total number of recirculations of the beam through the pair of LINACs. These FFA arcs will be composed of permanent magnets, with small Panofsky-style multipole correctors. In order to control the beam parameters through these FFA arcs, horizontal splitters must be used. The geometrical and physical constraints, as well as the beam matching requirements are very restrictive, complicating the design. This work will show the current status of the most mature design, which includes matching solutions, as well as options for extraction of the beam.
Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is one of the most often used controlled radical polymerization techniques. It employs very small amounts (ppm) of Cu complexes in the presence of various chemical reducing agents but also external stimuli such as light, electrical current or mechanical forces. It can be carried out in bulk, in solution, and in dispersed media. ATRP has been successfully used to prepare various polymers with controlled architecture and well-defined topology, composition, and functionality, as well as bioconjugates and organic–inorganic hybrids. This article summarizes the current status and also an outlook for ATRP.