Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2007 Annual Meeting of the Division of Nuclear Physics
Volume 52, Number 10
Wednesday–Saturday, October 10–13, 2007; Newport News, Virginia
Session JF: Neutrino Physics |
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Chair: Aksel Hallin, Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Room: Newport News Marriott at City Center Pearl Salon II |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 2:00PM - 2:12PM |
JF.00001: Neutrino Oscillation Results from the MiniBooNE Experiment Geoffrey Mills The MiniBooNE neutrino oscillation experiment has been recording neutrino data since September 1, 2002, and anti-neutrino data since February, 2006, at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. This paper will review the status of the MiniBooNE experimental program and present the most recent oscillation results. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 2:12PM - 2:24PM |
JF.00002: Investigating Neutrino Interactions with MiniBooNE Rex Tayloe The MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab has collected the world's largest sample of neutrino scattering events in the 1 GeV energy region. This sample includes both charged-current and neutral-current scattering events in quasielastic and resonant channels. These events are providing new insight about neutrino interactions on light nuclei (carbon). Results and interpretations from the neutrino data set will be presented. Initial results from recent antineutrino running will also be discussed. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 2:24PM - 2:36PM |
JF.00003: Charged-Current Interaction Measurements in MiniBooNE Teppei Katori Low energy (200$<$Enu$<$2000 MeV) neutrino oscillation experiments, including MiniBooNE, require a model of charged current quasi-elastic (CCQE) neutrino interactions to predict signal samples. Using a high-statistics sample of muon neutrino CCQE events, MiniBooNE finds that a simple Fermi gas model, with appropriate adjustments, accurately characterizes the CCQE events observed in a carbon-based detector. The extracted parameters include an effective axial mass, M$_A$ = 1.23 +/- 0.20 GeV, used to describe the four-momentum dependence of the axial-vector form factor of the nucleon and a Pauli-suppression parameter, kappa = 1.019 +/- 0.011. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 2:36PM - 2:48PM |
JF.00004: MINER$\nu$A: A High Precision Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering Experiment at Fermilab Robert Bradford The MINER$\nu$A experiment is a high-precision neutrino scattering experiment designed to improve our understanding of the basic neutrino-nucleus interaction. Currently under construction, the detector will employ fine grained scintillator to achieve good vertex and timing resolution as well as full event reconstruction. Once deployed in the MINOS Near Detector Hall of the NuMI Beamline at Fermilab, the experiment will collect an estimated 14.5 M charged-current neutrino interactions on a variety of nuclear targets (H3, C, Fe, Pb) over a planned four year run. A diverse physics program includes measurements of total and differential cross sections for a number scattering topologies, studies of the axial structure of the nucleon, and studies of nuclear effects in neutrino scattering. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 2:48PM - 3:00PM |
JF.00005: Measuring Nuclear Effects on Neutrino-Nucleus Interactions with MINERvA Jorge Morfin Nuclear effects on neutrino induced interactions are expected to be different than those observed in charged lepton - nucleus experiments. A summary of these expected differences, an overview of the Kulagin-Petti model for neutrino-nucleus interactions and a description of the MINERvA measurement of nuclear effects will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 3:00PM - 3:12PM |
JF.00006: Observation of Muon Neutrino Disappearance with the MINOS Detectors in the NuMI Neutrino Beam Patricia Vahle The Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) is a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment that uses a muon-neutrino beam produced by the Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) facility at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL). The experiment is conducted with a pair of functionally identical detectors, located at two sites, the Near Detector (ND) at FNAL and the Far Detector (FD) in the Soudan Underground Laboratory in Minnesota. The NuMI beamline and the 735~km long-baseline allow a search for $\nu_{\mu}$ disappearance, a rigorous test of the oscillation hypothesis, and a measurement of the $\Delta m^2_{32}$ and $\sin^2{(2\theta_{23})}$ mixing parameters studied previously with atmospheric neutrinos and by the K2K experiment. I will describe the MINOS experiment and discuss highlights from the second year of beam data-taking before presenting a measurement of $\Delta m^2_{32}$ and $\sin^2{(2\theta_{23})}$ based on an exposure of $2.5 \times 10^{20}$~POT (protons on target). I will conclude with a discussion of the experiment's future prospects, including a search for sub-dominant $\nu_{\mu} \rightarrow \nu_{e}$ transitions. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 3:12PM - 3:24PM |
JF.00007: The Daya Bay Reactor Electron Anti-neutrino Oscillation Experiment Jianglai Liu The phenomenon of neutrino flavor oscillations is now well-established. Mixing among the three flavors is characterized by three mixing angles, with $\theta_{13}$ being the only presently unknown angle. A precise measurement of $\theta_{13}$ using nuclear reactors as a source of electron anti-neutrinos requires high electron anti-neutrino flux, $\sim$2~km baselines, as well as good shielding to reduce cosmogenic backgrounds. The Daya Bay nuclear reactor complex located in south China is an ideal site to perform such a measurement. We have proposed an experiment at Daya Bay utilizing multiple baselines (between 0.3 and 2 km) and multiple liquid scintillator detector modules. Since the formal physics proposal in 2006, much progress has been made by the collaboration in the design of the experiment. The civil construction of the experiment will begin this year. In this talk, I will give an overview of the experiment, and report on the recent progress and the project status. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 3:24PM - 3:36PM |
JF.00008: Measuring the Atmospheric Neutrino Flux at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Joseph Formaggio The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory consists of a 1 kiloton heavy water Cerenkov detector designed to study the flux of neutrinos created in the solar core. In addition to solar neutrinos, the SNO experiment is also able to study the flux of atmospheric neutrinos by measuring the rate of neutrino induced muons traversing the heavy water volume. Due to the depth and flat overburden of the SNO detector (6010 meters water equivalent), it is possible in principle to determine both the unoscillated and oscillated components of the atmospheric neutrino flux as a function of energy. This talk will describe SNO's measurement of the atmospheric muon neutrino flux using data from the first phase of the experiment. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 3:36PM - 3:48PM |
JF.00009: SNO External Muon System Thomas Walker The SNO (Sudbury Neutrino Observatory) muon reconstruction algorithm reconstructs simulated events in good agreement with the track coordinates given by the Monte Carlo generator. However, no source of known muon tracks was previously available for an independent verification. The July 2006 installation of the SNO External Muon System (EMuS) provided a means for external verification of SNO's tracking algorithm. This tracking detector consists of 4 planes of wire chambers (2 each in the x and y directions) triggered by 3 large scintillator paddles. Each plane contains 32 active wires housed in 7.5 cm diameter tubes. The detector has an active area of 5.5 square meters. In 96 days of livetime 30 cosmic ray muons were recorded by both detectors. Using the SNO reconstruction track for each muon as a seed, the most likely path through EMuS is determined and compared to the standard muon tracking algorithm. We see good agreement between the EMuS and SNO tracks. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 3:48PM - 4:00PM |
JF.00010: Partial (n,n'$\gamma$) cross section measurements of Cu, Ge and Pb at 8 and 12 MeV for $\mathbf{0\nu\beta\beta}$ decay E. Kwan, J.H. Esterline, S. Elliot, B. Fallin, S.H. Hilderbrand, A. Hime, C.R. Howell, A. Hutcheson, H.J. Karwowski, J.H. Kelley, M.F. Kidd, D.B. Masters, D. Mei, A.P. Tonchev, W. Tornow The possible implications of $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay have sparked efforts into the verification of the existence of such decays. The detection of such a decay in $^{76}$Ge would confirm that neutrinos are massive Majorana particles and would produce new physics beyond the Standard Model. Measurements of these reactions require an extensive understanding of the background sources. Understanding the potential for neutron induced excitation in the shielding and detector materials is important for designing future double-beta decay experiments. Gamma transitions at 2041 keV, 2615 keV, and 3062 keV either directly interfere with the $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay detection of $^{76}$Ge at 2040 keV or produce escape peaks within this region of interest. Gamma-ray spectra from the interaction of pulsed mono-energetic neutrons with $^{nat}$Cu, $^{nat}$Ge, and $^{nat}$Pb were measured at TUNL using an array of segmented HPGe Clover detectors. From these spectra, the neutron induced partial cross sections for $\gamma$ transitions in Cu, Ge, and Pb were deduced at E$_n$=8 and 12 MeV. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 4:00PM - 4:12PM |
JF.00011: Double Beta Decay of $^{150}$Nd to Excited Final States Mary Kidd, James Esterline, Werner Tornow Studying $\beta\beta$ decay with emission of neutrinos (2$\nu\beta\beta$) in particular is important as a check for theoretical models which can be used to predict the half-lives of neutrinoless $\beta\beta$ decay (0$\nu\beta\beta$). Results from studying 2$\nu\beta\beta$ decay can aid in the search for 0$\nu\beta\beta$ decay, which in turn can provide information on the fundamental properties of the neutrino. Because SNO+ and KamLAND plan to use $^{150}$Nd as a nuclide in searches for 0$\nu\beta\beta$ decay, our goal is to measure the 2$\nu\beta\beta$ decay of $^{150}$Nd to the first excited 0$^+$ state in $^{150}$Sm. In QRPA models, the calculated matrix elements for transitions to the ground state and excited states depend in a very different way on the so-called g$_{pp}$ parameter. Therefore, 2$\nu\beta\beta$ decay data to excited states are of special interest. Such data exist only for $^ {100}$Mo; only tentative information is available for $^{150} $Nd. Thus, we report on our preliminary studies and our plans for observing the decay of $^{150}$Nd to the first excited 0 $^+$ state in $^{150}$Sm by detecting the 334 keV and 406.5 keV deexcitation gamma rays in coincidence. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 4:12PM - 4:24PM |
JF.00012: Detector Characterization for the Majorana Project Eliza Osenbaugh-Stewart, Reyco Henning The Majorana Project aims to measure neutrinoless double-beta decay or definitively rule out significant portions of the allowed neutrino mass space. Neutrinoless double-beta decay is a very rare decay and count rates are expected to be very low, on the order of a few hundred counts per ton year or less. It is therefore crucial that background rates be very low. Detector characterization allows us to optimally utilize Pulse Shape Discrimination to reduce background rates. We present a new method of HPGe detector characterization that will decrease the time required to fully characterize a detector. This is critical to maintain the required production rate for crystals for the Majorana Project. A set of collimated pencil gamma-ray beam data will be compared to a set of simulated pulse shapes and the parameters optimized to create a full characterization scheme without the need for a secondary collimator orthogonal to the beam. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 4:24PM - 4:36PM |
JF.00013: Homestake Ultra-Low Background Counting Facility and Detection of Double-Beta Decay to Excited States Dongming Mei, Kevin Lesko, Christina Keller, Yongchen Sun, Zhongbao Yin, Robert McTaggart, Barbara Szczerbinska, Andrew Alton, William Roggenthen, Yuen-Dat Chan, Al Smith, Gersende Prior A powerful, ultra-low background counting facility, for material screening is crucial to the success of many deep underground science and engineering laboratory (DUSEL) experiments dealing with extremely rare-occurring processes that are of great scientific importance. In order to reach the ultimate sensitivity necessary for these experiments such as (e.g.) in dark matter searches and nuclear double beta-decay, only materials with the lowest possible radioactivity can be used in fabricating the experimental devices, and the entire setup must be located in a deep underground site. The Homestake Mine, home to the first solar neutrino experiment, provides an excellent opportunity to host DUSEL, as well as the required ultra-low background laboratory facility. Besides low background counting, detectors in this facility can also be used to perform important physics experiments, such as studying the nuclear double-beta decay to excited-state process, a topic which has recently drawn both strong experimental and theoretical interests. Experimentally, it is a great advantage to be able to detect unambiguously the gamma-rays from the de- excitation of the daughter nucleus to its ground state, as proposed in our method. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 13, 2007 4:36PM - 4:48PM |
JF.00014: Neutron-induced background studies for CUORE M.J. Dolinski, P.E. Garrett, E.B. Norman, W. Younes, M. Devlin, N. Fotiades, R.O. Nelson CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events) is a bolometric next generation neutrinoless double beta decay experiment. It will be sited at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy, with a rock overburden of $\sim$3300 m.w.e. In order for CUORE to reach its projected five year half-life sensitivity of 2.1 x 10$^{26}$ yr, the background in the region of interest must be lower than 0.01 counts/keV/kg/yr. One potential source of background is inelastic scattering of neutrons on the naturally abundant isotopes of Te, which make up 80\% of the TeO$_{2}$ bolometers' absorber mass. Using the GEANIE HPGe detector array at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE), we have measured the gamma production cross-sections for neutron interactions on an unenriched Te target. These cross-sections will allow us to evaluate the expected neutron-induced background for CUORE. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract W-7405-Eng-48. [Preview Abstract] |
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