Time Projection Research Articles

Status and perspective of ICARUS-T600 detector at the Fermilab Short-Baseline Neutrino program

The ICARUS collaboration has employed the 760-ton T600 detector in a successful three-year physics run at the underground LNGS laboratory, performing a search for anomalous νe appearance in the CERN Neutrino to Gran Sasso beam, which contributed to the constraints on the allowed neutrino oscillation parameters to a narrow region around 1 eV. After a significant overhaul at CERN, the T600 detector has been installed at Fermilab. In 2020 the cryogenic commissioning began with detector cool down, liquid argon filling and recirculation. ICARUS started its operation collecting the first neutrino events from the Booster Neutrino Beam and the Neutrinos at the Main Injector beam off-axis, which were used to test the ICARUS event selection, reconstruction and analysis algorithms. ICARUS successfully completed its commissioning phase in June 2022, moving then to data taking for neutrino oscillation physics. In the short term, ICARUS will be able to either confirm or refute the claim by Neutrino-4 short-baseline reactor. At the completion of the Short-Baseline Near Detector, near and far detectors will join within the Fermilab Short-Baseline program searching for evidence of sterile neutrinos. measurements of neutrino cross sections with the NuMI beam and several Beyond-Standard-Model searches. In this presentation, the technical achievements of the ICARUS detector subsystems (Time Projection Chambers, Light Photo-detection System, Cosmic Ray Tagger, Trigger and Data Acquisition) during the commissioning phase and early data taking will be presented; the prospects for the first physics analysis will be reported.

Constraints on Covariant Dark-Matter–Nucleon Effective Field Theory Interactions from the First Science Run of the LUX-ZEPLIN Experiment

The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment is a dual-phase xenon time project chamber operating in the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota, USA. We report on the results of a relativistic extension to the nonrelativistic effective field theory (NREFT) from a 5.5 t fiducial mass and 60 live days of exposure. We present constraints on couplings from covariant interactions arising from the coupling of vector, axial currents, and electric dipole moments of the nucleon to the magnetic and electric dipole moments of the weakly interacting massive particle which cannot be described by recasting previous results described by an NREFT. Using a profile-likelihood ratio analysis, in an energy region between 0 keVnr to 270 keVnr, we report 90% confidence level exclusion limits on the coupling strength of five interactions in both the isoscalar and isovector bases. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

First operation of LArTPC in the stratosphere as an engineering GRAMS balloon flight (eGRAMS)

Abstract GRAMS (Gamma-Ray and AntiMatter Survey) is a next-generation balloon/satellite experiment utilizing a LArTPC (Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber), to simultaneously target astrophysical observations of cosmic MeV gamma-rays and conduct an indirect dark matter search using antimatter. While LArTPCs are widely used in particle physics experiments, they have never been operated at balloon altitudes. An engineering balloon flight with a small-scale LArTPC (eGRAMS) was conducted on July 27th, 2023, to establish a system for safely operating a LArTPC at balloon altitudes and to obtain cosmic-ray data from the LArTPC. The flight was launched from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Taiki Aerospace Research Field in Hokkaido, Japan. The total flight duration was 3 hours and 12 minutes, including a level-flight of 44 minutes at a maximum altitude of 28.9 km. The flight system was landed on the sea and successfully recovered. The LArTPC was successfully operated throughout the flight, and about 0.5 million events of the cosmic-ray data including muons, protons, and Compton scattering gamma-ray candidates, were collected. This pioneering flight demonstrates the feasibility of operating a LArTPC in high-altitude environments, paving the way for future GRAMS missions and advancing our capabilities in MeV gamma-ray astronomy and dark matter research.

학교 축제와 연계한 중학교 학교자율시간 운영 방안의 시론적 탐색: 핵심프로젝트를 중심으로

Objectives This study explored a plan to operate a school festival that links core-projects of each subject in the 16+1 autonomous school hours system in middle school through the subject of ‘Planning a School Festival’. Methods We analyzed literature and previous studies on the organization and operation of school autonomous hours, cases of operating middle and high school festivals, and cases of operating domestic and international core-projects. Based on this, we examined the relationship between school festivals and core-projects in school autonomous hours, and discussed ways to operate school autonomous hours linked to school festivals. Results Firstly, the class schedule of school autonomous time linked to school festivals can be operated as a festival for the entire week or only part of the week. Secondly, a new subject called ‘Planning a School Festival’ can be opened in school autonomous time. Thirdly, the core project of school autonomous time linked to school festivals can be operated in various ways by subject. Conclusions Firstly, it provides a convergent educational experience. Secondly, cooperation and creativity are strengthened. Thirdly, connections with the local community are strengthened. Fourthly, various learning topics and activities are integrated.

Spatiotemporal feature extraction method combining common spatial pattern and hybrid spatial‐temporal attention‐Net in motor imagery–brain‐computer interface system

AbstractIn recent years, motor imagery (MI) based on brain‐computer interface (BCI) has gained the attention of researchers and been widely used in many fields, such as medical rehabilitation and entertainment. The temporal and spatial features of electroencephalography (EEG) are very important for MI‐BCI classification. This study proposed a better spatiotemporal feature extraction method by combining the common spatial pattern (CSP) with a hybrid spatiotemporal attention convolutional neural network (HSTA‐Net) model. The method first intercepts the MI‐EEG into multiple time windows and projects them into the feature space and feeds into the HSTA‐Net in parallel. Subsequently, the scaled dot product attention module and multi‐head attention module are used to extract spatial feature attention. Finally, the features in multiple time windows obtained through HSTA‐Net are integrated and used for classification. The proposed method achieves a classification accuracy of 77.3% on the BCI Competition IV2a dataset. The experimental results show that the proposed model has better classification performance. The CSP‐HSTA‐Net model can quickly adapt to the distribution of MI‐EEG data during the training process, which increases the interclass distance of the extracted features and decreases its intraclass distance; it can better accomplish the MI‐BCI classification task.

Data analysis procedures to improve energy resolution in silicon detectors using GET electronics

This study primarily focuses on improving the energy resolution of Double-Sided Silicon Strip Detectors (DSSSD) through optimized data analysis procedures using General Electronics for Time Projection Chambers (GET). We introduce two edge identification algorithms that demonstrate comparable efficacy. These methods are subsequently integrated with various techniques for measuring pulse amplitude, including sample smoothing and pole-zero cancellation. Notably, sample smoothing significantly enhances performances, achieving a resolution of 0.33% with DSSSD α calibration data. Additionally, we describe and apply the trapezoidal filter, examining its impact on resolution improvement and obtaining comparable results. The study also evaluates how internal GET parameters, specifically the sampling frequency and the shaping time of the Sallen-Key (SK) low-pass filter, affect signal resolution. Higher sampling frequencies and lower values of the SK filter were found to increase performance.

Temperature-dependent photoluminescence of PEDOT:PSS-coated acrylic for use as transparent electrodes in the DarkSide-20k time projection chamber

Dual-phase time-projection chambers (TPCs) filled with noble elements are used for particle detection, with many focusing on rare-event searches. These detectors measure two signals: one from scintillation light, and another from drifting ionized electrons. The DarkSide-20k design uses a transparent vessel with external photodetectors. Electrodes, used to drift the electrons, are located between the active medium and the photodetectors, requiring them to be transparent to allow scintillation light to transmit through them. The transparent electrode coating for DarkSide-20k is poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) or Clevios. For rare-event search detectors, the fluorescence of materials that are between the active volume and the photodetectors may lead to backgrounds in the data. Since Clevios is a new material for TPC electrodes, its fluorescent properties need to be characterized to understand their potential impact on backgrounds. Previous studies have indicated that Clevios can fluoresce, with maximal fluorescence produced using UV-excitation. Our study analyzes the fluorescence of Clevios, under UV-excitation, using both time-resolved and spectral techniques between 4 K and 300 K. We find that the fluorescence of Clevios is negligible when compared to the fluorescence of common fluorescent materials used in TPCs, such as 1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-1,3-butadiene (TPB).

First demonstration of a combined light and charge pixel readout on the anode plane of a LArTPC

The novel SoLAr concept aims to extend sensitivities of liquid-argon neutrino detectors down to the MeV scale for next-generation detectors. SoLAr plans to accomplish this with a liquid-argon time projection chamber that employs an anode plane with dual charge and light readout, which enables precision matching of light and charge signals for data acquisition and reconstruction purposes. We present the results of a first demonstration of the SoLAr detector concept with a small-scale prototype detector integrating a pixel-based charge readout and silicon photomultipliers on a shared printed circuit board. We discuss the design of the prototype, and its operation and performance, highlighting the capability of such a detector design.

Enhancing the light yield of He:CF4 based gaseous detector

The CYGNO experiment aims to build a large (O(10) m3) directional detector for rare event searches, such as nuclear recoils (NRs) induced by dark matter (DM), such as weakly interactive massive particles (WIMPs). The detector concept comprises a time projection chamber (TPC), filled with a He:CF4 60/40 scintillating gas mixture at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, equipped with an amplification stage made of a stack of three gas electron multipliers (GEMs) which are coupled to an optical readout. The latter consists in scientific CMOS (sCMOS) cameras and photomultipliers tubes (PMTs). The maximisation of the light yield of the amplification stage plays a major role in the determination of the energy threshold of the experiment. In this paper, we simulate the effect of the addition of a strong electric field below the last GEM plane on the GEM field structure and we experimentally test it by means of a 10 × 10 cm2 readout area prototype. The experimental measurements analyse stacks of different GEMs and helium concentrations in the gas mixture combined with this extra electric field, studying their performances in terms of light yield, energy resolution and intrinsic diffusion. It is found that the use of this additional electric field permits large light yield increases without degrading intrinsic characteristics of the amplification stage with respect to the regular use of GEMs.

The impact of tobacco retailers density reduction on smoking status of Belgian adults

Abstract Background Smoking being one of most impactful risk factors for causing non-communicable diseases (NCD) and consequently attributable death, represents an enormous public health issue. New policy interventions aimed at reducing smoking prevalence are planned in the Belgian Tobacco Free Generation plan. Within the plan, it is aimed to reduce the number of outlets that sell tobacco products, as a higher tobacco retail density (TRD) is believed to be linked to higher smoking prevalence. Using health impact assessment (HIA), this study aims to evaluate the policy before it is set in place. Methods For this intervention a 17% reduction in density was estimated according to the scoping review would be associated with an 0.39 percentage point reduction in prevalence. The Potential Impact Fraction (PIF) was calculated to assess the change in proportion of current smokers. Time series and projections of the Belgium Health Interview Survey provided data on the smoking status from 1997 untill 2040. The relative risk were retrived from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study. Using data from the Belgian Burden of Disease Study, the avoidable burden was estimated. Results The policy is expected to reduce the density by 17 % by 2025, which results in a PIF for lung cancer of 0.92%, decreasing to 0.82% in 2040. The smoking prevalence would decrease from 12.62% to 12.23%. We estimated that this intervention would avoid the burden of more than 300 lung cancer cases and around 100 deaths in 2040. Conclusions The HIA in this study suggests that reducing TRD has a potential to contribute to achieving the objectives in Tobacco Free Generation plan. However, it should be noted that the impact is rather small, lower than 1% for most diseases. In addition, the actual impact may vary depending on the specific implementation of the policy and future smoking trends. Further research is needed to refine the effect size estimate based on the actual policy intervention details. Key messages • Reducing tobacco retail density can reduce the burden of smoking. • Modeling limitations need further research to refine HIA results.

Climate vulnerability and adaptation strategies in the Zagora Oasis, southern Morocco: a time series analysis and projection to 2050

Climate vulnerability and adaptation strategies in the Zagora Oasis, southern Morocco: a time series analysis and projection to 2050

Reactor neutrino liquid xenon coherent elastic scattering experiment

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS) provides a unique probe for neutrino properties beyond the Standard Model physics. The reactor neutrino liquid xenon coherent scattering experiment (RELICS), a proposed reactor neutrino program using liquid xenon time projection chamber technology, aims to investigate the CEνNS process of antineutrinos off xenon atomic nuclei. In this work, the design of the experiment is studied and optimized based on Monte Carlo simulations. To achieve a sufficiently low-energy threshold for CEνNS detection, an ionization-only analysis channel is adopted for RELICS. A high emission rate of delayed electrons after a big ionization signal is the major background, leading to an analysis threshold of 120 photoelectrons in the CEνNS search. The second largest background, nuclear recoils induced by cosmic-ray neutrons, is suppressed via a passive water shield. The physics potential of RELICS is explored with a 30 kg·yr exposure at a baseline of 25 m from a reactor core with a 3 GW thermal power. In an energy range of 120–300 photoelectrons, corresponding to an average nuclear recoil from 0.63 to 1.36 keV considering the liquid xenon response and detector-related effect, we expect 4639.7 CEνNS and 1687.8 background events. The sensitivity of RELICS to the weak mixing angle is investigated at a low momentum transfer. Our study shows that RELICS can further improve the constraints on the nonstandard neutrino interaction compared to the current best results. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Virtual exchange in times of crisis: Exploring framework of competencies for educators

The study aims to investigate the efficiency of the RAFT framework—Resilience, Appreciation of Diversity, Facilitation, and Trauma-Informed pedagogy—in enhancing educators’ skills in managing virtual exchange (VE) projects in crisis times. VE has become an important instrument for maintaining education across physical and geopolitical barriers; hence it is necessary to assess and improve teachers’ ability to manage such projects effectively. This study involved 52 educators in a comprehensive assessment process including initial self-assessments on their competencies, specialized professional training guided by the RAFT framework, and conducting VE projects. Surveys, focus group discussions, and content analysis of reflective portfolios were used by the study to establish their practicality and effectiveness. Results indicated the RAFT framework increased educators’ resilience, diversity awareness, facilitation, and trauma-informed teaching skills. The study concludes RAFT framework is a useful tool for educators to efficiently manage VE programs in crisis.

Project Time Management and Performance of Kenya Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Programme at Central Rift Water Works Development Agency.

The general objective of the study was to examine the influence of Project time management on the performance of Kenya Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Projects at Central Rift Water Works Development Agency specifically the study. The study was anchored by pickle jar theory, theory of constraints, theory of effective project implementation and communication theory. A descriptive survey design was used in this research. The study targeted project managers, consultants, coordinators, engineers, contractors, community representatives, and representatives from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in three projects under the Kenya Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Programme, carried out by the Central Rift Valley Water Works Development Agency. The counties involved are Narok and Nyandarua. A sample size of 83 respondents was used. The participants in the study were chosen using a simple random selection method. Data was collected using a questionnaire and interview schedule. The analysis was both qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative data collected was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25. The study analysed both descriptive and inferential statistics. Thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data collected from the interview schedule. The analysis revealed a Pearson correlation of (r=0.512, p<0.05). This indicated a moderate positive and significant relationship between project time planning and the performance of Kenya Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Projects. The also showed a Pearson correlation of (r= 0.553 p<0.005) which indicates a positive and significant relationship, suggesting that effective prioritization of time-related tasks plays a crucial role in enhancing project performance. Additionally, the correlation analysis for time tracking yielded a Pearson correlation of (r=0.390 p<0.005). This suggests a moderate positive and statistically significant relationship between time tracking and project performance. Lastly, the study revealed the impact of project team communication on performance, finding a Pearson correlation of (r= 0.672 p<0.005). This indicated a strong positive and significant relationship, suggesting that effective communication among project teams significantly enhances performance outcomes. The findings indicated that 45.1% of the variation in the performance of the project could be explained by the independent variables studied, while 54.9% of the variation is attributed to other factors not covered in this study. The study concluded that project time planning, time prioritization, time tracking, and project team communication had an effect performance of Kenya Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Projects at Central Rift Water Works. The study recommends implementing structured time planning methods, enhancing time tracking, and fostering effective communication within teams to improve project performance. Future research should explore stakeholder engagement and the role of emerging technologies in water project management

Demonstration of neutron identification in neutrino interactions in the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber

A significant challenge in measurements of neutrino oscillations is reconstructing the incoming neutrino energies. While modern fully-active tracking calorimeters such as liquid argon time projection chambers in principle allow the measurement of all final state particles above some detection threshold, undetected neutrons remain a considerable source of missing energy with little to no data constraining their production rates and kinematics. We present the first demonstration of tagging neutrino-induced neutrons in liquid argon time projection chambers using secondary protons emitted from neutron-argon interactions in the MicroBooNE detector. We describe the method developed to identify neutrino-induced neutrons and demonstrate its performance using neutrons produced in muon-neutrino charged current interactions. The method is validated using a small subset of MicroBooNE’s total dataset. The selection yields a sample with 60%\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$60\\%$$\\end{document} of selected tracks corresponding to neutron-induced secondary protons. At this purity, the integrated efficiency is 8.4% for neutrons that produce a detectable proton.

Fudan multi-purpose active target time projection chamber (fMeta-TPC) for photonuclear reaction experiments

Fudan multi-purpose active target time projection chamber (fMeta-TPC) for photonuclear reaction experiments

Commissioning of the MIGDAL detector with fast neutrons at NILE/ISIS

Many dark matter experiments are exploiting the Migdal effect, a rare atomic process, to improve sensitivity to low-mass (sub-GeV) WIMP-like dark matter candidates. However, this process is yet to be directly observed in nuclear scattering. The MIGDAL experiment aims to make the first unambiguous measurement of the Migdal effect in nuclear scattering. A low-pressure optical Time Projection Chamber is used to image in three-dimensions the characteristic signature of a Migdal event: an electron and a nuclear recoil track sharing a common vertex. Nuclear recoils are induced using fast neutrons from a D–D source, which scatter in the gaseous volume of the detector. The experiment is operated with 50 Torr of CF4 using two glass GEMs for charge amplification. Both light and charge are read-out, and these measurements are combined for track reconstruction. Commissioning data has been recorded with fast neutrons at the Neutron Irradiation Laboratory for Electronics (NILE) at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK. Results of the experiment’s commissioning and the performance of the detector with a high rate of highly ionising nuclear recoils are presented, along with results from low energy electrons. Initial results of light and charge read-out with low pressure noble gas mixtures are also presented.

Unpaired Image Translation to Mitigate Domain Shift in Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber Detector Responses

Abstract Deep learning algorithms often are developed and trained on a training dataset and deployed on test datasets. Any systematic difference between the training and a test dataset may severely degrade the final algorithm performance on the test dataset -- what is known as the domain shift problem. This issue is prevalent in many scientific domains where algorithms are trained on simulated data but applied to real-world datasets. Typically, the domain shift problem is solved through various domain adaptation methods. However, these methods are often tailored to a specific downstream task and may not easily generalize to different tasks. This work explores the feasibility of using an alternative way to solve the domain shift problem that is not specific to any downstream algorithm. The proposed approach relies on modern Unpaired Image-to-Image translation techniques, designed to find translations between different image domains in a fully unsupervised fashion. In this study, the approach is applied to a domain shift problem commonly encountered in Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber detector research when seeking a way to translate samples between two differently distributed LArTPC detector datasets deterministically. This translation allows for mapping real-world data into the simulated data domain where the downstream algorithms can be run with much less domain-shift-related performance degradation. Conversely, using the translation from the simulated data in a real-world domain can increase the realism of the simulated dataset and reduce the magnitude of any systematic uncertainties. We adapted several popular UI2I translation algorithms to work on scientific data and demonstrated the viability of these techniques for solving the domain shift problem with LArTPC detector data. To facilitate further development of domain adaptation techniques for scientific datasets, the "Simple Liquid-Argon Track Samples" (SLATS) dataset used in this study also is published.

CYGνS: detecting solar neutrinos with directional gas time projection chambers

Cygnus is a proposed global network of large-scale gas time projection chambers (TPCs) with the capability of directionally detecting nuclear and electron recoils at ≳keV energies. The primary focus of Cygnus so far has been the detection of dark matter, with directional sensitivity providing a means of circumventing the so-called “neutrino fog”. However, the excellent background rejection and electron/nuclear recoil discrimination provided by the 3-dimensional reconstruction of ionisation tracks could turn the solar neutrino background into an interesting signal in its own right. For example, directionality would facilitate the simultaneous spectroscopy of multiple different flux sources. Here, we evaluate the possibility of measuring solar neutrinos using the same network of gas TPCs built from 10 m3-scale modules operating under conditions that enable simultaneous sensitivity to both dark matter and neutrinos. We focus in particular on electron recoils, which provide access to low-energy neutrino fluxes like pp, pep, 7Be, and CNO. An appreciable event rate is already detectable in experiments consisting of a single 10 m3 module, assuming standard fill gases such as CF4 mixed with helium at atmospheric pressure. With total volumes around 1000 m3 or higher, the TPC network could be complementary to dedicated neutrino observatories, whilst entering the dark-matter neutrino fog via the nuclear recoil channel. We evaluate the required directional performance and background conditions to observe, discriminate, and perform spectroscopy on neutrino events. We find that, under reasonable projections for planned technology that will enable 10–30-degree angular resolution and ∼10% fractional energy resolution, Cygnus could be a competitive directional neutrino experiment.

The Critical Catalyst: Getting Open Innovation Projects Right in Times of Disruption

Disruptions often call for rapid innovation at scale. Open innovation (OI) is critical in such contexts because it allows organizations to access resources beyond the firm’s boundaries. Yet, many OI projects fail, posing significant risks during disruptions. This article examines 12 ventilator development projects during the COVID-19 pandemic, of which only seven succeeded. Fifty-five interviews were analyzed to understand how organizational roles influence the outcomes of OI projects in times of disruption. The key finding is that projects that succeeded involved an organizational role largely absent in those that failed: namely, a catalyst.