CIPANP 2018 - Thirteenth Conference on the Intersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics

US/Pacific
Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
Wick Haxton (UC Berkeley)
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The Poster Session is on Friday at 18:30–19:30 immediately before the Conference Banquet.


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    • Registration Desk: Open 16:00 – 20:00 East Foyer

      East Foyer

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
    • Registration Desk: Open 07:00 – 18:00 East Foyer

      East Foyer

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
    • Plenary 1: Opening | Cosmic Physics and Dark Energy, Inflation, and Strong-Field Gravity | Special Topic East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Prof. Willem van Oers (U. Manitoba/TRIUMF)
      • 1
        Opening
        I will welcome the participants of CIPANP 2018 and briefly review the history of this meeting that strives to strengthen the connections between nuclear, particle, and astro physicists.
        Speaker: Prof. Wick Haxton (UC Berkeley and LBNL)
        Slides
      • 2
        New Results from the Dark Energy Survey and the South Pole Telescope
        Astronomical surveys that map the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the distribution of large scale structure of the Universe have demonstrated an impressive ability to constrain cosmology and to probe fundamental physics. In this talk, I will present an overview of recent results from the South Pole Telescope, which maps the CMB at small angular scales, and the Dark Energy Survey, which measures large scale structure via the positions of galaxies and weak gravitational lensing. Both experiments have already yielded exciting cosmological and astrophysical constraints, and are poised to advance these constraints significantly in the near future.
        Speaker: Eric Baxter (University of Pennsylvania)
        Slides
      • 3
        Theories of Cosmic Acceleration
        I will survey our understanding of cosmic acceleration, both in the late and early universe. The focus will be on recent theoretical developments in the study of dark energy and in the physics of inflation. We will also discuss constraints both from current and future observations.
        Speaker: Dr Austin Joyce (Columbia University)
        Slides
      • 4
        Recent Developments in the Proton Radius Puzzle
        The CODATA-recommended value of the proton rms charge radius $r_p$ is based on hydrogen/deuterium spectroscopy and electron–proton/deuteron scattering experiments. Since 2010, a discrepancy between the $r_p$ value determined from muonic hydrogen spectroscopy and the CODATA-recommended value has led to intense research activity both in theory and experiment. The situation has recently become even more puzzling as a contradiction appeared between two new hydrogen spectroscopy results: the 2S-4P transition frequency [Beyer $\textit{et al.}$, Science 358, 2017] agrees with the muonic $r_p$ value, while the 1S-3S transition frequency presented here supports the CODATA value. In our experiment at Laboratoire Kastler Brossel (Paris, France), the two-photon 1S-3S hydrogen transition is excited in an atomic beam, with a continuous-wave 205-nm laser obtained by sum frequency generation in a non-linear crystal. The transition frequency is measured with respect to the LNE-SYRTE Cs clock by means of a frequency comb. The second-order Doppler shift and other systematic effects have been included in the analysis to determine the 1S-3S transition frequency with a relative uncertainty of $9\times10^{-13}$ [Fleurbaey $\textit{et al.}$, PRL accepted for publication, 2018]. The value of the proton radius which can be inferred is in very good agreement with the CODATA-recommended value. In this talk, I will present the current situation of the proton radius puzzle and our latest results.
        Speaker: Helene Fleurbaey (NIST)
        Slides
    • 9:50 AM
      Break
    • Plenary 2: Physics at High Energies | QCD, Hadron Spectroscopy, and Exotics East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Dr Richard Mischke (TRIUMF)
      • 5
        Frontiers in Electroweak Symmetry Breaking
        The Higgs discovery changed our understanding of electroweak symmetry breaking, and the current theoretical focus is on illuminating the properties of the Higgs boson. I will discuss the Standard Model Higgs sector as the low energy limit of unknown high scale physics and present the status of theoretical calculations in the electroweak symmetry breaking sector and prospects for future discoveries.
        Speaker: Dr Sally Dawson (BNL)
        Slides
      • 6
        Latest LHC Results
        This talk highlights recent results from the LHC experiments, and briefly describes the prospects for the future measurements.
        Speaker: Petar Maksimovic (Johns Hopkins University)
        Slides
      • 7
        Recent Progress in Hadron Spectroscopy Using Lattice QCD
        Lattice QCD has matured to a degree where it is now possible to study excited hadrons as they truly appear in nature, as short-lived resonant enhancements decaying into multiple possible final states. Through variational analysis of matrices of correlation functions computed with large bases of interpolating fields it has proven possible to extract many excited state energy levels, and these can be used to constrain the hadron-hadron scattering amplitudes in which hadron resonances can be observed. I will illustrate recent progress with several examples including coupled-channel scattering in the $\pi \eta / K\bar{K}$ and $\pi\pi, K\bar{K}, \eta \eta$ systems in which the $a_0, f_0$ mesons appear.
        Speaker: Jozef Dudek (William & Mary / Jefferson Lab)
        Slides
      • 8
        Recent Results from GlueX
        The GlueX experiment is located in the recently constructed experimental Hall D at Jefferson Lab (JLab), and provides a unique capability to search for hybrid mesons in high-energy photoproduction, utilizing a 9 GeV linearly polarized photon beam. Commissioning of the Hall D beamline and GlueX detector was recently completed and the data collected in the spring of 2017 officially began the GlueX physics program. The statistical precision of this initial dataset surpasses the previous world data on polarized photoproduction in this energy domain by orders of magnitude. First results from this dataset will be presented along with the plan for acquiring higher statistics datasets to begin the search for hybrid mesons at GlueX.
        Speaker: Prof. Justin Stevens (William & Mary)
        Slides
    • 12:30 PM
      Lunch
    • Dark Matter: Parallel 1 — Dark Matter and Hadronic Systems South Foyer | Pinon Room

      South Foyer | Pinon Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Reina Maruyama (Yale University)
      • 9
        Dark Matter Interpretation of the Neutron Decay Anomaly
        There is a long-standing discrepancy between the neutron lifetime measured in beam and bottle experiments. We propose to explain this anomaly by a dark decay channel for the neutron, involving one or more dark sector particles in the final state. If any of these particles are stable, they can be the dark matter. We construct representative particle physics models consistent with all experimental constraints.
        Speaker: Dr Bartosz Fornal (University of California, San Diego)
        Slides
      • 10
        Search for Dark Matter Decay of the Free Neutron from the UCNA Experiment: $n \to \chi+e^+e^-$
        The neutron lifetime is currently measured by two different types of experiments: "beam" and "bottle". These two measurement techniques have a $4 \sigma$ discrepancy in measured lifetime. It has been proposed recently that a previously unobserved neutron decay branch to a dark matter particle ($\chi$) could account for the discrepancy in the neutron lifetime observed in experiments that use two different measurement techniques. One of the possible final states discussed includes a single $\chi$ along with an $e^+e^-$ pair. We use data from the UCNA (Ultracold Neutron Asymmetry) experiment to set limits on this decay channel. Coincident electron-like events are detected with $\approx4\pi$ acceptance using a pair of detectors that observe a volume of stored Ultracold Neutrons (UCNs). The summed kinetic energy ($E_{e^+e^-}$) from such events is used to set limits, as a function of the $\chi$ mass, on the branching fraction for this decay channel. For $\chi$ masses consistent with resolving the neutron lifetime discrepancy, we exclude this as the dominant dark matter decay channel at $\approx5\sigma$ level for 100 keV $< E_{e^+e^-} < 644$ keV. If the $\chi+e^+e^-$ final state is not the only one, we set limits on its branching fraction of $< 10^{-4}$ for the above $E_{e^+e^-}$ range at $>90$% confidence level.
        Speaker: Dr Christopher Swank (Caltech)
        Slides
      • 11
        Dark Decay of the Neutron
        New decay channels for the neutron into dark matter and other particles have been suggested for explaining a long-standing discrepancy between the neutron lifetime measured from trapped neutrons versus those decaying in flight. Many such scenarios are already ruled out by their effects on neutron stars, and the decays into dark matter plus photon or electron-positron pair have been experimentally excluded. In this talk, I will present a scenario in which the neutron decays into two invisible particles: a dark Dirac fermion and a dark photon. This setup can be consistent with all constraints if the fermion is a subdominant component of the dark matter. I will discuss the limits on the model’s parameter space that are derived from the existence of two solar mass neutron stars, direct and indirect dark matter detection, supernova observations, and cosmological considerations.
        Speaker: Dr Jonathan Cornell (McGill University)
        Slides
      • 12
        Composite Dark Matter
        Models of composite dark matter, originating from a new strongly coupled dark sector, have a very interesting phenomenology for particles with mass around the hundreds of GeVs. To make robust predictions in these models one often needs to investigate non-perturbative effects due to the strong self interactions. Lattice field theory methods and numerical simulations are well suited for this task and contribute to a solid uncertainty quantification. I will review the advances of lattice field theory techniques relevant for searches of dark matter particles.
        Speaker: Dr Enrico Rinaldi (RIKEN-BNL)
        Slides
      • 13
        Sexaquark Dark Matter
        A stable sexaquark ($S$) composed of $uuddss$ is a compelling Dark Matter candidate and would not have been discovered in accelerator experiments to date. I will briefly review its particle properties, why the $S$ would have eluded searches for an H-dibaryon, and analyses of Upsilon decay and LHC data suitable to discovering it (as are now underway by BABAR, Belle, CMS and LHCb). The main focus of the talk will be direct detection constraints on $S$ Dark Matter, and two major cosmological consequences: predicted $\Omega_{DM}/\Omega_b = 4.5-6$, in excellent agreement with the $5.3 \pm 0.1$ observed, and $^7$Li abundance in agreement with observation (which is $\sim10\sigma$ below the standard LCDM prediction). For the relevant parameter space of $S$ interactions with nucleons via $\omega$–$\phi$ and $f_0$ meson exchange, the Born Approximation does not apply. This requires a complete re-evaluation of Direct Detection experiments, as will be reported. Time permitting, possible additional astrophysical consequences will be discussed.
        Speaker: Glennys Farrar (NYU)
        Slides
    • HFCKM / PPHI: Parallel 1 — Rare Decays South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Wolfgang Altmannshofer (University of Cincinnati)
      • 14
        Rare Decays Probing Physics Beyond the Standard Model
        The existence of three generations of fundamental fermions gives rise to a wealth of phenomena, such as CP violation and flavour oscillations. Because of various conservation laws, including baryon number, lepton number and charged lepton flavour conservation, many otherwise possible reactions, asymmetries, and decays are prohibited or strongly suppressed. The search for rare decays helps to explore the range of validity of such laws and, once observed, rare decays may guide in identifying possible physics not yet incorporated in the Standard Model. An overview of characteristic searches and typical approaches will be presented.
        Speaker: Dr Gerco Onderwater (University of Groningen)
        Slides
      • 15
        $B\to \pi\ell\ell$ and $B\to K\ell\ell$ Decay Form Factors from Lattice QCD
        A review of recent lattice QCD calculations of the exclusive rare $B$ decay form factors is presented. Special focus is given to $B\to \pi\ell\ell$ and $B\to K\ell\ell$ decays. These flavor-changing-neutral-current processes provide theoretically clean windows into physics beyond the Standard Model.
        Speaker: Dr Yuzhi Liu (Indiana University Bloomington)
        Slides
      • 16
        Search for LNV by the NA48 Experiment
        In 2003–2004 the NA48/2 experiment at CERN collected a large sample of charged kaon decays to final states with multiple charged particles. A new upper limit on the rate of the lepton number violating decay $K^\pm \to \pi^\mp\mu^\pm\mu^\pm$ is reported: $B(K^\pm \to \pi^\mp\mu^\pm\mu^\pm) < 8.6\times10^{−11}$ at 90% CL. Searches for two-body resonances $X$ in $K^\pm \to \pi\mu\mu$ decays (such as heavy neutral leptons N4 and inflatons $\chi$) are also presented. In the absence of signals, upper limits are set on the products of branching fractions $B(K^\pm \to \mu^\pm N4)\cdot B(N4 \to \pi\mu)$ and $B(K^\pm \to \pi^\pm X)\cdot B(X \to \mu^+\mu^-)$ for ranges of assumed resonance masses and lifetimes. The limits are in the ($10^{−11},10^{−9}$) range for resonance lifetimes below 100 ps.
        Speaker: Dr Cristina Biino (INFN Torino)
        Slides
      • 17
        Search for $K^+\to \pi^+ \nu\nu$ at CERN
        The decay $K^+\to \pi^+ \nu\nu$, with a very precisely predicted branching ratio of less than $10^{-10}$, is one of the best candidates to reveal indirect effects of new physics at the highest mass scales. The NA62 experiment at the CERN SPS is designed to measure the branching ratio of the $K^+\to \pi^+ \nu\nu$ with a decay-in-flight technique, novel for this channel. NA62 took data in 2016, 2017 and another year run is scheduled in 2018. Statistics collected in 2016 allows NA62 to reach the Standard Model sensitivity for $K^+\to \pi^+ \nu\nu$, entering the domain of $10^{-10}$ single event sensitivity and showing the proof of principle of the experiment. The analysis data is reviewed and the preliminary result from the 2016 data set presented.
        Speaker: Dr Bob Velghe (TRIUMF)
        Slides
    • Neutrino Masses and Neutrino Mixing: Parallel 1 — Neutrino Mass and Astrophysical Neutrinos South Foyer | Nopales Room

      South Foyer | Nopales Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Daniel Dwyer
      • 18
        The KATRIN Neutrino Mass Measurement: Experiment, Status, and Outlook
        The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment will provide a measurement of the effective electron-neutrino mass, $m(\nu_e)$, based on a precision measurement of the tritium beta decay spectrum near its endpoint. The effective mass is an average of the neutrino mass eigenstates $m_i$ weighted by the flavor-mass mixing parameters $U_{ei}$ according to the relation $m^2(\nu_e)=\sum_{i=1}^3 |U_{ei}|^2 m_i^2$. The KATRIN apparatus uses a windowless gas tritium source (WGTS) and a spectrometer based on the MAC-E-Filter concept to measure the beta energy spectrum. The KATRIN program is designed to reach a mass sensitivity of 0.2 eV (90 % C.L.). The collaboration has completed a series of commissioning measurements and is moving into the first running of tritium. This talk will provide an overview of the KATRIN apparatus with emphasis on the MAC-E filter. Results from the initial commissioning runs and the status of the initial tritium beta-spectrum measurements will be presented.
        Speaker: Prof. Gregg Franklin (Carnegie Mellon University)
        Slides
      • 19
        Project 8: Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy, a New Technique in Direct Neutrino Mass Measurement
        Project 8 has demonstrated Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) as a novel technique for performing electron spectroscopy. Applying this method to highest energy electrons from tritium beta decay will lead to a direct neutrino mass measurement. A proof of this concept was performed with a waveguide detector utilizing conversion electrons from $^{83m}$Kr monoenergetic lines. The demonstrator has expanded our knowledge of rich spectral features in CRES signals. As a next step, we have upgraded our hardware to meet the requirements for a demonstration with tritium. Here I present both the hardware and analysis progress which will lead us to the first continuous spectrum measurement.
        Speaker: Mr Ali Ashtari Esfahani (University of Washington)
        Slides
      • 20
        Recent Borexino Measurements of Solar Neutrinos from the pp-Chains with Prospects for Detection of CNO Neutrinos
        Borexino is a 300-ton liquid scintillator detector located in the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory in Italy.   This detector has been taking solar neutrino data for the past ten years, and recently completed new measurements of the pp, p$e$p, $^7$Be, and $^8$B solar neutrinos.  The data comprise the most complete direct experimental confirmation of Bethe’s 1939 theory of the pp-chains of nuclear reactions that produce the Sun’s energy.  The new data also confirm a feature of the MSW theory of neutrino oscillations which predicts a transition from “vacuum oscillations” to “matter effect oscillations” over the solar neutrino energy spectrum.  Experimental methods that achieved the ultra-low backgrounds necessary for these results will be described, as will continuing research toward lower backgrounds for a possible future observation of CNO neutrinos.
        Speaker: Prof. Frank Calaprice (Princeton University)
      • 21
        Solar and Supernova Neutrino Detection in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment
        The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is an upcoming experiment dedicated to the study of neutrino oscillation physics, nucleon decay, and supernova neutrinos. Understanding the physics of how massive stars die will lead to a better understanding of the creation of elements, properties of neutrinos, and constraints on beyond-the-Standard-Model physics. Neutrinos carry a majority of the core-collapse energy; thus, these neutrinos provide crucial information about the supernova. Solar and supernova neutrinos have much lower energies (few to 10s of MeV energy range) than those studied in the rest of DUNE's physics program. In order to extract as much information about our sun or a future supernova as possible, the DUNE collaboration has initiated various Monte Carlo simulation studies to study detector response and reconstruction ability, in order to optimize the DUNE neutrino detectors for low-energy physics. These studies improve expectations for solar and supernova neutrinos, advance the low-energy neutrino physics field, and prepare the DUNE detectors to detect these neutrinos under the most optimal circumstances.
        Speaker: Ms Erin Conley (Duke University)
        Slides
      • 22
        The Myriad Wonders and Challenges of Gd-Loading in WC Detectors
        The benefits and difficulties of enriching water Cherenkov detectors with water-soluble gadolinium compounds — thereby enabling the detection of thermal neutrons and dramatically improving these devices' performance as detectors of supernova and reactor antineutrinos — will be discussed.
        Speaker: Prof. Mark Vagins (Kavli IPMU/UC Irvine)
        Slides
    • Nuclear Forces and Structure, NN Correlations, and Medium Effects: Parallel 1 — Neutron-Rich Matter and the EOS North Foyer | Kachina Room

      North Foyer | Kachina Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Scott Bogner (Michigan State University)
      • 23
        Laboratory Probes of the Neutron-Matter Equation of State
        The nuclear Equation of State (EoS) is central to the understanding of the matter found in neutron stars and in explosive stellar environments. This includes the dynamics in neutron star mergers or core collapse supernovae in which many of the heavy elements are formed. Such environments are often neutron-rich and their description requires extrapolating the properties of neutron-rich matter from that of symmetric matter containing equal numbers of neutrons and protons. This extrapolation is governed by the nuclear symmetry energy, which can be defined to be the difference between the EoS of neutron matter and that of symmetric matter. In this talk, I will discuss the experimental probes using heavy ion collisions with different isospin reactions to explore the symmetry energy from sub-normal to supra-normal density and its implication to the tidal deformability in the neutron star merger.
        Speaker: Dr Betty Tsang (Michigan State University)
        Slides
      • 24
        Overview of Experimental Data on the Neutron-Matter Equation of State and the Neutron Skins of $^{48}$Ca and $^{208}$Pb
        The equation of state for asymmetric nuclear systems is a critical input for modeling a broad range of systems spanning from asymmetric nuclei to extremes such as neutron stars. Now, with the advent of gravitational wave astronomy there are new and exciting opportunities to test how these nuclei, measured on earth, connect to their astrophysical counterparts. Within nuclei, several observables are available that are sensitive to this information including the size of the neutron skins, the isovector electric dipole polarizabilities, and heavy ion isospin transport. Neutron skins in particular are notoriously difficult to observe with high precision: the standard tool of electromagnetic interactions that has been used to map out the nuclear charge distributions is simply insensitive to neutrons. Fortunately, nature provides a novel way to image this side of the nucleus: through fundamental weak force interactions, which interact primarily to neutrons rather than protons. In this talk I will review the status of the data that constrains the neutron matter equation of state and in particular discuss neutron densities, how one measures them with electron beams, and the recent and upcoming experimental efforts for such measurements.
        Speaker: Dr Seamus Riordan (Argonne National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 25
        Neutron Skins and Neutron Star Properties
        The neutron skin thickness of medium to heavy nuclei provides a fundamental link between nuclear structure and neutron star properties via the equation of state of neutron-rich matter. In particular, it is strongly correlated with the pressure of a pure neutron matter which pushes against the surface tension thus allowing a finite nucleus to form a neutron skin. It is precisely this same pressure that supports a neutron star against gravitational collapse and therefore has a direct influence on the neutron-star radii, moments of inertia, tidal deformabilities, crust-core transition properties, transport properties, particle compositions and nuclear pasta phases. In this talk, I will present an overview of our recently published works on these topics. Notably, I confront the first model-independent experimental neutron skin thickness result obtained by the pioneering Lead Radius Experiment (“PREX”) at the Jefferson Laboratory against the neutron star tidal deformability that was recently measured in the historical first detection of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star merger by the LIGO-Virgo Collaboration. I will also discuss observational implications of the upcoming measurements of the neutron skin thickness by the PREX-II and CREX experiments.
        Speaker: Dr Farrooh Fattoyev (Indiana University)
        Slides
      • 26
        Nuclear-Matter Equation of State from Chiral Effective Field Theory
        Nuclear matter is an ideal testbed for nuclear interactions with important consequences for nuclear astrophysics as well as finite nuclei. In particular, recent $\textit{ab initio}$ calculations of medium-mass to heavy nuclei have demonstrated the importance of realistic saturation properties of infinite matter for nuclear forces. We present an efficient Monte-Carlo framework for perturbative calculations of infinite nuclear matter based on two-, three-, and four-nucleon forces derived within chiral effective field theory. It enables to incorporate all many-body contributions in a transparent and also straightforward way, making it well-suited for pushing the limits of current state-of-the-art calculations to high orders in both the chiral as well as the many-body expansion. Furthermore, uncertainty estimates can be systematically extracted by order-by-order calculations, which provides important insights into the rate of convergence of each of the two expansions. After demonstrating its versatility, we make use of this novel framework to explore new chiral interactions up to next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N$^3$LO) and study the equation of state of neutron and symmetric nuclear matter. Remarkably, simultaneous fits to the triton and to saturation properties can be achieved with natural 3N low-energy couplings. Taking advantage of the framework’s efficacy, future chiral potentials may be optimized with respect to empirical saturation properties.
        Speaker: Dr Christian Drischler (University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 27
        Constraining Ab Initio Models and the Nuclear Force with Rare Isotopes
        Our Universe has a wide variety of visible matter. An important fundamental question is how nature combines the building blocks, protons and neutrons, to form the large variety of complex many-body nuclei. Addressing this question requires synthesizing observed properties of nuclei and predictions from theoretical models built with knowledge of the nuclear force. A complete understanding of the nuclear force remains a challenge. A major advance in this front has been the description of the nuclear force based on the chiral effective field theory. However, there are different prescriptions of the chiral interactions that need to be constrained with experiments. Rare isotopes with neutron-proton asymmetry bring in additional sensitivity in defining the force and constraining the models. This presentation will discuss how experimental investigations of static ground state nuclear properties such as masses and radii and dynamic observables such as excitation spectra and diffraction pattern in nuclear scattering have unfolded new understanding of the *ab initio* models, the nuclear forces and exhibited the crucial importance of the three-nucleon force. An outlook on future experimental prospects with rare isotopes will be presented together with the need for *ab initio* theoretical developments.
        Speaker: Prof. Rituparna Kanungo (Saint Mary's University)
    • Particle and Nuclear Astrophysics: Parallel 1 — Neutrino Astrophysics North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Dr Barry Davids (TRIUMF), Wick Haxton
      • 28
        Astrophysical Neutrinos from IceCube
        In this talk, I will present the latest results on astrophysical neutrinos from IceCube, including our non-detection of GW170817. I will also briefly present two IceCube results on the cross-section and inelasticity distributions for high-energy ($E> 1$ TeV) neutrino interactions.
        Speaker: Spencer Klein
        Slides
      • 29
        Results from ANITA
        The ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) long-duration balloon payload searches for Askaryan radio emission from ultra-high-energy ($>10^{18}$ eV) neutrinos interacting in Antarctic ice. ANITA is also sensitive to geomagnetic radio emission from extensive air showers. After a brief overview of the experiment, this talk will detail recently released results from the third flight of ANITA. Updates will also be provided on ongoing analysis of ANITA-IV and future plans. The most sensitive search from ANITA-III identified one neutrino candidate with an $\textit{a priori}$ background estimate of $0.7^{+0.5}_{-0.3}$. When combined with previous flights, ANITA sets the best limits on diffuse neutrino flux at energies above $\sim10^{19.5}$ eV. While the candidate is consistent with the pre-unblinding background estimate, a neutrino interpretation of the event remains plausible even after being subjected to post-unblinding examination. Additionally, ANITA-III searches identified nearly 30 extensive air shower candidates. One such event appears to correspond to an upward-going air shower similar to an event from ANITA-I. A tau neutrino could induce an upward-going air shower, but this interpretation is inconsistent with limits from other experiments and, due to the implied path length through the Earth, potentially in tension with the Standard Model's predicted neutrino-nucleon cross-section.
        Speaker: Dr Cosmin Deaconu (UChicago / KICP)
        Slides
      • 30
        Precision Constraints on Nuclear and Neutrino Reactions via Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
        Astronomical observations of high precision $(N_\mathrm{eff}, Y_P, \omega_b, D/H_P, \Sigma m_\nu)$ may soon over determine the cosmological standard model. An effort to constrain physics beyond the standard model with these observations is faced with the challenge of the interrelated problems of neutrino transport (via the quantum kinetic equations) and a stiff nuclear reaction network. We overview work on this topic, highlighting recent advances in our understanding of neutrino flavor evolution in the presence of their collisions with each other and matter in the early universe. We demonstrate, by concurrent solution of the neutrino and matter plasma evolution, percent-level effects on predicted deuterium abundances due to non-equilibrium distortions of the neutrino spectra, an order of magnitude larger than previous estimates. Preliminary results for coherent neutrino flavor evolution in the presence of collisions are also discussed.
        Speaker: Dr Mark Paris (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 31
        Neutrinos from Beta Processes in Presupernovae
        We present calculations of the neutrino emissivities and energy spectra from massive stars in the lead up to their explosion as supernovae (presupernovae). Results from the stellar evolution code MESA are used to calculate the neutrino emissivity due to thermal and beta processes. In particular, the beta processes are modeled in detail using a network of 204 isotopes. We show that the contribution of beta processes is substantial, especially in the high energy tail of the spectrum, at E > 3-4 MeV. For a star at D = 1 kpc, we find that a 17 ton liquid scintillator detector would observe several tens of events from a presupernova.
        Speaker: Dr Kelly Patton (University of Washington/Institute for Nuclear Theory)
        Slides
      • 32
        Multi-Angle Simulations of Matter-Neutrino Resonance
        Neutrino flavor transformation in compact object mergers can be dominated by matter-neutrino resonances (MNRs). By efficiently converting electron neutrinos to other species, MNRs can affect nucleosynthesis and the dynamics of the merger. Prior to our work, calulations of MNR have used the single-angle approximation, only following flavor evolution along a single neutrino trajectory. However, self-consistency requires that all trajectories be treated simultaneously. It was not known whether MNR phenomena would be present in a multi-angle model, or whether they were merely an artifact of the single-angle approximation. We present the first fully multi-angle calculations of MNR, finding that some familiar features of single-angle MNR are still present. However, there are qualitative differences compared to the single-angle results. We show that the type of flavor transformation seen in multi-angle MNR is extremely robust, occurring with relatively little change under a wide variety of physical conditions. This suggests that neutrino flavor transformation due to MNR can play an important role in merger environments, and does not strongly depend on detailed assumptions about the matter distribution, neutrino spectrum or composition.
        Speaker: Dr Alexey Vlasenko (North Carolina State University)
        Slides
    • Physics at High Energies: Parallel 1 — Standard Model Tests | Theory North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Prof. Toyoko Orimoto (Northeastern University), Verena Martinez Outschoorn (UMass Amherst)
      • 33
        Studying the Electroweak Sector with the ATLAS Detector
        The large integrated luminosities that are available at the LHC, allow to test the gauge structure of the electroweak sector of the Standard Model to highest precision. In this talk, we review the latest results of the ATLAS collaboration involving di-boson and multiboson final states, the electroweak production of vector bosons as well as their constraints of effective field theory operators. Another approach to test the consistency of the electroweak sector is via precision measurements. ATLAS has published a first high precision measurement of the W boson mass, a first measurement of the tau-polarization in Z events as well as a three dimensional cross-section measurement of the Drell-Yan process. The latter allows for the extraction of the forward-backward asymmetry that can be interpreted as a measurement of the weak mixing angle. These results will be presented and discussed.
        Speaker: Dr Margherita Spalla (Max Planck Institute for Physics - Munich)
        Slides
      • 34
        Recent Developments in Higgs Physics Precision Calculations
        During recent years calculations including fixed order approximations and resummation have decreased theoretical uncertainties on Higgs cross sections tremendously. Most exciting results have been published just this year. I present an overview of recent and most recent developments in Higgs precision physics calculations that allow theory predictions to compete with experimental precision reached by future collider upgrades.
        Speaker: Tobias Neumann (Illinois Tech / Fermilab)
        Slides
      • 35
        Neutrino Masses from a Pseudo-Dirac Bino and Its LHC Implications
        We know neutrinos have mass, but we don't know how they get their masses. Many models augment the Standard Model with right-handed neutrinos, either Dirac or Majorana, to generate the neutrino masses. I will show that in R-symmetric supersymmetric models, the bino and its Dirac partner the singlino can play the role of right-handed neutrinos. In this mechanism the neutrino masses are generated in a very simple fashion. I will discuss interesting signatures of this model at high energy colliders.
        Speaker: Dr Seyda Ipek (UC Irvine)
        Slides
      • 36
        Modification of Higgs Pair Production at the LHC
        The Higgs pair production in gluon fusion is a sensitive probe of Beyond-Standard Model (BSM) phenomena and its detection is a major goal for the LHC and higher energy hadron collider experiments. We reanalyze the possible modifications of the Higgs pair production cross section within low energy supersymmetry models allowed by the current LHC search bounds, where we analyze the combined effects of a modification of the Higgs trilinear and top-quark Yukawa couplings on the di-Higgs production rate in presence of stops. We also explore the implications of such modification of the cross-section in the context of discovering the deviation in the triple Higgs coupling from the SM value, which is correlated with First order phase transitions of the scalar potential in many models, e.g. NMSSM.
        Speaker: Aniket Joglekar (UC Riverside)
        Slides
    • 3:40 PM
      Break
    • Dark Matter: Parallel 2 — Axions and Light Mass Dark Matter South Foyer | Pinon Room

      South Foyer | Pinon Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Reina Maruyama (Yale University)
      • 37
        Experimental Signatures of Ultra-Light Dark Matter
        Observational limits on the mass of dark matter are weak — they allow the mass of dark matter to be anywhere from $10^{-22}$ eV – $10^{48}$ GeV. In this talk, I will focus on ultra-light dark matter in the mass range $10^{-22}$ eV – $10^{-5}$ eV. A number of well motivated dark matter candidates such as axions inhabit this vast parameter space. Even though these candidates emerge from a number of models, there are only four possible experimental signatures of these models: they can drive currents in circuits, lead to spin precession, exert forces on particles, and change the values of fundamental constants. All of these effects can be experimentally probed using precision magnetometry and interferometry.
        Speaker: Surjeet Rajendran (UC Berkeley)
        Slides
      • 38
        Recent Results from the Axion Dark Matter Experiment (ADMX)
        The nature of dark matter is one of the great mysteries of modern physics today and is likely new particles beyond the Standard Model. The Axion, originally conceived as a solution to the strong-CP problem in nuclear physics, is one well-motivated candidate. The Axion Dark Matter Experiment (ADMX) was started at LLNL in the mid-1990s and ran until 2010 before it was moved to the U. of Washington where it is now a DOE Gen 2 project. ADMX uses a large microwave cavity immersed in a strong static magnetic field to resonantly convert dark matter axions to detectable photons. Recently ADMX has completed its first data run with unprecedented sensitivity in the classical QCD-axion mass range of several $\mu$eV. In this talk I will describe the history of axion dark matter searches, describe the recent ADMX results, and give a survey of the R&D efforts currently underway to explore the entire axion dark matter mass window.
        Speaker: Dr Gianpaolo Carosi (Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab)
        Slides
      • 39
        Status and Future Plans for the HAYSTAC Experiment
        HAYSTAC (Haloscope At Yale Sensitive To Axion CDM) is a microwave cavity experiment designed both as a data pathfinder and innovation test-bed, in the 3–12 GHz (12–50 $\mu$eV) mass range. The Phase I run program (2016–17) covered a small region of mass around 24 $\mu$eV, achieving a sensitivity in axion-photon coupling well into the range of realistic axion models for a standard halo density. With a tunable annular copper cavity of only 1.5 L volume in a 9 T superconducting magnet, HAYSTAC achieved a system noise temperature of only 2× the Standard Quantum Limit ($k_{B}T_{SYS} = h\nu$), an order of magnitude improvement over any other experiment; its extraordinary sensitivity owing to the first-ever use of Josephson Parametric Amplifiers (JPA) and a dilution refrigerator in a microwave cavity experiment. Currently, a 2-JPA squeezed-vacuum state receiver is being integrated into the experiment that will enable a significant speed up of data taking; commissioning will begin early summer. Innovations in microwave resonators will also be described, such as Photonic Band Gap structures to eliminate interference from unwanted TE-modes with the TM010-like mode of interest, which couples to the axion field.
        Speaker: Prof. Karl van Bibber (University of California Berkeley)
        Slides
      • 40
        DM Radio: An Optimized Resonant Search for Axion and Hidden-Photon Dark Matter
        We discuss DM Radio, a lumped-LC resonant search for axion and hidden-photon dark matter between 100 Hz and 300 MHz. We illustrate the detection concept and discuss design and fabrication of the Pilot detector, which will operate in liquid helium at 4 K over the next three years and probe hidden photons in a portion of this frequency range. We show results from a fixed-frequency resonator and present work on detector characterization, including a study of loss mechanisms, shielding performance, and dc SQUID amplifier noise. We discuss future plans to optimize DM Radio, in the context of fundamental limitations on electromagnetic searches for light-field dark matter.
        Speaker: Mr Saptarshi Chaudhuri (Stanford University)
        Slides
      • 41
        ABRACADABRA: A New Approach to the Search for Axion Dark Matter
        The evidence for the existence of dark matter is well supported by many cosmological observations. Separately, long standing problems within the Standard Model point to new weakly interacting particles to help explain away unnatural fine-tunings. The axion was originally proposed to explain the strong CP problem, but was subsequently shown to be a strong candidate for explaining the Dark Matter abundance of the Universe. ABRACADABRA is a proposed experiment to search for ultralight axion Dark Matter, with a focus on the mass range $10^{-14} < m_a <10^{-6}$ eV. We search for these axions and other axion-like particles (ALPs) through a modification to Maxwell's equations, which cause strong magnetic fields to source weak oscillating electrical currents parallel to the field. In this talk, I will describe the working principle behind the ABRACADABRA experiment as well as the prototype that we are running at MIT called ABRACADABRA-10 cm.
        Speaker: Jonathan Ouellet
        Slides
      • 42
        Probing Sub-GeV Dark Matter with Superfluid Helium
        We propose a new dark matter detector that will be sensitive to nuclear recoils of sub-GeV dark matter, using superfluid helium as a target. Superfluid helium has many merits as a detector target: these include good kinematic matching to low mass dark matter, excellent intrinsic radiopurity, and its unique ability to be cooled down as a liquid to milli-Kelvin temperatures. We propose to read out the recoil signals by calorimetry based on transition edge sensor readout. Calorimeters submerged in the liquid will measure prompt scintillation photons with near-100% efficiency, while the long-lived rotons and phonon excitations will be detected by quantum evaporation of helium atoms from the liquid surface, into vacuum, and then onto a calorimeter array. The binding energy from helium absorption to the calorimeter surface allows for the amplification of these quantum evaporation signals, allowing sub-eV recoil energy thresholds. Taking into account the relevant backgrounds and detector discrimination power based on the light:heat ratio, sensitivity projections show that a small detector ($\sim$kg scale) can already explore new parameter space.
        Speaker: Daniel McKinsey
        Slides
      • 43
        The Light Dark Matter eXperiment
        The Light Dark Matter eXperiment (LDMX) proposes a high-statistics search for low-mass dark matter in fixed-target electron-nucleus collisions. Ultimately, LDMX will explore thermal relic dark matter over most of the viable sub-GeV mass range to a decisive level of sensitivity. To achieve this goal, LDMX employs the missing momentum technique, where electrons scattering in a thin target can produce dark matter via "dark bremsstrahlung" giving rise to significant missing momentum and energy in the detector. To identify these rare signal events, LDMX individually tags incoming beam-energy electrons, unambiguously associates them with low energy, moderate transverse-momentum recoils of the incoming electron, and establishes the absence of any additional forward-recoiling charged particles or neutral hadrons. LDMX will employ low mass tracking to tag incoming beam-energy electrons with high purity and cleanly reconstruct recoils. A high-speed, granular calorimeter with MIP sensitivity is used to reject the high rate of bremsstrahlung background at trigger level while working in tandem with a hadronic calorimeter to veto rare photonuclear reactions. This talk will summarize the small-scale detector concept for LDMX, ongoing performance studies, and near future prospects.
        Speaker: Omar Moreno (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
        Slides
    • HFCKM / PPHI: Parallel 2 — LFU/CLF Violation South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Prof. Aida El-Khadra (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
      • 44
        The MEG Experiment: Run I Final Results and Preparation for Run II
        The MEG experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institut searches for charged lepton flavor violation in the rare muon decay $\mu^+ \to e^+ + \gamma$. The first run during the 2009–13 period excludes the decay process at the sensitivity limit of $4.2\times 10^{-13}$ at 90% confidence level. An upgrade of the experiment, MEGII, is underway with the aim to improve the sensitivity by an order of magnitude. We discuss the motivation and the analysis strategy for the search followed by a description of the new detectors, novel components and design of the existing detectors, and new calibration techniques. In preparation for the second run (2018–21), scheduled to start at the end of this year, we review the status of the current upgrades and conclude with the expected sensitivity of the MEGII experiment.
        Speaker: Dr Terence Libeiro (UCI)
        Slides
      • 45
        The Mu2e Experiment
        The Mu2e experiment at Fermilab aims to measure the neutrinoless conversion of a negative muon into an electron, a reaction violating charged lepton flavor conservation. This process is extremely suppressed in the Standard Model, and an observation would constitute an unambiguous sign of new physics beyond the Standard Model. The conversion signal is characterized by a monochromatic electron with an energy slightly below the rest mass of the muon (104.97 MeV). We expect to reach a single event sensitivity on the ratio between the muon conversion and capture rate in aluminum of $3\times10^{-17}$ at 90% CL after three years of data taking. We present an overview of the theory and motivation for the Mu2e experiment, our experimental design, and the current status of the experiment. We also provide a brief summary of the proposed Mu2e-II experiment that would provide a factor of 10 improvement in sensitivity over Mu2e.
        Speaker: Dr Tomonari Miyashita (Caltech)
        Slides
      • 46
        PEN Experiment: a Precise Test of Lepton Universality
        $V$–$A$ helicity suppression of the $\pi^+\to e^+ \nu (\gamma)$ decay (known as "$\pi_{e2}$") amplifies the sensitivity to pseudoscalar terms by a factor of $\sim$8000, enabling indirect searches for non-SM pseudoscalar terms, as well as scalar and tensor terms, through loop effects, with good sensitivity to interesting regions of the beyond-SM parameter space (e.g., supersymmetric extensions). The ratio $R_{e/\mu}^\pi = [\Gamma(\pi \to e \bar{\nu} (\gamma))] / \left[\Gamma(\pi \to \mu \bar{\nu} (\gamma))\right]$ provides the current best limit on the universality of $W$ coupling to the $e$ and the $\mu$, with broad implications, including in the neutrino sector. Recent LHCb data on $B^0 \to K^\star_0\ell^+\ell^-$ decays, coming on the heels of previous measurements from Belle and BaBar, have focused new interest on possible violation of lepton universality. The PEN collaboration is at the threshold of obtaining new results for $R_{e/\mu}^\pi$ at sub-10$^{-3}$ precision from measurements completed at PSI several years ago. We discuss the status of the PEN data analysis and the expected uncertainty limits, as well as complementarity with results of high-energy studies.
        Speaker: Prof. Dinko Pocanic (University of Virginia)
        Slides
      • 47
        Improved Search for Heavy Neutrinos and a Test of Lepton Universality in the Decay $\pi \to e \nu$
        Data from the PIENU experiment at TRIUMF have been examined for evidence of a heavy neutrino coupled to the positron in the decay $\pi \to e \nu$. Limits on the mixing of neutrinos in the mass range 60–135 MeV/$c^2$ with the electron neutrino, which are up to an order of magnitude improvement over previous results, will be presented. The PIENU experiment was also designed to make a high-precision measurement of the $ \pi \to e \nu $ branching ratio: $ R_\pi = \frac{\Gamma(\pi \to e \nu \ + \ \pi \to e \nu \gamma)}{\Gamma(\pi \to \mu \nu \ + \ \pi \to \mu \nu \gamma)}$, which provides a sensitive test of lepton universality and places tight constraints on many new physics scenarios. The branching ratio analysis is in the final stages, and the status will be presented, as well as a summary of published results based on a subset of the data.
        Speaker: Richard Mischke (TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 48
        RD and RD*: Theoretical Developments
        I will present an overview of theoretical developments on RD and RD*, in which discrepancies between experimental data and the Standard Model predictions have been reported, referred to as the B anomaly. Then I will summarize New Physics explanations for the B anomaly.
        Speaker: Ryotaro Watanabe (University of Montreal)
        Slides
      • 49
        Diagnosing New Physics with Lepton Universality Violation and Lepton Flavor Violation
        Recent measurements in $B$ decays may indicate lepton universality violation. I will discuss how such lepton universality new physics might arise and how in many cases this new physics also leads to lepton flavor violation. I will consider some interesting processes where lepton universality and lepton flavor violations may be observed.
        Speaker: Prof. Alakabha datta (University of Mississippi)
        Slides
    • Neutrino Masses and Neutrino Mixing: Parallel 2 — Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay South Foyer | Nopales Room

      South Foyer | Nopales Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Daniel Dwyer
      • 50
        First $0\nu\beta\beta$ Decay Search Results from CUORE and Status of CUPID R&D
        The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is a large neutrinoless double beta ($0\nu\beta\beta$) decay search experiment currently taking data at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). Such searches can address fundamental questions that remain about the nature of the neutrino such as the mass hierarchy, whether they are Majorana fermions, and may present new physics beyond the Standard Model via lepton number violation. CUORE is the most massive array of crystal bolometers in the world containing a total of 988 TeO$_2$ crystals (742 kg) with an expected sensitivity to the $^{130}$Te $0\nu\beta\beta$ half-life of $9\times10^{25}$ years (90% C.L.) after 5 years of operation. This talk will discuss the recently published CUORE limit on the $^{130}$Te $0\nu\beta\beta$ half-life, $T>1.3\times10^{25}$ years (90% C.L.), as well as the current status of CUORE. Additionally an overview of the current state of R&D towards the proposed next generation experiment, CUORE Upgrade with Particle ID (CUPID), will be presented.
        Speaker: Bradford Welliver (LBNL)
        Slides
      • 51
        Status and Initial Results of the Majorana Demonstrator
        Located at the 4850' level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), the Majorana Demonstrator (MJD) experiment is searching for neutrinoless double beta ($0\nu\beta\beta$) decay in $^{76}$Ge with high-purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors. The initial goals of the Demonstrator are to establish the required background and scalability of a ton-scale Ge-based experiment. The construction and commissioning of the Demonstrator has been completed and the multiple-year data-taking has started. Initial results from the first physics run has demonstrated an unprecedented energy resolution of 2.5 keV FWHM at $Q_{\beta\beta}$ and an ultra-low background that is consistent with the background goals. The initial 10 kg$\cdot$yr of enriched Ge exposure resulted in a lower limit on the $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay half-life of $1.9\times10^{25}$ yr (90% CL). In this talk, we will discuss the status of the Majorana Demonstrator, the recent physics results, and the implications and status of the LEGEND ton-scale Ge-based neutrinoless double-beta decay program.
        Speaker: Dr Wenqin Xu (University of South Dakota)
        Slides
      • 52
        LEGEND: The Large Enriched Germanium Experiment for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay
        The lepton number violating process of neutrinoless double-beta decay could result from the physics beyond the Standard Model needed to generate the neutrino masses. Taking different approaches, the current generation of $^{76}$Ge experiments, the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR and GERDA, lead the field in both the ultra-low background and energy resolution achieved. The next generation of neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments requires increased mass and further reduction of backgrounds to maximize discovery potential. Building on the successes of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR and GERDA, the LEGEND collaboration has been formed to pursue a tonne-scale $^{76}$Ge experiment, with discovery potential at a half-life beyond $10^{28}$ years. The collaboration aims to develop a phased neutrinoless double-beta decay experimental program, starting with a 200 kg measurement using the existing GERDA cryostat at LNGS. I will discuss the plans and physics reach of LEGEND, and the combination of R&D efforts and existing resources being employed to expedite physics results.
        Speaker: Dr Jordan Myslik (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 53
        Deep Neural Networks for Energy and Position Reconstruction in EXO-200
        The EXO-200 experiment is dedicated to the search of neutrinoless double beta ($0\nu\beta\beta$) decay in liquid xenon enriched in the isotope 136. A single-phase time projection chamber (TPC), containing 110 kg of active mass, is realized in an ultra-low background environment where both ionization charge and scintillation light is detected. Both channels are combined for improved energy resolution and better background rejection. Conventional multivariate analyses have been performed on the first two years of data with one of the most sensitive results on $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay and data taking in Phase-II is ongoing. Novel approaches of data analysis on the basis of deep learning were implemented and promising first results were achieved towards better reconstruction of events in EXO-200.
        Speaker: Dr Manuel Weber (Stanford University)
        Slides
      • 54
        Status and Future for the NEXT Collaboration in Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay
        Neutrinoless double beta decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$) searches are key components of the physics program dedicated to understanding the nature and mass of the neutrino. The Neutrino Experiment with a high-pressure Xenon Time Projection Chamber (NEXT) collaboration uses high pressure gas xenon time projection chambers (TPCs) to demonstrate the performance and scalability of this technology as isotope masses increase with each experimental generation. I will first highlight some recent results from NEXT-White, a 5 kg-scale detector currently operating at the Laboratorio Subterraneo de Canfranc (Spain). I will then describe research and development related to NEXT-100, a 100 kg-scale detector which is the next generation of NEXT experiments and expected to take data starting in 2019.
        Speaker: Dr Sereres Johnston (Argonne National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 55
        Search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay with SNO+
        The SNO+ experiment, located in SNOLAB, 2 kilometers underground in the Creighton mine, near Sudbury, Canada, is a large scale neutrino detector whose main purpose is to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay and thus probe the Majorana nature of the neutrino. With 780 tons of liquid scintillator loaded with tellurium, SNO+ aims at exploring the Majorana neutrino mass parameter space down to the inverted mass hierarchy region. The versatility of the SNO+ detector also allows it to detect solar and reactor neutrinos, provide a measurement of the geoneutrino flux, detect galactic core-collapse supernovae and perform nucleon decay searches. The SNO+ experiment is currently taking data with a detector fully filled with ultrapure water. The detector will be completely filled with liquid scintillator in the coming months and subsequently loaded with tellurium. This presentation will describe the physics case, detector design and current status of SNO+.
        Speaker: Dr Vincent Fischer (UC Davis)
        Slides
    • Physics at High Energies: Parallel 2 — Higgs Physics North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Prof. Toyoko Orimoto (Northeastern University), Verena Martinez Outschoorn (UMass Amherst)
      • 56
        Measurements and Searches of Higgs Boson Decays to Two Fermions
        Measurements and searches of Higgs boson decays to two third- or two second-generation quarks or leptons are presented using 36 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data collected at 13 TeV.
        Speaker: Mr Tatsuya MASUBUCHI (The University of Tokyo, International Center for Elementary Particle Physics)
        Slides
      • 57
        Evidence for Higgs Boson Production in Association with a $t\bar{t}$ Pair
        The search for the production of the Higgs Boson with a pair of $t\bar{t}$ quarks is both very important and very challenging. This talk presents the analyses using Higgs boson decays to $b\bar{b}$ pairs, to two $Z$ bosons, to other multi-lepton final states, and to a pair of photons, using 36 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data collected at 13 TeV, as well as their combined results.
        Speaker: Mr Jannik Geisen (II. Physikalisches Institut, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen)
        Slides
      • 58
        Measurement of Cross Sections and Properties of the Higgs Boson in Decays to Bosons Using the ATLAS Detector
        Measurements of Higgs boson properties and cross sections measured in Higgs boson decays to two photons, two $Z$ bosons, and two $W$ bosons based on $pp$ collision data collected at 13 TeV are presented. In addition, results from the combination of different decay channels are shown.
        Speaker: Lucrezia Stella Bruni (NIKHEF)
        Slides
      • 59
        Searches for Rare and Non-Standard Model Decays of the Higgs Boson
        Theories beyond the Standard Model predict Higgs boson decays at a much enhanced rate compared to the Standard Model, e.g. for decays to $Z$+photon, or a meson and a photon, or decays that do not exist in the Standard Model, such as decays into two light bosons (a). This talk presents recent results based on 36 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data collected at 13 TeV.
        Speaker: Mr Elliot Reynolds (University of Birmingham)
        Slides
      • 60
        Precision Measurements with Di-Bosons at the LHC
        Precision measurements at the LHC can provide probes of new physics, and they are complementary to direct searches. The high energy distribution of di-boson processes ($WW,WZ,Vh$) is a promising place, with the possibility of significant improvement in sensitivity as the data accumulates. We focus on the semi-leptonic final states, and make projections of the reach for future runs of the LHC with integrated luminosities of 300 fb$^{−1}$ and 3 ab$^{−1}$. We emphasize the importance of tagging the polarization of the vector bosons, in particular for the $WW$ and $WZ$ channels. We employ a combination of kinematical distributions of both the $W$ and $Z$, and their decay products to select the longitudinally polarized $W$ and $Z$. We have also included our projections for the reach using the associated production of vector bosons and the Higgs. We demonstrate that di-boson measurements in the semi-leptonic channel can surpass the sensitivity of the precision measurement at LEP, and they can be significantly more sensitive than the HL-LHC $h\to Z\gamma$ measurements. We have also considered the reaches on the new physics mass scale in different new physics scenarios, including the Strongly Interacting-Light Higgs (SILH), the Strongly Coupled Multi-pole Interaction (Remedios), and the class of models with partially composite fermions.
        Speaker: Dr Da Liu (Argonne National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 61
        Heavy Higgs Search in the Models with Vectorlike Fermions
        I will discuss models with extended Higgs doublets and extra heavy fermions. In this scenario, a promising way of searching both the neutral heavy Higgs and vectorlike fermion signals at the LHC is observing the heavy Higgs cascade decay into a vectorlike fermion which subsequently decays into $W$, $Z$ gauge bosons or the SM Higgs boson. In this talk, I will also show the signal sensitivities in the future LHC program, HL/HE-LHC.
        Speaker: Dr Seodong Shin (University of Chicago / Yonsei University)
        Slides
    • QCD, Hadron Spectroscopy, and Exotics: Parallel 2 — Heavy Spectroscopy North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Dr Seamus Riordan (Argonne National Laboratory)
      • 62
        Model Independent Constraints on $R(J/\psi)$
        LHCb has recently presented a measurement of $R(J/\psi)=\mathcal{BR}(B_c^+\rightarrow J/\Psi \tau^+\bar\nu_\tau)/\mathcal{BR}(B_c^+\rightarrow J/\Psi \mu^+\bar\nu_\mu)$. The value, $R(J/\psi)=0.71\pm 0.17\pm 0.18$ is in mild tension with the range of model predictions 0.25-0.28. The model transition form factors dominate the systematic uncertainty of the measurement and limit the predictions to a range of values. To improve this situation, we have undertaken to compute model-independent constraints on the transitions form factors via dispersive methods. This allow for rigorous error estimates to be assigned and $R(J/\psi)$ to be computed.
        Speaker: Dr Henry Lamm (University of Maryland)
        Slides
      • 63
        Implication of Chiral Symmetry on the Heavy-Light Spectroscopy
        For a long time, the quark model has served as an ordering scheme and brought systematics into the hadron zoo. However, many new hadrons that were observed since 2003, including the lowest-lying positive-parity charm-strange mesons $D_{s0}^\star$(2317) and $D_{s1}$(2460), do not conform with quark model expectations. Various modifications to the quark model and alternative approaches have been proposed ever since to explain their low masses and decay properties. We demonstrate that if the lightest scalar (axial vector) states are assumed to owe their existence to non-perturbative $\pi/\eta/K-D^{(\star)}/D_s^{(\star)}$ scattering, various puzzles in the $D$-meson spectrum get resolved. Most importantly the ordering of the lightest strange and non-strange scalars becomes natural. We show the well constrained amplitudes for Goldstone-Boson$-D/D^\star$ scattering are fully consistent with recent high quality data on $B^-\to\pi^-\pi^-D^+$ final states. This implies that the lowest quark-model positive-parity charm mesons, together with their bottom cousins, if realized in nature, do not form the ground-state multiplet. This is similar to the pattern that has been established for the scalar mesons made from light up, down and strange quarks, where the lowest multiplet is considered to be made of states not described by the quark model. In a broader view, the hadron spectrum must be viewed as more than a collection of quark model states.
        Speaker: Dr Meng-Lin DU (Helmholtz-Institut f\"ur Strahlen- und Kernphysik and Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics, Universit\"at Bonn)
        Slides
      • 64
        Precise Measurement of the $D^\star(2010)^+ - D^+$ Mass Difference
        We measure the mass difference, $\Delta m_+$, between the $D^\star (2010)^+$ and the $D^+$, using the decay chain $D^\star (2010)^+\to D^+ \pi^0$ with $D^+\to K^- \pi^+ \pi^+$. The data were recorded with the BaBar detector at center-of-mass energies at and near the $\Upsilon$(4S) resonance, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of approximately 468 fb$^{-1}$. We measure $\Delta m_+ = (140,601.0 \pm 6.8 \,[\mathrm{stat}] \pm 12.9 \, [\mathrm{syst}])$ keV. We combine this result with a previous BaBar measurement of $\Delta m_0\equiv m(D^\star(2010)^+) - m (D^0)$ to obtain $\Delta m_D = m(D^+) - m(D^0) = (4,824.9 \pm 6.8\,[\mathrm{stat}] \pm 12.9\,[\mathrm{syst}])$ keV. These results are compatible with, and approximately five times more precise than, previous world averages.
        Speaker: Prof. Abner Soffer (Tel Aviv University)
        Slides
      • 65
        Dibaryon Searches in Decuplet Baryons from Lattice QCD
        In recent years, there is a renewed interest in the dibaryons due to exclusive measurements in hadron reactions as well as the direct measurement in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. In this talk, we will present the result of the dibaryon searches from lattice QCD. Particularly we focus on the study of "Most strange dibaryon", which is composed of two $\Omega$ baryons. First, we will show the result of the $\Omega$-$\Omega$ interaction in the $^1S_0$ channel at almost physical point, and then will clarify that the interaction leads to a shallow bound state. We may talk about the $\Delta$-$\Delta$ interaction in the $^7S_3$ channel in the case of the heavy pion mass. In the interaction, there appears a deep bound state that is observed as a resonance of two nucleons in an experiment by the CELSIUS/WASA Collaboration. S. Gongyo $\textit{et al.}$, Most Strange Dibaryon from Lattice QCD, arXiv:1709.00654 [hep-lat], accepted in PRL.
        Speaker: Dr Shinya Gongyo (RIKEN Nishina Center, RIKEN)
        Slides
      • 66
        Single-Top Production in the Standard Model and Beyond
        I present high-order calculations for single-top production in the Standard Model and in models with anomalous top-quark couplings. Theoretical results are presented for total cross sections and top-quark transverse momentum and rapidity distributions for the $t$ and $s$ single-top channels as well as for the associated production of a top quark with a $W$-boson in the Standard Model. Corrections from soft-gluon emission though NNNLO are included. I also show results for the associated production of a top quark with a $Z$ boson in processes involving anomalous top-quark couplings.
        Speaker: Prof. Nikolaos Kidonakis (Kennesaw State University)
        Slides
      • 67
        Measurement of Polarization Observables in the Reaction $\gamma p \to K^+ \Lambda$
        Spin observables are important to understand the production mechanisms of hyperons, as well as the contribution of intermediate baryon resonances. $\Lambda$ polarization observables have been studied extensively in the recent decades using the reaction $\gamma + p \to K^+ + \Lambda$. This talk presents the measurement of transferred polarization coefficients $C_x$ and $C_z$, and the induced polarization $P$, using a new set of high statistics data, obtained using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) detector at Jefferson Lab. The photon beam energy range is 1.117 to 5.45 GeV. These results ($C_x, C_z$ and $P$) are extracted simultaneously using the Maximum Likelihood Method. The measurements for $C_x$ and $C_z$ have nearly an order of magnitude increase in events compared to previously published results and also extend the kinematic range for $W > 2.54$ GeV, important for both the search for high-mass nucleon states as well as to provide information about non-resonant contributions.
        Speaker: Shankar Adhikari (Florida International University)
        Slides
    • Tests of Symmetries and the Electroweak Interaction: Parallel 2 — Nucleon and Nuclear Electric Dipole Moments North Foyer | Kachina Room

      North Foyer | Kachina Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Dr Vincenzo Cirigliano (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
      • 68
        EDMs: Theory Overview
        Electric dipole moments (EDMs) are extremely sensitive probes of physics beyond the Standard Model (SM). A vibrant experimental program is in place, with the goal of improving existing bounds on the electron and neutron EDMs by one/two orders of magnitude, while testing new ideas for the measurement of EDMs of light ions, such as the proton and the deuteron, at a comparable level. The success of this program, and its implications for physics beyond the SM, relies on the precise calculation of the EDMs in terms of the couplings of CP-violating operators, induced by BSM physics in the QCD Lagrangian. In light of the non-perturbative nature of both QCD at low energy and of the nuclear interactions, these calculations have proven difficult, and are affected by large theoretical uncertainties. In this talk I will review the progress that has been achieved on different aspects of the calculation of hadronic and nuclear EDMs, the challenges that remain to be faced, and the implications for our understanding of physics beyond the SM.
        Speaker: Emanuele Mereghetti (LANL)
        Slides
      • 69
        Worldwide Search for a Neutron EDM
        Existing limits on the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the free neutron have provided critical constraints on new sources of CP violation for more than 60 years. A new round of searches are actively underway with the goal of improving the sensitivity to CP violation by up to two orders of magnitude. The status of these new searches will be discussed, including recent progress on the nEDM experiment to be carried out at the Fundamental Neutron Physics Beamline at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Spallation Neutron Source.
        Speaker: brad filippone (caltech)
        Slides
      • 70
        Towards TUCAN’s Search for the Neutron Electric Dipole Moment
        TUCAN (TRIUMF ultracold advanced neutron source) is a transpacific collaboration with the objective to measure the neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) with unprecedented precision. We aim at a precision of $10^{-27}$ e.cm, an improvement by a factor of 30 over the current upper limit for this elusive quantity. A non-zero nEDM violates parity and time-reversal symmetry, and is thus intimately linked to the baryon asymmetry of the universe. The tool of choice to search for an nEDM are ultracold neutrons (UCN) that move at velocities of only a few meters per second and can be stored and observed for up to hundreds of seconds. TUCAN recently completed a major milestone: production of the first UCN in Canada by operating a prototype source, developed at RCNP Osaka, Japan, at a dedicated proton beam line at TRIUMF, Vancouver, Canada. This source is based on a neutron spallation source combined with a superfluid helium cryostat – a unique approach among the handful of worldwide efforts to produce significant densities of UCN for nEDM searches and other high precision experiments. This presentation will describe TUCAN’s current efforts and timeline towards design, implementation, and commissioning of the required next-generation UCN source and nEDM spectrometer.
        Speaker: Dr Wolfgang Schreyer (TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 71
        Status of the Storage Ring Proton EDM Experiment
        Charged particle EDM experiments can be done with high sensitivity using storage rings. Radial electric fields bend a longitudinally polarized beam for storage while at the same time couple with the particle EDM. Having the so-called magic momentum, the spin precession in the horizontal plane can be frozen. Still, the spin can make a precession in the vertical plane with a rate proportional to the magnitude of the EDM ($d_p$). We have a preliminary ring design to make the proton EDM experiment with a sensitivity of $d_p=10^{-29}\ e\cdot$cm. The EDM signal corresponds to a few nrad/s of spin precession rate in the vertical plane. There are several spin and electromagnetic field configurations that can lead to a false EDM signal of the same order, like a net radial magnetic field and/or vertical electric field depending on the details of the ring lattice. This talk summarizes the ring design with a focus on the systematic errors.
        Speaker: Selcuk Haciomeroglu (Institute for Basic Science, Korea)
        Slides
      • 72
        The Radium-225 Experiment
        Due to its large nuclear octupole deformation and high atomic mass, the radioactive isotope $^{225}$Ra is a favorable case to search for an electric dipole moment (EDM); it is particularly sensitive to CP-violating interactions in the nucleus. However, its scarcity and low vapor pressure present significant challenges. To measure this rare isotope, we have developed an approach to measuring atomic EDMs by using lasers to cool radium atoms to 40 micro-Kelvin, and then we trap those atoms in an optical dipole trap. The atoms are then allowed to precess in magnetic and strong electric fields. Using this method, we have found the EDM of radium to be less than $1.4\times 10^{-23}$ e-cm (95% C.L.). Upcoming improvements are expected to dramatically improve our sensitivity, and significantly improve on the search for new physics in several sectors.
        Speaker: Dr Matthew Dietrich (Argonne National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 73
        Progress on the Nucleon EDM in Lattice QCD
        EDM of the nucleon, whether observed or further constrained, can be traced back to various CP-violating quark and gluon effective interactions. In order to constrain these effective interactions and, subsequently, the extensions of the Standard Model, nonperturbative calculations of nucleon structure are necessary. Low-energy theories and nucleon models provide ballpark estimates for the nEDM sensitivity to CP violation at the quark/gluon level, while precise and model-independent relations between nEDM and various sources of CP violation are expected from QCD calculations on a lattice. Lattice QCD has reached a respectable level of statistical and systematic precision for hadron spectrum and simple nucleon structure observables with physical quark masses, and on the verge of producing reliable results for nucleon EDM induced by lowest-order quark-gluon operators. In this talk, I will briefly overview the current status of these calculations as well as show some recent preliminary results.
        Speaker: Prof. Sergey Syritsyn (Stony Brook University)
        Slides
      • 74
        Search for Time Reversal Invariance Violation in Resonances of Compound Nuclei Accessible Using Epithermal Neutrons
        One of the main puzzles in contemporary physics is the asymmetry between matter and antimatter observed in the Universe. In our current understanding, one of the necessary ingredients to explain such asymmetry is the violation of CP (or equivalently the TRIV), however it has only been observed in the weak interaction and with a very small amplitude. Searches of new mechanisms of CP violation in the strong interaction are of scientific importance. In this context, the transmission of polarized epithermalneutrons in resonances of compound nuclei that exhibit large parity-violating effects offers a possibility to search for T-odd effects that constitute a null test for TRIV and that are complementary to other searches, like the neutron EDM.
        Speaker: Dr Libertad Barrón-Palos (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
        Slides
    • 6:30 PM
      RECEPTION
    • Registration Desk: Open 07:30 – 17:30 East Foyer

      East Foyer

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
    • Plenary 3: Heavy Flavors and the CKM Matrix | Special Topic East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Prof. Young-Kee Kim (The University of Chicago)
      • 75
        Lepton Universality Violation
        There is a wealth of experimental results questioning the deep-rooted assumption of lepton universality in flavour-changing interactions. Recently, several anomalies were reported by the LHCb collaboration and there is the long standing discrepancy of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. At the same time the large LHC experiments do not see clear signals of New Physics, and there are ever-more impressive limits on charged lepton flavour violation. A comprehensive overview of the anomalous results will be presented and their implications will be highlighted.
        Speaker: Dr Gerco Onderwater (University of Groningen)
        Slides
      • 76
        Experimental Status of $V_{ub}/V_{cb}$ and the CKM Angle $\gamma$
        Precision measurements of CKM parameters are important for defining the Standard Model and for searching for inconsistencies from new-physics contributions. I will review the status of current measurements and discuss the precision expected in future runs of LHCb and Belle II.
        Speaker: Prof. Abner Soffer (Tel Aviv University)
        Slides
      • 77
        Measurement of the Weak Charge of the Proton by the Qweak Collaboration
        The measurement of the violation of parity symmetry in electron scattering is a powerful technique in the search for new fundamental forces. The Qweak collaboration has recently completed a highly precise measurement of parity violation in the elastic scattering of longitudinally polarized electrons from unpolarized protons. From this result, the weak charge of the proton is determined and compared to the Standard Model prediction, providing a constraint on the possible influence of new physics. The result will be presented, and the techniques and implications of this measurement will be discussed. Prospects for future improvements will also be briefly reviewed.
        Speaker: Mr Kent Paschke (University of Virginia)
        Slides
    • 9:45 AM
      Break
    • Plenary 4: Precision Physics at High Intensities | Tests of Symmetries and the Electroweak Interaction East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Dave Bowman
      • 78
        Electromagnetic Properties of Antihydrogen and the Antiproton: Recent Results from ALPHA and BASE
        The apparent dominance of matter over antimatter in the universe remains one of the greatest puzzles in science. The antiproton decelerator facility at CERN is home to several experiments dedicated to performing precise measurements of the properties of antimatter and hoping to provide insight into the matter-antimatter asymmetry problem. Recently the ALPHA and BASE experiments have reported measurements of the electromagnetic properties of the antihydrogen atom, and antiproton respectively, at unprecedented levels of precision. Following the observation of the first optical transition in antihydrogen atoms in 2016, ALPHA recently characterised one of the hyperfine components of the 1S-2S transition in antihydrogen. It was determined that the resonance frequency of this transition in antihydrogen matches that of hydrogen, and is therefore consistent with CPT invariance, at a relative precision of $2\times10^{-12}$. In 2017 the BASE collaboration reported a measurement of the magnetic moment of the antiproton to a relative precision of $1.5\times10^{-9}$, an improvement on the precision of their previous measurement by a factor of 350. The result rivals the precision of the proton magnetic moment measurement and provides a stringent test of CPT invariance. In this talk I will review the recent measurement of the antiproton magnetic moment by the BASE collaboration, and spectroscopic measurements of the antihydrogen atom by the ALPHA collaboration.
        Speaker: Dr Daniel Maxwell (Swansea University)
        Slides
      • 79
        Symmetries and Interactions from Lattice QCD
        QCD has been long accepted as the underlying theory behind nuclear forces. However, calculations of nuclear properties directly from QCD have only very recently become mature. The theory's non-perturbative nature at low energies requires the use of lattice regularization (lattice QCD) combined with numerical methods for its solution. With these tools in hand, we are now starting to be able to predict properties of nucleons and their interactions with fully controlled and quantifiable systematics. In addition to giving us unique theoretical insight into the structure of nuclei, these techniques will allow us, for example, to inform the design and construction of experiments which utilize specific nuclei for their symmetry properties, as well as pin down potential signs of new physics from experimental signals. In this talk I will present recent results from the CalLat collaboration relevant for nuclear physics, including a calculation of the nucleon axial charge to 1% precision, as well as quantities relevant for neutrinoless double beta decay searches.
        Speaker: Prof. Amy Nicholson (UNC Chapel Hill)
        Slides
      • 80
        NPDGamma: The Final Chapter
        Neutrons have been a useful probe in many fields of science as well as an important physical system for study in themselves. Modern neutron sources provide extraordinary opportunities to study a wide variety of physics topics. Among them is a detailed study of the weak interaction. These measurements, done in few-nucleon systems, are finally letting us gain knowledge of the hadronic weak interaction without the contributions from nuclear effects. The NPDGamma experiment aims to isolate the long-range component of the hadronic weak interaction by measuring the directional parity-violating asymmetry in polarized cold neutron capture on protons. The experiment and analysis will be described and final results will be presented.
        Speaker: Prof. Nadia Fomin (University of Tennessee)
        Slides
      • 81
        Standard Model Tests in Neutron and Nuclear Beta Decay
        The status of tests of the Standard Model and of searches for new physics in nuclear and neutron beta decay will be reviewed. Using a model-independent description, I will discuss the interplay between the different experiments and which ones are the most sensitive and promising. Finally I will analyse the synergy with searches at high-energy colliders, such as the LHC, and with other electroweak precision observables.
        Speaker: Martin Gonzalez-Alonso (CERN)
        Slides
    • 12:30 PM
      Lunch
    • Cosmic Physics and Dark Energy, Inflation, and Strong-Field Gravity: Parallel 3 — The Early Universe North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Kev Abazajian (UC Irvine), Prof. Neelima Sehgal (Stony Brook University)
      • 82
        Inflation Ends, What is Next?
        What happens in the aftermath of inflation? In this talk I will focus on the non-perturbative dynamics of fields (such as soliton formation) after inflation ends and its observational consequences including: (1) a change in the expansion history after inflation; (2) generation of high frequency gravitational waves; (3) possibility of primordial black-hole formation. Time permitting, I will also point out a novel connection between the fine-tuning of the Higgs potential and the generation of gravitational waves from the nonlinear dynamics of the Higgs+inflaton system during the post-inflationary epoch.
        Speaker: Dr Mustafa Amin (Rice University)
        Slides
      • 83
        Using Microhalos to Probe the Universe's First Second
        As remnants of the earliest stages of structure formation, the smallest dark matter halos provide a unique probe of the primordial density fluctuations generated during inflation and the evolution of the early Universe. Any enhancement to the small-scale matter power spectrum will trigger the formation of dark matter halos far earlier than otherwise expected. Consequently, observational limits on the abundance of early-forming ultra-compact minihalos (UCMHs) place a powerful upper bound on the amplitude of the small-scale power spectrum, which in turn constrains inflationary models. Numerical simulations of UCMH formation reveal that these constraints need to be revised: UCMHs do not have the steep power-law density profiles predicted by spherical collapse. The abundance of microhalos also encodes information about the evolution of the Universe prior to Big Bang nucleosynthesis because deviations from radiation domination accelerate the growth of small-scale density perturbations. The resulting population of microhalos significantly boosts the dark matter annihilation rate, making it possible to use gamma-ray observations to learn about the evolution of the Universe during its first second.
        Speaker: Prof. Adrienne Erickcek (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
        Slides
      • 84
        Cosmology with a Helical Flavor
        Whether the parity of the Universe is broken on the large scale is an ongoing question. If this is the case, then one may trace the origin of parity violation back to the inflationary era. In this talk, I will review a few mechanisms that lead to the generation of helical fields, a source of breaking the parity on the large scale. The presence of helical U(1) fields in the early Universe can explain the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. In fact, there is a connection between the baryon number and topology of the relic magnetic part of the U(1) field. Both the magnitude and sign of magnetic helicity can be detected in future diffuse gamma ray data. This will be a smoking gun for a link between inflation, parity violating fields, and the baryon asymmetry of the Universe.
        Speaker: Dr Mohamed Anber (Lewis & Clark College)
        Slides
      • 85
        Cosmological Probes of Dark Matter Interactions
        Abundance of cosmological data will enable sensitive probes of dark matter physics in the coming decade. I will focus on scattering of sub-GeV dark matter with baryons in the pre-recombination Universe, summarize the status of cosmological searches, present forecasts for the next-stage CMB experiments, and discuss distinguishability of various signatures of new physics sought by CMB surveys.
        Speaker: Dr Vera Gluscevic (Institute for Advanced Study)
        Slides
      • 86
        Self-Interacting Dark Matter and Diverse Galactic Rotation Curves
        Astrophysical observations, spanning dwarf galaxies to galaxy clusters, indicate that the dark matter halo properties are much more diverse than predicted in the prevailing cold dark matter theory. In this talk, I will show that self-interacting dark matter can provide a unified solution to a number of observed puzzles on galactic scales, including the diverse galactic rotation curves, the radial acceleration relation, and the density cores in galaxy clusters.
        Speaker: Hai-Bo Yu (University of California, Riverside)
        Slides
    • DM / PHE: Parallel 3 — Accelerator Searches for Dark Matter North Foyer | Kachina Room

      North Foyer | Kachina Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Prof. Toyoko Orimoto (Northeastern University)
      • 87
        Dark Matter Searches with the ATLAS Detector
        Dark matter could be produced at the LHC if it interacts weakly with the Standard Model. The search for dark matter can be performed directly, by looking for a signature of large missing transverse momentum coming from the dark matter candidates escaping the detector, measured against an accompanying visible object (jet, photon, boson). A broad and systematic search program covering these various possibilities with the ATLAS detector is in place: the talk will review the latest results of these searches.
        Speaker: Prof. Young-Kee Kim (Chicago University)
        Slides
      • 88
        Mono-X Searches for Dark Matter with the CMS Detector
        Searches using large missing momentum are a powerful tool for probing dark matter hypotheses using the Compact Muon Solenoid at the LHC. Collectively, they are dubbed "mono-X" searches, where X refers to one of many Standard Model signatures. In this talk, I will give an overview of the broad range of CMS mono-X analyses, describe new techniques developed during Run 2, and showcase the latest constraints on DM models.
        Speaker: Mr Siddharth Narayanan (MIT)
        Slides
      • 89
        Searches for Dark Matter Mediators with the ATLAS Detector
        The search for dark matter can be performed indirectly at the LHC by looking for the intermediate mediators which would couple the dark matter particles to the Standard Model. The mediator could indeed decay to jets or leptons, leading to a resonant signature which can be probed. The talk will present the results of these searches with the ATLAS detector and show their complementarity with the other ATLAS searches looking directly for Dark Matter.
        Speaker: Mr Peter McNamara (The University of Melbourne)
        Slides
      • 90
        Searches for Dark Matter Mediators with the CMS Detector
        We present several complementary searches for dark matter mediators using a 35.9 inverse femtobarn data set of proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV collected with the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016. One technique uses the CMS scouting data stream concept to record larger data rates than otherwise possible. Other searches use initial state radiation to overcome trigger thresholds and study boosted dijet resonances, whose decay products are merged into a single jet. Novel jet substructure techniques are used to avoid sculpting the distribution of the jet mass distribution and the dominant background is estimated from data. The searches are interpreted in the context of simplified models of dark matter with a leptophobic mediator. This approach has also been extended to the search for boosted Higgs bosons decaying to bottom quark-antiquark pairs.
        Speaker: Javier Duarte (Fermilab)
        Slides
    • Heavy Flavors and the CKM Matrix: Parallel 3 — Belle / Belle II and the CKM Matrix South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Wolfgang Altmannshofer (University of Cincinnati)
      • 91
        Introduction to the CKM Matrix
        The Standard Model CKM matrix describes the observed flavor and CP violating phenomena in particle physics remarkably well. I will review the results of the global Unitarity Triangle fits performed by the UTfit and CKMfitter collaborations that use the latest inputs from experiments, lattice QCD, and phenomenological calculations. Furthermore, I will discuss how the Unitarity Triangle analysis can be extended in the presence of new physics and I will present bounds on the new physics scale that can be derived from meson oscillations.
        Speaker: Wolfgang Altmannshofer (University of Cincinnati)
        Slides
      • 92
        Combined Measurement of the CP Violating Angle $\beta$ by the BaBar and Belle Experiments
        We present a recent joint measurement of the CP violating angle $\beta$ using 1.1 inverse attobarns of data collected by the BaBar and Belle experiments. This analysis is based on a time-dependent Dalitz plot analysis of $B\to D^\star h^0$ with $D\to K^0_S\pi^+\pi^−$ decays. These decays provide experimental access to cos(2$\beta$) as well as sin(2$\beta$), and can therefore resolve an ambiguity in the determination of the apex of the CKM Unitarity Triangle. As part of the analysis, a full Dalitz plot amplitude analysis of $D\to K^0_S\pi^+\pi^−$ is performed on a high-statistics charm data set. We report the first evidence for cos(2$\beta$)>0, an observation of CP violation, and the exclusion of the second solution of the CKM Unitarity Triangle of $\beta=68.1\pm0.7$ degrees at a significance of 7.3 standard deviations.
        Speaker: Dr Tomonari Miyashita (Caltech)
        Slides
      • 93
        Determination of $V_{ub}$ and $V_{cb}$
        Semileptonic decays of $B$ mesons involving low-mass charged leptons $e$ or $\mu$ are expected to be free of non-Standard Model contributions and therefore play a critical role in determinations of $\vert V_{cb} \vert$ and $\vert V_{ub} \vert$ ($\vert V_{qb} \vert$). Decays of the form $b \to c \ell \bar \nu_\ell$ and $b \to u \ell \bar \nu_\ell$ allow us to determine these matrix elements and test the CKM sector of the Standard Model. The theory underlying the determination of $\vert V_{qb} \vert$ is mature and experimental measurements are precise. However, the difference between exclusive and inclusive determinations persist even as the theoretical and experimental errors get smaller with more statistics, better theoretical calculations, and more precise measurements. Of all the CKM matrix parameters, $\vert V_{ub} \vert$ is the least precise and in most need of additional studies in order to constrain the apex of the unitarity triangle even further. We present the procedures and latest results for exclusive and inclusive determinations of $\vert V_{qb} \vert$.
        Speaker: Mr Matic Lubej (Jozef Stefan Institute)
        Slides
      • 94
        First Collisions at Belle II
        The Belle II experiment at the asymmetric energy $e^+e^-$ collider SuperKEKB is a next generation B-factory, taking advantage of an upgrade of the collider complex to deliver about 40$\times$ the luminosity that was available to Belle. Together with a state-of-the-art detector upgrade, a rich physics program will be accessible by Belle II. Highlights are beyond-the-standard-model physics searches in precision measurements of the flavor sector and a rich spectroscopy program. Belle II is set to see first collisions at the end of April of this year, and by the time of this presentation, the second commissioning phase with beam and the full detector, except the vertex detector, will be in full swing. This talk will give the status of the commissioning as well as an outlook of the physics program with a focus on measurements possible with data from phase II.
        Speaker: Anselm Vossen (Duke University/JLab)
        Slides
    • Neutrino Masses and Neutrino Mixing: Parallel 3 — Reactor Neutrinos South Foyer | Nopales Room

      South Foyer | Nopales Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Prof. Andre de Gouvea (Northwestern University), Daniel Dwyer
      • 95
        Reactor Neutrino Oscillation at Daya Bay
        The Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment continues to provide leading measurements of the mixing angle $\theta_{13}$ as well as important constraints on the atmospheric mass splitting, reactor flux models, and light sterile neutrinos. This talk begins with a review of Daya Bay's existing oscillation analysis based on 1,230 days of data. We then discuss the enhancements in our forthcoming result (to be announced at Neutrino 2018), including increased statistics, improved reconstruction, a revised energy model, updated background estimates, and various reductions in other systematic uncertainties. We conclude with a preview of other upcoming publications from Daya Bay.
        Speaker: Matthew Kramer
        Slides
      • 96
        Latest Results of the Double Chooz Experiment
        Double Chooz is a reactor neutrino disappearance experiment with the purpose of a precise measurement of the neutrino mixing angle $\theta_{13}$. The experimental set-up consists of two identical liquid scintillator detectors, one at a longer baseline of about 1 km since 2011 and a closer one with a distance of about 400 m since 2014. This double-detector set-up with an essential iso-flux configuration allows one to fit the far detector data to the near detector data without relying on the reactor neutrino flux predictions, where systematic uncertainties are suppressed to per mill levels. Statistical uncertainties are reduced by adding the delayed signal of the Hydrogen neutron capture in addition to Gadolinium, which yields an increase of more than a factor two in statistics. By performing a global fit of the energy dependent neutrino rates and shapes in both detectors simultaneously, the neutrino mixing angle $\theta_{13}$ can be obtained. The latest results of the Double Chooz collaboration are presented in this talk.
        Speaker: Mr Philipp Soldin (RWTH Aachen University Germany)
        Slides
      • 97
        PROSPECT: a Precision Reactor Oscillation and SPECTrum Short-Baseline Antineutrino Experiment
        PROSPECT (Precision Reactor Oscillation and SPECTrum) is a short-baseline reactor antineutrino experiment. PROSPECT consists of a segmented 4-ton $^6$Li liquid scintillator antineutrino detector that will precisely measure the $^{235}$U fission antineutrino spectrum from the High-Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). PROSPECT’s high statistics and high resolution measurements of the antineutrino energy spectrum and flux from HFIR’s $^{235}$U core will be vital to understanding the discrepancies between predicted and measured antineutrino spectra and fluxes observed in previous commercial power reactor neutrino experiments; in addition, PROSPECT will search for the existence of sterile neutrino oscillations at the eV-scale. PROSPECT’s assembly was completed in late 2017 and data taking at HFIR began in 2018. This talk will explain PROSPECT’s physics objectives, describe its experimental design, and cover its installation and initial data-taking at ORNL.
        Speaker: Prof. Bryce Littlejohn (IIT)
      • 98
        Accelerator and Reactor Complementarity in Coherent Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering
        Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus elastic scattering (CE$\nu$NS) experiments can be used to constrain new physics in the form of non-standard neutrino interactions (NSI). First, we consider the current data from the recent observation by the Coherent experiment within a Bayesian framework. Second, we demonstrate the complementarity of future reactor and accelerator experiments, by employing at least two distinct target materials at each source. This enables a degeneracy between up and down flavor-diagonal NSI terms to be broken. Considering four flavor-diagonal ($ee/\mu\mu$) up- and down-type NSI parameters, we find that all terms can be measured with high local precision (to a width as small as $\sim$5% in Fermi units) by next-generation experiments.
        Speaker: Dr Jayden Newstead (Arizona State University)
        Slides
    • Particle and Nuclear Astrophysics: Parallel 3 — Nuclear Astrophysics North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Dr Barry Davids (TRIUMF), Wick Haxton
      • 99
        Stellar Explosions in the Lab: Measurements of Key Nuclear Reactions Driving Nucleosynthesis
        Stellar explosions such as novae, supernovae, X-ray bursts, and neutron star mergers are responsible for the synthesis of a large fraction of the terrestrial elements. Nucleosynthesis in explosive environments is driven by rapid successions of nuclear reactions and decays. In order to understand the dynamics and isotopic yields of stellar explosions, it is essential that the rates of the underlying nuclear reactions be well understood. Hence both direct and indirect laboratory measurements of key nuclear reactions involved in the nucleosynthesis processes are essential for a complete understanding of explosive stellar nucleosynthesis. Many of these reactions proceed away from the valley of nuclear stability, leading to the requirement that radioactive beams be employed for measurements. In this talk, I will give an overview of recent state-of-the-art efforts to constrain explosive stellar nucleosynthesis through direct and indirect laboratory measurements. In particular, I will focus on measurements pertaining to radiative proton capture reactions that are important in classical novae. This will include a discussion of recent direct measurements using the DRAGON recoil mass separator and radioactive beams from the ISAC-I facility at TRIUMF. I will also discuss a new program under development at the Texas A&M University Cyclotron Institute, targeted at performing indirect measurements of radiative proton capture using re-accelerated radioactive beams.
        Speaker: Prof. Greg Christian (Texas A&M University)
        Slides
      • 100
        Nuclear Astrophysics Underground: Status & Future
        Even 60 years after the groundbreaking publication by Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler, and Hoyle, Nuclear Astrophysics is still a thriving research field at the interface of nuclear physics, astrophysics, and particle physics. An important topic is associated with the evolution of stars and its impact on the production of heavy elements. The study of the key reactions has been a major goal by the community, in Europe, the US and also in China. However, the cosmic ray induced background has been prohibitive for advancing these measurements into the stellar energy range and reaction rates rely on theoretical extrapolations. Accelerator laboratories, located deep underground offer unique conditions for measuring these reactions at low energies as demonstrated by the success of the LUNA facility at Gran Sasso, Italy. Over the past years the CASPAR laboratory has been commissioned at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (Lead, South Dakota) to address the further need for such facilities. CASPAR operates a 1MV, fully refurbished Van de Graaff accelerator that can provide beam intensities of more than 100 micro-Ampere. Furthermore, the LUNA-MV facility as well as the JUNA project in China’s Jinping Underground Laboratory will be operational in the near future. Successful implementation of a science program at these facilities result in significant progress in the field. The current status of the underground accelerator facilities for Nuclear Astrophysics will be reviewed.
        Speaker: Prof. Frank Strieder (South Dakota School of Mines & Technology)
        Slides
      • 101
        Improving Astrophysical Nuclear Rates with New Many-Body and Fewer-Body Reaction Models
        Nuclear and particle astrophysics has long relied on relatively crude models of nuclear reaction rates, because computational methods are lacking for systems of more than two particles and because empirical constraints on simplified models are scarce. $\textit{Ab initio}$ methods, which model nuclei using a quantitatively accurate nucleon-nucleon interaction and reasonably complete model spaces, now offer alternatives to the traditional reaction-by-reaction or systematics-based phenomenology. Particularly at $A<12$, there are now theoretical cross sections grounded directly in nucleon-level physics. I will give a quick overview of this work to date, emphasizing the significant further investments in each $\textit{ab initio}$ approach that are needed to produce accurate results with quantified errors. I will then argue that in the long run, these methods are unlikely to deliver astrophysical rates of the desired precision without inputs beyond the nucleon-nucleon interaction: rates are too sensitive to "finely tuned" numbers like threshold and resonance energies. It is therefore urgent to develop methods that can consistently incorporate complementary information from both $\textit{ab initio}$ and empirical data into "fewer-body" models like the empirical R-matrix or halo effective field theory (EFT), particularly in combination with Bayesian methods to provide quantified errors. I will illustrate this point with applications of halo EFT to rates in the solar pp-chain.
        Speaker: Dr Kenneth Nollett (San Diego State University)
        Slides
      • 102
        Probing Explosive Nucleosynthesis with TwinSol Measurements
        The nucleosynthesis occurring in astrophysical explosions can be very different than that which occurs in main sequence stars such as our sun. In fact, many of the properties of explosive astrophysical events are determined by the nuclear physics of the radioactive nuclei that power the explosion. At the University of Notre Dame TwinSol radioactive beam separator, exotic nuclei of astrophysical interest are being produced and studied in order to further our understanding of astrophysical explosions. In fact, TwinSol was one of the first such devices in the United States dedicated to radioactive beam production. Recent studies include the first neutron angular distribution measurement from a (d,n) reaction on an exotic beam and some of the most precise half-life measurements to constrain elements in the CKM matrix. These studies along with future plans and upgrades will be presented.
        Speaker: Dan Bardayan (University of Notre Dame)
        Slides
      • 103
        Sensitivity Study for the $^{12}$C($\alpha,\gamma$)$^{16}$O Astrophysical Reaction Rate
        The $^{12}$C($\alpha,\gamma$)$^{16}$O reaction has a key role in nuclear astrophysics. A multilevel R-matrix analysis was used to make extrapolations of the astrophysical S factor for this reaction to the stellar energy of 300 keV. The statistical precision of the S-factor extrapolation was determined by performing multiple fits to randomized (according to the experimental errors) existing E1 and E2 ground state data. The impact of a future proposed experiment at Jefferson Laboratory (JLab) was assessed within this framework. The proposed JLab experiment will make use of a high-intensity low-energy bremsstrahlung beam that impinges on an oxygen-rich single-fluid bubble chamber in order to measure the total cross section for the $^{16}$O($\gamma,\alpha$)$^{12}$C reaction. The importance of low energy data as well as high precision data was investigated. The results of this study will be presented.
        Speaker: Roy Holt (California Institute of Technology and Argonne National Laboratory)
        Slides
    • Precision Physics at High Intensities: Parallel 3 — g-2 South Foyer | Pinon Room

      South Foyer | Pinon Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Prof. Aida El-Khadra (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
      • 104
        The Commissioning Run Update of the Muon g-2 Experiment at Fermilab
        The Muon g-2 Experiment (E989) at Fermilab is measuring the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon $a_{\mu}$, aiming at improving the precision to 140 parts-per-billion (ppb) and resolving the standard deviation between the previous measurement of $a_{\mu}$ and the Standard Model calculation of $a_{\mu}$. In E989, the muon beam is stored in a ring magnet. The spin precession frequency $\omega_{a}$ is measured by counting the decay positrons in 24 calorimeters, and the magnetic field is measured by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probes. Important improvements of this experiment and the progress of the commissioning run will be presented.
        Speaker: Dr Ran Hong (Argonne National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 105
        Hadronic Contributions to Muon g-2 and Spin Structure Functions
        I will discuss the relation, viz. Schwinger's sum rule, between the g-2 and the spin structure functions. It allows one to assess the hadronic (as well as other) contributions to muon g-2 by measuring the structure function. The latter can be accessed experimentally in inelastic muon-electron scattering. I will outline the prospects of such measurements at the muon-beam facilities. This presentation is based on: F. Hagelstein and V. Pascalutsa, Phys.Rev.Lett. 120 (2018) no.7, 072002 [DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.072002]
        Speaker: Dr Vladimir Pascalutsa (University of Mainz)
        Slides
      • 106
        Dispersive Analysis of Hadronic Light-by-Light Scattering and the Muon's (g-2)
        In my talk, I will present our recent dispersive analysis of the $\gamma \gamma^\star \to \pi\pi, \pi\eta$ processes from the threshold up to 1.4 GeV in the two photon invariant mass. These amplitudes serve as important input to constrain the hadronic piece of light-by-light scattering contribution to (g-2) and support the current experimental program at BESIII. As well, I will present an application of the light-by-light scattering sum rules to the $\gamma \gamma^\star$-production of mesons in light of the new data by the Belle Collaboration on the transition form factors.
        Speaker: Prof. Marc Vanderhaeghen (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz)
        Slides
      • 107
        Hadronic Matrix Elements for Muon g–2 in Lattice QCD
        The muon anomalous magnetic moment is a subject of intense focus for theoretical and experimental particle physics at this time. This quantity is especially sensitive to new physics, so the current tension with Standard Model predictions makes the anomalous magnetic moment especially exciting. The muon $g-2$ can be measured with high precision, and predictions from theory must be similarly precise to be informative. However, some pieces of the theory prediction that include hadronic matrix elements are difficult or impractical to determine experimentally, and predictions from models lack robustly quantitative statements about the uncertainty. To circumvent this issue, these hadronic matrix elements may be determined precisely with lattice QCD. In this talk, I will give an overview of recent developments in lattice QCD to address the hadronic matrix elements, including the hadronic light-by-light (HLbL) and hadronic vacuum polarization (HVP) diagrams. With these improvements to the theory, it will be possible to match the expected experimental precision in time for the completion of the Fermilab $g-2$ experiment.
        Speaker: Dr Aaron Meyer (Brookhaven National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 108
        Measurement of Hadronic Cross Sections at BESIII
        The uncertainties of the Standard Model prediction of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon are currently completely dominated by hadronic contributions. The largest contribution is due to the hadronic vacuum polarization. Hadronic cross sections measured at $e^+e^-$ colliders can be exploited as experimental input to improve the calculations, making use of the optical theorem. At the BESIII experiment in Beijing these cross sections are determined using different methods. At center-of-mass energies above 2 GeV, exclusive and inclusive cross sections can be measured in an energy scan. Additionally, cross sections can be determined starting from the $\pi^+\pi^-$ mass threshold using the method of Initial State Radiation. This presentation will give an overview of the recent results and the current status of the analyses.
        Speaker: Dr Christoph Florian Redmer (Institute for Nuclear Physics, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz)
        Slides
    • 3:40 PM
      Break
    • Cosmic Physics and Dark Energy, Inflation, and Strong-Field Gravity: Parallel 4 — 21 cm Cosmology | LIGO South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Kev Abazajian (UC Irvine), Prof. Neelima Sehgal (Stony Brook University)
      • 109
        Searching for Dark Matter at the Cosmic Dawn​
        The nature of the dark matter is still a mystery, although current and upcoming 21-cm measurements during the cosmic dawn​ can provide ​a new arena on the search for​ the cosmological dark matter. ​This era saw the formation of the first stars, which coupled the spin temperature of hydrogen to its kinetic temperature---​producing 21-cm absorption in the CMB. The strength of this absorption acts as a thermostat, showing us if the baryons have been cooled down or heated up by different processes. In particular, during ​the cosmic dawn, the baryon-dark matter fluid is the​ slowest​ it will ever be​, making it ideal to search for dark matter elastically scattering with baryons through massless mediators, such as the photon. ​I will describe how dark-matter particles with an electric “minicharge” can significantly alter the baryonic temperature, and thus explain the anomalous 21-cm depth observed by the EDGES collaboration.
        Speaker: Dr Julian Munoz (Harvard University)
        Slides
      • 110
        A Particle Physicist's Perspective on the EDGES Anomaly
        In a recent pair of Nature papers, Bowman $\textit{et al.}$ claimed a detection of an anomalously low 21 cm brightness temperature at a redshift of 17, and Barkana interpreted this as evidence of cold dark matter that was scattering with baryons at that cosmic epoch. In this talk, I will discuss constraints available in the particle physics literature, and future directions for particle, astro, and nuclear physics in the wake of the EDGES observation. A number of independent groups have found that cosmological constraints limit only a subdominant fraction of the dark matter particles to be able to participate in this scattering, and that even this limited scenario is strongly bounded by complementary terrestrial considerations. The prospects for investigating this small remaining region of viable parameter space are discussed in both terrestrial and astrophysical contexts.
        Speaker: Dr Samuel McDermott (FNAL)
        Slides
      • 111
        Realizing the Promise of 21 cm Cosmology with HERA
        21 cm cosmology promises to provide an exquisite and perhaps revolutionary new 3D probe of our early universe. With it, we can uncover the astrophysics of the first luminous objects in the universe, improve CMB constraints on cosmological parameters, and cross-check the recent EDGES detection of an anomalously large absorption feature that points tantalizingly at new physics. However, realizing that promised probe of the astrophysics and cosmology of the the "Cosmic Dawn" and the epoch of reionization (EoR) has proven extremely challenging. We're looking for a small signal buried under foregrounds orders of magnitude brighter. We need large interferometers, precisely calibrated, producing mountains of data to have any shot of seeing the signal. In this talk, I will present the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array, a purpose-built interferometer currently under construction in South Africa that is designed not just to detect the EoR but to characterize its evolution and to push deeper into the Cosmic Dawn. I will discuss the analysis techniques we've developed and the progress we've made separating the 21 cm from astrophysical foregrounds.
        Speaker: Dr Josh Dillon (UC Berkeley)
        Slides
      • 112
        21 cm Dark Energy Cosmology with CHIME
        The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) is a new radio transit interferometer now taking data at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) in Penticton, BC, Canada. We will use the 21 cm emission line of neutral hydrogen to map baryon acoustic oscillations between 400–800 MHz across 3/4 of the sky. These measurements will yield sensitive constraints on the dark energy equation of state between redshifts 0.8–2.5, a fascinating but poorly probed era corresponding to when dark energy began to impact the expansion history of the Universe. I will describe the CHIME instrument, the analysis challenges, the calibration requirements, and current status.
        Speaker: Prof. Laura Newburgh (Yale University)
        Slides
      • 113
        Gravitational-Wave Transient Astronomy on the Rise
        The past three years have encompassed a meteoric rise of gravitational-wave astronomy with the activation of the first advanced gravitational-wave interferometers and the subsequent direct detection of GW150914 --- a gravitational-wave transient from a merging binary black hole. Since then, two observing runs, spanning about a year of total observation time, have been completed and recently included the kilometer-scale French-Italian Virgo instrument. The payoff, a monumental joint electromagnetic and gravitational-wave campaign surrounding GW170817, added a crucial and highly anticipated component to multi-messenger astronomy. Primary among a rich set of results, this watershed event provided an unequivocal and long-anticipated link between short gamma-ray bursts, kilonovae, and binary neutron star mergers. I will report the key results driving the birth and growth of gravitational-wave astronomy: stellar mass black hole binaries and their implications for compact binary astrophysics, tests of general relativity, and the foundation for future studies. I will also enumerate the timeline and ongoing studies of GW170817/GRB170817A. Finally, I will review the progression towards a truly worldwide network of second generation gravitational-wave interferometers.
        Speaker: Dr Chris Pankow (Northwestern University)
        Slides
      • 114
        Did LIGO Detect Dark Matter?
        I will discuss the possibility that the black-hole binary detected by LIGO may be a signature of primordial black hole dark matter. If two BHs in a galactic halo pass sufficiently close, they radiate enough energy in gravitational waves to become gravitationally bound. Curiously, the expected merger rate from these objects overlaps with that predicted by LIGO. Although a PBH dark matter fraction of unity is now ruled out, a smaller fraction is still plausible.
        Speaker: Prof. Simeon Bird (UCR)
        Slides
      • 115
        The Cosmic Origin of the Heavy Elements: Implications from the Neutron Star Merger GW170817
        The recent detection of the binary neutron star merger GW170817 by LIGO and Virgo was followed by a firework of electromagnetic counterparts across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. In particular, the ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared emission is consistent with a kilonova that provided strong evidence for the formation of heavy elements in the merger ejecta by the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). In this talk, I will discuss our current understanding of how kilonovae are produced by neutron star mergers and how r-process nucleosynthesis in these outflows can explain the cosmic origin of the heavy elements in the universe, which has been an enduring mystery for more than 70 years.
        Speaker: Dr Daniel Siegel (Columbia University)
        Slides
    • DM / PPHI: Parallel 4 — Dark Photons East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Renee Fatemi (University of Kentucky)
      • 116
        Hidden Sectors and Dark Photons
        Dark Matter (DM) provides strong evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model (SM). Arguably, rather than suggesting a specific mass scale for New Physics, it may point to a dark sector, weakly-coupled to the SM, as hinted at by the comparable abundances of dark matter and visible baryons. In the past few years, a program of new experiments has expanded DM searches far beyond the WIMP paradigm to include new hidden forces and matter. In this talk, I will give an overview of dark photon models and of the present and future experimental effort in testing these models at high intensity facilities.
        Speaker: Prof. Stefania Gori (University of Cincinnati)
        Slides
      • 117
        Searches for Hidden Sectors with BABAR
        Many models of physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) predict new, hidden-sector particles with masses below the electroweak scale. These models are motivated by solutions to the dark matter problem, the hierarchy problem, neutrino masses, and other physics that is not accounted for in the SM. Low-energy electron-positron colliders such as BABAR are ideally suited to discover these hidden-sector particles. We present several BABAR searches for low-mass hidden-sector particles, including visibly and invisibly decaying dark photons, and a dark muonic force. These examples show the importance of B-factories in discovering and constraining new hidden-sector physics beyond the SM.
        Speaker: Brian Shuve (Harvey Mudd College)
        Slides
      • 118
        Direct Search for Dark Photons and Dark Higgs with the SeaQuest Spectrometer at Fermilab
        The SeaQuest experiment has been in operation since 2011 and is designed to study nuclear dependent Drell-Yan productions in the dimuon channel using the high intensity 120 GeV proton beam from the Main Injector on various thin nuclear targets (about $\sim0.1$ nuclear interaction lengths each). It provides an ideal setting for dark photon and dark Higgs search in a parameter space of great interest. In this energy, through kinetic mixing, the postulated low-mass ($ \sim < 10$ GeV) dark photon (and/or dark Higgs) particles could be produced in the Drell-Yan like $q+\bar{q}$ (or $g+g$) fusion processes in high energy proton + nucleus collisions, mostly in the beam dump ($p+Fe$) and decay into dimuons (or di-electrons). For this search, a dedicated displaced-vertex trigger detector was built, installed and commissioned with upgraded DAQ in 2017. This trigger uses two planes of extruded scintillators to identify dimuons originating far downstream of the target, and is sensitive to dark photons (dark Higgs) that travel deep inside the beam dump before decaying to dimuons. We successfully took one week worth of production data parasitically with the E906 experiment in 2017. We will continue taking additional data parasitically alongside the upcoming SeaQuest polarized proton target physics program (E1039) for several years. In this talk we will present the latest status of the preliminary dark photon search from 2017 data and also discuss future opportunity.
        Speaker: Dr Sho Uemura (LANL)
        Slides
      • 119
        The Beam Dump eXperiment
        The Beam Dump eXperiment is an electron-beam thick-target experiment aimed to investigate the existence of Light Dark Matter particles in the MeV-GeV mass range. The experiment has been conditionally approved and is expected to run in a dedicated underground facility located about 20 m downstream of the JLab-Hall A beam-dump. The detector consists of two main components: a CsI(Tl) electromagnetic calorimeter (ECal) and a veto system used to suppress the background. The expected signature of the DM interaction in the Ecal is a $\sim$ GeV electromagnetic shower paired with a null activity in the surrounding active veto counters. A complete small-scale prototype of the final detector has been constructed in order to validate the proposed technology and demonstrate the capability to reject the cosmogenic background. Beam-related background was estimated by means of Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. In order to benchmark our simulation tools with on site data, we recently measured, with JLab support, the muon background produced by the 10.6 GeV $e$-beam on the Hall-A dump at the location of the proposed BDX facility with present shielding configuration. A hodoscope made by a BDX ECal CsI(Tl) crystal sandwiched between a set of segmented plastic scintillators was used to measure the muon rate. This talk will present an overview of the BDX experiment with a particular focus on the results of the recent muon-flux measurements and the comparison with the corresponding simulations.
        Speaker: Dr Mariangela Bondi' (INFN - Sez. Catania)
        Slides
      • 120
        Search for Light Dark Matter with the MESA Accelerator
        At the Institute for Nuclear Physics of the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, the construction of the MESA facility has started. At its core there is a new superconducting energy-recovery linac which will provide intense electron beams for precision experiments in subnuclear physics. An important part of the MESA physics program consists of the search for a "dark sector" which is a candidate explanation for the longstanding dark matter problem. This talk will highlight the MESA dark sector program and in particular two experiments will be described. The first one is called MAGIX and it is a two-spectrometer set-up employing an internal gas-jet target installed on a recirculation arc of MESA. The second one is a beam-dump experiment for directly detecting dark matter particles. The experiments are in the R&D phase and the current status and future prospects will be presented.
        Speaker: Dr Luca Doria (University of Mainz)
        Slides
      • 121
        Searching for New Forces with Dark Light
        Cosmic motivations and anomalies in precision measurements have encouraged standard model extensions in the form of Dark Photons or, more generically, a new force-carrier. Existing experimental searches for such particles have probed the majority of the parameter space of simple models, but so far no culprit has been found and the standard-model anomalies remain unexplained. The recent report of anomalous correlations in $^8$Be transitions has heightened interest in a potential new particle near 17 MeV. Although this region has been partially explored via hadronic production mechanisms, a particle with proto-phobic couplings is more effectively probed using leptonic production. The DarkLight experiment proposes to search for this particle in the invariant mass spectrum of $e^+e^-$ pairs produced in electron-nuclear scattering. I will give an overview of the staged approach we have taken, including recent tests at the LERF facility at JLab and designs for a future large-acceptance detector, and also our near-term proposal to install a spectrometer pair at the CEBAF Injector to search for this signal in an intensity regime where backgrounds from accidental coincidence dominate.
        Speaker: Dr Ross Corliss (MIT)
        Slides
      • 122
        Resonance Search for a Heavy Photon with the Heavy Photon Search Experiment
        The Heavy Photon Search (HPS) experiment at Jefferson Lab is searching for a hypothetical new $U(1)$ vector boson ("heavy photon", "dark photon" or $A^{^/}$) in the mass range of 20–500 MeV/$c^2$. An $A^{^/}$ in this mass region is natural in hidden sector models of light, thermal dark matter. The $A^{^/}$ couples to the ordinary photon through kinetic mixing, which induces its coupling to electric charge. Since heavy photons couple to electrons, they can be produced through a process analogous to bremsstrahlung, subsequently decaying to an $e^+e^-$, which can be observed as a narrow resonance above the dominant QED trident background. For suitably small couplings, heavy photons travel detectable distances before decaying, providing a second signature. Using the CEBAF electron beam, located at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, incident on a thin tungsten target, along with a compact, large acceptance forward spectrometer consisting of a silicon vertex tracker and lead tungstate electromagnetic calorimeter, HPS can access unexplored regions in the mass-coupling parameter space. HPS conducted successful engineering runs in 2015 using a 1.056 GeV, 50 nA beam and 2016 using a 2.3 GeV, 200 nA beam. This talk will present the results of a resonance search for a heavy photon using the 1165 nb$^{-1}$ (7.29 mC) of data collected during the 2015 engineering run.
        Speaker: Omar Moreno (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 123
        The APEX Experiment at Jefferson Lab: A Search for a New Vector Boson
        The A' Experiment, or APEX, aims to search for a new vector boson that kinetically mixes with the photon, a "dark photon" or a "heavy photon", with a mass of $\mathcal O$(100 MeV) by studying the invariant mass spectrum of $e^+e^-$ pairs produced from an electron beam on a high-Z target. Dark photons appear in many well-motivated extensions of the Standard Model and may mediate interactions between dark matter and ordinary matter. APEX will extend current constraints on the mixing parameter by a factor of a few for dark photon masses near 100 MeV. APEX is scheduled to take data at Jefferson Lab in early 2019, taking advantage of the high duty-factor electron beam and using the twin symmetric high resolution spectrometers in Hall A. An overview of the current constraints for such a boson and experimental plans will be presented.
        Speaker: Dr Seamus Riordan (Argonne National Laboratory)
        Slides
    • Neutrino Masses and Neutrino Mixing: Parallel 4 — Higher Energy Neutrinos South Foyer | Nopales Room

      South Foyer | Nopales Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Prof. Andre de Gouvea (Northwestern University), Daniel Dwyer
      • 124
        Recent Long-Baseline Neutrino Mixing Results from NOvA
        Neutrinos are elusive fundamental particles only directly detectable through weak interactions, and they may be the key to understanding supernovae, the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe, and more. Neutrinos oscillate, where they change flavor as they travel due to being in a quantum superposition of states with different masses, which has already forced us to amend the Standard Model. The details of neutrino oscillations are still being unraveled, and the US program of long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments centered around the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is at the forefront of measuring such fundamental neutrino properties. In this talk I'll focus on the latest results from the NOvA experiment, where muon neutrinos are shot 810 km to a 14 kton liquid scintillator detector deep in the Minnesota forest.
        Speaker: Kirk Bays (California Institute of Technology)
        Slides
      • 125
        Neutrino Oscillation Results from the T2K Experiment
        T2K is a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment making use of Super-Kamiokande as its off-axis far detector that has been taking data since 2010. The results of the oscillation analysis with five far detector samples, including data taken up to May 2017 with a total of $14.7\times10^{20}$ POT accumulated in neutrino-mode and $7.6\times10^{20}$ POT in anti-neutrino mode, will be presented. In particular, these results have been produced with a new reconstruction algorithm for Super-Kamiokande, including re-optimized far detector event selections and expanded fiducial volume, with an effective statistical improvement of 30% compared to previous analyses.
        Speaker: Cristovao Vilela (Stony Brook University)
        Slides
      • 126
        The Short Baseline Neutrino Oscillation Program at Fermilab
        Neutrino Oscillation, i.e., discovery that neutrinos have mass, is perhaps the most striking recent experimental evidence of physics which found a crack in the Standard Model to give us a glimpse of the fundamental underlying theories. The Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) program makes use of a trio of LArTPC (Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber) detectors — named the Short-Baseline Near Detector or SBND, MicroBooNE and ICARUS — positioned along Fermilab’s Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB), to address the previously observed short-baseline neutrino anomalies. LArTPC is a state-of-the-art technology for studying these mysterious particles and building massive neutrino detectors. LArTPCs provide 3D imaging of interaction events with excellent spatial resolution. This scaleable detector technology allows us to make precision measurements of neutrino interactions. This talk will give an overview of the current and future short-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments, with a focus on the MicroBooNE experiment, and will discuss the prospects of addressing the short-baseline anomalies in the near future.
        Speaker: Dr Jyoti Joshi (Brookhaven National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 127
        Characterizing Single-Phase LArTPC Detector Performance with MicroBooNE
        With many current and future neutrino experiments relying on Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) technology, characterizing the performance of these detectors is critical. The MicroBooNE LArTPC experiment is capable of performing numerous measurements to better understand the technology. These include identification and filtering of excess TPC noise, signal calibration and measurements of attenuation of drifting electrons, as well as diffusion and recombination. MicroBooNE, residing on the surface, can also provide useful information about cosmic ray rate and the build up of space charge in the TPC volume. A laser calibration system has been designed and employed to investigate these important effects.
        Speaker: Mr Christopher Barnes (University of Michigan)
        Slides
      • 128
        Event Reconstruction Techniques for ANNIE Phase II
        The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE), deployed on the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at Fermilab, is planning to use a 26-ton Gd-doped water Cherenkov detector to study the multiplicity of final state neutrons from neutrino-nucleus interactions in water, which provides a unique opportunity to study this physics in an energy range relevant to both atmospheric and long baseline neutrino experiments. The experiment has two main goals: (1) perform the first measurement of the abundance of neutrons from neutrino interactions in water, as a function of momentum transfer, in order to constrain neutrino-nucleus interaction models, and (2) demonstrate the power of new fast-timing, position-sensitive detectors by making the first deployment of the Large Area Picosecond PhotoDetectors (LAPPDs) in a physics experiment. The Phase I of ANNIE has successfully measured the neutron background inherent to the BNB. The Phase II of ANNIE will realize the physics measurements by using the arrival time and position of the Cherenkov photons in both PMTs and LAPPDs. The interaction vertices and the charged lepton tracks are reconstructed by using a maximum likelihood fit. The energies of the charged lepton and the neutrino are reconstructed by using Machine and Deep Leaning algorithms. This presentation will give an overview of the ANNIE Phase II simulation and present the recent development of event reconstruction techniques.
        Speaker: Dr Jingbo Wang (UC Davis)
        Slides
      • 129
        Theia: A Multi-Purpose Water-Based Liquid Scintillator Detector
        Recent developments in the field of liquid scintillator chemistry and fast-timing photosensors paved the way for a new generation of large-scale detectors capable of tackling a broad range of physics issues. Water-based Liquid Scintillator (WbLS) is a novel detection medium that combines the advantages of pure water, including low attenuation, accurate direction reconstruction, and low cost, and those of liquid scintillator, including high light yield and low-threshold detection. When coupled with high efficiency, fast-timing photosensors, such as Large Area Picosecond PhotoDetectors (LAPPDs), WbLS exhibits an immense potential for neutrino physics and BSM searches. Theia is a 50-kiloton multi-purpose neutrino detector that aims to jointly deploy these two technologies in order to fulfill its physics program objectives, including the determination of the neutrino mass hierarchy and the CP violation phase in the leptonic sector, the detection of solar, reactor, and supernova neutrinos, and the search for neutrinoless double beta decay and proton decay. This presentation will describe the physics potential and the experimental setup of the Theia detector.
        Speaker: Dr Vincent Fischer (UC Davis)
        Slides
    • Nuclear Forces and Structure, NN Correlations, and Medium Effects: Parallel 4 — Color Transparency | EMC Effect | Coulomb Sum Rule South Foyer | Pinon Room

      South Foyer | Pinon Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Prof. Gerald Miller (University of Washington)
      • 130
        Understanding the EMC Effect Through Tagged Processes with ALERT
        Spectator tagged hard processes can provide insight into the origins of the EMC Effect by identifying the struck nucleon. A comprehensive program of experiments on light nuclei (deuterium and $^4$He) at JLab using the CLAS12 spectrometer and a Low Energy Recoil Tracker (ALERT) will detect the low energy nuclear spectator system (p, $^3$H and $^3$He) in a variety of hard scattering processes. Tagged deep inelastic scattering will provide stringent tests leading to clear differentiation between the many models describing the EMC Effect by accessing the bound nucleon virtuality through its initial momentum at the point of interaction. Furthermore, spectator-tagged deeply virtual Compton scattering will provide a measurement of off-forward EMC Effect as a new indicator of potential nuclear modifications of a bound nucleon. We will discuss details of the ALERT detector and measurements that will help understand the origin of the EMC Effect.
        Speaker: Whitney Armstrong (Argonne National Lab)
        Slides
      • 131
        Update on the Jefferson Lab Hall A Tritium Experiments
        A large body of evidence suggests isospin symmetry plays a key role in the EMC effect, the modification of quark distribution functions in the nuclear medium, as well as short-range correlated pairing between nucleons. Electron scattering experiments that probe the momentum distributions of quarks or of nucleons are limited to nuclei near the valley of stability, in a narrow band of proton-neutron asymmetry, making it difficult to learn about how this asymmetry affects the nuclear environment. Tritium and helium-3, being highly asymmetric isospin-mirror nuclei, present a special opportunity; by comparing electron scattering from tritium and helium-3, as well as from deuterium, isospin symmetry can be exploited to disentangle the u- and d-quark EMC effects and the isospin dependence of short-range correlations. This past spring, a first round of experiments were completed at Jefferson Lab's Hall A using sealed-cell tritium and helium-3 targets, in order to look at electron scattering in deep-inelastic and quasi-elastic kinematics. These experiments will offer a one-of-a-kind look at the isospin dependence of the nuclear medium. In this talk, an overview of the three recent Hall A experiments and their physics goals will be presented.
        Speaker: Dr Axel Schmidt (MIT)
        Slides
      • 132
        New Measurements of the EMC Effect in Hall-C at Jefferson Lab
        The $x$ dependence of the EMC effect has been measured for a variety of nuclei in a multitude of experiments conducted over the past 35 years. Previous EMC ratio measurements for light nuclei $(A \leq 12)$ have shown a dependence on the local nuclear structure of nucleons and the associated modification to nuclear structure functions. The newly commissioned Super High Momentum Spectrometer (SHMS) in Hall-C has been used to collect inclusive electron scattering measurements on various light nuclei utilizing the 12 GeV CEBAF facility at Jefferson Lab. These data obtained during a portion of E12-10-008 includes previously unmeasured nuclei, namely $^{10}$B and $^{11}$B, and will therefore provide a comparison of nuclei which differ by just one nucleon. This will facilitate the extraction of the nucleon structure function as modified by the nuclear medium. Status of the target-ratio analysis of recently acquired E12-10-008 data will be discussed.
        Speaker: Dr Eric Pooser (Jefferson Lab)
        Slides
      • 133
        The Search for the Onset of Color Transparency
        We will give an overview of a unique prediction of Quantum Chromodynamics, called color transparency (CT), where the final (and/or initial) state interactions of hadrons with the nuclear medium must vanish for exclusive processes at high momentum transfers. We will trace the progress of our understanding of this phenomenon, beginning with its confirmation in high energy phenomena, followed by investigations of the onset of CT at intermediate energies. We will present updates from a recent CT search experiment that was completed as one of the commissioning experiments of the newly upgraded experimental Hall C at the Jefferson Lab. We will also make connections between the CT experiment and the other commissioning experiments, which include experiments measuring the F$_2$ structure function and the EMC effect. Finally, we will also discuss some new proposals that will extended the search to new unexplored phase space.
        Speaker: Prof. Dipangkar Dutta (Mississippi State University)
        Slides
      • 134
        The Search for the Color Transparency in Hall C at Jefferson Lab
        Color transparency (CT) is a fundamental phenomenon of QCD postulating that at high momentum transfer hadrons fluctuate to a small color neutral transverse size in the nucleus, and final state interactions within the nuclear medium are suppressed. CT is observed experimentally as a rise in the measured nuclear transparency as a function of the momentum transferred. While CT has been observed for mesons, it remains unconfirmed in baryons. Observation of CT in baryons would provide a new handle for understanding the nuclear strong force and the first observations of hadrons fluctuating to a small size in the nucleus. An enhancement in the nuclear transparency was observed in A$(p,2p)$ reactions at Brookhaven. This experiment seeks to confirm the measurement of proton transparency as well as to measure the onset. During the spring of 2018, this experiment was the first to run in Hall C at Jefferson Lab using the recently upgraded 12 GeV electron beam and obtained four kinematic points covering the region where Brookhaven previously observed an enhancement. This experiment used the High Momentum Spectrometer (HMS) and Super High Momentum Spectrometer (SHMS) in coincidence to measure A$(e,e'p)$. This talk will summarize the status of the experiment since the completion of data taking this spring.
        Speaker: Holly Szumila-Vance (Jefferson Lab)
        Slides
    • PGDNN / QMHI: Parallel 4 — Nuclear PDFs and Heavy Ion Physics North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Prof. Jacquelyn Noronha-Hostler (Rutgers University), Dr Ralf Seidl (RIKEN)
      • 135
        Recent Progress in Nuclear Parton Distributions
        Nuclear Parton Distribution Functions (nPDFs) are the non-perturbative objects that describe the behavior of partons in a nuclear medium, a natural extension of the free proton PDFs. Despite more than three decades of thorough study, the picture of nPDFs is far from being complete. In this talk I will present the current status of our knowledge and briefly discuss how current and future experiments can help broaden our understanding of matter.
        Speaker: Dr Maria Zurita (Brookhaven National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 136
        Nuclear PDF, Small $x$ Physics Results at RHIC
        The proton gluon distribution function increases rapidly with decreasing momentum fraction $x$ at fixed $Q^2$, but cannot increase indefinitely as $x$ decreases. Gluon saturation is expected at a low $x$ value when gluon recombination balances gluon splitting. The nuclear (with atomic mass number A) gluon distribution is approximately $A^{1/3}$ larger than the nucleon gluon distribution function at the same $x$. Understanding the kinematics of gluons in the low $x$ region will provide insights into the nuclear matter origin and improves the knowledge of Quantum Chromodyanmics (QCD) in the non-perturbative region. The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) can probe gluons with $x$ between 0.001 and 0.02 inside the gold nuclei via forward di-jet or di-hadron measurements. Both STAR and PHENIX experiments have carried out a series of measurements to study the nuclear gluon distribution functions (nPDFs) and observed clear nuclear modification of the gluon PDF in the low $x$ region. Recent studies of forward inclusive hadron, di-hadron, di-jet and heavy flavor measurements in 200 GeV d+Au, $p$+Au, $p$+Al and $^3$He+Au collisions and 500/510 GeV $p$+$p$ collisions have extended the kinematic region of the probed proton/nuclear gluon distribution function. We will present selected results from RHIC in this talk. Prospects of future measurements from detector upgrades at PHENIX, sPHENIX and Electron Ion Collider (EIC) will be presented as well.
        Speaker: Dr Xuan Li (Los Alamos National Lab)
        Slides
      • 137
        Cold-QCD Physics of the STAR Forward Upgrade
        For almost twenty years, the STAR experiment at RHIC has played a leading role in expanding the frontier of nucleus-nucleus collisions and the interaction of spin-polarized beams of protons. In coming years, the STAR forward upgrade will enable new insight into cold nuclear matter, probing this physics at high and low regions of $x$. The proposed detector upgrades consist of electromagnetic and hadronic calorimetry as well as a charged-particle tracking system, each spanning the pseudorapidity range of $2.5 < \eta < 4.5$. Building upon existing STAR measurements, the upgrade will enable improved and precision measurements of probes such as neutral pions, direct photons, and Drell-Yan. Simultaneously, the upgrade will unlock a suite of new observables, such as charged-particle tagged jets at forward pseudorapidity. These measurements will provide new insights into the multidimensional imaging of quarks and gluons within the nucleon, nuclear parton distributions, and hadronization in a nuclear environment. As such, the STAR forward upgrade will provide information crucial to realizing the full potential of the approaching era of the electron-ion collider.
        Speaker: Dr James Drachenberg (Lamar University)
        Slides
      • 138
        EIC at Small-$x$: Connections to p+p/A & A+A Physics at RHIC & LHC
        Over past years DIS $e$+$p$ data have provided crucial inputs to the phenomenology of $p$+$p$/A & A+A collisions. Largest uncertainties in such modeling arise from the spatial and momentum distribution of partons inside nuclei at small-$x$. In this talk, I will discuss such issues and highlight a few recent measurements of the charge inclusive and charge dependent angular correlations from RHIC and LHC that will help us better constrain partonic distributions inside nuclei as well as inside the hadrons. I will also discuss how the lessons from RHIC & LHC can be useful to model event-by-event physics at the EIC at small-$x$.
        Speaker: Dr Prithwish Tribedy (Brookhaven National Lab)
        Slides
      • 139
        Hadron in Jet Fragmentation
        Collimated jets of hadrons and their substructure play a central role at present day and future collider experiments. In particular in the past years, it has been realized that the measurement of hadron distributions inside jets can provide valuable information about QCD. On the one hand, identified hadrons can be used to precisely map out the energy distribution inside jets both in the longitudinal and transverse direction. On the other hand, new insights into the QCD hadronization mechanism can be obtained. By first reconstructing jets in the final state, these new observables capture additional information about the final state event topology compared to traditional hadron spectra. In this talk, I review the significant progress that has been made recently both from the theoretical and the experimental side.
        Speaker: Felix Ringer
        Slides
    • Physics at High Energies: Parallel 4 — Physics Beyond the Standard Model I North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Prof. Toyoko Orimoto (Northeastern University), Verena Martinez Outschoorn (UMass Amherst)
      • 140
        Search for Di-Higgs Production
        Di-Higgs final states can arise through non-resonant production of two Higgs bosons and through potential heavy states decaying to two Higgs bosons. This talk presents searches in several Higgs boson decay channels using 36 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data recorded at 13 TeV.
        Speaker: Arnaud Ferrari (Uppsala University)
        Slides
      • 141
        Searches for Non-Standard Model Higgs Bosons
        Several theories beyond the Standard Model predict the existence of high mass neutral or charged Higgs particles. In this presentation the latest ATLAS results on searches for these particles based on 36 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data collected at 13 TeV will be discussed.
        Speaker: Mrs Ana Elena Dumitriu (IFIN,CPPM)
        Slides
      • 142
        Highlights from SUSY Searches with the CMS Detector
        With the collection of approximately 90 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at center-of-mass collision energy of 13 TeV since 2015, CMS is probing high mass supersymmetry (SUSY) parameter space with large datasets for the first time. The talk will first review results of the standard searches for strongly produced natural SUSY, and highlight corners of phase space where SUSY could still be hiding. Searches for lower cross section electroweak SUSY production will also be presented. The talk will conclude with a discussion of non-traditional SUSY searches including those in final states with long-lived particles and low missing transverse energy from R-parity violation.
        Speaker: Dr James Hirschauer (FNAL)
        Slides
      • 143
        Searches for Physics Beyond the Standard Model with Third-Generation Quarks
        This talk will explore the results of current searches that utilize top and bottom quarks at ATLAS, including searches for 3rd Generation SUSY particles, searches for BSM Higgs, and searches for other exotic particles.
        Speaker: Dr Siyuan Sun (University of Michigan)
        Slides
      • 144
        ATLAS Searches for Diboson Resonances
        Many extensions to the Standard Model predicts new particles decaying into two bosons ($W$, $Z$, $\gamma$, $H$) making these important signatures in the search for new physics. Searches for such diboson resonances have been performed in final states with different numbers of leptons, photons and jets and $b$-jets where new jet substructure techniques to disentangle the hadronic decay products in highly boosted configuration are being used. The most recent results in the search for such resonances by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC will be presented, using proton-proton collision data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV.
        Speaker: Ines Ochoa (Columbia University)
        Slides
      • 145
        Mining the LHC Data for Anomalies
        We describe a novel, model-independent technique of "rectangular aggregations" for mining the LHC data for hints of new physics. A typical (CMS) search now has hundreds of signal regions, which can hide the presence of potentially interesting anomalies. Applying our technique to the two CMS jets+MET SUSY searches, we identify a set of previously overlooked $\sim3\sigma$ excesses, characterized by low jet multiplicity, zero $b$-jets, and low MET and HT. We discuss the presence of a bump in the similar ATLAS monojet search, and discuss a simplified model that provides an excellent combined fit to these excesses and discuss all additional constraints.
        Speaker: Angelo Monteux (UC Irvine)
        Slides
      • 146
        Theoretical Results for Charged-Higgs Production
        I discuss charged-Higgs production via two different processes: in association with a top quark, and in association with a $W$ boson. I present total cross sections and differential distributions that include higher-order corrections from soft and collinear gluon emission. I show that these radiative corrections are significant.
        Speaker: Prof. Nikolaos Kidonakis (Kennesaw State University)
        Slides
    • Tests of Symmetries and the Electroweak Interaction: Parallel 4 — Beta Decays North Foyer | Kachina Room

      North Foyer | Kachina Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Prof. Robert Redwine (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
      • 147
        Measurement of the Neutron Lifetime Using a Magneto-Gravitational Trap
        Precision measurements of the free neutron lifetime $\tau_n$, when combined with measurements of the axial vector coupling, can be used to test unitarity of the CKM matrix. Nonunitarity is a signal for physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). Sensitivity to BSM physics requires measurements of $\tau_n$ to a precision of 0.1 s. However, the two dominant techniques to measure $\tau_n$ (colloquially beam and bottle measurements) disagree by nearly 10 s. UCN$\tau$ is a neutron lifetime experiment using a magneto-gravitational trap and an $\textit{in-situ}$ neutron detector. Neutrons in this trap are not susceptible to loss on material walls as in previous bottle measurements. Additionally, the $\textit{in-situ}$ detector allows spectral monitoring of the trapped Ultracold Neutrons. In this talk, I will present our most recent result $\tau_n=877.7\pm0.7_\mathrm{(stat.)}+0.4/-0.2_\mathrm{(sys.)}$. I will also present Monte Carlo simulations of systematic effects in the experiment.
        Speaker: Mr Nathan Callahan (Indiana Univeristy)
        Slides
      • 148
        Measurement of the Electron-Antineutrino Correlation in Neutron Beta Decay: aCORN Experiment
        The aCORN experiment uses a novel “wishbone asymmetry” method to measure the electron-antineutrino correlation ($a$-coefficient) in free neutron decay that does not require precision proton spectroscopy. aCORN completed two physics runs at the NIST Center for Neutron Research. The first run on the NG-6 beam line in 2013–2014 obtained the result $a =0.1090 \pm 0.0030 \mathrm{(stat)} \pm 0.0028 \mathrm{(sys)}$, a net uncertainty of 3.8%. The second run on the new NG-C high flux beam line promises an improvement in precision to $<$2%. Details of the experiment and data analysis will be presented.
        Speaker: Prof. Fred Wietfeldt (Tulane University)
        Slides
      • 149
        New Results from the UCNA Experiment
        The primary goal of the UCNA experiment is to provide, using polarized ultracold neutrons (or UCN), a high precision measurement of the axial coupling constant in neutron decay, $g_A$. High precision predictions for neutron decay in the Standard Model can be achieved with just two measurements: one to fix the absolute vector coupling strength, and one to determine $g_A$. These parameters play a critical role in a variety of physics scenarios, such as big bang nucleosynthesis, high precision models of the solar fusion rate, and high precision modeling of reactor neutrino fluxes. Neutron measurements also provide input for constraints on a variety of extensions to the Standard Model, in many cases at, or beyond, the sensitivity ultimately expected from the Large Hadron Collider. Although the vector coupling strength can be obtained from super-allowed nuclear decays, neutron decay is the definitive source for high precision values of $g_A$. UCNA is designed to determine $g_A$ through a measurement of the angular correlation between the neutron spin and the momentum of the emitted beta particle, known as the beta asymmetry. UCNA is also the first angular correlation measurement to utilize UCN to control key sources of systematic error: the neutron polarization and neutron-generated backgrounds. We present here the results of 2011–2013 running at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center and place our results in the context of the world data set.
        Speaker: Mr Eric Dees (NCSU)
        Slides
      • 150
        Beta Decay Asymmetry Measurements with Trapped Atoms
        Nuclear $\beta$ decay's long history of shaping and testing the Standard Model of particle physics continues to this day with elegant, ultra-precise low-energy nuclear measurements. Experiments observing the angular correlations between the electron, neutrino and recoil momenta following beta decay can be used to search for exotic currents contributing to the dominant (V-A) structure of the weak interaction. Precision measurements of the correlation parameters to <0.1% would be sensitive to (or meaningfully constrain) new physics, complementing other searches at large-scale facilities like the LHC. Atom traps provide an ideal source of very cold, short-lived isotopes in an extremely clean and open environment. As such, they are invaluable tools for precision measurements of beta-decay parameters. The TRIUMF Neutral Atom Trap (TRINAT) collaboration utilizes neutral atom-trapping techniques with optical pumping methods to highly polarize (>99%) $^{37}$K atoms. Recently, we determined the beta asymmetry parameter to 0.3%, which is comparable to or better than any other nuclear measurement, including the neutron. In terms of minimal left-right symmetric models, this implies a limit of >351 GeV for the mass of a possible right-handed $W$. Alternatively, one may interpret the result as a 4.4$\times$ better measurement of $V_{ud}$ from $^{37}$K. This talk will discuss using atom traps as a test of the electroweak interaction with particular emphasis on TRINAT's $^{37}$K program.
        Speaker: Prof. Dan Melconian (Texas A&M University)
        Slides
      • 151
        Nuclear Beta Decays and CKM Unitarity
        Results from superallowed $\beta$ decays between $0^+$, $T=1$ analog states yield the best value for $V_{ud}$, with a precision of $\pm$0.02%. World data now comprise 14 separate superallowed transitions having $\mathcal{F}t$ values known to 0.1% precision or better. These results, which cover a wide range of parent nuclei from $^{10}$C to $^{74}$Rb, constitute a very robust data set. Each transition's $\mathcal{F}t$ value depends on its half-life, $Q$-value and branching ratio. It also depends on small ($\sim$1%) transition-dependent theoretical corrections, of which the most sensitive accounts for isospin symmetry breaking. The validity of these corrections is confirmed by the excellent consistency among the 14 $\mathcal{F}t$-values, an expected consequence of CVC. Recent measurements, which compare pairs of mirror superallowed transitions, further support that validity. With CVC consistency established, the result now yields $V_{ud} = 0.97420(21)$, which makes this by far the most precisely known element of the CKM matrix. Together with $V_{us}$ and $V_{ub}$, it leads to the most demanding test available of the unitarity of that matrix, with the sum of squares equaling 0.99962(49). Three other types of beta decay can be used to extract $V_{ud}$: the superallowed beta decay between $T=\frac{1}{2}$ mirror nuclei; and the beta decays of the neutron and pion. All three are hampered by experimental challenges that have limited their $V_{ud}$ precision well short of that achieved with the superallowed $0^+$$\to 0^+$ transitions. They are, however, statistically consistent with it.
        Speaker: Prof. John C. Hardy (Texas A&amp;M University)
        Slides
      • 152
        Recent Status of Weak-Interaction Tests via Precision Superallowed Beta-Decay Measurements at TRIUMF
        Tests of the Standard Model through precision measurements of nuclear decay properties have proven to be a valuable tool in experimental subatomic physics. Of these investigations, $0^+ \to 0^+$ $\beta$-decay decay data are among the most important, as they currently provide the most precise determinations of both the vector coupling strength in the weak interaction, $G_V$, and the up-down element of the CKM quark mixing matrix, $V_{ud}$. These studies also provide some of the best constraints on the possibility of additional quark generations, as well as limits on exotic currents in the weak interaction. The three quantities that are required for performing these tests (branching ratio, half-life, and Q-value) can all be measured to high-precision with rare-isotope beams at the TRIUMF-ISAC facility in Vancouver, Canada. In this talk, I will highlight recent experimental work with both the GRIFFIN spectrometer and the TITAN ion-trap system, as well as theoretical advances towards first-principle nuclear-structure corrections. Finally I will provide a picture of where the remaining critical measurements still reside, and where work at TRIUMF is headed in the near future.
        Speaker: Prof. Kyle Leach (Colorado School of Mines)
        Slides
      • 153
        New Evaluation of the $\gamma W$-box Correction to $0^+-0^+$ Nuclear $\beta$-Decay and $V_{ud}$ Extraction
        Current most precise knowledge of the value of $V_{ud}$ is obtained from the analysis of a number of superallowed nuclear $\beta$-decays. At present, the main limitation in precision of this determination is due to radiative corrections, more specifically the "inner" $\gamma W$-box correction that is independent of the electron spectrum but depends on hadronic structure. A novel dispersion formulation of the $\gamma W$-box is developed. It allows to test the validity and improve the previous evaluation of Marciano and Sirlin, which was based on several semi-empiric assumptions. Further effects, such as possible effects of the nuclear excitations both on inner and outer corrections are discussed.
        Speaker: Dr Mikhail Gorshteyn (Mainz University)
        Slides
    • Registration Desk: Open 07:30 – 17:30 East Foyer

      East Foyer

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
    • Plenary 5: Quark Matter and High Energy Heavy Ion Collisions | Special Topic East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: David Hertzog
      • 154
        Recent Results on Heavy Flavor Production in High Energy Nuclear Collisions
        The goal of the ultra-relativistic heavy ion program is to study Quantum Chromodynamics under finite temperature and density conditions. After a couple of decades of experiment, the focus at the top RHIC and the LHC energy has evolved to quantitative understanding of properties of the hot and dense medium, namely the strongly-coupled Quark Gluon Plasma (sQGP) created in these heavy-ion collisions, and to constrain transport parameters of the sQGP medium. Heavy quarks offer unique insights towards detailed understanding of the sQGP properties due to their large masses. Recent collider and detector advances have enabled precision measurements of heavy quark hadron production in heavy-ion collisions. In this talk, I will review recent results from heavy quark production measurements at RHIC and the LHC. These high quality data will offer stringent constraints on theoretical model calculations and help precision determination of QGP medium transport parameters. Finally, I look forward to a more prospective future of the heavy quark program with further improved detectors at both RHIC and the LHC.
        Speaker: Xin Dong
        Slides
      • 155
        Status of Searches for Chiral Magnetic Effects in Nuclear Collisions
        The Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME) is the phenomenon of electric charge separation along the external magnetic field that is induced by the chirality imbalance. In relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions, local chirality imbalance of left- and right-handed quarks may be generated, which is related to the topology of gluon gauge fields. With the presence of an extremely strong magnetic field, the CME has been predicted to occur, leading to final-state electric charge separations along the poles of the lenticular-shaped medium created. In this talk, I will review the latest status of experimental searches for the chiral magnetic effects in nuclear collisions at RHIC and the LHC, and discuss exciting opportunities with programs planned in the near future.
        Speaker: Prof. Wei Li (Rice University)
        Slides
      • 156
        Physics with an Electron-Ion Collider
        An Electron-Ion Collider, proposed in the U.S. as facility upgrades to Jefferson Lab or the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, would offer unique capabilities to study quarks and gluons in nucleons and nuclei using flexible collision energies, high luminosity, and high polarization. It would make it possible to image quarks and gluons in nucleons and nuclei, to characterize their QCD dynamics, and to explore phenomena at high gluon density. This talk will highlight the science, key measurements, and prospects for realization.
        Speaker: Ernst Sichtermann
        Slides
    • 9:45 AM
      Break
    • Plenary 6: Dark Matter | Particle and Nuclear Astrophysics East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Prof. Karl van Bibber (University of California Berkeley)
      • 157
        Recent Results from Dark Matter Direct Detection Experiments
        The worldwide effort of direct dark matter detection has made tremendous progress towards the understanding of dark matter. New results were reported recently from several experiments using techniques across from noble liquids, bubble chambers, cryogenic bolometers, scintillating crystals and low-threshold detectors, covering a large dark matter mass range and constraining new parameter space for the dark matter interaction cross sections. Are we at the brink of a discovery, or will we soon encounter the unavoidable neutrino background? I will review the recent results with a prospect towards the future.
        Speaker: Prof. Kaixuan Ni (UC San Diego)
        Slides
      • 158
        New Directions in the Search for Light and Ultralight Dark Matter
        Dark matter candidates span the entire mass range from $\sim10^{-22}$ eV up to the weak scale and beyond. Recently, the scope of dark matter searches has significantly expanded to include a variety of motivated candidates over much of this mass range. I will discuss new ideas and prospects to directly detect "light" (sub-GeV) and "ultralight'' (sub-eV) dark matter, generalizing searches for WIMPs or axion dark matter. I will highlight several examples covering the meV–GeV mass range, including prospects for absorption of bosonic dark matter as well as proposals to detect scattering of sub-MeV dark matter.
        Speaker: Tongyan Lin (UCSD)
        Slides
      • 159
        Coherent Scattering and the Flavor Physics and Detection of Supernova Neutrinos
        Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$\nu$NS) is a neutral-current process in which a neutrino scatters off an entire nucleus, depositing a tiny recoil energy. The process is important in core-collapse supernovae and also presents an opportunity for detection of a burst of core-collapse supernova neutrinos in low-threshold detectors designed for dark matter detection. This talk will discuss the physics of CE$\nu$NS, its importance in core collapse, and prospects for supernova burst detection in low-threshold recoil detectors.
        Speaker: Prof. Kate Scholberg (Duke University)
        Slides
      • 160
        IceCube: Opening a New Window on the Universe from the South Pole
        The IceCube project has transformed a cubic kilometer of natural Antarctic ice into a neutrino detector. The instrument detects more than 100,000 neutrinos per year in the GeV to PeV energy range. Among those, we have isolated a flux of high-energy cosmic neutrinos. I will discuss the instrument, the analysis of the data, the significance of the discovery of cosmic neutrinos, and the recent multimessenger observation of a flaring TeV blazar in coincidence with the IceCube neutrino alert IC170922. The large cosmic neutrino flux observed implies that the Universe’s energy density in high-energy neutrinos is the same as that in gamma rays, suggesting that the sources are connected and that a multitude of astronomical objects await discovery.
        Speaker: Prof. Francis Halzen (WIPAC, UW-Madison)
        Slides
    • 12:30 PM
      Lunch
    • Dark Matter: Parallel 5 — Light Mass Dark Matter South Foyer | Pinon Room

      South Foyer | Pinon Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Prof. George Fuller (University of California, San Diego), Prof. Matt Pyle (University of California Berkeley)
      • 161
        Supernova 1987A Constraints on Sub-GeV Particles
        Supernova 1987A created an environment of extremely high temperatures and nucleon densities. The rough agreement between predictions of core collapse models and observations of a "neutrino burst" provide an opportunity to set bounds on a wide range of theories of new physics. I will present new bounds on dark sector models, incorporating finite-temperature effects on the production and trapping of a dark photon and millicharged particles, nuclear effects for the coupling to axions, and a more realistic model of the high-mixing parameter space than in previous work. This has dramatic effects for the landscape of such models.
        Speaker: Dr Samuel McDermott (FNAL)
        Slides
      • 162
        Initial Dark Matter Results from the SuperCDMS Single-Charge Sensitive Detectors
        Astronomical evidence over the past several decades points to a Universe composed primarily of Dark Matter. There are several competing hypotheses about the composition and the interaction mechanisms of Dark Matter. Several groups have assembled instruments to test these ideas by searching for the hypothesized interaction, but despite their best efforts no direct detection has been confirmed to date. The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) SNOLAB experiment is the successor to SuperCDMS Soudan and CDMS II experiments, which for the past two decades focused on the direct detection of dark matter particles. Currently, the next generation of high-resolution SuperCDMS HV detectors are being developed and recently a 0.93 g prototype with a charge resolution of 0.1 electron-hole pairs (CDMS HVeV) was produced. A 0.49-gram day exposure with minimal overburden was taken using the CDMS HVeV detector. The first limits on inelastic electron scattering dark matter and dark photon absorption are presented. The limits for the dark matter-standard model particle interaction significantly improve experimental constraints on dark matter particles with masses as low as 1 MeV. These results demonstrate the scientific potential of phonon-mediated semiconductor detectors that are sensitive to single electronic excitations.
        Speaker: Dr Francisco Ponce (Stanford University)
        Slides
      • 163
        Status and Prospects of CDEX-10
        There is compelling evidence that about one-quarter of the energy density of the Universe is made up of Dark Matter, the identification and study of which are among the most important goals in basic research. The China Dark Matter Experiment (CDEX) pursues direct searches of light Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL), which is the deepest operating laboratory for astroparticle research in the world. Recent results from a prototype CDEX-1 pPCGe (p-type Point Contact Germanium) detector and CDEX-10 array detector system are reported. The CDEX-10 experiment with a PCGe array of 10 kg target mass range is still taking data. The CDEX program evolves into the targets of "CDEX-1T Experiment" with ton-scale germanium detector arrays, which will be composed of thousands of kg-mass prototype germanium detectors and further contribute to the studies of Dark Matter search and Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay. The key technologies including HPGe detector fabrication, crystal growth and so on has been pursued. A new large space in CJPL-II will be ready by the end of 2018 for CDEX experiment.
        Speaker: Dr qian Yue (Tsinghua University)
        Slides
      • 164
        SENSEI Experiment for Direct Search of Light Dark Matter
        We present the status and prospects of the Sub-Electron Noise Skipper Experimental Instrument (SENSEI) that uses a non-destructive readout technique to achieve stable readout for thick fully depleted silicon CCD in the far sub-electron regime ($\sim 0.05\ e^-$ rms/pix). This is the first instrument to achieve discrete sub-electron counting that is stable over millions of pixels on a large-area detector. This low threshold allows for unprecedented sensitivity to the largely unexplored, but theoretically well-motivated, area of sub-GeV dark matter models. We’ll discuss the reach and prospects of the SENSEI experiment currently under construction, which will use 100 grams of Skipper CCDs. We will also present the lessons learned from a small scale prototype currently operating in the MINOS cavern at Fermilab.
        Speaker: Dr Guillermo Fernandez Moroni (Fermilab)
        Slides
      • 165
        keV Sterile Neutrinos as Dark Matter and the 3.5 keV Line
        I will give an overview of the status of keV sterile neutrinos as dark matter, including the production mechanisms in the early universe and detectability today. I will give the status of indirect searches, including the candidate X-ray line at 3.55 keV and prospects for future searches. I will also discuss laboratory detection methods, including searches in beta decay and K-capture nuclei.
        Speaker: Kev Abazajian (UC Irvine)
        Slides
    • Neutrino Masses and Neutrino Mixing: Parallel 5 — Double Beta Decay with Final-State Detection | Low-Energy Neutrino Scattering East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Prof. Andre de Gouvea (Northwestern University), Daniel Dwyer
      • 166
        Status of the nEXO Experiment
        The planned next generation Enriched Xenon Observatory (nEXO) experiment is aiming to search for the neutrino-less double beta ($0\nu\beta\beta$) decay from $^{136}$Xe. nEXO has a sensitivity in the order of $10^{28}$ years on the half-life (T$_{1/2}$) of $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay from $^{136}$Xe after 10 years’ running, entirely covering the inverted mass hierarchy region. The nEXO detector is a time projection chamber (TPC). It has a cylindrical shape with a diameter of $\sim$1.3 m and a drift length of $\sim$1.2 m containing 5 tonnes of liquid xenon enriched to 90% ($^{136}$Xe). nEXO will use modular metal pads deposited on a quartz substrate to readout the ionisation signal and provide the spatial information of the event. nEXO will be implemented with $\sim$4 m$^2$ silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) to collect the scintillation light in addition to the charge signal. Combining both charge and light signals, nEXO aims to have an energy resolution of 1% at the Q-value of the double beta decay from $^{136}$Xe. In this talk, both the physics potential of nEXO and various R&D outcomes will be presented.
        Speaker: Shuoxing Wu (Stanford University)
        Slides
      • 167
        Demonstration of Single Barium Ion Sensitivity for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay Using Single Molecule Fluorescent Imaging
        A new method to tag the barium daughter in the double beta decay of $^{136}$Xe is described, based on adaptation of the single molecule fluorescent imaging (SMFI) technique. Individual barium dications chelated on a transparent plate are detected at a significance of 12.9 $\sigma$, with a spatial resolution of 2 nm rms. Observation of a single-step photo-bleach transition confirms the interpretation of single ion sensitivity. This result is the first step toward an essentially background-free technique in the search for neutrino-less double beta decay in $^{136}$Xe, based on robust event discrimination by SMFI in a high-pressure xenon gas TPC.
        Speakers: Prof. David Nygren (University of Texas at Arlington), Dr David Nygren (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
      • 168
        Overview of Decay-At-Rest Neutrino Sources
        Recently, the idea of Decay-At-Rest (DAR) neutrino sources has gained in popularity due to their well understood energy spectrum and flavor composition. Currently, there are experiments being proposed which use decay-at-rest from kaons, pions, muons, and isotopes. I will present an overview of the decay-at-rest process, and the experiments being developed. After looking at the bigger picture, I will focus on particle accelerator driven decay-at-rest and the technology necessary to achieve the experimental goals (e.g. discovering sterile neutrinos).
        Speaker: Dr Daniel Winklehner (MIT)
        Slides
      • 169
        CEvNS Observation at the SNS with the COHERENT Experiment
        The process of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) predicted more than 40 years ago eluded detection for a long time despite having the largest cross-section for low-energy neutrino interactions. This is largely because CEvNS detection requires sensitivity to low-energy nuclear recoils in a potentially high-background environment. The COHERENT collaboration is deploying a suite of low-energy detectors in a low-background corridor of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to test the $N^2$-dependence of CE$\nu$NS with different nuclear targets and detector technologies. The first observation of CEvNS at a 6.7$\sigma$ confidence level was recently made by the COHERENT experiment with a 14.6 kg CsI[Na] detector. The result is in agreement with the Standard Model prediction and already improves constraints on non-standard neutrino interactions. In addition, COHERENT has a 185 kg NaI[Tl] scintillating crystal array and an about 22 kg LAr detector to provide results on CEvNS from a light nucleus where nuclear form factors are close to unity. Planning is ongoing for a 10 kg PPC HPGe to be deployed in the near future. The recent observation of CEvNS at SNS, an overview of the COHERENT experiment, and a survey of the future experimental program will be presented.
        Speaker: Dr Ivan Tolstukhin (Department of Physics, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA)
        Slides
      • 170
        Recent MiniBooNE Results: First Measurement of Monoenergetic Muon Neutrino Charged Current Interactions and a Search for Vector Portal Dark Matter
        This talk will present recent results from MiniBooNE, with a focus on the first measurement of monoenergetic muon neutrino charged current interactions. MiniBooNE's sensitive search for vector portal dark matter in the mass range 0.01–0.3 GeV will also be discussed. The NuMI beam absorber provides an intense source of 236 MeV muon neutrino events originating from kaon decay at rest that are observed by the MiniBooNE detector. The kaon-decay-at-rest (KDAR) neutrino represents a standard candle for studying neutrino-nucleus interactions, cross sections, and energy reconstruction in the hundreds of MeV region and can be used for a number of precision measurements. This result is the first known-energy, weak-interaction-only probe of the nucleus to yield a measurement of neutrino-nucleus energy transfer ($\omega = E_\nu −E_\mu$).
        Speaker: Rory Fitzpatrick (University of Michigan)
        Slides
    • Nuclear Forces and Structure, NN Correlations, and Medium Effects: Parallel 5 — Short-Range Correlations North Foyer | Kachina Room

      North Foyer | Kachina Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Prof. Gerald Miller (University of Washington)
      • 171
        New Studies of the EMC Effect and Short-Range Correlations
        I will present results from new studies of short-ranged correlations in nuclei and the EMC effect, with emphasis on measurements of neutron-rich nuclei. I will also discuss the development of new effective theories for describing short-ranged correlations, the way in which they relate to experimental observables, and the emerging universality of short-distance and high-momentum physics in nuclear systems.
        Speaker: Prof. Or Hen (MIT)
      • 172
        Isospin Dependence of the EMC Effect and Nucleon Short-Range Correlations
        The number of Short-Range Correlated (SRC) pairs in nuclei is known to linearly correlate with the strength of the European Muon Collaboration (EMC) effect. This linear correlation has lead to theoretical models of the EMC effect where primarily nucleons which are members of SRC pairs are modified. As recent work has shown, the overwhelming majority of these SRC pairs are neutron-proton (np) pairs. A consequence of np pair dominance is an isospin dependence to the EMC effect. By constructing per-neutron and per-proton SRC and EMC cross-section ratios, we show that a larger fraction of protons than of neutrons are modified in asymmetric, neutron-rich nuclei. With these new normalizations, we find that the per-neutron EMC slopes and SRC ratios both saturate much sooner than the standard per-nucleon quantities, starting already with carbon; while the per-proton values continue to increase, even going from iron to lead. In addition, we extract a universal EMC modification function based on the assumption of np pair dominance.
        Speaker: Barak Schmookler (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
        Slides
      • 173
        Short-Range Correlations
        Due to the highly localized feature of the short-range correlations (SRCs), the high momentum tails from light to heavy nuclei reveals very similar distributions when their momenta are above the Fermi momentum. The exclusive measurements of proton and electron scattering off the NN pairs in 2N-SRC showed the dominance of $np$ pairs. It indicates the isospin nature of the NN interaction at short distance. With the measurements of inclusive electron scattering on different nuclei in the quasi-elastic region, we are able to study the two- and three- nucleon correlations (2N-SRC and 3N-SRC), by taking the cross-section ratios of heavy nuclei to light nuclei, such as Deuteron or He$_3$. While the 2N-SRC has been observed with good agreement at SLAC in 1980s, and recently in Hall-B and Hall-C at Jefferson Lab, however, there is still no clear evidence of the 3N-SRC because both results show no agreement. The most recent experiment in Hall-A, E08014, performed a more precious measurement on the 3N-SRC as well as the isospin dependence of SRCs. The new results revealed no clear signal of 3N-SRC plateau at the $x>2$ region. The next generation experiments using H$_3$/He$_3$ targets, which have been taking data in 2018, will further investigate the SRC effects both in exclusive and inclusive scattering. In this talk, I will briefly introduce the SRCs, results from previous measurements and most recent experiments, and introduce the ongoing experiments, followed by some discussions.
        Speaker: Dr Zhihong Ye (Argonne National Lab)
      • 174
        New Results on Three-Nucleon Short Range Correlations
        Three nucleon short range correlations are one of the most elusive structures in nuclei, whose observation and the evaluation of their properties may have a significant impact on our understanding of the dynamics of super-dense nuclear matter that may exist in the cores of Neutron Stars. We discuss kinematic conditions and the observables that are most optimal for probing 3N SRCs in inclusive electro-nuclear processes and make predictions about the inherent relation between 2N and 3N SRCs. We demonstrate that these predictions are in reasonable agreement with the limited number of available high energy data, indicating on the possible first observation of 3N SRCs in the nuclei.
        Speaker: Misak Sargsian (Florida International University)
        Slides
    • Parton and Gluon Distributions in Nucleons and Nuclei: Parallel 5 — Parton Helicities and the Spin Sum Rule North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Dr Ralf Seidl (RIKEN)
      • 175
        Glue Spin from Lattice QCD
        The formulation of the glue spin operator and large momentum effective theory will be reviewed and a direct calculation of the glue spin from the lattice calculation with chiral fermion action will be presented. The lattice calculation is carried out with overlap fermion on 2+1 flavor domain wall fermion configurations. Both the overlap and domain wall fermions are chiral fermions. A global fit with large momentum extrapolation on multiple lattices with 4 lattice spacings and one at physical pion mass to assess the systematic errors has been undertaken to reach the final result.
        Speaker: Prof. Keh-Fei Liu (University of Kentucky)
        Slides
      • 176
        Overview of Longitudinal Spin Physics Results from RHIC
        The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collier (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory has been in operation since 2001 and delivered the world’s highest energy polarized proton-proton collisions with the center of mass energy up to 510 GeV. This has provided a unique opportunity to study the polarized quark and gluon spin structures inside the proton and novel QCD dynamics in longitudinally and transversely polarized proton-proton collisions at high energy. In this talk, I will highlight the latest longitudinal spin physics results from the PHENIX and STAR experiments at RHIC, including studies of the gluon and flavor identified quark polarizations inside the proton, followed by a brief discussion of the future prospects of spin physics opportunity at RHIC.
        Speaker: Dr Ming Liu (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 177
        Nucleon Spin Structure Measurements at JLab
        We will summarize the longitudinal and transverse spin measurements at JLAB. First, we will present the published and preliminary experimental results. They belong to a first phase of research using JLab's 6 GeV beam that covered the interface between the perturbative and nonperturbative domains of QCD. Furthermore, we have results pertaining to these two domains, e.g. high-$x$ DIS on one side of the interface and the chiral domain on the other side. We will then discuss the impact of these measurements, showing in particular how they trigger theoretical advances for AdS/QCD, hadron spectroscopy and GPDs. We conclude by discussing the future spin program with the JLab upgraded 12 GeV beam.
        Speaker: Alexandre Deur (Jefferson Lab)
        Slides
      • 178
        Hadron Multiplicity and Fragmentation in SIDIS
        COMPASS final results on multiplicities of charged hadrons and of identified pions and kaons produced in the deep inelastic muon scattering off an isoscalar target are presented and compared to HERMES results. Measurements are done in bins of $x$, $y$ and $z$ in a wide kinematic range. The hadron and pion data show a good agreement with (N)LO QCD expectations. The most interesting is the kaon multiplicity that allows to extract kaon fragmentation functions, a crucial ingredient in solving the strange quark polarisation puzzle. The COMPASS results are quite different from the expectations of the old NLO DSS fit and they cannot be described by LO QCD either. In this context the importance of $K^+/K^-$ multiplicity ratio at high $z$ is discussed.
        Speaker: Mr Nicolas PIERRE (CEA Saclay)
        Slides
    • Physics at High Energies: Parallel 5 — Physics Beyond the Standard Model II North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Prof. Stefania Gori (University of Cincinnati)
      • 179
        Searches for New Phenomena in Leptonic Final States Using the ATLAS Detector
        Many theories beyond the Standard Model predict new phenomena which decay to well isolated, high-$p_t$ leptons. Searches for new physics models with these signatures are performed using the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The results reported here use the $pp$ collision data sample collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC with a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV.
        Speaker: Mr Sebastien Rettie (The University of British Columbia)
        Slides
      • 180
        Searches for BSM Physics with the CMS Detector
        Discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider completed the Standard Model puzzle. However, we still do not know why the Higgs boson is light, what is the makeup of the dark matter, how matter survived in the evolution of the universe, etc. LHC's treasure-trove of proton-proton collision data could allow us to better understand the mysteries of the nascent universe and the Higgs mass. The CMS Collaboration has a broad program of searches which target heavy resonances, long-lived particles and other objects predicted by various theoretical models. I will describe how the CMS experimentalists are sorting through the LHC collision data to go Beyond the Standard Model. The focus of the talk will be on recent results obtained using data collected at Run-II of the LHC.
        Speaker: Prof. Sunil Somalwar (Rutgers University/Dept of Physics)
        Slides
      • 181
        EFT for Higgs Physics
        The ATLAS and CMS collaborations have recently released significant new data on Higgs and diboson production in LHC Run 2. Measurements of Higgs properties have improved in many channels, while kinematic information for $h\to\gamma\gamma$ and $h\to ZZ$ can now be more accurately incorporated in fits using the STXS method, and $W^+W^−$ diboson production at high $p_{_\mathrm{T}}$ gives new sensitivity to deviations from the Standard Model. We have performed an updated global fit to precision electroweak data, $W^+W^−$ measurements at LEP, and Higgs and diboson data from Runs 1 and 2 of the LHC in the framework of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT), allowing all coefficients to vary across the combined dataset, and present the results in both the Warsaw and SILH operator bases. We exhibit the improvement in the constraints on operator coefficients provided by the LHC Run 2 data, and discuss the correlations between them. We also explore the constraints our fit results impose on several models of physics beyond the Standard Model.
        Speaker: Chris Murphy (Brookhaven)
        Slides
      • 182
        Probing Hidden Sectors at the LHC
        I discuss examples of how the LHC can be sensitive to low-mass hidden sectors. In particular, I show how rare $Z$-boson decays provide a window into the mass-generation mechanism of dark-photon models, motivating searches for displaced vertices and high multiplicities of soft leptons.
        Speaker: Brian Shuve (Harvey Mudd College)
        Slides
    • QCD, Hadron Spectroscopy, and Exotics: Parallel 5 — γ–γ | Form Factors at High q² South Foyer | Nopales Room

      South Foyer | Nopales Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Dr Seamus Riordan (Argonne National Laboratory)
      • 183
        Two-Photon Effects in Elastic Nucleon Form Factors
        In view of the proton radius puzzle and the precision currently achieved in extracting the proton radius from muonic Hydrogen spectroscopy, the two-photon exchange (TPE) corrections between the lepton and hadron are at present the largest source of hadronic uncertainty. I present an overview on recent work within a dispersion relation framework to estimate such TPE corrections both in elastic electron-proton and muon-proton scattering as well as in the interpretation of the muonic Hydrogen spectroscopy. The results are compared to recent CLAS, VEPP-3 and OLYMPUS data as well as to a full TPE calculation in the near-forward approximation, based on unpolarized structure function input. The next steps in this field will be discussed.
        Speaker: Prof. Marc Vanderhaeghen (University Mainz)
        Slides
      • 184
        High $Q^2$ Elastic Form Factor Program at Jefferson Lab
        The electromagnetic form factors (EMFFs) of the nucleon, measured in elastic electron-nucleon scattering, are among the simplest and most well-defined measurable dynamical properties of the nucleon, and serve as important benchmarks for the testing of theoretical models and $\textit{ab initio}$ lattice QCD calculations of nucleon structure. They also provide stringent, model-independent constraints on the extraction of Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs), particularly at large values of the momentum transfer $Q^2$. Precise knowledge of the EMFFs over a wide $Q^2$ range is also essential to the interpretation of many other experiments in nuclear and particle physics. In the last two decades, the use of polarization observables has dramatically increased our knowledge of the nucleon EMFFs at large $Q^2$ values. Such measurements are presently a unique worldwide capability of Jefferson Lab's Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF). In this talk, I will present the near-future program of high-$Q^2$ nucleon EMFF measurements at CEBAF, exploiting the recently-completed upgrade of CEBAF to a maximum beam energy of 11 GeV (for electron-beam experiments), and the complementary capabilities of experimental Halls A, B, and C. Central to this program is the new Super BigBite Spectrometer (SBS), which is specifically designed to enable the high-$Q^2$ EMFF program. Time permitting, I will also discuss prospects for higher-$Q^2$ EMFF measurements at a future polarized electron-ion collider (EIC).
        Speaker: Prof. Andrew Puckett (University of Connecticut)
        Slides
      • 185
        Proton Polarizabilities from a Partial-Wave Analysis of Compton Scattering Data / Sum Rules Connecting Real and Virtual Compton Scattering on the Nucleon
        Talk 169: I would like to present a first partial wave-analysis (PWA) of the experimental cross sections of Compton scattering on the proton [1]. The resulting solutions reveal an appreciable sensitivity to small refinements of the experimental database, which could explain the discrepancies among the various extractions of proton polarizabilities (see e.g. [3] for review). The database inconsistency can soon be resolved by the ongoing Compton experiments at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI). [1] N. Krupina, V. Lensky and V. Pascalutsa, arXiv:1712.05349 [nucl-th]. [2] O. Gryniuk, F. Hagelstein and V. Pascalutsa, Phys. Rev. D92 (2015) 074031; ibid. D94 (2016) 034043. [3] F. Hagelstein, R. Miskimen and V. Pascalutsa, Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 88 (2016) 29-97. Talk 4: The response of a nucleon to external electromagnetic probes at low energies and low momenta is encoded in structure constants, the *nucleon polarizabilities*. In this presentation, I will discuss new relations (sum rules) that connect the structure constants measured in real, virtual, and doubly-virtual Compton scattering (CS). These relations are obtained, assuming the analyticity of the CS amplitude. Two of the new sum rules connect structure constants dependent on the nucleon spin, e.g., the longitudinal-transverse polarizability $\delta_{LT}$, accessed in inclusive electron scattering, is related to the static spin polarizability $\gamma_{E1E1}$, measured in the real CS, and the slope of spin generalized polarizabilities (GPs) $P^{(M1,M1)1}-P^{(L1,L1)1}$, measured in the virtual CS. The other two sum rules hold for the unpolarized doubly-virtual CS and relate some structure constants that can only be measured in off-forward doubly-virtual CS (not experimentally accessible at present) to the slopes of the nucleon's scalar GPs and moments of the unpolarized structure functions $F_1(x,Q^2)$ and $F_2(x,Q^2)$. One more relation constrains the low-$Q^2$ behaviour of the subtraction function in the CS amplitude, which enters the two-photon-exchange contribution to the Lamb shift of (muonic) hydrogen. I will discuss the verification of these sum rules, using empirical data and $\chi$PT, and the use of these relations to constrain the low-energy structure of the nucleon.
        Speaker: Dr Vladimir Pascalutsa (University of Mainz)
        Slides
    • Quark Matter and High Energy Heavy Ion Collisions: Parallel 5 — Small Systems and the Limits of the Quark Gluon Plasma South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Prof. Jacquelyn Noronha-Hostler (Rutgers University), Marta Verweij (Vanderbilt University)
      • 186
        Influence of the QCD Equation of State by System Size
        A long standing question in the field of heavy-ion collisions is whether charm quarks are thermalized within the Quark Gluon Plasma. In recent years, progress in lattice QCD simulations has led to reliable results for the equation of state of a system of 2+1 flavors (up, down, and strange) and 2+1+1 flavors (up, down, strange, and charm). We find that the equation of state strongly affects differential flow harmonics and a preference is seen for thermalized charm quarks at the LHC. Predictions are also made for the event-plane correlations at RHIC Au–Au $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV collisions, and the scaling of differential flow observables and factorization breaking for all charged particles at LHC Pb–Pb $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5.02$ TeV collisions compared to LHC Xe–Xe $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5.44$ TeV collisions, which could be useful in answering the question: are charm quarks thermalized?
        Speaker: Prof. Jacquelyn Noronha-Hostler (Rutgers University)
        Slides
      • 187
        CMS Results on Small Systems
        In recent years, a wealth of experimental evidence has suggested the presence of novel collectivity in small collision systems such as $p$–$p$ and $p$–Pb with high-multiplicity final states. The origin of the observed collectivity is under intense debate, i.e., whether a strongly coupled quark-gluon medium is formed, similar to that in large heavy ion collisions. Latest results at CMS in small systems will be presented. These results will provide new insights in unraveling the nature of collectivity in small but dense QCD systems.
        Speaker: Zhenyu Chen (Rice University)
        Slides
      • 188
        PHENIX Results on Collectivity in Small Systems
        To answer the question of how small a system can be while still exhibiting collective behavior, the PHENIX experiment has used RHIC's extraordinary versatility to design a set of experiments controlling the initial geometry of the collisions by selecting different colliding species, $p/d/^3$He+Au. In addition, a beam energy scan with $d$+Au collisions was done to vary the lifetime of the system while keeping the initial geometry constant. In this talk we show PHENIX measurements of elliptic and triangular flow of charged hadrons and elliptic flow of identified hadrons at midrapidity as a function of transverse momentum in $p/d/^3$He+Au collisions at 200 GeV per nucleon center-of-mass energy. Measurements of elliptic flow of charged hadrons in $d$+Au collisions at 200, 62.4, 39, and 19.6 GeV per nucleon center-of-mass energy will also be presented as a function of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity. In order to assess the origin of collectivity in the smallest systems, these results are compared with several theoretical models that produce azimuthal particle correlations based on initial and/or final state effects. Hydrodynamical models which include a droplet of quark gluon plasma provide the best simultaneous description of our observations.
        Speaker: Sylvia Morrow (Vanderbilt University)
        Slides
      • 189
        Signatures of Hydrodynamic Behavior in Small Collision Systems
        A well-established hydrodynamic framework has been developed over the last couple of decades to describe the dynamics of the fluidlike system (potentially, a quark-gluon plasma) created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. This framework predicts in particular the nontrivial patterns of long-range azimuthal correlations which are observed in the final states of nucleus-nucleus collisions, and has been able to explain, essentially, all data on azimuthal correlations collected at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). A striking result of the LHC is the observation of the same patterns of azimuthal correlations in the final states of smaller collision systems, namely, $p$+$p$ and $p$+Pb collisions. Such observations triggered immediately the question of whether a tiny droplet of fluidlike matter may be created in these small systems. Nowadays this is a subject under intense study, both theoretically and in experiments. In this talk, I present our understanding of small systems in the hydrodynamic framework. By means of very simple arguments, I explain how the paradigms of the hydro picture turn out to be powerful tools allowing for predictions which are robust and universal, i.e., independent of the details of the models used to obtain the numerical results. I show that these generic predictions are all confirmed with an impressive accuracy by LHC $p$+Pb data, as well as by RHIC $p$+Au, $d$+Au, and $^3$He+Au data. I eventually discuss $p$+$p$ collisions, where the signatures of hydrodynamic behavior appear to be less visible.
        Speaker: Giuliano Giacalone (IPhT Saclay)
        Slides
      • 190
        Current Status of Hydrodynamic Modeling from $p$+$p$ to Heavy Ions
        In recent years, suggestive signatures of collective flow-like behavior have been observed in $p$+$p$ collisions at the LHC and also in light+heavy-ion collisions. We review hydrodynamic model calculations that reasonably describe the experimentally measured $dN_\mathrm{ch}/d\eta$ and $v_2,v_3,v_4$ at $\eta=0$ in collisions from Pb+Pb down to $p$+$p$. Nevertheless, it is still uncertain whether the flow-like correlations in small collisions should be ascribed the same hydrodynamic origin as in heavy+heavy-ion collisions. Resolving this problem requires knowing (1) how a proton should impart its fluctuating shape on hydrodynamic initial data (e.g. $\varepsilon_2$, $\varepsilon_3$), and (2) in what situations hydrodynamics is justified. It turns out the entire non-hydrodynamic behavior of a system is encoded at large orders in the hydrodynamic gradient expansion, whose resummation yields a subset of microscopic system trajectories known as a hydrodynamic attractor. The behavior of trajectories near this attractor define an "off-equilibrium" version of hydrodynamics, whose applicability for small collisions is justified. This provides an answer to (2), but leaves (1), the choice of hydro initial data, as an open issue.
        Speaker: Ryan Weller (MIT)
        Slides
    • 3:40 PM
      Break
    • Cosmic Physics and Dark Energy, Inflation, and Strong-Field Gravity: Parallel 6 — Cosmological Surveys South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Kev Abazajian (UC Irvine)
      • 191
        Recent Results from the Dark Energy Survey
        The Dark Energy Survey has recently demonstrated powerful cosmological constraints obtained using first year observations of galaxy positions and gravitational lensing of galaxy images. In the near future, these analyses will be extended to include cross-correlations with gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background, and constraints from other cosmological probes. I will summarize recent results and discuss near-term improvements.
        Speaker: Eric Baxter (University of Pennsylvania)
        Slides
      • 192
        The eBOSS Survey: Recent Results and Prospects
        I will present recent results and prospects for the SDSS/eBOSS survey (2014-2019), the last program completing the SDSS cosmological observations, which started some twenty years ago. The primary goal of those observations is to constrain dark energy through the measure of the distance-redshift relation with baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the clustering of matter. eBOSS will use one million objects divided in four different tracers to expand the volume covered by SDSS/BOSS focusing on the redshift range [0.6,2.2]. The eBOSS data will also bring constraints on other cosmological topics, as test of General Relativity on cosmological scales through redshift-space distortion measurements, or new constraints on the summed mass of all neutrino species.
        Speaker: Dr Anand Raichoor (EPFL)
        Slides
      • 193
        Cosmology with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope
        Full-sky Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature data from the Planck satellite tightly constrains the six $\Lambda$CDM parameters, reinforcing the success of the current model in describing the CMB sky. However, more precise cosmological measurements show tensions between the high-redshift and low-redshift probes, with a discrepancy in the value of the Hubble constant, $H_0$, at a significance higher than $3 \sigma$. Although these results could suggest a failure of the present model, the accuracy of the current measurements has been questioned. The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) is currently mapping forty percent of the CMB sky at high resolution. In this talk, I will show how such a unique dataset will allow us to investigate the current tensions. I will highlight the complementarity of a high-resolution experiment also capable to extract high-fidelity information from the polarization of the CMB. I will conclude with future prospects for the next generation CMB experiments.
        Speaker: Dr Simone Aiola (Princeton University)
      • 194
        BICEP/Keck: Constraining the Primordial Gravitational-Wave Signal with CMB Polarization Observations from the South Pole
        The inflationary scenario generically predicts the existence of primordial gravitational waves (GW), though over a wide range of amplitudes from slow-roll to multi-field models. Currently the most promising method for constraining, and potentially detecting, an inflationary GW background is to search for the imprint that these tensor perturbations would leave on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization as a parity-odd “B-mode” pattern. The BICEP/Keck experiments (BK) target this primordial signature by observing the polarized microwave sky at degree-scale resolution from the South Pole. Attempting to observe the very faint primordial B-mode signal requires a telescope with exquisite sensitivity and tight control of systematics. The presence of bright Galactic emission, along with the distortion of the CMB polarization field due to gravitational lensing, make this measurement extremely challenging. In order to disentangle the primordial signal from these “foregrounds”, a wide frequency coverage is necessary. I will present the latest BK constraints on the tensor-to-scalar ratio “$r$” using data taken from 2010 to 2015 at 90, 150, 220 GHz (BK15), in combination with data from the Planck and WMAP satellites. Upcoming observations with the “Stage-3” BICEP Array experiment will extend this frequency range to 30–270 GHz, ultimately improving our sensitivity to $r$ by an order of magnitude with respect to BK15, thus constraining natural inflation and all single-field models.
        Speaker: Dr Lorenzo Moncelsi (California Institute of Technology)
        Slides
      • 195
        The Simons Observatory and CMB-Stage IV
        The Simons Observatory (SO) will make precision temperature and polarization measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) over angular scales between 1 arcminute and tens of degrees using over 40,000 detectors and sampling frequencies between 27 and 270 GHz. SO will consist of a six-meter-aperture telescope coupled to over 20,000 detectors and an array of half-meter aperture refractive cameras, coupled to an additional 20,000 detectors. The unique combination of large and small apertures in a single CMB observatory will allow us to sample a wide range of angular scales over a common survey area while providing an important stepping stone towards the realization of CMB-Stage IV. CMB-Stage IV is a proposed project that will combine and expand on existing facilities in Chile and Antarctica to reach the $\sim$500,000 detectors required for the project's science objectives. SO and CMB-Stage IV will measure fundamental cosmological parameters of our universe, find high-redshift clusters via the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect, constrain properties of neutrinos, and seek signatures of dark matter through gravitational lensing. The complex set of technical and science requirements for these experiments has led to innovative instrumentation solutions which we will discuss. For instance,the SO large aperture telescope will couple to a cryogenic receiver that is 2.4 m in diameter and over 2 m long, creating a number of technical challenges. We will give an overview of the drivers for, and designs of, the SO telescopes and cameras as well as the current status of the project. We will also discuss the current status of CMB-Stage IV and important next steps in the project's development.
        Speaker: Dr Nicholas Galitzki (University of California, San Diego)
    • Dark Matter: Parallel 6 — High Mass Dark Matter South Foyer | Pinon Room

      South Foyer | Pinon Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Prof. George Fuller (University of California, San Diego), Prof. Matt Pyle (University of California Berkeley)
      • 196
        Searching for Ultra-Heavy Dark Matter
        Observational bounds on the mass of dark matter could allow the dark matter to be as heavy as $10^{48}$ GeV. Such ultra-heavy dark matter candidates emerge as composite objects produced as a result of significant self-interactions in the dark sector. Detection of this kind of dark matter raises new challenges — the low number density of these particles requires detectors with a large target volume, while the transit of an individual ultra-heavy dark matter particle can lead to significant energy deposition. Leveraging the fact that the transit speed of dark matter is $\sim$220 km/s, well below relativistic speeds but above terrestrial speeds, we discuss methods to search for ultra-heavy dark matter.
        Speaker: Surjeet Rajendran (UC Berkeley)
        Slides
      • 197
        Darkside Status and Prospects
        DarkSide uses dual-phase Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers to search for WIMP dark matter. The talk will present the latest result from the current experiment, DarkSide-50, running since mid 2015 using a 50-kg-active-mass TPC, filled with argon from an underground source. The next stage of the DarkSide program will be a new generation experiment involving a global collaboration from all the current Argon based experiments. DarkSide-20k, based on a 20-tonne fiducial mass TPC with SiPM based photosensors, is designed to have a background well below that from coherent scattering of solar and atmospheric neutrinos. Like its predecessor, DarkSide-20k will be housed at the Gran Sasso (LNGS) underground laboratory, and it is expected to attain a WIMP-nucleon cross section of $10^{-47}$ cm$^2$ for a WIMP mass of 1 TeV/$c^2$ in a 5 year run.
        Speaker: Mr Luca Pagani (UC Davis)
        Slides
      • 198
        Results and Plans for the PICO Dark Matter Bubble Chamber
        This talk will present the current status of the PICO dark matter experimental program. The PICO detectors are based on the bubble chamber technology and record potential interactions of WIMPs in the target fluid through phase transitions induced by the energy depositions of recoiling nuclei. The technique is complementary to other dark matter search methods and has lead to recent world-leading results for spin-dependent WIMP interactions. The current state of the results from PICO operations will be presented, as well as an update on the status and prognosis for the new detector configuration PICO-40, currently being installed at SNOLAB. The future prospects for a tonne scale “PICO-500” will also be described.
        Speaker: Prof. Anthony Noble (Queens University)
        Slides
      • 199
        The Latest Analyses of the LUX Dark Matter Project
        More recent results will be shared from the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) detector, which was a 100-kg-scale, 2-phase xenon direct dark matter search experiment, operated between 2013–16 at SURF. Dark matter, the missing 25% of the mass-energy content of the universe, is sought in more ways, using effective field theory operators to extend the search to higher-mass Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), and electron instead of nuclear recoil, to seek axions and mirror dark matter. In addition, annual and diurnal modulation analyses of the 427 live-days of exposure will be explored. Lastly, old and new calibrations (including $^{14}$C $\beta$, $^{127}$Xe, $^{83m}$Kr, and D-D neutron) and position, energy, field, and pulse-shape reconstruction techniques plus trigger efficiency will be reviewed, in the context of new background and signal models being developed by LUX which will extend to higher energies than ever before.
        Speaker: Matthew Szydagis (U Albany)
        Slides
      • 200
        LUX Sensitivity to Effective Field Theory Interactions
        The past two decades have seen a tremendous increase in the sensitivity of direct detection experiments. In the absence of a definitive dark matter detection, the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) campaign (which ran underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility from 2013 to 2016) has worked to constrain a far broader set of dark matter interactions than the spin-independent and spin-dependent results that are typically reported. Here we review a non-relativistic effective field theory framework that describes a rich set of momentum-and-velocity dependent dark matter-nucleon interactions in a model-independent way. We comment on complementarity between experimental targets and techniques. Finally, we discuss LUX’s sensitivity to this class of interactions both in isolation and in the case of interference between interactions.
        Speaker: Dr Nicole Larsen (University of Chicago / Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics)
        Slides
      • 201
        Position Reconstruction Using Photon Timing for the DEAP-3600 Liquid Argon Dark Matter Experiment
        DEAP-3600 is a single-phase liquid argon (LAr) dark matter detector being operated 2 km underground at SNOLAB. The ultra-pure LAr target is contained in a spherical acrylic vessel of 3600 kg capacity, viewed by an array of 255 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). The expected sensitivity to the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross-section is $10^{-46}$ cm$^2$ at 100 GeV WIMP mass. Natural radioactive contamination can cause alpha decays originating in the acrylic vessel or TPB wavelength shifter, or gamma rays, mostly from PMT materials, that may induce Cerenkov light. These are potential surface backgrounds. Reconstruction of the position of the interactions taking place in the detector utilizes both charge and timing. Including this information in our suite of cuts allows us to identify and remove almost all surface background events. An overview and the results of the initial filling phase is presented. A method of event position reconstruction emphasizing photon timing will be discussed.
        Speaker: Dr Yu Chen (University of Alberta)
        Slides
      • 202
        COSINE-100 and Tests of DAMA
        Astrophysical observations give overwhelming evidence for the existence of dark matter. While the DAMA collaboration has asserted for years that they observe a dark matter-induced annual modulation signal in their NaI(Tl)-based detectors, their observations are inconsistent with those from other direct detection dark matter experiments under most assumptions of dark matter. I will describe the COSINE-100 experiment and other low-background NaI(Tl)-based dark matter experiments, and our progress toward resolving the current stalemate in the field.
        Speaker: Reina Maruyama (Yale University)
        Slides
    • Neutrino Masses and Neutrino Mixing: Parallel 6 — LBNE | Neutrino Cross Sections South Foyer | Nopales Room

      South Foyer | Nopales Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Prof. Andre de Gouvea (Northwestern University), Daniel Dwyer
      • 203
        Overview of DUNE
        The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next-generation long-baseline experiment. DUNE will utilize a high-intensity neutrino beam produced at Fermilab and will measure electron-neutrino appearance and muon-neutrino disappearance with its 40 kiloton Liquid Argon far detector at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota, 1300 km from Fermilab. The goals of DUNE are studies of neutrino oscillations, including CP violation and neutrino mass hierarchy determination, and searches for nucleon decays and supernova neutrinos, as well as precision neutrino physics at the near site. The DUNE far detectors are based on liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) technology, which offers an excellent spatial resolution, high neutrino detection efficiency, and superb background rejection. Two large DUNE far detector prototypes, in both single phase LArTPC (ProtoDUNE-SP) and dual phase LArTPC (ProtoDUNE-DP) technologies, are under construction and will be operated at the CERN Neutrino Platform (NP) starting in late 2018. In this talk, we will give an overview of the physics program and current status of the DUNE experiment.
        Speaker: Prof. Jianming Bian (UC Irvine)
        Slides
      • 204
        Measurements of Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering from 0.1–10 GeV
        Neutrino interactions and nuclear modeling are among the largest systematic uncertainties in neutrino oscillation experiments, which must infer the true neutrino energy from scattering products on heavy targets such as carbon, oxygen, or argon. Recent data from MiniBooNE, T2K, and MINERvA indicate shortcomings in current theoretical models of neutrino cross sections on nuclei. I will present an overview of measurements of neutrino scattering in the range of 0.1 to 10 GeV, and discuss prospects for the future.
        Speaker: Christopher Marshall
        Slides
      • 205
        The CAPTAIN Program: Status and Plans
        The Cryogenic Apparatus for Precision Tests of Argon Interactions with Neutrinos (CAPTAIN) program makes measurements that are crucial for the future DUNE experiment. DUNE aims to study neutrino oscillation phenomena with high precision with long-baseline and atmospheric neutrinos, and the electron-neutrino spectrum from galactic core-collapse supernovae. CAPTAIN addresses challenges with both of these programs by making measurements of the liquid-argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) response to medium-energy neutrons and by measuring the electron-neutrino on argon cross-section in an energy regime coincident with the neutrino spectrum expected from supernovae. CAPTAIN has deployed Mini-CAPTAIN, a 400-kg instrumented-mass LArTPC, in a neutron beamline at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center that provides neutrons of energies up to 800 MeV. I report the status of the analysis of these measurements and their implications for DUNE’s long-baseline neutrino oscillation program. Next, the 5-ton instrumented-mass CAPTAIN detector will be deployed in a stopped-pion neutrino source. This will constitute the first demonstration that LArTPC’s can measure neutrinos in an energy regime relevant to supernova physics.
        Speaker: Prof. Christopher Mauger (University of Pennsylvania)
        Slides
      • 206
        Neutrino Scattering Studies in MicroBooNE
        A good understanding of the cross sections for neutrino interactions with nucleons and nuclei is crucial for neutrino oscillation studies, in addition to providing a tool for the exploration of nucleon and nuclear structures. The MicroBooNE liquid-argon time-projection-chamber (LArTPC) experiment has been taking neutrino data with the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermilab since 2015. The LArTPC capabilities in track reconstruction, energy measurement, and particle identification allow us to probe interesting regions of neutrino-argon scattering cross sections and to probe the quark composition of the nucleon and test models of nuclear structure and final-state interactions. We present the current status of several on-going MicroBooNE cross section analyses, as well as plans for future measurements.
        Speaker: Vassili Papavassiliou (New Mexico State University)
        Slides
      • 207
        Hadron Production Measurements for Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiments with NA61/SHINE
        A precise prediction of the neutrino flux is a key ingredient for achieving the physics goals of long-baseline neutrino experiments. In modern accelerator-based neutrino experiments, neutrino beams are created from the decays of secondary hadrons produced in hadron-nucleus interactions. Hadron production is the leading systematic uncertainty source on the neutrino flux prediction; therefore, its precise measurement is essential. The NA61/SPS Heavy Ion and Neutrino Experiment (NA61/SHINE) is a fixed-target experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron, which studies hadron production in hadron-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions for various physics goals. For neutrino physics, light hadron beams (protons, pions, and kaons) are collided with a light nuclear target (carbon, aluminum, and beryllium) and spectra of outgoing hadrons are measured. This talk will review the recent results and ongoing hadron production measurements in NA61/SHINE for the precise neutrino flux predictions in the T2K and Fermilab long-baseline neutrino experiments. For the T2K experiment, the interactions of 31 GeV/$c$ proton beams on a thin carbon or a replica of the T2K 90 cm-long carbon target were measured and these measurements have significantly reduced T2K's neutrino flux uncertainty. For the Fermilab long-baseline neutrino beamlines (NuMI and LBNF), measurements are currently ongoing for 60–120 GeV proton, pion, and kaon beams on various nuclear targets. This talk will also discuss the prospects for future hadron production measurements with NA61/SHINE beyond 2020, after the Long Shutdown 2 of the accelerator complex at CERN.
        Speaker: Dr Yoshikazu Nagai (University of Colorado Boulder)
        Slides
      • 208
        Isolating Neutrino Cross Section Uncertainties with Theory
        Studies of neutrino oscillation physics lay at the intersection point of nucleon physics, nuclear physics, and experimental physics. Computations of the neutrino scattering cross sections that are necessary to understand oscillation physics require nuclear models with weak matrix elements of the nucleon. These matrix elements are difficult to probe experimentally or can be subject to substantial systematic corrections, and common model parametrizations significantly underestimate the uncertainties of the pertinent nucleon amplitudes. Furthermore, these amplitudes are often determined from scattering of neutrinos with nuclei, which entangles the uncertainties from nucleon amplitudes and nuclear model assumptions. In this talk, I will highlight recent work to dissect and understand the uncertainties from neutrino scattering with free nucleons, with the intention of providing realistic estimates of the nucleon amplitude uncertainties. These studies include use of the model-independent z-expansion parametrization to reanalyze deuterium bubble chamber data as well as preliminary first-principles calculations from lattice QCD. With robust estimates of the uncertainty, it will then be possible to unambiguously isolate the discrepancies with experimental data that come from nucleon amplitudes and nuclear models.
        Speaker: Dr Aaron Meyer (Brookhaven National Laboratory)
        Slides
    • Nuclear Forces and Structure, NN Correlations, and Medium Effects: Parallel 6 — Nucleon/Nuclear Structure and Fundamental Symmetries North Foyer | Kachina Room

      North Foyer | Kachina Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Dr John Arrington (Argonne National Laboratory)
      • 209
        The Nucleon Axial Coupling from Quantum Chromodynamics
        The $\textit{axial coupling of the nucleon}$, $g_A$, is the strength of its coupling to the $\textit{weak}$ axial current of the Standard Model, much as the electric charge is the strength of the coupling to the electromagnetic current. This axial coupling dictates, for example, the rate of $\beta$-decay of neutrons to protons and the strength of the attractive long-range force between nucleons. Precision tests of the Standard Model in nuclear environments require a quantitative understanding of nuclear physics rooted in Quantum Chromodynamics, a pillar of this theory. The prominence of $g_A$ makes it a benchmark quantity to determine theoretically, a difficult task as the theory is non-perturbative. Lattice QCD provides a rigorous, non-perturbative definition of the theory which can be numerically implemented. In order to determine $g_A$, the lattice QCD community has identified two challenges which must be overcome to achieve a 2% precision by 2020: the excited state contamination must be controlled and the statistical precision must be markedly improved. Here we report a calculation of $g_A^\mathrm{QCD} = 1.271 \pm 0.013$ using an unconventional method that overcomes these challenges.
        Speaker: Dr Chia Cheng Chang (LBL)
        Slides
      • 210
        The Nucleon Axial Form Factor from Quantum Chromodynamics
        The nucleon axial form factor is needed to calculate the cross-section of neutrino interactions with nuclei. Due to lack of data on neutrino scattering off protons, one has to model the effect of nuclear interactions to extract it from neutrino scattering data off heavier nuclei. It is also being calculated from first principles analysis of QCD using large scale simulations of lattice QCD. By comparing the phenomenological and lattice QCD form factors, one can help constrain the modeling of nuclear effects. This talk will summarize the status of lattice QCD calculations and discuss the challenges and prospects for high precision results.
        Speaker: Dr Rajan Gupta (Los Alamos National Lab)
        Slides
      • 211
        Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay in Chiral Effective Field Theory
        Within the framework of chiral effective field theory I will discuss the leading contributions to the neutrinoless double-beta decay transition operator induced by light Majorana neutrinos. Based on renormalization arguments, I will argue that one needs to introduce a leading-order short-range operator, missing in all current calculations. I will then discuss strategies to determine the finite part of the short-range coupling by matching to lattice QCD or by relating it via chiral symmetry to isospin-breaking observables in the two-nucleon sector. Finally, I will estimate the impact of this new contribution on nuclear matrix elements of relevance to experiment.
        Speaker: Dr Vincenzo Cirigliano (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 212
        Current Status of Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay Matrix Elements
        Observing neutrinoless double-beta ($0\nu\beta\beta$) decay is the most promising way to detect lepton number violation in the laboratory, and it would imply that neutrinos are their own antiparticles. The decay half-life naturally depends on a nuclear matrix element that needs to be calculated theoretically. A good knowledge of this matrix element is key for the planning of $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay experiments, and also to extract information on the neutrino mass once $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay is observed. Currently predicted matrix-element values depend on the many-body method used to calculate them and, in addition, they may need to be "quenched", as the matrix elements of other beta decays that, however, have a very different momemtum-transfer regime. I will discuss recent efforts towards obtaining reliable nuclear matrix elements, ranging from improved calculations with phenomenological many-body approaches, to the first applications of "ab initio" many-body methods to $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay, finalizing with possible measurements that could be very useful to test calculations and to provide information on the value of the $0\nu\beta\beta$ matrix elements.
        Speaker: Javier Menendez (Center for Nuclear Study, University of Tokyo)
        Slides
      • 213
        Overview of Nuclear Beta Decay Tests of Fundamental Symmetries
        We will present an overview on the present status and outlook of experiments using nuclear beta decays to search for new physics. At the low-momentum transfers associated with nuclear beta decays, phenomena associated with new physics at high-energy scales can show up as right-handed or chirality-flipping (tensor or scalar) currents, all absent in the Standard Model. We will describe ongoing experimental efforts, future perspectives in the field, and the needs from nuclear structure theory to carry out the program.
        Speaker: Alejandro Garcia (University of Washington)
        Slides
      • 214
        Multi-Wire 3D Gas Tracker for Searching New Physics in Nuclear Beta Decay
        Searches of new physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) performed at low energy frontiers are complementary to experiments carried out at high energy colliders. Often used methods for testing the SM and beyond at low energies are precision spectrum shape and correlation coefficient measurements in nuclear and neutron beta decay. In order to study tiny effects in beta spectrum shape, a special spectrometer was built. It consists of a 3D low pressure gas tracker (drift chamber with hexagonal cells, signal readout at both wire ends) and plastic scintillators for triggering a data acquisition and registration of the beta particle energy [1]. The results of the characterization process indicate the possibility of using such a gas tracker in a range of experiments with low energy electrons where beta particle tracking with minimal kinematics deterioration is beneficial. Application of this technique is also planned for a neutron decay correlation experiment [2]. In the presentation, the first application of this tracker in a high-precision beta spectrum shape study will be discussed. It is devoted to the determination of the weak magnetism term in nuclear beta decay [3,4]. [1] K. Lojek, D.Rozpedzik, K. Bodek, M. Perkowski, N. Severijns, NIM A 802 (2015) 38 [2] K. Bodek, Acta Phys. Pol. B, 47 (2016) 349 [3] N. Severijns, J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 41 (2014) 114006 [4] L. Hayen, N. Severijns, K. Bodek, D. Rozpedzik, X. Mougeot, Rev. Mod. Phys. 90 (2018) 015008
        Speaker: Dr Dagmara Rozpedzik (Jagiellonian University)
        Slides
    • PPHI / TSEI: Parallel 6 — Symmetry Tests East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      East Foyer | Larkspur/Mesquite Rooms

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Renee Fatemi (University of Kentucky), Prof. Robert Redwine (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
      • 215
        Precision Atomic Tests of Physics Beyond the Standard Model
        We will give an overview of atomic precision measurements as tests of physics beyond the Standard Model, such as searches for "fifth forces", tests of fundamental symmetries with clocks, and searches for an electric dipole moment of the electron. In particular, measurements of the fine structure constant $\alpha$ use methods from across sub-fields and are thus powerful tests of the consistency of theory and experiment in physics. Using the recoil frequency of cesium-133 atoms in a matter-wave interferometer, we report the most accurate measurement, $\alpha = 1/137.035999046(27)$, at $2.0\times 10^{-10}$ accuracy. Comparison with Penning-trap measurements of the electron gyromagnetic anomaly $g-2$ via the Standard Model is now limited by the uncertainty in $g-2$; a 2.5-sigma tension has implications for dark sector candidates and electron substructure may be a sign of physics beyond the Standard Model that warrants further investigation.
        Speaker: Holger Mueller
        Slides
      • 216
        Muon g-2 Experiments at FNAL and J-PARC
        The measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon made at Brookhaven National Laboratory differs from the Standard Model expectation by over 3 standard deviations. A new experiment at Fermilab, using the same storage ring as the Brookhaven experiment, aims to improve the accuracy of this measurement by a factor of 4, and an additional experiment, using a new technique, at J-PARC is scheduled. The results from these experiments are among the most eagerly anticipated in particle physics. The Fermilab g-2 experiment began data taking this year, and a summary of the early measurements will be presented, together with the status, timeline and expected sensitivity of the two experiments.
        Speaker: Dr Joseph Price (University of Liverpool)
        Slides
      • 217
        New Results on Low-Energy Exclusive Hadronic Cross Sections from BaBar and Implications for g-2 of the Muon
        The BABAR Collaboration has an extensive program studying hadronic cross sections in low-energy $e^+e^-$ collisions, accessible through the selection of events with initial-state photon radiation. The measurements allow significant improvements in the precision of the standard model prediction for the muon anomalous magnetic moment. Recent results on the $\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0\pi^0$ final state and on $KK\pi\pi$ final states are presented. The $\pi\pi\pi\pi$ channel is one of the most important for the muon g-2 calculation, while our measurements of the $KK\pi\pi$ channels obviate the need to rely on isospin relations and greatly improve the results in these channels.
        Speaker: Prof. Bill GARY (University of California, Riverside)
        Slides
      • 218
        Baryogenesis via Particle–Antiparticle Oscillations
        Our Universe has more matter than antimatter and we cannot explain this asymmetry within the Standard Model. CP violation is crucial to explain the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. We observe CP violation in the SM in neutral meson oscillations. Can similar (but beyond the SM) particle–antiparticle oscillations in the early Universe generate the baryon asymmetry? I will show "Yes, they can!" and give a specific new physics model as an example.
        Speaker: Dr Seyda Ipek (University of California Irvine)
        Slides
      • 219
        Search for Neutron-Antineutron Oscillations at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
        Tests on $|B-L|$ symmetry breaking models are important probes to search for new physics. One proposed model with $|\Delta (B-L)=2|$ involves the oscillation of a neutron to an antineutron. In this talk, the recently published results for a search of this process in the deuteron from the data acquired from all three operational phases of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory experiment will be summarized. Discussions on the observable signature of such a process and an upper limit on the free neutron-antineutron oscillation time will also be provided.
        Speaker: Dr Marc Bergevin (LLNL)
        Slides
      • 220
        Neutron-Antineutron Conversion to Search for B-L Violation
        Neutron-antineutron ($n$–$\bar{n}$) conversion describes the change of a neutron into an antineutron as mediated by an external source. As a result its ability to occur is not limited by the presence of magnetic fields or matter, as would be the case if a neutron were to transform spontaneously, or to oscillate, into an antineutron. We explore the limits on the appearance of baryon number minus lepton number (B-L) violation that can be set through the study of the conversion process, notably through scattering experiments employing intense beams, and we discuss the conditions under which such studies can also yield limits on the neutron's Majorana mass.
        Speaker: Prof. Susan Gardner (University of Kentucky)
        Slides
    • Particle and Nuclear Astrophysics: Parallel 6 — Particle Astrophysics North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Dr Barry Davids (TRIUMF), Wick Haxton
      • 221
        Latest Results from the AMS Experiment on the International Space Station
        The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a multi-purpose high-energy particle physics detector in space. It was installed on the International Space Station (ISS) in May 2011 to conduct a unique long-duration mission of fundamental physics research in space. In seven years AMS has collected more than 115 billion charged cosmic rays with energies up to TeV region performing the most precise measurement of galactic cosmic rays to date. An overview of the latest results from AMS will be presented.
        Speaker: Dr francesca giovacchini (ciemat)
        Slides
      • 222
        New Results and Update on Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays
        This talk will have two components. The main part will survey the state-of-knowledge about UHECRs, emphasizing recent results from the Pierre Auger Observatory on anisotropies and possible source correlations. A short second part will report on multi-messenger constraints combining Auger, Fermi-LAT and IceCube data, on pure-proton and mixed-composition source models.
        Speaker: Glennys Farrar (NYU)
        Slides
      • 223
        Recent Highlights from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory
        The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory has been surveying the TeV sky for over 3 years. HAWC surveys 2/3rd of the sky each day with a wide field-of-view, high duty-cycle, and wide energy range. HAWC is a powerful instrument to study key aspects of particle astrophysics, including the production, propagation, and interaction of cosmic rays, searches for dark matter, and locating the highest energy (>100 TeV) gamma-ray sources. It can also monitor for variable sources and transients. We will discuss the discovery of TeV halos around middle-aged nearby pulsars that shed new light on the positron excess puzzle. We will also discuss new TeV sources that have been discovered, including possible PeV cosmic ray sources (PeVatrons). Additionally, we will discuss searches for GRBs, gravitational wave events, and dark matter.
        Speaker: Andrea Albert (SLAC)
        Slides
      • 224
        IceCube/DeepCore Results on Neutrino Properties Using Atmospheric Neutrinos
        The IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole can measure atmospheric neutrinos at energies up to the TeV scale. DeepCore is the low-energy subarray that provides sensitivity in the neutrino energy range from roughly 10 GeV to 100 GeV, where Earth-crossing neutrinos are subject to flavor-oscillation phenomena. These neutrinos are muon and electron neutrinos produced in Earth's atmosphere via decays of particles from interactions between cosmic rays and the atmosphere. The primary oscillations detected are from muon neutrinos to tau neutrinos. We present the measurement of muon neutrino disappearance and tau neutrino appearance using three years of IceCube-DeepCore data.
        Speaker: Ms Feifei Huang (The Pennsylvania State University)
        Slides
      • 225
        Recent Status and Future Plans for the China JinPing Underground Laboratory
        China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL) is the deepest laboratory and an ideal site for rare-event experiments such as dark matter, neutrinoless double beta decay, solar neutrino experiment, and so on. It is located in the Jinping Mountain, Sichuan Province, southwest China, with an overburden of about 2,400 m. The laboratory is operated by Tsinghua University and Yalong River Hydropower Development Company, Ltd. This paper will give an overview of conditions, status and future plans of the laboratory. Main experiments and scientific activities carried out at CJPL will also be presented. The experimental programs for direct detection of dark matter at CJPL will also be introduced.
        Speaker: Dr Qian Yue (Tsinghua University)
        Slides
      • 226
        NuSTAR and Super-Eddington Accretion onto Neutron Stars
        The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is the first focusing X-ray telescope at hard energies in space. Since its launch in 2012, NuSTAR has opened up a sensitive new view on many energetic astrophysical phenomena, such as supernova explosions, black hole spin measurements and cosmic supermassive black hole accretion history. One of NuSTAR's main discoveries is that some bright X-ray sources in other galaxies, known as ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), long believed to be powered by black holes, were in fact powered by neutron stars. Some of these neutron stars were found to be radiating factors of 1,000 greater than the theoretical Eddington limit would allow, confounding theory. I will talk about the NuSTAR telescope, the discovery of neutron-star-powered ULXs, and a recent measurement of the magnetic field strength of one of these sources that has provided clues about how they radiate so powerfully.
        Speaker: Dr Murray Brightman (Caltech)
        Slides
    • Quark Matter and High Energy Heavy Ion Collisions: Parallel 6 — Heavy Ions at the LHC North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Prof. Jacquelyn Noronha-Hostler (Rutgers University), Marta Verweij (Vanderbilt University)
      • 227
        Overview of Recent Results from the ATLAS Experiment
        The heavy-ion program in the ATLAS experiment at the LHC originated as an extensive program to probe and characterize the hot, dense matter created in relativistic lead-lead collisions. In recent years, the program has also broadened to a detailed study of collective behaviour in smaller systems. In particular, the techniques used to study larger systems are also applied to proton-proton and proton-lead collisions over a wide range of particle multiplicities, to try and understand the early-time dynamics which lead to similar flow-like features in all of the systems. Another recent development is a program studying ultra-peripheral collisions, which provide gamma-gamma and photonuclear processes over a wide range of CM energy, to probe the nuclear wavefunction. This talk presents the most recent results from the ATLAS experiment based on Run 1 and Run 2 data, including measurements of collectivity over a wide range of collision systems, potential nPDF modifications – using electroweak bosons, inclusive jets, and quarkonia – and photonuclear dijet production.
        Speaker: Brian Cole (Columbia University)
      • 228
        Overview of Recent Heavy Ion Results from the CMS Experiment
        We present a summary of recent heavy ion results with CMS, including several topics of interest to the study of quark matter. Our interest involves characterizing the properties of the quark-gluon plasma, such as its temperature and transport coefficients, and the dynamical properties leading to collective behavior. We have explored the onset of collectivity in small systems via azimuthal correlations in $p$-Pb collisions. We discuss energy loss of high momentum partons via measurements of photon-tagged jets, jet shapes, heavy-flavor jets, and reconstruction of heavy-flavor hadrons. We present results on hot and cold nuclear effects on charmonia and bottomonia via measurements in $p$-Pb and Pb-Pb. In addition, measurements obtained during the 1-day Xe-Xe test run at the LHC, comparing them to the Pb-Pb case, will also be presented. We discuss measurements of $W$ bosons and top quark production in $p$-Pb collisions, which can constrain nuclear PDFs.
        Speaker: Prof. Manuel Calderon de la Barca Sanchez (UC Davis)
        Slides
      • 229
        ALICE Upgrades for Run3 and Physics Projections
        The upcoming upgrade of the CERN LHC is a challenge and opportunity for ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment). By sustaining a Pb–Pb readout rate of 50 kHz, ALICE will gain two orders of magnitude in statistics and conduct high-precision measurements of rare probes at low $p_\mathrm{T}$ values. ALICE is refitting the Time Projection Chamber with new, GEM-based readout chambers with electronics for continuous readout using the new SAMPA chip. The same chip will be utilized for the upgrade of electronics of the Muon Arm. To improve vertexing and tracking, especially at low $p_\mathrm{T}$ values, a new Inner Tracking System is being constructed based on ALIPIDE (ALICE Pixel Detector) — a custom designed sensor incorporating the specific requirements imposed by the physics program, including a high-granularity and low material budget of the non-active elements. ALIPIDE is also used by the Muon Forward Tracker intended to add vertexing capabilities to the Muon Spectrometer over a broad range of transverse momenta allowing ALICE to measure beauty down to $p_\mathrm{T}\sim0$ from displaced $J/\psi$ vertices and to have an improved precision for the $\psi$(2S) measurement. It will also add high-granularity data to the forward multiplicity information acquired by the new Fast Interaction Trigger. The TOF and TRD will get new readout electronics while PHOS, EMCAL, CPV, and HMPID will improve the readout rates with the existing electronics. The O2 system will offer new computing facility with online tracking and data compression.
        Speaker: Wladyslaw Henryk Trzaska (University of Jyvaskyla)
        Slides
      • 230
        Parton Shower Modification Studied with Jet Substructure in ALICE
        The heavy-ion physics program at the LHC aims at characterizing the high energy density, high temperature, deconfined partonic state of matter called Quark-Gluon Plasma. Hard probes are very useful tools to study the QGP properties since they are abundantly produced at the LHC energy regime, via hard scattering processes, and they experience the full evolution of the system, losing energy while passing through it. Eventually, these processes might also modify the parton fragmentation with respect to the vacuum case. Jet measurements in Pb–Pb collisions allow one to study how the energy is lost by the partons that traverse the medium and redistribute it to other particles present in the QGP. Moreover, measurements of the jet substructure can bring insight on possible modifications, induced by the medium, on fragmentation of partons into jets and their virtuality evolution. Jet substructure is probed using jet shape observables, defined as different combinations of information that jets carry at different levels (energy profile, jet constituents distributions, clustering history, ...). The measurement of these observables in $pp$ collisions is also an important test of QCD, to be compared with theoretical calculations and Monte Carlo generators. A review of recent jet shape measurements performed with the ALICE detector in $pp$ and Pb-Pb collisions will be presented.
        Speaker: Mr Davide Caffarri (NIKHEF - Amsterdam)
        Slides
      • 231
        $b$-Jet Tagging Performance with ALICE
        The ALICE experiment is dedicated to investigate properties of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) created in high-energy Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC. Heavy quarks (charm and beauty) are a unique tool to study and characterise the QGP properties. They are produced in the early stage of the heavy-ion collisions and traverse the hot and dense medium losing energy due to collisional and radiative processes that are predicted to be dependent on the colour charge and mass of the hard-scattered parton. Measurement of the beauty-jet ($b$-jet) production gives a direct access to the initial parton kinematics. It can provide further constraints for heavy-quark energy loss models and allows accessing a possible modification of the $b$-quark fragmentation in the medium. Studies of $b$-jets in $pp$ and $p$–Pb collisions are the necessary reference for interpreting the heavy-ion collision results. In this talk, we will present performance studies for the $b$-jet tagging in $pp$ and $p$–Pb collisions with the ALICE detector. The $b$-jet identification exploits the long lifetime and the relatively large mass of the $B$ hadrons. We will discuss $b$-jet tagging algorithms based on single tracks and on the displaced secondary vertex topology, including a very promising deep learning based $b$-jet tagging approach.
        Speaker: Ms Barbara Trzeciak (Utrecht Univeristy)
        Slides
      • 232
        The Application of Deep Learning to Event-by-Event Simulations of Relativistic Hydrodynamics
        The state-of-the-art pattern recognition method in machine learning (deep convolution neural network) has been used to classify two different phase transitions between normal nuclear matter and hot-dense quark gluon plasma. Large amounts of training data have been prepared by simulating heavy ion collisions with event-by-event relativistic hydrodynamics. High level correlations of particle spectra in transverse momentum and azimuthal angle learned by the neural network are quite robust in deciphering the transition type in the quantum chromodynamics phase diagram. Through this study, we demonstrated that there is a traceable encoder of the phase structure that survives the dynamical evolution and exists in the final snapshot of heavy ion collisions and one can exclusively and effectively decode this information from the highly complex output using machine learning.
        Speaker: Dr LongGang Pang (UC Berkeley and LBNL)
        Slides
    • 8:00 AM
      EXCURSION
    • Registration Desk: Open 13:30 – 17:30 East Foyer

      East Foyer

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
    • Dark Matter: Parallel 7 — Dark Matter in Astrophysics South Foyer | Pinon Room

      South Foyer | Pinon Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Prof. George Fuller (University of California, San Diego)
      • 233
        Dark Matter Interpretation of the Galactic Center Gamma Ray Excess
        The Milky Way's Galactic Center harbors a gamma-ray excess that is a candidate signal of annihilating dark matter. Dwarf galaxies remain predominantly dark in their expected commensurate emission. In this talk I will discuss the degree of consistency between these two observations, quantified through a joint likelihood analysis. Doing so will incorporate Milky Way dark matter halo profile uncertainties, as well as an accounting of diffuse gamma-ray emission uncertainties in dark matter annihilation models for the Galactic Center Extended gamma-ray excess (GCE) detected by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. The preferred range of annihilation rates and masses expands when including these unknowns. Even so, using two recent determinations of the Milky Way halo's local density leave the GCE preferred region of single-channel dark matter annihilation models to be in strong tension with annihilation searches in combined dwarf galaxy analyses. This joint likelihood analysis allows us to quantify this inconsistency. This analysis allows for testing dark matter annihilation models' consistency within this combined dataset. As an example, we test a representative inverse Compton sourced self-interacting dark matter model, which is consistent with both the GCE and dwarfs.
        Speaker: Dr Ryan Keeley (University of California Irvine)
        Slides
      • 234
        GAPS: a New Cosmic-Ray Antimatter Experiment
        The General AntiParticle Spectrometer (GAPS) is a balloon-borne instrument designed to detect cosmic-ray antimatter using the novel exotic atom technique, obviating strong magnetic fields required by experiments like AMS, PAMELA, or BESS. It will be sensitive to primary antideuterons with kinetic energies of $\approx0.05-0.2$ GeV/nucleon, providing some overlap with the previously mentioned experiments at the highest energies. For $35\times3$ day balloon flights, and certain classes of primary antideuteron propagation models, GAPS will be sensitive to $m_\mathrm{DM}\approx10-100$ GeV $c^{-2}$ WIMPs with a dark-matter flux to astrophysical flux ratio approaching 100. This clean primary channel is a key feature of GAPS and is crucial for a rare event search. Additionally, the antiproton spectrum will be extended to cover the $0.07 \leq E \leq 0.25$ GeV domain. For $E>0.2$ GeV GAPS data will be complementary to established experiments, while $E<0.2$ GeV explores a new regime. The first flight is scheduled for late 2020 in Antarctica. This talk will describe the astrophysical processes and backgrounds relevant to the dark matter search, a brief discussion of detector operation, and construction progress made to date.
        Speaker: Sean Quinn (University of California, Los Angeles)
        Slides
      • 235
        Cosmological Bounds on Non-Abelian Dark Forces
        Non-Abelian dark gauge forces that do not couple directly to ordinary matter may be realized in nature. If the dark sector is reheated in the early universe, it will be realized as a set of dark gluons at high temperatures and as a collection of dark glueballs at lower temperatures, with a cosmological phase transition from one form to the other. These glueballs can be, if left alone, the cosmological dark matter. We explore the parameter space needed to satisfy present day densities. However, despite being dark, these new glueball states can also connect indirectly to the Standard Model through various operators. These interactions will transfer energy between the dark and visible sectors, and they allow some or all of the dark glueballs to decay. We investigate the cosmological evolution and decays of dark glueballs in the presence of connector operators to the Standard Model. Dark glueball decays can modify cosmological and astrophysical observables, and we use these considerations to put very strong limits on the existence of pure non-Abelian dark forces. On the other hand, if one or more of the dark glueballs are stable, we find that they can potentially make up the dark matter of the universe.
        Speaker: Lindsay Forestell (TRIUMF, UBC)
        Slides
      • 236
        Signatures of Superradiant Axions from Lasing and Binary Merger Events
        Superradiant axions around black holes can produce electromagnetic signatures via lasing or via conversion to photons in a strong magnetic field. The latter can also produce gravitational wave signatures besides electromagnetic ones in binary merger events involving a strongly magnetized neutron star and a black hole (BHNS). Due to the smallness of the axion mass, medium effects of the black hole environment and the interstellar medium can significantly affect electromagnetic signatures from lasing. I discuss these medium effects and the conditions under which lasing can take place. I also find that a significant fraction of the energy in the axion condensate can be released via photons in a strong magnetic field of a neutron star within the characteristic time scale of merger events. This could lead to signatures in gravitational waves from merger events of BHNS pairs.
        Speaker: Srimoyee Sen (University of Washington)
        Slides
    • Heavy Flavors and the CKM Matrix: Parallel 7 — Lattice QCD | Mixing | Decays South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      South Foyer | Ocotillo Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Wolfgang Altmannshofer (University of Cincinnati)
      • 237
        Short-Distance Matrix Elements for $D^0$-Meson Mixing from $N_f=2+1$ Lattice QCD
        We calculate in three-flavor lattice QCD the short-distance hadronic matrix elements of all five $\Delta C=2$ four-fermion operators that contribute to neutral $D$-meson mixing both in and beyond the Standard Model. We use the MILC Collaboration's $N_f = 2+1$ lattice gauge-field configurations generated with asqtad-improved staggered sea quarks. We also employ the asqtad action for the valence light quarks and use the clover action with the Fermilab interpretation for the charm quark. We analyze a large set of ensembles with pions as light as $M_\pi \approx 180$ MeV and lattice spacings as fine as $a\approx0.045$ fm, thereby enabling good control over the extrapolation to the physical pion mass and continuum limit. We obtain for the matrix elements in the $\overline{MS}-NDR$ scheme using the choice of evanescent operators proposed by Beneke $\textit{et al.}$, evaluated at 3 GeV. To illustrate the utility of our matrix-element results, we place bounds on the scale of CP-violating new physics in $D^0$ mixing, finding lower limits of about 10–50 $\times 10^3$ TeV for couplings of $\mathcal{O}(1)$. To enable our results to be employed in more sophisticated or model-specific phenomenological studies, we provide the correlations among our matrix-element results. For convenience, we also present numerical results in the other commonly used scheme of Buras, Misiak, and Urban.
        Speaker: Dr Chia Cheng Chang (LBL)
        Slides
      • 238
        $B$ and $D$ Meson Leptonic Decay Constants and Quark Masses from Four-Flavor Lattice QCD
        We describe a recent lattice-QCD calculation of the leptonic decay constants of heavy-light pseudoscalar mesons containing charm and bottom quarks and of the masses of the up, down, strange, charm, and bottom quarks. Results for these quantities are of the highest precision to date. Calculations use over twenty isospin-symmetric ensembles of gauge-field configurations with six different lattice spacings down to approximately 0.03 fm and several values of the light-quark masses down to physical values of the average up and down sea-quark masses. We use the highly-improved staggered-quark (HISQ) formulation for valence and sea quarks, including the bottom quark. The analysis employs heavy-quark effective theory (HQET). A novel HQET method is used in the determination of the quark masses.
        Speaker: Carleton DeTar (University of Utah)
        Slides
      • 239
        Semileptonic $B_s$ Decays
        Semileptonic $B_s \to K \ell \nu$ and $B_s \to D_s \ell \nu$ decays provide an alternative $b$-decay channel to determine the CKM matrix elements $|V_{ub}|$ and $|V_{cb}|$ or obtain $R$-ratios to investigate lepton flavor universality violations. In addition, these decays may shed further light on the discrepancies seen in the analysis of inclusive vs. exclusive decays. Using the nonperturbative methods of lattice QCD, theoretical results are obtained with good precision and full control over systematic uncertainties. This talk will highlight ongoing efforts of the $B$-physics program by the RBC-UKQCD collaboration.
        Speaker: Oliver Witzel (University of Colorado Boulder)
        Slides
      • 240
        Unify the SU(3) Topological Diagram and Irreducible Representation Amplitudes for B Decays
        Flavor SU(3) analysis of B meson charmless hadronic two light pseudoscalar decays can be formulated in two different ways. One is to construct the SU(3) irreducible representation amplitude (IRA) according to effective Hamiltonian transformation properties, and the other is to draw the topological diagrams (TDA). We first point out that previous analyses of TDA and IRA approaches do not match in several aspects, in particular a few SU(3) independent amplitudes have been overlooked in the TDA approach. This has caused confusions in the past and sometimes resulted in incorrect interpretation of data. We then demonstrate that only if these amplitudes are included, a consistent and unified picture can be obtained. With the new TDA amplitudes, all charmless hadronic decays of heavy meson must have nonzero direct CP symmetries as already predicted by the IRA approach. In addition to their notable impact on CP asymmetry, the new amplitudes are also important to extract new physics information.
        Speaker: Prof. XIAO-GANG HE (NTU/SJTU)
    • NFS / QCDHS: Parallel 7 — The QCD–Nuclear Structure Interface North Foyer | Kachina Room

      North Foyer | Kachina Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Scott Bogner (Michigan State University), Dr Seamus Riordan (Argonne National Laboratory)
      • 241
        Status of Baryon-Baryon Interactions from Lattice QCD
        I will review recent progress in obtaining baryon-baryon phase shifts and several paradigmatic reaction rates from lattice QCD simulations.
        Speaker: Prof. Silas Beane (University of Washington)
        Slides
      • 242
        HOBET: The SM as an Effective Theory and its Direct Matching to LQCD
        The configuration interaction shell model operates in a subset of the complete Hilbert space defined by projection operator P. Unless P is very large, an effective theory treatment is required. Historically, the renormalization into P has been done informally, by adding a few physically motivated operators with associated parameters to the matrix elements of a realistic or chiral potential. The parameters are then tuned to reproduce a selected set of observables. While this approach has some success in reproducing the excitation spectrum of nuclei, the contact with the wave function is lost. Also, even if the P space wave function were the projection of the full wave function, the evaluation of a bare operator $\left< f \left| P \hat{O} P \right| i \right>$ between projections of initial and final states would miss longer and shorter range contributions from excluded states defined by Q=1-P and be scaled by the unknown and relatively small fraction of the wave function contained in P. In this presentation, we describe the formal construction of the shell model as an effective theory along with answers for the renormalization of operators to account for contributions of parts of the wave function outside P and the wave function normalization. The underlying effective interaction can be expressed as an expansion whose LECs can be constrained by observables such as scattering phase shifts and binding energies, or the spectrum of two nucleons in a periodic volume as comes from LQCD calculations.
        Speaker: Kenneth McElvain
        Slides
      • 243
        Effective-Field-Theory Extrapolations of Lattice-QCD Predictions for Light Nuclei
        I will present work which utilizes few-nucleon observables, predicted with the lattice technique from quantum chromodynamics, to calibrate an effective interaction theory for nucleons (the pionless effective field theory) in order to assess the sensitivity of larger nuclei, their ground-state and scattering properties and electromagnetic responses, with respect to the unphysical changes in the lattice formulation of QCD — the large quark/pion masses, in particular. The presentation will include our latest investigations on multi-neutron cluster and the mass gap as represented by the five-nucleon system.
        Speaker: Dr Johannes Kirscher (The City College of New York)
        Slides
      • 244
        New Developments in Lattice Effective Field Theory
        I discuss new progress in performing first principles lattice simulations of nuclear systems using the framework of effective field theory. Some of the topics to be covered are the connections between bare nuclear forces and nuclear structure and a new algorithm for studying the thermodynamics and spectra of nuclei.
        Speaker: Prof. Dean Lee (Michigan State University)
        Slides
    • Parton and Gluon Distributions in Nucleons and Nuclei: Parallel 7 — Unpolarized PDFs North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      North Foyer | Joshua Tree Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Dr Ralf Seidl (RIKEN)
      • 245
        Unpolarised Parton Distribution Functions Today: Needs, Achievements and Challenges
        I review recent progress in the determination of the unpolarised parton distribution functions (PDFs) of the proton. I focus on how the needs for accuracy and precision in current and future programs at high-energy accelerators are addressed in contemporary PDF sets. I discuss the impact on PDFs of the uncertainties coming from the data, the theory and the methodology, and I outline some corresponding challenges in their assessment.
        Speaker: Dr Emanuele Roberto Nocera (Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics)
        Slides
      • 246
        Parton Distribution Functions with Intrinsic Charm and Other News from CTEQ
        We investigate the possibility of a (sizable) nonperturbative contribution to the charm parton distribution function (PDF) in a nucleon, theoretical issues arising in its interpretation, and its potential impact on LHC scattering processes. We discuss separation of the universal component of the nonperturbative charm from the rest of the radiative contributions and estimate its magnitude in the CTEQ global QCD analysis at the next-to-next-to leading order in the QCD coupling strength, including the latest experimental data from HERA and the Large Hadron Collider.
        Speaker: Dr Marco Guzzi (Kennesaw State University)
        Slides
      • 247
        Probing the Nucleon and Nucleus Structures with Drell-Yan Process Induced by a 120 GeV/c Proton Beam
        To investigate the sea-quark asymmetry of the proton, the SeaQuest experiment at Fermilab uses a proton beam of 120 GeV/c interacting with liquid Hydrogen or Deuterium. Alongside of that the SeaQuest also probes the quark energy loss and EMC effect using targets of Iron, Carbon and Tungsten. Data taking ended in July of 2017, having recorded dimuon events from $1.4 \times 10^{18}$ protons interacting with various targets. A preliminary result of extracting sea-quark asymmetry will be given in this presentation. Progress in understanding quark energy loss and the nuclear EMC effect will also be presented.
        Speaker: Dr Paul E Reimer (Argonne National Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 248
        Electroweak, Jet and Heavy Flavor Probes in Proton-Lead Collisions at the LHC
        Measurements of isolated prompt photon, massive electroweak boson, and jet production in small collision systems are of great interest to understanding the partonic structure of heavy nuclei, and serve as a constraint on the initial state in larger collision systems. These channels are sensitive to a variety of effects such as the modification of the parton densities in nuclei, including the possible onset of non-linear QCD effects in certain kinematic regions, and the energy loss of partons as they undergo multiple interactions in the nucleus before the hard parton-parton scattering. High-statistics samples of proton–lead collision data at $\sqrt{s_{_\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV and 8.16 TeV taken in 2016, as well as proton–proton comparison data at analogous collision energies, allow for a detailed study of these phenomena in data and comprehensive comparisons to the predictions of a variety of theoretical approaches. This talk presents the latest ATLAS and CMS results in these and other topics, including new results from Run 2 proton–lead collisions on inclusive prompt photon production over a broad kinematic range, and angular correlations of forward dijets intended to probe the small-$x$ region. Results will also be shown on yields and two-particle correlations involving open and closed heavy flavor mesons, both measured directly and through their semileptonic decays, to study energy loss and transport properties of heavy quarks in the QGP.
        Speaker: Dr Soumya Mohapatra (Columbia University)
        Slides
    • Precision Physics at High Intensities: Parallel 7 — Muons and Electrons South Foyer | Nopales Room

      South Foyer | Nopales Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Convener: Renee Fatemi (University of Kentucky)
      • 249
        Probing BSM and High-$x$ Physics with SoLID at JLab
        The SoLID spectrometer is being designed at JLab in order to provide a high luminosity and high-acceptance device for studies of parity-violation in deep inelastic scattering (PVDIS). The PVDIS studies will measure the vector-electron and axial-quark coupling, which is small in the Standard Model and thus provides a good test of BSM physics. In addition, the method provides a unique way to measure physics at large Bjorken $x$. Charge symmetry violation can be isolated with a deuterium target and an isovector EMC effect can be studied in a neutron-rich nucleus such as $^{48}$Ca. In addition, quark-quark correlations can be isolated in higher-twist effects. With a proton target, the $d/u$ PDF ratio can be measured directly without making corrections for nuclear targets. These topics will be reviewed in the context of recent theoretical and experimental developments.
        Speaker: Paul Souder (Syracuse University)
        Slides
      • 250
        Physics with Electroweak Probes at the Electron-Ion Collider
        The Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) will be the first facility to collide spin-polarized electrons with polarized protons, polarized light ions, and unpolarized heavy ions at high luminosity. Using the Standard Model electroweak interactions, the EIC will provide unprecedented insights into the structure of nucleons and nuclei and the partonic dynamics inside them. In addition, it will allow for precisely measuring parameters of the electroweak Standard Model itself. Finally, the EIC will open up possibilities to look for rare phenomena beyond the Standard Model complementary to the LHC and fixed target experiments around the world. This talk discusses the capabilities of experiments at the EIC to constrain nucleon structure functions using deep inelastic scattering meditated by $W$ and $Z$ bosons, to measure the weak mixing angle in a new kinematics range, and to search for electron-to-tau charged lepton flavor violation.
        Speaker: Dr Nils Feege (Stony Brook University)
        Slides
      • 251
        Latest Updates from the AlCap Experiment
        The AlCap experiment is a joint venture between the COMET and Mu2e collaborations to measure the rate and spectrum of particles emitted after nuclear muon capture on aluminium. Both collaborations will search for the charged lepton flavour violating process of neutrinoless muon-to-electron conversion by stopping muons in an aluminium target and so knowledge of other particles emitted during this process is important. The AlCap charged particle emission data was collected at the Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland over two runs in 2013 and 2015. In this talk, the experiment will be described and results will be presented.
        Speaker: Andrew Edmonds
        Slides
      • 252
        Muon Capture as a Probe of the Weak Axial Current
        Muon capture provides a powerful tool to study the properties and structure of the nucleon and few nucleon systems predicted by chiral effective theories founded on Quantum Chromodynamics. Our program focuses on capture from the simplest of all muonic atoms, muonic hydrogen (MuCap experiment) as well as muonic deuterium (MuSun experiment), by using a novel active target method based on the development of high pressure time projection chambers filled with hydrogen/deuterium gas. In this contribution we discuss two applications. $\textit{Nucleon axial radius and muonic hydrogen}$. In a recent review [1] the model independent re-evaluation [2] of the axial radius squared $r_A^2(z\ \mathrm{exp.}) = 0.46(22)$ fm$^2$ from $\nu d$ scattering and the muon capture rate in hydrogen measured in MuCap was used to update the value of the induced pseudoscalar form factor $g_P$ and, alternatively, to determine an independent $r_A^2(\mathrm{MuCap})=0.46(24)$ fm$^2$ from muon capture. $\textit{MuSun and astrophysics neutrino reaction.}$ The precision measurement of the capture rate for $\mu d \to n n \nu$ in MuSun will determine a critical low-energy constant in effective field theories, required for the calculation of fundamental astrophysics reactions like solar $pp$ fusion and $\nu d$ scattering at SNO. Data taking of the experiment was successfully concluded and the analysis is in an advanced state. [1] Richard J Hill et al, Rep. Prog. Phys. in press (2018), http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6633/aac190 [2] A.S. Meyer et al, Phys.Rev. D 93, 113015 (2016)
        Speaker: Prof. Peter Kammel (CENPA, UW Seattle)
        Slides
      • 253
        Antimatter Gravity with Muonium
        The gravitational acceleration of antimatter, $\bar g$, has yet to be directly measured; an unexpected outcome of its measurement could change our understanding of gravity, the universe, and the possibility of a fifth force. Three avenues are apparent for such a measurement: antihydrogen, positronium, and muonium, the last requiring a precision atom interferometer and novel muonium beam under development. The interferometer and its few-picometer alignment and calibration systems appear feasible. With 100 nm grating pitch, measurements of $\bar g$ to 10%, 1%, or better can be envisioned. These could constitute the first gravitational measurements of leptonic matter, of 2nd-generation matter, and possibly, of antimatter.
        Speaker: Prof. Daniel Kaplan (Illinois Institute of Technology)
        Slides
    • TSEI / PHE: Parallel 7 — Weak Parameters North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      North Foyer | Ironwood Room

      Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Conference Center

      44600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, USA
      Conveners: Mr Kent Paschke (University of Virginia), Prof. Stefania Gori (University of Cincinnati)
      • 254
        Review of the First $W$ Boson Mass Measurement with the ATLAS Detector
        A precise measurement of the $W$ boson mass represents an important milestone to test the overall consistency of the Standard Model. Since the discovery of a Higgs Boson, the $W$ boson mass is predicted to 7 MeV precision, while the world average of all measurements is 15 MeV, making the improved measurement an important goal. Large samples of leptonic decays of $W$ and $Z$ bosons were collected by the ATLAS detector with efficient single lepton triggers in the 7 TeV data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb$^{-1}$. With these samples the detector and physics modelling has been studied in great detail and enabled a $W$ boson mass measurement with a precision of 19 MeV, which will be presented in this talk. Special focus will be drawn on the modeling of the production processes of $W$ bosons in proton-proton collisions, that are crucial for this measurement.
        Speaker: Fabrice Balli (CEA Saclay)
        Slides