# TAUP 2013

US/Pacific
Asilomar, California

#### Asilomar, California

Asilomar Conference Grounds, 800 Asilomar Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950-3704
Description

### 13th International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and  Underground Physics

• Monday, 9 September
• 14:00 15:40
Cosmology I
• 14:00
Planck results and neutrino physics: constraints and tensions 20m
Observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) have the potential to constrain the properties of relic neutrinos, and possibly of additional light relic particles in the Universe. In my talk I will present the constraints on the mass of the three Standard Model neutrinos and on the density of massless relics that can be obtained using the recent observations of the CMB temperature anisotropies from the Planck satellite, in combination with the WMAP polarization (WP) data. I will also show how these constraints change when the Planck+WP dataset is augmented by other data, like Planck's own estimate of the lensing potential, observations of the CMB at small scales, and other astrophysical probes. Finally, I will discuss some of the "tensions" involving the value of parameters, like the lensing amplitude A_lens and the Hubble constant H_0, as estimated from different data combinations, with a particular focus on their effect on neutrino-related quantities.
Speaker: Dr Massimiliano Lattanzi (Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra - Università di Ferrara)
• 14:20
Cosmological bounds on active-sterile neutrino mixing after Planck data 20m
In recent years a renewed attention has been devoted to low-mass sterile neutrinos, after intriguing but controversial hints coming from precision cosmological measurements and laboratory oscillation experiments. Light sterile neutrinos can be produced by oscillations with active neutrinos in the early universe. Their properties can be constrained by their contribution as extra-radiation, parameterized in terms of the effective number of neutrino species N_{eff} , and to the universe energy density today Omega_nu h^2. A recent breakthrough in constraining the N_{eff} and the neutrino masses is represented by the first data release of the Planck experiment. Motivated by this new data, we update the cosmological bounds on (3+1) sterile neutrino scenarios performing an extensive scan of the sterile neutrino mass and mixing parameter space.
Speaker: Dr Ninetta Saviano (DESY)
• 14:40
Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization and Fundamental Physics 20m
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization experiments have the potential to reveal evidence for the universe's initial conditions via a detection of, or constraint on, the CMB's large-scale B-mode (curl-mode) polarization pattern. In addition to constraints on inflationary gravitational waves, CMB polarization experiments will also inform our understanding of fundamental physics via constraints on Helium abundance, neutrino masses and primordial magnetic fields. Furthermore, constraints on exotic physics such as cosmic birefringence will improve with current generation CMB polarimeters. I will review recent results from the POLARBEAR and BICEP experiments and discuss upgrades to these experiments that will dramatically enhance our understanding of fundamental (and exotic) physics.
Speaker: Prof. Brian Keating (UC San Diego)
• 15:00
Measuring Neutrino Masses with Stage-IV CMB experiment 20m
The CMB community is getting behind a next generation CMB polarization experiment that will survey a large fraction of the sky with arcminute resolution. One of the most important goals of this "Stage-IV" CMB experiment is to produce high s/n measurements of matter distributions and detect the signatures of neutrino masses with high significance. I will discuss the potential sensitivity and how one might realize this ambitious program.
Speaker: Prof. Chao-Lin Kuo (Stanford University/SLAC)
• 15:20
Light WIMPs And Equivalent Neutrinos 20m
The presence of light WIMPs modifies the early Universe energy and entropy densities, changing the early evolution of the Universe as probed, for example, by the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). For observables related to BBN and the CMB, there are degeneracies among the WIMP mass (mχ), the number of equivalent neutrinos (ΔNν), the effective number of neutrinos (Neff), and the baryon-to-photon ratio (ηB). For example, light WIMPs that couple electromagnetically can lead to Neff < 3 even if ΔNν > 0, while those that couple only to neutrinos can lead to Neff > 3 even if ΔNν < 0. Since BBN and the CMB provide independent, complementary probes, they may used to constrain these parameters. In this talk I will compare the parameter constraints from BBN with those from the CMB and use this comparison to set a lower bound to the WIMP mass.
Speaker: Prof. Gary Steigman (The Ohio State University)
• 14:00 15:40
Dark Matter I
• 14:00
Searching for Dark Matter with XENON100 and XENON1T 20m
A large amount of evidence supports the theory that 25% of the universe is composed of cold dark matter. The XENON project has conducted several experiments using a liquid xenon target in a dual phase time projection chamber (TPC) in an attempt to detect dark matter in the form of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) by looking for nuclear recoils in the xenon target. The current experiment, XENON100, has conducted dedicated dark matter searches using a xenon TPC with a 62 kg target in the LNGS laboratory in Italy. The lack of significant signal above background has led to the most stringent limit on the WIMP-nucleon cross section to date, at σ < 2.0× 10^−45 cm^2. This result constrains the regions of phase space favored by many theoretical models such as supersymmetry (SUSY) and rules out some exotic models like inelastic dark matter scattering. The XENON project is rapidly transitioning to the next phase, XENON1T, which is now under construction and will utilize a ton scale xenon TPC to increase the sensitivity to WIMP-nucleon scattering by 2 orders of magnitude. Such a sensitivity will probe the most favored regions predicted by SUSY and has a high discovery potential. Scaling to such a large detector requires technological improvements to instrument and operate the detector, but also requires a background reduction by two orders of magnitude. These systems, which are in advanced stages of R&D and are beginning to be installed, will allow for physics results at the designed sensitivity by 2017.
Speaker: Dr Ethan Brown (Muenster University)
• 14:20
Final results of a Dark Matter Search with the Silicon Detectors of the CDMS II Experiment and future results from SuperCDMS Soudan 20m
Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) are a class of yet to be discovered particles hypothesized to be components of the non-baryonic dark matter content of the universe. A blind analysis of 140.2 kg-days of data revealed three WIMP-candidate events with an expected total background of 0.7 events. These data favor a WIMP+background hypothesis over the known-background-only hypothesis at the 99.81% confidence level, with the highest likelihood occurring at a WIMP mass of 8.6 GeV/c^2 and a WIMP-nucleon cross section of 1.9x10^-41 cm^2. In this talk I will discuss these results and the additional investigations that have been ongoing. I will also discuss the most up-to-date results from the ongoing SuperCDMS at Soudan experiment, which has been running since March 2012. This experiment consists of 15 of the new iZIP detectors with a total mass of 9 kg, and should be able to probe the CDMSII-Si favored region.
Speaker: Dr Julien Billard (MIT)
• 14:40
Search for an annual modulation in 3.4 years of CoGeNT data 20m
Results from a search for an annual modulation in 3.4 years of continuous, stable CoGeNT data-taking will be presented. The improved performance of the first C-4 detector will be discussed.
Speaker: Juan Collar (University of Chicago)
• 15:00
A Dark Matter Search with The MAJORANA Low-Background Broad Energy Germanium Detector 20m
The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR is an array of natural and enriched high purity germanium detectors that will search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of germanium-76 and perform a search for WIMPs with masses below 10 GeV. As part of the MAJORANA research and development efforts, we have deployed a modified, low-background broad energy germanium detector at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility. With its sub-keV energy threshold, this detector is potentially sensitive to non-Standard Model physics, including interactions with weakly interacting massive particles. This presentation will discuss recent results from a WIMP search with this detector.
Speaker: Graham K. Giovanetti (Unversity of North Carolina)
• 15:20
Recent progress in KIMS experiment 20m
KIMS experiment has obtained 2.5 years of data for annual modulation studies. From the limits of annual modulation amplitudes, we have calculated new limits of WIMP-nucleon cross sections for the WIMP mass ranges of 10-1000 GeV for spin (in)dependent scatterings. These will be compared with the parameter space of the DAMA annual modulation analysis. We have re-measured the quenching factor for CsI(Tl) crystals and will address the effect of new quenching factor to the analysis. We have also checked the particle discrimination power of CsI(Na) crystals with nuclear recoil measurements which doesn't support the recent claim on this crystal. Finally the progress towards new NaI(Tl) crystal development will be described with the perspective of this new experiment, which will be pursued by a new research center of Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in Korea.
Speaker: Prof. Yeongduk Kim (Institute for Basic Science / Sejong University)
• 14:00 15:40
Double Beta Decay/ Neutrino Mass I
• 14:00
Results from the GERDA experiment 20m
GERDA searches for neutrinoless double beta decay of Ge-76. Diodes from the former Heidelberg-Moscow and IGEX experiments as well as new ones with small area contacts have been operated in the first phase of the experiment. A blind analysis has been performed. After all selections and calibrations were finalized, the unblinding took place in June. The result from this phase is presented. It includes a discussion of the background sources and the pulse shape analysis.
Speaker: B. Schwingenheuer (Max Planck Heidelberg)
• 14:20
Reaching higher sensitivities for neutrinoloess doube beta decay with GERDA phase II 20m
The GERDA collaboration has recently unblinded data of Phase I. In order to further improve the sensitivity of the experiment, additionaly to the coaxial detectors used in GERDA Phase I 30 BEGe detectors made from germanium enriched in Ge-76 will be deployed. BEGe detectors have superior PSD capability, thus the background can be further reduced. The liquid argon surrounding the detector array will be instrumented in order to reject background by detecting scintillation light induced in the liquid argon by radiation. The hardware preparations for GERDA phase II as well as the processing and characterization of the 30 BEGe detectors will be discussed.
Speaker: Dr Bela Majorovits (MPI for Physics)
• 14:40
The Majorana Demonstrator for 0vBB: Current Status and Future Plans 20m
The Majorana Collaboration is constructing the Majorana Demonstrator, an ultra-low background, 40-kg modular Germanium detector array to search for neutrinoless double beta decay in Germanium-76. The P-Type Point Contact (PPC) design of the Demonstrator's germanium detectors allows for significant reduction of background through pulse-shape analysis. The low energy thresholds achievable by PPCs allows for novel searches for rare low-energy physics events, most notably the possible direct detection of low-mass Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). The Demonstrator's compact passive shield design serves as a complementary design effort to the liquid cryogen shield of the Gerda experiment, and will allow for an educated down-select for a future tonne-scale effort based on the background reduction achievements of both collaborations. An introduction to the Majorana Demonstrator technical design will be given, progress of the detector's construction at the Sanford Underground Research Facility at Homestake will be highlighted, and the physics reach to double-beta decay and beyond will be discussed.
Speaker: Matthew Green (University of North Carolina)
• 15:00
The Origin of Neutrino Masses and Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay 40m
The theoretical and phenomenological impact of recent results on the lifetime of neutrinoless double beta decay from KamLAND-Zen, EXO-200 and GERDA is discussed. In particular, the compatibility of the limits on the decay of Xenon and Germanium is investigated. The possibility of double beta decay mechanisms different from light Majorana neutrino exchange is stressed. Typically these mechanisms are at the TeV-scale in order to saturate current limits on the lifetime, and recent results on their testability are presented.
Speaker: Dr Werner Rodejohann (MPIK, Heidelberg)
• 14:00 16:00
Low Energy Neutrinos I
• 14:00
Past and present experiments of geoneutrinos 20m
Geoneutrinos are antineutrinos produced in radioactive decays within Earth's interior. Those antineutrinos can be detected by inverse beta-decays of protons, however, due to extremely small cross section, there were no feasible experiments for a long time. Owing to the development of large-size antineutrino detectors, the observation of geoneutrinos has been finally made, and then composition models of the Earth are constrained from the radiogenic heat estimate. In this talk, the latest results from ongoing experiments, KamLAND and Borexino, will be presented.
Speaker: Dr Itaru Shimizu (Tohoku University)
• 14:20
Future Geo-Neutrino Experiments 20m
A summary of future geo-neutrino experiments (e.g. SNO+, Hanohano and LENA) will be presented. The combination of results from multiple geo-neutrino experiments offers potential for discriminating between several Earth composition models. Future scientific goals for geo-neutrinos and new techniques being investigated will also be discussed.
Speaker: Prof. Mark Chen (Queen's University)
• 14:40
Geo-neutrinos and Earth Models 20m
We present earth models predicting different levels of radiogenic heating and, therefore, different geo-neutrino fluxes from the mantle. Seismic tomography reveals features in the mantle possibly correlated with radiogenic heating and causing spatial variations in the mantle geo-neutrino flux at the earth surface. An ocean-based observatory offers the greatest sensitivity to the mantle flux and potential for resolving earth models and mantle features. Refinements to estimates of the geo-neutrino flux from continental crust reduce uncertainty in measurements of the mantle flux, especially measurements from land-based observatories. These refinements enable the resolution of earth models using the combined measurements from multiple continental observatories.
Speaker: Dr Stephen Dye (Hawaii Pacific University)
• 15:00
Low-energy neutrino astronomy in LENA 20m
LENA (Low Energy Neutrino Astronomy) is a proposed next-generation neutrino detector based on 50 kilotons of liquid scintillator. The low detection threshold, good energy resolution and excellent background rejection inherent to the liquid-scintillator detectors make LENA a versatile observatory for low-energy neutrinos from astrophysical and terrestrial sources. In the framework of the European LAGUNA-LBNO design study, LENA is also considered as far detector for a very-long baseline neutrino beam from CERN to Pyhäsalmi (Finland). This contribution centers on the highlights of recent studies on LENA’s broad research program in low-energy neutrino astrophysics, reaching from the potential for a flavor-resolved observation of the neutrino burst from a galactic Supernova to a precision search for non-standard-effects in the solar neutrino spectrum.
Speaker: Michael Wurm (University of Tubingen)
• 15:20
CosI, a new approach to coherent neutrino detection at the SNS 20m
A new approach at detecting coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering with CsI[Na] scintillators will be described. The characterization of quenching factor, backgrounds and expected response for a 15 kg detector, to be installed at the SNS@ORNL will be discussed.
Speaker: Juan Collar (University of Chicago)
• 15:40 16:00
Break 20m
• 16:00 18:00
Dark Matter II
• 16:00
Searching for Dark Matter with PICASSO 20m
The Project In CAnada Searching for Supersymmetric Objects (PICASSO) at SNOlab searches for Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) interactions with 19-F. It is particularly sensitive to spin-dependent particle interactions. It uses a droplet technique, based on the principle of a bubble chamber, in which phase transitions in superheated liquids can be triggered by WIMP induced nuclear recoils. The detection process allows a highly efficient suppression of backgrounds from cosmic muons, gamma rays and beta particles. In this talk recent progress and results will be presented, with particular focus on the 10 GeV low mass region, for both spin dependent and independent interactions. Future plans to scale this technique to 100+ kg with the newly formed PICO (PICASSO/COUPP) collaboration will also be discussed.
Speaker: Dr Christopher Jackson (Université de Montréal)
• 16:20
Observation of the Dependence of Scintillation from Nuclear Recoils in Liquid Argon on Drift Field 20m
We have exposed a dual-phase Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LAr-TPC) to a low energy pulsed narrowband neutron beam, produced at the Notre Dame Institute for Structure and Nuclear Astrophysics to study the scintillation light yield of recoiling nuclei in a LAr-TPC. A liquid scintillation counter was arranged to detect and identify neutrons scattered in the LAr-TPC target and to select the energy of the recoiling nuclei. We report the observation of a significant dependence on drift field of liquid argon scintillation from nuclear recoils of 11keV. This observation is important because, to date, estimates of the sensitivity of noble liquid TPC dark matter searches are based on the assumption that electric field has only a small effect on the light yield from nuclear recoils.
Speaker: Mr Huajie Cao (Princeton University)
• 16:40
PICOlite: A bubble chamber to search for light WIMPs 20m
The COUPP and PICASSO collaborations have recently combined efforts to develop superheated-liquid dark matter detectors under the new name PICO. The first joint effort is a refurbishing of the old COUPP-4 bubble chamber detector with 2 liters of perfluoropropane (C3F8) as a new target fluid. This project, known as PICOlite, will have excellent sensitivity to ~10GeV WIMPs by virtue of the light nuclear targets and the inherent superb gamma rejection for nuclear recoil thresholds as low as 3keV. PICOlite is projected to provide a definitive test this year of the recent dark matter hints in this mass range from CDMS-II, CoGent and other experiments.
Speaker: Dr Russell Neilson (University of Chicago)
• 17:00
Dark Matter search with CUORE-0 and CUORE 20m
CUORE will be a 1 ton experiment made of about 1000 TeO2 bolometers, that will probe the neutrinoless Double Beta Decay of 130Te. The excellent energy resolution and the low background of bolometric detectors will make CUORE sensitive to nuclear recoils, allowing to search for dark matter interactions. CUORE, thanks to its mass, could look for an annual modulation of the counting rate at low energies. We present the preliminary data obtained with CUORE-0 40 kg prototype, and the prospects for a dark matter search in CUORE-0 and CUORE.
Speaker: Paolo Gorla (Gran Sasso)
• 17:20
First results from subkeV energy threshold spherical gazeous detector for light Dark Matter identification 20m
The main characteristics of a new concept of spherical gazeous detector will be first given. The very low energy threshold of such detector has led to investigations of its potential performance for dark matter searches, in particular low mass WIMP's and ALP's. Original methods for calibration and background rejection will be described. Preliminary results obtained with a low radioactivity prototype operated in Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane and typical expected sensitivities will also be shown, and other applications briefly discussed.
Speaker: Dr Gilles Gerbier (CEA Saclay IRFU)
• 17:40
A maximum-likelihood-method search for low-mass WIMPs using the CDMS II experiment 20m
The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search II (CDMS II) operated a set of germanium detectors with a payload of 4.75 kg. A subset of these detectors with the lowest energy thresholds were chosen to search for low-mass weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), a contender for the dark matter posited in the Universe. Two new searches were performed: an annual-modulation search for WIMPs as the flux changes due to the Earth's motion through the WIMP halo and a maximum-likelihood method to estimate the backgrounds and possible WIMP signal component, where the signal would appear as an exponential excess of nuclear recoil events. This talk discusses the CDMS II experiment and presents the status of the annual-modulation search and the maximum-likelihood analysis.
Speaker: Robert Nelson (Cal Tech)
• 16:00 18:00
Double Beta Decay/ Neutrino Mass II
• 16:00
Status and perspectives of the COBRA experiment 20m
COBRA is a neutrinoless double-beta-decay experiment using an array of Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride semiconductor detectors, the isotop of interest being Cd-116 with a Q-value of 2814~keV. To investigate the experimental challenges of operating CdZnTe detectors in low background mode and to identify potential background components a demonstrater setup is operated at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory (LNGS) in Italy, while additional studies are proceeding in surface laboratories. The experiment consists of monolithic, calorimetric detectors of coplanar grid design (CPG detectors). These detectors have a size of $1\times1\times1$\,cm$^3$ and are arranged in four $4\times4$ layers of which three are currently in operation. The last layer will be installed in September of this year. An overview of the current status and future perspectives are given. Results of pulse-shape analyses are presented as well as background estimates from the data collected so far.
Speaker: Dr Bjoern Wonsak (University of Hamburg)
• 16:20
Status and Perspectives of the KATRIN Experiment 20m
"The KATRIN experiment is aiming to directly measure the absolute neutrino mass scale from the kinematics of tritium beta-decay. KATRIN is located at KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) and is currently under construction. The experiment will analyze the shape of the high energy end of the tritium beta-spectrum. A nonzero neutrino mass reduces the endpoint energy and distorts the spectrum, especially in the vicinity of this endpoint. This spectrum will be analyzed with a 24 m by 10 m electrostatic spectrometer combined with magnetic collimation (MAC-E-Filter). To reach the design sensitivity of 200 meV, high energy resolution, high signal count-rates and a low background are required. This talk will focus both on the current status of the experiment with special emphasis on the spectrometer related backgrounds as well as on future perspectives of the KATRIN experiment making use of the its unique source properties. Background due to stored electrons arising from radon 220 and radon 219 alpha-decay as well as tritium beta-decay in the volume of the main spectrometer is the anticipated main background source. A single nuclear decay can produce an enhanced background level for up to 10 hours. To alleviate the background arising from stored electrons, a novel method based on stochastic heating by using the technique of electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) will be applied. Both measurements and corresponding simulations demonstrate that a high frequency field tuned to the cyclotron frequency of the stored electrons breaks their storage condition by stochastic heating within less than 5 ms. This method will allow for an almost background free spectrometer. KATRIN makes use of a gaseous molecular tritium source of extremely high activity and stability. These unique source properties allow KATRIN to extent its physics reach from its main goal of measuring the neutrino mass in the sub-eV range to look for contributions of possible neutrinos in the multi-keV range constituting a possible candidate for Warm Dark Matter. A heavy sterile neutrino would manifest itself as a tiny kink and subsequent spectral distortion deep in the beta spectrum, further away from the endpoint. In this talk a sensitivity study of a KATRIN-like experiment to detect keV neutrinos will be presented. Different statistical analysis techniques, the effect of systematic uncertainties and possible technical realizations will be discussed."
Speaker: Susanne Mertens
• 16:40
The status of the MARE experiment with 187Re and 163Ho isotpes 20m
The goal of the MARE project (Microcalorimeter Array for a Rhenium Experiment) is the direct and calorimetric measurement of the electron neutrino mass. The design is based on arrays of thermal detectors to study the beta decay of 187Re and the electron capture (EC) of 163Ho. The measurement of 163Ho EC is an appealing alternative to the 187Re beta decay measurement because few nuclei are needed and it is a self-calibrating measurement. Regarding the Rhenium isotope, MARE has started to perform an experiment in Milan using one 6x6 array of phosphorus-implanted silicon thermistors equipped with AgReO4 absorbers. The purposes of this experiment are to achieve a neutrino mass sensitivity of few eV and to investigate the systematic errors present in 187Re neutrino mass measurement, focusing on those caused by the Beta Environmental Fine Structure and the beta spectrum theoretical shape. While this experiment is carried out, the MARE collaboration is focusing on the production of the radioactive 163Ho isotope and the possibility to embed it in a Sn absorbers. We report here the status of MARE in Milan with Rhenium and the results of radioactive 163Ho production together with the first spectra acquired with Sn/Ho/Sn multilayer absorbers in the framework of MARE.
Speaker: Dr Elena Ferri (Università Milano-Bicocca &amp; INFN Milano-Bicocca)
• 17:00
The Electron Capture 163Ho experiment ECHo 20m
The determination of the absolute scale of the neutrino masses is one of the most challenging questions in particle physics. Different approaches are followed to achieve a sensitivity on neutrino masses in the sub-eV range. Among them, experiments exploring the beta decay or electron capture of suitable nuclides can provide necessary information on the electron neutrino mass value. In this talk we present the Electron Capture 163Ho experiment ECHo, which aims to investigate the electron neutrino mass in the sub-eV range by means of the analysis of the calorimetrically measured energy spectrum following the electron capture process of 163Ho. A high precision and high statistics spectrum will be measured with arrays of metallic magnetic calorimeters. We discuss some of the essential aspects of ECHo to reach the proposed sensitivity: detector optimization and performance, multiplexed readout, 163Ho source production and purification, as well as a precise theoretical and experimental parameterization of the calorimetric EC spectrum including in particular the value of Q_EC. We present preliminary results obtained with a first prototype of single channel detectors as well as a first 64 pixel chip with integrated microwave SQUID multiplexer, which will already allow to investigate m_νe in the eV range.
Speaker: Dr Loredana Gastaldo (KIP, Heidelberg University)
• 17:20
The Project 8 radiofrequency tritium neutrino experiment 20m
The Project 8 experiment aims to determine the electron neutrino mass by measuring the spectrum of tritium beta decay electrons near the 18.6 keV endpoint. Unlike past tritium experiments, which used electrostatic and magnetostatic spectrometers, Project 8 will detect decay electrons nondestructively via their cyclotron radiation emission in a magnetic field. An individual electron is expected to emit a detectable pulse of microwaves at a frequency which depends on the electron energy. Precise measurement of these pulse frequencies is a novel spectroscopy technique particularly well-suited for the high rate, high precision, low background needs of a tritium experiment. The collaboration is currently operating a prototype designed to detect single 83mKr conversion electron decays in an 0.9T magnetic field. We report on recent activities on the prototype, and on progress towards the design of a large tritium experiment with new neutrino-mass sensitivity.
Speaker: Prof. Benjamin Monreal (Uc Santa Barbara)
• 16:00 17:40
High Energy Astrophysics I
• 16:00
TA and TALE - Results and Plans 20m
The Telescope Array (TA) project has been accumulating data on ultra-high energy cosmic rays for over four years. Results on the spectrum, composition and anisotropy of this radiation will be presented. The current status of the Telescope Array Low Energy Extension (TALE), designed to study the termination of the galactic cosmic ray spectrum and the nature of the "ankle" in the cosmic ray sectrum, will be presented. An update on the recently fully operational bi-static radar cosmic ray detector TARA will also be presented.
Speaker: Prof. Pierre Sokolsky (University of Utah)
• 16:20
Large-scale cosmic-ray anisotropy studies at the Pierre Auger Observatory at EeV energies (presented by Diego Harari) 20m
"The study of the large-scale distribution of arrival directions of cosmic rays at EeV energies can provide a significant tool for shedding light on the energy at which the transition from a Galactic to an extragalactic origin takes place. The Pierre Auger Observatory includes two differently graded Extensive Air Showers arrays. One (covering 3000 km^2 with a 1500 m grid) detects showers from cosmic rays with energy above 0.5 EeV, being fully efficient above 3 EeV. The other (25 km^2 with a 750 m grid, fully efficient above 0.3 EeV) allows one to observe cosmic rays down to energies of about 0.05 EeV. Two different data analyses have been pursued in the search for large-scale anisotropies. The first is the classical first harmonic analysis in right ascension from which amplitude and phase of a dipolar anisotropy can be determined. The second consists in a spherical harmonic analysis that allows one to extract information on dipolar and quadrupolar components of the anisotropy as a function of both declination and right ascension. After discussing the methods and showing all the systematic and stability checks done on data, we present the results in terms of amplitude and direction of the anisotropy vs energy. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings with respect to the origin of EeV cosmic rays."
Speaker: Piera Luisa Ghia (University Pierre et Marie Curie)
• 16:40
Recent Highlights from ARGO-YBJ 20m
The ARGO-YBJ experiment has been in stable data taking for 5 years at the YangBaJing Cosmic Ray Laboratory (Tibet, P.R. China, 4300 m a.s.l., 606 g/cm2). With a duty-cycle greater than 86% the detector collected about 5 X 10**11 events in a wide energy range, from few hundreds GeV up to the PeV. A number of open problems in cosmic ray physics are being faced exploiting different analyses. In this talk the last results so far obtained in gamma-ray astronomy and in the cosmic ray physics will be summarized.
Speaker: Dr Giuseppe Di Sciascio (INFN - Sezione Roma Tor Vergata)
• 17:00
Development of Source Catalogs for the Fermi Large Area Telescope 20m
The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has been surveying the sky since 2008, and a succession of general source catalogs based on deepening exposures and refinements of the analysis at all levels has been developed. The third general catalog of sources detected above 100 MeV, based on four years of LAT observations, is underway. In addition a catalog specifically of sources detected above 10 GeV recently has been released. The catalogs have been the basis of many follow-up studies. I will describe the approach for development of the catalogs, their properties, and refinements developed for the most recent, with particular emphasis on modeling the Galactic diffuse emission.
Speaker: Seth Digel (KIPAC/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
• 17:20
Results from the ANTARES neutrino telescope after 5 years of data 20m
The ANTARES detector in the Mediterranean Sea is the largest deep-sea neutrino telescope in the Northern Hemisphere. It consists of an array of 885 PMTs detecting the Cherenkov light induced by charged leptons produced by neutrino interactions in and around the detector. The primary goal of ANTARES is to search for astrophysical neutrinos in the TeV/PeV range. This includes searches for any diffuse cosmic neutrino flux as well as more specific searches for galactic sources or active galactic nuclei. The search program also includes multi-messenger analyses based on time and/or space coincidences with other cosmic probes. The ANTARES observatory is sensitive to a wide-range of other phenomena, from atmospheric neutrino oscillations to dark matter annihilation or potential exotics such as nuclearites and magnetic monopoles. We will report on the most recent results obtained with the 5 years of data acquired by the telescope.
Speaker: Maurizio Spurio (INFN Bologna)
• 16:00 17:40
Neutrino Oscillations/ Neutrino Beams I: Appearance and disappearance oscillation results
• 16:00
Recent results from the OPERA experiment 20m
"The OPERA experiment has been designed to perform the first detection of neutrino oscillations in the Nu_mu-->Nu_tau channel, in direct appearance mode through the event by event detection of the tau lepton produced in Nu_tau Charged Current interactions. OPERA is a hybrid detector, made of emulsion/lead target elements and of electronic detectors, placed in the CNGS muon neutrino beam from CERN to Gran Sasso, 730 km away from the source. Neutrino interactions from the CNGS neutrino runs have been recorded from 2008 until the end of 2012. We shall report on the data sample analysed so far and give the latest OPERA results on Nu_mu-->Nu_tau and Nu_mu-->Nu_e oscillation searches."
Speaker: Dominique Duchesneau (LAPP)
• 16:20
The latest results from T2K on the neutrino oscillation 20m
The Tokai to Kamioka (T2K) experiment is a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment situated in Japan. A high intensity neutrino beam is produced at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex, in Tokai, Japan. A near detector complex, situated 280 m from the neutrino production target, and the far detector at 295 km, are used to detect the neutrinos from this beam. This talk will present the latest T2K results on the neutrino oscillation, using the data collected up to summer 2013.
Speaker: Dr Jun Kameda (ICRR, University of Tokyo)
• 16:40
MINOS/MINOS+ 20m
MINOS records interactions of neutrinos produced by the Fermilab NuMI beam line in two detectors, 734 km apart. Comparisons of the energy spectra and beam composition at the two sites yield precision measurements of neutrino oscillations for L/E$\sim$500 km/GeV. In this talk, results from the full exposure will be presented. We will present the interpretation of our data within the three flavor context, and we will report on the updated measurement of neutral current interaction rates in each detector, which enables a search for light neutrino families that do not couple via the weak interaction. We will also discuss the status and capabilities of MINOS+, the continuation of MINOS in the NOvA era.
Speaker: Patricia Vahle (William and Mary)
• 17:00
Reactor Rate Modulation Analysis in Double Chooz 20m
Among ongoing reactor-based experiments, Double Chooz is unique in obtaining data when the reactor cores are brought down for maintenance. These reactor-off data allow for a clean measurement of the backgrounds of the experiment, thus being of uppermost importance for the theta_13 oscillation analysis. While the oscillation results published by the collaboration in 2011 and 2012 rely on background models derived from reactor-on data, in this poster we present an independent study based on the handle provided by 7.53 days of reactor-off data. A global fit to both theta_13 and the total background is performed by analyzing the observed neutrino rate as a function of the non-oscillated expected rate for different reactor power conditions. The results presented in this work is fully consistent with the ones already published by Double Chooz, for both Gd and H capture analyses. As they yield almost the same precision, this work stands as a prove of the reliability of the background estimates and the oscillation analysis of the experiment.
Speaker: Pau Novella (CNRS)
• 17:20
The ICARUS Experiment; latest results 20m
ICARUS-T600 is the first large-scale realization of the Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber detection technology (LAr-TPC) for neutrino physics and nucleon decay searches. It is located in the LNGS underground laboratory where it has been running for three years (from May 2010 to June 2013) detecting both neutrinos from the CNGS beam and cosmics. The LAr-TPC can be considered as a sort of electronic bubble chamber”, combining an unprecedented accuracy over large fiducial volumes with uniform 3D imaging and calorimetry. The successful and smooth operation of ICARUS-T600 represents a milestone towards the construction of a next generation of massive neutrino detectors, on the scale of tens of ktons. ICARUS-T600 has been testing the possible existence of sterile neutrinos through the search for numu->nue oscillations in the CNGS beam: updated results from this search will be presented with enlarged statistics. The reconstruction performances of ICARUS-T600 will be discussed as well, focusing on recent results on muon momentum measurement through Multiple Coulomb Scattering.
Speaker: Dr Maddalena Antonello (INFN - LNGS)
• Tuesday, 10 September
• 14:00 15:40
Atmospheric Neutrinos I
• 14:00
Atmospheric neutrino calculations 20m
I will discuss uncertainties in our knowledge of the flux of atmospheric neutrinos. At low energies relevant for study of neutrino oscillations, primary sources of uncertainty are related to properties of hadronic physics, such as the kaon to pion ratio. Around 100 TeV the uncertain level of charm production becomes important. The primary spectrum, which dominates the normalization of the neutrino flux, becomes a particularly important source of uncertainty above 100 TeV, where the knee of the cosmic-ray spectrum comes into play and the composition is less well known.
Speaker: Tom Gaisser (Bartol, Univ. Delaware)
• 14:20
Neutrino oscillations in moving and accelerating matter 20m
Neutrino flavor oscillations in matter moving with a constant speed and in matter moving with acceleration are considered. The corresponding generalizations of the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein resonance condition is evaluated. The results are of interest for astrophysical applications. In particular, it is shown that the matter motion and acceleration significantly contribute to the neutrino flavor oscillations pattern in supernovae.
Speaker: Prof. Alexander Studenikin (Department of Theoretical Physics, Moscow State University)
• 14:40
Measuring the flavor ratio of atmospheric neutrinos with IceCube 20m
IceCube is accumulating an unprecendented number of contained neutrino events with energies from 1 TeV to beyond 100 TeV. The neutrinos at the lower end of the energy range come from the decays of pions and kaons produced in air showers; the energy spectrum is roughly one power steeper than the cosmic ray flux, and muon neutrinos dominate. At higher energies, however, the flavor ratio begins to equalize, and the spectrum hardens. Such changes can be caused by a combination of the onset of a hard component of the atmospheric neutrino flux from the decays of heavy, charmed mesons and a diffuse flux of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos. While it is possible to exclude atmospheric origin of any kind for neutrinos with sufficiently high energies, isolating and measuring the contribution from charmed meson decays requires a direct observation of the flavor ratio and energy spectrum at energies around 10 TeV. This talk will cover recent progress towards a direct measurement of the flavor composition of the atmospheric neutrino flux with IceCube, prospects for a first observation of a hard component from charmed meson decays, and strategies for distinguishing between the onset of a hard atmospheric component and a diffuse flux of astrophysical neutrinos.
Speaker: Mr Jakob van Santen (UW-Madison)
• 15:00
Search for a diffuse flux of cosmic neutrinos with ANTARES 20m
The ANTARES neutrino telescope, situated off the French coast at about 2500m depth in the Mediterranean Sea, is optimized to detect charged leptons induced by neutrinos in the TeV range. Since its full deployment in 2008, various direction and energy reconstruction techniques have been developed and applied in the search for a diffuse flux of astrophysical neutrinos. In this talk, the results of the latest analyses using four years of data will be shown.
Speaker: Ms Jutta Schnabel (ECAP Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)
• 15:20
Search for Diffuse Astrophysical Muon Neutrinos with Two Years of IceCube Data 20m
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory routinely records thousands of muon neutrino events per year at TeV and higher energies. The majority of these neutrinos are produced in Earth's atmosphere by cosmic ray interactions, but it is of great interest to observe a population of events consistant with astrophysical origin. This talk will discuss a search for a hard component in the muon neutrino energy spectrum with high-quality upward-going events. This extends previous IceCube analyses by using two years of data collected with the complete detector configuration.
Speaker: Mr Christopher Weaver (University of Wisconsin, Madison)
• 14:00 16:00
Cosmology II
• 14:00
The Dark Energy Survey: First Results 20m
During fall 2012 the Dark Energy Survey (DES) collaboration installed and commissioned DECam, a 570 mega-pixel optical and near-infrared camera with a large 3 sq. deg. field of view, set at the prime focus of the 4-meter Blanco telescope in CTIO, Chile. In the course of the next five years DECam will map an entire octant of the southern sky to unprecedented depth, measuring the position on the sky, redshift and shape of over 200 million galaxies, together with thousands of galaxy clusters and supernovae. With this data set, DES will study the properties of dark energy using four main probes: galaxy clustering on large scales, weak gravitational lensing, galaxy-cluster abundance, and supernova distances. A "Science Verification" (SV) period of observations, lasting until late February 2013, followed the DECam commissioning phase, and provided science-quality images for over 150 sq. deg. at the nominal depth of the survey. The talk will present the first results from the SV observations, and will summarize the plans and goals for the upcoming years.
Speaker: Tesla Jeltema (University of California, Santa Cruz)
• 14:20
Neutrino and Dark Energy Constraints for BOSS/eBOSS/DESI 20m
SDSS-III/BOSS is a 5-year spectroscopic program dedicated to the study of dark energy. The observations started in 2009 on the 2.5m telescope at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico. The foreseen footprint covers a total of 10,000 square degrees. The survey will consist of 1.5 million LRG galaxies and 160,000 quasars, with mean redshifts z=0.6 and z=2.5 respectively. In this talk, I will present the results on dark energy obtained with the first 1/3 of the survey data. I will also give the status of the neutrino studies in BOSS. I will conclude with perspectives from the following BAO experiments eBOSS and DESI.
Speaker: Dr Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille (CEA)
• 14:40
Angular and redshift issues for large galaxy surveys 20m
Upcoming large area photometric surveys face many challenges. I will discuss two of the major issues: photometric redshifts and angular selection uncertainties. Because of the intrinsic inaccuracy of photo-z's, they cannot be used directly in cosmological analysis unless their uncertainties are precisely quantified. I will discuss recent results on spectroscopic follow-up requirements and strategies needed to characterize the photo-z error distributions as well as potential ways to alleviate the requirements. In the second part of my talk, I'll present a formalism for quantifying the requirements on our understanding of the angular selection of surveys for cosmological constraints I'll show examples of the bias in cosmological parameters due to errors in photometric calibration and dust extinction.
Speaker: Dr Carlos Cunha (Stanford University)
• 15:00
Cosmological Simulations with Self-Interacting Dark Matter 20m
We use cosmological simulations to study the effects of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) on the density profiles, substructure counts and shapes of dark-matter haloes from the scales of spiral galaxies to galaxy clusters, focusing explicitly on models with cross-sections over dark-matter particle mass σ/m = 1 and 0.1 cm2 g-1. Our simulations rely on a new SIDM N-body algorithm that is derived self-consistently from the Boltzmann equation and that reproduces analytic expectations in controlled numerical experiments. We find that well-resolved SIDM haloes have constant-density cores, with significantly lower central densities than their cold dark matter (CDM) counterparts. In contrast, the subhalo content of SIDM haloes is only modestly reduced compared to CDM, with the suppression greatest for large hosts and small halo-centric distances. Moreover, the large-scale clustering and halo circular velocity functions in SIDM are effectively identical to CDM, meaning that all of the large-scale successes of CDM are equally well matched by SIDM. Our results show that halo core densities in σ/m = 1 cm2 g-1 models are too low to match observations of galaxy clusters, low surface brightness spirals (LSBs) and dwarf spheroidal galaxies. However, SIDM with σ/m ≃ 0.1-0.5 cm2 g-1 appears capable of reproducing reported core sizes and central densities of dwarfs, LSBs and galaxy clusters without the need for velocity dependence. Higher resolution simulations over a wider range of masses will be required to confirm this expectation. We discuss constraints arising from the Bullet cluster observations, measurements of dark-matter density on small scales and subhalo survival requirements, and show that SIDM models with σ/m ≃ 0.1-0.5 cm2 g-1 ≃ 0.2 barn GeV-1 are consistent with all observational constraints.
Speaker: Miguel Rocha (UC Irvine)
• 15:20
Light milli-charged dark matter and the origin of large scale cosmic fields. 20m
A mechanism for generation of large scale magnetic fields at recombination epoch is considered. Due to rotation of a protogalaxy a circular electric current can be generated because of interaction of galactic electrons with hypothetical light dark matter particles possessing a small electric charge. The induced current may be sufficiently strong to create the observed magnetic field at galactic and intergalactic scales without much dynamo amplification. Additionally, angular momentum transfer from the rotating gas to dark matter could change the dark matter profile and suppress formation of cusps at galactic centers.
Speaker: A.D. Dolgov (INFN, Ferrara)
• 14:00 15:40
Dark Matter III
• 14:00
The LUX Experiment 20m
I will present the status and prospects of the LUX experiment, which employs 350 kg of two-phase xenon to search for WIMP dark matter interactions. The LUX detector was commissioned at the surface laboratory of the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, SD, during the winter of 2012 and has been running in underground since the winter of 2013. I will review the results of the commissioning run as well as the current status of underground data-taking.
Speaker: Dr Karen Gibson (Case Western Reserve University)
• 14:20
Status of XMASS experiment 20m
"The XMASS experiment aims for direct detection of dark matter using single-phase liquid xenon. The current phase XMASS-I detector has the largest mass of the target (835kg in total, 100kg in a fiducial volume) and achieves the lowest energy threshold (0.3keV electron equivalent). A next phase detector, XMASS-1.5, with total 5ton (1ton in a fidicual volume) of liquid xenon is planned to start in 2015. In this talk, we will report results on searches with the XMASS-I (low mass WIMPs, solar axions, annual modulation of event rate at low energy, and inelastic scattering of 129Xe nuclei by WIMPs), current status of hardware modification of XMASS-I for reducing background, and progress of designing XMASS-1.5."
Speaker: Shigetaki Moriyama (ICRR,University of Tokyo)
• 14:40
The EDELWEISS Dark Matter search 20m
EDELWEISS is a phased direct Dark Matter search programme with the primary goal to search for WIMPs in the GeV-TeV mass range. For that purpose, a set of cryogenic Ge mono-crystals read out simultaneously by NTD thermal sensors and by surface electrodes is installed in the Modane underground laboratory (LSM, France). The second phase of the experiment was recently completed, setting new limits on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering cross-section for WIMP masses above 7GeV. In addition, competitive limits on axion couplings have been deduced. In 2012 and 2013, a substantial upgrade of the setup was undertaken to significantly improve the sensitivity. This upgrade includes new FID800 Ge bolometers, reduced background through improved shielding as well as better energy resolution and a highly integrated electronic readout. The scientific results of EDELWEISS will be discussed. We will describe the EDELWEISS-III setup and its prospects including latest data. Further plans for a next generation experiment are presented.
Speaker: Klaus Eitel (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT))
• 15:00
DarkSide-50: a two-phase argon TPC for a direct WIMP search 20m
DarkSide-50 is a two phase argon TPC for direct dark matter detection, which is installed at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory, Italy. DarkSide-50 has a 50 kg active volume and will make use of underground argon low in Ar-39. The TPC is installed inside an active neutron veto made with boron-loaded high radiopurity liquid scintillator. The neutron veto is installed inside a 1000 m^3 water Cherenkov muon veto. The DarkSide-50 TPC and cryostat are assembled in two radon-free clean rooms to reduce radioactive contaminants. The overall design aims for a background free exposure after selection cuts are applied. The expected sensitivity for WIMP-nucleon cross section is of the order of 10^-45 cm^2 for WIMP masses around 100 GeV/c^2. The commissioning and performance of the detector will be described. Details of the low-radioactivity underground argon and other unique features of the projects will be reported.
Speaker: Peter Meyers (Princeton University)
• 15:20
DEAP-3600 Dark Matter Search with Argon 20m
The DEAP-3600 experiment will search for dark matter particle interactions on 3.6 tonnes of liquid argon at SNOLAB. The argon is contained in a large ultralow-background acrylic vessel viewed by 255 8-inch photomultiplier tubes. Very good pulse-shape discrimination has been demonstrated for scintillation in argon, and the detector has been designed for a total background budget, including (alpha,n) and external neutron recoils, surface contamination from 210Pb and radon daughters, of 0.2 events per tonne-year, allowing an ultimate sensitivity to spin-independent scattering of 10^{-46} cm^{2} per nucleon at 100 GeV mass. Installation of the detector is currently being completed at SNOLAB. The acrylic vessel, purification systems, electronics and trigger system, the cryogenic cooling system and water shield tank have been installed. Commissioning and data collection are scheduled for early 2014. The status of the experiment and of construction at SNOLAB will be presented.
Speaker: Dr Mark Boulay (Queen's University)
• 14:00 15:40
Low Energy Neutrinos II
• 14:00
The first phase of Borexino started in 2007 with background conditions that were low enough to allow measurements of 7Be and pep neutrinos, a new upper limit on CNO neutrinos, and a measurement of 8B neutrinos at lower threshold energy. These data provided the first direct probe of neutrino oscillations in the energy range covering the MSW transition from vacuum oscillations to matter enhanced oscillations. A second phase of Borexino has started following a recent scintillator purification campaign that lowered 85Kr and 210Bi backgrounds. The lower backgrounds will improve the accuracy of current measurements and provide opportunities for measurement of pp neutrinos and an improved limit on CNO neutrinos. Further refinement of the purification methods may achieve yet lower background, allowing a more sensitive probe for CNO neutrinos relevant to the solar metallicity problem. The current results, the scintillator purification methods, and the future scientific opportunities for solar neutrino research will be discussed.
Speaker: Frank Calaprice (Princeton Univ.)
• 14:20
"Super-Kamiokande-IV data taking began in September of 2008, and with upgraded electronics and improvements to water system dynamics, calibration and analysis techniques, a clear solar neutrino signal could be extracted at recoil electron kinetic energies as low as 3.49 MeV. The SK-IV extracted solar neutrino flux between 3.99 and 19.49 MeV is found to be (2.34±0.03(stat.)±0.04(syst.))×10^6 /(cm^2sec). The SK combined recoil electron energy spectrum slightly favors the distorted shape predicted by MSW oscillations. A maximum likelihood fit to the amplitude of the expected solar zenith angle variation of the elastic neutrino-electron scattering rate in SK, results in a day/night asymmetry of -3.2±1.1(stat)±0.5(syst)%. The 2.7 σ significance of non-zero asymmetry is the first indication of the regeneration of electron type solar neutrinos as they travel through Earth’s matter. The combination of SK-I, II, III and IV solar neutrino data measure the solar mixing angle to sin^2(θ_{12})=0.342+0.028-0.023 and the solar neutrino mass splitting to ∆m^2 =4.69+1.80-0.83 ×10^(−5) eV^2."
Speaker: Andrew Renshaw (UC Irvine)
• 14:40
SNO+ experiment 20m
SNO+ is a multi-purpose neutrino physics experiment in Sudbury, Canada, and a follow up of the successful Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. The heavy water inside the detector was replaced by liquid scintillator to improve energy resolution and lower energy threshold of the detector. High light yield of the scintillator, the unique location 2 km underground, and the use of ultra-clean materials, allow the detection of low energy pep and CNO solar neutrinos. Other physics goals that can be explored are reactor neutrino oscillations, geo-neutrinos in a geologically-interesting location, and supernova neutrino watch. The talk will give an overview of these physics goals, upgrades to the detector, and current status of the experiment.
Speaker: Mr Jarek Kaspar (University of Washington)
• 15:00
Solar models and solar neutrinos: a quantitative analysis of the solar composition problem 20m
"We discuss the status of the standard solar models and we perform a quantitative analysis of the solar composition problem. Even if the problem has been already considered in literature, a thorough self-consistent discussion is missing. While a rigorous approach is not necessary for a qualitative assessment of the problem, it becomes essential if one wants to use the helioseismic information in combination with the solar neutrino results to infer the properties of the Sun. We propose a statistical approach in which all the relevant pieces of information can be combined in a correct and effective way. We use this approach to address the following questions: which is the chemical composition of the sun that can be inferred from helioseismic and solar neutrino data? How different observational information combine in determining the optimal composition of the sun? Do the different observational data show tensions and/or inconsistencies that may point at some inadequacies in the SSM inputs parameters or assumptions? Which will be the impact of future CNO neutrino flux measurements?"
Speaker: F.L. Villante (Gran Sasso)
• 15:20
Neutrino mass hierarchy and neutrino oscillation parameters with 100,000 reactor events 20m
This work is being performed in collaboration with E. Lisi (INFN, Bari, Italy) and F. Capozzi (U. of Bari, Italy), and will appear soon on arxiv. Proposed high-statistics, medium-baseline reactor experiments such as Daya Bay II will allow to probe the neutrino mass hierarchy, and will significantly reduce the uncertainty on oscillation parameters related to electron neutrino disappearance. These goals generally require a control of the energy spectrum with sub-percent accuracy. In this context, we revisit several ingredients of prospective data analyses, including: nucleon recoil in inverse beta decay and its impact on energy reconstruction and resolution, hierarchy and matter effects in the oscillation probability, spread of reactor distances, (un)binned event spectra, irreducible backgrounds from geoneutrinos and from far reactors, and degeneracies between energy scale and spectrum shape uncertainties. We also introduce a continuous parameter \alpha, which interpolates smoothly between normal hierarchy (\alpha=+1) and inverted hierarchy (\alpha=-1), allowing intermediate cases (\alpha ~ 0) where the hierarchy may be "undecidable". On the basis of numerical simulations, we discuss quantitatively the sensitivity to the hierarchy and to the other mass-mixing parameters.
Speaker: Dr Antonio Marrone (Univ. of Bari &amp; INFN, Bari)
• 15:40 16:00
Break 20m
• 16:00 18:00
Dark Matter IV
• 16:00
The unbearable lightness of being: CDMS versus XENON 20m
The CDMS-II collaboration has reported 3 events in a Si detector, which are consistent with being nuclear recoils due to scattering of Galactic dark matter particles with a mass of about 8.6 GeV and a cross-section on neutrons of about 2 x 10^-41 cm^2. In my presentation I will discuss the tension between this result and upper bounds from the XENON10 and XENON100 experiments and under what conditions this tension can be ameliorated or resolved. A particular focus will be on experimental uncertainties (for example concerning the ionisation yield Q_y) and uncertainties related to the dark matter velocity distribution. Finally, I will discuss various particle physics modifications of the interactions between DM and SM quarks which can bring XENON10/100 and CDMS-II into better agreement.
Speaker: Mr Felix Kahlhoefer (University of Oxford)
• 16:20
Halo Independent Comparison of Direct Dark Matter Detection Data 20m
Direct detection DM searches are plagued with astrophysical uncertainties, like the unknown DM velocity distribution and its local density. To circumvent this problem, a way to present direct detection data without making assumptions on the DM halo has been formulated and recently extended to any (elastic or inelastic) DM-nuclei interaction. We apply this formalism to study the compatibility of the different experimental results, for standard spin-independent contact interaction (in both the isospin-conserving and isospin-violating case), as well as for a DM with anomalous magnetic moment. We focus on the light WIMP case (~10 GeV) to compare the positive signals of DAMA, CoGeNT, CRESST and the recent CDMS silicon data and the negative results by XENON and other experiments. The tension in the DM interpretation of the different experiments persists independently of the halo properties.
Speaker: Dr Eugenio Del Nobile (UCLA)
• 16:40
Dark Matter Detection Prospects for the Cherenkov Telescope Array 20m
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is an international project for a next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory. CTA, conceived as an array of few tens of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, is aiming to improve on the sensitivity of current-generation experiments by an order of magnitude, with an energy coverage from more than thirty GeV to 100 TeV. CTA can provide clues about major open questions in fundamental physics, such as the elusive nature of the dark matter component of the Universe. Here we study the CTA prospects for detection of dark matter, evaluating several possible array layouts whose expected performance is assessed from Monte Carlo simulations. We consider different observation strategies and classes of targets: dwarf spheroidal galaxies of the Milky Way, the Galactic Center, and clusters of galaxies.
Speaker: Dr Daniel Nieto (Columbia University)
• 17:00
Dirac sneutrino as a light dark matter 20m
We show that mostly right-handed Dirac sneutrino is a viable supersymmetric light dark matter candidate. While the Dirac sneutrino scattering with nuclei is dominantly through the Z boson exchange and is stringently constrained by the invisible decay width of Z boson, events observed at direct dark matter searches such as CDMS II-Si or CoGeNT can be account for.
Speaker: Osamu Seto (Hokkai-Gakuen University)
• 17:20
Model-Independent Analyses of Dark Matter Particle Interactions 20m
Recently Galilean-invariant effective field theory has been used to determine the general low-energy forms of both the WIMP-nucleon interaction and the elastic WIMP-nucleus interaction. This construction shows that the standard spin-independent/spin-dependent analysis of dark-matter scattering experiments can be quite misleading: by neglecting four of the six allowed elastic response functions, the standard analysis often misrepresents the strength and sometimes even the leading multipolarity of candidate WIMP-matter interactions. I will describe the physics behind this result, stressing its implications for experiment -- namely that we can avoid confusion while learning more about dark matter if we do the necessary set of elastic-scattering experiments. I describe a Mathematica script for experimental analysis that we have constructed to help the experimental community make the connections between candidate ultra-violet theories, input nuclear physics, and experimental data.
Speaker: Prof. Wick Haxton (UC Berkeley)
• 17:40
Searching for Sub-Gev Dark Matter at Fixed Target Neutrino Experiments 20m
Low mass dark matter theories, if produced as a thermal relic in the early universe, must be accompanied by light mediators in order to obtain the dark matter abundance observed in the present day universe. These light mediators in turn provide a channel for the production of dark matter at fixed target neutrino experiments, producing a relativistic dark matter beam, which could then be detected by neutral-current-like interactions in neutrino detectors. We consider the possibility that fixed target neutrino experiments such as MiniBooNE (see arXiv:1211.2258 for proposal with MiniBooNE collaboration), T2K and MINOS could serve as a new dark matter search avenue, sensitive to sub-GeV dark matter scenarios that would be otherwise undetectable. These experiments are found to provide sensitivity to light stable states that could serve as viable candidates for particle dark matter.
Speaker: Mr Patrick deNiverville (University of Victoria)
• 16:00 17:50
Double Beta Decay/ Neutrino Mass III
• 16:00
Recent Results from the KamLAND-Zen Experiment 20m
The decade-old KamLAND neutrino detector entered a new phase two years ago, with the goal of studying neutrinoless double beta decay in ${}^{136}$Xe. To achieve this goal, the detector was augmented with a small balloon at the center of the detector, filled with liquid scintillator loaded with about 400\,kg of 91\% enriched ${}^{136}$Xe. The KamLAND-Zen collaboration recently reported on new neutrinoless double beta decay search results with an exposure of 89.5\,kg-yr to this ${}^{136}$Xe target. These findings, together with results reported by EXO-200, allow to perform the most stringent test to date on the claimed observation of $0\nu2\beta$ in ${}^{76}$Ge. An unanticipated background, most likely due to ${}^{110m}$Ag, limited KamLAND-Zen's ability to further study $0\nu2\beta$ and the collaboration embarked on a purification campaign to reduce this background. I will describe our latest $0\nu2\beta$ and $2\nu2\beta$ results, give a status of the detector and provide an outlook for the future of KamLAND-Zen.
Speaker: M. Patrick Decowski (University of Amsterdam / Nikhef)
• 16:20
Recent results from EXO-200 20m
EXO-200 is low-background liquid Xe time-projection chamber built to detect double-beta decay of 136Xe. Located underground at the WIPP site outside Carlsbad, NM, the detector has been running with Xe enriched to 80% since May 2011. In that time, the EXO collaboration has reported both the first observation of the 2-neutrino double-beta decay mode, a conventional second-order weak process, as well as a stringent limit on the hypothetical lepton number violating zero-neutrino mode. The collaboration has more recently improved the precision of the 2-neutrino mode decay rate to 3%, making it the most precisely-measured 2-neutrino decay to date, and continues to search for the zero-neutrino mode.
Speaker: Tim Daniels (UMass Amherst)
• 16:40
nEXO: a multi-ton detector for neutrino less double-beta decay 20m
The EXO collaboration is designing a 5-ton liquid enriched-xenon TPC to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay, to be called nEXO. nEXO will have the sensitivity to rule out the inverted hierarchy. While the detector is designed to have a very low intrinsic background, the design will accomodate, as a possible upgrade, a system to recover and identify the barium daughter nucleus. This barium tagging system would allow a background-free measurement of neutrinoless double-beta decay and increase the half-life sensitivity of the experiment by at least an order of magnitude. Ongoing research and development includes a system designed to test extraction of barium from liquid xenon using Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy (RIS).
Speaker: Karl Twelker Twelker (Stanford University)
• 17:00
Status of NEXT-100 20m
NEXT-100 is an experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay using 100-150 kg of Xenon gas enriched to 91% with 136Xe isotope. It is under construction at Canfranc Underground Laboratory (Spain). The detector is an asymmetric time projection chamber with a plane of PMTs and a tracking plane of SiPMs located behind a pair of electro-luminescence grids. It boasts an excellent energy resolution, better than 1% FWHM at the Q value of the 136Xe, and event topological information to identify signal and background. At the conference we will present results obtained with a prototype, NEXT-DEMO, the status of NEXT-100 and the prospect to build a ton-scale experiment.
Speaker: Jose A. Hernando (CERN)
• 17:20
Non-Standard Mechanisms for Double Beta Decay 30m
Neutrinoless double beta decay is the most powerful tool to probe not only for Majorana neutrino masses but for lepton number violating physics in general. I discuss relations between lepton number violation, double beta decay and neutrino mass, and highlight different new physics models showing how different mechanisms can trigger double beta decay. Finally, I outline possibilities to discriminate and test these models and mechanisms in double beta decay and complementary experiments.
Speaker: Dr Frank Deppisch (University College London)
• 16:00 17:40
High Energy Astrophysics II
• 16:00
First Evidence of High-Energy Extraterrestrial Neutrinos at IceCube 20m
Observing astrophysical neutrinos can provide a unique insight into the acceleration mechanism of cosmic ray sources: because neutrinos should be produced in hadronic interactions and are neither absorbed nor deflected they point directly back to their sources. This talk will cover recent searches in IceCube for high-energy neutrinos (> 100 TeV), which have produced the first evidence for a neutrino flux beyond standard expectations from neutrinos generated by interactions of cosmic rays in the Earth's atmosphere. This includes the observation of events with energies above 1 PeV -- the highest energy neutrinos ever observed. The current status of these astrophysical neutrino searches and prospects for the future will be discussed.
Speaker: Dr Claudio Kopper (University of Wisconsin--Madison)
• 16:20
Measurement of the diffuse neutrino flux by a global fit to multiple IceCube results 20m
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is the largest operating experiment searching for astrophysical neutrinos. Situated at the geographical South Pole, IceCube has been completed in 2010 and is entering its phase of discovery now. Several studies that have recently been performed in IceCube show an excess of events at high energies, indicating the presence of a non-atmospheric component in the diffuse neutrino flux. The aim of this study is to characterize the diffuse neutrino flux as measured by IceCube. To this end, a global likelihood fit to the results of multiple IceCube analyses has been performed. These analyses include both main detection channels (track-like and shower-like events) and use data taken between 2008 and 2012 with four different IceCube configurations (featuring 40, 59, 79 and 86 strings, respectively). The fit method will be introduced and first results will be presented.
Speaker: Mr Lars Mohrmann (DESY)
• 16:40
Revealing Deaths of Massive Stars with High-Energy Neutrinos 20m
Neutrinos play important roles in revealing energetic astrophysical explosions such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and supernovae (SNe). The large neutrino detector, IceCube has opened a new window of the multi-messenger astronomy. I discuss neutrino emissions from GRBs in view of recent theoretical/observational progress, and emphasize the importance of sub-TeV neutrino astronomy. In particular, I show that neutron-loaded outflows lead to the promising signal from "subphotospheres". On the other hand, >>TeV neutrino production is largely prohibited inside stars for usual GRBs and jet-driven SNe, but possible for low-power GRBs. We stress the importance of dedicated searches for neutrinos from such low-power GRBs, which can also explain the PeV neutrino background observed by IceCube without violating GRB neutrino limits.
Speaker: Dr Kohta Murase (Institute for Advanced Study)
• 17:00
Studying the chemical composition of the highest energy cosmic rays with the Pierre Auger Observatory 20m
The Pierre Auger Observatory detects the most energetic cosmic rays using two complementary detection techniques, fluorescence telescopes and a ground array of particle detectors. The fluorescence telescopes operate during night time and they are able to map the longitudinal profile of the air shower. The atmospheric depth at which an air shower reaches its maximum size (Xmax) is correlated with the chemical composition of the cosmic ray that originated the air shower. The Pierre Auger fluorescence detectors can measure Xmax with an average resolution of 20 g/cm^2. In this talk I will briefly explain the technique used by the Auger collaboration to measure the unbias Xmax distribution as a function of energy. I will present our latest estimates of the average cosmic ray composition (<lnA>) and its dispersion as a function of energy using post-LHC hadronic interaction models. The interpretation of the Xmax distributions in terms of the cosmic ray composition relies heavily on the interaction models. So, I will discuss whether the interaction models are consistently interpreting the different measurements obtained by the fluorescence and ground array detectors.
Speaker: J. Bellido (University of Adelaide)
• 17:20
Constraints and measurements of hadronic interactions in extensive air showers with the Pierre Auger Observatory 20m
The characteristics of extensive air showers (EAS) are sensitive to the details of hadronic interactions at energies and kinematic regions beyond those tested by man-made accelerators. Uncertainties on extrapolations of the hadronic interaction models in these regions hamper the interpretation of the ultra high energy cosmic ray data in terms of primary mass composition. We report on how the Pierre Auger Observatory is able to constrain the hadronic interaction models by measuring the muon content and muon production depth of air showers and also by measuring the proton-air cross section for particle production at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon of 57 TeV.
Speaker: Lorenzo Cazon (The Pierre Auger Collaboration)
• 16:00 17:40
Neutrino Oscillations/ Neutrino Beams II: Towards CP violation, hierarchy, and matter effects
• 16:00
DAEδALUS/IsoDAR: A Phased Neutrino Physics Program Using Cyclotron Decay-at-Rest Neutrino Sources 20m
DAEδALUS is a proposed phased neutrino physics program consisting of two flagship experiments: a search for CP violation in the neutrino sector and a definitive search for sterile neutrinos. Ultimately, DAEδALUS will comprise several accelerator-based modules located at three different distances from a single, large underground detector such as LENA, MEMPHYS, or Hyper-K. Each of these modules will employ new low cost, high power cyclotrons to produce pion decay-at-rest neutrino beams, which can be used to search for evidence of CP violation in the oscillation probability of muon antineutrinos to electron antineutrinos over baselines of ~20 km. However, at an early phase of the program, the high power DAEδALUS injector cyclotron can also be used to produce an intense isotope decay-at-rest neutrino beam. IsoDAR is a proposed experiment, which uses a 8Li decay-at-rest neutrino beam to preform a definitive search for sterile neutrinos by installing the DAEδALUS injector cyclotron in an underground lab close to a large liquid scintillator detector such as KamLAND. IsoDAR can rule out the parameter space allowed by global fits to the Reactor, SAGE, and GALLEX anomalies at 20σ in 5 years. These two flagship searches make a compelling case for the DAEδALUS phased neutrino physics program.
Speaker: Matt Toups (MIT)
• 16:20
The European Spallation Source Neutrino Super Beam 20m
The European Spallation Source (ESS) linac with 5 MW proton-power has the potential to become the proton driver of - in addition to the world’s most intense pulsed spallation neutron source - the world’s most intense neutrino beam. The physics performance of that neutrino Super Beam in conjunction with a megaton Water Cherenkov neutrino detector installed 1000 m down in a mine at a distance of 500 km from ESS will be described. In particular, the superior potential of such a neutrino experiment to discover the lepton CP violation in order to explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry in Universe and also the neutrino mass hierarchy will be discussed. In addition, the choice of such detector will extent the physics program to proton-decay, atmospheric neutrinos and astrophysics searches. The ESS proton linac, the target station optimization and the physics potential will be discussed.
Speaker: Marcos Dracos (University of Strasbourg)
• 16:40
The NOvA Experiment 20m
Massive neutrinos provide the first hints at physics beyond the standard model. The NOvA experiment is poised to further refine our understanding of neutrino mixing, one of the implications of neutrino mass. A long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment in the Fermilab NuMI neutrino beam line, NOvA employs two detectors, hundreds of km apart. Comparisons of the beam composition at the two sites yield precision measurements of the parameters governing neutrino oscillation. In this talk, I will describe the goals and status of the NOvA experiment and present initial data from the Far Detector, which is currently being constructed in Northern Minnesota.
Speaker: Patricia Vahle (William and Mary)
• 17:00
Neutrino flavor sensitivity of large scintillator detectors 20m
Scintillator detectors are known for their good light yield, energy resolution, timing characteristics and pulse shape discrimination capabilities. These features make the next-generation liquid scintillation detector LENA (Low Energy Neutrino Astronomy) the optimal choice for a wide range of astroparticle topics including supernova-, solar-, and geo neutrinos. In addition to the excellent calorimetric and timing properties, large scintillators are also capable of rudimentary topology reconstruction sufficient to discriminate with adequate efficiency between electron and muon neutrino induced charge current events and neutral current events in the GeV energy range. This feature makes LENA a competitive tool for the determination of mass hierarchy with long baseline neutrino beams such as the proposed CN2PY beam (2300 km). This work, forming part of LAGUNA-LBNO project, summarizes the current status of track reconstruction schemes and discusses the sensitivity limits for mass hierarchy and CP violation measurements with LENA as a far detector.
Speaker: Mr Kai Loo (University of Jyvaskyla)
• 17:20
Analytic approach to three-neutrino oscillations in the Earth 20m
"Using the Magnus expansion of the evolution operator in the adiabatic basis, we find an approximate solution to the problem of three–neutrino oscillations in a medium with a symmetric, but otherwise arbitrary, density profile. The evolution operator of the system is written as the product of factors corresponding to effective two-neutrino problems for a low and a high energy regime. By virtue of such factorization the approximation works well over a wide range of energies. In the case of atmospheric neutrinos traversing the Earth, the oscillation probabilities calculated using our approach are in good agreement with the results of numerical calculations."
Speaker: Mario A. Acero (Univ. Atlantico)
• Wednesday, 11 September
• 14:00 15:40
Dark Matter V
• 14:00
LZ: A 2nd Generation Dark Matter Direct-search Experiment 20m
The LZ collaboration has proposed a 2nd generation direct dark matter search experiment, which builds on the experience gained with the LUX and ZEPLIN series of experiments on the two-phase xenon TPC technique. It features an active target volume of ~7 tonnes and a robust 3-layer shield system consisting of a xenon skin volume and a liquid scintillator veto, embedded in the existing 6m diameter water tank at the 4850' level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility. We have developed a novel design for the liquefaction, recirculation and purification for this unprecedented large volume of xenon. Our studies of backgrounds are comprehensive and predict an approximately 6 tonne fiducial volume, in which the dominant electron and nuclear recoil backgrounds are from astrophysical neutrinos. The projected sensitivity for a 1,000 day running period for the WIMP-nucleon cross section is below 2.5x10^-48 cm^2 at a WIMP mass of 50 GeV. We will present some details of the advanced design of LZ, the background model, and our physics goals.
Speaker: Prof. Mani Tripathi (UC Davis)
• 14:20
A CDMS low ionization threshold experiment and SuperCDMS SNOLAB 20m
Astrophysical observations of large scale gravitation suggest an abundance of non-baryonic dark matter. The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) is designed to detect weakly interacting massive particles, a hypothesized solution to the dark matter problem. The SuperCDMS technology is based on germanium detectors instrumented with a new interleaved ionization and athermal phonon sensor layout. The ability to measure phonons allows an alternative operational mode, the CDMS low ionization threshold search (CDMSlite), optimized for WIMP masses below ~10 GeV. In this talk we describe a 10-kg-day exposure taken in this mode with SuperCDMS detectors at sub-keV thresholds. We will present results and constraints on the scattering cross-section of low-mass WIMPs. The SuperCDMS Collaboration is designing a 200-kg experiment for SNOLAB. We will discuss the design and scientific capabilities of the proposed SuperCDMS-SNOLAB experiment.
Speaker: Jeter Hall (Pacific Northwest National Lab)
• 14:40
Progress and results from COUPP60 20m
I will briefly describe the COUPP/PICO Collaboration (PICO is the new merger of COUPP and PICASSO) and the use of superheated fluids for the detection of dark matter. The COUPP60 detector was successfully filled with 37 kg of target in April, 2012 and collected its first bubbles on May 1. I will provide an update on the current status of COUPP60 data.
Speaker: Dr Hugh Lippincott (Fermilab)
• 15:00
Update on the MiniCLEAN Dark Matter Experiment 20m
The direct search for dark matter is entering a period of increased sensitivity to the hypothetical Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP). One such technology that is being examined is a scintillation only noble liquid experiment, MiniCLEAN. MiniCLEAN utilizes over 500 kg of liquid cryogen to detect nuclear recoils from WIMP dark matter and serves as a demonstration for a future detector of order 50 to 100 tonnes. The liquid cryogen is interchangeable between argon and neon to study the A$^{2}$ dependence of the potential signal and examine backgrounds. MiniCLEAN utilizes a unique modular design with spherical geometry to maximize the light yield using cold photomultiplier tubes in a single-phase detector. Pulse shape discrimination techniques are used to separate nuclear recoil signals from electron recoil backgrounds. MiniCLEAN will be spiked with additional $^{39}$Ar to demonstrate the effective reach of the pulse shape discrimination capability. Assembly of the experiment is underway at SNOLAB and an update on the project will be given.
Speaker: Dr Keith Rielage (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
• 15:20
Characterization of Nuclear Recoils in High-Pressure Xenon Gas: Towards a Simultaneous Search for WIMP Dark Matter and Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay 20m
(On behalf of the NEXT Collaboration) Xenon has recently been the medium of choice in several large scale detectors searching for WIMP dark matter and neutrinoless double beta decay. Though present-day large scale experiments use liquid xenon, the gas phase offers advantages favorable to both types of searches such as improved intrinsic energy resolution and fewer fluctuations in the partition of deposited energy between scintillation and ionization channels. We recently constructed a high pressure xenon gas TPC as a prototype for the NEXT (Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC) neutrinoless double beta decay experiment and have demonstrated the feasibility of 0.5% FWHM energy resolution at the 136Xe double beta Q-value with 3-D tracking capabilities. We now present results from this prototype on the simultaneous observation of scintillation and ionization produced by nuclear recoils at approximately 14 bar pressure. The recoils were produced by neutrons of approximately 2-6 MeV emitted from a radioisotope plutonium-beryllium source, and primary scintillation (S1) and electroluminescent photons produced by ionization (S2) were observed by an array of 19 PMTs. We discuss the potential of gaseous xenon to distinguish between electron and nuclear recoils through the ratio of these two signals S2/S1. From these results combined with the possibility of using columnar recombination to sense nuclear recoil directionality at high pressures we envision a dual-purpose, ton-scale gaseous xenon detector capable of a combined search for WIMP dark matter and neutrinoless double beta decay.
Speaker: Joshua Renner
• 14:00 15:40
Gravitational Waves I: Detectors
• 14:00
Gravitational Wave Detection with Pulsar Timing Arrays: Prospects and Status 20m
Pulsars rotating at periods of a few milliseconds have proven to act as precise celestial clocks. Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs), use multiple pulsars distributed throughout the sky to detect disturbances in the pulsar-local space-time, and correlated disturbances in Earth's perceived location. PTAs are uniquely sensitive to the low-frequency (nHz-uHz) gravitational wave spectrum, and are capable of detecting gravitational waves (GWs) from cosmic string loops and binary supermassive black hole binaries formed in galaxy mergers. Excitingly, the sensitivity of pulsar timing has reached the upper range of the GW signal predictions for standard cosmological structure formation scenarios. This talk will describe PTAs, their current status, sensitivity to various source type, and our expected prospects for the future detection of gravitational radiation using PTAs. Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Speaker: Sarah Burke Spolaor (NASA-JPL)
• 14:20
From installation to integration: phase transitions in Advanced LIGO 20m
Since October 2010, the LIGO observatory sites in Livingston LA and Richland WA have been thoroughly occupied with the installation of second-generation interferometric gravitational wave detectors, or Advanced LIGO. Increasingly however, those sites are undergoing a phase transition. As more detector payloads are installed and tested in-vacuum, we are entering new and more complex integration phases, in which interferometric configurations resonating infrared laser light over tens of meters or kilometers, are commissioned. In this Advanced LIGO status talk, we will sketch installation progress and in particular, note the commissioned configurations to date (lasers, suspended mode cleaners, dual-recycled Michelson and 4km half-interferometer configurations). We close with some prospects for science-mode running and potential gravitational wave detections.
Speaker: Michael Landry (LIGO Hanford Observatory)
• 14:40
Seismic shock damper: New in-air seismic attenuation system for the Advanced Virgo gravitational wave detector 20m
The Virgo gravitational wave detector near Pisa Italy is a Michelson interferometer, whose arms are 3km long Fabry-Perot cavities. Currently, a large upgrade of the detector is being undertaken to increase its sensitivity by a factor 10 and its expected detection rate by a factor 1000! This enhanced detector is known as Advanced Virgo. Together with its American counterpart, Advanced LIGO, it will start the era of gravitational astrophysics. During the combined commissioning and science run of Virgo in 2010, an extensive noise study revealed that some of the injection/detection optics on the external injection bench (EIB) made a significant contribution to the Virgo noise budget. Resonances of the EIB where excited by seismic ground motion and introduced a significant amount of beam jitter between 10 and 100 Hz and between 200 and 300 Hz. This beam jitter would limit the sensitivity of Advanced Virgo and needs to be reduced to allow the detector to reach its full potential. Therefore, a new support structure that will isolate the EIB from seismic ground motion in six degrees of freedom has been constructed and tested at Nikhef. The system uses passive mechanical filters (inverted pendulums and geometric anti-spring filters) and feedback to obtain the desired level of isolation while operating in air. The isolation capabilities of the system have been measured up to 400 Hz with a setup that uses piezoelectric crystals to shake to base of the system. All requirements set by the collaboration are met and the system will be installed in November 2013. We will give an overview of the system and show the performance we have achieved with an emphasis on its seismic attenuation capabilities that we measured with our piezoelectric shaker setup.
Speaker: Mr Matheus Blom (Nikhef Amsterdam, Virgo)
• 15:00
Status of Space-based Gravitational-wave Observatories 20m
The direct observation of gravitational waves in the 0.1 mHz to 1 Hz band is possible only from space. This band is expected to be rich with astrophysical sources that will yield a wealth of astrophysical information measured with an accuracy and precision that can be obtained no other way. The Laser Interferometric Space Antenna (LISA) mission concept remains the reference design for this type of mission, but budget and programmatic constraints have forced reformulation of the original concept. This talk will summarize recent activity in the US and Europe toward realizing a gravitational wave mission in space.
Speaker: Jeff Livas (NASA-GSFC)
• 15:20
Stochastic Gravitational Waves in the Advanced Detector Era 20m
Second-generation gravitational-wave detectors such as Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo are scheduled to begin taking data by 2015. An expected ten-fold improvement in strain sensitivity, along with a broader observing band, will enable a wealth of astronomical observations including the possibility of direct detection of the stochastic gravitational-wave background. The stochastic background arises from the superposition of many unresolvable gravitational-wave sources. Measurements of the stochastic background probe cosmic history by providing information about ensembles of distant sources. We report on the prospects for detection of the stochastic background with advanced detectors, the science we can extract from stochastic measurements, and the characterization of correlated noise in global networks of gravitational-wave detectors (an important source of potential systematic error).
Speaker: Dr Eric Thrane (Caltech)
• 14:00 15:40
Low Energy Neutrinos III
• 14:00
Status of the Precision IceCube Next Generation Upgrade (PINGU) 20m
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, located at South Pole Station Antarctica, is currently the world's largest neutrino telescope with an instrumented volume greater than 1 GT. Completed in December 2010, the detector's high energy neutrino program was augmented with the low-energy DeepCore extension that provides a neutrino energy threshold near 10 GeV. DeepCore has established a rich Antarctic particle physics program that includes measurements atmospheric neutrino oscillations and indirect searches for lower mass WIMP dark matter. Currently under consideration is a new in-fill array, the Precision IceCube Next Generation Upgrade (PINGU), that builds on the strengths of the IceCube-DeepCore design to further lower the neutrino detection threshold to a few GeV. The very large sample of atmospheric neutrinos expected with PINGU provides significant potential for neutrino oscillation parameter measurements, including a first determination of the mass hierarchy. This talk will present the current status of PINGU.
Speaker: Prof. Darren Grant (University of Alberta)
• 14:20
Search for Supernova Relic Neutrinos with 2.2MeV gamma Tagging at Super-Kamiokande-IV 20m
A search for Supernova Relic neutrinos in the energy range 13.3 MeV $< E_{\bar{\nu}_e} <$ 31.3 MeV with neutron tagging at Super-Kamiokande-IV is conducted. We identify 13 inverse-beta-decay candidates, all of which can be attributed to background. In the absence of signal, 90\% C.L. upper limits are calculated with respect to different models. A differential flux upper limit is also given with no model dependence.
Speaker: Yang Zhang (--)
• 14:40
Neutrino(Antineutrino) Cross Sections in some Nuclear Targets at Supernova Neutrino Energies 20m
"Supernova explosion is a phenomena which occurs in the late phase of stellar evolution. In this explosion, most of the gravitational energy released in a core collapse is carried by the neutrinos. Such neutrino bursts carry about ≈ 2.5 x 1053 ergs of energy in a very short period of time [1]. It is considered that these neutrinos provide valuable information about the proto-neutron star core, its equation of state, core collapse and supernova explosion mechanism. This information will lead to a better understanding of supernova physics. With the observation of supernova neutrinos from SN1987A in Kamiokande, IMB and BAKSAN [2, 3] the feasibility of detecting such events in future is given serious consideration. Many detectors developed for neutrino oscillation experiments are also sensitive to the detection of supernova neutrinos. These detectors are either taking data or are in various stages of development. The interaction of neutrinos with dense neutron rich matter in the core results in the difference in the spectral distribution for the various neutrino families. With the development of fast computers, modeling for the supernova neutrino flux has tremendously improved. There are various groups presently working on the simulations, for example the groups of Duan et al. [4], Kneller et al. [5] and Totani et al. [6]. We shall present a new calculation of the inclusive reactions for supernova neutrinos in 40Ar, 56Fe and 208Pb for neutrino(antineutrino) induced charged current and neutral current processes. These calculations are done using local Fermi gas model [7] which takes into account Pauli blocking, Fermi motion effects and the Q-value of the reaction. The renormalization of weak transition strengths in the nuclear medium is also taken into consideration. The effect of Coulomb distortion of the outgoing lepton produced in charged reactions is taken into account by using Modified Effective Momentum Approximation(MEMA) [7] as well as Fermi function [7]. We find that these two methods of taking Coulomb interaction into account results in a large difference in the cross section at low energies. Furthermore, we have also studied the effect of nucleon correlations on the total scattering cross section which is used in predicting the supernova event rates. Effect of nucleon correlation has different nature for neutrinos and antineutrinos. Using the flux given by the groups of Duan et al. [4], Kneller et al. [5] and Totani et al. [6], we have calculated the supernova event rates and studied the dependence of event rates on supernova neutrino/antineutrino flux. We find that large variations in the supernova neutrino/antineutrino flux results in a significant difference in the event rates. 1. W. C. Haxton, arXiv:nucl-th/1209.3743, (2012). 2. K. Hirata et al. [KAMIOKANDE-II Collaboration], Phys. Rev. Lett. 58, 1490 (1987). 3. R. M. Bionta et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 58, 1494 (1987). 4. https://lbne.bnl.gov/svn/snbtg/event_rates/globes/fluxes/duan.dat 5. https://wiki.bnl.gov/dusel/upload/Flux-kneller.gif 6. https://lbne.bnl.gov/svn/snbtg/event_rates/globes/fluxes/livermore.dat 7. M. Sajjad Athar, S. Ahmad and S. K. Singh, Nucl. Phys. A 764, 551 (2006)."
Speaker: S. Chauhan (---)
• 15:00
Fast time variations of supernova neutrino fluxes and detection perspectives 20m
In the delayed explosion scenario of a core-collapse supernova (SN), the accretion phase shows pronounced convective overturns and a low-multipole hydrodynamic instability, the standing accretion shock instability (SASI). Neutrino signal variations from new three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of the Garching SN group as well as its detection perspectives in IceCube will be discussed. I will also talk about perspectives on what we could learn from such a measurement concerning the physics in the SN core and the explosion mechanism.
Speaker: Irene Tamborra (Max Plank Institut fur Physik, Munich)
• 15:20
Speaker: Dr Yusuke Koshio (Okayama university)
• 14:00 15:40
Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics
• 14:00
DIANA - An Underground Accelerator Facility for Nuclear Astrophysics Status Report 20m
The DIANA (Duel Ion Accelerators for Nuclear Astrophysics) project represents a next generation accelerator facility for low-energy nuclear astrophysics, in a deep underground environment. The proposed location outline for the facility is the 4850 ft level of SURF (Sanford Underground Research Facility) in Lead, South Dakota. The ability to probe reactions of astrophysical interest in relevant stellar energy regimes, is often hampered by small cross-sections and comparatively large background rates. DIANA aims to address these challenges by both operating in an underground environment to lower background rates, but also increase beam intensities to allow for the steep drop off in cross-section. This talk will present current updates and status of the project.
Speaker: Dr Daniel Robertson (University Of Notre Dame)
• 14:20
Latest Updates on the International AXion Observatory (IAXO) 20m
"Axion helioscopes are searching for solar axions, which could be produced in the core of the Sun via Primakoff effect. Not only would these hypothetical particles solve the long-standing strong CP problem, but they are also one of the favored candidates for dark matter. The International Axion Observatory (IAXO) is a next generation axion helioscope aiming at a sensitivity to the axion-photon coupling of a few 10^(-12) GeV^(-1), i.e. 1 - 1.5 orders of magnitude beyond the one achieved by the currently most sensitive axion helioscope, the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST). Crucial factors in improving the sensitivity for IAXO are the increase of the magnetic field volume together with the extensive use of x-ray focusing optics and low background detectors, innovations already successfully tested at CAST. In case of non-hadronic axion models, the Sun produces a larger flux as expected for hadronic models at the same value of the Peccei-Quinn scale, since here axions also couple directly to electrons. This allows for probing a broader range of models. IAXO will be the most sensitive axion search over a broad range of axion masses, reaching or surpassing the stringent bounds from SN1987A. The experiment will possibly be testing the axion interpretation of anomalous white-dwarf cooling for which an axion mass of a few meV is predicted. Beyond standard axions, this new experiment will be able to search for a large variety of axion-like particles (ALPs) and other novel excitations at the low-energy frontier of elementary particle physics in entirely unexplored ranges of parameters."
Speaker: Julia K. Vogel (CERN)
• 14:40
B-Factory Constraints on Low-Mass Dark Matter 20m
While traditional models of WIMP dark matter assume masses in the 100 GeV range which are only accessible to direct production in high-energy colliders, viable and well-motivated models with lighter dark matter components have recently been proposed. Such scenarios typically include relatively low-mass gauge bosons mediating dark matter interactions, and coupling to the Standard Model states through small mixing. Thanks to their large luminosities, B Factories offer an ideal environment to probe these possibilities, complementing underground direct detection searches and cosmic ray experiments. We will describe the most recent searches for dark sector states in BaBar data, and project the future sensitivity that can be achieved by Belle II with 100 times more data.
Speaker: Prof. Yury Kolomensky (UC Berkeley/LBNL)
• 15:00
Coherent Inverse Primakoff-Bragg Conversion of Solar Axions in Single Crystal Bolometers 20m
The energy spectrum of solar axions is peaked in the neighborhood of 3-4 keV, making coherent conversion to X-rays by the inverse Bragg condition possible. This in turn leads to a dramatic time-dependence of the event rate as the relative position of the Sun and a single crystal bolometer change with time. Two techniques for analyzing these time-dependent processes when the counting rate is low are presented.
Speaker: Prof. Richard Creswick (University of South Carolina)
• 15:20
Production of 51Cr neutrino and 144Ce antineutrino sources for SOXand CeLAND experiments (presented by Michel Cribier)
A number of experimental results (LSND and MiniBooNE, the SAGE и GALLEX calibration experiments with artificial neutrino sources, and “a revision” of the results of former reactor experiments in view of new calculation of reactor neutrino spectrum) that appear anomalous in the context of the standard 3 neutrino scenario, and could be explain by the 4th (a sterile) neutrino. An unambiguous search for a 4th neutrino by using very intensive (anti)neutrino sources located in close proximity or inside kiloton-scale scintillation detectors like KamLAND or BOREXINO have been proposed recently. In this report we discuss a possibility for production of about 2200 PBq (50 kCi10 MCi) (anti)neutrino sources for SOX [1] and CeLAND [2] experiments The project SOX (Short distance neutrino Oscillations with BoreXino) assumes three stages of implementation of scientific program on search of the 4th neutrino: i) experiment with external neutrino source based on 51Cr isotope with activity of 10 MCi, ii) experiment with a 144Ce anti-neutrino source with activity of 75 kCi placed in water shielding, and after iii) a 144Ce anti-neutrino source with activity of 50 kCi placed directly in the center of Borexino detector. The highest priority for the Borexino collaboration is the 51Cr neutrino deployment. The required activity of the 51Cr source must be 10 MCi at the beginning of data taking at the Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy. The total activity of the Cr-51 source should be known with a precision of 1%. 51Cr isotope will be produced in 50Cr(n,)51Cr reaction using big quantity of enriched 50Cr isotope as a target and a nuclear reactor with high neutron flux. In this report we discuss a possibility for production 51Cr source with heavy water reactor LUDMILA at PA “Mayak” (Russia) [3]. Active zone of this reactor permits to accommodate large quantity of starting material (several tens of kilograms of chromium in form of chips) with different level of enrichment. One of the options is to use as a target existing 35 kg of metallic Cr enriched at 38% on 50Cr isotope available from the Gallex experiment done in Gran Sasso in the 90’s. There is also the possibility to perform further enrichment of the existing material or to produce a new batch of chromium enriched > 80% at JSC ECP (Russia) [4] in order to increase the total activity needed for the experiment. Long-lived 144Ce isotope is a fission product of uranium and plutonium from nuclear reactor with high yield of 5,5% and 3,7% respectively. It decays to short-lived 144Pr isotope with Q = 2,996 MeV. Technology and equipment for extraction of individual isotopes - including Cerium isotopes - from spent nuclear fuel exists only in Russia at PA “Mayak”. The fission products, including Rare Earths, among which Cerium belongs, are separated from the Purex process raffinate. Technique for recovery of Cerium (144Ce) from Rare Earths is based on displacement complexing chromatography. To produce 75 kCi antineutrino source it is necessary to reprocess several tons of SNF with burn up about 40 MWday/ton and “cooling time” of about 3 years. The СеLAND project [7] assumes that antineutrino source based on 144Се isotope with activity of 75 kCi will be placed in turn i) in water shielding, and after ii) directly in the center of the fiducial volume of KamLAND detector if a hint of signal is being found. The source will be surrounded by a tungsten shielding with weigh about 2 tons to reduce his own dominant -background. Taking into account small dimensions of active part of such a source (approx. several liters) similar to the vertex reconstruction of antineutrino interaction, it can be considered as practically point-like, providing the necessary conditions for the search for oscillations with the mass term of δm2 ≈ eV2. 1. Bellini G., Brick D., Bonfini G., at al., Short distance neutrino Oscillations with BoreXino. arXiv: 1304.7721v2 [physics.ins-det] 24 May 2013. 2. Cribier M., Fechner M., Lasserre T., Letourneau A., Lhuillier D., Mention G., Franco D., Kornoukhov V., Schonert S. A proposed search for a fourth neutrino with a PBq antineutrino source. - Phys.Rev.Lett., 2011, v.107, p. 201801. 3. Kochurov B.P., Konev V.N., Kornoukhov et al., The possibility to produce 300 PBq 51Cr neutrino source with Russian heavy water reactor-2. Preprint ITEP: ITEP-37-98, Moscow, Oct 1998. (CERN Libararies., Geneva, SCAN 9904041). 4. JSC “Electrochemical plant” http://www.ecp.ru.
Speaker: Dr Vasily Kornoukhov (ITEP)
• 15:40 16:00
Break 20m
• 16:00 18:00
Dark Matter VI
• 16:00
Virtual Internal Bremsstrahlung of Dark Matter and Connection with AMS-02 Result 20m
We consider a characteristic gamma-ray signal coming from Virtual Internal Bremsstrahlung (VIB) of Dark Matter, which is the leading process of photon emission generated by Dark Matter annihilation. The relation between the gamma-ray excess around 130 GeV and the recent positron excess of AMS-02 is discussed. The gamma-ray excess is explained by VIB of Dark Matter. On the other hand, a suitable s-wave of Dark Matter annihilation cross section is required to generate such a positron excess of AMS-02 without conflicting with gamma-ray emission from Final State Radiation. This is achieved by taking into account both of left and right chiral couplings of Yukawa interaction. In addition, this process tends to make Dark Matter relic density reduce too much due to required large Yukawa coupling. However in the case of scalar Dark Matter, it could be consistent with the observed relic density.
Speaker: Dr Takashi Toma (Durham University)
• 16:20
Antiproton Limits on Decaying Gravitino Dark Matter 20m
The nature of dark matter is one of the greatest mysteries of modern cosmology and particle physics. In this talk I will introduce a theory with broken R-parity where the gravitino forms a well-motivated candidate for unstable dark matter. After a brief review of the cosmological motivation for the scenario I will discuss its phenomenology with respect to indirect dark matter searches using observations of cosmic rays. In particular, I will elaborate on lower limits on the gravitino lifetime derived from antiproton data and the impact on the parameter space of the model.
• 16:40
Halo-independent tests relevant for inelastic dark matter scattering 20m
One of the most important signatures of dark matter in direct detection is the annual modulation of the signal, due to the motion of the Earth around the Sun. In inelastic scattering, the minimum velocity a WIMP must have to deposit a recoil energy at the threshold of the detector is already close to the galactic escape velocity. In this case the experiment probes the tails of the dark matter halo velocity distribution where halo substructures are expected. I will present halo-independent methods to analyze the results of direct dark matter detection experiments assuming inelastic scattering. I will specifically discuss the consistency of the inelastic scattering interpretation of the DAMA annual modulation signal, focusing on the tension with the bound from XENON100.
Speaker: Nassim Bozorgnia (Max Planck Heidelberg)
• 17:00
The DRIFT Directional Dark Matter Detector 20m
The DRIFT dark matter detector is a 1 cubic meter scale TPC with direction sensitivity to WIMP recoils operating in the Boulby Mine in England. The directional sensitivity allows DRIFT to detect the sidereal modulation of the WIMP recoils and provide an unambiguous confirmation of a dark matter interaction. We present recent R&D progress which significantly reduces our remaining backgrounds.
Speaker: Eric Miller (University of New Mexico)
• 17:20
DAMIC at SNOLAB: toward DAMIC100 20m
DAMIC is a novel dark matter experiment that has unique sensitivity to WIMPs with masses below 10 GeV. We summarize the experience gained from previous runs, including a new 5 g detector running at SNOLAB since December 2012. These have demonstrated the outstanding energy response, energy threshold and background characterization of CCD technology, which motivate the construction of a larger CCD-based dark matter experiment. DAMIC100 will consist of 20 CCDs (100 g of Si) and is scheduled to be deployed in SNOLAB in the Spring of 2014. This detector is intended to have the best detection sensitivity for WIMPs with masses below 10 GeV and will explore the parameter space corresponding to the recent results from CoGeNT and CDMS-Si, which may be hinting at the existence of ~8 GeV WIMPs. We will discuss the challenges associated with the scale-up of the experiment and its current status, as well as the prospects for the physics results after a one year run."
Speaker: Dr Alvaro Chavarria (University of Chicago)
• 17:40
Updates from the DMTPC directional dark matter experiment 20m
The Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber (DMTPC) collaboration is developing prototype detectors to measure the energies and directions of nuclear recoils. The intended application is to exploit the expected directional anisotropy of dark matter in the galactic frame to unambiguously observe dark matter induced recoils. The detectors consist of low-pressure CF_4 TPC's with CCD cameras, PMT's, and charge amplifiers for readout. This talk gives an overview of the experiment and describes recent advances in hardware and analysis. It also touches on the collaboration's plans to construct a larger, m^3-scale detector within the coming year.
Speaker: Cosmin Deaconu (MIT)
• 16:00 17:50
Double Beta Decay/ Neutrino Mass IV
• 16:00
First data from CUORE-0 20m
"CUORE-0 is a neutrinoless double beta decay (0$\nu\beta\beta$) experiment built to test and demonstrate the performances of the upcoming CUORE experiment. Composed of 52 $^{\rm nat}$TeO$_2$ bolometers of 750 g each, it is expected to reach a sensitivity to the 0$\nu\beta\beta$ half-life of $^{130}$Te around $5\cdot10^{24}$ y. CUORE-0 started to take data in April. CUORE-0 data are here presented for the first time, with an update of the expected scientific reach."
Speaker: Marco Vignani (INFN Rome)
• 16:20
CUORE and beyond: bolometry techniques to explore inverted neutrino mass hierarchy 20m
The CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events) experiment will search for neutrino-less double beta decay (NDBD) of Te-130. With 741 kg of TeO2 crystals and an excellent energy resolution of 5 keV (0.2%) at the region of interest, CUORE will be one of the most competitive neutrino-less double beta decay experiments on the horizon. CUORE is expected to start physics run in 2014 and currently detector assembly and cryostat commissioning have been on-going at LNGS. In this talk, I will give a status update on CUORE experiment, new CUORE sensitivity limits based on the latest alpha background characterization. Also efforts to improve CUORE sensitivity and competitiveness of bolometric detectors towards a multi-ton-scale array to fully explore the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy with Te-130 and possibly other NDBD candidate nuclei is described.
Speaker: Ke Han
• 16:40
The SNO+ Experiment 20m
The SNO+ liquid scintillator experiment, due to begin taking data over the next year, aims to probe a wide range of fundamental physics. One of the highest priorities for the project is a sensitive search for neutrinoless double beta decay, to be achieved by loading large quantities of 130Te into the scintillator and taking advantage of a large, highly pure, self-shielded liquid volume. Preliminary estimates suggest that an initial loading of 0.3% natural tellurium could yield a sensitivity for Majorana masses near the top of the inverted hierarchy range. If successful, a further increase in loading by a factor of ten may allow the majority of the inverted hierarchy to be critically examined in the near future. The current status of SNO+ and potential advantages of the Te-loaded scintillator approach will be presented.
Speaker: Prof. Steven Biller (Oxford University)
• 17:00
The AMoRE project to search for neutrinoless double decay of 100Mo using cryogenic CaMoO4 detectors 20m
The AMoRE (Advanced Mo-based Rare process Experiment) project is an international experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of 100Mo. The project employs a cryogenic detection method using magnetic calorimeters as sensor and CaMoO4 crystals as absorber in the concept of source equal to detector. It is scheduled to prepare a large scale experiment with 200 kg 40Ca100MoO4 crystals (enriched in 100Mo and depleted in 48Ca) in next 10 years. A sensitivity of the experiment to the effective Majorana neutrino mass is estimated to be on the level of 0.02-0.05 eV. A 10 kg prototype detector is expected to be constructed in 3 years. We will report on the current status and future plan of the AMoRE project. The present R&D demonstrates significant improvements in energy resolution for a phonon detection chain. A similar technique of magnetic calorimeters is also used to measure also light signals from CaMoO4 scintillators. The pulse shape analysis and the signal ratio in the heat and light channels enable an event by event discrimination of alpha events to suppress background caused by trace radioactive contamination of crystal scintillators. The signals from magnetic calorimeters have relatively fast rise time that may increase the efficiency to separate one of the most valuable background sources, namely random coincidence events of two neutrino double beta decay of 100Mo.
Speaker: Prof. Yong-Hamb Kim (Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science)
• 17:20
Uncovering Multiple Mechanisms of bb0nu Decay 30m
We investigate the possibility to discriminate between different pairs of CP non-conserving mechanisms inducing the neutrinoless double beta $\betabeta$-decay by using data on $\betabeta$-decay half-lives of nuclei with largely different nuclear matrix elements (NMEs). The mechanisms studied are: light Majorana neutrino exchange, heavy left-handed (LH) and heavy right-handed (RH) Majorana neutrino exchanges, lepton charge non-conserving couplings in SUSY theories with R-parity breaking giving rise to the "dominant gluino exchange" and the "squark-neutrino" mechanisms. The nuclei considered are $^{76}$Ge, $^{82}$Se, $^{100}$Mo, $^{130}$Te and $^{136}$Xe. Four sets of nuclear matrix elements (NMEs) of the decays of these five nuclei, derived within the Self-consistent Renormalized Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation (SRQRPA), were employed in our analysis. While for each of the five single mechanisms discussed, the NMEs for $^{76}$Ge, $^{82}$Se, $^{100}$Mo and $^{130}$Te differ relatively little, the relative difference between the NMEs of any two nuclei not exceeding 10%, the NMEs for $^{136}Xe$ differ significantly from those of $^{76}$Ge, $^{82}Se$, $^{100}$Mo and $^{130}$Te, being by a factor $\sim (1.3 - 2.5)$ smaller. This allows, in principle, to draw conclusions about the pair of non-interfering (interfering) mechanisms possibly inducing the $\betabeta$-decay from data on the half-lives of $^{136}Xe$ and of at least one (two) more isotope(s) which can be, e.g., any of the four, $^{76}Ge$, $^{82}Se$, $^{100}Mo$ and $^{130}Te$. Depending on the sets of mechanisms considered, the conclusion can be independent of, or can depend on, the NMEs used in the analysis. The implications of the EXO lower bound on the half-life of $^{136}Xe$ for the problem studied are also exploited.
Speaker: Meroni Aurora (Trieste)
• 16:00 17:40
High Energy Astrophysics III
• 16:00
High-Energy Cosmogenic Neutrinos 20m
Cosmic ray (CR) interactions with the cosmic radiation background are a guaranteed source of high-energy neutrinos. The most optimistic scenario assumes the dominance of CR protons at ultra-high energies (UHE) that rapidly interact with the cosmic microwave background above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) cutoff. The GZK neutrino prediction of this scenario is testable with present and near-future neutrino observatories. On the other hand, if heavy nuclei dominate the UHE CR spectrum the predictions of GZK neutrinos become smaller by orders of magntiude. I will review the predictions of different UHE CR models and summarize the present status of the GZK neutrino searches.
Speaker: Markus Ahlers (Univ. of Wisconsin)
• 16:20
Measurement of cosmic ray energy spectrum and composition with IceCube 20m
We report on the measurement of the all-particle cosmic ray energy spectrum and composition with IceCube. Results of two different techniques will be presented. The first result is a measurement of the all-particle cosmic ray energy spectrum in the energy range from 1.58 PeV to 1.26 EeV using the IceTop air shower array, which is the surface component of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole. The second result is a measurement of both cosmic ray energy spectrum and composition using neural network techniques and the full IceCube as a 3-dimensional cosmic ray detector. The measured energy spectrum exhibits clear deviations from a single power law above the knee around 4 PeV and below 1 EeV. In addition, the observed mean logarithmic mass is increasing up to at least 100 PeV.
Speaker: Bakhtiyar Ruzybayev (University of Delaware)
• 16:40
Cosmic Rays from the Knee to the Ankle 20m
Investigations of the energy spectrum as well as the mass composition of cosmic rays in the energy range of PeV to EeV are important for understanding both, the origin of the galactic and the extragalactic cosmic rays. The multi-detector arrangement of KASCADE and its extension KASCADE-Grande was designed for observations of cosmic ray air showers in this energy range. Most important result from KASCADE is the proof that the knee feature at several PeV is due to a decrease in the flux of light atomic nuclei of primary cosmic rays. Recent results of KASCADE-Grande have now shown two more spectral features: a knee-like structure in the spectrum of heavy primaries at around 90 PeV and a hardening of the spectrum of light primaries at energies just above 100 PeV. In this talk the present KASCADE-Grande results on energy spectrum and composition are compared with the results of other experiments (in particular Tunka and IceCube/IceTop) and with astrophysical models for the energy range, where the transition from galactic to extragalactic origin of cosmic rays are expected. In addition, the effects of using different hadronic interaction models for interpreting the measured air-shower data will be discussed.
Speaker: Andreas Haungs (KIT - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)
• 17:00
5 minute poster previews 40m
• 16:00 17:40
Neutrino Oscillations/ Neutrino Beams III: Sterile neutrinos and nonstandard properties
• 16:00
Sterile neutrino oscillations: the global picture 20m
We investigate neutrino oscillations with more than three flavors in the context of global oscillation data, including short and long-baseline accelerator, reactor, and radioactive source experiments, as well as atmospheric and solar neutrinos. We discuss the possible experimental hints for sterile neutrinos and quantify their tension with null results from other experiments. We also address cosmological constraints on sterile neutrinos and discuss theoretical models in which eV-scale sterile neutrinos can be consistent with BBN, CMB and structure formation constraints.
Speaker: Joachim Kopp (Max Planck, Heidelberg)
• 16:20
CeLAND: PBq source in KamLAND and short baseline neutrino oscillations prospects 20m
An intriguing, nearly three-sigma indication of the electron antineutrino disappearance at less than 100 m distance from the nuclear reactor core has recently been revealed. The effect was named a reactor antineutrino anomaly (RAA). The disappearance may be due to reactor neutrinos oscillating into another neutrino type. We plan to test the RAA with a complementary technique: deploy a massive 76 kCi electron antineutrino source (cerium-144 and praseodymium-144) in the veto region of Kamioka Liquid Scintillator Antineutrino Detector (KamLAND), 1 kiloton size detector. The project is called CeLAND. It will search for the sterile neutrino oscillation in 3-16 m range and probe the majority of the oscillation phase space suggested by the RAA with 95% confidence level. The status and prospects of the experiment will be presented.
Speaker: Dr Jelena Maricic (University of Hawaii)
• 16:40
SOX: Short distance neutrino Oscillations with BoreXino 20m
Borexino, a large volume liquid scintillator detector installed at Gran Sasso laboratory, demonstrated extraordinary sensitivity with respect to neutrino and antineutrino detection, reporting the best up to date results on solar neutrino fluxes below 1 MeV and performing geo-neutrino detection. Energy and position of 1 MeV event in Borexino are reconstructed with a precision of 5% and 14 cm respectively, together with extremely low background this provides an excellent opportunity for the study of short distance neutrino oscillations on the eV mass scale with artificial neutrino sources. The possible layouts for 51Cr (monoenergetic neutrino) and 144Ce–144Pr (antineutrino from beta-decay) source experiments in Borexino and the expected sensitivity to sterile neutrinos for three possible different phases of the experiment will be presented. The same set-up can be used to set competitive constraints on neutrino magnetic moment and neutrino non-standard interactions.
Speaker: Dr Oleg Smirnov (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research)
• 17:00
Latest results and current status of the MEG and Mu2e charged lepton flavor violation experiments 20m
Charged lepton flavor violation processes are ideal probes for new physics due to the suppression of Standard Model backgrounds. In particular, $\mu^+\rightarrow e^+\gamma$ decay and neutrinoless $\mu \rightarrow e$ conversion have been used extensively in the search for new physics by many experiments in the past. Currently, the MEG collaboration is searching for $\mu^+\rightarrow e^+\gamma$ with unprecedented precision at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, while the Mu2e collaboration is planning an experiment at Fermilab to improve the current upper bound on neutrinoless $\mu \rightarrow e$ conversion by four orders of magnitude. The latest results of the MEG experiment and the status of the Mu2e experiment will be presented, and a future outlook for both experiments will be given.
Speaker: Dr Gordon Lim (University of California, Irvine)
• 17:20
Electromagnetic interactions of neutrinos 20m
"A review on neutrino electromagnetic properties and electromagnetic interactions is presented. The talk is based on two published papers and on one paper being at the final stage of preparation. References: 1. C.Giunti, A.Studenikin, “Electromagnetic properties of neutrino”, Phys.Atom.Nucl. 73 (2009) 2089-2125, arXiv:0812.3646 v5, 12 Apr 2010. 2. C.Broggini, C.Giunti, A.Studenikin, “Electromagnetic properties of neutrinos”, Adv. High Energy Phys. 2012 (2012) 459526, arXiv:1207.3980, 17 July 2012. 3. C.Giunti, A.Studenikin, ""Electromagnetic interactions of neutrinos"", 2013, more than 60 pages (in preparation)."
Speaker: Alexander Studenikin (Moscow State University)
• 19:30 22:00
Poster Session
Convener: Wick Haxton
• 19:30
A Compton Spectrometer Experiment In Support of the NOvA Experiment Calibration 2h 30m
The NOvA Experiment at Fermilab is a large, segmented liquid scintillator detector. As nu_e interactions are of primary interest to the experiment, the detector must be very sensitive to electromagnetic showers. Because the quenching and Cherenkov response characteristics of the detector are different for muons and electrons, a separate calibration must be done in order to establish an absolute energy scale for these events. The Compton Spectrometer experiment is a way to measure the NOvA liquid scintillator's response to electrons with a well known energy in the range between 0 and 1 MeV. The results from this experiment are then put into a Geant4 simulation and extended to higher energies, photons and positrons.
Speaker: Mr Eric Flumerfelt (University of Tennessee)
• 19:30
A search for dark matter subhalo candidates in the gamma-ray band 2h 30m
We present a search for potential dark matter subhalos in our Galaxy exploiting the high (100 MeV - 100 GeV) and very high energy (>100 GeV) gamma-ray band. We assume the dark matter to be formed of annihilating weakly interacting massive particles of mass over 100 GeV. In such a scenario, most of the photons from the dark matter annihilation spectrum are expected in the high energy gamma-ray band, whereas a distinctive spectral cut-off located at the dark matter particle mass is expected in the very high energy gamma-ray band. We present a thorough selection of high energy gamma-ray sources as dark matter subhalo candidates out of the Fermi-Large Area Telescope Second Source Catalog. We compute the detection prospects of such sources in the very high energy gamma-ray band by the current and future generation of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes after assuming their gamma-ray emission to be originated by dark matter annihilation. A list of the best dark matter subhalo candidates to be observed by such telescopes is proposed.
Speaker: Dr Daniel Nieto (Columbia University)
• 19:30
Analysis of 3+ years of CoGeNT Data 2h 30m
The CoGeNT dark matter detector has been taking data at the Soudan mine since December 2009. Recently, over 3 years of CoGeNT data have been released. The data has been analyzed for a possible WIMP signal using multi-dimensional PDFs in energy, time, and pulse rise-time. The bulk event (fast rise-time pulses) and surface (slow rise-time) event fractions are determined through this analysis. We have also done extensive simulations of backgrounds for the CoGeNT detector, and these backgrounds are compared to the CoGeNT data. The current plans for the next generation detector, C4, are also outlined. We will detail specific improvements in background reduction and energy resolution. Finally, our results are compared to other experiments in the context of low-mass dark matter.
Speaker: Dr Mark Kos (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
• 19:30
Background Studies for Deep underground Experiments 2h 30m
Underground cavities are the location of choice for low background experiments. Nevertheless, the hadronic showers created by muons or neutrinos, which penetrate deep into the earth,cause radiation, even inside the deepest cavity. The showers do not have to originate inside the cavity. The minimum distance from the shower vertex, up to which muons have to be considered as "dangerous", is investigated. Moreover, the overall shower behavior and its single components, especially the neutral component, are studied. The fluxes from hadronic showers from muons as expected deep underground are presented. Furthermore, in order to study neutron interactions in Germanium crystals, the neutron flux arising from the latter study is used to probe such interactions. Each Germanium isotope is investigated separately. The resulting energy spectra are presented, especially in the region of interest for direct dark matter search (sub-keV) and in the region of interest for neutrinoless double beta decay search (around 2 MeV for Ge-76). In addition, shielding options against are discussed.
Speaker: Matteo Palermo (Max Plank Institut fur Physik, Munich)
• 19:30
Characterization of the Ge detectors for the Majorana Demonstrator 2h 30m
High purity germanium (HPGe) crystals will be used for the Majorana Demonstrator, where they serve as both the source and the detector for neutrinoless double beta decays. It is crucial for the experiment to understand the performances of the HPGe crystals. A variety of crystal properties are being investigated, including both basic properties such as energy resolution, efficiency, uniformity, capacitance, leakage current and crystal axis orientation, as well as more sophisticated properties, e.g. pulse shapes and dead layer and transition layer distribution. In this talk, we will present our measurements to characterize the HPGe crystals and discuss the results. Since additional information regarding the crystals can be learned by data-simulation comparison, we will also discuss the experiment's simulation package for the detector characterization setup and for the prototype cryostat of the Demonstrator. This work is supported by grants from the DOE Office of Nuclear Physics and the NSF Particle Astrophysics program.
Speaker: Dr Wenqin Xu (LANL)
• 19:30
Constraining the nature of bow shocks of runaway stars through Fermi-LAT observations 2h 30m
Bow shocks of runaway stars were suggested as possible sources of high-energy gamma-ray emission. In addition to the detection at infrared wavelengths, there have recently been claims for detection in X-rays and radio, indicating a spectrally wide non-thermal component. For the first time we systematically analyzed nearly five years of Fermi-LAT data from the regions of 28 bow shock candidates. These candidates are the ones listed in the E-BOSS catalogue of stellar bow shocks. Since no significant emission was found, we calculated flux upper limits. For one of the candidates (Zeta Ophiuchi) a recent prediction of gamma-ray emission can be robustly ruled out by our data. Our flux upper limits on the gamma-ray emission from any of the known stellar bow shocks strongly constrain the possible gamma-ray component that these objects may have.
Speaker: Anneli Schulz (DESY)
• 19:30
Cosmogenic activation of TeO2 in the neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment CUORE 2h 30m
The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is an experiment that will search for the neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay of 130Te. The CUORE detector, currently being constructed underground at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy, is an array of 988 high-resolution, low-background cryogenic bolometers. Each bolometer is comprised of a thermal sensor and a TeO2 crystal that serves as both a source and a detector of 0νββ decay. The 0νββ decay signature for 130Te is a peak at the Q-value 2528 keV. Observation of 0νββ decay requires that the background rate at the peak be ultra-low; CUORE is aiming for a rate less than 0.01 counts/keV/kg/y. Background-source identification and characterization are therefore extremely important. One source of background that is poorly characterized is activation of the TeO2 crystals by sea-level cosmic-ray neutrons. This process, known as cosmogenic activation, produces long-lived radioisotopes that can obscure the 0νββ decay peak. Existing cross-section data is insufficient to estimate this background; therefore an additional cross-section measurement has been performed in which a TeO2 target is irradiated with a neutron spectrum similar to that of cosmic-ray neutrons at sea-level. The cross-sections obtained have been combined with Monte Carlo simulations of the CUORE detector to estimate the cosmogenic activation background that will be present in CUORE. This work is supported by the U.S. Dept of Energy, Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (NA-22), LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344, LBNL under Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231, and the Nuclear Forensics Graduate Fellowship from the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security under Grant Award Number 2012-DN-130-NF0001-02 (The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the US Dept of Homeland Security).
Speaker: Barbara Wang (University of California, Berkeley)
• 19:30
Cosmological Constraints on Very Dark Photons 2h 30m
Extensions of the Standard Model (SM) may include relatively light neutral states with tiny couplings to the ordinary particles. A new U(1) vector particle has recently received considerable experimental and theoretical attention, linking the SM with a dark sector through kinetic mixing with the photon. We explore a new regime of coupling for the dark photon, with effective electromagnetic coupling as small as 10^-38, rendering such a state very dark and undetectable in terrestrial experiments. We consider 1 MeV - few GeV mass window for dark photons and calculate the freeze-in abundance of the vector particle in the early Universe. Subsequent delayed decays of such particles introduce observable deviations from standard cosmological predictions, either by affecting the primordial elemental abundances or by creating a detectable ionization signal during the CMB epoch. The ensuing constraints on the parameter space of the model are very powerful, and exclude significant ranges of masses and couplings for the dark photon model.
Speaker: Mr Anthony Fradette (University of Victoria)
• 19:30
Dark matter anisotropic distribution functions and impact on WIMP direct detection 2h 30m
The dark matter direct detection technique has recently played a major role in the dark matter quest. Different experiments have currently reached the sensitivity to probe in depth the dark matter properties, assuming that the dark matter component of the Universe is made of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). The interpretation of a direct detection signal in terms of WIMP properties depends on a number of assumptions regarding the distribution function of the local population of Milky Way dark matter particles, which is usually assumed to be an isotropic Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. In this talk I will discuss how an anisotropic dark matter distribution function, derived from a self-consistent Galactic model, impacts the expected direct detection event rates and exclusion limits in the plane dark matter mass versus spin-independent scattering cross section. Particular emphasis will be placed on the resulting interpretation of the latest experimental results.
Speaker: Dr Riccardo Catena (University of Goettingen)
• 19:30
Design of low energy calibration sources for liquid xenon dark matter detectors. 2h 30m
XMASS experiment is ongoing at Kamioka observatory in Japan, and purposes mainly for dark matter search using 835kg liquid xenon as target. Energy spectrum of nuclear recoil signal is expected to decrease exponentially. As lower energy threshold as possible is strongly needed for dark matter search to check stability of detector in low energy region. There is a prior study on low energy X-ray compact sources using characteristic X-ray from Al(1.5keV), Ti(4.5keV) excitated by 5.9keV X-ray from Fe-55 and so on. [M.C.LEPY et. al., Appl. Radiat. Isot. Vol.43, No.7, p847-851, 1992] With this method, calibration source below 5.9keV can be created. We are studying feasibility of low energy X-ray sources using characteristic X-ray from Al(1.5keV) and Sc(4.1keV) with ability to be used in liquid xenon. The main challenge is the design of the window withstanding the pressure of xenon (up to 2atm) while transmitting low energy X-rays (down to 1.5keV). The principle, feasibility and design of these sources will be reported.
Speaker: Dr Keishi Hosokawa (Kobe univ.)
• 19:30
Development of SiPMs for ultra low background LAr and LXe detectors 2h 30m
"Thanks to their high light yields liquid argon and liquid xenon (LAr, and LXe) are adopted as targets and/or shield in present and future double beta decay and dark matter experiments. To readout the scintillation light emitted by particles releasing energy in the liquid noble gases, high quantum efficiency, cryogenics photomultipliers (PMTs) are usually adopted. In the last couple of years we put a big effort to outline and develop the main specifications for ultra high radio-pure, cryogenic large area SiPM. The measured photoelectron yield of the tested SiPM array devices significantly exceed that of state of the art PMTs, while their mass, operational voltage, and related issues are much more favorable. In this poster the design and achieved features and measured performances of large area SiPMs operated in LAr will be outlined as well as the radiopurity level achieved in the mounting and packaging of the SiPMS arrays. Their possible applications will be also outlined."
Speaker: Dr Carla Cattadori (Gran Sasso)
• 19:30
Diversity of Core-Collapse Supernovae Neutrinos 2h 30m
Not all core-collapse supernovae are the same. This statement is especially true when considering the neutrino signal observed at Earth. This intrinsic diversity in the neutrino signal can tell us a great deal regarding the details of what is happening in the cores of massive stars. I will show predictions of variations in the early neutrino signal due to variations in the input physics. The largest variation, which leads to differences in the total neutrino luminosity up to a factor of 4, arises from the progenitor model and can be easily discernible in current supernova neutrino detectors. The progenitor variation of the neutrino signal is directly proportional to the presupernova structure of the core and allows a direct measurement of an otherwise shrouded quantity. Such a measurement would provide constraints on the late stages of stellar evolution.
Speaker: Dr Evan O'Connor (CITA)
• 19:30
Efficiency Studies and Simulations for an Active Neutron Veto Detector for a Dark Matter Experiment 2h 30m
In direct WIMP dark matter detection experiments, neutrons from cosmogenic sources and nuclear reactions in detector materials can provide backgrounds indistinguishable from WIMP signals. To reduce this background, an active neutron veto filled with a boron-loaded liquid scintillator is being developed. The scintillator will be pseudocumene, with trimethyl borate as a boron source, and PPO as a wavelength shifter. Such a veto would detect neutrons in the volume surrounding the detector, allowing coincident background events in the detector to be rejected. Neutrons are captured by the $^{10}$B with a high cross section, resulting in an alpha and $^{7}$Li. The energy from these products is heavily quenched, down to as low as 30-40 keVee. However, 96% of boron captures also produce a 478 keV gamma, which is much more easily detected. In order to efficiently detect the 4% of events that do not produce this gamma, the detector must have as high a light collection efficiency as possible. To model the neutron veto concept, light yield measurements were taken for a small prototype filled with the scintillator mixture and lined with a Lumirror reflector. These results were reproduced in GEANT4 and in an independent simulation. We then applied the simulations to the DarkSide-50 neutron veto to predicts its neutron rejection power.
Speaker: Mr Shawn Westerdale (Princeton University)
• 19:30
First experimental results in High Pressure Xe + TMA mixtures towards supra-intrinsic energy resolution and sensing of Dark Matter directionality 2h 30m
Trimethylamine (TMA) may improve the energy resolution of gaseous xenon based detectors. This molecule may also be the key for sensing directionality of nuclear recoils induced by Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) without the need of track imaging in monolithic massive (ton-scale) detectors. Nuclear recoil directionality may be the venue for a definite discovery of the WIMP nature of Dark Matter. An ionization chamber has been constructed and is currently being operated to explore the properties of high pressure gaseous Xe+TMA mixtures for particle detection in rare-event experiments. The ionization, scintillation and electroluminescence signals are measured as function of pressure, electric field and additive concentration. We present and discuss preliminary results for pure xenon at pressures up to 8 bar.
Speaker: Dr Carlos Oliveira (LBNL)
• 19:30
Indirect Dark Matter Searches with VERITAS 2h 30m
The standard model of cosmology requires dark matter (DM) to account for the 83% of the total mass density of the Universe. Assuming that the DM is composed of self-annihilating weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), its nature could be unraveled through the detection of the annihilation products, including photons with energies up to the WIMP mass. Annihilation of WIMPs with masses larger than 50 GeV could therefore produce very high energy gamma rays, potentially detectable by ground-based gamma-ray telescopes like VERITAS. We report on the VERITAS DM Program, an extensive set of observations of well motivated targets for indirect DM detection: dwarf spheroidal galaxies orbiting the Milky Way, the Galactic Center, and galactic DM subhalo candidates amongst the unassociated Fermi-LAT sources. We present VERITAS exclusion regions obtained on the thermally averaged annihilation cross section of the WIMP derived from these observations.
Speaker: Dr Daniel Nieto (Columbia University)
• 19:30
Indirect search of heavy WIMPs 2h 30m
We have studied the spectral features of the HESS J1745-290 gamma ray source as possible dark matter signal. The early model independent study of this source has also been extended to the particular case of branon dark matter, where $W^+W^-$ and $Z^+Z^-$ appear as preferred DM annihilation channel into Standard Model particles. Next works will be addressed to test such dark matter origin, both in a model dependent and independent way. The heavy dark matter that may originate this signal could be detected by other indirect detection experiments, not only with photons, but also with neutrinos and antimatter. In this sense, new analyses for Antares, IceCube or AMS are necessary.
Speaker: Dr Viviana Gammaldi (University of Atlantico Barranquilla)
• 19:30
Kinetic Inductance Detectors as light detectors for neutrino and dark matter searches. 2h 30m
Large-mass arrays of bolometers proved to be good detectors for Neutrinoless Beta Decay (0vDBD) and Dark Matter (DM) searches. The CUORE and LUCIFER 0vDBD  experiments at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso will start to take data in 2015. The potential of CUORE could be increased by removing the background due to alpha particles, by detecting the small amount of Cherenkov light (100 eV) emitted by the beta signal and not by alphas. LUCIFER could be extended to detect also Dark Matter, provided that the background from beta/gamma particles (100 eV of scintillation light) is discriminated from nuclear recoils of 10 keV energy (no light). Our aim is to develop light detectors for CUORE, LUCIFER and similar bolometric experiments. In order to reach the high sensitivity and large number of pixels needed, we plan to use Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors, which have already shown impressive results in millimeter astronomy. Since these devices are easily multiplexable and not strongly limited by the operation temperature, they possibly represent the best choice for the realisation of large-area phonon-mediated light detectors. Our aim is to monitor the whole face of each bolometer (about 25 cm2) at an operating temperature of 10 mK. First devices have been already designed and fabricated; first tests and results are expected during the summer.
Speaker: Mr Fabio Bellini (University of Roma Sapienza and INFN)
• 19:30
Low Background Counting at the LBNL Low Background Facility 2h 30m
The Low Background Facility (LBF) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California operates within two unique facilities—locally within a carefully-constructed, low background cave; and remotely at an underground location (over 500 m.w.e) nearby in Oroville, CA. These facilities provide a variety of gamma spectroscopy services to low background experiments primarily in the form of passive material screening for primordial radioisotopes (U, Th, K) or common cosmogenic/anthropogenic products, as well as active screening via Neutron Activation Analysis for specific applications. The LBF is also provides hosting services for general R&D testing in low background environments on the surface or underground for background testing of detector systems or similar prototyping. A general overview of the facilities, services, and sensitivities will be displayed. Recent activities and upgrades will also be presented, such as the completion of a 3π muon veto at the surface station and environmental monitoring of Fukushima fallout. The LBF is open to any users for counting services or collaboration on a wide variety of experiments.
Speaker: Keenan Thomas
• 19:30
LUMINEU: a pilote scintillating bolometer experiment for neutrinoless double beta decay search 2h 30m
The Luminescent Underground Molybdenum Investigation for NEUtrino mass and nature (LUMINEU) aims at preparing the ground for a next-generation neutrinoless double beta decay experiment employing scintillating bolometers: these devices are in fact very promising tools in rare events search, in terms of efficiency, energy resolution and background control. In particular, they can tag alpha events, which are the dominant residual background for double beta decay candidates with a transition energy higher than 2615 keV. LUMINEU's goal is the operation of a pilote detector, consisting of four 400 g ZnMoO4 scintillating bolometers, probing an active 100Mo mass of about 0.7 kg, the energy transition of this isotope being 3034 keV. The enriched material for this setup is available and the experiment is fully funded by ANR in France. This preliminary investigation intends to be feasibility test for a next-generation neutrinoless double beta decay experiment aiming at probing the inverted hierarchy region of the neutrino mass pattern. LUMINEU will help to fix the detailed structure of the single module of this future large-scale experiment. The ZnMoO4 crystals will be grown at the Nikolaev Institute for Inorganic Chemistry in Novosibirsk, Russia. LUMINEU foresees a systematic optimization of the crystal growth parameters, in order to optimize the bolometric performance, the light yield, the alpha particle rejection factor and the radiopurity of the scintillating bolometers. On this purpose, an aboveground facility was set up at the Centre de Sciences Nucléaires et de Sciences de la Matière (CSNSM), in Orsay, France. In this contribution, we will describe the LUMINEU program, we will discuss its sensitivity and that one of a future large search based on this technology. We will also present preliminary experimental results achieved in Orsay with scintillating bolometers fabricated employing the first LUMINEU ZnMoO4 crystals, which have been delivered in June 2013.
Speaker: Margherita Tenconi (CSNSM and Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France)
• 19:30
Measurements of low-energy nuclear recoils in liquid argon 2h 30m
The sensitivity of noble liquids detectors to light WIMPs and coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering is a result of detector threshold and low-energy ionization yield for nuclear recoils. We measured for the first time sub-keV electron recoils in a dual-phase argon ionization chamber by observing the peaks peaks in the energy spectrum at 2.82 keV and 0.27 keV, following the K- and L-shell electron capture decay of Ar-37 respectively. Detection of single ionization electrons was also achieved. We also measured the ionization yield of 7 keV nuclear recoils in liquid argon induced by scattering of quasi-monoenergetic neutrons from a collimated and filtered 7Li(p,n) source. We will discuss the detector characterization and performances, the neutron source design, and the ionization yield experimental results, along with their implications for coherent neutrino scattering and dark matter searches.
Speaker: Samuele Sangiorgio (LLNL)
• 19:30
MUON MULTIPLICITIES MEASURED USING THE UNDERGOUND COSMIC-RAY EXPERIMENT EMMA 2h 30m
EMMA (Experiment with MultiMuon Array), located at the depth of 75 meters (210 m.w.e.) in the shallow section of the Pyhäsalmi mine in Finland, is dedicated to the composition analysis of cosmic rays in the knee region. The array is designed to measure in event-by-event mode the muon multiplicity, the lateral density distribution, and the arrival angle of an air shower. It will ultimately consist of twelve detector stations of 15 m2 each. The three central tracking stations are already constructed and have been taking data continuously for a year. The first results of measured muon multiplicities will be presented and compared with model predictions. To yield relevant composition data the remaining three of the total of nine sampling stations must be completed, equipped with detectors, and integrated to DAQ. EMMA uses three types of detectors. Drift chambers form the core of the array. Due to their good position resolution (1 cm2) they are used as the main tracking device. Plastic scintillation detectors (pixel size 12 x 12 cm2) are used to verify muon multiplicities close to and beyond the saturation point of the drift chambers in the tracking stations. The recent addition of the limited streamer tube detectors allowed extending the coverage with sampling stations. CORSIKA air-shower simulations predict that the lateral density distributions for muons of energy over 50 GeV are sensitive to the energy and mass of the primary cosmic-ray particle. Moreover, these distributions are nearly model independent at the knee region."
Speaker: Timo Enqvist (University of Oulu)
• 19:30
NEST, the Noble Element Simulation Technique 2h 30m
A comprehensive model for explaining the light and charge yields, and pulse shapes, in liquid and gaseous noble elements will be presented which informs an exhaustive simulation code called NEST. All available xenon data on electron and nuclear recoils have been incorporated, and significant progress has been made on extending NEST's applicability to argon. The quasi-empirical NEST approach can lead to a better understanding of detector calibrations and performance verification and aid in the design and optimization of future direct dark matter detectors, and assist in the data analysis stage of present detectors, not just for WIMPs but also neutrinos (coherent scattering and double-beta decay). NEST predictions may have consequences for the current low-mass WIMP controversy, speaking to the exact value of the low-energy threshold of liquid xenon detectors.
Speaker: Jeremy Mock (UC Davis)
• 19:30
Neutrino Beam at NOvA 2h 30m
The NOνA experiment is a next generation long-baseline, accelerator-based neutrino oscillation experiment, currently under construction at Fermilab and northern Minnesota. NOνA will improve the existing constraints on electron neutrino appearance by more than an order of magnitude by comparing electron neutrino rates observed by two totally active liquid scintillator detectors, located 14 mrad off the NuMI neutrino beam axis, on an 810 km long baseline. NOvA can establish the neutrino mass hierarchy and will pioneer searches for CP violation in the leptonic sector. To achieve this goal, the NuMI facility is being upgraded to 700 kW of beam power in neutrino and anti-neutrino modes. In this poster, we describe the NuMI facility and show the exposure expected at the NOvA detectors in early running. The full beam modelling chain using Monte Carlo generators is outlined. Finally, we discuss the plans to validate the simulation using current and future data from dedicated hadron production experiments.
Speaker: Dr Raphael Schroeter (Harvard University)
• 19:30
Neutrino flavor evolution in turbulent supernova matter 2h 30m
The flavor evolution of neutrinos propagating through a turbulent medium is a highly interesting and complicated problem. Depending upon the hierarchy and the properties of the turbulence, the neutrino spectral signatures of collective effects and/or shock waves in the supernova may be smothered to the point where they are unobservable in the “golden” channels (ν_e → ν_μ transitions) of the next Galactic Supernova Neutrino Burst. However, at the same time, turbulence can also generate effects in mixing channels where none previously existed. We investigate the effects of neutrino self-interactions, MSW conversions as well as the impact of turbulence on the neutrino flavor evolution along single radial directions in turbulent dense matter, paying special attention to the combined impact of these three effects. We find that adding up to 10% turbulence leads to only minor differences in the emerging neutrino spectra, while overall features of the collective and MSW interactions remain. Increasing the amount of turbulence to 50% though will cause several of the spectral features to be obscured. Fortunately it also leads to new mixing patterns. We briefly investigate the observability of the predicted spectral features in a future neutrino detection at Earth.
Speaker: Dr Tina Lund (North Carolina State University)
• 19:30
NEWAGE 2h 30m
NEWAGE is a direction sensitive WIMP search experiment using micro pixel chamber. After our first underground measurement at Kamioka (PLB686(2010)11), we constructed new detector. The size of new detector is twice than older one. And its drift-cage is made by PEEK material to reduce radon emanation. Also we constructed the gas circulation system using cooled charcoal to reduce radon gas. We confirmed detector performance with low pressure gas to lower energy threshold, then we applied to use gas with 76torr pressure. Then we performed underground measurement at Kamioka. We will report about result of underground measurements.
Speaker: Mr Kiseki Nakamura (Kyoto University)
• 19:30
Newborn pulsars as ultrahigh energy cosmic accelerators 2h 30m
Neutron stars are among the few possible astrophysical sources that can confine ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. Meanwhile, they offer plausible sites for heavy nuclei injection. The heavy nuclei can be accelerated to ultrahigh energy by the wind of a fast-spinning newborn pulsar. They then traverse the expanding supernova ejecta surrounding the star. We found that the escape process softens the injected cosmic ray spectrum, and produces a series of interaction products which display a transition from light to heavy in the chemical composition, explaining the feature seen by the Auger Observatory. In addition, we show that by assuming proper injection composition, the integrated cosmic ray flux from the pulsar population can fit both the observed energy spectrum and Xmax, RMS-Xmax measurements. As a counterpart, the Galactic pulsars can contribute significantly to high energy cosmic rays between 10**16 and 10**18 eV. This contribution can bridge the gap between predictions of cosmic rays produced by other Galactic sources, e.g., supernova remnants and the observed spectrum and composition just below the ankle. As a smoking gun of the pulsar sources, high energy neutrinos produced in the source region have a unique spectrum distinctive from cosmogenic neutrinos. We show that detectability of these neutrinos are consistent with current detection upper limits and may be seen by another 4-year of IceCube operation.
Speaker: Ke Fang (University of Chicago)
• 19:30
Non Standard Neutrino Oscillation 2h 30m
"This work aims to propose a possible solution to the Gallium and Reactor Neutrino Problem, which verifies a difference between predictions and observations of neutrino flux originated from nuclear reactors. Based on non-standard neutrino interactions we could promote an instantaneous neutrino flavor changing at the moment of neutrino creation. The approach used is based on weak leptonic number violation, with the restriction of keeping the Lorentz invariance. That approach allow interactions like electron/muon-neutrino that create muon-neutrinos inside the reactor and give a better understanding of the quantum neutrino oscillation phenomenon for a region near to the reactor."
• 19:30
Notoph-Graviton-Photon Coupling 2h 30m
"We present the full theory which contains photon, notoph (the Kalb-Ramond field) and the graviton. The relations of this theory with the higher spins theories are established. In fact, we deduced the gravitational field equations from relativistic quantum mechanics [1]. The relations of this theory with scalar-tensor theories of gravitation and f(R) are discussed. Finally, we estimate possible interactions graviton-notoph, photon-notoph, and conclude that they will be probably seen in experiments in the next few years. [1] V. Dvoeglazov, Adv. Appl. Clifford Algebras, Vol. 10, No. 1 (2000) pp. 7-14; Int. J. Mod. Phys. CS Vol. 3 (2011) 121-132."
Speaker: Dr Valeriy V. Dvoeglazov (Univ. Autonoma de Zacateacs, Escuela de Fisica)
• 19:30
Performance of DAMIC at SNOLAB 2h 30m
Published DAMIC limits based on 107 g-days of data taken in a 350' underground site yielded the world's best cross-section limits on WIMPs with masses less than 4 GeV. This was possible due to the CCD's low electronic readout noise (R.M.S. ~10 eVee), which allows the instrument to reach a detection threshold below 0.5 keV for nuclear recoils in the Si target. The superb energy response and high spatial resolution of the CCD image also provide powerful characterization of the detector backgrounds. Here we present the performance and background studies of a new 5 g detector running at SNOLAB since December 2012
Speaker: Dr Javier Tiffenberg (Fermilab)
• 19:30
Performances of Germanium detectors by optimized readout and digital filtering techniques for GERDA Phase II 2h 30m
GERDA experiment is a new generation experiment searching for neutrinoless double beta decay of 76Ge operating at INFN Gran Sasso Laboratories since 2010. Coaxial and Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) Detectors have been operated in LAr in GERDA Phase I. In the framework of the second GERDA experimental phase, both the contacting technique, the connection to and the location of the front end readout devices are novel compared to those previously adopted, and several tests have been performed. An optimized pulse filtering method has been developed and applied to the Phase II prototyping tests data sets, and to the full GERDA Phase I data set. In this contribution the detector performances achieved in GERDA Phase II prototyping tests in term of energy resolution, time stability, waveforms analysis and single-site to multi-site events discrimination will be presented. The improvement of the energy resolution, compared to the digital shaping adopted for Phase I data analysis, will be discussed and related to the optimized noise filtering capability. The result is an energy resolution better than 2.6 keV FWHM at 2.6 MeV for the BEGe detectors operated in the Phase II prototyping tests, while, by applying the optimized algorithms to the GERDA Phase I calibration runs, an improvement of about 10% on the energy resolution has been achieved. GERDA sensitivity to neutrinoless double decay search will take advantage of the improved energy resolution.
• 19:30
Perspective of a Glass Resistive Plate Chambers for Cosmic Ray Muons Detection, in Saudi Arabia 2h 30m
Cosmic muons are elementary particles that are classified as leptons. It is a charge with a mass of 105.7 MeV/c2. They are unstable particles with a lifetime of 2.2 ms. Around 10,000 muons per square meter hit the earth’s surface each minute, traveling tens of meters with a velocity close to the speed of light and interacting weakly with matter. The NCMP (National Center of Mathematics and Physics) had been and still is active in the studying of cosmic rays with two detectors such as GEM (Gas Electron Multiplier), and NaI (the Sodium Iodide), which are under development. These detectors are devoted to measure the intensity of muons. We therefore were incited to develop a detector setup of Resistive Plate Chamber telescope to extend beyond this purpose in providing i.e tracking of the muon particles. This project is considered to be the pioneer experiment in Saudi Arabia providing a measurement of the rate of cosmic muons at different altitudes from the sea level. This detector is intended to provide for the first time in Saudi Arabia a recored of this data. The detector is made out of fours telescopic detectors each consisting of ten Glass Resistive Plate Chambers (GRPC) and each GRPC has a surface of 50 x 50 cm2. We also plan to install 5 cm of magnetized iron slabs providing a magnetic field of 1 Tesla. Between the iron slabs a GRPC detector will be installed two induction planes. So each RPC provides the measurement x,y,z of the particle track. Thanks to the magnetic field we aim at measuring the charges of the muons in the range 0.5-2 GeV. This project will take place in the National Center of Mathematics and Physics(NCMP), at King Abdulaziz city for science and technology (KACST) which is considered one of the active centers amongst the many in KACST, in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia. In the present contribution we report on an overview on the structure and design of the detector and the importance of this study in Saudi Arabia. 1
Speaker: Dr Ibtesam Badhrees (Research Assistant Professor)
• 19:30
Physics beyond neutrinoless double-beta decay with a tonne­‐scale germanium experiment 2h 30m
This talk will discuss the other physics opportunities that might be possible with a tonne-scale enriched germanium neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment. These include direct searches for light WIMP dark matter, solar axions, coherent neutrino-nuclear scattering, electron decay, Pauli-exclusion principle violation, fractionally charged particles in cosmic-rays, and other processes. We will discuss these in the context of the Majorana Demonstrator and GERDA experiments that are working toward the detection of the neutrinoless double-beta decay of the Ge76 isotope using enriched germanium detectors. The collaborations intend to join to pursue a tonne-scale germanium experiment, combining the best technologies from both experiments.
Speaker: Reyco Henning (U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
• 19:30
PYTHIA vs. HERWIG: Monte Carlo reliability for Dark Matter gamma ray searches 2h 30m
We have analyzed the gamma ray spectra produced by four Monte Carlo event generator packages developed in particle physics, PYTHIA and HERWIG. These spectra have been largely used in the framework of dark matter indirect searches and the differences between them may affect the results for those investigations. Two different versions of PYTHIA and two of HERWIG are analyzed, namely PYTHIA 6.418 and HERWIG 6.6.10 in Fortran and PYTHIA 8.165 and HERWIG 2.6.1 in C++. The intrinsic differences between them are shown to be significative and may play an important role in misunderstanding dark matter signals.
Speaker: Viviana Gammaldi (University of Atlantico Barranquilla)
• 19:30
Solar Neutrino Prospects with the SNO+ Experiment 2h 30m
SNO+ is a liquid scintillator neutrino experiment which will be housed at the SNOLAB facility in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The SNO+ experiment will probe many areas of neutrino physics including neutrinoless double beta decay, geo-neutrinos, reactor neutrinos, low energy solar neutrinos, and supernova neutrinos. This poster will focus on the sensitivity of SNO+ to solar neutrinos, specifically the pep neutrino. Implications of the pep measurement on light sterile neutrino models will be discussed.
Speaker: Ms Erin O'Sullivan (Queen's University)
• 19:30
Status and first results of Tunka-Rex, an experiment for the radio detection of air showers 2h 30m
Tunka-Rex is a new radio detector for extensive air showers from cosmic rays, built in 2012 as an extension to Tunka-133. The latter is a non-imaging air-Cherenkov detector, located near lake Baikal, Siberia. With its 25 radio antennas, Tunka-Rex extends over 1 km^2 with a spacing of 200 m and therefore is expected to be sensitive to an primary energy range of 10^17-10^18 eV. Using Trigger and DAQ from Tunka-133 this setup allows for a hybrid analysis with the air-Cherenkov and radio technique combined. The main goals of Tunka-Rex are to investigate the achievable precision in reconstruction of energy and composition of the primary cosmic rays by cross-calibrating to the well understood air-Cherenkov detector. While the focus in the first season was to understand the detector and develop frame conditions for future work, an early analysis already proves the detection of air-shower events with dependencies on energy and incoming direction as expected from a geomagnetic emission mechanism. Furthermore, in near future tests will be conducted for a joint operation of Tunka-Rex with Tunka-HiSCORE, a gamma ray observatory at the same site, and the upcoming scintillator extension of Tunka-133.
Speaker: Mr Roman Hiller (for the Tunka-Rex Collaboration)
• 19:30
Status of the Third Flight of ANITA 2h 30m
The ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) is a balloon-borne interferometer sensitive to ultra-wideband radiation from neutrinos interacting in ice and cosmic-ray air showers in the 200–1000 MHz range. The third flight of ANITA will achieve improved sensitivity through an upgraded triggering system and larger antenna array enabling the detection of an order of magnitude more ultra-high energy cosmic ray events over the first flight of ANITA and increased background rejection. Additionally, a prototypical drop-down antenna will record the first in-flight observations of cosmic-ray air showers at VHF frequencies. We report on the status of the observatory.
Speaker: Stephanie Wissel (UCLA)
• 19:30
Supernova Early Warning in the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment 2h 30m
On behalf of the Daya Bay Collaboration Providing an early warning of supernova burst neutrinos is of importance in the study of both supernova dynamics and neutrino physics. The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment, with multiple liquid scintillator targets, is sensitive to the full supernova burst anti-electron-neutrino spectrum and has a better energy resolution than water Cerenkov detectors. By deploying 8 Antineutrino Detectors (ADs) in three different experimental halls, which are about 1 km apart from each other, it has a much better rejection to muon spallation background than single-detector experiments. A fast (10s latency) supernova online trigger system embedded in the data acquisition system is designed to enable a prompt detection of a coincidence of the neutrino signals via an inverse-beta-decay (IBD) within a 10-second window, and can hence provide a robust early warning of a supernova occurrence. This trigger has undergone studies through both offline data analysis and online testing. Single detector background rates, including the reactor neutrino backgrounds, fast neutron backgrounds etc., are understood. A simulation of supernova neutrino signals with mean energy around 15 MeV shows that about 70% detection efficiency can be achieved for a single supernova neutrino IBD event in each detector. Based on these rates and efficiencies, an 8-AD supernova trigger combination table has been constructed to tabulate the 8-AD event counts' coincidence vs. the trigger rate. A golden trigger threshold, i.e. with a false alarm rate < 1/year, can be set as low as 6 candidates among the 8 detectors (part of 6-candidate cases trigger and the rest cannot as the 6 candidates have different distribution among 8 detectors), leading to a 100% detection probability for all 1987a type supernova bursts at the distance to the Milky Way center and a 95% detection probability to the edge of the Milky Way."
Speaker: Hanyu Wei (Tsinghua University)
• 19:30
Systematics of Low Threshold Modulation Searches in CDMS-II 2h 30m
The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search experiment (CDMS-II) uses ground-based germanium and silicon detectors to search for the scattering of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), which are among the leading candidates for the dark matter component of the universe. Using the ionization and athermal phonons measured in particle interactions, CDMS-II is able to achieve excellent discrimination between the nuclear recoils expected for WIMP interactions and radioactively produced electron recoils. With the rise of interest in the low energy interactions of light mass WIMPs, CDMS-II has undertaken a search for an annually modulating signal at low thresholds. Previous results detailed the analysis of data from eight germanium detectors over the course of six runs, to thresholds of 5 keVnr (nuclear recoil energy). We will discuss the impact of systematics at these low thresholds and their implications for thresholds down to 2.27 keVnr.
Speaker: Ms Danielle Speller (UC Berkeley)
• 19:30
The GALATEA teststand: firsts results. 2h 30m
"The test-facility GALATEA and some preliminary results are presented. GALATEA is a test-stand designed to study the properties of Germanium detectors in detail. It is a powerful high precision tool to investigate bulk and surface effects in germanium detectors. A vacuum tank hauses a cooled detector volume and a system of three stages which allow a complete scan of a detector. At current, a 19-fold segmented Germanium detector is under investigation. The main feature of GALATEA is that there is no material between source and detector. This allows the usage of alpha and beta sources as well as of a laser beam to study surface effects. First results will be presented."
Speaker: Matteo Palermo (Max Plank Institut fur Physik, Munich)
• 19:30
The LUX Experiment: Background Modeling and Sensitivity Projections 2h 30m
The LUX experiment takes advantage of the self-shielding capabilities of liquid xenon to create a nearly background-free fiducial volume. This will allow for unambiguous detection of WIMP-like nuclear recoils. LUX has been designed with the goal of $<10^{-3}$~event/kg/keV/day, corresponding to $<$1~background event in 300~livedays, and a virtually background-free month-long initial science run. The ultimate 90\% exclusion WIMP limit of the experiment after a 30000~kg~day run is projected to reach 4$\times$10$^{-46}$~cm$^2$ for a WIMP mass of 100~GeV. This talk will discuss background projections from the LUX material screening program, as well as modeling of cosmogenic and intrinsic background sources in the Xe.
Speaker: Dr David Malling (Brown University)
• 19:30
The Majorana Demonstrator Calibration System 2h 30m
The Majorana Demonstrator aims to show the feasibility of reducing backgrounds in the search for 0νββ decay of 76Ge below 1 count/tonne*year in the 4keV ROI around the Q-value at 2039 keV. In pursuit of this goal, we must characterize individual detectors for both energy resolution and pulse response. We discuss the basic requirements of the Majorana calibration system as informed by Monte-Carlo methods, it's physical design, and the automated line source deployment mechanism we've produced to achieve these goals.
Speaker: Dr Johnny Goett (Los Alamos National Laboratory P-23)
• 19:30
The Majorana low background low noise front-end electronics 2h 30m
The Majorana Demonstrator will search for the neutrinoless double beta decay (ββ0ν) of the isotope 76Ge with a mixed array of enriched and natural germanium detectors. In view of the next generation of tonne-scale germanium-based ββ0ν-decay searches that will probe the neutrino mass scale in the inverted-hierarchy region, a major goal of the Majorana Demonstrator is to demonstrate a path forward to achieving a background rate at or below 1 cnt/(ROI-t-y) in the 4 keV region of interest (ROI) around the 2039-keV Q-value of the 76Ge ββ0ν-decay. Such a requirement on the background level in conjunction with the best possible energy resolution to increase the signal-to-noise ratio in the ROI significantly constrain the readout electronics. We present here the low background low noise front-end electronics developed for the low-capacitance P-type point-contact (PPC) germanium detectors of the Majorana Demonstrator. This resistive-feedback front-end, specifically designed to have low mass, is fabricated on a radioactivity-assayed fused silica substrate where the feedback resistor consists of a sputtered thin film of high purity amorphous germanium and the feedback capacitor is based on the stray capacitance between circuit Au traces.
Speaker: Dr Nicolas Abgrall (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL))
• 19:30
The new wide-band solar neutrino trigger for Super-Kamiokande 2h 30m
Super-Kamiokande (SK) observes low-energy electrons induced by the elastic scattering of ${^8}$B solar neutrinos. The current 4.5 MeV kinetic energy threshold of the recoil electrons in SK leaves the transition region between vacuum and matter oscillations (with neutrino energy near 3 MeV) still partially unexplored. To study this intermediate regime, a new software trigger, the Wide-band Intelligent Trigger (WIT), has been developed to simultaneously trigger and reconstruct very low-energy electrons (above 2.5 MeV) with an efficiency close to 100\%. The WIT system, comprising twelve computers and one 10 GbE network switch, has been recently installed and integrated in the online DAQ system of SK and the complete system has just begun online data testing. Prospects and validation of the WIT system are presented.
Speaker: Dr Giada Carminati (University of California, Irvine)
• 19:30
The positron density in the intergalactic medium and the galactic 511 keV line 2h 30m
The 511 keV electron-positron annihilation line, most recently characterized by the INTEGRAL/SPI experiment, is highly concentrated towards the Galactic centre. Its origin remains unknown despite decades of scrutiny. We propose a novel scenario in which known extragalactic positron sources such as radio jets of active galactic nuclei (AGN) fill the intergalactic medium with MeV e+e- pairs, which are then accreted into the Milky Way. We show that interpreting the diffuse cosmic radio background (CRB) as arising from radio sources with characteristics similar to the observed cores and radio lobes in powerful AGN jets suggests that the intergalactic positron-to-electron ratio could be as high as 10^{-5}, although this can be decreased if the CRB is not all produced by pairs and if not all positrons escape to the intergalactic medium. Assuming an accretion rate of one solar mass per year of matter into the Milky Way, a positron-to-electron ratio of only 10^-7 is already enough to account for much of the 511 keV emission of the Galaxy. A simple spherical accretion model predicts an emission profile highly peaked in the central bulge, consistent with INTEGRAL observations. However, a realistic model of accretion with angular momentum would likely imply a more extended emission over the disk, with uncertainties depending on the magnetic field structure and turbulence in the galactic halo.
Speaker: Aaron Vincent (University Valencia)
• 19:30
The Precision Tracker of the OPERA Detector 2h 30m
The long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment OPERA has been designed for the direct observation of $\nu_\tau$ appearance in the CNGS $\nu_\mu$ beam. The OPERA detector, located at the LNGS underground laboratory, consists of two identical Super Modules (SM): A target region composed of about 75000 Emulsion Cloud Chamber modules - providing micrometric resolution - and scintillator strips, followed by a magnetic spectrometer that consists of dipole magnets, Resistive Plate Chamber detectors (RPC) and the Precision Tracker drift tube detector (PT). The main task of the PT is the determination of the muon momentum and charge sign - thereby suppressing the important background from charmed particle decays to the muonic signal decay channel $\tau^- \rightarrow$\mu^- \nu_\tau \overline\nu_\mu$. Details on the PT architecture and performance will be presented. Speaker: Ms Annika Hollnagel (Hamburg University) • 19:30 Ton-scale Xenon Gas TPC Concept for Simultaneous Searches for WIMP Dark Matter with Directional Sensitivity and Neutrino-less Double Beta Decay 2h 30m (On behalf of the NEXT Collaboration) Xenon is an especially attractive candidate for both direct WIMP and 0-ν ββ decay searches; current sensitivity goals indicate the need for ton-scale active masses for both searches. Although the current experimental trend has emphasized the liquid phase, gas phase xenon displays much smaller deposited energy fluctuations between scintillation and ionization, and hence offers substantial performance advantages for energy resolution and discrimination between electron and nuclear recoils. Remarkably, gas phase xenon may also display directional sensitivity to nuclear recoils–even at densities far above one bar, a plausible advance in monolithic active mass of more than three orders of magnitude relative to current low-pressure TPC concepts. For the 0-ν ββ decay search in 136Xe, our results, obtained within the NEXT Collaboration, support the practicality of 0.5% FWHM energy resolution at the 2457.83 keV Q-value in this decay, and with 3-D topology visualization for γ-ray rejection. NEXT-100 provides an essential springboard to reach ton-scale active mass with xenon gas for both goals. I describe a scenario for performing both searches in a single high-pressure ton-scale xenon gas detector, without significant compromise to either. In an era of deepening fiscal austerity, such a dual-purpose detector¬–realizable at acceptable cost and within the time frame of interest– deserves our collective attention. Speaker: Dr David Nygren (LBNL) • 19:30 Trigger and analysis tools for Dark Matter Search in CUORE-0 2h 30m CUORE-0 is the prototype tower of the 19 scheduled for the CUORE detector, an experiment that will search for neutrinoless double beta decay. Given the achievable low energy threshold, the large mass and the good energy resolution, also Dark Matter (DM) studies are feasible. Here are presented the trigger algorithm used for the DM search and the obtained results, in terms of detection efficiency and energy threshold. New analysis tools to remove false signals such as spikes and noise are described. Speaker: Dr Gabriele Piperno (INFN Roma1) • 19:30 Validation of Parylene coating to suppress alpha contamination on the copper surface in CUORE bolometers 2h 30m Background rate reduction is of utmost importance for neutrinoless double beta decay experiments like CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events). A major source of background for CUORE comes from surface contamination from inert materials, mainly degraded alphas from the supporting copper structure of the bolometer modules. We investigated a novel alpha background suppression technique using conformal polymer coating with Parylene in a bolometric validation run. A 50 micron thick layer of Parylene coating on the copper structure surface was chosen to effectively range out degraded alphas. The measured alpha background rate and its implications will be discussed. Speaker: Brian Zhu (UCLA) • Thursday, 12 September • 14:00 15:40 Atmospheric Neutrinos II • 14:00 Atmospheric neutrino oscillation and mass hierarchy determination in Super-Kamiokande 20m Oscillation of nu_mu to nu_e driven by non-zero theta_13 mixing angle is expected to be influenced by matter effect, especially in the multi-GeV energy region. Since matter effect occurs on either neutrino or anti-neutrino depending on mass hierarchy, it is possible to deduce mass hierarchy by investigating nu_e oscillation separately for neutrino and anti-neutrino. In this talk, we will report on the study of mass hierarchy determination using atmospheric neutrino data along with the latest oscillation analysis result. Speaker: Kimihiro Okumura (ICRR,University of Tokyo) • 14:20 Measurement of atmospheric neutrino oscillations with IceCube 20m With its low-energy extension DeepCore, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the geographic South Pole is able to identify neutrino events with energies as low as 10 GeV. This permits investigation of the oscillations of atmospheric muon neutrinos by observing their zenith angle and energy dependent disappearance. Maximum disappearance is expected for vertically upward moving events at around 25 GeV. A first analysis has rejected the no-oscillation hypothesis with a significance of more than 5 standard deviations, using the zenith angle information only. Newer, more advanced analyses include an energy estimator and use more refined event selection techniques, yielding datasets with much larger statistics. This talk will discuss these new methods and present the new results, which improve the precision of the measurement of the oscillation parameters by IceCube. Speaker: Sebastian Euler (RWTH Aachen University) • 14:40 New Limits on Sterile Neutrino Mixing with Atmospheric Neutrinos 20m We present new limits on mixing between active and sterile neutrinos using more than 11 years of atmospheric data from the Super Kamiokande experiment. SuperK observes neutrinos over a wide range of energies and path lengths, allowing us to search for sterile neutrino signatures that are independent of theoretical ambiguities such as the precise new mass splitting or the number of sterile neutrinos. We place limits on the mixing between a new sterile mass state and the muon and tau flavor states. The muon-sterile mixing, in this context, is analogous to searches for muon neutrino disappearance at short baselines while the tau-sterile mixing can only be observed at long baselines. Speaker: Alexander Himmel (Duke) • 15:00 Status of the KM3NeT project 20m KM3NeT aims at the construction of a high energy neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea. Due to its location and its large size (several km3) it is the optimal instrument to investigate neutrinos from the Southern sky and in particular from the Galactic plane, thus making it complementary to IceCube. The initial, EU-funded stages (Design Study and Preparatory Phase Study) have been completed and now a first construction phase has started. The full KM3NeT detector will be a distributed, networked infrastructure made of several blocks, each with about one hundred Detection Units (DU), i.e. vertical structures hosting the photo-sensors. In Italy, off the coast of Capo Passero, and in France, off the coast of Toulon, the construction of the infrastructures hosting the future KM3NeT blocks is in progress. The technological features of the KM3NeT detector and the capability of KM3NeT to discover Galactic sources will be discussed. Moreover, the construction of these large deep-sea infrastructures will allow for collaboration with groups active in the field of marine and geophysics sciences. Some examples of such interdisciplinary collaboration will be highlighted. Speaker: Dr Rosa Coniglione (INFN - Laboratori Nazionali del sud) • 15:20 Self-induced flavor evolution of supernova neutrinos without axial symmetry 20m Supernova neutrinos experience self-induced flavor conversions associated with the neutrino-neutrino interactions in the deepest stellar regions. In this context, we perferm the first numerical simulations of the self-induced neutrino evolution incluing the azimuthal angle of neutrino propagation as an explicit variable. Without enforcing the axial symmetry of the solution, we find that new suprising results can occur. In particular, a new flavor instability develops in normal mass hierarchy leading to large flavor conversions. Depending on the intial differences of the neutrino fluxes, these can lead to peculiar spectral splits or to flavor decoherence of the neutrino ensemble. Speaker: Prof. Alessandro Mirizzi (Hamburg University) • 14:00 15:40 Dark Matter VII Conveners: Frank Calaprice (Princeton Univ.), Graciela Gelmini (UCLA), Maria Luisa Sarsa (Univ. Zaragosa), Stefano Scopel (Sogang Univ) • 14:00 Dark matter searches at the LHC 20m We present results of searches for dark matter particles in ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC. Searches in hadron colliders focus on final states consisting of direct production of a pair of dark matter particles, which escape direct detection. Candidate events are selected as those having an initial-state radiation of a SM particle, such as a gluon or photon. These searches result in final states consisting of a high pt jet or photon, and large missing transverse energy. If the dark matter particles' couplings to up-type and down-type quarks have opposite signs, the mono-W boson production dominates. We report on the results of these searches in pp-collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected in 2012. The results are translated to bounds on the dark matter-nucleon scattering cross-section, which can be directly compared to those from the direct detection and the indirect detection experiments. Speaker: Artur Apresyan (Caltech) • 14:20 Indirect Searches for Dark Matter with the Fermi Large Area Telescope 20m There is overwhelming evidence that non-baryonic dark matter constitutes ~27% of the energy density of the universe. Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) are promising dark matter candidates that may produce gamma rays via annihilation or decay detectable by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi LAT). A detection of WIMPs would also indicate the existence of physics beyond the Standard Model. I will present recent results from indirect WIMP searches by the Fermi LAT Collaboration. Speaker: Andrea Albert (SLAC) • 14:40 Latest Results on Searches for Dark Matter from IceCube 20m The cubic-kilometer sized IceCube neutrino observatory, constructed in the glacial ice at the South Pole, offers new opportunities for neutrino physics with its in-fill array "DeepCore". IceCube searches indirectly for dark matter via neutrinos from dark matter self-annihilations and has a high discovery potential through striking signatures. We report on the latest results from searches for dark matter self-annihilations in the Milky Way and signals from the Sun. The latter are sensitive to the WIMP-proton scattering cross section, which initiates the WIMP capture process in the Sun. The latest limits from a search with the 79-string configuration of IceCube for WIMP masses in the range 20–5000 GeV are the most stringent spin-dependent WIMP-proton cross section limits to date above 35 GeV for most WIMP models. Speaker: Dr Matthias Danninger (Stockholm University) • 15:00 Search for the light WIMP captured in the Sun using contained events in Super-Kamiokande 20m Super-Kamiokande can search for the dark matter by detecting neutrinos and muons which are produced by WIMP pair annihilations occur inside the Sun. Huge gravity and hydrogen rich composition of the Sun combined with high sensitivity of Super-Kamiokande for low energy(few GeV) neutrinos allow us to reach good sensitivity to light(few GeV to few 10 GeV) WIMP dark matter, especially for spin-dependent coupling case. In this analysis, we increased signal acceptance by using fully-contained and partially-contained neutrino events adding to up-going muons. Also we used minimum χ2 method to find the allowed contribution of WIMP-induced neutrino events added to large back ground of atmospheric neutrino events. For that, we fitted data using energy and direction informations up to recent data of Super-Kamiokande IV. We found no signal observed and the null result is interpreted as upper limit on the spin-dependent WIMP-proton elastic scattering cross section for \chi\chi-->b\bar{b} and \chi\chi-->\tau\tau WIMP annihilation channels. Our result shows current best limit for WIMP mass below 100GeV among current WIMP direct detections & indirect detections using neutrino flux. Speaker: Koun Choi (Nagoya University) • 15:20 The Search for Dark Matter with The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory 20m The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory is a wide field-of-view detector sensitive to 100 GeV - 100 TeV gamma rays and cosmic rays. Located at an elevation of 4100 m on the Sierra Negra mountain in Mexico, HAWC observes extensive air showers from gamma and cosmic rays with an array of water tanks which produce Cherenkov light in the presence of air showers. With a field-of-view capable of observing 2/3 of the sky each day, and a sensitivity of ~1 Crab/day, HAWC will be able to map out the sky in gamma and cosmic rays in detail. In this talk, I will discuss the capabilities of HAWC to map out the directions and spectra of TeV cosmic rays as well as its sensitivity to multiple extended sources of dark matter annihilation. I will also show some current cosmic ray and dark matter results from the portion of the detector already built, HAWC-100. Speaker: Dr J. Patrick Harding (Los Alamos National Laboratory) • 14:00 15:40 Gravitational Waves II: Multi-messenger Analysis • 14:00 The explosion dynamics of core-collapse supernovae and its multi-messenger signatures 20m Based on our three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of core-collapse supernovae (CCSN) including spectral neutrino transport, we present the gravitational-wave signatures emitted from a wide variety of SN progenitors. We also discuss how we can learn about the supernova mechanism by taking a correlation analysis between the gravitationa-wave and neutrino signatures particularly in the case of the next Galactic source. Speaker: Kei Kotake (Fukuoka University) • 14:20 Observing Gravitational Waves from the Next Nearby Core-Collapse Supernova 20m The next galactic core-collapse supernova (CCSN) has already exploded, and its electromagnetic waves, neutrinos, and gravitational waves may arrive at any moment. We present a method for detecting GWs from CCSNe with a network of ground-based laser interferometers, triggered by electromagnetic or neutrino observations. Using such triggers, the uncertainty in the signal arrival time is greatly reduced and the source's sky position is constrained, limiting the relevance of the non-Gaussian detector noise background. Employing an excess-power search algorithm, we present sensitivity estimates for GW signals predicted by six different emission models, in the context of the first and second-generation of ground-based GW detectors. Furthermore, we discuss the prospects for constraining the CCSN explosion mechanism from GW signals, using Bayesian model selection, and introduce preliminary work on parameter estimation to uncover previously unattainable knowledge about the progenitor star of the CCSN. Speaker: Ms Sarah Gossan (California Institute of Technology) • 14:40 Delayed Outflows from Accretion Disks formed in Neutron Star Binary Mergers 20m Detecting the electromagnetic counterpart of a neutron star binary merger increases the amount of information that can be extracted from the gravitational wave signal. Material ejected dynamically during the first ~10 milliseconds after the merger is a known source for this electromagnetic emission. A separate channel for mass ejection arises from the viscous evolution of the remnant accretion disk, on a timescale of a few seconds after the merger. Here I'll present results of two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of this long-term disk evaporation. The combined action of viscous heating and nuclear recombination result in the ejection of ~10% of the disk mass in a quasi-spherical outflow, with thermodynamic properties such that the production of heavy r-processes elements (A>130) is expected. Given this composition, this material should produce an electromagnetic transient that peaks in the near infrared wavelength range, evolving on a timescale of ~1 week, similar to the expected emission from the dynamical ejecta. Speaker: Rodrigo Fernandez (UC Berkeley) • 15:00 Detection and Localization of Gravitational Wave Transients: The Early Years 20m The Advanced LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave interferometers are expected to begin science operations in the second half of this decade. Based on the predicated rates for compact binary mergers and the strain sensitivity, the Advanced LIGO / Virgo network is expected to make the first direct observations of gravitational waves. In addition, some sources of gravitational radiation are expected to produce signatures in the electromagnetic spectrum as well, including optical, x-ray and radio wavelengths. Simultaneous measurements of gravitational and electromagnetic radiation could provide a powerful new probe for astronomy. In this presentation, I'll describe the projected schedule, sensitivity and sky localization accuracy of the Advanced detector network. Speaker: Dr Larry Price (Caltech) • 15:20 General-relativistic Simulations of Three-dimensional Core-collapse Supernovae 20m Despite decades of effort, the explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae is still not well understood. Spherically-symmetric models fail to explode, suggesting that multi-dimensional effects are of crucial importance. Studies in axisymmetry (2D) reveal that the standing accretion shock instability (SASI) and neutrino-driven convection are pivotal ingredients for successful explosions. Axisymmetry, however, is a rather poor approximation of this scenario. 3D studies, on the other hand, are still in their infancy and often employ crude approximations. As a result, the exact role of the SASI and convection is still not well established. In this talk, I will present our 3D general-relativistic simulations of a 27 solar-mass star. We investigate the postbounce hydrodynamics with particular attention to the development and properties of neutrino-driven convection and SASI as well as their role in facilitating explosion. Speaker: Dr Ernazar Abdikamalov (Caltech) • 14:00 15:40 Low Energy Neutrinos IV • 14:00 Daya Bay Reactor Antineutrino Experiment (presented by Jiajie Ling) 20m The neutrino mixing angle θ13 is the gateway to study CP violation and determines the trend of future neutrino experiments. The Daya Bay Reactor Antineutrino Experiment is designed to measure θ13 with a sensitivity of sin^2( 2θ13) < 0.01 at 90% C.L, utilizing multiple identical detectors placed underground at different baselines to minimize systematic errors and suppress cosmogenic backgrounds. The experiment published the latest result of sin^2(2θ13) = 0.089 +- 0.010(stat.) +- 0.005(syst.) from six antineutrino detectors collected data. An overview and result will be presented in this talk. Speaker: Mr Haoqi Lu (Institute of High Energy Physics) • 14:20 Double Chooz latest results 20m In this talk we present an update on the results of theDouble Chooz detector. This experiment searches for themixing angle,$\theta_{13}$, in the three-neutrino mixing matrix via the disappearance of$\bar \nu_e$produced by the dual 4.27 GWth Chooz B Reactors. We will show an update oscillation fit results using both the rate and the shape of the anti-neutrino energy spectrum. In the oscillation analysis we will include data with neutron capture on Gadolinium and Hydrogen and we will present the independent Reactor Rate Modulation (RRM) measurement of$\theta_{13}$and the agreement with the rate+shape results. This is an important step in our multi-years program to establish the value of$\theta_{13}$. We will also give an update on the construction of the Double Chooz Near Detector and projections of Double Chooz's future experimental sensitivity to measure$\sin^22\theta_{13}$-driven oscillations. Speaker: Camillo Mariani (Virginia Tech) • 14:40 Recent Results from RENO 20m Reactor Experiment for Neutrino Oscillation (RENO) is located in Hanbit nuclear power plant (16.5 GWth) site in S. Korea and has been successfully taking electron anti-neutrino data using two identical liquid scintillator detectors, near (294 m) and far (1.4 km), since August 2011. The smallest neutrino mixing angle, theta_13, was precisely measured (4.9 sigma) in 2012 using neutrino disappearance consistent with neutrino oscillation. An updated result (5.6 sigma) with increased statistics and reduced systematics was announced in early 2013. In this talk a new result will be presented based on even more data and further reduced systematics with few other improvements in data analysis. A precise measurement of reactor neutrino flux and spectrum will be also presented in comparison with expectations. Speaker: Seon-Hee Seo (Seoul National University) • 15:00 Reexamination of the Reactor Antineutrino Anomaly 20m The reactor neutrino anomaly [1] refers to a greater than 3 deficit between the number of neutrinos detected relative to the number that are predicted in short baseline reactor neutrino oscillation experiments. The prediction for the expected number of detected neutrinos has evolved upward over time, largely as a consequence of a predicted increased in the neutrino flux and an increased cross section associated with smaller values for the neutron lifetime. The changes in the predicted neutrino flux are mostly associated with improved knowledge of the beta decays of the isotopes created in fission reactors. If not an artifact, such an anomaly is potentially extremely significant, as a shortfall in the detected neutrino flux could be ascribed to oscillation into a light sterile neutrino with a mass ~ 1ev. An analysis [2] that sought to improve the earlier flux estimations based on the ILL on-line measurements [3-6] of the integral beta spectrum of the reactor fission products resulted in a systematic increase in the antineutrino flux. Because the beta spectra from reactor fission products involve about six thousand beta transitions, ~1500 of which forbidden transitions, some assumptions are required to deduce the antineutrino flux from a measured beta spectrum. A second independent analysis [7], that used similar assumptions to [2], confirmed the predicted increase in reactor antineutrino fluxes. The present contribution questions whether the previous analyses properly accounted for the forbidden nature of many (~30%) decays present in the aggregate fission spectra. We find that the uncertainty in how to treat these forbidden transitions is large, and our analysis indicates that the resulting uncertainty in the aggregate antineutrino spectra is larger than the size of the original anomaly. This suggests that earlier conclusions on the reactor neutrino anomaly need to be revisited. In addition, analyses of medium and long baseline reactor experiments, that placed small uncertainties on fission antineutrino spectra may also need to be revisited. [1] G. Mention et. al., Phys. Rev. D83 073006 (2011) [2] Th. A. Mueller et. al., Phys. Rev. C83 054615 (2011) [3] K. Schreckenbach et.al., Phys. Lett. B93 251 (1981) [4] F. von Feilitzsch et. al., Phys. Lett. B118 162 (1982) [5] K. Schreckenbach et.al., Phys. Lett. B160 325 (1985) [6] A.A. Hahn et.al., Phys. Lett. B218 365 (1989) [7] P. Huber, Phys. Rev. C84 024617 (2011) Speaker: Anna Hayes (Los Alamos National Laboratory) • 15:20 Future reactor neutrino experiments 20m The status and prospects for two future reactor neutrino experiments, JUNO and RENO-50, will be presented. Both experiments propose to use liquid scintillator detectors with an order of magnitude more mass and a factor of five more photoelectrons than extant detectors in order to resolve the neutrino mass hierarchy. The capability to resolve the hierarchy and make precision measurements of other neutrino parameters will be discussed. Speaker: David Jaffe (BNL) • 14:00 15:40 Underground Laboratories/ Large Detectors I • 14:20 Activites at Modane Underground Laboratory 20m The Modane Underground Laboratory (LSM) is located in the Fréjus roadway tunnel between France and Italy and operated since 1981. It is protected by 1700 m of rock (4800 meter water equivalent) leading to a residual muon flux of 4 muons/m2/day. The laboratory has a surface of 400 m2 and a volume of 3500 m3. LSM is operated in France by CNRS and CEA and has an agreement of International associated laboratory with JINR Dubna and CTU Prague. The low background conditions allow to host experiments looking for neutrino properties (NEMO/SuperNEMO, SEDINE, TGV) and Dark Matter (EDELWEISS). For material screening, low background High Purity Ge diodes have been developped. These detectors are also used for environmental researches (oceanography, climat, cryosphere studies, retro-observation, etc… ), environmental survey and for some applications. The laboratory hosts also test benches for the micro/nano-electronics to test failures due to the alpha radioactivity of the materials, researches on biology to understand the effects of natural radioactivity on bacteria. The laboratory wil host an optical atomic clock for some tests of relativity. An extension of the laboratory, five times the volume of the present LSM, is under study to profit of the digging of the safety galery parallel the present tunnel. This extension will host the next generation of detectors for neutrino and astroparticle experiments as well as experiments for environmental researches, biology and microelectronics. Speaker: Dr Fabrice Piquemal (CNRS) • 14:40 The SNOLAB Science Programme 20m Several of the major questions studied in contemporary astro-particle and sub-atomic physics are performed through weak interaction studies or rare event searches. These require the ultra-quiet environment afforded by deep underground facilities, where the cosmic radiation induced backgrounds in the detection systems are reduced to a manageable level, and local ambient radioactivity reduced by shielding and low-background detector construction. The science programme at SNOLAB, the Canadian deep underground facility, will be described, to provide an overview of the science strands than can be explored with such a facility. These include direct searches for the Galactic dark matter, the study of fundamental neutrino properties through the search for neutrino-less double-beta decay in candidate isotopes, and the study of non-terrestrial sources of neutrinos. Speaker: David Sinclair (Carleton University) • 15:00 ANDES: an underground laboratory in South America 20m ANDES (Agua Negra Deep Experiment Site) is an underground laboratory, proposed to be built inside the Agua Negra road tunnel that will connect Chile (IV Region) with Argentina (San Juan Province) under the Andes Mountains. The Lab will be 1750 meters under the rock, becoming the 3rd deepest underground lab in the world, and the first in the Southern Hemisphere. ANDES will be an international Lab, managed by a Latinamerican Consortium. We plan to host experiments in Particle and Astroparticle Physics, such as Neutrino and Dark Matter detection, in Geology and Geophysics, Seismology, Biology and to develop low background instrumentation, among other possibilities. In this talk we will present general features of the proposed Lab, the current status of the project and some of its opportunities for science. Speaker: Dr Claudio Dib (U. Federico Santa Maria, Valparaiso, Chile) • 15:20 Towards a South African Underground Laboratory 20m Over the past two years there has been discussion among South African physicists about the possibility of establishing a deep underground physics laboratory to study, amongst others, double beta decay, geoneutrinos, reactor neutrinos and dark matter. As a step towards a full proposal for such a laboratory a number of smaller programmes are currently being performed to investigate feasibility of the Huguenot Tunnel in the Du Toitskloof Mountains near Paarl (Western Cape, South Africa) as a possible sight for the South African Underground Laboratory facility. The programme includes measurements of radon in air (using electret ion chambers and alpha spectroscopy), background gammaray measurements (inside/outside) the tunnel using scintillator (inorganic) detectors, cosmic ray measurements using organic scintillators and radiometric analyses of representative rock samples. Speaker: Prof. Shaun Wyngaardt (Stellenbosch University) • 15:40 The Second-Phase Development of the China JinPing Underground Laboratory for Physics Rare-Event Detectors and Multi-Disciplinary Sensors The expansion of the China JinPing Laboratory (CJPL) is planned along a main branch of a bypass tunnel in the JinPing tunnel complex during 2013 -2015. This second phase of CJPL will have laboratory space increased to approximately 80,000m3, from existing main hall volume of nearly 2,000m3. One configuration designed has eight additional hall spaces planned, with each over 60 m long, width in the order of 12 m, and overburdens in access of 2 km, in the direction parallel to and away from the main water transport and auto traffic tunnels. It is noted that there are additional possibilities of further expansions at a nearby second bypass tunnel and along the entrance and exit branches of both bypass tunnels, making the expanded CJPL comparable in size to the space available at Gran Sasso. Concurrently with the excavation activities, there are plans being formed for dark matter search and other rare-event detectors as well as for geophysics/engineering and other coupled multi-disciplinary sensors. In the town meeting on September 8, 2013 at Asilomar, CA, associated with the 13th International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics (TAUP), discussions included one-ton expansions of current CJPL setups of Germanium detector in the China Darkmatter EXperiment (CDEX) and two-phase Xenon detector of the PandiX experiment, other dark matter detectors, scintillation solar neutrino detectors, neutrino-less double beta detectors, nuclear astrophysics synthesis accelerators, bubble chamber room temperature detectors, and many other experimental and detector ideas from many contributions and during the panel discussions. Examples of geophysics/engineering sensor included rock burst monitoring with acoustic emissions during excavation and in long-term monitoring phases, coupled process in situ measurements, local, regional, and global monitoring of seismic-induced radon emission and electromagnetic signals, and other studies. Additional ideas and projects are expected to be developed in the next few years, pending on China’s domestic needs and international demands of the world deepest and relatively large spaces associated with underground sciences. Speaker: Joseph S.Y. Wang (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) • 15:40 16:00 Break 20m • 16:00 18:00 Dark Matter VIII • 16:00 PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF ANAIS-25 AT THE CANFRANC UNDERGROUND LABORATORY 20m The ANAIS (Annual Modulation with NaI(Tl) Scintillators) experiment aims at the confirmation of the DAMA/LIBRA signal using the same target and technique at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory. 250 kg of ultrapure NaI(Tl) crystals will be used as target, divided into 20 modules, 12.5 kg mass each, and coupled to two high efficiency photomultipliers. The ANAIS-25 set-up consists of two prototypes, grown from a powder having a potassium level under the limit of our analytical techniques: 25 kg NaI(Tl) target in total. Preliminary results will be presented. The background measured by these two modules has been carefully studied: their natural potassium content in the bulk has been quantified, as well as the uranium and thorium radioactive chains presence in the bulk through the discrimination of the corresponding alpha events by PSA and coincidence techniques, and due to the fast commissioning, the contribution from cosmogenic activated isotopes is clearly identified and their decay observed along the first months of data taking. Background seems to be nicely explained by our background model carried out with a Geant4 simulation and previously applied to another prototype, ANAIS-0, having a much larger potassium content. We will present also other related results concerning bulk NaI(Tl) scintillation events selection, light collection efficiency, environmental parameters in the laboratory and very slow scintillation time constants in our detectors. Speaker: Maria Luisa Sarsa (Univ. Zaragosa) • 16:20 SABRE: A new NaI(Tl) dark matter direct detection experiment 20m SABRE (Sodium-iodide with Active Background REjection) is a new NaI(Tl) experiment designed to test the DAMA/LIBRA claim for a positive WIMP-dark matter annual modulation signal. SABRE will consist of highly pure NaI(Tl) crystals in an active liquid scintillator veto that will be placed deep underground. The scintillator vessel will provide a veto against external backgrounds and those arising from detector components, especially the 3 keV signature from the decay of 40K in the crystal. It will therefore allow for a sensitive measurement of the 40K levels in the crystals as they are developed. Through the use of the veto and crystal purification techniques, we aim for a 40K background 10 times lower than that of the DAMA/LIBRA experiment. We present our work developing low-background NaI(Tl) crystals with a highly pure NaI powder and the development of the veto technology. Speaker: Mrs Emily Shields (Graduate Student) • 16:40 KamLAND-PICO Dark Matter Search Project 20m The high sensitivity KamLAND-PICO project to search for WIMPS dark matter is proposed. A highly radiopure NaI(Tl) scintillator has been developed for the WIMPs search. The aim of this project is to prove/disprove the annual modulation reported by DAMA and to investigate further the WIMPs in the much lower cross section region. KamLAND acts as a high veto detector for PICO-LON NaI(Tl) detector. Finally 1 ton of NaI(Tl) will be installed into KamLAND to study the annual modulation with the sensitivity of 10−8 pb.for spin-independent WIMPs. In the present workshop, the recent progress of the NaI(Tl) scintillator development and the expected sensitivity will be discussed. Speaker: Prof. Ken-Ichi Fushimi (The Univ. of Tokushima) • 17:00 Limits on spin-independent couplings of WIMP dark matter with a p-type point- contact germanium detector 20m "We report new limits on spin-independent WIMP-nucleon interaction cross-section using 39.5 kg-days of data taken with a p-type point-contact germanium detector of 840 g fiducial mass at the Kuo-Sheng Reactor Neutrino Laboratory. Crucial to this study is the understanding of the selection procedures and, in particular, the bulk-surface events differentiation at the sub-keV range. The signal-retaining and background-rejecting efficiencies were measured with calibration gamma sources and a novel n-type point-contact germanium detector. Part of the parameter space in cross-section versus WIMP-mass implied by CoGeNT and other experiments is probed and excluded. Ref: H.B. Li et al., TEXONO Coll., arXiv:1303.0925 ; Phys. Rev. Lett., in press (2013)." Speaker: Shin-Ted Lin (Academia Sinica Taiwan) • 17:20 Recent constraints on axion-photon and axion-electron couplings with the CAST experiment 20m "Axions are DM candidates that can be produced in the solar core. The CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) is a helioscope looking for axions coming from the solar core to Earth. The experiment, located at Geneva (Switzerland) is able to follow the Sun during sunrise and sunset. Four x-ray detectors are mounted on both ends of the magnet waiting for a photon from axion-to-photon conversion due to the Primakoff effect. With the completion of Phases I and II, CAST has been able to scan for axions with masses up to 1.16eV. We will present recent constraints on the axion-photon coupling. Recently, non-minimal axion models are also receiving increasing attention. For instance, WD cooling hypothesis relies solely on the axion-electron coupling. Non-hadronic axion models, have a tree-level axion-electron interaction: the Sun produces a strong axion flux by bremsstrahlung, Compton scattering, and axio- recombination, the “BCA processes.” Based on a new calculation of this flux, including for the first time axio-recombination, we will also present limits on the axion-electron Yukawa coupling gae and axion-photon interaction strength gaγ using the CAST phase-I data (vacuum phase)." Speaker: Jaime Ruz (CERN) • 17:40 The recent status and prospect of CDEX experiment and China Jinping underground laboratory (presented by S.T. Lin) 20m CDEX collaboration has reported on a new experimental limit for WIMP dark matter using a 994 g p-type point-contact germanium (PPCGe) detector based on the China Jinping underground Laboratory (CJPL). The energy threshold achieved by the PPCGe detector was 400 eVee. According to the about 14.6 daykg live data, we placed the spin-independent cross-section N = 1.75 ×10-40 cm2 at 90% confidence level on the spin-independent cross-section at WIMP mass of 7 GeV before differentiating bulk signals from the surface backgrounds. CDEX 10kg-scale experiment based on 3-element Ge detector array and LAr cooling and active shielding system has also been setup for ground testing now. The CDEX-10 system will be install and run in 2014 at CJPL. CDEX experiment took place in the China Jin Ping underground Laboratory (CJPL) which was established at the end of 2010. CJPL has the deepest 2400 m rock overburden of all the operational underground laboratories for particle physics. Thus the cosmic-ray flux in CJPL is down to 61.7/year/m2, and this makes CJPL a very good site for ultra-low background experiments such as dark matter search, double beta decay, and so on. Tsinghua University collaborating with the Yalong River Hydropower Development Company of China has started to plan the CJPL phase-II design and construction. CJPL-II will has about 10000 m3 of space which is about 20 times larger than the recent CJPL-I. The large space of CJPL-II will house CDEX-1T experiment and other possible ultra-low background experiments in the world. Speaker: Dr Qian Yue (Tsinghua University) • 16:00 17:50 Double Beta Decay/ Neutrino Mass V • 16:00 Search for Neutrino-less Double Beta Decay with CANDLES 20m CANDLES is the project to search for neutrino-less double beta decay (0$\nu\beta\beta$) of$^{48}$Ca. 0$\nu\beta\beta$is acquiring great interest after the confirmation of neutrino oscillation which demonstrated nonzero neutrino mass. Measurement of 0$\nu\beta\beta$provides a test for the Majorana nature of neutrinos and gives an absolute scale of the effective neutrino mass. In order to search for 0$\nu\beta\beta$of$^{48}$Ca, we proposed CANDLES system by using CaF$_{2}$scintillators. The CANDLES system aims at a high sensitive measurement by a characteristic detector structure and$^{48}$Ca enrichment. The detector structure realizes a complete 4$\pi$active shield by immersion of the CaF$_{2}$scintillators in liquid scintillator. The active shield by the liquid scintillator leads to a low background condition for the measurement. On the other band,$^{48}$Ca enrichment is also effective for the high sensitive measurement, because natural abundance of$^{48}$Ca is very low (0.19\%). This means that an improvement of sensitivity by enrichment is a maximum of 20 times for the neutrino mass. However$^{48}$Ca enrichment is generally difficult and expensive. Therefore we started the study of$^{48}$Ca enrichment and succeeded in obtaining enriched$^{48}$Ca although it is a small amount. We have developed the CANDLES III system, which contained 350 g of$^{48}$Ca without enrichment, at the Kamioka underground laboratory. In 2012 we installed a light-concentration system in the CANDLES III system in order to improve a energy resolution. A photo-coverage was about twice larger than the one without the light-concentration system. And we started a 0$\nu\beta\beta$measurement and have data of a measurement time for 3 months. Here we will report the detector performance for background rejection, the result of the measurement and the expected sensitivity with the light-concentration system. Speaker: Dr Saori UMEHARA (Osaka University) • 16:20 Latest Results of the NEMO-3 Experiment and Status of SuperNEMO 20m The NEMO-3 experiment located in the Modane Underground Laboratory researched the neutrinoless double beta decay from 2003 to 2011. Seven isotopes were studied with the unique tracko-calo technique including the 2 most important in term of sensitivity with 7kg of 100Mo and 1kg of 82Se. No evidence for neutrinoless double beta decay has been observed but the limits set on the effective neutrino mass are among the best to date. At this TAUP 2013 conference we will present the latest results of this neutrinoless double beta decay search with the NEMO-3 experiment with the details of all the tests, calibrations and analyses proving we control the detector stability and backgrounds. The data will also be interpreted in terms of alternative models, such as weak right-handed currents or Majoron emission. The second part of this talk concerns the new generation SuperNEMO experiment under construction. We will present the status of this construction and the improvements foreseen compared to NEMO-3. The R&D started in 2007 and today all the requirements are achievable. The collaboration is now equipped with very sensitive complementary detectors (for radon: diffusion apparatus, concentration line and emanation tank and for radiopurity: BiPo, HPGe...). The first detector construction has started in 2012 and data taking should start by the end of 2014. Underground early commissioning of one quarter of tracker and one brick of calorimeter is expected by the end of this year. Speaker: Mathieu Bongrand (Orsay, LAL) • 16:40 Investigation of double beta decay of 100Mo to excited final states of 100Ru 20m Double beta decay of 100Mo to the excited states of daughter nuclei has been studied using a 600 cm3 low-background HPGe detector and an external source consisting of 2588 g of 97.5% enriched metallic 100Mo, which was formerly inside the NEMO-3 detector and used for the NEMO-3 measurements of 100Mo. The half-life for the two-neutrino double beta decay of 100Mo to the excited 0+1 state in 100Ru is measured to be T1/2 = [7.3 +- 0.6(stat) +- 0.6(syst)]x10^20 yr. For other (0v + 2v) transitions to the 2+1, 2+2, 0+2, 2+3 and 0+3 levels in 100Ru, limits are obtained at the level of ~ (0.25-1.1)x10^22 yr. All results are still preliminary. Speaker: Prof. Alexander Barabash (ITEP) • 17:00 Status of the DCBA/MTD experiment 20m Drift Chamber Beta-ray Analyzer (DCBA) experiment is a double beta decay experiment that uses drift chambers as the detector of beta-rays. Two beta-rays are emitted from Mo-100 (or Nd-150 in future) contained in a thin source plate that is placed between two drift chambers. By measuring helical trajectories of two beta-rays using drift chambers, one can extract full kinematics of a double beta decay. DCBA experiment is performed at KEK, Japan. Current experiment named DCBA-T2.5, is running since 2011. In this session, we present current status of the DCBA experiment and we also present the future project, Magnetic Tracking Detector (MTD) experiment. Speaker: Dr Hidekazu Kakuno (Tokyo Metropolitan University) • 17:20 The Nuclear Matrix Elements for 0nbb-Decay: Current Status 30m Nuclear physics is important for extracting useful information from the neutrinoless double beta decay data. Interpreting existing results as a measurement of efective Majorana neutrino mass depends crucially on the knowledge of the corresponding nuclear matrix elements (NMEs) that govern the decay rate. The NMEs for neutrinoless double beta decay must be evaluated using tools of nuclear structure theory. There are no observables that could be directly linked to the magnitude of neutrinoless double beta decay NMEs and, thus, could be used to determine them in an essentially model independent way. To this end, we review the sophisticated nuclear structure approaches which have recently been developed, and which give confidence that the required nuclear matrix elements can be reliably calculated employing different methods. Subject of interest are the accuracy and reliability of calculated NMEs associated with different neutrinoless double beta decay mechanisms (light and heavy neutrino exchange, R-parity breaking SUSY mechanisms). New results and analysis performed within the QRPA with a restoration of isospin symmetry are presented as well. Further, it is shown that it is possible to disentangle the various mechanisms and unambiguously extract the important neutrino-mass scale, if all the signatures of the reaction are searched for in a sufficient number of nuclear isotopes. Speaker: Prof. Fedor Simkovic (Comenius U. and JINR Dubna) • 16:00 17:40 High Energy Astrophysics IV • 16:00 High-energy observations of Supernova remnants 20m n recent years gamma-ray observations have significantly advanced our understanding of acceleration processes at work in Supernova remnants. Unprecedented morphological studies of TeV gamma-ray emission from shell-type Supernova remnants have shown a striking correlation to X ray emission. Energy spectra of up to 100~TeV confirm particle acceleration close to the knee'' in the Cosmic ray spectrum. The Fermi-LAT has been contributing to our understanding of these objects through observations in range between 20 MeV and 300 GeV. All these observations allow for the first time to severely constrain gamma-ray emission models and allow for studies of the parent population accelerated in these objects. I will review the current observational status of gamma-ray emission and our understanding of the origin of cosmic rays. Speaker: Prof. Stefan Funk (Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology) • 16:20 First Results from the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory 20m The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory is designed to observe extensive air showers produced by cosmic rays and gamma rays between 50 GeV and 100 TeV. HAWC is unique among TeV detectors because it can be used to observe air showers from a wide range of arrival directions, enabling us to perform a synoptic survey of the TeV sky. HAWC is also designed to have a high livetime (>90%), making the detector ideal for observations of transient sources such as gamma-ray bursts and flaring active galactic nuclei. While the observatory is only partially built, we have already accumulated one of the largest data sets of TeV air showers ever recorded. Using these data, we have observed a significant anisotropy in the arrival directions of the cosmic rays on angular scales >60 degrees and <20 degrees at the 10^-3 level. We will discuss the origin of the anisotropy and compare the results to previous observations by other cosmic ray experiments. We will also describe our ongoing program to observe gamma-ray bursts and flares in the TeV band and report current upper limits. Finally, we will discuss prospects for the observation of point-like and diffuse emission of TeV gamma rays when HAWC is completed in 2014. Speaker: Segev BenZvi (University of Wisconsin-Madison) • 16:40 LOFAR: air shower Xmax measurements with radio antennas 20m LOFAR is a multipurpose radio telescope which can be used for radio detection of cosmic rays while running astronomical observations at the same time. The core of LOFAR contains 2300 antennas within an area of four square kilometer. This high density makes it an ideal location for a detailed study of the radio signal of extensive air showers in the energy range 10$^{16}$- 10$^{18}$eV. We present an analysis of high quality LOFAR events for which the lateral distribution of the radio signal can be studied in 2D. For each event dedicated simulation sets for proton and iron primaries have been produced. The radio and particle data are fitted simultaneously to the simulation. The data shows excellent agreement with simulation, indicating that the complicated emission mechanism is now well-understood. Moreover, the depth of the shower maximum (Xmax) can be inferred with an accuracy that is comparable to the fluorescence detection technique. Speaker: Dr Stijn Buitink (KVI, University of Groningen, Netherlands) • 17:00 The mass composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays measured by new fluorescence detectors in Telescope Array experiment 20m The longitudinal development of an extensive air shower reaches its maximum at a depth, Xmax, that depends on the species of the primary cosmic ray. Using a technique based on Xmax, we measure the cosmic-ray mass composition from analyses of 3.7 years of monocular-mode operation of the newly constructed fluorescence detectors of the Telescope Array experiment. Speaker: Dr Toshihiro Fujii (University of Chicago) • 17:20 Measurement of the Muon Content of Air Showers with IceTop 20m IceTop, the surface component of the IceCube detector, has mea- sured the energy spectrum of cosmic ray primaries in the range be- tween 1.58 PeV and 1.26 EeV. This measurement was done by sam- pling the lateral distribution function at distances from the shower axis where the signal does not depend strongly on systematic variations in the muon content of the air showers. Since May 2010, an improve- ment in optical modules' readout enables the detection of muons at large distances from the shower axis. Using this feature, and detailed knowledge of the detector response, one can derive the average lateral distribution function of low energy muons at large distances from the shower axis. We will discuss how the resulting muon lateral distribu- tion function compares with previous measurements and current air shower simulations. Speaker: Dr Javier Gonzalez (University of Delaware) • 16:00 17:40 Neutrino Oscillations/ Neutrino Beams IV: Neutrino interactions and detection • 16:00 Neutrino Induced Dimuons and Coherent-Rho in NOMAD 20m Neutrino induced charm production, detected via charm's semi-muonic decay, offers the most precise quantification of the strange-sea and the mass-parameter of the charm quark, mc.. We have extracted 15k charm dimuon events in neutrino-Fe interactions in the NOMAD front calorimeter corresponding to a sample of 9M single muon events. The analysis leads to a measurement of the dimuon to single muon rate with a precision of ~2%. The key to this systematic precision is the high-resolution light target (drift chambers) data which yield the energy scale and the pion-induced backgrounds affecting this analysis. Within the NLO QCD formalism, we obtain the strange sea suppression factor of κs= 0.63 +- 0.04(Stat+Syst), and the mc = 1.058 +- 0.059 GeV/c2 (MS-bar scheme). Measurement of neutrino production of coherent mesons uniquely elucidates the space-time structure of the weak current, provides a clear probe to test the conserved vector current (CVC), and conveys the `hadronic-content' of the weak current. Once in every few hundred interactions, a high energy neutrino scatters coherently off the target nucleus producing a Rho meson, emitted collinearly with the incident neutrino, while the nucleus remains intact. Kinematically, the interaction is a very low four-momentum and high hadronic energy transfer process. In Neutral Current (NC) this results in a ρ0 and in Charged Current (CC) in a ρ+, where the two are related via the weak mixing angle. Using the NOMAD light target data, corresponding to a sample of$1.44M νμ-CC events in the energy range 2.5 - 300 GeV, we have conducted analyses of coherent ρ production in NC and CC. Clear signals are observed in both NC and CC. We report the rate of coherent ρ0 and ρ+ with respect to νμ-CC. The precision on coherent ρ+ is the best among all reported neutrino-induced coherent mesons to date.
Speaker: Dr Leslie Camilleri (Columbia University)
• 16:20
The MicroBooNE and ArgoNeuT Experiments 20m
Liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPC's) provide an extraordinary level of information about the interactions of neutrinos. Amongst the several different efforts ongoing at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory to develop the liquid argon detector technology and utilize it to study neutrino interactions are the MicroBooNE and ArgoNeuT experiments. The MicroBooNE experiment is a 170 ton total mass LArTPC. MicroBooNE will be deplooyed in the Booster neutrino beam at Fermilab and is scheduled to start taking data in early 2014. The ArgoNeuT experiment deployed a relatively small 0.7 ton total mass LArTPC in the NuMI neutrino beamline at Fermilab, running from September 2009 to February 2010. The data collected is now being analyzed and used to measure neutrino interaction cross-sections. This talk will present the current status of the assembly, installation, and operational readiness of the MicroBooNE detector, as well as ongoing analysis from ArgoNeuT data including a look at neutral current pi0 interactions from the NuMI beam.
• 16:40
Improving Dark Matter Searches by Measuring the Nucleon Axial Form Factor: perspectives from MicroBooNE 20m
The MicroBooNE neutrino experiment at Fermilab is constructing a liquid-argon time-projection chamber for the Booster Neutrino Beam to study neutrino oscillations and interactions with nucleons and nuclei, starting in 2014. We describe the experiment and focus on its unique abilities to measure cross sections at low values of Q2. In particular, the neutral-current elastic scattering cross section is especially interesting, as it is sensitive to the strange sea quark contribution to the angular-momentum of the nucleon, delta s. Implications for dark-matter searches are discussed.
Speaker: Dr Tia Miceli (NMSU)
• 17:00
The Cryogenic Apparatus for Precision Tests of Argon Interactions with Neutrino 20m
The Cryogenic Apparatus for Precision Tests of Argon Interactions with Neutrino (CAPTAIN) program is designed to make measurements of scientific importance to long-baseline neutrino physics and physics topics that will be explored by large underground detectors. CAPTAIN began as part of a Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project and has evolved into a multi-institutional collaboration. The CAPTAIN detector is a liquid argon time-projection chamber (TPC) deployed in a portable cryostat. Five tons of liquid argon are instrumented with a 2,000 channel TPC and a photon detection system. The cryostat has ports that can hold optical windows for laser calibration and for the introduction of charged particle beams. Assembly of the detector is underway. In this talk, we discuss the status of detector commissioning the physics program for CAPTAIN. The first stage of the program involves impinging a well-characterized neutron beam on the detector to take neutron data in a liquid argon TPC for the first time. The subsequent phase includes exposures to intense neutrino beams.
Speaker: Qiuguang Liu (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
• 17:20
Neutron detection and distinguishing high energy Anti-neutrinos in Super-Kamiokande 20m
When a neutrino undergoes a quasi-elastic charged current interaction, it will produce a neutron or a proton, depending on whether or not the neutrino was an antiparticle. These neutrons can be identified by the distinctive 2.2MeV γ-ray signal produced after neutron capture on hydrogen. I will discuss new techniques to detect these 2.2MeV γ-rays in Super Kamiokande, and application of these techniques to improve sensitivity to atmospheric anti-neutrinos.
Speaker: Tristan Irvine (--)
• 16:00 17:40
Underground Laboratories/ Large Detectors II
• 16:00
Future of Super-Kamiokande and Hyper-Kamiokande 20m
Super-Kamiokande(SK) discovered neutrino oscillations of atmospheric neutrinos and solar neutrinos. Also, theta_13 was discovered by the T2K experiment. The future operation of SK will improve accuracy of oscillation parameter measurements. Especially, mass hierarchy in atmospheric neutrinos, spectrum upturn due to the solar matter effect in solar neutrino measurement, and the comparison of T2K theta_13 with reactor theta_13 measurements (which gives possible hints of non-maximal theta_23 and CP phase) are interesting subjects of the future SK. In addition, a program for low energy anti-neutrino physics, called GADZOOKS!, has been proposed and intensive R&D studies have been performed. By dissolving 0.1% gadolinium to SK, anti-electron-neutrinos can be detected by delayed gamma ray emission from neutron capture. GADZOOKS! will observe supernova relic neutrinos, and improve angular resolution for supernova burst neutrinos. The finite theta_13 enables us to measure CP phase by comparing neutrino oscillations of nu_mu -> nu_e and anti_nu_mu -> anti_nu_e. For this purpose, a larger far detector volume is necessary. Hyper-Kamiokande(HK) will have 25 times larger fiducial volume size than SK. HK has a wide coverage for the CP phase measurement. Because of the large detector volume, HK has quite high sensitivities for mass hierarchy and theta_23 octant in atmospheric neutrinos, proton decay, and supernova neutrinos. In this talk, future programs of SK and physics potential of HK are discussed.
Speaker: Prof. Masayuki Nakahata (Kamioka observatory, ICRR, Univ. of Tokyo)
• 16:20
The LAGUNA-LBNO Project 20m
LAGUNA-LBNO is a Design Study funded by the European Commission to develop the de- sign of a deep underground neutrino observatory; its physics program involves the study of neutrino oscillations at long baselines, the investigation of the Grand Unification of elementary forces and the detection of neutrinos from known and unknown astrophysical sources. Building on the successful format and on the findings of the previous LAGUNA Design Study, LAGUNA-LBNO is more focused and is specifically considering Long Baseline Neutrino Oscillations (LBNO) with neutrino beams from CERN. Two sites, Fréjus (in France at 130 km) and Pyhasalmi (in Finland at 2300 km), are being considered. Three different detector technologies are being studied: Water Cherenkov, Liquid Scintillator and Liquid Argon. Recently the LAGUNA-LBNO consortium has submitted an Expression of Interest for a very long baseline neutrino experiment, selecting as a first priority the option of a Liquid Argon detector at Pyhasalmi.
Speaker: Margherita Buizza Avanzini (--)
• 16:40
GLACIER for LBNO: Physics motivation and R&D results 20m
"GLACIER is is a proposed giant liquid argon next-generation underground neutrino observatory scalable to masses of 100 kton. Equipped with double phase readout it provides excellent tracking and calorimetry performance that can outperform other techniques. As proposed by the future European Long Baseline Neutrino Oscillation program (LBNO), a neutrino beam from CERN with GLACIER as far detector would allow to precisely measure the neutrino mixing parameters, determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and test the existence of the CP-violating phase. At the same time, the detector could conduct astroparticle experiments of unprecedented sensitivity. GLACIER relies on novel technologies which are currently being tested on small scale prototypes. In the near future, we also plan to construct and operate larger devices. This talk, while covering the physics potential of GLACIER and of the LBNO program in general, will focus on the ongoing R&D towards the development of large double phase liquid argon detectors."
Speaker: Sebastian Murphy (CERN)
• 17:00
Testing the Pauli Exclusion Principle for Electrons at LNGS 20m
"One of the fundamental rules of nature and thus of modern physics is represented by the Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP). We know that this principle is extremely well fulfilled due to many observations. Many experiments were performed to search for a tiny violation of PEP in various systems with different assumptions. The experiment VIP at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory is searching for possible small violations of the Pauli Exclusion Principle for electrons leading to forbidden X-ray transitions in copper atoms. VIP is aiming at a test of the Pauli Exclusion Principle for electrons with high accuracy, down to the level of 10^(-29), thus greatly improving the previous limit.   The experimental method, results obtained so far and new developments of a follow-up experiment VIP2 at Gran Sasso to further increase the precision by 2 orders of magnitude will be presented."
Speaker: Johann Marton (Atefan Meyer institute, Viena)
• 17:20
The Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) 20m
The concepts for SURF were developed with the support of the US National Science Foundation as the site for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL). The US Department of Energy Office of High Energy Physics now supports the facility operation through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that in turn support very important efforts in direct detection of dark matter and neutrinoless double beta decay. SURF is being developed in the former Homestake Gold Mine, in South Dakota. Barrick donated the site to the State of South Dakota in 2003, following over 125 years of mining, which created over 600 km of tunnels and shafts in the facility, extending from the surface to over 8000 feet below ground. The philanthropist, T. Denny Sanford, gifted US\$70M, to convert the former mine into a laboratory and develop an education facility. The access to the underground has been rehabilitated and improved. The facility has been stabilized and the accumulated underground water has been pumped below the 6000L. The Davis Cavity at the 4850L has been enlarged and adapted primarily for dark matter experiments. A new laboratory has been excavated and outfitted adjacent to the Davis Cavity to host a neutrinoless double beta decay experiment. Additional science efforts are hosted throughout the facility, including an ultrapure detector development laboratory, multiple geoscience efforts, and a public outreach program. The science program for the coming ~ five years consists of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, the LUX dark matter search, the Center for Ultralow Background Experiments, and geoscience installations. Plans are advancing to host the Department of Energy’s Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment located at the 4850L, a nuclear astrophysics program, and subsequent 2nd and 3rd generation dark matter experiments. The SURF facility and its science programs will be presented.
Speaker: Kevin Lesko (LBNL)