INPA

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Erin Hansen (UC Berkeley)
2021-04-23 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Speaker: Erin Hansen (UC Berkeley)

Title: Progress on the search for 2νββ of 130-Te to excited states of 130-Xe with CUORE

Abstract:
The CUORE experiment is a ton-scale bolometric array searching for the lepton number violating neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) in the isotope 130-Te. While a discovery of 0νββ would herald new physics, the Standard Model process of two-neutrino double-beta decay (2νββ) in 130-Te has been measured in CUORE. In such cases where the isotope decays to an excited state of the daughter, 130-Xe, gammas are emitted leading to events whose energy is spread across multiple crystals. CUORE is currently searching for this decay mode, as understanding the branching ratio and spectral shape for such 2νββ decays to excited states can improve nuclear modelling and help constrain the matrix elements involved in searches for 0νββ. This talk will describe the status of and progress towards an improved search for 2νββ decays to excited states with an increased exposure of CUORE as well as additional analysis features. By exploiting the segmented nature of the CUORE detector, the scope of event signatures considered in the search is expanded and further accompanied by an improved efficiency of signal containment.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95917081698?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 959 1708 1698
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Walter Pettus (Indiana University)
2021-04-16 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Walter Pettus (Indiana University Bloomington)
Title: Project 8: Towards the Atomic Tritium Future of Direct Neutrino Mass Measurement
Abstract:
Neutrino flavor oscillations provided the first break in the Standard Model by proving that neutrinos have nonzero mass, but leave us with an unanswered question: How much mass? Project 8 is a next-generation experiment based on the novel Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) technique to perform a radio frequency-based measurement of the tritium beta spectrum. The goal of the phased program is to reach a mass sensitivity below 40 meV, completely covering the allowed region of the inverted mass ordering. In this talk, I will present results from the waveguide apparatus measurements of 83mKr and molecular tritium, demonstrating the capabilities of the CRES technique. Progress is underway on the next phase of the experiment focusing on a pair of critical technology demonstrations – scaling the CRES technique to a large free-space volume, and production and trapping of a high-intensity atomic tritium source.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/98529820162?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 985 2982 0162
Passcode: [REDACTED]

SPECIAL VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Roger Huang (UCB)
2021-04-14 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Roger Huang (UC Berkeley)
Title: 0νββ Search Results from One Ton-Year of CUORE Data
Abstract:
The search for neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) is currently the most sensitive way to test the hypothesis that neutrinos may be Majorana particles and obtain insight as to the nature of neutrino masses. CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events) first began taking data over 3 years ago and is now one of the leading experiments in the current international 0νββ landscape. It utilizes a cryogenic bolometric approach, operating 742 kg of TeO2 at a temperature of ~10 mK to search for the neutrinoless double beta decay of Te-130. This talk will present new results from the search for 0νββ with CUORE, coming from an analysis of data corresponding to over one ton-year of exposure.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95552707017?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 955 5270 7017
Passcode: [REDACTED]

NO VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021
2021-04-09 12:00 - 13:00

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Zoya Vallari (CalTech)
2021-04-02 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Zoya Vallari (California Institute of Technology)
Title: Neutrino Oscillation Results & Future Prospects of the NOvA Experiment
Abstract:
Neutrino mixing parameters are rapidly being measured to a higher precision by many experiments, however key questions such as mass hierarchy of neutrinos and CP violation in the lepton sector are still unanswered. NOvA is a long-baseline neutrino experiment that measures oscillation using the muon neutrinos and antineutrinos delivered by the NuMI beam at Fermilab. Neutrino oscillation is detected by observing appearance of electron (anti)neutrinos and disappearance of muon (anti)neutrinos at the Far Detector located near Ash River, MN, as compared to the Near Detector at Fermilab.
This talk will focus on the latest results from the joint analysis of neutrino and anti-neutrino oscillation by NOvA and highlight its current sensitivity to neutrino mixing and CP violating parameters. I will compare these results with other global results, specifically the T2K experiment, and outline the plans for the upcoming joint data analysis between the two experiments.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/99139885106?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 991 3988 5106
Passcode: [REDACTED]

NO VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR TODAY
2021-03-26 12:00 - 13:00, 2021-03-19 12:00 - 13:00

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Gadi Afek (Yale University)
2021-03-12 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Gadi Afek (Yale University)
Title: Searches For New Physics Using Levitated Optomechanics
Abstract:
In an attempt to provide further insight into one of the major questions of physics beyond the standard model, highly sensitive optomechanical sensors are employed utilizing techniques synchronous with those of the atomic physics community. These sensors are table-top experimental tools offering exquisite control of mechanical and electrical degrees of freedom and isolation from the environment. They enable unprecedented acceleration sensitivities for ~ng objects, while still maintaining the access needed to probe short-ranged dynamics. In my talk I will present the experimental setup and show results from two recent searches, one looking for small recoils from passing DM particles and the other for slight deviations from charge neutrality, opening a window into an exploration of dark matter particles bound to matter that may carry tiny electric charge. In both searches our results are complementary to much large-scale experiments.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/96643713841?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 966 4371 3841
Passcode: [REDACTED]
—

NO VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR
2021-03-05 12:00 - 13:00

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Jay Hun Jo (Yale University)
2021-02-26 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Jay Hun Jo (Yale University)
Title: Searching For Long Standing Anomalies In Particle Physics With COSINE-100 and MicroBooNE
Abstract:
Two of the most pressing questions in particle physics are the nature of the dark matter in the universe and understanding neutrinos – overall and as an explanation for our matter dominated universe. In each case, there are long standing anomalies which must be addressed for the fields to progress to new discoveries. DAMA’s claim of a dark matter-induced annual modulation signal is being addressed by the COSINE-100 experiment, a direct detection dark matter detector with the same sodium iodide detectors as DAMA. The short baseline anomaly which includes MiniBooNE’s LEE result, is being addressed by the MicroBooNE single-phase liquid argon time projection chamber. I will discuss recent results from COSINE-100 and the MicroBooNE experiment in these efforts.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/97940510926?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 979 4051 0926
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Zepeng Li (Yale University)
2021-02-19 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Zepeng Li (Yale University)
Title: Search For Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay In Liquid Xenon TPC
Abstract:
Search for neutrinoless double beta decay is a direct tool to investigate the Majorana nature of the neutrinos and mechanism of neutrino mass generation. Discovery of neutrinoless double beta decay would be a direct indication of lepton number violation, and provide a portal to probe physics beyond the Standard Model. The nEXO experiment, built on the success of EXO-200 experiment, will search for neutrinoless double beta decay of 136Xe using a large ultra-low background liquid xenon time projection chamber, nEXO has distinct advantages of good energy resolution, full 3-D reconstruction of energy depositions in the detector, and excellent self-shielding against external backgrounds, that will provide world-leading sensitivity to neutrinoless double beta decay. I will talk about the development of new experimental techniques for the nEXO experiment from both software and hardware perspectives.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/97776930106?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 977 7693 010
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Guang Yang (Stony Brook University)
2021-02-12 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Guang Yang (Stony Brook University)
Title: Securing An Accurate CP Violation Phase Measurement In DUNE
Abstract:
The requirements for a 5 non-zero delta CP violation phase measurement (if CP violation phase = -pi/2) are a wide-band muon neutrino beam, a 1,300 km baseline, an order of 10s kt fiducial mass detector with high particle identification efficiency and low external background. Additionally, the orders of uncertainty should be 2% for the signal and 5% for the background, which requires an unprecedented level of robustness and redundancy in the measurement. Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) plans to achieve this goal. In this talk, I will focus on some key concepts that were initiated by the Stony Brook Nucleon decay and Neutrino group. One of them is a new detector that is capable to detect the final state neutron kinetic energy named 3DST (3D projection scintillator tracker) and others include an idea to move part of the near detector system off-axis transverse to the beamline and employing a 10kt level water-based liquid scintillator detector as a far detector module.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95279935975?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 952 7993 5975
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Zack Li (Princeton Univ.)
2021-02-05 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Zack Li (Princeton University)
Title: “Enabling New Views of the Early Universe from the Atacama in the Next Five Years”
Abstract:
We’re producing some exciting Cosmic Microwave Background data with high-resolution, ground-based observations at 27 – 280 GHz, from experiments like ACT, SPT, and (soon) SO and CMB-S4. I’ll discuss present and future challenges for CMB data analysis, and show results from integrating Planck data analysis with the Simons Observatory power spectrum pipeline. I’ll also talk about prospects for these surveys to use the early Universe to detect the particle nature of dark matter, and briefly introduce a theory code intended for machine learning.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/97817863355?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 978 1786 3355
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Joseph DeRose (UC Santa Cruz)
2021-01-29 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Joseph DeRose (UC Santa Cruz)
Title: “Models of the Non-Linear Universe for Precision Cosmology”
Abstract:
Imaging and redshift surveys of galaxies and high resolution observations of the CMB promise to shed light on the physical nature of dark matter and dark energy in the coming decade. One of the main factors limiting the precision and accuracy of cosmological constraints coming from these measurements will be our understanding of how non-linear structure forms in our universe. In this talk I will present a roadmap for leveraging cosmological simulations to improve this understanding. First, I will discuss recent progress on combining perturbative models of structure formation with N-body simulations in order to obtain highly optimized predictions for real-space galaxy clustering and weak lensing, and describe how similar models might be used to confront a variety of observations. I will then show how realistic models of galaxy formation and evolution combined with contemporary machine learning techniques can be used as robustness tests for complex cosmological analyses, with case studies from the Dark Energy Survey and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/96158079387?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 961 5807 9387
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Tucker Elleflot (LBNL)
2021-01-22 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Tucker Elleflot (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
Title: Multiplexed Readout of Transition Edge Sensors for CMB Polarization Experiments
Abstract:
The polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) provides a valuable means to study the very early universe and high energy physics beyond the standard model. Remarkable experimental progress has been made on this front in the past decade. Modern experiments employ as many as O(10,000) Transition Edge Sensor (TES) bolometers and highly multiplexed readout systems, all operating below the photon noise level. My research has focused on the development of the sensors and multiplexing systems for CMB experiments. I will first describe my contributions to TES characterization for the POLARBEAR-2 experiment, emphasizing a specific systematic effect created by the multiplexing system. Next I will discuss my current research: taking the lessons learned from POLARBEAR-2 to develop an even higher performance multiplexing system for the next generation of CMB experiments such as CMB-S4 and LiteBIRD. I will end by noting potential applications of this work to dark matter direct detection experiments using TES calorimeters.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/92456461157?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 924 5646 1157
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Yifan Chen (Univ. of Bern)
2021-01-15 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Yifan Chen (University of Bern, Switzerland)
Title: Just A Little Kick: Low-Energy Transfer Muon-Neutrino νμ Charged-Current Interactions on Argon
Abstract:
Accelerator neutrino oscillation experiments provide a sensitive way to approach a few major open questions in neutrino physics. To achieve precision neutrino oscillation measurements, we need a better understanding of key aspects of the experiments, such as the detection technologies and neutrino interactions. In this talk, I will focus on low-energy transfer muon-neutrino charged-current interactions using the MicroBooNE detector, where the neutrinos give just a little kick to the target. Neutrino interactions are poorly understood at low-energy transfers. A number of experiments operating in few-GeV accelerator neutrino beams have found discrepancies between their measured data and model predictions in this region. We explore this region of phase space with Argon for the first time, which will be valuable for constraining uncertainties for future accelerator-based neutrino oscillation experiments. In particular, the short baseline neutrino program (SBN) and deep underground neutrino experiment (DUNE), both use Argon as their target material. In addition, MicroBooNE employs the same liquid argon time projection chamber detector technology as SBN and DUNE, which makes the detector physics studies carried out in this analysis an additional useful input for future neutrino oscillation experiments.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/96968189658?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 969 6818 9658
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Virtual INPA SEMINAR| Nguyen Phan (LANL)
2021-01-15 10:00 - 11:00
Speaker: Nguyen Phan (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
Title: “Understanding Electrical Breakdown in Liquid Helium through Analysis of the Empirical Breakdown Field Distributions”
Abstract:
Many present and future large-scale detectors in nuclear, particle, and astroparticle physics experiments will employ very high voltages and/or high electric fields inside a noble liquid detection medium. However, electrical breakdown in these dielectric materials is still poorly understood and may pose a challenge to the design and operation of such experiments. The neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) experiment currently being developed to be mounted at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will perform its measurements in superfluid helium with a target field of 75 kV/cm. Vital to achieving such a high field at large-scale is a better understanding of the breakdown phenomenon. To that end, we have collected data on the distribution of the breakdown voltages for small stainless steel electrodes with different surface polishes immersed in liquid helium, at various temperature and pressures, with the goal of providing guidance on the design of the high voltage system for the nEDM experiment at SNS, but also with potential application to other noble liquid experiments. In this talk, we will show how a statistical analysis of our data can be used to determine the electrode surface area scaling of the breakdown field, a behavior that is of central importance to the design of large-scale detectors employing high voltage. We will show that the dependence of the probability of breakdown on the field strength, extracted from the data, closely resembles that of the field emission, giving a strong indication that the initial process involves the field emission from the cathode. A method to optimize the design of arbitrary-shaped electrodes to reduce the risk of breakdown is also presented. Most importantly, the methods proposed in this work can be extended to other noble liquids to explore the behavior of electrical breakdown in those media.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/93758070002?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 937 5807 0002
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Kelly Stifter (Stanford)
2021-01-08 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Kelly Stifter (Stanford University)
Title: The LZ Dark Matter Experiment: From Detector Development to First Physics
Abstract:
LZ is a next generation dark matter search designed to significantly extend our sensitivity to WIMP dark matter candidates. At the core of the LZ experiment is a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber (TPC) with a 7 ton active mass. The detector has been assembled at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota and is now in the commissioning phase. After 1000 days of live time, LZ will achieve a sensitivity of about 1.4 x 10-48 cm2 at 40 GeV/c2 WIMP mass, improving on previous results by over an order of magnitude. In this talk, I will give an overview of the development, construction, and current commissioning status of the experiment, focusing in particular on the liquid xenon detector at the core of LZ. I will highlight the design and implementation of key features that drive the sensitivity of the experiment, including scintillation and ionization detection thresholds and control of backgrounds.

Join Zoom Meeting https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/93293950850?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 932 9395 0850
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Patrick Komiske (MIT)
2020-12-18 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Patrick Komiske (MIT)
Title: Optimizing Particle Physics With Machine Learning
Abstract:
Exciting new advances in particle physics, particularly in the area of jet physics at colliders such as the LHC, are being driven by machine learning (ML) methods. For example, in just a few short years, the state of the art for important tasks such as jet classification has progressed from cutting on single observables to hyper-variate classifiers that can be trained directly on data. In this talk, I will discuss these and other developments that demonstrate broad synergy between ML and particle physics, including training and calibrating jet classifiers directly on data, visualizing and quantifying jets from the CMS Open Data with a recently proposed metric between collider events, and simultaneously unfolding multiple observables with the OmniFold method.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/96028254060?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 960 2825 4060
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Elena Gramellini (Fermilab)
2020-12-11 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: ​Elena Gramellini (​Fermilab)
Title: Seeing the ​L​ight in ​P​ixelated TPCs: Q-Pix and LILAr
Abstract:
Noble elements Time Projection Chambers (TPC) are the detector technology of choice for the next generation of discovery at the intensity frontier. These detectors provide a number of experimental handles, such as full 3D-imaging, excellent particle identification and precise calorimetric energy reconstruction which makes them extremely flexible tools suitable for a wide range of physics measurements. Indeed, TPC applications range from dark matter, rare decays and capture, neutrino oscillations and nucleon decay, and neutrino less double beta decay. A key feature of noble elements for particle detectors is the double response to the passage of charged particles in the active volume, in the form of correlated ionization charge and scintillation light.
In the context of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), the liquid argon community is showing great interest in developing a large scale pixelated charge readout for multi-kTon scale detectors. Pixels offer a number of benefits compared to the traditional 2D projective wire readout, ranging from the robustness against single point failure to the native 3D nature of the data. However, a light detection solution which would allow the full exploitation of the detection capabilities for pixelated TPCs needs to be developed: the solutions used in traditional 2D wires projective readouts are not satisfactory (nor easily applicable). In this seminar, we present Q-Pix — the technology which could translate pixelated readout into a reality for multi-kTon scale TPCs — and LILAr — an imaginative idea for light detection systems in pixelated TPCs.
Join Zoom Meeting https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/94272918445?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 942 7291 8445
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Tongyan Lin (UCSD)
2020-12-04 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Tongyan Lin (UC San Diego)
Title: Direct Detection of Sub-GeV Dark Matter with the Migdal Effect in Semiconductors
Abstract:
As direct detection experiments expand the search for sub-GeV dark matter and lower their energy thresholds, the many-body physics of crystals can be increasingly important and also be used to enhance discovery potential. In this talk, I will discuss the Migdal effect in semiconductors, which is the creation of charge signals from inelastic dark matter-nucleus scattering. The Migdal effect has previously been studied in atomic targets, and used to set limits in liquid Xe experiments. Because of the smaller gap for electron excitations, we find that the rate for the Migdal effect is much higher in semiconductors, and accounting for it can significantly improve the reach of experiments.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/92147497949
Meeting ID: 921 4749 7949
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Liang Dai (UCB)
2020-11-20 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Liang Dai (UC Berkeley)
Title: A New Window Into the Universe: Gravitational Waves From Compact Binary Coalescence
Abstract:
Detection of chirping gravitational waves (GWs) at ground-based laser interferometry observatories LIGO and Virgo have uncovered a population of compact binary mergers. Forthcoming observing runs with upgraded sensitivity and more observatories joining the network will tremendously increase the number of source systems, which will shed light on their astrophysical origin and enable to exploit those events as cosmological probes. I will present independent efforts by the IAS group to analyze the publicly available LIGO/Virgo data and report newly discovered GW events in addition to what experimental collaborations have reported. I will highlight several original and crucial data analysis methodologies we have developed for template matching, noise characterization and parameter estimation. In addition, I will give outlook on gravitational lensing of cosmological GW sources as expected from forthcoming observations and envisage its applications. I will explain our new findings of how wave propagation effects, measurable with GWs but unfeasible with usual electromagnetic sources, can allow extraction of unique information to reconstruct the lens or to probe non-luminous sub-galactic dark matter structures, thereby deepening our understanding of the matter distribution in the Universe.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95757502382?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 957 5750 2382
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Special Double feature Virtual INPA seminar | Anton Baleato Lizancos (Cambridge) and Utkarsh Giri (PITP)
2020-11-20 10:00 - 11:00
Speaker: Anton Baleato Lizancos (Cambridge)
Title: “Understanding biases to CMB lensing and delensing on the road to precision science”
Abstract: For cosmologists, CMB lensing can be both a blessing and a nuisance. It’s a nuisance because it generates spurious B-mode polarisation which obscures the highly-sought-after signal from inflationary gravitational waves, but it’s a blessing because it can be used to reconstruct maps of the projected matter distribution of the Universe, from which any physics affecting the growth of cosmic structure can be constrained. In this talk, I will focus on systematics that need to be addressed in order to harness the full statistical power of upcoming CMB experiments and make progress in both of these exciting areas. In the first part of my talk, I will briefly review the ways in which extragalactic emission from galaxies and clusters can bias CMB lensing reconstruction power spectra and cross-correlations with other tracers of the matter distribution. I will then present ongoing work on a novel approach where we model these biases analytically as a function of experimental characteristics, enabling improved physical insight, a quantification of theoretical uncertainties and potentially opening the door to improved mitigation methods. In the second part of the talk, I will explain how the lensing contamination to CMB B-modes can be removed — what is known as delensing — in order to facilitate searches for inflationary gravitational waves, and describe limitations of the commonly-used “template” approach to delensing. I will then briefly summarize preparatory efforts to delens data from the upcoming Simons Observatory. Finally, I will conclude by discussing biases affecting the procedure (and how to mitigate them) when lensing is reconstructed internally from the CMB itself, and in the alternative scenario where the CIB is used as a tracer of the matter.
Speaker: Utkarsh Giri (Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics)
Title: “Exploring kSZ velocity reconstruction with N-body simulations and the halo model”
Abstract:
KSZ velocity reconstruction is a recently proposed method for mapping the largest-scale modes of the universe, by applying a quadratic estimator v̂ to the small-scale CMB and a galaxy catalog. We implement kSZ velocity reconstruction in an N-body simulation pipeline and explore its properties. We find that the reconstruction noise can be larger than the analytic prediction which is usually assumed. We revisit the analytic prediction and find additional noise terms that explain the discrepancy. The new terms are obtained from a six-point halo model calculation, and are analogous to the N(1) and N(3/2) biases in CMB lensing. We implement an MCMC pipeline which estimates fNL from N-body kSZ simulations and show that it recovers unbiased estimates of fNL, with statistical errors consistent with a Fisher matrix forecast. Overall, these results confirm that kSZ velocity reconstruction will be a powerful probe of cosmology in the near future, but new terms should be included in the noise power spectrum.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/97706913102?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 977 0691 3102
Passcode: [REDACTED] 505782
Abstract: https://inpa.lbl.gov/event/special-double-f…tkarsh-giri-pitp/

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Tomi Akindele (LLNL)
2020-11-13 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Tomi Akindele (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
Title: Antineutrinos as a Nuclear Safeguards Tool
Abstract:
To date, antineutrino experiments built for the purpose of demonstrating a nonproliferation capability have typically employed organic scintillator, and been situated as close to the core as possible – typically a few meters to tens of meters distant, and have not exceeded a few tons in size.
One problem with this approach is that proximity to the reactor core requires accommodation by the host facility. Water Cherenkov detectors located offsite, at distances of a few kilometers or greater, may facilitate non-intrusive monitoring and verification of reactor activities over a large area.
As the standoff distance increases, the detector target mass must scale accordingly. This talk quantifies the degree to which a kiloton-scale gadolinium-doped water Cherenkov detector can exclude the existence of undeclared reactors within a specified radial distance, and remotely detect the presence of a hidden reactor in the presence of declared reactors, by verifying the operational power and standoff distance.
A Feldman-Cousins based likelihood analysis was used to quantify the detector’s ability to exclude the existence of undeclared reactors. A 1-kton scale Water Cherenkov detector can exclude gigawatt-scale nuclear reactors up to tens of kilometers. When attempting to identify the specific location of a reactor, the detector response and analysis cannot delineate between the reactor power and baseline.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/97530987599?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 975 3098 7599
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Abstract: https://inpa.lbl.gov/event/virtual-inpa-seminar-tomi-akindele-llnl/

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Julieta Gruszko (UNCCH)
2020-11-06 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Julieta Gruszko (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Title: Shedding ‘Nu’ Light on the Nature of Matter: NuDot and the Search for Majorana Neutrinos

Abstract:
Why is the universe dominated by matter, and not antimatter? Neutrinos, with their changing flavors and tiny masses, could provide an answer. If the neutrino is its own antiparticle, it would reveal the origin of the neutrino’s mass, demonstrate that lepton number is not a conserved symmetry of nature, and provide a path to leptogenesis in the early universe. To discover whether this is the case, we must search for neutrinoless double-beta decay. As the upcoming ton-scale generation of experiments is built, it is key that research and development (R&D) efforts continue to explore how to extend experimental sensitivities to 10^29 years and beyond. These next-next-generation experiments could make a discovery, if neutrinoless double-beta decay is not found at the ton-scale, or offer insight into the mechanism behind lepton number violation, if it is. NuDot is a proof-of-concept liquid scintillator experiment that will explore new techniques for isotope loading and background rejection infuture detectors. I’ll discuss the progress we’ve already made in demonstrating how previously-ignored Cherenkov light signals can help us distinguish signal from background, and the technologies we’re developing with an eye towards the coming generations of experiments.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/91339017890?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 913 3901 7890
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Abstract: https://inpa.lbl.gov/2020/11/02/virtual-inpa-sem…ta-gruszko-uncch/

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Livia Ludhova (RWTH)
2020-10-30 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Livia Ludhova (RWTH Aachen/Forschungszentrum Jülich)

Title: JUNO: the first multi-kton liquid scintillator based neutrino detector

Abstract:
The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is a neutrino experiment under construction in a 700 m deep underground laboratory near Jiangmen in South China. The detector main component will be 20 kton of liquid scintillator held in a spherical acrylic vessel. The experiment is designed for the determination of the neutrino mass ordering, one of the open key questions in neutrino physics. This measurement will be based on the observation of vacuum oscillation of antineutrinos from two nuclear power plants at 53 km baseline. A key ingredient for the success is an excellent and extremely challenging energy resolution of 3% at 1 MeV. The light produced by the scintillator will be seen by about 20,000 large PMTs (20”) and about 25,000 small PMTs (3”). The OSIRIS detector will monitor the radio-purity of the liquid scintillator during the months-long filling of the main detector, while the unoscillated spectrum from one reactor core is planned to be closely monitored by the Taishan Antineutrino Observatory (TAO). JUNO will also measure several neutrino oscillation parameters with unprecedented sub-percent precision. Astrophysical measurements of solar, geo, supernova, DSNB, atmospheric neutrinos, as well as searches for proton decay or dark matter are also a part of the vast physics programme. The seminar will review the physics goals, design, as well as the status of the JUNO project.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95227577412?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 952 2757 7412
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Sukanya Chakrabarti (RIT)
2020-10-23 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Sukanya Chakrabarti (Rochester Institute Technology)
Title: Measuring Accelerations— Near & Far
Abstract:
Recent technological advances and observational programs now make it possible for us to directly measure the Galactic acceleration experienced by stars within the Milky Way. I will discuss the traditional method of estimating Galactic accelerations and thereby the Oort limit (from which one determines the local dark matter density given the baryon budget), which uses kinematical estimates that can be inaccurate especially in parts of the Galaxy that are significantly perturbed. I will then discuss our method in using extreme precision radial velocity observations to measure the Galactic acceleration, and ongoing observational programs. I will also use compiled pulsar timing data to directly measure the Galactic acceleration, which gives us the Oort limit from the Poisson equation without making assumptions of equilibrium or spherical symmetry (as in kinematic estimates). Given the Oort limit, we then determine the local dark matter density, which has implications for direct detection experiments. I will discuss the potential for measuring dark matter sub-structure in the Milky Way with pulsar timing, and for constraining theories of gravity by combining constraints from pulsar timing and extreme precision radial velocity measurements. Finally, I will end by discussing prospects for measuring the cosmic acceleration.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/93826947056?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 938 2694 7056
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Kev Abazajian (UC Irvine)
2020-10-16 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Kev Abazajian (UC Irvine)

Title: Arising and demising candidate dark matter signals on the sky, and the potential of future searches

Abstract:
New technologies searching are observing the high-energy Universe with unprecedented detail. One of the primary goals of gamma-ray and X-ray astronomy has been the search for potential signals of dark matter that could be at the keV to GeV energy scales. The past 10 years have had two candidate signals in both energy regimes, which are both high energy but separated by a factor of 1 million: the ~3 GeV excess from the Milky Way Galactic Center, and the 3-55 keV line detected in several X-ray observations. I will discuss the saga of these signals and future prospects from the keV to TeV scales.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/93708191260
Meeting ID: 937 0819 1260
Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR | Scott Kravitz (LBNL)
2020-10-09 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Scott Kravitz (LBNL)

Title: CrystaLiZe – Solid Xenon Detector R&D

Abstract:
Radon and its daughter decays limit the sensitivity of direct WIMP dark matter searches, despite extensive screening programs, careful material selection and specialized Rn-reduction systems. For xenon time projection chambers, a means to surpass this constraint may lie in crystallizing the xenon. In a solid matrix, each of the decay steps surrounding the problematic radon daughter beta decay isotopes could be vetoed at the fixed position of the decay sequence. The constraint of time structure in the sequence could allow veto efficiency to approach 100%, with minimal effect on acceptance. In this case, the limiting background for WIMP searches would be neutrinos from the sun and from cosmic ray muons. It is additionally hypothesized that crystalline xenon may offer improved particle discrimination compared with liquid. In this talk, I will argue that an instrumental radon tag in a crystalline xenon TPC may be the quickest path to reaching the neutrino floor and present preliminary results from a test stand which suggest that solid Xe is a viable particle detection medium.

The video for this talk will be posted:
https://physicstalks.lbl.gov/Public/2020/rpm/ScottKravitz0.html

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/76619726361?pwd=[REDACTED]

Meeting ID: 766 1972 6361

Passcode: [REDACTED]

VIRTUAL INPA SEMINAR – Adrien Hourlier (MIT)
2020-10-02 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Adrien Hourlier (MIT)
Title: MiniBooNE Oscillation Results with Complete Dataset
Abstract:
The MiniBooNE experiment, located on the Booster Neutrino Beamline at Fermilab, reports a total excess of 638.0+/-132.8 electron-like events (4.8σ) from a data sample corresponding to 18.75×10^20 protons-on-target in neutrino mode, which is a 46% increase in the data sample with respect to previously published results, and 11.27 × 10^20 protons-on-target in antineutrino mode. The additional statistics allow several studies to address questions on the source of the excess. I will discuss how we can use distributions such as beam timing and the radial distribution to disfavor some of the possible explanation for the source of the excess such as an excess of entering or exiting photons.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/94852394075?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 948 5239 4075
Passcode: [REDACTED]
