Matching Items (6)
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- All Subjects: Particle Physics
- Creators: Alarcon, Ricardo
Description
The theory of quantum electrodynamics predicts that beta decay of the neutron into a proton, electron, and anti-neutrino should be accompanied by a continuous spectrum of photons. A recent experiment, RDK I, reported the first detection of radiative decay photons from neutron beta decay with a branching ratio of (3.09 ± 0.32) × 10-3 in the energy range of 15 keV to 340 keV. This was achieved by prompt coincident detection of an electron and photon, in delayed coincidence with a proton. The photons were detected by using a single bar of bismuth germanate scintillating crystal coupled to an avalanche photodiode. This thesis deals with the follow-up experiment, RDK II, to measure the branching ratio at the level of approximately 1% and the energy spectrum at the level of a few percent. The most significant improvement of RDK II is the use of a photon detector with about an order of magnitude greater solid angle coverage than RDK I. In addition, the detectable energy range has been extended down to approximately 250 eV and up to the endpoint energy of 782 keV. This dissertation presents an overview of the apparatus, development of a new data analysis technique for radiative decay, and results for the ratio of electron-proton-photon coincident Repg to electron-proton coincident Rep events.
ContributorsO'Neill, Benjamin (Author) / Alarcon, Ricardo (Thesis advisor) / Drucker, Jeffery (Committee member) / Lebed, Richard (Committee member) / Comfort, Joseph (Committee member) / Chamberlin, Ralph (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This thesis deals with the first measurements done with a cold neutron beam at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The experimental technique consisted of capturing polarized cold neutrons by nuclei to measure parity-violation in the angular distribution of the gamma rays following neutron capture. The measurements presented here for the nuclei Chlorine ( 35Cl) and Aluminum ( 27Al ) are part of a program with the ultimate goal of measuring the asymmetry in the angular distribution of gamma rays emitted in the capture of neutrons on protons, with a precision better than 10-8, in order to extract the weak hadronic coupling constant due to pion exchange interaction with isospin change equal with one ( hπ 1). Based on theoretical calculations asymmetry in the angular distribution of the gamma rays from neutron capture on protons has an estimated size of 5·10-8. This implies that the Al parity violation asymmetry and its uncertainty have to be known with a precision smaller than 4·10-8. The proton target is liquid Hydrogen (H2) contained in an Aluminum vessel. Results are presented for parity violation and parity-conserving asymmetries in Chlorine and Aluminum. The systematic and statistical uncertainties in the calculation of the parity-violating and parity-conserving asymmetries are discussed.
ContributorsBalascuta, Septimiu (Author) / Alarcon, Ricardo (Thesis advisor) / Belitsky, Andrei (Committee member) / Doak, Bruce (Committee member) / Comfort, Joseph (Committee member) / Schmidt, Kevin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
With the discovery of the Higgs Boson in 2012, particle physics has decidedly moved beyond the Standard Model into a new epoch. Though the Standard Model particle content is now completely accounted for, there remain many theoretical issues about the structure of the theory in need of resolution. Among these is the hierarchy problem: since the renormalized Higgs mass receives quadratic corrections from a higher cutoff scale, what keeps the Higgs boson light? Many possible solutions to this problem have been advanced, such as supersymmetry, Randall-Sundrum models, or sub-millimeter corrections to gravity. One such solution has been advanced by the Lee-Wick Standard Model. In this theory, higher-derivative operators are added to the Lagrangian for each Standard Model field, which result in propagators that possess two physical poles and fall off more rapidly in the ultraviolet regime. It can be shown by an auxiliary field transformation that the higher-derivative theory is identical to positing a second, manifestly renormalizable theory in which new fields with opposite-sign kinetic and mass terms are found. These so-called Lee-Wick fields have opposite-sign propagators, and famously cancel off the quadratic divergences that plague the renormalized Higgs mass. The states in the Hilbert space corresponding to Lee-Wick particles have negative norm, and implications for causality and unitarity are examined.
This dissertation explores a variant of the theory called the N = 3 Lee-Wick
Standard Model. The Lagrangian of this theory features a yet-higher derivative operator, which produces a propagator with three physical poles and possesses even better high-energy behavior than the minimal Lee-Wick theory. An analogous auxiliary field transformation takes this higher-derivative theory into a renormalizable theory with states of alternating positive, negative, and positive norm. The phenomenology of this theory is examined in detail, with particular emphasis on the collider signatures of Lee-Wick particles, electroweak precision constraints on the masses that the new particles can take on, and scenarios in early-universe cosmology in which Lee-Wick particles can play a significant role.
This dissertation explores a variant of the theory called the N = 3 Lee-Wick
Standard Model. The Lagrangian of this theory features a yet-higher derivative operator, which produces a propagator with three physical poles and possesses even better high-energy behavior than the minimal Lee-Wick theory. An analogous auxiliary field transformation takes this higher-derivative theory into a renormalizable theory with states of alternating positive, negative, and positive norm. The phenomenology of this theory is examined in detail, with particular emphasis on the collider signatures of Lee-Wick particles, electroweak precision constraints on the masses that the new particles can take on, and scenarios in early-universe cosmology in which Lee-Wick particles can play a significant role.
ContributorsTerBeek, Russell Henry (Author) / Lebed, Richard F (Thesis advisor) / Alarcon, Ricardo (Committee member) / Belitsky, Andrei (Committee member) / Chamberlin, Ralph (Committee member) / Parikh, Maulik (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
A series of experiments using a polarized beam incident on a polarized frozen spin target
(FROST) was conducted at Jefferson Lab in 2010. Results presented here were taken
during the second running period with the FROST target using the CEBAF Large Acceptance
Spectrometer (CLAS) detector at Jefferson Lab, which used transversely-polarized
protons in a butanol target and a circularly-polarized incident tagged photon beam with
energies between 0.62 and 2.93 GeV. Data are presented for the F and T polarization observables
for h meson photoproduction on the proton from W = 1.55 GeV to 1.80 GeV.
The data presented here will improve the world database and refine theoretical approaches
of nucleon structure.
(FROST) was conducted at Jefferson Lab in 2010. Results presented here were taken
during the second running period with the FROST target using the CEBAF Large Acceptance
Spectrometer (CLAS) detector at Jefferson Lab, which used transversely-polarized
protons in a butanol target and a circularly-polarized incident tagged photon beam with
energies between 0.62 and 2.93 GeV. Data are presented for the F and T polarization observables
for h meson photoproduction on the proton from W = 1.55 GeV to 1.80 GeV.
The data presented here will improve the world database and refine theoretical approaches
of nucleon structure.
ContributorsTucker, Ross (Author) / Ritchie, Barry (Thesis advisor) / Dugger, Michael (Committee member) / Alarcon, Ricardo (Committee member) / Lebed, Richard (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The muon problem of flavor physics presents a rich opportunity to study beyond standard model physics. The as yet undiscovered bound state (μ+μ-), called true muonium, presents a unique opportunity to investigate the muon problem. The near-future experimental searches for true muonium will produce it relativistically, preventing the easy application of non-relativistic quantum mechanics. In this thesis, quantum field theory methods based on light-front quantization are used to solve an effective Hamiltonian for true muonium in the Fock space of |μ+μ-> , |μ+μ-γ> , |e+e->, |e+e-γ>, |τ+τ-> , and |τ+τ-γ> . To facilitate these calculations a new parallel code, True Muonium Solver With Front-Form Techniques (TMSWIFT), has been developed. Using this code, numerical results for the wave functions, energy levels, and decay constants of true muonium have been obtained for a range of coupling constants α. Work is also presented for deriving the effective interaction arising from the |γγ sector’s inclusion into the model.
ContributorsLamm, Henry (Author) / Lebed, Richard F (Thesis advisor) / Belitsky, Andrei (Committee member) / Alarcon, Ricardo (Committee member) / Easson, Damien (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The spectra of predicted particles from elementary quark models (CQMs) are expansive, accurate for the low-lying spectra, but incomplete. The GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab is a vehicle to study medium energy photoproduction of hadronic states. The primary goal of the GlueX collaboration is to study Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD, also known as the strong nuclear force) and the nature of quark confinement. The GlueX collaboration uses a polarized photon beam incident on a liquid hydrogen target (LH2) to investigate the aftermath of photon-proton interactions.The cascade baryons, denoted by Ξ, are defined by having two, second-generation, strange quarks with an additional first-generation light quark (u or d). Experimentally, few cascades have been discovered, which is the antithesis of what most models expect. The cascades have some favorable attributes but are difficult to detect because the production cross sections are small and direct production is unlikely. Fortunately, in the 12 GeV era of the GlueX experiment, there is sufficient energy, beam time and data analysis tools for the detection of excited cascade states and their properties.
From the reaction γp→K^+ K^+ Ξ^- π^0, the invariant mass spectra of Ξ^- π^0 system was surveyed for new possible resonances. The invariant mass spectrum has a strong Ξ(1530) signal with other smaller resonances throughout the spectrum. Preliminary cross sections for the Ξ(1530) that was photoproduced from the proton are presented at energies never before explored.
While the Ξ(1530) couples almost exclusively to the Ξπ channel, there is an easily identifiable Ξ(1690) signal decaying Ξπ. Through the use of a simultaneous fitting routing of the Ξ*- mass spectra, I was able to observe the Ξ(1690) decaying to the KΛ, as well as to the Ξ-π0 branch. With additional statistics, a measurement of the branching ratio should be possible.
Lastly, a partial wave analysis (PWA) was completed to verify that the total angular momentum of Ξ(1530) is J = 3/2 and consistent with having positive parity. Additionally, there is evidence of a potentially interesting feature slightly above the mass of the Ξ(1530) that should be more fully explored as new GlueX data becomes available.
ContributorsSumner, Brandon Christopher Lamont (Author) / Dugger, Michael (Thesis advisor) / Ritchie, Barry (Committee member) / Lebed, Richard (Committee member) / Alarcon, Ricardo (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022