Search

Polarisation of X-ray light is being investigated with polarimeters to extend the borders of what can be observed. Distant compact objects, such as pulsars, that are to small on the sky to be analysed with imaging can be investigated by analysing the polarisation of the emitted light. This can reveal physics previously hidden by their small nature. There are many models that aim to describe the polarisation of these compact objects to make sense of what is measured. Two examples are the outer gap and two-pole caustic models. The X-ray polarimeter XL-Calibur is a balloon-borne telescope capable of detecting X-rays in the $15-80$ keV energy range. In this thesis details on the polarisation of light, how it can be measured and some principles of X-ray polarimetery is discussed. A new feature in the simulation of XL-Calibur in Geant4 is also described and used to investigate the possibility for XL-Calibur to distinguish between different Crab pulsar polarisation models at different signal rates. The results show that signal rates under 2 Hz yield insufficient data to distinguish between the two models using the measured polarisation fraction and angle. For greater signal rates XL-Calibur does in fact differentiate between the models correctly. New methods for the statistical analysis of data can be explored to allow more data to be salvaged, even for low signal rates. The derivation of polarisation parameters is fixed through Stokes parameters in this thesis., Polarisationen av röntgenljus undersöks med polarimetrar för att utvidga gränserna för vad som kan observeras. Avlägsna kompakta objekt, såsom pulsarer, som är för små och för långt borta på himlen för att analyseras med optiska metoder, kan undersökas genom att analysera polarisationen av det utstrålade ljuset. Detta kan avslöja fysik som tidigare var dold på grund av deras storlek. Det finns många modeller som syftar till att beskriva polarisationen av dessa kompakta objekt för att förstå vad som mäts. Två exempel är modellerna: outer gap och two-pole caustic. Röntgenpolarimetern XL-Calibur är ett ballongburet teleskop som kan detektera röntgenstrålning i energiområdet $15-80$ keV. I denna avhandling diskuteras detaljer om ljusets polarisation, hur det kan mätas och några principer för röntgenpolarimetri. En ny funktion i simuleringen av XL-Calibur i Geant4 beskrivs också. Den används för att undersöka möjligheten för XL-Calibur att särskilja mellan olika polariseringsmodeller för Krabbpulsaren vid olika signaltakter. Resultaten visar att för signaltakter under 2 Hz, blir datan otillräcklig för att särskilja mellan de två modellerna både för polarisationsgraden och vinkeln. För högre signaltakter kan XL-Calibur skilja mellan modellerna. Nya metoder för statistisk analys av data kan utforskas för att möjliggöra att mer data kan användas, även för låga signaltakter. I denna avhandling beräknas polarisationsparametrarna genom Stokesparametrarna.

While the Standard Model of particle physics and the $\Lambda$CDM model of cosmology have been celebrated for their explanatory prowess, many phenomena remain unexplained. In this dissertation, we explore several methods of inquiry into these enigmas. In Chapters 2 and 3, we scrutinize signals that may hint at the presence of dark matter, and develop models through which these signals can be explained. Next, in Chapter 4, we employ well developed tools such as the path integral to formulate a new method for determining time evolution in cosmology. Finally, in Chapters 5 through 7, we use precise observations of primordial light elements to constrain theories beyond both the Standard Model and $\Lambda$CDM. Together, these investigations shed light on some of the mysteries of the cosmos and will hopefully inspire future avenues of exploration.

For decades, stars have been amongst the most potent sources of constraints on weakly interacting slim particles (WISPs), a category of light, feebly-interacting dark matter candidates, which includes axions, axion-like particles (ALPs) and dark photons. Despite this decorated history, recent improvements in observational and theoretical stellar astrophysics offer new opportunities for advancing these limits. This thesis contributes three examples of such advancements. The first of these constraints concerns the coupling between photons and axion-like particles with masses greater than 10 keV and is based on the white dwarf initial-final mass relation (IFMR). The IFMR is a semi-empirical relation which maps the initial masses with which low- and intermediate-mass stars form to those of the white dwarfs into which they ultimately evolve. The relevant evolutionary phase influencing the IFMR is the shell helium-burning phase, the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). Because the helium-burning shell which governs AGB evolution is hotter than the characteristic stellar regions for other limits on ALPs, the IFMR is well-positioned to constrain ALPs with masses greater than 10 keV, whose production would otherwise be Boltzmann suppressed. Our derived limit ruled out part of an unconstrained triangular region of ALP-photon parameter space bordered by stellar limits, the SLAC E137 beam dump experiment and SN1987A, known as the cosmological triangle. Next we target globular cluster limits on the axion-photon coupling for axion masses less than 10 keV. Until now, the most restrictive stellar constraint on this coupling was based on the observed ratio of horizontal branch (HB) to red-giant branch (RGB) stars in globular clusters (the R-parameter). However, simulations of horizontal branch stars suffer from well-documented uncertainties arising from the computational treatment of mixing across their convective core boundaries. These uncertainties manifest as both stochastic and system

The ATLAS detector is installed in its experimental cavern at Point 1 of the CERN Large Hadron Collider. During Run 2 of the LHC, a luminosity of ℒ = 2 × 1034 cm-2 s-1 was routinely achieved at the start of fills, twice the design luminosity. For Run 3, accelerator improvements, notably luminosity levelling, allow sustained running at an instantaneous luminosity of ℒ = 2 × 1034 cm-2 s-1, with an average of up to 60 interactions per bunch crossing. The ATLAS detector has been upgraded to recover Run 1 single-lepton trigger thresholds while operating comfortably under Run 3 sustained pileup conditions. A fourth pixel layer 3.3 cm from the beam axis was added before Run 2 to improve vertex reconstruction and b-tagging performance. New Liquid Argon Calorimeter digital trigger electronics, with corresponding upgrades to the Trigger and Data Acquisition system, take advantage of a factor of 10 finer granularity to improve triggering on electrons, photons, taus, and hadronic signatures through increased pileup rejection. The inner muon endcap wheels were replaced by New Small Wheels with Micromegas and small-strip Thin Gap Chamber detectors, providing both precision tracking and Level-1 Muon trigger functionality. Trigger coverage of the inner barrel muon layer near one endcap region was augmented with modules integrating new thin-gap resistive plate chambers and smaller-diameter drift-tube chambers. Tile Calorimeter scintillation counters were added to improve electron energy resolution and background rejection. Upgrades to Minimum Bias Trigger Scintillators and Forward Detectors improve luminosity monitoring and enable total proton-proton cross section, diffractive physics, and heavy ion measurements. These upgrades are all compatible with operation in the much harsher environment anticipated after the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC and are the first steps towards preparing ATLAS for the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC. This paper describes the Run 3 configuration

Polarisation of X-ray light is being investigated with polarimeters to extend the borders of what can be observed. Distant compact objects, such as pulsars, that are to small on the sky to be analysed with imaging can be investigated by analysing the polarisation of the emitted light. This can reveal physics previously hidden by their small nature. There are many models that aim to describe the polarisation of these compact objects to make sense of what is measured. Two examples are the outer gap and two-pole caustic models. The X-ray polarimeter XL-Calibur is a balloon-borne telescope capable of detecting X-rays in the $15-80$ keV energy range. In this thesis details on the polarisation of light, how it can be measured and some principles of X-ray polarimetery is discussed. A new feature in the simulation of XL-Calibur in Geant4 is also described and used to investigate the possibility for XL-Calibur to distinguish between different Crab pulsar polarisation models at different signal rates. The results show that signal rates under 2 Hz yield insufficient data to distinguish between the two models using the measured polarisation fraction and angle. For greater signal rates XL-Calibur does in fact differentiate between the models correctly. New methods for the statistical analysis of data can be explored to allow more data to be salvaged, even for low signal rates. The derivation of polarisation parameters is fixed through Stokes parameters in this thesis., Polarisationen av röntgenljus undersöks med polarimetrar för att utvidga gränserna för vad som kan observeras. Avlägsna kompakta objekt, såsom pulsarer, som är för små och för långt borta på himlen för att analyseras med optiska metoder, kan undersökas genom att analysera polarisationen av det utstrålade ljuset. Detta kan avslöja fysik som tidigare var dold på grund av deras storlek. Det finns många modeller som syftar till att beskriva polarisationen av dessa kompakta objekt för att förstå vad som mäts. Två exempel är modellerna: outer gap och two-pole caustic. Röntgenpolarimetern XL-Calibur är ett ballongburet teleskop som kan detektera röntgenstrålning i energiområdet $15-80$ keV. I denna avhandling diskuteras detaljer om ljusets polarisation, hur det kan mätas och några principer för röntgenpolarimetri. En ny funktion i simuleringen av XL-Calibur i Geant4 beskrivs också. Den används för att undersöka möjligheten för XL-Calibur att särskilja mellan olika polariseringsmodeller för Krabbpulsaren vid olika signaltakter. Resultaten visar att för signaltakter under 2 Hz, blir datan otillräcklig för att särskilja mellan de två modellerna både för polarisationsgraden och vinkeln. För högre signaltakter kan XL-Calibur skilja mellan modellerna. Nya metoder för statistisk analys av data kan utforskas för att möjliggöra att mer data kan användas, även för låga signaltakter. I denna avhandling beräknas polarisationsparametrarna genom Stokesparametrarna.

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are explosive transient events occurring at cosmological distances, releasing a large amount of energy as electromagnetic radiation over several energy bands. We report the detection of the long GRB 201216C by the MAGIC telescopes. The source is located at z = 1.1 and thus it is the farthest one detected at very high energies. The emission above 70 GeV of GRB 201216C is modelled together with multiwavelength data within a synchrotron and synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) scenario. We find that SSC can explain the broad-band data well from the optical to the very-high-energy band. For the late-time radio data, a different component is needed to account for the observed emission. Differently from previous GRBs detected in the very-high-energy range, the model for GRB 201216C strongly favours a wind-like medium. The model parameters have values similar to those found in past studies of the afterglows of GRBs detected up to GeV energies.

We compile a catalogue of 578 highly probable and 62 likely red supergiants (RSGs) of the Milky Way, which represents the largest list of Galactic RSG candidates designed for continuous follow-up efforts to date. We match distances measured by Gaia DR3, 2MASS photometry, and a 3D Galactic dust map to obtain luminous bright late-type stars. Determining the stars' bolometric luminosities and effective temperatures, we compare to Geneva stellar evolution tracks to determine likely RSG candidates, and quantify contamination using a catalogue of Galactic AGB in the same luminosity-temperature space. We add details for common or interesting characteristics of RSG, such as multistar system membership, variability, and classification as a runaway. As potential future core-collapse supernova progenitors, we study the ability of the catalogue to inform the Supernova Early Warning System (SNEWS) coincidence network made to automate pointing, and show that for 3D position estimates made possible by neutrinos, the number of progenitor candidates can be significantly reduced, improving our ability to observe the progenitor pre-explosion and the early phases of core-collapse supernovae., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare - Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) is one of the largest underground physics laboratory, a very peculiar environment suited for experiments in Astroparticle Physics, Nuclear Physics and Fundamental Symmetries. The newly established Bellotti Ion Beam facility represents a major advance in the possibilities of studying nuclear processes in an underground environment. A workshop was organized at LNGS in the framework of the Nuclear Physics Mid Term Plan in Italy, an initiative of the Nuclear Physics Division of the Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare to discuss the opportunities that will be possible to study in the near future by employing state-of-the-art detection systems. In this report, a detailed discussion of the outcome of the workshop is presented.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has sensitivity to MeV electron antineutrinos from core-collapse supernovae through an excess of the detection rate over the background. Wavelength-shifting sensors have the potential to greatly increase photon collection making it a promising candidate for improving the measurement of the supernova neutrino light curve in IceCube-Gen2. For high-energy neutrino reconstruction, the competing effect of increased photon collection and the broader time distribution necessitate detailed simulations to determine the impact. In this thesis, we investigate the sensitivity gain caused by wavelength shifters in a future IceCube-Gen2 detector regarding the detection of faint modulations of the supernova neutrino lightcurve. Furthermore, we lay the groundwork for a future high-energy reconstruction through the implementation and integration of wavelength-shifting sensors into the IceCube simulation framework.

This thesis is a contribution to the search for new fundamental physics in the form of axionlike particles (ALPs). ALPs are relatively light and feebly interacting particles that are part of many theories extending the Standard Model of particle physics, e.g., to solve the strong-CP problem, the dark matter problem, or quantum gravity in the form of string theory. We use astrophysical observations mainly related to core-collapse supernovae to search for signatures of the existence of ALPs. In the first part of this thesis, we study in some detail the effective field theory of ALPs with a focus on quantum loop effects. These loops necessarily induce correlations between the effective couplings of the theory such that, e.g., the interaction between ALPs and photons sourced by quantum loops due to their coupling to leptons cannot be neglected. In the second part of the thesis, as well as in three of the publications that it is comprised of, we demonstrate the importance of the effective ALP-photon coupling defined here for dark matter ALPs, whose loop induced decay to photons excludes a large region of their parameter space that was believed to be accessible to direct detection experiments, as well as ALPs produced in supernova explosions. Through the loop-induced interaction with photons more ALPs can be produced in supernovae than was calculated previously. Additionally, the photon-decay channel implies ways in which ALPs could have been observed that would not be possible if they only interacted with leptons. For instance, if a nearby supernova such as SN 1987A or the recently observed SN 2023ixf, emitted a large number of ALPs that afterwards decayed into gamma-ray photons, such a signal could have been detected by telescopes. The precise prediction of this signal is a further focus of this thesis and three of the included publications. Additionally, we improve many technical aspects of the determination of the number and energy of ALPs produced in supernovae, as w

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has sensitivity to MeV electron antineutrinos from core-collapse supernovae through an excess of the detection rate over the background. Wavelength-shifting sensors have the potential to greatly increase photon collection making it a promising candidate for improving the measurement of the supernova neutrino light curve in IceCube-Gen2. For high-energy neutrino reconstruction, the competing effect of increased photon collection and the broader time distribution necessitate detailed simulations to determine the impact. In this thesis, we investigate the sensitivity gain caused by wavelength shifters in a future IceCube-Gen2 detector regarding the detection of faint modulations of the supernova neutrino lightcurve. Furthermore, we lay the groundwork for a future high-energy reconstruction through the implementation and integration of wavelength-shifting sensors into the IceCube simulation framework.

The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) performs a systematic neutrino follow-up programme, searching for optical counterparts to high-energy neutrinos with dedicated Target-of-Opportunity (ToO) observations. Since first light in March 2018, ZTF has taken prompt observations for 24 high-quality neutrino alerts from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, with a median latency of 12.2 h from initial neutrino detection. From two of these campaigns, we have already reported tidal disruption event (TDE) AT 2019dsg and likely TDE AT 2019fdr as probable counterparts, suggesting that TDEs contribute >7.8 per cent of the astrophysical neutrino flux. We here present the full results of our programme through to December 2021. No additional candidate neutrino sources were identified by our programme, allowing us to place the first constraints on the underlying optical luminosity function of astrophysical neutrino sources. Transients with optical absolutes magnitudes brighter that -21 can contribute no more than 87 per cent of the total, while transients brighter than -22 can contribute no more than 58 per cent of the total, neglecting the effect of extinction and assuming they follow the star formation rate. These are the first observational constraints on the neutrino emission of bright populations such as superluminous supernovae. None of the neutrinos were coincident with bright optical AGN flares comparable to that observed for TXS 0506+056/IC170922A, with such optical blazar flares producing no more than 26 per cent of the total neutrino flux. We highlight the outlook for electromagnetic neutrino follow-up programmes, including the expected potential for the Rubin Observatory.

The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the most pressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the available parameter space for weakly interacting massive particles, while featuring extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates. These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decay and through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-based detector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantly advance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, and cosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector.

The workshop on "Particle Phenomenology Workshop 2022" is reported. The workshop covers all major areas and developments in particle physics, quantum field theory, astroparticle physics, cosmology, and related areas.

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic electromagnetic events in the universe, but there are still unanswered questions about them, like the underlying radiation mechanisms that cause the different parts of their light curves. Given that Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars with circumburst rings could be the progenitor of GRBs with late flares \cite{complex}, the purpose of this thesis was to determine if the precursor and the main emission of GRBs with late time flares might originate due to different radiation mechanisms, and thereby if WR stars could be the progenitors. 271 of the longest GRBs with flux above 10 photons/cm$^2$/s were studied and all GRBs with a precursor and a defined quiescent period were chosen for further studies. The chosen 39 GRBs were divided into different categories depending on the appearance of their light curves. A gold sample with $R_{P, max}/R_{D, max} < 0.4$ and $T_Q/T_{tot} > 0.5$, for the maximum count rate of the precursor $R_{P, max}$, the dominant emission $R_{D, max}$, and for the normalised quiescent period $T_Q/T_{tot}$ was concluded to have similar characteristics and to fit what would be expected if WR stars would be the progenitors. This group of GRBs all have a short and less bright precursor, a long quiescent period and a main emission which is brighter and longer than the precursor. The distributions of the photon index $\alpha$ for the precursor and the dominant emission for the gold sample indicate that the precursor is due to photospheric emission and the dominant emission is due to synchrotron emission. This is consistent with the interpretation that the precursor is a result of the jet interacting with the photosphere and the dominant emission is a result of interactions with the circumburst ring of a star like the WR stars. The next step in this investigation would be to study GRBs with more than one precursor that otherwise fit the description of the gold sample, to determine if these fit into the gold sample as, Gammablixtrar (GRB) är de mest kraftfulla elektromagnetiska eventen i universum men det finns fortfarande obesvarade frågor om dem, som de underliggande strålningsmekanismerna som orsakar de olika delarna av deras ljuskurvor. För en del av alla GRBs tar det upp till eller mer än 100 sekunder från utlösningstiden till det att en topp ses i ljuskurvan. För dessa finns då ofta en liten svag topp, som följs av en lång lugn period och sedan den dominant, starkare utstrålningen. GRBs tros kunna härstamma från Wolf-Rayet-stjärnor (WR-stjärnor), som är massiva, döende stjärnor som kan vara omringade av bubblor, nebulosor, och ringar. Om GRBs härstammar från dessa förväntas den första mindre toppen och den andra större toppen uppkomma på grund av olika strålningsprocesser. Syftet med detta projekt var därför att undersöka huruvida dessa toppar uppkommer på grund av olika processer eller ej. Sammanfattningsvis så hittades en distinkt och homogen grupp av GRBs med likande egenskaper. Resultaten påvisar att den första svaga toppen är fotosfärisk strålning, så att den uppkommer på grund av att jetstrålen från GRBn interagerar med fotosfären. Därtill tyder resultaten på att den dominanta starkare toppen är synkrotronstrålning, som kan uppkomma när jetstrålen interagerar med en ring runt en WR-stjärna. Nästa steg i detta projekt skulle vara att studera GRBs med fler än en mindre topp innan den dominant utstrålningen, för att se om dessa också har liknande egenskaper som de som hittades i den homogena gruppen.

We use Fermi-LAT data to analyse the faint gamma-ray source located at the centre of the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf spheroidal galaxy. In the 4FGL-DR3 catalogue, this source is associated with the globular cluster, M54. We investigate the spectral energy distribution and spatial extension of this source, with the goal of testing two hypotheses: (1) the emission is due to millisecond pulsars within M54, or (2) the emission is due to annihilating dark matter from the Sgr halo. For the pulsar interpretation, we consider a two-component model which describes both the lower-energy magnetospheric emission and possible high-energy emission arising from inverse Compton scattering. We find that this source has a point-like morphology at low energies, consistent with magnetospheric emission, and find no evidence for a higher-energy component. For the dark matter interpretation, we find the signal favours a dark matter mass of m(chi)= 29.6 +/- 5.8 GeV and an annihilation cross section of sv = (2. 1 +/- 0.59) x10(-26) cm(3) s(-1) for the b b channel (or m(chi)= 8.3 +/- 3.8 GeV and sv = (0.90 +/- 0.25) x10-26 cm(3) s(-1) for the tau(+) tau(-) channel), when adopting a J -factor of J = 1019.6 GeV2 cm(-5). This parameter space is consistent with gamma-ray constraints from other dwarf galaxies and with dark matter interpretations of the Galactic Centre Gamma-Ray Excess.

High energy collisions at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (LHC) produce a large number of particles along the beam collision axis, outside of the acceptance of existing LHC experiments. The proposed Forward Physics Facility (FPF), to be located several hundred meters from the ATLAS interaction point and shielded by concrete and rock, will host a suite of experiments to probe standard model (SM) processes and search for physics beyond the standard model (BSM). In this report, we review the status of the civil engineering plans and the experiments to explore the diverse physics signals that can be uniquely probed in the forward region. FPF experiments will be sensitive to a broad range of BSM physics through searches for new particle scattering or decay signatures and deviations from SM expectations in high statistics analyses with TeV neutrinos in this low-background environment. High statistics neutrino detection will also provide valuable data for fundamental topics in perturbative and non-perturbative QCD and in weak interactions. Experiments at the FPF will enable synergies between forward particle production at the LHC and astroparticle physics to be exploited. We report here on these physics topics, on infrastructure, detector, and simulation studies, and on future directions to realize the FPF's physics potential.

The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the most pressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the available parameter space for weakly interacting massive particles, while featuring extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates. These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decay and through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-based detector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantly advance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, and cosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector.

High energy collisions at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (LHC) produce a large number of particles along the beam collision axis, outside of the acceptance of existing LHC experiments. The proposed Forward Physics Facility (FPF), to be located several hundred meters from the ATLAS interaction point and shielded by concrete and rock, will host a suite of experiments to probe standard model (SM) processes and search for physics beyond the standard model (BSM). In this report, we review the status of the civil engineering plans and the experiments to explore the diverse physics signals that can be uniquely probed in the forward region. FPF experiments will be sensitive to a broad range of BSM physics through searches for new particle scattering or decay signatures and deviations from SM expectations in high statistics analyses with TeV neutrinos in this low-background environment. High statistics neutrino detection will also provide valuable data for fundamental topics in perturbative and non-perturbative QCD and in weak interactions. Experiments at the FPF will enable synergies between forward particle production at the LHC and astroparticle physics to be exploited. We report here on these physics topics, on infrastructure, detector, and simulation studies, and on future directions to realize the FPF's physics potential.

The workshop on "Particle Phenomenology Workshop 2022" is reported. The workshop covers all major areas and developments in particle physics, quantum field theory, astroparticle physics, cosmology, and related areas.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has sensitivity to MeV electron antineutrinos from core-collapse supernovae through an excess of the detection rate over the background. Wavelength-shifting sensors have the potential to greatly increase photon collection making it a promising candidate for improving the measurement of the supernova neutrino light curve in IceCube-Gen2. For high-energy neutrino reconstruction, the competing effect of increased photon collection and the broader time distribution necessitate detailed simulations to determine the impact. In this thesis, we investigate the sensitivity gain caused by wavelength shifters in a future IceCube-Gen2 detector regarding the detection of faint modulations of the supernova neutrino lightcurve. Furthermore, we lay the groundwork for a future high-energy reconstruction through the implementation and integration of wavelength-shifting sensors into the IceCube simulation framework.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has sensitivity to MeV electron antineutrinos from core-collapse supernovae through an excess of the detection rate over the background. Wavelength-shifting sensors have the potential to greatly increase photon collection making it a promising candidate for improving the measurement of the supernova neutrino light curve in IceCube-Gen2. For high-energy neutrino reconstruction, the competing effect of increased photon collection and the broader time distribution necessitate detailed simulations to determine the impact. In this thesis, we investigate the sensitivity gain caused by wavelength shifters in a future IceCube-Gen2 detector regarding the detection of faint modulations of the supernova neutrino lightcurve. Furthermore, we lay the groundwork for a future high-energy reconstruction through the implementation and integration of wavelength-shifting sensors into the IceCube simulation framework.

This thesis is a contribution to the search for new fundamental physics in the form of axionlike particles (ALPs). ALPs are relatively light and feebly interacting particles that are part of many theories extending the Standard Model of particle physics, e.g., to solve the strong-CP problem, the dark matter problem, or quantum gravity in the form of string theory. We use astrophysical observations mainly related to core-collapse supernovae to search for signatures of the existence of ALPs. In the first part of this thesis, we study in some detail the effective field theory of ALPs with a focus on quantum loop effects. These loops necessarily induce correlations between the effective couplings of the theory such that, e.g., the interaction between ALPs and photons sourced by quantum loops due to their coupling to leptons cannot be neglected. In the second part of the thesis, as well as in three of the publications that it is comprised of, we demonstrate the importance of the effective ALP-photon coupling defined here for dark matter ALPs, whose loop induced decay to photons excludes a large region of their parameter space that was believed to be accessible to direct detection experiments, as well as ALPs produced in supernova explosions. Through the loop-induced interaction with photons more ALPs can be produced in supernovae than was calculated previously. Additionally, the photon-decay channel implies ways in which ALPs could have been observed that would not be possible if they only interacted with leptons. For instance, if a nearby supernova such as SN 1987A or the recently observed SN 2023ixf, emitted a large number of ALPs that afterwards decayed into gamma-ray photons, such a signal could have been detected by telescopes. The precise prediction of this signal is a further focus of this thesis and three of the included publications. Additionally, we improve many technical aspects of the determination of the number and energy of ALPs produced in supernovae, as w

This thesis is a contribution to the search for new fundamental physics in the form of axionlike particles (ALPs). ALPs are relatively light and feebly interacting particles that are part of many theories extending the Standard Model of particle physics, e.g., to solve the strong-CP problem, the dark matter problem, or quantum gravity in the form of string theory. We use astrophysical observations mainly related to core-collapse supernovae to search for signatures of the existence of ALPs. In the first part of this thesis, we study in some detail the effective field theory of ALPs with a focus on quantum loop effects. These loops necessarily induce correlations between the effective couplings of the theory such that, e.g., the interaction between ALPs and photons sourced by quantum loops due to their coupling to leptons cannot be neglected. In the second part of the thesis, as well as in three of the publications that it is comprised of, we demonstrate the importance of the effective ALP-photon coupling defined here for dark matter ALPs, whose loop induced decay to photons excludes a large region of their parameter space that was believed to be accessible to direct detection experiments, as well as ALPs produced in supernova explosions. Through the loop-induced interaction with photons more ALPs can be produced in supernovae than was calculated previously. Additionally, the photon-decay channel implies ways in which ALPs could have been observed that would not be possible if they only interacted with leptons. For instance, if a nearby supernova such as SN 1987A or the recently observed SN 2023ixf, emitted a large number of ALPs that afterwards decayed into gamma-ray photons, such a signal could have been detected by telescopes. The precise prediction of this signal is a further focus of this thesis and three of the included publications. Additionally, we improve many technical aspects of the determination of the number and energy of ALPs produced in supernovae, as w

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has sensitivity to MeV electron antineutrinos from core-collapse supernovae through an excess of the detection rate over the background. Wavelength-shifting sensors have the potential to greatly increase photon collection making it a promising candidate for improving the measurement of the supernova neutrino light curve in IceCube-Gen2. For high-energy neutrino reconstruction, the competing effect of increased photon collection and the broader time distribution necessitate detailed simulations to determine the impact. In this thesis, we investigate the sensitivity gain caused by wavelength shifters in a future IceCube-Gen2 detector regarding the detection of faint modulations of the supernova neutrino lightcurve. Furthermore, we lay the groundwork for a future high-energy reconstruction through the implementation and integration of wavelength-shifting sensors into the IceCube simulation framework.

This thesis is a contribution to the search for new fundamental physics in the form of axionlike particles (ALPs). ALPs are relatively light and feebly interacting particles that are part of many theories extending the Standard Model of particle physics, e.g., to solve the strong-CP problem, the dark matter problem, or quantum gravity in the form of string theory. We use astrophysical observations mainly related to core-collapse supernovae to search for signatures of the existence of ALPs. In the first part of this thesis, we study in some detail the effective field theory of ALPs with a focus on quantum loop effects. These loops necessarily induce correlations between the effective couplings of the theory such that, e.g., the interaction between ALPs and photons sourced by quantum loops due to their coupling to leptons cannot be neglected. In the second part of the thesis, as well as in three of the publications that it is comprised of, we demonstrate the importance of the effective ALP-photon coupling defined here for dark matter ALPs, whose loop induced decay to photons excludes a large region of their parameter space that was believed to be accessible to direct detection experiments, as well as ALPs produced in supernova explosions. Through the loop-induced interaction with photons more ALPs can be produced in supernovae than was calculated previously. Additionally, the photon-decay channel implies ways in which ALPs could have been observed that would not be possible if they only interacted with leptons. For instance, if a nearby supernova such as SN 1987A or the recently observed SN 2023ixf, emitted a large number of ALPs that afterwards decayed into gamma-ray photons, such a signal could have been detected by telescopes. The precise prediction of this signal is a further focus of this thesis and three of the included publications. Additionally, we improve many technical aspects of the determination of the number and energy of ALPs produced in supernovae, as w

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic electromagnetic events in the universe, but there are still unanswered questions about them, like the underlying radiation mechanisms that cause the different parts of their light curves. Given that Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars with circumburst rings could be the progenitor of GRBs with late flares \cite{complex}, the purpose of this thesis was to determine if the precursor and the main emission of GRBs with late time flares might originate due to different radiation mechanisms, and thereby if WR stars could be the progenitors. 271 of the longest GRBs with flux above 10 photons/cm$^2$/s were studied and all GRBs with a precursor and a defined quiescent period were chosen for further studies. The chosen 39 GRBs were divided into different categories depending on the appearance of their light curves. A gold sample with $R_{P, max}/R_{D, max} < 0.4$ and $T_Q/T_{tot} > 0.5$, for the maximum count rate of the precursor $R_{P, max}$, the dominant emission $R_{D, max}$, and for the normalised quiescent period $T_Q/T_{tot}$ was concluded to have similar characteristics and to fit what would be expected if WR stars would be the progenitors. This group of GRBs all have a short and less bright precursor, a long quiescent period and a main emission which is brighter and longer than the precursor. The distributions of the photon index $\alpha$ for the precursor and the dominant emission for the gold sample indicate that the precursor is due to photospheric emission and the dominant emission is due to synchrotron emission. This is consistent with the interpretation that the precursor is a result of the jet interacting with the photosphere and the dominant emission is a result of interactions with the circumburst ring of a star like the WR stars. The next step in this investigation would be to study GRBs with more than one precursor that otherwise fit the description of the gold sample, to determine if these fit into the gold sample as, Gammablixtrar (GRB) är de mest kraftfulla elektromagnetiska eventen i universum men det finns fortfarande obesvarade frågor om dem, som de underliggande strålningsmekanismerna som orsakar de olika delarna av deras ljuskurvor. För en del av alla GRBs tar det upp till eller mer än 100 sekunder från utlösningstiden till det att en topp ses i ljuskurvan. För dessa finns då ofta en liten svag topp, som följs av en lång lugn period och sedan den dominant, starkare utstrålningen. GRBs tros kunna härstamma från Wolf-Rayet-stjärnor (WR-stjärnor), som är massiva, döende stjärnor som kan vara omringade av bubblor, nebulosor, och ringar. Om GRBs härstammar från dessa förväntas den första mindre toppen och den andra större toppen uppkomma på grund av olika strålningsprocesser. Syftet med detta projekt var därför att undersöka huruvida dessa toppar uppkommer på grund av olika processer eller ej. Sammanfattningsvis så hittades en distinkt och homogen grupp av GRBs med likande egenskaper. Resultaten påvisar att den första svaga toppen är fotosfärisk strålning, så att den uppkommer på grund av att jetstrålen från GRBn interagerar med fotosfären. Därtill tyder resultaten på att den dominanta starkare toppen är synkrotronstrålning, som kan uppkomma när jetstrålen interagerar med en ring runt en WR-stjärna. Nästa steg i detta projekt skulle vara att studera GRBs med fler än en mindre topp innan den dominant utstrålningen, för att se om dessa också har liknande egenskaper som de som hittades i den homogena gruppen.

The workshop on "Particle Phenomenology Workshop 2022" is reported. The workshop covers all major areas and developments in particle physics, quantum field theory, astroparticle physics, cosmology, and related areas.

High energy collisions at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (LHC) produce a large number of particles along the beam collision axis, outside of the acceptance of existing LHC experiments. The proposed Forward Physics Facility (FPF), to be located several hundred meters from the ATLAS interaction point and shielded by concrete and rock, will host a suite of experiments to probe standard model (SM) processes and search for physics beyond the standard model (BSM). In this report, we review the status of the civil engineering plans and the experiments to explore the diverse physics signals that can be uniquely probed in the forward region. FPF experiments will be sensitive to a broad range of BSM physics through searches for new particle scattering or decay signatures and deviations from SM expectations in high statistics analyses with TeV neutrinos in this low-background environment. High statistics neutrino detection will also provide valuable data for fundamental topics in perturbative and non-perturbative QCD and in weak interactions. Experiments at the FPF will enable synergies between forward particle production at the LHC and astroparticle physics to be exploited. We report here on these physics topics, on infrastructure, detector, and simulation studies, and on future directions to realize the FPF's physics potential. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.

The workshop on "Particle Phenomenology Workshop 2022" is reported. The workshop covers all major areas and developments in particle physics, quantum field theory, astroparticle physics, cosmology, and related areas.

CUBES is an X-ray detector that will be placed aboard the KTH 3U CubeSat mission, MIST. Its purpose is to detect high energy X-rays as well as to test various components in a space environment. Two CUBES will be placed on the satellite. Each CUBES consists of a printed circuit board (PCB) with three multi pixel photon counters (MPPCs). On top of these, three Germanium Aluminium Gadolinium Garnet (GAGG) scintillators are glued. These GAGG scintillators are of the dimension 1X1X1 cm^3 and are covered with PTFE tape and an opaque potting compound to prevent photons from leaving the scintillator. The MPPCs consists of a large amount of semi conductors operated in Geiger mode. The data is processed by an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In order to prepare the CUBES instrument for satellite flight, energy and thermal characterisation have been performed. The energy range was determined to be 40-1200 keV. The detector system shows linear behaviour and operates stably in a temperature range of -20 °C to +30 °C. The preparation of the boards and test results are presented in this thesis., CUBES är en röntgendetektor som kommer att placeras ombord på KTH 3U CubeSat satelliten MIST. Uppdraget är att undersöka högenergetisk röntgenstrålning samt att testa komponenternas robusthet i rymden. Två CUBES kommer att placeras ombord på satelliten. CUBES detektorn består av ett kretskort med 3 MPPC (multi pixel photon counters). Ovanpå dessa är tre Germanium Aluminium Gadolinium Garnet (GAGG) scintillatorer limmade. Dessa GAGG scintillatorer har dimensionerna 1X1X1 cm^3, är täckta med PTFE band och är inneslutna i ett opakt gummi ämne för att förhindra att fotoner lämnar detektorn. MPPC består av en stor mängd halvledare som drivs i Geiger läge. Den producerade datan kommer att behandlas av en applikations specifik integrerad krets (ASIC). Inför CUBES detektorns uppdrag i rymden utfördes energi och värmetest. Det tillgängliga energiintervallet uppmättes till 40-1200 keV. Detektorn uppvisar ett linjärt energiförhållande och ger ett stabilt resultat i temperaturintervallet -20 °C till +30 °C. Resultaten av mätningarna samt förberedandet av CUBES detektorerna presenteras i denna avhandling.

Gamma-ray burst light curves are notoriously irregular, yet a significant number consists of a single fast-rising, exponentially decaying pulse. These are called single-peaked light curves. The goal of this thesis is to analyse a sample of 2710 GRBs collected by the Fermi space telescope by identifying single-peaked bursts and comparing their properties to those of the multi-peaked bursts. Furthermore, the validity of the relativistic shock breakout theory as an explanation for single-peaked, low-luminosity GRBs is investigated using a closure relation. For this investigation, the Fermi sample wascomplemented by low-luminosity GRBs observed by other instruments. A criterion for selecting single-peaked bursts was successfully developed, yielding 48% long and 79% short, single-peaked GRBs. Significant differences between the populations were found in multiple properties. In general, single-peaked GRBs appear to be weaker and more slowly varying than multi-peaked ones; however, a larger sample of GRBs with redshift measurements is needed to draw conclusions about possible intrinsic differences in energy connected to the progenitor systems. The investigation of low-luminosity GRBs’ compliance with the shock breakout closure relation showed that 64% of the low-luminosity GRBs were within a factor 5 of fulfilling the relation as opposed to only 24% of high-luminosity GRBs. It was further shown that only a small number (< 5%) of Fermi GRBs without redshift measurements could be low-luminosity shock breakout GRBs according to this theory. In conclusion, while the shock breakout closure relation does hold for a greater proportion of low-luminosity GRBs than high-luminosity GRBs, there is still a large number of low-luminosity GRBs left unexplained by this theory., Gammablixtljuskurvor är ökänt oregelbundna men en betydande andel består av en enda snabbt stigande och exponentiellt avtagande puls. Dessa kallas singelpeakade ljuskurvor. Målet med detta examensarbete är att analysera de 2710 gammablixtar som Fermirymdteleskopet har observerat genom att identifiera singelpeakade blixtar och jämföra deras egenskaper med multipeakade blixtars. Dessutom undersöks den relativistiska shockbreakoutteorin som förklaringsmodell för singelpeakade lågluminositetsgammablixtar. I denna undersökning kompletterades fermiblixtarna med lågluminositetsblixtar från andra instrument. Ett kriterium för identifikation av singelpeakade gammablixtar utvecklades och detta resulterade i 48% långa och 70% korta, singelpeakade gammablixtar. Flertalet egenskaper uppvisade signifikanta skillnader mellan populationerna. I allmänhet verkar singelpeakade gammablixtar vara svagare och variera långsammare än multipeakade. Dock behövs en större population av gammablixtar med uppmätta rödskift för att med säkerhet kunna avgöra om singelpeakade blixtar verkligen släpper ut mindre energi. Undersökningen av huruvida lågluminositetsgammablixtar kan förklaras med shockbreakoutteorin visade att 64% av lågluminositetsblixtarna uppfyllde kravet upp till en faktor fem medan bara 24% av högluminositetsblixtarna gjorde det. Vidare visades att endast ett litet antal (<5%) av fermiblixtarna utan uppmätta rödskift skulle kunna vara lågluminositetsshockbreakoutblixtar enligt denna teori. Även om shockbreakoutteorin kan förklara en större andel av lågluminositetsblixtarna än högluminositetsblixtarna återstår ett stort antal oförklarade lågluminositetsblixtar.

The evolution of white dwarfs is essentially a gravothermal process of cooling in which the basic ingredients for predicting their evolution are well identified, although not always well understood. There are two independent ways to test the cooling rate. One is the luminosity function of the white dwarf population, and another is the secular drift of the period of pulsation of those individuals that experience variations., This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and FEDER UE (MCI-AEI-FEDER, UE) through grants PID2019-108709GB-I00 and the program Unidad de Excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2020-001058-M (JI), by the MINECO grant AYA\-2017-86274-P, and the grant RyC-2016-20254 (AR-M), by grant 2014 SGR 1458 and CERCA Programe of the Generalitat de Catalunya (JI), and by a URICI- CSIC grant, Postprint (published version)

X-ray polarimetry, the study of the polarisation of X-ray light, is a powerful and rapidly developing tool for astrophysics, which promises to help answer outstanding questions about the physics of extreme objects such as pulsars, X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei. The balloon-borne telescope XL-Calibur will be the first instrument to study the polarisation of hard X-rays (with energies between 10 and 100 keV) in detail, correlating with the soft X-ray observations of IXPE to provide further tests of polarisation-dependent x-ray emission models in extreme objects. The working principles of XL-Calibur are described, together with the necessary steps to measure the polarisation of X-rays. In these steps, Geant4 simulations of the telescope play a vital role, and the simulations are thus described in detail, together with the experiments done to validate the simulations. These experiments were performed at Esrange, Sweden during the XL-Calibur flight campaign in May of 2022, and the experimental setup and design of the validation experiments are described, as well as the specific simulations performed to replicate the experiment. The simulations show very good agreement with validation experiments, achieving a simulated modulation factor (a measure of the polarimetric response intrinsic to the detector) of 41.88% ± 0.17%, within one standard deviation of the measured 41.95% ± 0.18%. The optical effects of the XL-Calibur X-ray mirror is also simulated to good agreement with experimental results, necessary for simulating flight observations. Thus, the simulations can be used to simulate XL-Calibur for polarisation measurements and analysis. Furthermore, the effect on polarisation parameters of the mirror focal spot being offset is investigated. It is shown that it affects the modulation factor and thus the measured polarisation parameters, increasing the importance of using simulations to replicate and compensate for these effects during a data-taking flight with, Röntgenpolarimetri, att undersöka polariseringen hos röntgenljus, är ett kraftfullt redskap inom astrofysiken som är under snabb utveckling. Förhoppningen är att tekniken ska hjälpa till att lösa obesvarade frågor inom fysiken som beskriver extrema objekt såsom pulsarer, röntgenbinärer och aktiva galaxkärnor. Det ballongburna teleskopet XL-Calibur kommer att vara det första instrumentet som studerar polariseringen av hårda röntgenstrålar (med energi mellan 10 och 100 keV) i detalj, och genom att korrelera med IXPEs observationer i mjuka röntgenstrålar kommer polarisationsberoende modeller för bildandet av röntgenstrålar runt extrema objekt att testas. En beskrivning av hur XL-Calibur fungerar ges, tillsammans med de nödvändiga stegen för att mäta polariseringen hos röntgenljus. I dessa steg är simulering av teleskopet i Geant4 en vital del, och simuleringen beskrivs därav ingående tillsammans med experimenten som gjordes för att validera simuleringen. Dessa experiment utfördes på Esrange, Sverige i maj 2022, före XL-Caliburs första flygning. Experimentuppställningen och utformningen av dessa valideringsexperiment beskrivs tillsammans med de specifika simuleringar som gjordes med mål att replikera experimenten. Simuleringarna visar mycket god överensstämmelse med experimenten, med en modulationsfaktor (ett instrumentspecifikt mått av polarisationsgraden) på 41.88% ± 0.17%, inom en standardavvikelse från experimentens 41.95% ± 0.18%. Även de optiska effekterna från XL-Caliburs röntgenspegel simuleras och visar god överensstämmelse med mätningar, vilket är nödvändigt för att kunna simulera data tagen under en flygning. Därmed kan simuleringarna användas för att göra polarisationsmätningar och -analys. Slutligen görs en undersökning av effekten på polarisationsparametrarna av förskjutning av röntgenspegelns fokus. Denna visar att modulationsfaktorn och därmed polarisationsparametrarna ändras på ett betydande vis, vilket ökar vikten av att använda simuleringar för att re

The nature of Dark Matter (DM) is one of the most prominent unanswered questions in particle physics. The Standard Model (SM) has been remarkably successful in describing subatomic phenomena, however not all observations can be explained using this model including DM. The existence of DM is supported by a number of independent astrophysical observations, which when taken together, indicate DM is an elementary particle or particles, however their nature remains largely unknown. The focus of this thesis is on work towards experimental searches for particle DM under the Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) paradigm using alter- native but complementary methods to the astrophysical observations in order to test the particle nature of DM. The first approach used is collider searches which test for DM production from the incident SM particles in particle colliders. The second approach is Direct Detection (DD) which aims to observe DM scattering off a SM particle. Using the motion of the Earth and Sun, some more unique features of the expected DM signal may be used to enhance experimental sensitivity. The orbit of the Earth around the Sun results in a time dependent signal with period of a year. The large dataset collected by A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS (ATLAS) allows searches for DM in many areas of phase space. These searches are limited by the ability to identify and discriminate the hypothesised DM signals from back- ground. As such the reconstruction and proper identification of objects in the detector over the largest possible range of momenta plays a key role in what is experimentally accessible. The use of track-jets to allow the identification of low momentum b-hadrons as well as the extension of this identification to lower momentum ranges will be described. The pioneering use of these detector objects to search for DM in regions of phase space previously thought to be inaccessible or too difficult will be described. Many experiments have failed to find DM usi

The KM3NeT Collaboration is currently constructing a multi-site high-energy neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea consisting of matrices of pressure-resistant glass spheres, each holding a set of 31 small-area photomultipliers. The main goals of the telescope are the observation of neutrino sources in the Universe and the measurement of the neutrino oscillation parameters with atmospheric neutrinos. Both extraterrestrial and atmospheric neutrinos are detected through the Cherenkov light induced in seawater by charged particles produced in neutrino interactions in the surrounding medium. A relative time synchronization between photomultipliers of the order of 1 ns is needed to guarantee the required angular resolution of the detector. Due to the large detector volumes to be instrumented by KM3NeT, a cost reduction of the different systems is a priority. To this end, the inexpensive Nanobeacon has been designed and developed by the KM3NeT Collaboration to be used for detector time-calibration studies. At present, more than 600 Nanobeacons have been already produced. The characterization of the optical pulse and the wavelength emission profile of the devices are critical for the time calibration. In this paper, the main features of the Nanobeacon design, production and operation, together with the main properties of the light pulse generated are described, Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

TRASGOs are a new generation of cosmic ray detectors to study the influence of the Earth’s magnetic field and the atmosphere on the cosmic ray flux. This thesis presents the calibration, reconstruction, and analysis algorithms developed for two TRASGOs: TRISTAN and TRAGALDABAS. TRISTAN performed a series of unprecedented latitudinal surveys before being installed in Antarctica at the Spanish Antarctic Base JCI, and TRAGALDABAS is located in Santiago de Compostela. We have investigated the effects of the barometric pressure, atmospheric temperature, and cutoff rigidity on the cosmic ray data as well as the correlation with space weather events.

Context. High-precision data from AMS-02 on Li, Be, and B provide the best constraints on Galactic cosmic-ray transport parameters.Aims. We re-evaluate the impact of Fe fragmentation on the Li, Be, and B modelling. We discuss the consequences on the transport parameter determination and reassess whether a primary source of Li is needed to match AMS-02 data.Methods. We renormalised several cross-section parametrisations to existing data for the most important reactions producing Li, Be, and B. We used the USINE code with these new cross-section sets to re-analyse Li/C, Be/C, and B/C AMS-02 data.Results. We built three equally plausible cross-section sets. Compared to the initial cross-section sets, they lead to an average enhanced production of Li (similar to 20 - 50%) and Be (similar to 5 - 15%), while leaving the B flux mostly unchanged. In particular, Fe fragmentation is found to contribute to up to 10% of the Li and Be fluxes. Used in the combined analysis of AMS-02 Li/C, Be/C, and B/C data, the fit is significantly improved, with an enhanced diffusion coefficient (similar to 20%). The three updated cross-section sets are found to either slightly undershoot or overshoot the Li/C and B/C ratios: this strongly disfavours evidence for a primary source of Li in cosmic rays. We stress that isotopic cosmic-ray ratios of Li (and to a lesser extent Be), soon to be released by AMS-02, are also impacted by the use of these updated sets.Conclusions. Almost no nuclear data exist for the production of Li and B isotopes from Ne, Mg, Si, and Fe, whereas these reactions are estimated to account for similar to 20% of the total production. New nuclear measurements would be appreciated and help to better exploit the high-precision AMS-02 cosmic-ray data.

X-ray polarimetry, the study of the polarisation of X-ray light, is a powerful and rapidly developing tool for astrophysics, which promises to help answer outstanding questions about the physics of extreme objects such as pulsars, X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei. The balloon-borne telescope XL-Calibur will be the first instrument to study the polarisation of hard X-rays (with energies between 10 and 100 keV) in detail, correlating with the soft X-ray observations of IXPE to provide further tests of polarisation-dependent x-ray emission models in extreme objects. The working principles of XL-Calibur are described, together with the necessary steps to measure the polarisation of X-rays. In these steps, Geant4 simulations of the telescope play a vital role, and the simulations are thus described in detail, together with the experiments done to validate the simulations. These experiments were performed at Esrange, Sweden during the XL-Calibur flight campaign in May of 2022, and the experimental setup and design of the validation experiments are described, as well as the specific simulations performed to replicate the experiment. The simulations show very good agreement with validation experiments, achieving a simulated modulation factor (a measure of the polarimetric response intrinsic to the detector) of 41.88% ± 0.17%, within one standard deviation of the measured 41.95% ± 0.18%. The optical effects of the XL-Calibur X-ray mirror is also simulated to good agreement with experimental results, necessary for simulating flight observations. Thus, the simulations can be used to simulate XL-Calibur for polarisation measurements and analysis. Furthermore, the effect on polarisation parameters of the mirror focal spot being offset is investigated. It is shown that it affects the modulation factor and thus the measured polarisation parameters, increasing the importance of using simulations to replicate and compensate for these effects during a data-taking flight with, Röntgenpolarimetri, att undersöka polariseringen hos röntgenljus, är ett kraftfullt redskap inom astrofysiken som är under snabb utveckling. Förhoppningen är att tekniken ska hjälpa till att lösa obesvarade frågor inom fysiken som beskriver extrema objekt såsom pulsarer, röntgenbinärer och aktiva galaxkärnor. Det ballongburna teleskopet XL-Calibur kommer att vara det första instrumentet som studerar polariseringen av hårda röntgenstrålar (med energi mellan 10 och 100 keV) i detalj, och genom att korrelera med IXPEs observationer i mjuka röntgenstrålar kommer polarisationsberoende modeller för bildandet av röntgenstrålar runt extrema objekt att testas. En beskrivning av hur XL-Calibur fungerar ges, tillsammans med de nödvändiga stegen för att mäta polariseringen hos röntgenljus. I dessa steg är simulering av teleskopet i Geant4 en vital del, och simuleringen beskrivs därav ingående tillsammans med experimenten som gjordes för att validera simuleringen. Dessa experiment utfördes på Esrange, Sverige i maj 2022, före XL-Caliburs första flygning. Experimentuppställningen och utformningen av dessa valideringsexperiment beskrivs tillsammans med de specifika simuleringar som gjordes med mål att replikera experimenten. Simuleringarna visar mycket god överensstämmelse med experimenten, med en modulationsfaktor (ett instrumentspecifikt mått av polarisationsgraden) på 41.88% ± 0.17%, inom en standardavvikelse från experimentens 41.95% ± 0.18%. Även de optiska effekterna från XL-Caliburs röntgenspegel simuleras och visar god överensstämmelse med mätningar, vilket är nödvändigt för att kunna simulera data tagen under en flygning. Därmed kan simuleringarna användas för att göra polarisationsmätningar och -analys. Slutligen görs en undersökning av effekten på polarisationsparametrarna av förskjutning av röntgenspegelns fokus. Denna visar att modulationsfaktorn och därmed polarisationsparametrarna ändras på ett betydande vis, vilket ökar vikten av att använda simuleringar för att re

Context. High-precision data from AMS-02 on Li, Be, and B provide the best constraints on Galactic cosmic-ray transport parameters.Aims. We re-evaluate the impact of Fe fragmentation on the Li, Be, and B modelling. We discuss the consequences on the transport parameter determination and reassess whether a primary source of Li is needed to match AMS-02 data.Methods. We renormalised several cross-section parametrisations to existing data for the most important reactions producing Li, Be, and B. We used the USINE code with these new cross-section sets to re-analyse Li/C, Be/C, and B/C AMS-02 data.Results. We built three equally plausible cross-section sets. Compared to the initial cross-section sets, they lead to an average enhanced production of Li (similar to 20 - 50%) and Be (similar to 5 - 15%), while leaving the B flux mostly unchanged. In particular, Fe fragmentation is found to contribute to up to 10% of the Li and Be fluxes. Used in the combined analysis of AMS-02 Li/C, Be/C, and B/C data, the fit is significantly improved, with an enhanced diffusion coefficient (similar to 20%). The three updated cross-section sets are found to either slightly undershoot or overshoot the Li/C and B/C ratios: this strongly disfavours evidence for a primary source of Li in cosmic rays. We stress that isotopic cosmic-ray ratios of Li (and to a lesser extent Be), soon to be released by AMS-02, are also impacted by the use of these updated sets.Conclusions. Almost no nuclear data exist for the production of Li and B isotopes from Ne, Mg, Si, and Fe, whereas these reactions are estimated to account for similar to 20% of the total production. New nuclear measurements would be appreciated and help to better exploit the high-precision AMS-02 cosmic-ray data.

Gamma-ray burst light curves are notoriously irregular, yet a significant number consists of a single fast-rising, exponentially decaying pulse. These are called single-peaked light curves. The goal of this thesis is to analyse a sample of 2710 GRBs collected by the Fermi space telescope by identifying single-peaked bursts and comparing their properties to those of the multi-peaked bursts. Furthermore, the validity of the relativistic shock breakout theory as an explanation for single-peaked, low-luminosity GRBs is investigated using a closure relation. For this investigation, the Fermi sample wascomplemented by low-luminosity GRBs observed by other instruments. A criterion for selecting single-peaked bursts was successfully developed, yielding 48% long and 79% short, single-peaked GRBs. Significant differences between the populations were found in multiple properties. In general, single-peaked GRBs appear to be weaker and more slowly varying than multi-peaked ones; however, a larger sample of GRBs with redshift measurements is needed to draw conclusions about possible intrinsic differences in energy connected to the progenitor systems. The investigation of low-luminosity GRBs’ compliance with the shock breakout closure relation showed that 64% of the low-luminosity GRBs were within a factor 5 of fulfilling the relation as opposed to only 24% of high-luminosity GRBs. It was further shown that only a small number (< 5%) of Fermi GRBs without redshift measurements could be low-luminosity shock breakout GRBs according to this theory. In conclusion, while the shock breakout closure relation does hold for a greater proportion of low-luminosity GRBs than high-luminosity GRBs, there is still a large number of low-luminosity GRBs left unexplained by this theory., Gammablixtljuskurvor är ökänt oregelbundna men en betydande andel består av en enda snabbt stigande och exponentiellt avtagande puls. Dessa kallas singelpeakade ljuskurvor. Målet med detta examensarbete är att analysera de 2710 gammablixtar som Fermirymdteleskopet har observerat genom att identifiera singelpeakade blixtar och jämföra deras egenskaper med multipeakade blixtars. Dessutom undersöks den relativistiska shockbreakoutteorin som förklaringsmodell för singelpeakade lågluminositetsgammablixtar. I denna undersökning kompletterades fermiblixtarna med lågluminositetsblixtar från andra instrument. Ett kriterium för identifikation av singelpeakade gammablixtar utvecklades och detta resulterade i 48% långa och 70% korta, singelpeakade gammablixtar. Flertalet egenskaper uppvisade signifikanta skillnader mellan populationerna. I allmänhet verkar singelpeakade gammablixtar vara svagare och variera långsammare än multipeakade. Dock behövs en större population av gammablixtar med uppmätta rödskift för att med säkerhet kunna avgöra om singelpeakade blixtar verkligen släpper ut mindre energi. Undersökningen av huruvida lågluminositetsgammablixtar kan förklaras med shockbreakoutteorin visade att 64% av lågluminositetsblixtarna uppfyllde kravet upp till en faktor fem medan bara 24% av högluminositetsblixtarna gjorde det. Vidare visades att endast ett litet antal (<5%) av fermiblixtarna utan uppmätta rödskift skulle kunna vara lågluminositetsshockbreakoutblixtar enligt denna teori. Även om shockbreakoutteorin kan förklara en större andel av lågluminositetsblixtarna än högluminositetsblixtarna återstår ett stort antal oförklarade lågluminositetsblixtar.

The evolution of white dwarfs is essentially a gravothermal process of cooling in which the basic ingredients for predicting their evolution are well identified, although not always well understood. There are two independent ways to test the cooling rate. One is the luminosity function of the white dwarf population, and another is the secular drift of the period of pulsation of those individuals that experience variations. Both scenarios are sensitive to the cooling or heating time scales, for which reason, the inclusion of any additional source or sink of energy will modify these properties and will allow to set bounds to these perturbations. These studies also require complete and statistical significant samples for which current large data surveys are providing an unprecedented wealth of information. In this paper we review how these techniques are applied to several cases like the secular drift of the Newton gravitational constant, neutrino magnetic moments, axions and weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPS).

The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the most pressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the available parameter space for weakly interacting massive particles, while featuring extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates. These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decay and through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-based detector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantly advance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, and cosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector.

The existence of dark matter is now well accepted in view of the wide variety of observations that have led to its postulate. Presently, the main objective of dark matter experiments is to identify the nature of this non-visible matter. Assuming that dark matter is composed of massive particles that interact weakly with matter, it is predicted that dark matter will produce Standard Model particles when annihilating or decaying. These Standard Model particles could, in turn, produce stable charged particles found in cosmic radiation, as well as gamma-rays and neutrinos. The Milky Way is expected to be immersed in a dark matter halo with an enhanced density towards its centre. This over density would amplify the probability of dark matter particles to annihilate, making the Galactic Centre an ideal target for indirect dark matter searches. In this thesis, two indirect searches for dark matter annihilation in the Galactic Centre using data collected by two neutrino telescopes are presented.The first analysis is a combined dark matter search using the ANTARES and the IceCube neutrino detectors. By combining a total of ~ 5.8 years and ~ 2.8 years of data collected respectively by ANTARES and IceCube, no neutrino excess was found in the direction of the Galactic Centre and limits on the dark matter annihilation cross-section were set. The limits thus obtained show a considerable improvement compared to the previous results derived separately by the two telescopes, for dark matter masses ranging from 50 GeV to 1 TeV. In order to carry out this first joint analysis, the analysis method as well as the parameters of the different models have been unified, providing a benchmark for future similar searches.In the second analysis, a total of ~ 8.03 years of DeepCore data are used to search for neutrinos coming from dark matter annihilation in the centre of the galaxy at lower dark matter masses. This analysis aims to improve the detection potential for such a search. This low-en, Doctorat en Sciences, info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

CUBES is an X-ray detector that will be placed aboard the KTH 3U CubeSat mission, MIST. Its purpose is to detect high energy X-rays as well as to test various components in a space environment. Two CUBES will be placed on the satellite. Each CUBES consists of a printed circuit board (PCB) with three multi pixel photon counters (MPPCs). On top of these, three Germanium Aluminium Gadolinium Garnet (GAGG) scintillators are glued. These GAGG scintillators are of the dimension 1X1X1 cm^3 and are covered with PTFE tape and an opaque potting compound to prevent photons from leaving the scintillator. The MPPCs consists of a large amount of semi conductors operated in Geiger mode. The data is processed by an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In order to prepare the CUBES instrument for satellite flight, energy and thermal characterisation have been performed. The energy range was determined to be 40-1200 keV. The detector system shows linear behaviour and operates stably in a temperature range of -20 °C to +30 °C. The preparation of the boards and test results are presented in this thesis., CUBES är en röntgendetektor som kommer att placeras ombord på KTH 3U CubeSat satelliten MIST. Uppdraget är att undersöka högenergetisk röntgenstrålning samt att testa komponenternas robusthet i rymden. Två CUBES kommer att placeras ombord på satelliten. CUBES detektorn består av ett kretskort med 3 MPPC (multi pixel photon counters). Ovanpå dessa är tre Germanium Aluminium Gadolinium Garnet (GAGG) scintillatorer limmade. Dessa GAGG scintillatorer har dimensionerna 1X1X1 cm^3, är täckta med PTFE band och är inneslutna i ett opakt gummi ämne för att förhindra att fotoner lämnar detektorn. MPPC består av en stor mängd halvledare som drivs i Geiger läge. Den producerade datan kommer att behandlas av en applikations specifik integrerad krets (ASIC). Inför CUBES detektorns uppdrag i rymden utfördes energi och värmetest. Det tillgängliga energiintervallet uppmättes till 40-1200 keV. Detektorn uppvisar ett linjärt energiförhållande och ger ett stabilt resultat i temperaturintervallet -20 °C till +30 °C. Resultaten av mätningarna samt förberedandet av CUBES detektorerna presenteras i denna avhandling.

In dieser Arbeit wird eine Analyse der TeV gamma-Strahlung in der Region um den galaktischen Sternhaufen Westerlund 2 präsentiert. Der dazu analysierte Datensatz beruht auf Observationen mit den Cherenkov Teleskopen des High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) Experiments und umfasst ~80h Beobachtungszeit. Für die Datenanalyse wird die open-source Software gammapy benutzt, um morphologische und spektrale Modelle der gamma-Emission zu erstellen. Zur Modellauswahl wird das Akaike-Informationskriterium angewandt. Die Ergebisse der Analysen werden weiter mit Daten aus anderen Wellenlängenbereichen kombiniert, um Schlüsse auf den möglichen Ursprung der TeV-Signale zu ziehen. Neben Hinweisen auf eine diffuse gamma-Emission und mehrerer Hotspots um Westerlund 2 ist die Detektion von drei ausgedehnten gamma-Strahlungsquellen das Hauptergebnis der dargelegten Analysen. Zusätzlich zu den bekannten Quellen HESS J1023-575 und HESS J1026-582 wird die Detektion einer neuen, elliptischen Quelle südöstlich von HESS J1023-575 präsentiert. Diese neue Quelle, als ''TeV jet cloud'' bezeichnet, zeigt räumliche Übereinstimmung mit länglichen Gaswolken, die in CO und HI Radio Daten gefunden wurden. Der Ursprung dieser Gaswolken könnte der Jet eines Mikroquasars oder einer anisotropischen Supernova sein. Eine weitere räumliche Übereinstimmung zeigt HESS J1023-575 mit einer sphärischen Gaswolke, die ihren Ursprung in einer Supernova haben könnte. HESS J1023-575 und die Gaswolken sind dabei symmetrisch zur Hauptachse der neuen elliptischen gamma-Quelle ausgerichtet, was eine Verbindung der Komponenten in einem hadronischen Emissionszenario nahelegt. Aus den Wolkenmassen und der gamma-Emission ergibt sich eine Verstärkung der kosmischen Strahlung in der Region, was auf aktive Teilchenbeschleunigung hindeutet. Sollte ein Mikroquasar in der Region gefunden werden, könnte dieses die erste Detektion eines galaktischen hochenergetischen Jets mit Cherenkov Teleskopen sein., This work presents a study of the TeV gamma-ray emission in the region of the stellar cluster Westerlund 2. The main dataset analysed in this work was obtained with the imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes of the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.), comprising a total of ~80h of observation time. The high-level analysis of the dataset is performed with the open-source software gammapy to produce extensive spectral and spatial models for the observed emission. The best-fitting models are determined by using the Akaike information criterion. The results are combined with findings from other wavelengths to probe different emission scenarios. Besides hints of a diffuse emission and the detection of multiple hotspots, the presented studies yield three extended gamma-ray sources around Westerlund 2. Besides the known sources HESS J1026-582 and HESS J1023-575, an elongated elliptical gamma-ray source referred to as ''TeV jet cloud'' is newly found to the south east of HESS J1023-575. It shows a spatial coincidence with elongated cloud structures seen in CO and HI radio data which may originate from a high energy jet of a mircroquasar or an anisotropic supernova. Another spatial agreement is seen between HESS J1023-575 and a spherical shell of hydrogen gas which may be the remains of an old supernova remnant. HESS J1023-575 and the gas cloud structures symmetrically align along the major axis of the TeV jet cloud. This suggests a connection of these components in a hadronic emission scenario. Combining the masses of the clouds with the measured gamma-ray flux yields a high cosmic ray enhancement factor, suggesting active particle acceleration in the region. If a microquasar would be found around the best-fit position of HESS J1023-575, this could be the first detection of a galactic high energy jet at TeV energies with Cherenkov telescopes.

[EN] Addressing the origin of the astrophysical neutrino flux observed by IceCube is of paramount importance. Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are among the few astrophysical sources capable of achieving the required energy to contribute to such neutrino flux through p¿ interactions. In this work, ANTARES data have been used to search for upward going muon neutrinos in spatial and temporal coincidence with 784 GRBs occurred from 2007 to 2017. For each GRB, the expected neutrino flux has been calculated in the framework of the internal shock model and the impact of the lack of knowledge on the majority of source redshifts and on other intrinsic parameters of the emission mechanism has been quantified. It is found that the model parameters that set the radial distance where shock collisions occur have the largest impact on neutrino flux expectations. In particular, the bulk Lorentz factor of the source ejecta and the minimum variability time-scale are found to contribute significantly to the GRB-neutrino flux uncertainty. For the selected sources, ANTARES data have been analysed by maximizing the discovery probability of the stacking sample through an extended maximum-likelihood strategy. Since no neutrino event passed the quality cuts set by the optimization procedure, 90 per cent confidence level upper limits (with their uncertainty) on the total expected diffuse neutrino flux have been derived, according to the model. The GRB contribution to the observed diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux around 100 TeV is constrained to be less than 10 per cent.

The very forward region of a detector at future e+e- collider is the one of the most challenging regions to instrument. A luminometer - compact calorimeter dedicated for precision measurement of the integrated luminosity at a permille level or better is needed. Here we review a feasibility of such precision at CEPC, considering detector mechanical precision and beam-related requirements. We also discuss capabilities of experimental determination of the effective centre-of-mass energy determination, from the perspective of integrated luminosity precision requirements at the Z0 pole. © Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Context. At GeV energies, the sky is dominated by the interstellar emission from the Galaxy. With limited statistics and spatial resolution, accurately separating point sources is therefore challenging. Aims. Here we present the first application of deep learning based algorithms to automatically detect and classify point sources from gamma-ray data. For concreteness we refer to this approach as AutoSourceID. Methods. To detect point sources, we utilized U-shaped convolutional networks for image segmentation and k-means for source clustering and localization. We also explored the Centroid-Net algorithm, which is designed to find and count objects. Using two algorithms allows for a cross check of the results, while a combination of their results can be used to improve performance. The training data are based on 9.5 years of exposure from The Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) and we used source properties of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and pulsars (PSRs) from the fourth Fermi-LAT source catalog in addition to several models of background interstellar emission. The results of the localization algorithm are fed into a classification neural network that is trained to separate the three general source classes (AGNs, PSRs, and FAKE sources). Results. We compared our localization algorithms qualitatively with traditional methods and find them to have similar detection thresholds. We also demonstrate the robustness of our source localization algorithms to modifications in the interstellar emission models, which presents a clear advantage over traditional methods. The classification network is able to discriminate between the three classes with typical accuracy of similar to 70%, as long as balanced data sets are used in classification training. We published online our training data sets and analysis scripts and invite the community to join the data challenge aimed to improve the localization and classification of gamma-ray point sources., QC 20220104