Search

Measurements of the EMC effect in the tritium and helium-3 mirror nuclei are reported. The data were obtained by the MARATHON Jefferson Lab experiment, which performed deep inelastic electron scattering from deuterium and the three-body nuclei, using a cryogenic gas target system and the High Resolution Spectrometers of the Hall A Facility of the Lab. The data cover the Bjorken $x$ range from 0.20 to 0.83, corresponding to a squared four-momentum transfer $Q^2$ range from 2.7 to $11.9\gevsq$, and to an invariant mass $W$ of the final hadronic state greater than 1.84 GeV/${\it c}^2$. The tritium EMC effect measurement is the first of its kind. The MARATHON experimental results are compared to results from previous measurements by DESY-HERMES and JLab-Hall C experiments, as well as with few-body theoretical predictions., Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2104.05850

Tracking detectors are of vital importance for collider-based high energy physics (HEP) experiments. The primary purpose of tracking detectors is the precise reconstruction of charged particle trajectories and the reconstruction of secondary vertices. The performance requirements from the community posed by the future collider experiments require an evolution of tracking systems, necessitating the development of new techniques, materials and technologies in order to fully exploit their physics potential. In this article we summarize the discussions and conclusions of the 2022 Snowmass Instrumentation Frontier subgroup on Solid State and Tracking Detectors (Snowmass IF03)., Comment: for the Snowmass Instrumentation Frontier Solid State Detector and Tracking community

The ePix detector family provides multiple variants of hybrid pixel detectors to support a wide range of applications at free electron laser facilities. We present the results of a systematic study of the influence of radiation induced damage on the performance and lifetime of an ePix100a detector module using a direct attenuated beam of the EuXFEL at 9 keV photon energy and an average power of 10 $\mu$W. An area of 20 x 20 pixels was irradiated with an average photon flux of approx. 7 x $10^{9}$ photons/s to a dose of approximately 760$\pm$65 kGy at the location of the Si/SiO$_2$ interfaces in the sensor. A dose dependent increase in both offset and noise of the ePix100a detector have been observed originating from an increase of the sensor leakage current. Moreover, we observed an effect directly after irradiation resulting in the saturation of individual pixels by their dark current. Changes in gain are evaluated one and half hours post irradiation and suggest damage to occur also on the ASIC level. Based on the obtained results, thresholds for beam parameters are deduced and the detector lifetime is estimated with respect to the requirements to the data quality in order to satisfy the scientific standards defined by the experiments. We conclude the detector can withstand a beam with an energy up to 1 $\mu$J at a photon energy of 9 keV impacting on an area of 1 mm$^2$. The detector can be used without significant degradation of its performance for several years if the incident photon beam intensities do not exceed the detector's dynamic range by at least three orders of magnitude. Our results provide valuable input for the operation of the ePix100a detector at FEL facilities and for the design of future detector technology., Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication by the Journal of Instrumentation

The ratio of the nucleon $F_2$ structure functions, $F_2^n/F_2^p$, is determined by the MARATHON experiment from measurements of deep inelastic scattering of electrons from $^3$H and $^3$He nuclei. The experiment was performed in the Hall A Facility of Jefferson Lab and used two high resolution spectrometers for electron detection, and a cryogenic target system which included a low-activity tritium cell. The data analysis used a novel technique exploiting the mirror symmetry of the two nuclei, which essentially eliminates many theoretical uncertainties in the extraction of the ratio. The results, which cover the Bjorken scaling variable range $0.19 < x < 0.83$, represent a significant improvement compared to previous SLAC and Jefferson Lab measurements for the ratio. They are compared to recent theoretical calculations and empirical determinations of the $F_2^n/F_2^p$ ratio.

Sensors fabricated from high resistivity, float zone, silicon material have been the basis of vertex detectors and trackers for the last 30 years. The areas of these devices have increased from a few square cm to $\> 200\ m^2$ for the existing CMS tracker. High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC), CMS and ATLAS tracker upgrades will each require more than $200\ m^2$ of silicon and the CMS High Granularity Calorimeter (HGCAL) will require more than $600\ m^2$. The cost and complexity of assembly of these devices is related to the area of each module, which in turn is set by the size of the silicon sensors. In addition to large area, the devices must be radiation hard, which requires the use of sensors thinned to 200 microns or less. The combination of wafer thinning and large wafer diameter is a significant technical challenge, and is the subject of this work. We describe work on development of thin sensors on $200 mm$ wafers using wafer bonding technology. Results of development runs with float zone, Silicon-on-Insulator and Silicon-Silicon bonded wafer technologies are reported., Comment: 11 pages

Wavelength-dispersive spectrometers (WDS) are often used in synchrotron and FEL applications where high energy resolution (in the order of eV) is important. Increasing WDS energy resolution requires increasing spatial resolution of the detectors in the dispersion direction. The common approaches with strip detectors or small pixel detectors are not ideal. We present a novel approach, with a sensor using rectangular pixels with a high aspect ratio (between strips and pixels, further called "strixels"), and strixel redistribution to match the square pixel arrays of typical ASICs while avoiding the considerable effort of redesigning ASICs. This results in a sensor area of 17.4 mm x 77 mm, with a fine pitch of 25 $\mu$m in the horizontal direction resulting in 3072 columns and 176 rows. The sensors use ePix100 readout ASICs, leveraging their low noise (43 e$^-$, or 180 eV rms). We present results obtained with a Hammerhead ePix100 camera, showing that the small pitch (25 $\mu$m) in the dispersion direction maximizes performance for both high and low photon occupancies, resulting in optimal WDS energy resolution. The low noise level at high photon occupancy allows precise photon counting, while at low occupancy, both the energy and the subpixel position can be reconstructed for every photon, allowing an ultrahigh resolution (in the order of 1 $\mu$m) in the dispersion direction and rejection of scattered beam and harmonics. Using strixel sensors with redistribution and flip-chip bonding to standard ePix readout ASICs results in ultrahigh position resolution ($\sim$1 $\mu$m) and low noise in WDS applications, leveraging the advantages of hybrid pixel detectors (high production yield, good availability, relatively inexpensive) while minimizing development complexity through sharing the ASIC, hardware, software and DAQ development with existing versions of ePix cameras., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures

ePix10K is a hybrid pixel detector developed at SLAC for demanding free-electron laser (FEL) applications, providing an ultrahigh dynamic range (245 eV to 88 MeV) through gain auto-ranging. It has three gain modes (high, medium and low) and two auto-ranging modes (high-to-low and medium-to-low). The first ePix10K cameras are built around modules consisting of a sensor flip-chip bonded to 4 ASICs, resulting in 352x384 pixels of 100 $\mu$m x 100 $\mu$m each. We present results from extensive testing of three ePix10K cameras with FEL beams at LCLS, resulting in a measured noise floor of 245 eV rms, or 67 e$^-$ equivalent noise charge (ENC), and a range of 11000 photons at 8 keV. We demonstrate the linearity of the response in various gain combinations: fixed high, fixed medium, fixed low, auto-ranging high to low, and auto-ranging medium-to-low, while maintaining a low noise (well within the counting statistics), a very low cross-talk, perfect saturation response at fluxes up to 900 times the maximum range, and acquisition rates of up to 480 Hz. Finally, we present examples of high dynamic range x-ray imaging spanning more than 4 orders of magnitude dynamic range (from a single photon to 11000 photons/pixel/pulse at 8 keV). Achieving this high performance with only one auto-ranging switch leads to relatively simple calibration and reconstruction procedures. The low noise levels allow usage with long integration times at non-FEL sources. ePix10K cameras leverage the advantages of hybrid pixel detectors with high production yield and good availability, minimize development complexity through sharing the hardware, software and DAQ development with all other versions of ePix cameras, while providing an upgrade path to 5 kHz, 25 kHz and 100 kHz in three steps over the next few years, matching the LCLS-II requirements., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

The experiment E94-107 in Hall A at Jefferson Lab started a systematic study of high resolution hypernuclear spectroscopy in the 0p-shell region of nuclei such as the hypernuclei produced in electroproduction on 9Be, 12C and 16O targets. In order to increase counting rates and provide unambiguous kaon identification two superconducting septum magnets and a ring-imaging Cherenkov detector were added to the Hall A standard equipment. The high-quality beam, the good spectrometers and the new experimental devices allowed us to obtain very good results. For the first time, measurable strength with sub-MeV energy resolution was observed for the core-excited states of Lambda 12B. A high-quality Lambda 16N hypernuclear spectrum was likewise obtained. A first measurement of the Lambda binding energy for Lambda 16N, calibrated against the elementary reaction on hydrogen, was obtained with high precision, 13.76 +/- 0.16 MeV. Similarly, the first Lambda 9Li hypernuclear spectrum shows general agreement with theory (distorted-wave impulse approximation with the SLA and BS3 electroproduction models and shell-model wave functions). Some disagreement exists with respect to the relative strength of the states making up the first multiplet. A Lambda separation energy of 8.36 MeV was obtained, in agreement with previous results. It has been shown that the electroproduction of hypernuclei can provide information complementary to that obtained with hadronic probes and the gamma-ray spectroscopy technique., Comment: 27 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Physical Review C

The projected performance and detector configuration of nEXO are described in this pre-Conceptual Design Report (pCDR). nEXO is a tonne-scale neutrinoless double beta ($0\nu\beta\beta$) decay search in $^{136}$Xe, based on the ultra-low background liquid xenon technology validated by EXO-200. With $\simeq$ 5000 kg of xenon enriched to 90% in the isotope 136, nEXO has a projected half-life sensitivity of approximately $10^{28}$ years. This represents an improvement in sensitivity of about two orders of magnitude with respect to current results. Based on the experience gained from EXO-200 and the effectiveness of xenon purification techniques, we expect the background to be dominated by external sources of radiation. The sensitivity increase is, therefore, entirely derived from the increase of active mass in a monolithic and homogeneous detector, along with some technical advances perfected in the course of a dedicated R&D program. Hence the risk which is inherent to the construction of a large, ultra-low background detector is reduced, as the intrinsic radioactive contamination requirements are generally not beyond those demonstrated with the present generation $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay experiments. Indeed, most of the required materials have been already assayed or reasonable estimates of their properties are at hand. The details described herein represent the base design of the detector configuration as of early 2018. Where potential design improvements are possible, alternatives are discussed. This design for nEXO presents a compelling path towards a next generation search for $0\nu\beta\beta$, with a substantial possibility to discover physics beyond the Standard Model., Comment: 182 pages, minor revisions

Free-electron lasers (FELs) opened a new window on imaging the motion of atoms and molecules. At SLAC, FEL experiments are performed at LCLS using 120 Hz pulses with 10^12 to 10^13 photons in 10 fs (billions of times brighter than at the most powerful synchrotrons). Concurrently, users and staff operate under high pressure due to flexible and often rapidly changing setups and low tolerance for system malfunction. This extreme detection environment raises unique challenges, from obvious to surprising, and leads to treating detectors as consumables. We discuss in detail the detector damage mechanisms observed in 7 years of operation at LCLS, together with the corresponding damage mitigation strategies and their effectiveness. Main types of damage mechanisms already identified include: (1) x-ray radiation damage (from "catastrophic" to "classical"), (2) direct and indirect damage caused by optical lasers, (3) sample induced damage, (4) vacuum related damage, (5) high-pressure environment. In total, 19 damage mechanisms have been identified. We also present general strategies for reducing damage risk or minimizing the impact of detector damage on the science program. These include availability of replacement parts and skilled operators and also careful planning, incident investigation resulting in updated designs, procedures and operator training., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables

Radiation detection in applications ranging from high energy physics to medical imaging rely on solid state detectors, often hybrid pixel detectors with (1) reverse biased p-n junction pixel sensors and (2) readout ASICs, attached by flip-chip-bonding. Transient signals characteristics are important in, e.g., matching ASIC and sensor design, modeling and optimizing detector parameters and describing timing and charge sharing properties. Currently analytical forms of transient signals are available for only a few limited cases (e.g., drift or diffusion) or for the steady state (which is not relevant for high energy radiation detection). Tools are available for (relatively slow) numerical evaluation of the transient charge transport. We present here the first analytical solutions of partial differential equations describing drift-diffusion-recombination charge transport in planar p-n junction sensors in a variety of conditions: (1) undepleted, (2) fully depleted, (3) taking into account the gradual velocity saturation, and (4) overdepleted. We deduce the Green's functions which can be applied to any detection problem through simple convolution with the initial conditions. We compare the analytical solutions with Monte Carlo simulations and industry standard simulations (Synopsys Sentaurus), demonstrating good agreement. Using the analytical equations enables fast modeling of the influence of various detector parameters on tracking, imaging and timing performance, describing performance and enabling optimizations for different applications. Finally, we illustrate this model with applications in 3D+T (x,y,z,time) photon tracking and 4D+T (x,y,theta,phi,time) relativistic charged particle tracking., Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables

The charge and magnetic form factors, FC and FM, of 3He have been extracted in the kinematic range 25 fm-2 < Q2 < 61 fm-2 from elastic electron scattering by detecting 3He recoil nuclei and electrons in coincidence with the High Resolution Spectrometers of the Hall A Facility at Jefferson Lab. The measurements are indicative of a second diffraction minimum for the magnetic form factor, which was predicted in the Q2 range of this experiment, and of a continuing diffractive structure for the charge form factor. The data are in qualitative agreement with theoretical calculations based on realistic interactions and accurate methods to solve the three-body nuclear problem.

In the absence of accurate data on the free two-body hyperon-nucleon interaction, the spectra of hypernuclei can provide information on the details of the effective hyperon-nucleon interaction. Electroproduction of the hypernucleus Lambda-9Li has been studied for the first time with sub-MeV energy resolution in Hall A at Jefferson Lab on a 9Be target. In order to increase the counting rate and to provide unambiguous kaon identification, two superconducting septum magnets and a Ring Imaging CHerenkov detector (RICH) were added to the Hall A standard equipment. The cross section to low-lying states of Lambda-9Li is concentrated within 3 MeV of the ground state and can be fitted with four peaks. The positions of the doublets agree with theory while a disagreement could exist with respect to the relative strengths of the peaks in the doublets. A Lambda separation energy of 8.36 +- 0.08 (stat.) +- 0.08 (syst.) MeV was measured, in agreement with an earlier experiment., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures

The charge form factor of $^$4He has been extracted in the range 29 fm$^{-2}$ $\le Q^2 \le 77$ fm$^{-2}$ from elastic electron scattering, detecting $^4$He nuclei and electrons in coincidence with the High Resolution Spectrometers of the Hall A Facility of Jefferson Lab. The results are in qualitative agreement with realistic meson-nucleon theoretical calculations. The data have uncovered a second diffraction minimum, which was predicted in the $Q^2$ range of this experiment, and rule out conclusively long-standing predictions of dimensional scaling of high-energy amplitudes using quark counting., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures

The five-fold differential cross section for the 12C(e,e'p)11B reaction was determined over a missing momentum range of 200-400 MeV/c, in a kinematics regime with Bjorken x > 1 and Q2 = 2.0 (GeV/c)2. A comparison of the results and theoretical models and previous lower missing momentum data is shown. The theoretical calculations agree well with the data up to a missing momentum value of 325 MeV/c and then diverge for larger missing momenta. The extracted distorted momentum distribution is shown to be consistent with previous data and extends the range of available data up to 400 MeV/c., Comment: 12 pages, 1 table and 3 figures for submission to Journal Physics G

We present a search at Jefferson Laboratory for new forces mediated by sub-GeV vector bosons with weak coupling $\alpha'$ to electrons. Such a particle $A'$ can be produced in electron-nucleus fixed-target scattering and then decay to an $e^+e^-$ pair, producing a narrow resonance in the QED trident spectrum. Using APEX test run data, we searched in the mass range 175--250 MeV, found no evidence for an $A'\to e^+e^-$ reaction, and set an upper limit of $\alpha'/\alpha \simeq 10^{-6}$. Our findings demonstrate that fixed-target searches can explore a new, wide, and important range of masses and couplings for sub-GeV forces., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, references added

The electric form factor of the neutron was determined from studies of the reaction He3(e,e'n)pp in quasi-elastic kinematics in Hall A at Jefferson Lab. Longitudinally polarized electrons were scattered off a polarized target in which the nuclear polarization was oriented perpendicular to the momentum transfer. The scattered electrons were detected in a magnetic spectrometer in coincidence with neutrons that were registered in a large-solid-angle detector. More than doubling the Q2-range over which it is known, we find GEn = 0.0225 +/- 0.0017 (stat) +/- 0.0024 (syst), 0.0200 +/- 0.0023 +/- 0.0018, and 0.0142 +/- 0.0019 +/- 0.0013 for Q2 = 1.72, 2.48, and 3.41 GeV2, respectively., Comment: submitted to PRL

An experimental study of the 16O(e,e'K^+)16N_Lambda reaction has been performed at Jefferson Lab. A thin film of falling water was used as a target. This permitted a simultaneous measurement of the p(e,e'K^+)Lambda,Sigma_0 exclusive reactions and a precise calibration of the energy scale. A ground-state binding energy of 13.76 +/- 0.16 MeV was obtained for 16N_Lambda with better precision than previous measurements on the mirror hypernucleus 16O_Lambda. Precise energies have been determined for peaks arising from a Lambda in s and p orbits coupled to the p_{1/2} and p_{3/2} hole states of the 15N core nucleus., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables

An experiment measuring electroproduction of hypernuclei has been performed in Hall A at Jefferson Lab on a $^{12}$C target. In order to increase counting rates and provide unambiguous kaon identification two superconducting septum magnets and a Ring Imaging CHerenkov detector (RICH) were added to the Hall A standard equipment. An unprecedented energy resolution of less than 700 keV FWHM has been achieved. Thus, the observed \lam{12}{B} spectrum shows for the first time identifiable strength in the core-excited region between the ground-state {\it s}-wave $\Lambda$ peak and the 11 MeV {\it p}-wave $\Lambda$ peak., Comment: Paper submitted to Physical Review Letters

A lead-glass hodoscope calorimeter that was constructed for use in the Jefferson Lab Real Compton Scattering experiment is described. The detector provides a measurement of the coordinates and the energy of scattered photons in the GeV energy range with resolutions of 5 mm and 6%/\sqrt(E{\gamma} [GeV]). Features of both the detector design and its performance in the high luminosity environment during the experiment are presented., Comment: text updated according to published version

We determine the rings of invariants in the symmetric algebra on the dual of a vector space V over the field of two elements, for the group G of orthogonal transformations preserving a non-singular quadratic form on V. The invariant ring is shown to have a presentation in which the difference between the number of generators and the number of relations is equal to the minimum possibility, namely the dimension of V, and it is shown to be a complete intersection. In particular, the rings of invariants computed here are all Gorenstein and hence Cohen-Macaulay., Comment: 41 pages