Speaker: Guillaume Plante, Columbia University
Title: "Recent Results from the XENON100 Dark Matter Search"
Abstract:
The XENON100 experiment, currently in operation at the Laboratori
Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy, aims at detecting dark matter weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) scattering off nuclei within its
62 kg liquid xenon (LXe) target by simultaneously measuring the
scintillation and ionization signals produced by nuclear recoils. These
two signals allow the three-dimensional localization of events with
millimeter precision and the ability to fiducialize the target volume,
yielding an inner core with a very low background. As the energy scale is based on the scintillation signal of low-energy nuclear recoils, the
precise knowledge of their scintillation efficiency is of prime importance. I will describe the apparatus and method used in our recent
measurement of the relative scintillation efficiency of nuclear recoils
in LXe, Leff, performed with a new single phase detector, designed and
built specifically for this purpose. Finally, I will present the recent XENON100 results obtained from 100 live days of data acquired in 2010
and discuss the current status of the experiment and its evolution into
XENON1T.
Speaker: Prof. Omar Benhar, INFN and Department of Physics "Sapienza" Universita' di Roma, Italy
Abstract:
It has been suggested that the difficulties in the interpretation of flux averaged double-differential neutrino-carbon cross section measured by the MiniBooNE collaboration may due to contributions arising from reaction mechanisms other than single-nucleon knockout. The analysis of the the large data base of inclusive electron scattering data allows one to pin down the role of the relevant mechanisms in a variety of kinematical regimes, thus shedding light on some of the unresolved issues of neutrino-nucleus scattering. As an example, I will argue that it may help to reconcile the different values of the nucleon axial mass reported by the MiniBooNe and NOMAD collaborations.
Speaker: Matthew Toups, Columbia University
Title: "Double Chooz First Results"
Abstract:
In this talk we present the first results from 100 days of running of
the Double Chooz detector. This experiment searches for the last
unmeasured mixing angle, $\theta_{13}$, in the three-neutrino mixing
matrix, via the disappearance of $\bar \nu_e$ produced by the dual 4.27
GWth Chooz B Reactors. We demonstrate that the detector is running
well. With this data set, we fit total interaction rate and energy
dependence to extract the mixing parameter at $\Delta
m2_{31}=2.4\times10^{-3}$ eV$^2$. We find $\sin2 2 \theta_{13} = 0.085
\pm 0.051$. This is an important first step in our multi-year
program to establish the magnitude of $\theta_{13}$ and a valuable
input to today's global fits to the
three-neutrino oscillation model.
Speaker: Alex Sousa, Harvard University
Title: "Latest MINOS Results and Future Prospects"
Abstract:
Neutrino physics continues to generate baffling surprises and the
measurement of neutrino properties still poses many experimental
challenges. The MINOS long-baseline neutrino experiment, located at Fermilab and
northern Minnesota, uses the most powerful neutrino beam in operation to
measure neutrino oscillation phenomena with unprecedented precision. I
present the most recent results from MINOS and describe the future plans
for the new MINOS+ project, which proposes to operate the MINOS
detectors with an upgraded 700 kW neutrino beam.
Speaker: Gary Cheng, Columbia University
Title: "K+ Production from 8.9 GeV Protons using Neutrino Interactions in SciBooNE"
Abstract:
The Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at Fermilab collides 8.9 GeV protons on a
Be target to provide neutrinos for current (MiniBooNE) and future
(MicroBooNE) experiments. A complete understanding of BNB’s neutrino
flux is crucial for ongoing and future analyses of these experiments.
The analysis to be presented uses SciBooNE, a precision neutrino
cross-section detector placed in the BNB, to measure the K+ production
cross-section at BNB’s Be target through high energy daughter muon
neutrino scattering data off of SciBooNE’s polystyrene (C8H8) target.
The validation of K+ production cross-section modeling using Feynman
scaling to BNB’s p-Be interaction energy levels will be argued and a K+
production cross-section measurement at 8.9 GeV will be presented.
Speaker: Prof. Sarah Demers, Yale University
Title: "Searching for New Phenomena at the Energy Frontier with Tau Leptons"
Abstract:
The Large Hadron Collider brings a new energy frontier to particle
physics with exciting opportunities for discovery. Tau leptons are
prominent in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN brings a new energy frontier to
collider physics with exciting opportunities for discovery. Tau leptons,
as members of the least-explored 3rd generation and as the most massive
lepton, appear in many new physics searches at the LHC. For example,
the discovery of the Standard Model higgs boson as well as the
supersymmetric charged and neutral higgs bosons can depend primarily on
decays involving taus in many possible scenarios due to enhanced
couplings of the Higgs to taus. In addition, the ability to study the
polarization, parity, and spin correlations of resonances decaying to
taus make them powerful probes of the details of whatever new physics is
uncovered. Experience with taus from Monte Carlo Simulation, the
TeVatron and the LHC warn us of the difficulty of analyses with taus in
the environment of a hadron collider while providing us with insights
into overcoming the challenges. In this talk I will describe some
current results from searches with taus from ATLAS and CMS as well as
analysis techniques that allow us to separate physics with taus from the
ubiquitous, and similar in signature, backgrounds.