New Perspectives 2016

13 Jun 2016, 08:00 → 14 Jun 2016, 18:35 US/Central

One West (Fermilab, Wilson Hall)

Cindy Joe (Fermilab AD/Operations), Elena Gramellini (Yale University), Mateus Carneiro (CBPF), Nitin Yadav (Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati), Rob Fine (University of Rochester), Sebastian Aderhold (Fermilab)

New Perspectives is a conference for, and by, young researchers in the Fermilab community. It provides a forum for graduate students, postdocs, visiting researchers, and all other young persons that contribute to the scientific program at Fermilab to present their work to an audience of peers.
New Perspectives has a rich history of providing the Fermilab community with a venue for young researchers to present their work. Oftentimes, the content of these talks wouldn't appear at typical HEP conferences, because of its work-in-progress status or because its part of work that will never be published. However, it is exactly this type of work, frequently performed by the youngest members of our community, that forms the backbone of the research programme at Fermilab. The New Perspectives Organizing Committee is deeply committed to presenting to the community a programme that accurately reflects the breadth and depth of research being done by young researchers at Fermilab.
New Perspectives is organized by the Fermilab Student and Postdoc Association (FSPA) and serves as a preamble to the Fermilab Users Annual Meeting. Please direct any questions, concerns, and comments to fspa_officers@fnal.gov

Monday, 13 June

Session 1: Nova

Convener: Dr Boris Kayser (Fermilab)

1 Greetings

Welcome to New Perspectives 2016!

Speaker: Nigel Lockyer (Fermilab)

2 NOvA in 10 minutes

NOvA is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment that uses an upgraded NuMI beam from Fermilab. The two functionally similar, high sampling, liquid scintillator calorimeters are 14 mrad off-axis from the beam, providing a neutrino flux narrowly peaked at around 2 GeV. One of the main physics goals of the experiment is to study the electron (anti)neutrino appearance in a muon (anti)neutrino beam. This will lead to a great opportunity to resolve the neutrino mass hierarchy and a chance to measure the $\delta$ CP-phase in the neutrino sector. Similarly, measurements of the muon (anti)neutrino disappearance probabilities will provide high precision values to $\sin^2{\theta_{23}}$ and $\Delta m^{2}_{32}$ oscillation parameters. A combined analysis measurement will allow a better resolution of the $\theta_{23}$ octant. In this talk, an overview of the NOvA experimental effort will be presented.

Speaker: JOSE SEPULVEDA-QUIROZ (IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY)

Slides nova_10_min.pdf

3 Finding Neutrinos: The Design of the NOvA Timing and Synchronization System

NOvA is an accelerator-based, long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment designed to probe the mass hierarchy and mixing structure of the neutrino sector. The experiment consists of a at Fermilab and a far detector 810 km away in northern Minnesota positioned to receive neutrinos from Fermilab's NuMI beam. In order for NOvA to measure neutrino oscillations, these two detectors must have very precise timing and must be synchronized so that the channel-to-channel variations are less than 10 ns. A GPS-based timing system has been designed and built to synchronize the 10,749 far detector readout elements and 631 near detector readout elements to such precision. This is done while simultaneously synchronizing the readout timing of the near and far detectors to the Fermilab accelerator complex to allow for the detection of the individual neutrino beam spills in each of the detectors. This presentation will outline the design of NOvA's timing system and discuss the means by which we monitor its performance to ensure the quality of the physics data being collected.

Speaker: Justin Vasel (Indiana University)

Slides Vasel-New-Perspectives-2016.pdf

4 Data-Driven Constraint on the Total Neutrino Flux Using $\nu$-e Elastic Scattering in the NOvA Near Detector

NOvA, a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment at Fermilab, is designed to measure $\nu_{e}$ appearance and $\nu_{\mu}$ disappearance rates in the NuMI beam. NOvA comprises two finely segmented liquid scintillator detectors at 14 mrad off-axis in the NuMI beam. Taking advantage of a tightly focused off-axis view of the NuMI neutrino beam, and a finely instrumented liquid scintillator detector, NOvA has an excellent opportunity to make high precision measurements of neutrino interactions using its near detector. An accurate prediction of the neutrino flux is needed for precision oscillation and cross-section measurements. In this talk, I shall present the data-driven constraint on the total neutrino flux using using $\nu-e$ elastic scattering in the NOvA near detector.

Speaker: Ms Kuldeep Kaur Maan (Panjab Univeristy)

Slides NP2016_Kuldeep.pdf

5 Measurement of $\nu_{\mu}$ Induced Neutral Current $\pi^{0}$ Production Cross Section with the NOvA Near Detector

NOvA is a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment at Fermilab. It uses two detectors, the near detector at Fermilab and the far detector at a distance of 810 km at Ash River, Minnesota. NOvA measures the rate of $\nu_{e}$ appearance at the far detector in the $\nu_{\mu}$ beam produced by the NuMI facility at Fermilab. Neutrino interactions with a $\pi^{0}$ in the final state are the dominant background in the search for electron neutrinos since the photons produced can fake the appearance signal for an electron neutrino. Studying neutral current (NC) interactions with a $\pi^{0}$ in the final state will improve understanding of neutrino induced NC $\pi^{0}$ production and reduce background uncertainties for current and future neutrino oscillation experiments. The talk will describe the status of the analysis related to the inclusive NC $\pi^{0}$ cross section measurement with the NOvA near detector.

Speaker: Giulia Brunetti (Fermilab)

Slides NOvA_NCpi0_newPerspectives.pdf

6 Sterile Neutrino Oscillations At The NOvA Near Detector

The anomalous electron antineutrino excess appearing in muon antineutrino beams seen by the LSND and MiniBooNE experiments can be explained by oscillations between the three known active neutrinos and new sterile neutrino flavors with masses near 1eV. If these light sterile neutrinos exist, they would open a brand new sector in physics, not predicted by the Standard Model. NOvA is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment primarily designed to measure the rate of electron neutrino appearance at the far detector using the NuMI neutrino beam, which is predominantly composed of muon neutrinos, at Fermilab. NOvA has two finely-grained liquid scintillator detectors placed 14 mrad off-axis to the NuMI beam. The near detector is located 1 km away from the NuMI target at Fermilab and the far detector is located 810 km away from Fermilab at Ash River, MN. Besides standard neutrino oscillation measurements, the NOvA near detector can be used to perform searches for anomalous short-baseline oscillations and probe the LSND and MiniBooNE allowed regions for the existence of exotic phenomena such as sterile neutrinos. This talk will present sensitivities to oscillations into sterile neutrinos by searching for electron neutrino appearance and muon neutrino disappearance at the near detector.

Speaker: Mr Siva Prasad Kasetti (NOvA)

Slides NP2016_SBL_Siva.pdf

10:30 Coffee Break

Session 2: Collider Physics and the Fermilab Test Accelerators

Convener: Dr Joel Butler (Fermilab)

7 Measurement of the Charge-Parity and Forward-Backward Asymmetries in the Decay $D^{\pm} \rightarrow \phi \pi^{\pm} \rightarrow K^{+}K^{-} \pi^{\pm}$ at CDF

Charge-parity violation (CPV) is important to explaining the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. CPV is predicted in the Standard Model through the complex nature of the quark mixing matrix. CPV has been measured in $B$ meson decays through the interference of different decay paths to the same final state. In decays of $D$ mesons CPV is predicted to be very small and is not yet observed. We measure the charge-parity and forward-backward asymmetries in the Cabibbo-suppressed decay $D \to \phi \pi \to KK \pi$ using the full CDF dataset. It is expected that CP asymmetries will be more visible in Cabibbo-suppressed decays. We compare the $D$ measurements with the same measurement performed with $D_s \to \phi \pi \to KK \pi$ decays to cancel asymmetries from the detector. With approximately one million $D$ decays and 1.5 million $D_s$ decays we are sensitive to very small asymmetries. We expect to see significant improvement over previous measurements.

Speaker: Mr Christopher Clarke (Wayne State University)

Slides ChrisClarkeNPTalk.pdf

8 CMS in 10 Minutes

Forty million times per second, the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider detects the products of the highest energy collisions ever created in a laboratory. The experiment's charged particle trackers, calorimeters, and muon detectors, which total over 100 million individual detecting elements, are used to measure the properties of the standard model and to search beyond it. Approximately 900 students from around the world work on CMS.

Speaker: Benjamin Kreis (Fermilab)

Slides CMSin10_kreis.pdf

9 Search for Heavy Resonances Decaying to diTau Pairs in pp Collisions at sqrt(s) = 13 TeV

A search for new physics in events with two high-$p_T$ taus is performed using 2.2 $\text{fb}^{-1}$ of data collected by the CMS experiment during 2015 at sqrt(s)=13TeV. The search is centered around the heavy neutral gauge boson known as the Z', though additional models are also considered. Observations are consistent with the Standard Model expectations. The diTau mass spectrum is examined, and limits are set at 95\% confidence level on the production cross section times branching fraction of a Z' resonance decaying to tau pairs.

Speaker: Mr Andrew Johnson (University of Colorado)

Slides NewPerspectives_TauTau.pdf

10 Search for Supersymmetry with Vector Boson Fusion-like Topology via Dedicated VBF Trigger

A search for supersymmetry (SUSY) using vector-boson fusion (VBF) tagged jets is presented using 19.5 fb$^{-1}$ of data from proton-proton collisions at center of mass energy of 8 TeV, collected by the CMS detector in 2012. Final states containing at least two leptons are expected in pair production of charginos and neutralinos. The LHC has started its operation at 13 TeV in June 2015, where we repeat the same analysis, but by using a newly implemented VBF Trigger. This will improve search sensitivity for compressed-mass spectra in SUSY even in a high-luminosity environment. We show the performance of the new trigger and some studies based on detector performance.

Speaker: Mr Ali Celik (Texas A&M University)

Slides New_Perspective_2016.pdf

11 Module Testing for CMS FPIX Upgrade

The pixel detector is an integral part of the CMS silicon tracker, designed to measure the position and momentum of charged particles produced in high-energy collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Over the coming years, the LHC will deliver increased instantaneous luminosity to the CMS detector, soon reaching double the design luminosity. The phase 1 upgrade of the CMS pixel detector will replace the existing pixel detector at the end of 2016 during an extended technical stop. This upgrade will include four barrel layers and three forward disks, providing robust tracking and vertexing to avoid performance degradation under extreme pileup conditions. The CMS group from UIC is responsible for X-ray testing of pixel modules at UIC and full calibration at Fermilab's SiDet Facility. Module testing and qualification procedures of the phase I upgrade are described.

Speaker: Xuan Chen (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Slides NP2016_XChen.pdf

12 A Search for Gluino-Mediated Supersymmetry with Higgs Bosons and Missing Energy in the Final State

In supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model, the Higgsino and gluino are expected to play an important role in stabilizing the Higgs boson mass parameter. With specific assumptions about the LSP and NLSP masses, CMS results at 8 TeV for gluino-mediated supersymmetry with two Higgs bosons and missing energy in the final state have set a lower bound on the gluino mass at approximately 1 TeV; similar searches at 13 TeV bring this bound to about 1.5 TeV. Here we will focus on certain classes of models in which the sparticle mass spectra result in events with highly boosted Higgs bosons. A new analysis strategy using jet substructure techniques in hopes of enhancing sensitivity to these types of models will be presented. Our expected sensitivity with the new techniques will be compared to existing search strategies in the multijet and missing energy final states.

Speaker: Frank Jensen (University of Colorado)

Slides np2016_fojensen.pdf

13 An OSC Experiment in IOTA at Fermilab

A proof-of-principal optical stochastic cooling (OSC) experiment will take place in the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) at Fermilab. OSC is a technique that may yield cooling rates orders of magnitude faster than what is achievable with presently used microwave-based stochastic cooling systems, and can thus play an important role in future high luminosity machines. In OSC light from an undulator (the pick-up) is superimposed in an identical downstream undulator (the kicker). Cooling is achieved by controlling the phase between the radiation fields from the pick-up and kicker undulators and special arrangements in the beam optics. We present here the latest developments in the light optics design and discuss major principles of OSC operation.

Speaker: Mr Matthew Andorf (Northern Illinois University)

Slides An_OSC_Experiment_in_IOTA_at_Fermilab.pptx

14 Generation of Patterned Electron Beams with Microlens Arrays

Microlens arrays are fly-eye type light condensers that are commonly used to improve the uniformity of light beams. A common problem of the photocathode in electron accelerators is distortion of the laser spot due to non ideal conditions at all stages of the amplification. Such a laser spot at the cathode may produce asymmetric charged beams that will result in degradation of the beam quality due to space charge at early stages of acceleration and fail to optimally utilize the cathode surface. In this talk we discuss the possibility of using microlens arrays to dramatically improve the transverse uniformity of the drive laser pulse on UV photocathodes at both the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA) and the Fermilab Accelerator Science \& Technology (FAST) facility. In particular, we discuss the experimental characterization of the homogeneity and periodic patterns formation at the photocathode. Finally, we compare the experimental results with the paraxial analysis, ray tracing and wavefront propagation software.

Speakers: Mr Alex Halavanau Halavanau (Northern Illinois University), Mr Aliaksei Halavanau (APC)

Slides Halavanau_Monday.pdf

13:00 Lunch

Session 3: Liquid Argon at Fermilab - the Present and Future

Convener: Dr Regina Rameika (Fermilab)

15 MicroBooNE in 10 Minutes

MicroBooNE is a neutrino detector which employs the liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) technology to image neutrino interactions. The detector sits in the Booster Neutrino Beamline and has been taking data since October 2015. MicroBooNE aims to investigate the excess of low energy $\nu_e$ events observed by the MiniBooNE experiment, and perform $\nu$-Ar cross-section measurements in the $\mathcal{O}$(1GeV) energy range. The experiment has already conducted R\&D work for the LArTPC community. In this talk, we will present the current status of the MicroBooNE experiment.

Speaker: Caratelli David (Columbia University)

Slides MicroBooNE in 10 Minutes - Caratelli

16 Measuring Nucleon Structure from Neutrino Interactions in MicroBooNE

The MicroBooNE detector, a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC), is currently running in the Booster Neutrino Beamline at Fermilab. MicroBooNE's high resolution allows a measurement of low-momentum-transfer neutral-current elastic interactions, whose signal is a single short proton track. The probability of these interactions directly depends on the structure of the nucleon and, in particular, the strange quark contribution to the net spin of the proton, $\Delta s$. Algorithms are being developed to automatically reconstruct interactions in this growing liquid argon technology. We present our work on the automated selection and identification of short proton tracks in LArTPCs, a crucial step in the measurement of $\Delta s$ and a number of important neutrino-nucleus cross sections.

Speaker: Katherine Woodruff (New Mexico State University)

Slides NewPerspectives2016_Woodruff.pdf

17 Flash Track Matching Development in MicroBooNE

MicroBooNE is a 170-ton neutrino experiment that utilizes a liquid-argon time projection chamber (TPC), which sits in the Booster Neutrino Beamline at Fermilab. MicroBooNE is the first operational detector of the SBN program and started taking beam data in October 2015. The experiment aims to unambiguously probe the nature of the low-energy excess of events observed by MiniBooNE and measure neutrino-argon cross sections. MicroBooNE is capable of precisely extracting the time of interactions ($t_0$) by matching tracks in the liquid-argon TPC and flashes observed by an array of photomultiplier tubes. We present our efforts towards building a flash-track matching algorithm and its first results on a dataset that uses information from an external muon tagger system.

Speaker: Mr Rui An (Illinois Institute of Technology)

Slides Optical_Model_and_Flash_Matching_Study_in_uBooNE.pdf

18 Short Baseline Near Detector at Fermilab

The Short Baseline Near Detector, SBND, is an upcoming liquid argon time projection chamber (TPC) at Fermilab. Scheduled to begin running in 2018, SBND will be the near detector in Fermilab's Short Baseline Neutrino program. Thus, it will have tremendous importance to the physics goals of the SBN program, and its proximity to the neutrino source enables it to observe unprecedented numbers of neutrino interactions in a liquid argon TPC. In this talk, I will present the physics goals of SBND and discuss its current design and construction.

Speaker: Mr Corey Adams (Yale Unversity)

Slides SBND_NewPerspectives16.pdf

19 Prospects of Sterile Neutrino Oscillation and CPV Measurement at SBN

By utilizing three liquid argon time projection chamber detectors positioned at different baselines along the Booster Neutrino Beamline at Fermilab, the Short Baseline Neutrino (SBN) program will grant unprecedented sensitivity in probing the parameter space of 3 active plus N sterile (3+N) neutrino oscillation models. This talk will present the results of a complete sensitivity analysis of SBN to 3+N oscillation models, focusing particularly on 3+2 and 3+3 models, and show that by combining this with global fits of existing sterile neutrino oscillation data one can quantitatively see the extent to which SBN reduces the allowed sterile parameter space. For these cases, one may also explore SBN's sensitivity to CP violating phases which appear in association with the extra neutrino states. Constraining the CP-violating parameter phase-space for such extended models is both of vital importance to understanding the neutrino sector in itself and complementary to future, long-baseline searches for CP violation.

Speaker: Davio Cianci (University of Manchester)

Slides SBNSensNewPerspectives.pdf

20 Constraining Non-Unitarity in the Neutrino Sector Using the SBN Facility

In this talk, we discuss the potential for the Short Baseline Neutrino (SBN) program at Fermilab to constrain non-unitarity in the neutrino sector. Unitarity is a necessary assumption for working in the three neutrino paradigm, but lacks many rigorous bounds, as sensitivity to non-unitarity requires a very detailed understanding of flux and cross-section uncertainties. We present initial results of a sensitivity study for a search of instantaneous $\nu_{e}$ appearance and $\nu_{\mu}$ disappearance at the SBN facility. We further discuss what possible improvements can be made on this in the future, in particular by utilising the high-statistics sample of neutral-current neutrino interactions available at SBND.

Speaker: Mr Mark Ross-Lonergan (IPPP Durham University)

Slides NewPerspectives_markrosslonergan_final.pdf

21 DUNE in 10 Minutes

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next-generation long-baseline neutrino experiment, with one detector located near the origin of a neutrino beam at Fermilab and another located 1300 km away in South Dakota. Using the beam, DUNE will advance knowledge of neutrino oscillation physics, including a measurement of the CP violating phase and a study of the mass hierarchy. A rich program of non-beam physics research will also take place, including searches for supernovae and proton decay, as well as studies of atmospheric neutrinos. The far detector will be a 40 kton fiducial mass liquid argon time projection chamber, divided into four 10 kton fiducial mass modules. Since charged particles passing through liquid argon also induce scintillation, a photon detection system is in development to enhance the far detector's capabilities. Aspects of the physics program, detector designs, and the extensive research and development program en route to realization will be presented.

Speaker: Bruce Howard (Indiana University)

Slides DUNE_In_10_Minutes

22 Impact of Size and Number of Horns on the DUNE Neutrino Flux

Increasing the neutrino flux in a long-baseline experiment such as the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) at Fermilab is essential for precision measurement of neutrino oscillation and CP violation parameters. The goal of this study is to optimize the horn and decay pipe geometry for neutrino flux and physics sensitivity in a cost effective fashion. The DUNE collaboration is currently considering an optimized horn and target system that includes three focusing horns. We have studied the impact of reducing the number of horns, reducing the size of the horns, and modifying the decay pipe size. The overall goal is to understand the relationship between these parameters and the physics capability of the DUNE experiment.

Speaker: Ms Monica Avila (University of Texas at Arlington)

Slides NP_MonicaAvila.pdf

16:00 Coffee Break

Session 4: The Test Beam and Prototype Program at Fermilab

Convener: Dr Steve Brice (FNAL)

23 An Overview of the DUNE 35 Ton Prototype at Fermilab

Liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs) provide a robust method for measuring interactions by combining 3D event imaging with excellent spatial resolution. A LArTPC design has been chosen as the far detector technology for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), which will have a fiducial mass of 40 kton. This will consist of 4 staged 10 kton modules, each one representing a $\sim$15 times increase in mass over current generation LAr experiments. This requires new designs for the cryostat and TPC, and as such, significant prototyping is required. The first results of one such prototype, `the 35 ton', will be discussed as well as an overview of the fulfillment of its design goals. These goals are: to measure the effect of a modular design on reconstruction, the efficacy with which photon detectors can be integrated into a TPC, the effect of digitizing the TPC output at cryogenic temperatures, and the ability to install a TPC into a membrane cryostat. Particular focus will be given on early analyses such as particle identification from cosmic rays.

Speaker: Mr Karl Warburton (University of Sheffield)

Slides Warburton_NewPerspectives.pdf

24 LArIAT in 10 Minutes

The Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) represents one of the most advanced experimental technologies for physics at the Intensity Frontier due to its full 3D-imaging, excellent particle identification (PID), and precise calorimetric energy reconstruction. By deploying LArTPCs in a dedicated calibration test beamline at Fermilab, the LArIAT program aims to experimentally calibrate this technology in a controlled environment. LArIAT has also implemented a new design for LAr scintillation light collection which provides a spatially uniform collection efficiency, improving calorimetric energy resolution. With Run-I complete and Run-II in progress, LArIAT is already providing physics results, including the first measurement of the pion-Ar cross section. Run-II data should provide several times more statistics than Run-I, making the following possible: analyses of exclusive channels for pion interactions in argon, improvements in electromagnetic shower reconstruction for electron-gamma separation, methods of muon sign determination in the absence of a magnetic field via capture or decay, and studies of various nuclear effects, such as kaon-Ar interactions. The LArIAT exploration of the capabilities of LArTPCs to inform these topics also serves neutrino oscillation physics and proton decay searches of the SBN and LBN programs.

Speaker: Mr Gregory Pulliam (Syracuse University)

Slides NP2016_LArIAT_in_10_Minutes.pdf

25 Studies of Michel Electrons in LArIAT

The LArIAT collaboration operates a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) in a beam of charged particles at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility. Its light collection system uses TPB-coated reflector foils on the field cage to down-shift vacuum-ultraviolet scintillation photons into the visible regime and reflect them back into the volume where they can then be detected by PMTs and SiPMs. A trigger on delayed secondary flashes of light in LArIAT is used to obtain a large sample of stopping cosmic muons that decay to Michel electrons inside the TPC. Current analyses looking at the muon capture lifetime on Ar, the Michel scintillation energy spectrum, and automated identification of stopping muon tracks will be presented.

Speaker: William Foreman (University of Chicago)

Slides 160613_NP_LArIATMichels.pdf

26 ANNIE in 10 Minutes

The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) is a new water-Cherenkov neutrino detector at Fermilab. It aims to measure the neutron yield of neutrino-nucleus interactions. As future experiments seek to make more precise measurements of neutrino oscillations, improving estimation of the initial neutrino energy will be key. Located in the Booster Neutrino Beamline, the 30 ton detector will be the first to use large area picosecond photodetectors to allow detailed timing-based event reconstruction of the initial and secondary particle interactions. It will also extend traditional water-Cherenkov charged-particle detection by using gadolinium-enhanced water to capture and detect the otherwise invisible neutrons produced in complex neutrino-nucleus interactions. The number and energy of these final-state neutrons help constrain the type of interaction and the atomic kinematics of the target nucleus, which are major sources of uncertainty in event reconstruction and simulation. The measurement of neutrino-induced neutron production also has implications for the next generation of proton decay experiments and for the detection of the diffuse supernova neutrino background.

Speaker: Dr Jonathan Eisch (Iowa State University)

Slides Eisch_ANNIE_in_10_New_Perspectives_2016.pdf

27 ANNIE Phase I: Status and Perspectives

The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) aims at measuring the neutron abundance in the final state of neutrino-nucleus interactions. This measurement will have a direct impact on our understanding of neutrino interactions and will lead to a better reduction of systematic errors and an improvement of signal-background discrimination in future large neutrino detectors, thus impacting long baseline oscillation experiments as well as proton decay searches and supernova detection. With a volume of about 30 tons of pure water doped with gadolinium to enhance neutron tagging efficiency, ANNIE will provide a measurement of the neutron yield of neutrino interactions as a function of the neutrino energy in the well-characterized Booster Neutrino Beamline at Fermilab. The modularity of ANNIE will allow it to perform the very first live test of a novel kind of photodetectors, called large area picosecond photodetectors (LAPPDs), in a neutrino detector. The technology behind the ANNIE detector will have a noticeable impact on the development of future large water Cherenkov detectors as well as on photodetection techniques for neutrino physics. The presentation will describe the goal and status of ANNIE's first run (Phase 1), dedicated to measuring the neutron background intrinsic to the Booster Neutrino Beamline.

Speaker: Dr Vincent Fischer (UC Davis)

Slides NP_ANNIE_13-06-2016_FISCHER.pdf

28 Radiation Damage Studies on Plastic Scintillators Using a 137Cs Gamma Ray Source

Particle physics experiments like those at the LHC and future colliders need radiation-resistant scintillators more than ever due to increasing instantaneous luminosity resulting in unprecedented radiation conditions. In this context, we have studied several polyethylene-based and quartz-based scintillating materials. The organic scintillators, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are bright and inexpensive plastic scintillators. The radiation resistance of PEN and PET has been tested using stimulated emission from a 334nm wavelength UV laser with PMTs before and after radiation exposure to a 137Cs Gamma source. The scintillation timing performance of the samples were also studied in beam tests at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility (FTBF). Here we discuss the physics motivation, recent developments, and test beam measurements of radiation hard scintillating materials.

Speaker: Mr Emrah Tiras (University of Iowa- High Energy Physics)

Slides NP2016_ETiras.pdf

29 nuPIL: Neutrinos from a Pion Beam Line

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) was proposed to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and demonstrate leptonic CP violation. The current design of the facility that produces the neutrino beam (LBNF) uses magnetic horns and a decay pipe to collect pions and then to allow them to decay. At neutrinos from a pion beam line (nuPIL), we present the design of a possible substitution for the conventional neutrino beam in LBNF, a FODO magnet beamline for the pions. The neutrinos from nuPIL are flavor-pure and can be well understood by implementing standard beam measurement instrumentation. The neutrino flux and the resulting $\delta_{CP}$ sensitivity from the FODO nuPIL are also presented in the paper.

Speaker: Dr Ao Liu (Fermilab)

Slides NewPerspectivesAoLiu.pdf

18:15 BBQ @ Kahun Barn

Come have dinner with us at the Fermilab village!
Vegetarian and non-Vegetarian options will be served!

Tuesday, 14 June

Session 5: MINERvA and SeaQuest

Convener: Dr Sam Zeller (FNAL)

30 MINERvA in 10 Minutes

The MINERvA experiment, operating since 2009 in the NuMI beamline, is a precision neutrino-nucleus scattering experiment. It aims to measure few-GeV neutrino interactions, both in support of the new era of neutrino oscillation experiments and as a weak probe of the nuclear medium. MINERvA has a fine-grained plastic scintillator detector that identifies the byproducts of neutrino and anti-neutrino interactions in different nuclei: in the scintillator (CH) itself or in upstream passive targets such as helium, iron, lead, and water. A summary of the experiment is presented.

Speaker: Ben Messerly (University of Pittsburgh)

Slides MINERvA in 10 Minutes

31 Neutrino Nucleus DIS at MINERvA

MINERvA is a dedicated neutrino scattering experiment that employs the high intensity Fermilab NuMI neutrino beam to measure neutrino interaction cross sections on multiple targets to high precision. This talk will concentrate on the methods used to measure neutrino-nucleus charged-current deep inelastic scattering (DIS), which is an excellent probe to study nuclear and hadronic structure. The measurement uses an identical neutrino beam incident on targets of carbon, iron, lead, and plastic, and the DIS cross section will be presented as ratios of C, Fe, and Pb, to CH.

Speaker: Marianette Wospakrik (University of Florida)

Slides MW_DIS_NEWPERSPECTIVE.pdf

32 Muon Neutrino Scattering on Cryogenic Helium Using the MINERvA Detector

Using the MINERvA detector exposed to the NuMI wide band neutrino beam we have isolated a sample of neutrino-helium events using a cryogenic liquid helium target. We present an effort to measure the first ever differential cross sections $\frac{d\sigma}{dE_\mu}$ and $\frac{d\sigma}{d\theta_\mu}$ on liquid helium.

Speaker: Mr Noah Steinberg (University of Florida)

Slides New_Perspectives_Presentation_NoahSteinberg.pdf

33 Charged Pion Production in MINERvA

The new class of long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments (NOvA, DUNE) use nuclear targets, and thus the success of their precision programs rely on thorough knowledge of neutrino-nucleus interactions. Pion production is the dominant reaction channel at the energies of these experiments, but nuclear final state interactions (FSIs) for pions are still not well understood. Recent charged pion production results have exhibited significant disagreements with each other and with FSI generator predictions. The analysis of muon neutrino charged current charged pion production in the MINERvA detector is presented.

Speaker: Ben Messerly (University of Pittsburgh)

Slides Charged Pion Production in MINERvA

34 SeaQuest in 10 Minutes

SeaQuest E906 is an experiment aimed at studying the anti-quark distributions in the nucleon and nuclei. The experiment uses a 120 GeV proton beam extracted from the Main Injector at Fermilab to collide with various liquid and cryogenic targets to study a variety of physics topics. It takes advantage of the Drell-Yan process to probe the nucleon sea. In the Drell-Yan process, a quark from one hadron annihilates with an anti-quark from another hadron, producing a virtual photon which eventually decays into a dilepton pair. The SeaQuest forward spectrometer is optimized for detecting the high rate di-muon pairs. The overall status of the experiment and some results will be presented in this talk.

Speaker: Mr Arun Tadepalli (Rutgers University)

Slides SeaQuest_in_10_minutes.pptx

35 Angular Distributions of Drell-Yan Dimuons at Fermilab E906/SeaQuest

The Lam-Tung relation, a perturbative QCD, ``Callan-Gross-like'', correlation of the azimuthal and polar angles of leptonic products relative to the initial hadronic plane in multiple frames, defines a standard component of any analysis using Drell-Yan as a nucleon probe. In at least three experiments involving Drell-Yan between various species of pions and nuclei at CERN and Fermilab, the existence of what appears to be (at leading-order) a double-spin flip in a single photon process manifests itself as a cosine modulation in dilepton azimuthal distributions. This modulation suggests significant non-perturbative effects, including the Boer-Mulders distribution, a nonzero correlation between the motion and spin of transversely polarized (anti)quarks within their encompassing unpolarized nucleon. Fermilab Experiment 866/NuSea saw a Lam-Tung violation in proton-induced Drell-Yan characterized by a smaller cosine dilepton azimuthal modulation relative to previous experiments conducted with pions and heavier nuclear targets with lower energy beams from the SPS at CERN. SeaQuest is investigating the difference with greater precision and at a higher x range than any previous Drell-Yan experiment. Studies of the angular distributions of dimuons in SeaQuest will be presented.

Speaker: Mr Bryan Ramson (University of Michigan)

Slides http://prezi.com/uzhn4rdav0jm/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

10:30 Coffee Break

Session 6: MINOS, Theory, and the Dark Sector

Convener: Dr Stephen Parke (Fermilab)

36 Muon Neutrino Disappearance Measurement at MINOS+

The MINOS experiment ran from 2003 until 2012 and produced some of the best measurements of the atmospheric neutrino oscillation parameters $\Delta m^2_{32}$ and $\theta_{23}$ using muon neutrino disappearance of beam and atmospheric neutrinos and electron neutrino appearance of beam neutrinos. The MINOS+ experiment succeeded MINOS in September 2013. For almost three years MINOS+ has been collecting data in the ``Medium Energy'' configuration of NuMI beamline at Fermilab. The status of muon neutrino analysis using MINOS+ will be presented along with how MINOS+ can improve MINOS measurements.

Speaker: Thomas Carroll (University of Texas at Austin)

Slides Muon_Neutrino_Disappearance_at_MINOSplus.pdf

37 Sterile Neutrino Search at MINOS

The MINOS experiment is a long-baseline on-axis neutrino oscillation experiment. The two detectors are separated by 734km and optimised for sensitivity to the disappearance of muon neutrinos delivered by the NuMI beamline at Fermilab. Due to the different possible beam configurations, MINOS has accumulated 10.56e20 protons on target (POT) from a muon neutrino dominated beam and 3.36e20 POT from a muon antineutrino enhanced beam. The LSND and MiniBooNE experiments have observed electron antineutrino appearance in their neutrino oscillation analyses. A possible explanation to account for this is the 3+1 sterile neutrino model where one adds an additional neutrino to the current three-flavour neutrino model. MINOS is sensitive to this model by looking at the charged current neutrino energy spectrum to probe any deviations from the three-flavour muon neutrino survival probability. A neutral current neutrino event depletion is also investigated. In this talk, new limits for sterile neutrinos using a 3+1 model are presented using the MINOS dataset in neutrino mode along with a sensitivity for an equivalent search by using a simulation for antineutrino mode.

Speaker: Mr Rui Chen (the University of Manchester)

Slides DraftV2.pdf

38 A Search for Large Extra Dimensions in MINOS and MINOS+

The MINOS experiment was designed to study neutrino oscillation between two scintillator-steel tracking-sampling calorimeters separated by a $734\,\text{km}$ baseline using muon neutrinos and antineutrinos generated in the NuMI facility at Fermilab. Running for ten years with a neutrino beam peak energy of $3\,\text{GeV}$, MINOS yielded some of the best constraints on the atmospheric neutrino oscillation parameters to date. The MINOS+ experiment subsequently ran for about three years using a neutrino beam designed for the NO$\nu$A experiment, increasing the beam peak energy to about $6\,\text{GeV}$. This shift to higher neutrino energies improves the sensitivity to exotic phenomena such as large extra dimensions. Assuming the existence of large extra dimensions, sterile neutrinos can arise as Kaluza-Klein states. Mixing between the active neutrinos and Kaluza-Klein states alters the standard three-flavor oscillation probabilities, allowing neutrino oscillation measurements to constrain the size of large extra dimensions. Using MINOS $\nu_{\mu}$ data corresponding to $10.6 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target (POT), the size of large extra dimensions is constrained to be smaller than $0.45\,\text{$\mu$m}$ at 90\%\,C.L. in the limit of a vanishing lightest active neutrino mass. To date, this is the strongest limit from a neutrino oscillation experiment. This result will be presented together with the status of the MINOS+ large extra dimension search.

Speaker: Mr Simon De Rijck (University of Texas at Austin)

Slides NP061416.pdf

39 Fermilab Theory in 10 Minutes

I will give a brief review of the highlights of research from the Fermilab theory group. We try to address big questions of fundamental physics, including the origin of mass, the origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry, supersymmetry, dark matter, etc. We approach these big questions with all possible testing grounds for fundamental physics. We are now in a very exciting era of new ideas, new facilities and new tools to help us develop a deeper understanding of nature.

Speaker: Dr Gordan Krnjaic (Fermilab)

Slides NewPerspectives2016_GK.pdf

40 The Nucleon Axial-Vector Form Factor for Precision Neutrino Oscillation Studies

In this talk, I will discuss recent work fitting the nucleon axial form factor to deuterium bubble chamber data using a model-independent approach known as the z expansion (arXiv 1603.03048[hep-ph]). This talk will briefly introduce the z expansion and talk about the advantages and impacts of such a framework. I will describe the functionality which has been implemented into GENIE to handle a z expansion parameterization for the nucleon axial form factor. I will also discuss an ongoing study of the axial form factor using lattice QCD and show preliminary results.

Speaker: Aaron Meyer (University of Chicago)

Slides newp.pdf

41 DarkSide in 10 Minutes

Decades of evidence from numerous fields of astronomy suggests that a majority of the mass content of the universe is ``invisible'' -- that is, it doesn't interact via the electromagnetic force. Indirect evidence for this ``dark matter'' can be found in galactic rotation curves, gravitational lenses, and debris from colliding galactic clusters, among other places. One of the most promising theoretical components of dark matter is the WIMP: a weakly-interacting massive particle, which arises naturally out of a supersymmetric extension to the standard model of particle physics. The DarkSide program is a search for direct evidence of the existence of these particles via their weak-interaction scattering within a dual-phase argon time-projection chamber (TPC). This talk gives a brief summary of the evidence in support of WIMPs and dark matter in general, followed by an overview of the DarkSide experimental effort, present and future.

Speaker: Mr Andrew Watson (Temple University)

Slides 20160614_new_perspectives_slides.pdf

42 DES in 10 Minutes

The Dark Energy Survey (DES) embarked on a 5 year survey of 5000 deg$^{2}$ of sky in 2012. DES is dedicated to dark energy studies of type Ia supernovae, large scale structure, weak lensing, and galaxy clusters. Early results based on commissioning data were released in 2015. The vast data set from DES is also being used for a variety of other topics. Highlights include searching for solar system objects, Milky Way satellite galaxies and gravitational wave event optical counterparts. During this talk, I will review the methods and goals of DES, and report the recent scientific achievements.

Speaker: Dr Yuanyuan Zhang (Fermilab)

Slides new_perspectives_2016.pdf

43 Searching for Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies with DES and the Fermi-LAT

The population of Milky Way satellite galaxies includes the least luminous, least chemically evolved, and most dark matter dominated galaxies in the known universe. Due to their proximity, high dark matter content, and lack of astrophysical backgrounds, dwarf spheroidal galaxies are promising targets for the indirect detection of dark matter via gamma rays. Prior to 2015, roughly two dozen dwarf spheroidal galaxies were known to surround the Milky Way. From combined observations of these objects, the dark matter annihilation cross section has been constrained to be less than the generic thermal relic cross section for dark matter particles with mass \textless 100 GeV. Since the beginning of 2015, new optical imaging surveys have discovered over twenty new dwarf galaxy candidates, potentially doubling the population of Milky Way satellite galaxies in a single year. I will discuss recent optical searches for dwarf galaxies, focusing specifically on results from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the implications for gamma-ray searches for dark matter annihilation with the Fermi Large Area Telescope.

Speaker: Alex Drlica-Wagner (Fermilab)

Slides ADW_NP_2016.pdf

13:00 Lunch

Session 7: Accelerators, and the R&D Program that Enables them

Convener: Dr William Louis

44 Mu2e in 10 Minutes

The Mu2e experiment at Fermilab will search for coherent, neutrinoless conversion of muons into electrons in the field of a nucleus with a sensitivity improvement of a factor of 10,000 over previous experiments. Such a charged lepton flavor-violating reaction probes new physics at a scale inaccessible by direct searches at either present or planned high energy colliders. The experiment both complements and extends the current search for muon decay to electron+gamma at MEG and searches for new physics at the LHC. We will present the physics motivation for Mu2e, the novel design of the muon beamline and the detector, and the current status of the experiment.

Speaker: Dr Daniel Ambrose (University of Minnesota)

Slides Mu2e_in_10min.pdf

45 The Monitoring Board for the Calibration System of the Muon g-2 Experiment

The new Muon g-2 Experiment (E-989) at Fermilab will measure the muon anomalous magnetic moment, $a_\mu$ = $\frac{g-2}{2}$, to an unprecedented precision of 0.14 parts per million (ppm). To achieve a statistical uncertainty of 0.1 ppm, the redesigned experiment will benefit from upgraded detectors and data acquisition electronics that will handle the larger volumes of data. Moreover, the 24 calorimeter stations used to measure the energy and arrival time of the decay positrons will require a continuous calibration and monitoring of their gain which can vary on both the millisecond and hour long timescale. This correction is handled by a laser source and light distribution system which provides light pulses directly into each $PbF_2$ crystal of a $6\times9$ calorimeter matrix. Silicon photomultipliers along with other optical detectors are used to read the output signal and to monitor the laser along its transmission path. A custom electronic board has been designed to provide the detector’s bias and high voltages, stabilize the gain with respect to environmental parameter variations and process the output signals needed to perform the data readout. The architecture of this monitoring board as well as the performance of a preliminary implementation will be presented.

Speaker: Octavio Escalante Aguirre (Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II" and INFN Sezione di Napoli)

Slides NP2016.pdf

46 Achieving 700 kW Operations: The Importance of Tune and Chromaticity

In order to achieve 700 kW on target, beam is slip-stacked in the Fermilab Recycler. In this talk, the concept of slip-stacking is introduced, and the importance of tune and chromaticity to achieving high intensity operations is discussed. Simulations and measurements will be presented highlighting their importance.

Speaker: Rob Ainsworth (Fermilab)

Slides NP2016_ainsworth.pptx

47 Technical Division's Recent and Ongoing Efforts

Technical Division is pursuing a highly innovative R\&D program in superconducting (SC) magnets and superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities for accelerators. The SRF R\&D is focused on the improvement of the quality factor and accelerating field of superconducting accelerating cavities. With the nitrogen doping process discovered at FNAL, SRF cavities are capable of achieving ultra-high Q values. The ongoing research is focused on understanding the root of improved performance and on the preservation of such high Q-factors during operation in accelerators. The nitrogen doping technology has been transferred to the cavity manufacturers and will be applied for the construction of the new SC linear accelerator LCLS-II at SLAC. Fermilab Technical Division is working on the design, assembly and testing of 20 cryomodules for LCLS-II. Fermilab TD is also developing cryomodules, superconducting cavities and magnets needed for the PIP-II SC linear accelerator, which is Fermilab's plan for providing powerful, high-intensity proton beams to the laboratory's experiments. The SC accelerator magnet R\&D program goal is to provide magnets capable of extending the energy and luminosity frontiers. The backbone of the current R\&D activities are the development of Nb3Sn superconductor technology and testing of different types of magnet that are being fabricated with it. High temperature superconductor materials for accelerator magnet applications are also being investigated. The R\&D program is presently exploring limits of the Nb3Sn magnet technology by developing a 15T Nb3Sn dipole demonstrator. The ultimate goal is the development of magnet technologies based on both high and low temperature superconductors to achieve fields of 20T and beyond. This research is being conducted as part of HFM and LARP and supported by the Superconducting Strand and Cable R\&D Lab.

Speaker: Ms Martina Martinello (Fermilab, IIT)

Slides TD_effort_Martina.pptx

48 Magnetic Force and Related Parameter Evaluation of High Current Striplines for Neutrino Beamlines

Both the NuMI beamline, that has been providing intense neutrino beams for several experiments (MINOS, MINERvA, NOvA), and the newly proposed LBNF beamline which plans to produce the highest power neutrino beam in the world for the DUNE experiment, need pulsed magnetic horns to focus the mesons which decay to produce neutrinos. The high current horn and stripline design has been evolving as NuMI reconfigures for higher beam power and as LBNF produces designs for even higher beam power and horn current. In this talk, we present calculations of the EM interaction of the stripline plates of the NuMI horns at critical stress points, using POISSON and ANSYS MAXWELL 3D codes for 200kA of current to the horns. In addition, we give the thermal and electrical simulation results using ANSYS Electrical code. These results are being used to support the development of evolving horn stripline designs to handle increased electrical current and higher beam power for NuMI upgrades and for LBNF.

Speaker: Mr Taylan Sipahi (Reserach Assistant)

Slides New_Perspectives_2016-Taylan_Sipahi.pdf

49 High Average Beam-Power SRF Electron Source

There is a significant interest in achieving high-average power electron sources, particularly in the area of electron sources integrated with superconducting radio frequency (SRF) systems. For these systems, the electron gun and cathode parts are critical components for stable intensity and high average powers. In this study, we will present the design of 9-cell accelerator cavity having 1.3-GHz frequency and field optimization studies by using different simulation results.

Speaker: Mrs Nihan Sipahi (colorado state university)

Slides N.Sipahi_New_Perspective'16.pdf

50 Effect of Interstitial Impurities on the Field Dependent Microwaves Surface Resistance of Niobium

The superconducting properties of niobium radio-frequency accelerating cavities are enhanced when nitrogen impurities are dissolved as interstitials in the material. I will show how the surface resistance is affected by this impurities introduction, in comparison with standard surface treatment for niobium resonators. A variety of 1.3 GHz cavities with different surface treatments (EP, BCP, 120C bake and different levels of N-doping) are studied in order to cover the largest range of interstitial impurities content achievable: from a few to thousands of nanometers of mean free path. Different contributions to the surface resistance will be presented: the BCS and the trapped flux surface resistance. We found that interstitial impurities help to lower the BCS resistance contribution, allowing for a mean free path close to the predicted minimum of BCS resistance as a function of mean free path. Also we found that the trapped flux surface resistance follows a bell-shaped trend as a function of the mean free path and that it depends on the accelerating field.

Speaker: Ms Martina Martinello (Fermilab, IIT)

Slides New_perspective.pptx

51 Happy Birthday (discovery of) neutrino!

Slides 8-Neutrino-Comm-June-1956.pptx

16:00 Coffee Break

Session 8: Scientific Computing & Particle Physics: a Happy Marriage

Convener: Dr Joseph Lykken (Fermilab)

52 FSPA - Fermilab Student & Postdoc Association

The Fermilab Student \& Postdoc Assocation (FSPA) represents the community of young researchers at Fermilab, including all student and postdoc Users. Each year, a core group of democratically elected officers organizes social and academic events to engage this community, and works closely with the Users Executive Committee to represent the interests of all young visiting researchers at Fermilab. One of the bigger responsibilities for this group each year is to organize and host New Perspectives!

Speaker: Elena Gramellini (Yale University)

Slides NPFSPA.pdf

53 Overview of Scientific Computing at Fermilab

Cutting edge science experiments and research requires innovative state of the art computing technologies. Fermilab's Scientific Computing Division (SCD) aims to deliver timely, innovative computing solutions and services that enable us to achieve our scientific mission. In this talk, I will present an overview of recent and ongoing efforts in the SCD, including (1) Common experiment analysis and DAQ frameworks, such as Art, LArSoft and artDAQ, (2) The HEP cloud facility and the Active Archival facility, and (3) R\&D on advanced computing and computing fabric solutions.

Speaker: Dr Pengfei Ding (Fermilab)

Slides SCD_Introduction_dingpf_NP2016.pdf

54 OPOS is Here to Help You

The Offline Production Operation Service (OPOS) group of the Scientific Computing Division has been providing data production processing, specific processing campaigns, pre-staging, monitoring and monitoring infrastructure for different Intensity Frontier experiments at Fermilab. OPOS is in constant communication with the experimenters transferring knowledge, debugging problems, developing tools and reporting failures. OPOS members are a bridge among experiments, they transfer successful strategies from one experiment to others.

Speaker: Mr Tyler Propp (North Central College)

55 Deep Learning MicroBooNE

Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) technology offers a high resolution image of ionizing particle trajectories in liquid argon providing unique features for pattern recognition. Traditional methods used to reconstruct the data in order to extract physics results involve writing a bottom-up chain of algorithms, which involves a complex sequence of signal waveform processing, 2D and/or 3D pattern recognition, geometrical reconstruction, particle identification, and energy reconstruction. Writing dozens of algorithms, modeling and optimizing the whole chain in an iterative manner, and dealing with the complexity of real data with detector effects, makes such an approach increasingly hard and difficult to accomplish. In this talk we present a possible alternative approach using a machine learning algorithm called Deep Learning which uses convolutional neural networks to learn features from images. Convolutional neural networks have experienced a meteoric rise in computer vision applications, especially in object classification, where computers have gained super-human ability. We present our preliminary result that shows Deep Learning can detect and identify particles from LArTPC images from MicroBooNE.

Speaker: Mr Victor Genty (Columbia University, Nevis Labs)

Slides deep_perspectives.pdf

56 Reconstruction in MicroBooNE Using OpenCV Image Processing

Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs) such as MicroBooNE provide excellent calorimetric information and image quality resolution. To take full advantage of these benefits, MicroBooNE is developing a high efficiency, high purity reconstruction chain. OpenCV is an open source computer vision library with functions to aid in pattern recognition and image processing. Such software has the potential to improve the current state of MicroBooNE's reconstruction through improved charge clustering, track and shower start point finding, and so on. Successful implementation of this chain will both improve MicroBooNE analyses and potentially aid the next generation of LArTPCs. Here I will discuss the results of an initial implementation of this pattern recognition technique in MicroBooNE’s pi0 reconstruction efforts.

Speaker: Ariana Hackenburg (Yale University)

Slides NewPerspectives_Hackenburg.pdf

57 Discovering Strong Gravitational Lenses in DES: New Lenses and Search Techniques

The Dark Energy Survey (DES) is observing a large expanse of the southern sky in unprecedented depth and detail. Over the course of 5 years, it will have observed almost half a billion galaxies. Among these galaxies will be the largest single sample of strong gravitational lensing events ever recorded. Strong lenses have potential to provide new and distinct constraints on the content of dark energy and dark matter in the universe. Typically, gravitational lenses are discovered in imaging data through algorithms, followed by visual inspection. Through this process, we have discovered or confirmed nearly 100 candidates. This process, however, is too inefficient to maintain for DES, and moreso for future surveys, like that of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST): no algorithm has yet proven to be better than the train-able human eye, but there aren't enough trained humans to reliably search through all of the data. We require new search methods to realize the potential of lenses to constrain dark energy and the expansion history of the universe. Recent advances in artificial intelligence have made available new techniques and software that are ideal for the discovery lensing systems in images. Using convolutional neural nets and high-performance computing resources at Fermilab, we are searching DES images (and that of other surveys) for strong lensing events. I will discuss our technique, the challenges and successes in searching for lenses, as well as the recent lens discoveries in DES.

Speaker: Dr Brian Nord (Fermilab)

Slides 20160614_StrongLensingDES_NewPerspectives.pdf