The Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) is a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. The MINOS Far Detector, located in the Soudan Underground Laboratory in Soudan MN, has been collecting data since August 2003. The scope of this dissertation involves identifying the atmospheric neutrino induced muons that are created by the neutrinos interacting with the rock surrounding the detector cavern, performing a neutrino oscillation search by measuring the oscillation parameter values of {Delta}m{sub 23}{sup 2} and sin{sup 2} 2{theta}{sub 23}, and searching for CPT violation by measuring the charge ratio for the atmospheric neutrino induced muons. A series of selection cuts are applied to the data set in order to extract the neutrino induced muons. As a result, a total of 148 candidate events are selected. The oscillation search is performed by measuring the low to high muon momentum ratio in the data sample and comparing it to the same ratio in the Monte Carlo simulation in the absence of neutrino oscillation. The measured double ratios for the ''all events'' (A) and high resolution (HR) samples are R{sub A} = R{sub low/high}{sup data}/R{sub low/high}{sup MC} = 0.60{sub -0.10}{sup +0.11}(stat) {+-} 0.08(syst) and R{sub HR} = R{sub low/high}{sup data}/R{sub low/high}{sup MC} …

A measurement of the top quark mass with the matrix element method in the lepton + jets final state in D0 Run II is presented. Events with single isolated energetic charged lepton (electron or muon), exactly four calorimeter jets, and significant missing transverse energy are selected. Probabilities used to discriminate between signal and background are assumed to be proportional to differential cross-sections, calculated using event kinematics and folding in object resolutions and parton distribution functions. The event likelihoods constructed using these probabilities are varied with the top quark mass, m{sub t}, and the jet energy scale, JES, to give the smallest possible combined statistical + JES uncertainty.

This thesis reports the HAPPEX measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry for longitudinally polarized electrons elastically scattered from protons in a liquid hydrogen target. The measurement was carried out in Hall A at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility using a beam energy E = 3 GeV and scattering angle <θ{sub lab}> = 6◦. The asymmetry is sensitive to the weak neutral form factors from which we extract the strange quark electric and magnetic form factors (G{sup s}{sub E} and G{sup s}{sub M}) of the proton. The measurement was conducted during two data-taking periods in 2004 and 2005. This thesis describes the methods for controlling the helicity-correlated beam asymmetries and the analysis of the raw asymmetry. The parity-violating asymmetry has been measured to be A{sub PV} = −1.14± 0.24 (stat)±0.06 (syst) ppm at <Q{sup 2}> = 0.099 GeV{sup 2} (2004), and A{sub PV} = −1.58±0.12 (stat)±0.04 (syst) ppm at <Q{sup 2}> = 0.109 GeV{sup 2} (2005). The strange quark form factors extracted from the asymmetry are G{sup s}{sub E} + 0.080G{sup s}{sub M} = 0.030 ± 0.025 (stat) ± 0.006 (syst) ± 0.012 (FF) (2004) and G{sup s}{sub E} +0.088G{sup s}{sub M} = 0.007±0.011 (stat)±0.004 (syst)±0.005 (FF) (2005). These results place the …

The CDF experiment has searched for production of a third generation vector leptoquark (VLQ3) in the di-tau plus di-jet channel using 322 pb{sup -1} of Run II data. We review the production and decay theory and describe the VLQ3 model we have used as a benchmark. We study the analysis, including the data sample, triggers, particle identification, and event selection. We also discuss background estimates and systematic uncertainties. We have found no evidence for VLQ3 production and have set a 95% C.L. upper limit on the pair production cross section {sigma} to 344 fb, and exclude VLQ3 in the mass range m{sub VLQ3} &gt; 317 GeV/c{sup 2}, assuming Yang-Mills couplings and Br(LQ3 {yields} b{tau}) = 1. If theoretical uncertainties on the cross section are taken into account, the results are {sigma} &lt; 353 fb and m{sub VLQ3} &gt; 303 GeV/c{sup 2}. For a VLQ3 with Minimal couplings, the upper limit on the cross section is {sigma} &lt; 493 fb ({sigma} &lt; 554 fb) and the lower limit on the mass is m{sub VLQ3} &gt; 251 GeV/c{sup 2} (m{sub VLQ3} &gt; 235 GeV/c{sup 2}) for the nominal (1{sigma} varied) theoretical expectation.

In this work the S-wave component of the K{pi} amplitude from decay of D{sup +} {yields} K{sup -}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup +} it is directly measured. The data come from the Fermilab E831/FOCUS experiment. The amplitude measurement is made using the partial wave analysis without any preliminary assumption about the nature of the S-wave component of the K{pi} system. The phase and magnitude of the S-wave amplitude are generic functions to be determined directly through the Dalitz plot fit. For the sake of comparison, our results the same decay is analyzed using the isobar model, which is the standard way to analyze the Dalitz plot. The data fit obtained with the partial wave analysis is better than the data fit from the isobar model. The phase variation with respect to the invariant mass K{pi} is compared with the measurement of the phase {delta}{sub I=1/2}{sup 0} (m{sub K{pi}}) from K{pi} {yields} K{pi} scattering. The difference between both analysis is discussed considering: a difference in the composition of the isospin components I = 1/2 and I = 3/2 of the K{pi} system between D{sup +} decay and the K{pi} {yields} K{pi} scattering; and the final state interaction involving all particles from decay.

Linear elastic fracture mechanics is widely used in industry because it established simple and explicit relationships between the permissible loading conditions and the critical crack size that is allowed in a structure. Stress intensity factors are the above-mentioned functional expressions that relate load with crack size through geometric functions or weight functions. Compliance functions are to determine the crack/flaw size in a structure when optical inspection is inconvenient. As a result, geometric functions, weight functions and compliance functions have been intensively studied to determine the stress intensity factor expressions for different geometries. However, the relations between these functions have received less attention. This work is therefore to investigate the intrinsic relationships between these functions. Theoretical derivation was carried out and the results were verified on single-edge cracked plate under tension and bending. It is found out that the geometric function is essentially the non-dimensional weight function at the loading point. The compliance function is composed of two parts: a varying part due to crack extension and a constant part from the intact structure if no crack exists. The derivative of the compliance function at any location is the product of the geometric function and the weight function at the evaluation …

The High Current Experiment (HCX) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is part of the US program that explores heavy-ion beam as the driver option for fusion energy production in an Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) plant. The HCX is a beam transport experiment at a scale representative of the low-energy end of an induction linear accelerator driver. The primary mission of this experiment is to investigate aperture fill factors acceptable for the transport of space-charge-dominated heavy-ion beams at high intensity (line charge density {approx}0.2 {micro}C/m) over long pulse durations (4 {micro}s) in alternating gradient focusing lattices of electrostatic or magnetic quadrupoles. This experiment is testing transport issues resulting from nonlinear space-charge effects and collective modes, beam centroid alignment and steering, envelope matching, image charges and focusing field nonlinearities, halo and, electron and gas cloud effects. We present the results for a coasting 1 MeV K{sup +} ion beam transported through ten electrostatic quadrupoles. The measurements cover two different fill factor studies (60% and 80% of the clear aperture radius) for which the transverse phase-space of the beam was characterized in detail, along with beam energy measurements and the first halo measurements. Electrostatic quadrupole transport at high beam fill factor ({approx}80%) is …

To monitor in-flight damage and reduce life-cycle costs associated with CFRP composite aircraft, an autonomous built-in structural health monitoring (SHM) system is preferred over conventional maintenance routines and schedules. This thesis investigates the use of ultrasonic guided waves and piezoelectric transducers for the identification and localization of damage/defects occurring within critical components of CFRP composite aircraft wings, mainly the wing skin-to-spar joints. The guided wave approach for structural diagnostics was demonstrated by the dual application of active and passive monitoring techniques. For active interrogation, the guided wave propagation problem was initially studied numerically by a semi-analytical finite element method, which accounts for viscoelastic damping, in order to identify ideal mode-frequency combinations sensitive to damage occurring within CFRP bonded joints. Active guided wave tests across three representative wing skin-to-spar joints at ambient temperature were then conducted using attached Macro Fiber Composite (MFC) transducers. Results from these experiments demonstrate the importance of intelligent feature extraction for improving the sensitivity to damage. To address the widely neglected effects of temperature on guided wave base damage identification, analytical and experimental analyses were performed to characterize the influence of temperature on guided wave signal features. In addition, statistically-robust detection of simulated damage in a CFRP …