Measurement of Single Spin Asymmetries in Semi-Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering Reaction n↑ ( e,e' pi{sup +}) X at Jefferson Lab (open access)

Measurement of Single Spin Asymmetries in Semi-Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering Reaction n↑ ( e,e' pi{sup +}) X at Jefferson Lab

What constitutes the spin of the nucleon? The answer to this question is still not completely understood. Although we know the longitudinal quark spin content very well, the data on the transverse quark spin content of the nucleon is still very sparse. Semi-inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering (SIDIS) using transversely polarized targets provide crucial information on this aspect. The data that is currently available was taken with proton and deuteron targets. The E06-010 experiment was performed at Jefferson Lab in Hall-A to measure the single spin asymmetries in the SIDIS reaction n↑(e, e′π{sup ±}/K{sup ±})X using transversely polarized {sup 3}He target. The experiment used the continuous electron beam provided by the CEBAF accelerator with a beam energy of 5.9 GeV. Hadrons were detected in a high-resolution spectrometer in coincidence with the scattered electrons detected by the BigBite spectrometer. The kinematic coverage focuses on the valence quark region, x = 0.19 to 0.34, at Q{sup 2} = 1.77 to 2.73 (GeV/c){sup 2}. This is the first measurement on a neutron target. The data from this experiment, when combined with the world data on the proton and the deuteron, will provide constraints on the transversity and Sivers distribution functions on both the u …
Date: June 1, 2010
Creator: Allada, Kalyan
System: The UNT Digital Library
Measurement of muon neutrino and antineutrino induced single neutral pion production cross sections (open access)

Measurement of muon neutrino and antineutrino induced single neutral pion production cross sections

Elucidating the nature of neutrino oscillation continues to be a goal in the vanguard of the efforts of physics experiment. As neutrino oscillation searches seek an increasingly elusive signal, a thorough understanding of the possible backgrounds becomes ever more important. Measurements of neutrino-nucleus interaction cross sections are key to this understanding. Searches for {nu}{sub {mu}} {yields} {nu}{sub e} oscillation - a channel that may yield insight into the vanishingly small mixing parameter {theta}{sub 13}, CP violation, and the neutrino mass hierarchy - are particularly susceptible to contamination from neutral current single {pi}{sup 0} (NC 1{pi}{sup 0}) production. Unfortunately, the available data concerning NC 1{pi}{sup 0} production are limited in scope and statistics. Without satisfactory constraints, theoretical models of NC 1{pi}{sup 0} production yield substantially differing predictions in the critical E{sub {nu}} {approx} 1 GeV regime. Additional investigation of this interaction can ameliorate the current deficiencies. The Mini Booster Neutrino Experiment (MiniBooNE) is a short-baseline neutrino oscillation search operating at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). While the oscillation search is the principal charge of the MiniBooNE collaboration, the extensive data ({approx} 10{sup 6} neutrino events) offer a rich resource with which to conduct neutrino cross section measurements. This work concerns …
Date: December 1, 2010
Creator: Anderson, Colin & U., /Yale
System: The UNT Digital Library
Measurement of the absolute v<sub>μ</sub>-CCQE cross section at the SciBooNE experiment (open access)

Measurement of the absolute v<sub>μ</sub>-CCQE cross section at the SciBooNE experiment

This thesis presents the measurement of the charged current quasi-elastic (CCQE) neutrino-nucleon cross section at neutrino energies around 1 GeV. This measurement has two main physical motivations. On one hand, the neutrino-nucleon interactions at few GeV is a region where existing old data are sparse and with low statistics. The current measurement populates low energy regions with higher statistics and precision than previous experiments. On the other hand, the CCQE interaction is the most useful interaction in neutrino oscillation experiments. The CCQE channel is used to measure the initial and final neutrino fluxes in order to determine the neutrino fraction that disappeared. The neutrino oscillation experiments work at low neutrino energies, so precise measurement of CCQE interactions are essential for flux measurements. The main goal of this thesis is to measure the CCQE absolute neutrino cross section from the SciBooNE data. The SciBar Booster Neutrino Experiment (SciBooNE) is a neutrino and anti-neutrino scattering off experiment. The neutrino energy spectrum works at energies around 1 GeV. SciBooNE was running from June 8th 2007 to August 18th 2008. In that period, the experiment collected a total of 2.65 x 10<sup>20</sup> protons on target (POT). This thesis has used full data collection in …
Date: July 1, 2010
Creator: Aunion, Jose Luis Alcaraz
System: The UNT Digital Library
Testing CPT conservation using the NuMI neutrino beam with the MINOS experiment (open access)

Testing CPT conservation using the NuMI neutrino beam with the MINOS experiment

The MINOS experiment was designed to measure neutrino oscillation parameters with muon neutrinos. It achieves this by measuring the neutrino energy spectrum and flavor composition of the man-made NuMI neutrino beam 1km after the beam is formed and again after 735 km. By comparing the two spectra it is possible to measure the oscillation parameters. The NuMI beam is made up of 7.0%$\bar{v}$<sub>μ</sub>, which can be separated from the v<sub>μ</sub> because the MINOS detectors are magnetized. This makes it possible to study $\bar{v}$<sub>μ</sub> oscillations separately from those of muon neutrinos, and thereby test CPT invariance in the neutrino sector by determining the $\bar{v}$<sub>μ</sub> oscillation parameters and comparing them with those for v<sub>μ</sub>, although any unknown physics of the antineutrino would appear as a difference in oscillation parameters. Such a test has not been performed with beam $\bar{v}$<sub>μ</sub> before. It is also possible to produce an almost pure $\bar{v}$<sub>μ</sub> beam by reversing the current through the magnetic focusing horns of the NuMI beamline, thereby focusing negatively, instead of positively charged particles. This thesis describes the analysis of the 7% $\bar{v}$<sub>μ</sub> component of the forward horn current NuMI beam. The $\bar{v}$<sub>μ</sub> of a data sample of 3.2 x 10{sup 20} protons on …
Date: March 1, 2010
Creator: Auty, David John
System: The UNT Digital Library
Search for associated production of z and Higgs bosons in proton-antiproton collisions at 1.96 TeV (open access)

Search for associated production of z and Higgs bosons in proton-antiproton collisions at 1.96 TeV

We present a search for associated production of Z and Higgs bosons in 4.2 fb{sup -1} of {bar p}p collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV, produced in RunII of the Tevatron and recorded by the D0 detector. The search is performed in events containing at least two muons and at least two jets. The ZH signal is distinguished from the expected backgrounds by means of multivariate classifiers known as random forests. Binned random forest output distributions are used in comparing the data to background-only and signal+background hypotheses. No excess is observed in the data, so we set upper limits on ZH production with a 95% confidence level.
Date: December 1, 2010
Creator: BackusMayes, John Alexander & /Washington U., Seattle
System: The UNT Digital Library
$H \to \gamma\gamma$ search and direct photon pair production differential cross section (open access)

$H \to \gamma\gamma$ search and direct photon pair production differential cross section

At a hadron collider, diphoton (γγ) production allows detailed studies of the Standard Model (SM), as well as as searches for new phenomena, such as new heavy resonances, extra spatial dimensions or cascade decays of heavy new particles. Within the SM, continuum γγ+X production is characterized by a steeply-falling γγ mass spectrum, on top of which a heavy resonance decaying into γγ can potentially be observed. In particular, this is considered one of the most promising discovery channels for a SM Higgs boson at the LHC, despite the small branching ratio of BR (H → γγ) {approx} 0.2% for 110 &lt; M<sub>Higgs</sub> &lt; 140 GeV. At the Tevatron, the dominant SM Higgs boson production mechanism is gluon fusion, followed by associated production with a W or Z boson, and vector boson fusion. While the SM Higgs production rate at the Tevatron is not sufficient to observe it in the γγ mode, the Hgg and Hγγ couplings, being loop-mediated, are particularly sensitive to new physics effects. Furthermore, in some models beyond the SM, for instance, fermiophobic Higgs, with no couplings to fermions, the BR (H → γγ) can be enhanced significantly relative to the SM prediction, while has the SM-like production …
Date: June 1, 2010
Creator: Bu, Xuebing
System: The UNT Digital Library
In Situ Studies of Surface Mobility on Noble Metal Model Catalysts Using STM and XPS at Ambient Pressure (open access)

In Situ Studies of Surface Mobility on Noble Metal Model Catalysts Using STM and XPS at Ambient Pressure

High Pressure Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (HP-STM) and Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy were used to study the structural properties and catalytic behavior of noble metal surfaces at high pressure. HP-STM was used to study the structural rearrangement of the top most atomic surface layer of the metal surfaces in response to changes in gas pressure and reactive conditions. AP-XPS was applied to single crystal and nanoparticle systems to monitor changes in the chemical composition of the surface layer in response to changing gas conditions. STM studies on the Pt(100) crystal face showed the lifting of the Pt(100)-hex surface reconstruction in the presence of CO, H<sub>2</sub>, and Benzene. The gas adsorption and subsequent charge transfer relieves the surface strain caused by the low coordination number of the (100) surface atoms allowing the formation of a (1 x 1) surface structure commensurate with the bulk terminated crystal structure. The surface phase change causes a transformation of the surface layer from hexagonal packing geometry to a four-fold symmetric surface which is rich in atomic defects. Lifting the hex reconstruction at room temperature resulted in a surface structure decorated with 2-3 nm Pt adatom islands with a high density of step edge sites. Annealing …
Date: June 1, 2010
Creator: Butcher, Derek Robert
System: The UNT Digital Library
Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDS) and OLED-based structurally integrated optical sensors (open access)

Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDS) and OLED-based structurally integrated optical sensors

General introduction to OLED basics and OLED-based structurally integrated sensors was provided in chapter 1 and chapter 2. As discussed in chapter 3, OLEDs were developed or improved using novel engineering methods for better charge injection (increased by over 1 order of magnitude) and efficiency. As the excitation sources, these OLEDs have preferred characteristics for sensor applications, including narrowed emission, emission at desired wavelength, and enhanced output for reduced EL background, higher absorption and improved device lifetime. In addition to OLEDs with desired performance, sensor integration requires oxidase immobilization with the sensor film for O<sub>2</sub>-based biological and chemical sensing. Nanoparticles such as ZnO have large surface area and high isoelectric point (~9.5), which favors enzyme immobilization via physical adsorption as well as Coulombic bonding. In chapter 4, it was demonstrated that ZnO could be used for this purpose, although future work is needed to further bond the ZnO to the sensor film. In chapter 5, single unit sensor was extended to multianalyte parallel sensing based on an OLED platform, which is compact and integrated with silicon photodiodes and electronics. Lactate and glucose were simultaneously monitored with a low limit of detection 0.02 mM, fast response time (~1 minute) and dynamic …
Date: January 1, 2010
Creator: Cai, Yuankun
System: The UNT Digital Library
Search for vector-like quark production in the lepton+jets and dilepton+jets final states using 5.4 fb-1 of Run II data (open access)

Search for vector-like quark production in the lepton+jets and dilepton+jets final states using 5.4 fb-1 of Run II data

The Standard Model of particle physics provides an excellent description of particle interactions at energies up to {approx}1 TeV, but it is expected to fail above that scale. Multiple models developed to describe phenomena above the TeV scale predict the existence of very massive, vector-like quarks. A search for single electroweak production of such particles in p{anti p} collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV is performed in the W+jets and Z+jets channels. The data were collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb{sup -1}. Events consistent with a heavy object decaying to a vector boson and a jet are selected. We observe no significant excess in comparison to the background prediction and set 95% confidence level upper limits on production cross sections for vector-like quarks decaying to W+jet and Z+jet. Assuming a vector-like quark -- standard model quark coupling parameter {tilde {kappa}}{sub qQ} of unity, we exclude vector-like quarks with mass below 693 GeV for decays to W+jet and mass below 449 GeV for decays to Z+jet. These represent the most sensitive limits to date.
Date: October 1, 2010
Creator: Caughron, Seth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Measurement of ww + wz production cross section and study of the dijet mass spectrum in the lnu + jets final state at CDF (open access)

Measurement of ww + wz production cross section and study of the dijet mass spectrum in the lnu + jets final state at CDF

We present the measurement of the WW and WZ production cross section in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV, in a final state consisting of an electron or muon, neutrino and jets. The data analyzed were collected by the CDF II detector at the Tevatron collider and correspond to 4.3 fb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity. The analysis uses a fit to the dijet mass distribution to extract the diboson contribution. We observe 1582 {+-} 275(stat.) {+-} 107(syst.) diboson candidate events and measure a cross section of {sigma}{sub WW/WZ} = 18.1 {+-} 3.3(stat.) {+-} 2.5(syst.) pb, consistent with the Standard Model prediction of 15.9 {+-} 0.9 pb. The best fit to the dijet mass of the known components shows a good agreement with the data except for the [120, 160] GeV/c{sup 2} mass range, where an excess is observed. We perform detailed checks of our background model and study the significance of the excess, assuming an additional gaussian component with a width compatible with the expected dijet mass resolution. A standard {Delta}{sub {chi}}{sup 2} test of the presence of the additional component, returns a p-value of 4.2 x 10{sup -4} when standard sources of systematics are considered, corresponding to …
Date: December 1, 2010
Creator: Cavaliere, Viviana & U., /Siena
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Search for Neutrino Induced Coherent NC($\pi^{0}$) Production in the MINOS Near Detector (open access)

A Search for Neutrino Induced Coherent NC($\pi^{0}$) Production in the MINOS Near Detector

The production of single, highly forward {pi}{sup 0} mesons by NC coherent neutrino-nucleus interactions ({nu}{sub {mu}} + N {yields} {nu}{sub {mu}} + N + {pi}{sup 0}) is a process which probes fundamental aspects of the weak interaction. This reaction may also pose as a limiting background for long baseline searches for {nu}{sub {mu}} {yields} {nu}{sub e} oscillations if the neutrino mixing angle {theta}{sub 13} is very small. The high-statistics sample of neutrino interactions recorded by the MINOS Near Detector provides an opportunity to measure the cross section of this coherent reaction on a relatively large-A nucleus at an average E{sub {nu}} = 4.9 GeV. A major challenge for this measurement is the isolation of forward-going electromagnetic (EM) showers produced by the relatively rare coherent NC({pi}{sup 0}) process amidst an abundant rate of incoherently produced EM showers. The backgrounds arise from single {pi}{sup 0} dominated NC events and also from quasi-elastic-like CC scattering of electron neutrinos. In this Thesis the theory of coherent interactions is summarized, and previous measurements of the coherent NC({pi}{sup 0}) cross section are reviewed. Then, methods for selecting a sample of coherent NC({pi}{sup 0}) like events, extracting the coherent NC({pi}{sup 0}) event rate from that sample, estimating …
Date: November 1, 2010
Creator: Cherdack, Daniel David & U., /Tufts
System: The UNT Digital Library
Measurement of Cross Section of Quark Pair Production Top With the d0 Experiment at the Tevatron and Determination the Top Quark Mass Using This Measure (open access)

Measurement of Cross Section of Quark Pair Production Top With the d0 Experiment at the Tevatron and Determination the Top Quark Mass Using This Measure

The top quark has been discovered by CDF and D0 experiments in 1995 at the proton-antiproton collider Tevatron. The amount of data recorded by both experiments makes it possible to accurately study the properties of this quark: its mass is now known to better than 1% accuracy. This thesis describes the measurement of the top pair cross section in the electron muon channel with 4, 3 fb<sup> -1</sup> recorded data between 2006 and 2009 by the D0 experiment. Since the final state included a muon, improvements of some aspects of its identification have been performed : a study of the contamination of the cosmic muons and a study of the quality of the muon tracks. The cross section measurement is in good agreement with the theoretical calculations and the other experimental measurements. This measurement has been used to extract a value for the top quark mass. This method allows for the extraction of a better defined top mass than direct measurements as it depends less on Monte Carlo simulations. The uncertainty on this extracted mass, dominated by the experimental one, is however larger than for direct measurements. In order to decrease this uncertainty, the ratio of the Z boson and …
Date: June 1, 2010
Creator: Chevalier-Thery, Solene
System: The UNT Digital Library
Search for V H and Technicolor Producion in the qqbb Final State Using the RunII D0 Detector (open access)

Search for V H and Technicolor Producion in the qqbb Final State Using the RunII D0 Detector

A search for dijet resonance production in a four-jet all-hadronic final state from the D0 detector at Fermilab's Tevatron is presented. The data set, acquired at a p{bar p} center-of-mass energy of {radical}s = 1.96 TeV, contains primarily multijet events and represents approximately 1 fb{sup -1} of data. The cross section limits for associated Higgs production and Technicolor processes are determined through a background subtraction method using data to estimate the background. This four-jet channel is potentially very powerful, but is extremely challenging due to the large multijet background from QCD processes. Background rejection is performed by utilizing b-tagging, pre-selection cuts, a multi-variate boosted decision tree discriminant, and the correlated information contained in the M(bb) and M(jj) dijet invariant masses. The search for V H (WH+ZH) processes yields a 95% confidence level observed upper limit of 20.4 pb on the VH cross section for a Higgs mass of 115 GeV/c{sup 2}. Additionally, a 95% confidence level observed upper limit of 16.7 pb was set for a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV/c{sup 2} and 24.6 pb was set for a Higgs boson mass of 135 GeV/c{sup 2}. The same data set was used to place limits on the Technicolor process …
Date: April 1, 2010
Creator: Clutter, Justace R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Search for Diphoton Events with Large Missing Transverse Energy in 6.3 fb-1 of ppbar Collisions using the D0 Detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider (open access)

Search for Diphoton Events with Large Missing Transverse Energy in 6.3 fb-1 of ppbar Collisions using the D0 Detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider

A search for diphoton events with large missing transverse energy produced in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV is presented. The data were collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider between 2002 and 2010, and correspond to 6.3 fb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity. The observed missing transverse energy distribution is well described by the Standard Model prediction, and 95% C.L. limits are derived on two realizations of theories beyond the Standard Model. In a gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking scenario, the breaking scale {Lambda} is excluded for {Lambda} &lt; 124 TeV. In a universal extra dimension model including gravitational decays, the compactification radius R{sub c} is excluded for R{sub c}{sup -1} &lt; 477 GeV.
Date: September 1, 2010
Creator: Cooke, Mark Stephen
System: The UNT Digital Library
Synthesis and structural, magnetic, thermal, and transport properties of several transition metal oxides and aresnides (open access)

Synthesis and structural, magnetic, thermal, and transport properties of several transition metal oxides and aresnides

Oxide compounds containing the transition metal vanadium (V) have attracted a lot of attention in the field of condensed matter physics owing to their exhibition of interesting properties including metal-insulator transitons, structural transitions, ferromagnetic and an- tiferromagnetic orderings, and heavy fermion behavior. Binary vanadium oxides VnO<sub>2n-1</sub> where 2 ≤ n ≤ 9 have triclinic structures and exhibit metal-insulator and antiferromagnetic transitions.[1–6] The only exception is V<sub>7</sub>O<sub>13</sub> which remains metallic down to 4 K.[7] The ternary vanadium oxide LiV<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> has the normal spinel structure, is metallic, does not un- dergo magnetic ordering and exhibits heavy fermion behavior below 10 K.[8] CaV<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> has an orthorhombic structure[9, 10] with the vanadium spins forming zigzag chains and has been suggested to be a model system to study the gapless chiral phase.[11, 12] These provide great motivation for further investigation of some known vanadium compounds as well as to ex- plore new vanadium compounds in search of new physics. This thesis consists, in part, of experimental studies involving sample preparation and magnetic, transport, thermal, and x- ray measurements on some strongly correlated eletron systems containing the transition metal vanadium. The compounds studied are LiV<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>, YV<sub>4</sub>O<sub>8</sub>, and YbV<sub>4</sub>O<sub>8</sub>. The recent discovery of superconductivity in RFeAsO<sub>1-x</sub>F<sub>x</sub> (R …
Date: January 1, 2010
Creator: Das, Supriyo
System: The UNT Digital Library
Development and application of QM/MM methods to study the solvation effects and surfaces (open access)

Development and application of QM/MM methods to study the solvation effects and surfaces

Quantum mechanical (QM) calculations have the advantage of attaining high-level accuracy, however QM calculations become computationally inefficient as the size of the system grows. Solving complex molecular problems on large systems and ensembles by using quantum mechanics still poses a challenge in terms of the computational cost. Methods that are based on classical mechanics are an inexpensive alternative, but they lack accuracy. A good trade off between accuracy and efficiency is achieved by combining QM methods with molecular mechanics (MM) methods to use the robustness of the QM methods in terms of accuracy and the MM methods to minimize the computational cost. Two types of QM combined with MM (QM/MM) methods are the main focus of the present dissertation: the application and development of QM/MM methods for solvation studies and reactions on the Si(100) surface. The solvation studies were performed using a discreet solvation model that is largely based on first principles called the effective fragment potential method (EFP). The main idea of combining the EFP method with quantum mechanics is to accurately treat the solute-solvent and solvent-solvent interactions, such as electrostatic, polarization, dispersion and charge transfer, that are important in correctly calculating solvent effects on systems of interest. A …
Date: January 1, 2010
Creator: Dibya, Pooja Arora
System: The UNT Digital Library
Measurement of single-target spin asymmetries in the electroproduction of negative pions in the semi-inclusive deep inelastic reaction n{up_arrow}(e,e'{pi}{sup -})X on a transversely polarized {sup 3}He target (open access)

Measurement of single-target spin asymmetries in the electroproduction of negative pions in the semi-inclusive deep inelastic reaction n{up_arrow}(e,e'{pi}{sup -})X on a transversely polarized {sup 3}He target

The experiment E06010 measured the target single spin asymmetry (SSA) in the semiinclusive deep inelastic (SIDIS) n{up_arrow}(e, e'{pi}{sup -})X reaction with a transversely polarized {sup 3}He target as an e#11;ective neutron target. This is the very #12;rst independent measurement of the neutron SSA, following the measurements at HERMES and COMPASS on the proton and the deuteron. The experiment acquired data in Hall A at Je#11;erson Laboratory with a continuous electron beam of energy 5.9 GeV, probing the valence quark region, with x = 0.13 {rt_arrow} 0.41, at Q{sup 2} = 1.31 {rt_arrow} 3.1 GeV{sup 2}. The two contributing mechanisms to the measured asymmetry, viz, the Collins effect and the Sivers effect can be realized through the variation of the asymmetry as a function of the Collins and Sivers angles. The neutron Collins and Sivers moments, associated with the azimuthal angular modulations, are extracted from the measured asymmetry for the very #12;first time and are presented in this thesis. The kinematics of this experiment is comparable to the HERMES proton measurement. However, the COMPASS measurements on deuteron and proton are in the low-x region. The results of this experiment are crucial as the first step toward the extraction of quark transversity …
Date: June 1, 2010
Creator: Dutta, Chiranjib
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electroproduction DE Pions Neutres Dans Le Hall a AU Jefferson Laboratory (open access)

Electroproduction DE Pions Neutres Dans Le Hall a AU Jefferson Laboratory

The past decade has seen a strong evolution of the study of the hadron structure through exclusive processes, allowing to access to a more complete description of this structure. Exclusive processes include DVCS (Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering) as well as hard exclusive meson production. This document is particularly focussed on the latter, and more particularly on exclusive neutral pion production. In this thesis is described the analysis of triple coincidence events H(e, e'{gamma}{gamma})X, which were a consequent by-product of the DVCS experiment which occured during Fall 2004 at Jefferson Lab Hall A, to extract the ep {yields} ep{pi}{sup 0} cross section. This cross section has been measured at two values of four-momentum transfer Q{sup 2} = 1.9 GeV{sup 2} and Q{sup 2} = 2.3 GeV{sup 2}. The statistical precision for these measurements is achieved at better than 5 %. The kinematic range allows to study the evolution of the extracted cross section as a function of Q{sup 2} and W. Results are be confronted with Regge inspired calculations and Generalized (GPD) predictions. An intepretation of our data within the framework of semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering is also discussed.
Date: June 1, 2010
Creator: Fuchey, Eric
System: The UNT Digital Library
Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson associated with a W Boson using Matrix Element Technique in the CDF detector at the Tevatron (open access)

Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson associated with a W Boson using Matrix Element Technique in the CDF detector at the Tevatron

In this thesis a direct search for the Standard Model Higgs boson production in association with a W boson at the CDF detector in the Tevatron is presented. This search contributes predominantly in the region of low mass Higgs region, when the mass of Higgs boson is less than about 135 GeV. The search is performed in a final state where the Higgs boson decays into two b quarks, and the W boson decays leptonically, to a charged lepton (it can be an electron or a muon) and a neutrino. This work is organized as follows. Chapter 2 gives an overview of the Standard Model theory of particle physics and presents the SM Higgs boson search results at LEP, and the Tevatron colliders, as well as the prospects for the SM Higgs boson searches at the LHC. The dataset used in this analysis corresponds to 4.8 fb<sup>-1</sup> of integrated luminosity of p$\bar{p}$ collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV. That is the luminosity acquired between the beginning of the CDF Run II experiment, February 2002, and May 2009. The relevant aspects, for this analysis, of the Tevatron accelerator and the CDF detector are shown in Chapter 3. …
Date: May 1, 2010
Creator: Gonzalez, Barbara Alvarez
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ratio method of measuring $w$ boson mass (open access)

Ratio method of measuring $w$ boson mass

This dissertation describes an alternative method of measuring the W boson mass in D0 experiment. Instead of extracting M{sub W} from the fitting of W {yields} e{nu} fast Monte Carlo simulations to W {yields} e{nu} data as in the standard method, we make the direct fit of transverse mass between W {yields} e{nu} data and Z {yields} ee data. One of the two electrons from Z boson is treated as a neutrino in the calculation of transverse mass. In ratio method, the best fitted scale factor corresponds to the ratio of W and Z boson mass (M{sub W}/M{sub Z}). Given the precisely measured Z boson mass, W mass is directly fitted from W {yields} e{nu} and Z {yields} ee data. This dissertation demonstrates that ratio method is a plausible method of measuring the W boson mass. With the 1 fb{sup -1} D0 Run IIa dataset, ratio method gives M{sub W} = 80435 {+-} 43(stat) {+-} 26(sys) MeV.
Date: August 1, 2010
Creator: Guo, Feng
System: The UNT Digital Library
Measurement of the Top Quark Mass in the Di-lepton Channel using the Dalitz-Goldstein Method (open access)

Measurement of the Top Quark Mass in the Di-lepton Channel using the Dalitz-Goldstein Method

This dissertation describes a measurement of the mass of the top quark using a method developed by G. Goldstein and R.H. Dalitz. It is based on 2.0 fb{sup -1} of data collected by the Collider Detector Facility at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratories. Di-lepton events were observed from colliding protons with anti-protons with {radical}s = 1.96 TeV in the Tevatron Collider. A total of 145 candidate events were observed with 49 expected to be from background. These events include two neutrinos which elude detection. The method begins by assuming an initial top quark mass and solves for the neutrino momenta using a geometrical construction. The method samples over a range of likely top quark masses choosing the most consistent mass via a likelihood function. An important distinguishing feature of this method from others is its lack of dependence on the missing transverse energy, a quantity that is poorly measured by the experiment. This analysis determines the top quark mass to be M{sub top} = 172.3 {+-} 3.4(stat.) {+-} 2.0(syst.) GeV/c{sup 2} (M{sub top} = 170.5 {+-} 3.7(stat.) {+-} 1.8(syst.) GeV/c{sup 2} with b-tagging).
Date: October 1, 2010
Creator: Hare, Matthew Frederick & U., /Tufts
System: The UNT Digital Library
Study of the (e,e&#x27;p) quasi-elastic reaction in complex nuclei: theory and experiment (open access)

Study of the (e,e&#x27;p) quasi-elastic reaction in complex nuclei: theory and experiment

Experimental coincidence cross section and transverse-longitudinal asymmetry A{sub TL} have been obtained for the quasielastic (e,e&#x27;p) reaction in {sup 16}O, {sup 12}C, and {sup 208}Pb in constant q-ω kinematics in the missing momentum range -350 &lt; p{sub miss} &lt; 350 MeV/c. In these experiments, performed in experimental Hall A of the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLAB), the beam energy and the momentum and angle of the scattered electrons were kept fixed, while the angle between the proton momentum and the momentum transfer q was varied in order to map out the missing momentum distribution. The experimental cross section and A{sub TL} asymmetry have been compared with Monte Carlo simulations based on Distorted Wave Impulse Approximation (DWIA) calculations with both relativistic and non-relativistic spinor structure. The spectroscopic factors obtained for both models are in agreement with previous experimental values, while A{sub TL} measurements favor the relativistic DWIA calculation. This thesis describes the details of the experimental setup, the calibration of the spectrometers, the techniques used in the data analysis to derive the final cross sections and the A{sub TL}, the ingredients of the theoretical calculations employed and the comparison of the results with the simulations based on these theoretical models.
Date: March 1, 2010
Creator: Herraiz, Joaquin Lopez
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electron Neutrino Appearance in the MINOS Experiment (open access)

Electron Neutrino Appearance in the MINOS Experiment

The MINOS experiment is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment which sends a high intensity muon neutrino beam through two functionally identical detectors, a Near detector at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois, 1km from the beam source, and a Far detector, 734km away, in the Soudan Mine in Minnesota. MINOS may be able to measure the neutrino mixing angle parameter sin{sup 2} 2{theta}{sub 13} for the first time. Detector granularity, however, makes it very hard to distinguish any {nu}{sub e} appearance signal events characteristic of a non-zero value of {theta}{sub 13} from background neutral current (NC) and short-track {nu}{sub {mu}} charged current (CC) events. Also, uncertainties in the hadronic shower modeling in the kinematic region characteristic of this analysis are relatively large. A new data-driven background decomposition method designed to address those issues is developed and its results presented. By removing the long muon tracks from {nu}{sub {mu}}-CC events, the Muon Removed Charge Current (MRCC) method creates independent pseudo-NC samples that can be used to correct the MINOS Monte Carlo to agree with the high-statistics Near detector data and to decompose the latter into components so as to predict the expected Far detector background. The MRCC method also provides …
Date: June 1, 2010
Creator: Holin, Anna Maria & London, /University Coll.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy of Adsorbed Amino Acids, Peptides and Proteins of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Solid-Water Interfaces (open access)

Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy of Adsorbed Amino Acids, Peptides and Proteins of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Solid-Water Interfaces

Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy was used to investigate the interfacial properties of several amino acids, peptides, and proteins adsorbed at the hydrophilic polystyrene solid-liquid and the hydrophobic silica solid-liquid interfaces. The influence of experimental geometry on the sensitivity and resolution of the SFG vibrational spectroscopy technique was investigated both theoretically and experimentally. SFG was implemented to investigate the adsorption and organization of eight individual amino acids at model hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces under physiological conditions. Biointerface studies were conducted using a combination of SFG and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) comparing the interfacial structure and concentration of two amino acids and their corresponding homopeptides at two model liquid-solid interfaces as a function of their concentration in aqueous solutions. The influence of temperature, concentration, equilibration time, and electrical bias on the extent of adsorption and interfacial structure of biomolecules were explored at the liquid-solid interface via QCM and SFG. QCM was utilized to quantify the biological activity of heparin functionalized surfaces. A novel optical parametric amplifier was developed and utilized in SFG experiments to investigate the secondary structure of an adsorbed model peptide at the solid-liquid interface.
Date: August 1, 2010
Creator: Holinga IV, G.H.
System: The UNT Digital Library