Prototype Laser System based on a newly developed alexandrite gain module

• Patrick Inacker-Mix (BNL)

Room: Virtual AD A Brief description of the project: Many current and future applications require high power laser light at wavelengths around 800nm. The currently established laser media don't provide direct access to this band without the use of complex non-linear conversion techniques. These conversion techniques are often inefficient, sensitive to environmental factors and hard to scale to higher output powers. Alexandrite is a potential candidate for a laser medium lasing in a wide range between 700 and 858nm. Due to recent technological advances the use of Alexandrite regained interest from the research community for high average power, high pulse energy applications. This project is building upon the success of an exploratory 2021 LDRD which demonstrated the design and development of a laser gain module based on Alexandrite. Within the scope of this project the gain module design previously generated will be prototyped and installed in a laser system for characterization. The laser system will consist of an optical cavity housing the laser gain module designed in 2021 and an optical switch which allows the simulation of different operating modes. Due to the sensitive nature of new laser systems and the number of mechanical and optical variables involved this is a high risk, high reward project. A fully characterized and optimized prototype laser gain module based on Alexandrite will seriously speed up and reduce cost and complexity of future laser deployments for operation around 800nm. Its solid-state nature offers great flexibility and scalability for even higher power applications.

Expanding the Standard Model at the EIC

• Robert Szafron (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Room: Virtual PO Investigators: Robert Szafron and Sally Dawson Abstract: The electron ion collider will yield important insights into the couplings of gauge bosons to fermions, allowing for measurements of the anomalous couplings of the Z boson to electrons and quarks that are complementary to measurements from other experiments. The effects can be parameterized using SM effective field theory techniques (SMEFT) used for constraining new physics at the LHC. However, the measurement of the couplings requires the use of parton distribution functions (PDF), which are fit to Standard Model expectations. We will develop techniques that enable a joint fit to PDFs and anomalous couplings at the EIC and explore machine learning techniques to improve the sensitivity of the fit.

Color glass condensate event generation

• Kemal Tezgin (Brookhaven National Lab)
• Bjoern Schenke (BNL)

Room: Virtual PO PI: Bjoern Schenke Other Investigators: Elke Aschenauer, Kemal Tezgin External Collaborators: Heikki, Mäntysaari, Pawel Sznajder Abstract: The aim of this project is to develop a Monte-Carlo event generator for exclusive processes of deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) and J/psi leptoproduction that are sensitive to the dense gluon regime inside nuclei. To describe this regime appropriately, the event generator will be based on the Color Glass Condensate effective field theory. The generator will further be able to simulate the Bethe-Heitler (BH) process, which is the main background source for DVCS, and the interference term between DVCS and BH. Additionally, the generator will be equipped with first and second order initial and final state QED radiative corrections, allowing impact studies on future EIC experiments to provide deeper insight into nucleon structure. The EpIC event generator has already made significant progress in simulating the DVCS process and is now capable of generating events using various GPD models. However, due to the limited sensitivity of GPD models in the EpIC framework to the small-x region, saturation effects cannot be easily accounted for. With the proposed generator, this problem will be overcome and nucleon structures at small x will be realistically simulated using CGC-based approaches. By implementing state-of-the-art GPD models into the calculation of leptoproduction of J/psi, which are sensitive to gluon GPDs, we will also be able to assess how the CGC and GPD approaches differ in describing nucleons at small x. Studying two different approaches on the same footing will also allow for an improved analysis of detector requirements and data selection in the EIC experiments.

Attention-based Graph Neural Networks for Real-time Particle Identification

• Viviana Cavaliere (Brookhaven National Lab)

Room: Virtual PO/NPP - CSI (not sure which directorate will be submitting) PI: Viviana Cavaliere (PO/NPP) Other Investigators: Elizabeth Brost (PO/NPP), Yi Huang (CSI), Joe Osborn (PO/NPP), Yihui Ren (CSI), Abraham Tishelman-Charny (PO/NPP) Cross-directorate proposal: Yes (NPP & CSI) Proposal Term: October 2023 - September 2025 Abstract: One of the largest challenges at particle colliders is the real-time selection of interesting collision events for later analysis, since events that do not have a positive trigger decision are lost forever. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are the preferred technology for these low-latency situations -- O(microseconds) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) -- as current GPU and CPU devices are too slow. The flexibility offered by FPGAs is particularly important, as they can be updated to meet new experimental needs and can incorporate the latest technological advances. This flexibility will be even more important at the next generation of colliders, such as the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), Electron Ion Collider (EIC), and the proposed Future Circular Collider (FCC), which will operate with much higher data rates, posing additional challenges for their trigger systems. To improve the real-time selection of interesting events, we will develop a machine learning algorithm for particle identification, leveraging the geometric awareness of Graph Neural Networks (GNN). We will start with the standard message-passing approach for network optimization, and then proceed to explore attention mechanisms as feature aggregation functions, which help when some parts of the input data are more discriminative than others, as in particle identification. The GNN will be optimized to fit into an FPGA for the example use-case of hadronically decaying particles at current experiments such as ATLAS and sPHENIX. The competencies that we develop in this project can be extended to other use-cases at colliders, as well as other applications of GNNs in low-latency situations at other user facilities at BNL.

Calorimetry R&D for PIONEER: a Next-generation Rare Pion Decay

• Xin Qian (BNL)

Room: Virtual PO/ATRO PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: ● Co-PI: Xin Xiang (ATRO/IO) ● Co-PI: Xin Qian (NPP/PO) ● Other PI: TBD Abstract: BNL should take a leading role in developing low-cost calorimeter materials with excellent radiation tolerance and time response for the next-generation High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments. BNL has world-leading expertise in pioneering water-based liquid scintillators (WbLS), a low-energy threshold scintillation water that is capable of loading a variety of target elements while still remaining homogeneity and appreciable scintillation emissions. We propose R&D activities to investigate the production and the key properties of WbLS with heavy metal loading as the calorimetry materials. This proposal is well aligned with the priority research of the DOE Basic Research Needs Study on High Energy Physics Detector Research and Development. The proposed R&D on the calorimetry technology, if successful, will expand the existing capabilities towards future experiments in particle and nuclear physics at LHC and EIC. As an example, PIONEER is a next-generation rare pion decay experiment approved by Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) to test lepton flavor universality (LFU) and of Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) unitarity. BNL is in a unique position to become the leader in developing large uniform calorimetry (CALO). The current concept of CALO requires 10-tonne liquid xenon, which is very expensive in today’s market (~$13 M/ton). The alternative design of CALO relies on the crystals, which have limitations in the ultimate energy resolutions. The baseline requirements for CALO are: ● Dense. A compact CALO that is 25x the radiation length of the electrons from the decay. ● Bright. Enough light yield that can produce at least 10^5 photons at ~70 MeV energy. ● Prompt. Scintillation lifetime is short, so PIONEER can accumulate statistics quickly. The initial calculation shows that the required radiation length (<8 cm) for WbLS with heavy metal loading is within the reach. A variety of metals in the form of salt are highly soluble in water, and the technique to dope WbLS with metal has been demonstrated in several neutrino experiments (e.g., SNO+, PROSPECT, T2K). The CO already has the facility to produce WbLS at the O(10) ton scale in a cost-effective manner. We plan to produce a variety of WbLS samples loaded with different metals at high concentrations. For each sample, we will construct a small (~10 L) high-resolution detector using SiPM as the photosensor to measure the liquid properties with calibration sources. The deliverable measurements are light yield, radiation length, optical transparency, and scintillation time profile. The fund will be mostly allocated to construct a small testing detector and expand human power. A reasonable delivery window for this project is 2 years. If funded, this project will: ● Establish WbLS with heavy metal loading as an attractive calorimetry material. ● Open a new realm of affordable low-radiation length calorimetry for other HEP experiments. ● Create an opportunity for BNL to be the lead lab for future experiments, such as PIONEER.

Silicon Carbide for next-generation LGAD

• stefania stucci (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Room: Virtual PO PI: Stefania Stucci (PO/NPP) Co-PI: Gabriele D’Amen (PO/NPP) *, Gabriele Giacomini (IO)* *Still to be discussed, need input from NPP if it has to be cross-directorate Abstract: Silicon LGAD technology has proven to be the best candidate for the next generation of 4D detectors despite some limitations due to limited radiation hardness. We propose to profit from BNL expertise in LGAD fabrication to develop the next generation of LGAD made of silicon carbide (SiC) instead of silicon, which offers enhanced radiation hardness. This wide bandgap material offers excellent properties, such as very low leakage current making it very radiation hard even at high temperatures; it can withstand high temperatures (up to 500 C) and present high saturated carrier velocity leading to a faster response. Impact of this proposal applies not only on HEP experiments but also on space and nuclear applications.

Development of novel SiPM arrays for optical spectroscopy

• Andrei Nomerotski (BNL)

Room: Virtual PO Abstract: We will investigate ideas and will prototype specialized SiPM based sensors for a fast 10ps spectrometer with 0.1nm spectral resolution, which is near the Heisenberg limit in the time-energy domain. The spectrometer will have multiple cutting-edge applications including astrophysics, quantum dot spectroscopy, lifetime spectroscopy etc. We propose to have a 8x256 sensor with columns formed by 8 cell long SiPMs, as shown below. Each SiPM column would have a TDC implemented outside of the sensor in FPGA. Simultaneously with spectral information the sensor would provide the photon counting capabilities (for example, a coincidence in case of n=2) in the 8-cell SiPM, which is a novel feature never implemented before in SPAD sensors as spectrometers. For example, we could have a dual spectrometer sensing coincidences in spectral bins. The work will be done in collaboration with IO and other institutions.

Simulating low-dimensional QCD toy models using exact tensor network methods

• Robert Pisarski (BNL)

Room: Virtual PO/EPS (Cross Directorate submitted through CSI) PI: Rob Pisarski Andreas Weichselbaum (CM) List of potential referees (if relevant): Alexei Tsvelik, Raju Venugopalan, and Taku Izubuchi Tentative Abstract: We consider a toy model of QCD in 1+1 dimensions, a Z(3) gauge theory coupled to three flavors of massive, degenerate quarks, which we term "QZD". Using tensor networks, a wealth of quantities can be computed directly in a well-controlled exact manner. This includes the mass spectrum of mesons, both octet and singlet, and the mass of the lightest baryon, along with excited states thereof. Properties at nonzero density can also be analyzed without the limitation of the sign problem in Quantum Monte Carlo methods. Further properties of interest include the free energy as a function of density, and whether there is a non-Fermi liquid. Besides giving valuable insights on the physics of the model, this project also offers a benchmark for simulations on quantum computers under the C2QA collaboration.

Enabling neutrino-triggered Rubin observations

• Anze Slosar (BNL)
• Peter Denton

Room: Virtual PO PI: Anze Slosar Other investigators: Peter Denton, Brett Viren, Mary Bishai Abstract: Approximately once per century a core collapse supernova explodes in a typical galaxy like our own. These are extremely energetic events in which a star collapses under its own gravity. In under a minute, neutrinos carry away 99% of the released gravitational energy. When the exploding shock wave finally reaches the surface of the star, optical photons escaping the expanding stellar envelope leave the star and eventually arrive at Earth as a visible brightening. The aim of this project is to combine the most powerful neutrino detectors on Earth with the most powerful upcoming survey, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). The pieces are in place: on the neutrino side the SNEWS 2.0 project will provide the triggers and on the LSST side, the Survey Cadence optimization Committee is accepting proposals for Target of Opportunity (ToO) observations. The purpose of this project is to work out the technical details and precise follow-up strategy (in terms of filters, exposures times, etc.) that will enable efficient use of LSST resources to immediately follow up a neutrino event and be the first to determine the precise sky location of the exploded stars. Detailed follow-up will be left to dedicated facilities with a smaller field of view.

Exploring the spin structure of the Pomeron through quantum entanglement

• Zhoudunming Tu (BNL)

Room: Virtual PO PI: Zhoudunming Tu (BNL) co-PIs: James Daniel Brandenburg (OSU), Raju Venugopalan and Zhangbu Xu (BNL)

Novel direction in QCD exclusive processes

• Yoshitaka Hatta (BNL)
• Swagato Mukherjee (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Room: Virtual PO Principal investigator (PI): Yoshitaka Hatta co-PI: Swagato Mukherjee With the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory on the horizon, the study of the generalized parton distributions (GPDs) is increasingly becoming more important for its unique role in imaging the three-dimensional structure of the nucleons and nuclei. Fundamental to the physics of GPDs is the factorization theorem for the Compton scattering amplitude proven in the late '90s. It allows one to extract, via global analyses, various types of GPDs from the experimental data of exclusive processes. However, together with collaborators the PI very recently has published a paper which challenges the validity of the factorization theorem in Compton scattering (S. Bhattacharya, Y. Hatta, W. Vogelsang, Physical Review D107 (2023) 014026). It has been shown that a consistent calculation of the quark box diagram leads to potentially divergent terms which break QCD factorization, but which were missed in all the previous calculations in the GPD literature. These terms originate from the chiral and trace anomalies of QCD, suggesting a novel connection between exclusive processes and the deep problems of QCD such as chiral symmetry breaking and hadron mass generation. In this LDRD, we propose to explore the full consequences of QCD anomalies in high energy scattering. We will revisit the previous calculations of various exclusive processes to next-to-leading order in light of our new observation and seek the possibility of establishing a modified factorization formula. We will also investigate the impact of anomalies on the lattice QCD approach to GPDs to see how they affect the proof of factorization on the lattice as well as the calculation of matching coefficients. Although the study of GPDs is one of the scientific pillars of the EIC, theory activities at BNL in this direction have been quite limited so far. Building on the latest breakthrough development, our LDRD will boost the presence of BNL in the international GPD community.

Exploring the Gluon Saturation Origin of Two-Particle Angular Decorrelation

• Xiaoxuan Chu (BNL)

Room: Virtual PO PI: Xiaoxuan Chu (BNL) co-PIs: Elke-Caroline Aschenauer (BNL), Farid Salazar (UCLA/LBL), Zhoudunming Tu (BNL)

Studies of a laser-cooled ion source for ultralow emittance beams

• Stephen Brooks (BNL)
• Kevin Brown (C-AD)

Room: Virtual AD PI: Stephen Brooks Other investigators: Kevin Brown (co-PI), Dejan Trbojevic, George Mahler Brief abstract: Laser-cooled ion traps have been used to prepare groups of ions in very low temperature states, in some cases approaching the quantum ground state in position space: the theoretical minimum emittance of a particle. This takes the form of a Coulomb crystal with spatially-separated ions but very little momentum spread. In this proposal, we plan to investigate the prospects for manipulating these bunches with accelerator techniques, for instance producing a very intense focal point limited by Coulomb repulsion instead of emittance. In parallel, we propose to gain experimental knowledge by constructing a basic ion trap test chamber, initially without cooling, which can measure the dynamics of extracting a trapped bunch.

Section of Fast-Cycling FFA Synchrotron

• Dejan Trbojevic (CAD)

Room: Virtual AD

Electrostatic Deflector for PEDM Ring

• Haixin Huang (Brookhaven National Lab)
• Bill Morse (BNL)

Room: Virtual AD PI: Haixin Huang (CAD) and William Morse (PD) Abstract: BNL pioneered the precision measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon (AGS E821). We used magnetic dipoles and electric quadrupoles at the “magic momentum”, where the spin and the momentum precess at the same rate in an electric field. There is now intense theoretical interest in a precision measurement of the electric dipole moment (edm) of the proton, which could come from QCD CP violation (θ_QCD), which is intimately connected with axion physics [1], or new physics at the 〖≈10〗^3 TeV mass scale [1]. We will use electric dipoles and magnetic quadrupoles for the PEDM ring. We are proposing a PEDM ring in the AGS tunnel which will do a thousand times better compared to the neutron edm limits [1]. The HEP Snowmass Meeting recommended that BNL do a cost estimate for a PEDM ring in the AGS tunnel. We were awarded a PD grant to develop the cost estimate. It should be finished by June, 2023. The first strong focusing alternate gradient ring was the BNL electric p = 10 MeV/c, 30m circumference electron analog ring [2], built to demonstrate that one could get through transition, which had never been done before. The proton edm ring has p = 0.7 GeV/c with circumference 800m with much stricter requirements on unwanted multipoles, stability, etc. The specs can be satisfied “on paper”, but it would be prudent to build and measure the performance for one section of the real thing. This LDRD proposal is to build and test one section of the electric deflectors.

Separations of radionuclides by electrophoresis methods

• Pavithra Hetti Achchi Kankanamalage (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Room: Virtual AD

Improving optical modeling and reconstruction for DUNE FD3/4

• Jay Hyun Jo (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Room: Virtual PO PI: Jay Hyun Jo Abstract: The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is the flagship particle physics experiment in the U.S. With Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) 's excellent particle tracking and energy calorimetry capabilities, DUNE aims to answer many fundamental questions about the Universe such as why matter dominates antimatter and whether protons can decay. The future DUNE far detectors, FD3/4, are open for the next generation LArTPC detectors with improved physics capabilities and cost-effective construction techniques. This project aims to work on an improvement of optical modeling and reconstruction in DUNE FD3/4. One of the proposed designs for FD3/4 is to increase the light coverage to ~75%, enabling many new studies involving optical transportation models and light reconstruction algorithms. With enough light signals in FD3/4, improving optical modeling is viable by calibrating optical signals with aids from charge signals. With the optical simulation with such modeling implemented, one can further enhance the event reconstruction by leveraging the light signal. Furthermore, the result of this project will guide the configuration optimization for the FD3/4 photon detector system, potentially enhancing the physics sensitivity and reducing the cost.

Study of Ion Beam Generation by Picosecond Laser

• Sergey Kondrashev (BNL)

Room: Virtual AD PI: Dr. Sergey Kondrashev (C-AD) Co-PI: Dr. Takeshi Kanesue (C-AD) We propose to study ion beam generation by 5 mJ/5 ps 10 kHz rep-rate laser available in Ion Source Group of C-AD. Primary goal of this project is to develop source of singly charged ions of any solid element of Periodic Table suitable for “slow” and, possibly, “fast” injection into Electron Beam Ion Source (EBIS). We will measure ion yields generated by such ps-laser for different target elements and target irradiation conditions (laser spot size, target irradiation angle, target translation speed). These data will allow us to specify and optimize ion source geometry and parameters. We will couple optimized source of singly charged ions to isotope separator previously developed in our group. If proved to be successful, this method will allow us to enhance output of ion beams of highly charged ions generated by EBIS for different solid-state elements with 2 or more stable isotopes. Taking advantage of high rep-rate of available ps-laser, we will also investigate generation of quasi cw beams of highly charged ions which can be of interest for different applications. In particular, we will study the possibility of generation of intense quasi cw beam of lithium 3+ ions. Such beam can be used as a driver for compact neutron generator. If successful, this will be the first realization of quasi cw laser source of highly charged ions.

Edge-AI enhanced radiation sensors with sub-pixel spatial & time resolution for future 4D tracking

• Prithwish Tribedy (BNL)

Room: Virtual PO Prithwish Tribedy (PI, STAR-PO), Alessandro Tricoli (ATLAS-PO), Tonko Ljubicic (STAR-PO), Yihui (Ray) Ren (CSI), Zhangbu Xu (EIC-PO), Prashanth Sanmuganathan (STAR-PO)

Spin-based Projective Imaging of Nuclei at the Electron-Ion Collider

• Rongrong Ma (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Room: Virtual PO PIs: Rongrong Ma, Zhoudunming Tu, Thomas Ullrich, Zhangbu Xu

Noble-liquid calorimetry for FCCee

• scott snyder (bnl)

Room: Virtual PO PI: Scott Snyder As a follow-on to the LHC, CERN is developing a large electron-positron collider, the FCCee. A new detector concept for this collider is centered around an electromagnetic calorimeter using a noble liquid, such argon, as an ionization medium. Such calorimeters have been successfully used at experiments such as D0 and ATLAS. The goal is to build on the strengths of such calorimeters, such as excellent stability and uniformity, and improve the resolution and readout granularity in order to meet the requirements for FCCee physics. The specific work proposed here consists of improving the current crude simulation and reconstruction software to incorporate known effects affecting the readout and to use the resulting simulation to evaluate and optimize the proposed design. This will then inform efforts at CERN to build and test a prototype detector.