Publications

Selected publications since 2020:

Sep 12, 2022

Snowmass Neutrino Frontier: NF02 Topical Group Report on Understanding Experimental Neutrino Anomalies

This report has been prepared as part of the US Community Study on the Future of Particle Physics (Snowmass 2021) by the Snowmass Neutrino Frontier Topical Group NF02 Conveners, and it is based on the NF02 Topical Group-contributed White Paper on Light Sterile Neutrino Searches and Related Phenomenology.
Submitted to the Proceedings of the US Community Study on the Future of Particle Physics (Snowmass 2022), arXiv:2209.05352

May 17, 2022

Measurement of neutral current single π0 production on argon with the MicroBooNE detector

We report the first measurement of $\pi^0$ production in neutral current (NC)
interactions on argon with average neutrino energy of $\lesssim1$~GeV. We use
data from the MicroBooNE detector’s 85-tonne active volume liquid argon time
projection chamber situated in Fermilab’s Booster Neutrino Beam and exposed to
$5.89\times10^{20}$ protons on target for this measurement…
Submitted to Phys. Rev. D, arXiv:2205.07943

Mar 30, 2022

Physics Community Needs, Tools, and Resources for Machine Learning

Machine learning (ML) is becoming an increasingly important component of cutting-edge physics research, but its computational requirements present significant challenges. In this white paper, we discuss the needs of the physics community regarding ML across latency and throughput regimes, the tools and resources that offer the possibility of addressing these needs, and how these can be best utilized and accessed in the coming years.
Contribution to Snowmass 2022 Summer Study, arXiv:2203.16255

Mar 11, 2022

White Paper on Light Sterile Neutrino Searches and Related Phenomenology

This white paper provides a comprehensive review of our present understanding of experimental neutrino anomalies that remain unresolved, charting the progress achieved over the last decade at the experimental and phenomenological level, and sets the stage for future programmatic prospects in addressing those anomalies. It is purposed to serve as a guiding and motivational “encyclopedic” reference, with emphasis on needs and options for future exploration that may lead to the ultimate resolution of the anomalies. We see the main experimental, analysis, and theory-driven thrusts that will be essential to achieving this goal…
Contribution to Snowmass 2022 Summer Study, arXiv:2203.07323

Mar 1, 2022

Low-Energy Physics in Neutrino LArTPCs

In this white paper, we outline some of the scientific opportunities and challenges related to detection and reconstruction of low-energy (less than 100 MeV) signatures in liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) detectors. Key takeaways are summarized as follows. 1) LArTPCs have unique sensitivity to a range of physics and astrophysics signatures via detection of event features at and below the few tens of MeV range. 2) Low-energy signatures…
Contribution to Snowmass 2022 Summer Study, arXiv:2201.05638

Jan 14, 2022

Real-time Inference with 2D Convolutional Neural Networks on Field Programmable Gate Arrays for High-rate Particle Imaging Detectors

We present a custom implementation of a 2D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) as a viable application for real-time data selection in high-resolution and high-rate particle imaging detectors, making use of hardware acceleration in high-end Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). To meet FPGA resource constraints, a two-layer CNN is optimized for accuracy and latency with KerasTuner, and network quantization is further used to minimize the computing resource utilization of the network. We use…
Published in Front. Artif. Intell. 5 (2022) 855184, arXiv:2201.05638

Dec 7, 2021

Machine Learning in the Search for New Fundamental Physics

Machine learning plays a crucial role in enhancing and accelerating the search for new fundamental physics. We review the state of machine learning methods and applications for new physics searches in the context of terrestrial high energy physics experiments, including the Large Hadron Collider, rare event searches, and neutrino experiments…
Published in Nature Rev. Phys. 4 (2022) 6, 399-412, arXiv:2112.03769

Oct 26, 2021

Search for an anomalous excess of charged-current quasi-elastic Electron Neutrino​ interactions with the MicroBooNE experiment using Deep-Learning-based reconstruction

We present a measurement of the electron neutrino​-interaction rate in the MicroBooNE detector that addresses the observed MiniBooNE anomalous low-energy excess (LEE). The approach taken isolates neutrino interactions consistent with the kinematics of charged-current quasi-elastic (CCQE) events…
Published in Phys. Rev. D 105 (2022) 11, 11, arXiv:2110.14080

Oct 26, 2021

Search for an Excess of Electron Neutrino Interactions in MicroBooNE Using Multiple Final State Topologies

We present a measurement of electron neutrino interactions from the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam using the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber to address the nature of the excess of low energy interactions observed by the MiniBooNE collaboration. Three independent electron neutrino searches are performed…
Published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 128 (2022) 24, 241801, PRL Editors’ Suggestion, arXiv:2110.14054

Oct 1, 2021

Search for Neutrino-Induced Neutral Current Δ Radiative Decay in MicroBooNE and a First Test of the MiniBooNE Low Energy Excess Under a Single-Photon Hypothesis

We report results from a search for neutrino-induced neutral current (NC) resonant Δ(1232) baryon production followed by Δ radiative decay, with a ⟨0.8⟩ GeV neutrino beam. Data corresponding to MicroBooNE’s first three years of operations (6.80e20 protons on target) are used to select single-photon events with one or zero protons and without charged leptons in the final state (1γ1p1 and 1γ0p1 respectively)…
Published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 128 (2022) 11, 111801, PRL Editors’ Suggestion, arXiv:2110.00409

Aug 23, 2021

Grid-based minimization at scale: Feldman-Cousins corrections for light sterile neutrino search

High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments generally employ sophisticated statistical methods to present results in searches of new physics. In the problem of searching for sterile neutrinos, likelihood ratio tests are applied to short-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments to construct confidence intervals for the parameters of interest. The test statistics of the form Δχ2 is often used to form the confidence intervals, however, this approach can lead to statistical inaccuracies due to the small signal rate in the region-of-interest…
Published in EPJ Web Conf. 251 (2021) 02065, 10.1051/epjconf/202125102065

Oct 5, 2020

∣ΔB∣=2: A State of the Field, and Looking Forward—A brief status report of theoretical and experimental physics opportunities

The origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry apparently obligates the laws of physics to include some mechanism of baryon number (B) violation. Searches for interactions violating B and baryon-minus-lepton number (B−L) represent a rich and underutilized opportunity…
Proceedings to ACFI, arXiv:2010.02299

Sept 8, 2020

Snowmass 2021 Letter of Interest: The GRAMS Project: MeV Gamma-Ray Observations and Antimatter-Based Dark Matter Searches

The Gamma-Ray and AntiMatter Survey (GRAMS) project is a proposed next-generation balloon/satellite mission targeting both MeV gamma-ray observations and antimatter-based dark matter searches. A cost-effective, large-scale Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) detector technology will allow GRAMS to have a significantly improved sensitivity to MeV gamma rays while extensively probing dark matter parameter space via antimatter measurements.
Contribution to Snowmass 2021, arXiv:2009.03754

Aug 31, 2020

The continuous readout stream of the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber for detection of supernova burst neutrinos

The MicroBooNE continuous readout stream is a parallel readout of the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) which enables detection of non-beam events such as those from a supernova neutrino burst. The low energies of the supernova neutrinos and the intense cosmic-ray background flux due to the near-surface detector location makes triggering on these events very challenging…
Published in JINST 16 (2021) 02, P02008, arXiv:2008.13761