We report a measurement of electron antineutrino oscillation from the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment with nearly 4 million reactor νover ¯_{e} inverse β decay candidates observed over 1958 days ...of data collection. The installation of a flash analog-to-digital converter readout system and a special calibration campaign using different source enclosures reduce uncertainties in the absolute energy calibration to less than 0.5% for visible energies larger than 2 MeV. The uncertainty in the cosmogenic ^{9}Li and ^{8}He background is reduced from 45% to 30% in the near detectors. A detailed investigation of the spent nuclear fuel history improves its uncertainty from 100% to 30%. Analysis of the relative νover ¯_{e} rates and energy spectra among detectors yields sin^{2}2θ_{13}=0.0856±0.0029 and Δm_{32}^{2}=(2.471_{-0.070}^{+0.068})×10^{-3} eV^{2} assuming the normal hierarchy, and Δm_{32}^{2}=-(2.575_{-0.070}^{+0.068})×10^{-3} eV^{2} assuming the inverted hierarchy.
The Daya Bay experiment has observed correlations between reactor core fuel evolution and changes in the reactor antineutrino flux and energy spectrum. Four antineutrino detectors in two experimental ...halls were used to identify 2.2 million inverse beta decays (IBDs) over 1230 days spanning multiple fuel cycles for each of six 2.9 GW_{th} reactor cores at the Daya Bay and Ling Ao nuclear power plants. Using detector data spanning effective ^{239}Pu fission fractions F_{239} from 0.25 to 0.35, Daya Bay measures an average IBD yield σover ¯_{f} of (5.90±0.13)×10^{-43} cm^{2}/fission and a fuel-dependent variation in the IBD yield, dσ_{f}/dF_{239}, of (-1.86±0.18)×10^{-43} cm^{2}/fission. This observation rejects the hypothesis of a constant antineutrino flux as a function of the ^{239}Pu fission fraction at 10 standard deviations. The variation in IBD yield is found to be energy dependent, rejecting the hypothesis of a constant antineutrino energy spectrum at 5.1 standard deviations. While measurements of the evolution in the IBD spectrum show general agreement with predictions from recent reactor models, the measured evolution in total IBD yield disagrees with recent predictions at 3.1σ. This discrepancy indicates that an overall deficit in the measured flux with respect to predictions does not result from equal fractional deficits from the primary fission isotopes ^{235}U, ^{239}Pu, ^{238}U, and ^{241}Pu. Based on measured IBD yield variations, yields of (6.17±0.17) and (4.27±0.26)×10^{-43} cm^{2}/fission have been determined for the two dominant fission parent isotopes ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu. A 7.8% discrepancy between the observed and predicted ^{235}U yields suggests that this isotope may be the primary contributor to the reactor antineutrino anomaly.
This Letter reports a measurement of the flux and energy spectrum of electron antineutrinos from six 2.9 GWth nuclear reactors with six detectors deployed in two near (effective baselines 512 and 561 ...m) and one far (1579 m) underground experimental halls in the Daya Bay experiment. Using 217 days of data, 296 721 and 41 589 inverse β decay (IBD) candidates were detected in the near and far halls, respectively. The measured IBD yield is (1.55±0.04) ×10(-18) cm(2) GW(-1) day(-1) or (5.92±0.14) ×10(-43) cm(2) fission(-1). This flux measurement is consistent with previous short-baseline reactor antineutrino experiments and is 0.946±0.022 (0.991±0.023) relative to the flux predicted with the Huber-Mueller (ILL-Vogel) fissile antineutrino model. The measured IBD positron energy spectrum deviates from both spectral predictions by more than 2σ over the full energy range with a local significance of up to ∼4σ between 4-6 MeV. A reactor antineutrino spectrum of IBD reactions is extracted from the measured positron energy spectrum for model-independent predictions.
Searches for electron antineutrino, muon neutrino, and muon antineutrino disappearance driven by sterile neutrino mixing have been carried out by the Daya Bay and MINOS+ collaborations. This Letter ...presents the combined results of these searches, along with exclusion results from the Bugey-3 reactor experiment, framed in a minimally extended four-neutrino scenario. Significantly improved constraints on the θμe mixing angle are derived that constitute the most constraining limits to date over five orders of magnitude in the mass-squared splitting Δm241, excluding the 90% C.L. sterile-neutrino parameter space allowed by the LSND and MiniBooNE observations at 90% CLs for Δm241 < 13 eV2. Furthermore, the LSND and MiniBooNE 99% C.L. allowed regions are excluded at 99% CLs for Δm241 < 1.6 eV2.
Searches for a light sterile neutrino have been performed independently by the MINOS and the Daya Bay experiments using the muon (anti)neutrino and electron antineutrino disappearance channels, ...respectively. In this Letter, results from both experiments are combined with those from the Bugey-3 reactor neutrino experiment to constrain oscillations into light sterile neutrinos. The three experiments are sensitive to complementary regions of parameter space, enabling the combined analysis to probe regions allowed by the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND) and MiniBooNE experiments in a minimally extended four-neutrino flavor framework. Stringent limits on sin^{2}2θ_{μe} are set over 6 orders of magnitude in the sterile mass-squared splitting Δm_{41}^{2}. The sterile-neutrino mixing phase space allowed by the LSND and MiniBooNE experiments is excluded for Δm_{41}^{2}<0.8 eV^{2} at 95% CL_{s}.
When a massive star explodes as a supernova, substantial amounts of radioactive elements-primarily Ni-56, Ni-57 and Ti-44 are produced. After the initial from shock heating, the light emitted by the ...supernova is due to the decay of these elements. However, after decades, the energy powering a supernova remnant comes from the shock interaction between the ejecta and the surrounding medium. The transition to this phase has hitherto not been observed: supernovae occur too infrequently in the Milky Way to provide a young example, and extragalactic supernovae are generally too faint and too small. Here we report observations that show this transition in the supernova SN 1987A in the Large Magellan Cloud. From 1994 to 200l, the ejecta faded owing to radioactive decay of Ti-44 as predicted. Then the flux started to increase, more than doubling by the end of 2009. We show that this increase is the result of heat deposited by X-rays produced as the ejecta interacts with the surrounding material. In time, the X-rays will penetrate farther into the ejects, enabling us to analyse the structure and chemistry of the vanished star.
Effective design of mitigation measures against debris flow hazards remains a challenging geotechnical problem. At present, a pseudo-static approach is commonly used for the calculation of impact ...load acting on a rigid debris-resisting barrier. The impact load is normally calculated based on the maximum velocity observed in the transportation zone under free-field conditions without considering debris-barrier interaction. In reality, the impact load acting on a barrier varies with the change of debris momentum flux but this is seldom considered in barrier design. To provide a scientific basis for assessing debris momentum flux during impact, this paper presents results from a study of debris-barrier interaction using physical flume modelling. This study showed that, following the first stage of impact, the accumulated debris behind a barrier formed a stationary zone and caused the remaining debris to slow down in a run-up process. In the experiments, the peak debris momentum was 30 % lower compared to that observed under free-field conditions. A new momentum-based model was developed to take into account attenuation of momentum flux for predicting debris impact load on rigid barriers. The new rationalised model was assessed using data from the notable Yu Tung Road debris flow in Hong Kong. The assessment showed that the design bending moment at the base of the barrier wall could be reduced more than 30 % using the proposed model, compared with the current design approach. The adoption of the proposed model could offer a new opportunity for practitioners to optimise the design of rigid barriers.
We have measured the muon flux and production rate of muon-induced neutrons at a depth of 611 m water equivalent. Our apparatus comprises three layers of crossed plastic scintillator hodoscopes for ...tracking the incident cosmic-ray muons and 760 L of a gadolinium-doped liquid scintillator for producing and detecting neutrons. The vertical muon intensity was measured to be I sub(mu)=(5.7+ or -0.6)x10 super(-6)cm super(- 2)s super(-1)sr super(-1). The yield of muon-induced neutrons in the liquid scintillator was determined to be Y sub(n)=(1.19+ or -0.08(stat)+ or -0.21(syst))x10 super(-4)neutrons/(mumiddotgmiddotcm super(-2)). A fit to the recently measured neutron yields at different depths gave a mean muon energy dependence of <E sub(mu)> super(0.76+ or -0.03) for liquid-scintillator targets.
Structural countermeasures such as rigid and flexible barriers are commonly installed in mountainous regions to intercept mass-wasting processes. Without sufficient and reliable comparable physical ...data, the study of impact mechanisms remains difficult and not well understood. In this study, a newly developed flexible model barrier together with a rigid barrier are used to simulate either dry granular or viscous liquid impacts on these model barriers in a geotechnical centrifuge. The novel flexible barrier is made of four instrumented cables controlled by spring mechanisms to replicate a bilinear prototype loading response. Tests revealed that regardless of barrier type, both dry granular and viscous flows could have similar frontal dynamic impact coefficients around unity. Compared with the kinetic energy of flow mass (∼10 MJ), only 249 kJ of flexible barrier energy capacity was mobilized. This implies that debris-resisting barriers may only be required to intercept the dynamic flow front as the subsequent flow energy may mainly be dissipated through internal shearing. Attributing to the large deformation of the flexible barrier, the granular static load acting on the flexible barrier could be 39% lower than that on the rigid barrier, resulting in an active failure mode and a lower earth pressure.
sPHENIX is a new experiment under construction for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory which will study the quark-gluon plasma to further the understanding of ...quantum chromodynamics (QCP) matter and interactions. A prototype of the sPHENIX electromagnetic calorimeter (EMCal) was tested at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility in Spring 2018 as experiment T-1044. The EMCal prototype corresponds to a solid angle of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\Delta \eta \times \Delta \phi = 0.2 \times 0.2 </tex-math></inline-formula> centered at pseudo-rapidity <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\eta = 1 </tex-math></inline-formula>. The prototype consists of scintillating fibers embedded in a mix of tungsten powder and epoxy. The fibers project back approximately to the center of the sPHENIX detector, giving 2-D projectivity. The energy response of the EMCal prototype was studied as a function of position and input energy. The energy resolution of the EMCal prototype was obtained after applying a position-dependent energy correction and a beam profile correction. Two separate position-dependent corrections were considered. The EMCal energy resolution was found to be <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\sigma (E)/\langle E\rangle = 3.5(0.1) \oplus 13.3(0.2)/\sqrt {E} </tex-math></inline-formula> based on the hodoscope position-dependent correction, and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\sigma (E)/\langle E\rangle = 3.0(0.1) \oplus 15.4(0.3)/\sqrt {E} </tex-math></inline-formula> based on the cluster position-dependent correction. These energy resolution results meet the requirements of the sPHENIX physics program.