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Constraints On Solar Axions Using The Profile Likelihood Ratio Method With The Supercdms Experiments, Shilun Liu

Physics Theses and Dissertations

Dark matter plays an essential role in understanding modern physics and particles beyond the Standard Model. Evidence suggests that dark matter accounts for approximately 85% of the universe’s matter, and 26.8% of its mass-energy composition. Key candidates for dark matter include unidentified subatomic particles like Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) and axions. The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) employs direct detection methods to identify these elusive particles using cryogenic technologies. Su- perCDMS Soudan is the latest completed CDMS experiment in Minnesota, in preparation for the next phase experiments of SuperCDMS SNOLAB in Sudbury, Canada. At SNOLAB, the Cryogenic Underground …

Application Of Overburden Effects To The Elastic Scattering Limit For Cdmslite Run 3, Michael Litke

Physics Theses and Dissertations

Many different types of astronomical evidence suggest that most of the mass in the universe is attributable to a nonluminous matter, called dark matter by physicists. Dark matter is believed to be one or more new elementary particles with currently unknown properties. So far, the prevailing method for attempting to discern the properties of the new particle(s) is to observe a direct collision between dark matter and standard model particles. SuperCDMS is a direct detection experiment conducted underground that measures ionization and phonon energy in cryogenic germanium crystal detectors. While taking data in the CDMSlite configuration it can amplify the …

Search For Higgs Boson Pair Production In The Multiple Lepton Final State Using Proton-Proton Collision Data At √S =13 Tev From The Atlas Detector, Santosh Parajuli

Physics Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, a search is presented for the production of Higgs boson pairs in final states containing three light leptons (e/mu). The analysis utilizes data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider from proton-proton (pp) collisions at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb-1. The investigation aims to identify any significant deviations from the expected background levels defined by the Standard Model. The Higgs boson, as the cornerstone of the electroweak symmetry breaking mechanism, plays a crucial role in our understanding of particle physics. Studying the production of Higgs …

Improved Constraints On The Standard Model Higgs Self-Interaction Using A Search For Hh → 4b Via The Vector-Boson Fusion Production Mode At √S = 13 Tev In 126 Fb^-1 Of Data Collected By The Atlas Experiment, Christopher Milke

Physics Theses and Dissertations

A search for di-Higgs production via the Vector Boson Fusion mechanism decaying to 4 bottom quarks is performed using 126 fb−1 of data from Run 2 of ATLAS at √s = 13 TeV. The search was performed in the non-resonant regime, finding an upper bound on the production cross-section for the Standard Model VBF→HH→4b of about 200 times the Standard Model. Constraints are placed on both the HHVV coupling (which determines the W/Z-higgs four-point interaction strength) and HHH Higgs self-coupling scale factors at 95% confidence. The HHVV coupling scaling factor (κ2V ) is constrained to an observed interval between 0.09 …

Fast Statistical Methods For The Global Qcd Analysis Of The Proton Structure, Xiaoxian Jing

Physics Theses and Dissertations

Parton distribution functions (PDFs) quantify probabilities to find partons (quarks and gluons) in a hadron as a function of the fraction x of the hadron’s momentum carried by the parton at a given energy scale. PDFs play a critical role in precision tests of the Standard Model in Higgs boson production and other electroweak processes at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and in searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. PDFs are obtained by the global QCD analysis, which fits theoretical predictions to experimental measurements. PDF fitting and post-analysis are computationally intensive. This dissertation discusses fast statistical methods for the …

Observation And Measurement Of The Higgs Boson Produced In Association With A Vector Boson And Decaying To A Pair Of Bottom Quarks With The Atlas Detector At Lhc, Peilong Wang

Physics Theses and Dissertations

A search of the Higgs boson decaying into a pair of bottom quarks using the WH and ZH associated production is performed with the ATLAS detector. The analyzed data were collected in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 LHC Run-2 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb⁻¹. Final states that contains 0, 1, and 2 charged leptons (electrons or muons, denoted as l) are considered, to target the processes of Z→νν, W→lν and Z→ll. Object reconstruction, event selection, and signal and control region definition are included. Systematic uncertainty …

Constraining H0 With Rotse Low Z Supernovae And Baryon Acoustic Oscillations With Desi High Z Galaxies And Quasars, Ryan Staten

Physics Theses and Dissertations

Through photometric observations of core collapse supernovae by the ROTSE-III experiment, I examine the ability to use these objects as distance probes to their host galaxies and subsequently determine the expansion of the local universe. For the DESI experiment, I work to develop spectroscopic simulations and a spectroscopic reduction pipeline to be used for data quality assessment. Additionally, I examine the effects of observing conditions on redshift measurements and the ability to extract cosmological parameters.

Measurement Of Inclusive Fiducial And Differential Cross Sections In The H → Zz∗ → 4l Decay Channel In P-P Collisions At 13 Tev With The Full Atlas Run 2 Dataset, Madalyn Mckay

Physics Theses and Dissertations

The Higgs boson inclusive and differential fiducial cross sections are measured in the H → ZZ∗ → 4l, decay channel, where l = e,μ. The measurements are performed using proton−proton collision data from the Large Hadron Collider produced at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data was recorded by the ATLAS detector between 2015 and 2018 and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb⁻¹. Differential fiducial cross sections are measured for a set of observables that are sensitive to the production and decay of the Higgs boson. All measured cross sections are found to be in …

Constraints On Parton Distribution Functions Imposed By Hadronic Experiments, Boting Wang

Physics Theses and Dissertations

The theoretical uncertainties of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) observables are decreasing with the increasing statistics of the LHC experiments, and it is becoming more and more important to reduce the uncertainties in the knowledge of the nucleon structure. The latest LHC high-energy experiments, future experimental proposals, and computational tools are expected to enhance the knowledge of the nucleon structure. However, the global analysis that assesses their impact on Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) knowledge is computationally expensive due to the corresponding large size of data. I developed a new approach that can make a quick preliminary evaluation to help the …

A Search For Boosted Low Mass Resonances Decaying To The Bb̅ Final State And Produced In Association With A Jet At √S = 13 Tev With The Atlas Detector, Matthew Feickert

Physics Theses and Dissertations

A search in the high momentum regime for new resonances, produced in association with a jet, decaying into a pair of bottom quarks is presented using an integrated luminosity of 80.5 fb^-1 of proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energy √s = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The search was performed for low mass resonances, including the Standard Model Higgs boson and leptophobic Z' dark matter mediators, in the mass range of 100 GeV to 200 GeV. For the Standard Model Higgs boson, the observed signal strength is μH = 5.8 ± 3.1 (stat.) …

A Likelihood Search For Low-Mass Dark Matter Via Inelastic Scattering In Supercdms, Daniel Jardin

Physics Theses and Dissertations

An abundance of evidence suggests that most of the Universe is composed of nonluminous matter. This "dark matter” is believed to be a new elementary particle and experiments around the world are attempting to directly detect rare collisions with terrestrial detectors.

The properties of dark matter have yet to be identified, thus efforts are ongoing to explore a range of possible masses and interaction cross-sections. For the latter, experiments can increase exposure by scaling up the detector mass and operating for a longer time. To search for dark matter with less mass than a nucleon, new technologies and analysis techniques …

Massive Elementary Particles In The Standard Model And Its Supersymmetric Triplet Higgs Extension, Keping Xie

Physics Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we focus on massive elementary particles in the Standard Model and its supersymmetric triplet Higgs extension.

In the first part, we start with a review of electroweak (EW) sector in the Standard Model. Motivated by nonzero neutrino masses, we consider triplet scalars in addition to the Standard Model. The vacuum expectation values of scalar triplets are strongly constrained by the $\rho$ parameter, extracted from electroweak precision measurements. Therefore, we introduce a custodial symmetry to weaken this constraint and obtain the well-known Georgi-Machacek (GM) Model. The GM model still requires fine-tuning to satisfy the $\rho$ parameter constraint. It …

Photometry Of Recent Outbursts Of Dwarf Nova Al Com, Aish M. Somily

Physics Theses and Dissertations

I present results of a search of Dwarf Nova Al Com. I studied the light curve of Dwarf Nova system (2009 Outburst of J094002.56+274942.0) by the ROTSE-III robotic telescope. I perform a photometric analysis of the raw images starting with a source extraction package, and then calibrating to known stellar sources. The analysis of the light curve is performed with RPHOT software, and I compute the change of the Dwarf Nova magnitude (brightness) across the duration of the study. At least two superoutbursts are observed over a 4 week period. Additionally, I use a Lomb-Scargle Periodogram to also look for …

An Analysis Of Frenkel Defects And Backgrounds Modeling For Supercdms Dark Matter Searches, Matthew Stein

Physics Theses and Dissertations

Years of astrophysical observations suggest that dark matter comprises more than ~80 % of all matter in the universe. Particle physics theories favor a weakly-interacting particle that could be directly detected in terrestrial experiments. The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) Collaboration operates world-leading experiments to directly detect dark matter interacting with ordinary matter. The SuperCDMS Soudan experiment searched for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) via their elastic-scattering interactions with nuclei in low-temperature germanium detectors.

During the operation of the SuperCDMS Soudan experiment, ²¹⁰Pb sources were installed to study background rejection of the Ge detectors. Data from these sources …

The Impact Of Ppb W/Z Lhc Data On Ncteq15 Parton Distribution Functions With An Emphasis On Refitting The Ncteq15 Npdf Set, Eric Godat

Physics Theses and Dissertations

As the LHC experiments increase their statistics and reduce their systematics, it is in- creasingly important to reduce the theoretical uncertainties so we can perform precision com- parisons. The parton distribution functions (PDFs) which describe the hadronic structure of protons and nuclei are the critical link between the experimental data and the proposed theoretical models; hence, a better understanding of the PDFs is essential for improved pre- dictions. Nuclear PDFs, in particular, have proven valuable in this regard, especially for flavor differentiation. I introduce ”nCTEQ+LHC,” the first PDF set fit using the nCTEQ formalism to include data from the LHC. …

Cosmological Distance Measurements With Rotse Supernovae Iip And Observational Systematics On Desi Emission Line Galaxy Clustering, Govinda Dhungana

Physics Theses and Dissertations

Both Supernovae (SNe) and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) surveys emerged as complementary probes of the expansion history of the universe in the last few decades. SNe Ia cosmology has reached the systematic limits in the optical surveys. The most frequently occuring SNe Type IIP are emerging as equally rich distance probes for the next generation larger surveys. In this thesis, I highlight the astrophysical observables of these events in the context of ROTSE III SN survey and using the ROTSE SNe IIP sample, I present calibration in the framework of expanding photosphere method (EPM) to use them as cosmological distance …

Muon-Neutrino Electron Elastic Scattering And A Search For The Muon-Neutrino Magnetic Moment In The Nova Near Detector, Biao Wang

Physics Theses and Dissertations

We use the NOvA near detector and the NuMI beam at Fermilab to study the neutrino-electron elastic scattering and the muon neutrino magnetic process beyond the Standard Model physics. The particle identifications of neutrino on electron elastic scattering are trained by using the multi-layer neural networks. This thesis provides a general discussion of this technique and shows a good agreement between data and MC for the neutrino-electron elastic weak scattering. By using 3.62e20 POT dataset in the NOvA near detector, we find 1.58e-9 Bohr magneton as the 90% C.L. upper limit. We also find a sensitivity of 8e-10 Bohr magneton …