Measurement of hadron composition in charged jets from pp collisions with the ALICE experiment

We report the first measurement of charged pion, kaon and (anti-)proton production in jets from hadron colliders. The measurement was carried out with the ALICE detector using $2\times10^8$ minimum bias pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV at the LHC. We present the $\pi$, K and p transverse momentum ($p_\textrm{T}$) spectra, as well as the spectra of the reduced momentum (${z^\textrm{ch}\equiv p_\textrm{T}^\textrm{track}/p_\textrm{T, jet}^\textrm{ch}}$), in charged jets of $p_\textrm{T}$ between 5--20 $\textrm{GeV}/c$. The measurement is compared to Monte Carlo calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Proceedings of XXIV International Conference on Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Quark Matter 2014), May 19-24, 2014, Darmstad

Probing nuclear effects using single-transverse kinematic imbalance with MINERvA

Kinematic imbalance of the final-state particles in the plane transverse to the neutrino direction provides a sensitive probe of nuclear effects. In this contribution, we report the MINERvA measurement of the single-transverse kinematic imbalance in neutrino charged-current quasielastic-like events on CH targets. To improve the momentum measurements of the final-state particles, we develop a method to select elastically scattering contained (ESC) protons and a general procedure to correct the transverse momentum scales

Exploring the performance limits of the ALICE Time Projection Chamber and Transition Radiation Detector for measuring identified hadron production at the LHC

The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) and Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) are the main tracking and particle identification devices in the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. This thesis studies aspects of their performance beyond the original designs. This includes extending the TPC momentum measurement for cosmic rays to sub-TeV scale, investigating a robust identification method for electrons and hadrons by the TRD, and developing new approaches to characterize the TPC and TRD signals. These studies lead to an intriguing observation of the transition radiation from sub-TeV cosmic muons, and a universal method -- the TPC coherent fit -- to extract yields of different particle species with momentum from 0.5 to above 20 GeV/c. With the TPC coherent fit, transverse momentum spectra (0.6 < pt < 20 GeV/c) of pions, kaons and protons at mid-rapidity (|y|<~0.8) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 2.76 and 7 TeV and Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 2.76 TeV at the LHC are measured. In this unified approach both the anomalous enhancement of the proton-to-pion ratio at moderate pt (2-8 GeV/c) (the so-called baryon anomaly) and the nuclear modification of particle yields up to high pt (> 10 GeV/c) in Pb-Pb collisions are observed. The particle production is also studied in jets from pp collisions at 7 TeV and the results are well described by Perugia-0 tune of PYTHIA6

Measuring neutrino-induced exclusive charge-current final states on hydrogen at T2K

By taking advantage of symmetries with respect to the plane containing the directions of the neutrino and outgoing lepton, it is possible to isolate neutrino interactions on hydrogen in composite nuclear targets. This technique enables us to study the `primary' neutrino-nucleon interaction and therefore gain access to fundamental model parameters free from nuclear effects. Using T2K Monte Carlo equivalent to $\sim7\times10^{21}$ POT, we present an update on the measurement of the exclusive charged-current $\mu^-$, p, $\pi^+$ final state on hydrogen.Comment: 3 pages, 3 Figures, XXVII International Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics (Neutrino 2016

Pion-proton correlation in neutrino interactions on nuclei

In neutrino-nucleus interactions, a proton produced with a correlated pion might exhibit a left-right asymmetry relative to the lepton scattering plane even when the pion is absorbed. Absent in other proton production mechanisms, such an asymmetry measured in charged-current pionless production could reveal the details of the absorbed-pion events that are otherwise inaccessible. In this study, we demonstrate the idea of using final-state proton left-right asymmetries to quantify the absorbed-pion event fraction and underlying kinematics. This technique might provide critical information that helps constrain all underlying channels in neutrino-nucleus interactions in the GeV regime

The ALICE Transition Radiation Detector: construction, operation, and performance

The Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) was designed and built to enhance the capabilities of the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). While aimed at providing electron identification and triggering, the TRD also contributes significantly to the track reconstruction and calibration in the central barrel of ALICE. In this paper the design, construction, operation, and performance of this detector are discussed. A pion rejection factor of up to 410 is achieved at a momentum of 1 GeV/ in p–Pb collisions and the resolution at high transverse momentum improves by about 40% when including the TRD information in track reconstruction. The triggering capability is demonstrated both for jet, light nuclei, and electron selection

Probing Nuclear Effects at the T2K Near Detector Using Single-Transverse Kinematic Imbalance

In order to make precision measurements of neutrino oscillations using few-GeV neutrino beams a detailed understanding of nuclear effects in neutrino scattering is essential. Recent studies have revealed that single-transverse kinematic imbalance (STKI), defined in the plane transverse to an incoming neutrino beam, can act as a unique probe of these nuclear effects. This work first illustrates that an exclusive measurement of STKI at the off-axis near detector of the T2K experiment (ND280) is expected to distinguish the presence of interactions with two nucleons producing two holes (2p-2h) from alterations of the predominant underlying cross-section parameter (MA- the nucleon axial mass). Such a measurement is then demonstrated with fake data, showing substantial nuclear model separation potential