The German Young Geoscientists Group – promoting exchange and information among the next generation of geoscientists

The group „Young geoscientists” of the Senate Commission for Joint Geoscientific Research (Geokommisson, www.geokommission.de) of the German Research Foundation (DFG), is dedicated towards the development of the working environment, workforce and scientific outcome of the next generation of geoscientists in Germany.Geoscientific research – basic as, well as applied – provides crucial contributions for mastering the economic, environmental and societal challenges of the near and medium-term future. Politics and society call for immediate answers, while geoscientific phenomena are complex and act on a large range of temporal and spatial scales.These demands, together with increases mobility requirements, lead to increasing pressure especially on young geoscientists. In this situation the main goals of the group “Young geoscientists” are:Promotion of networking among young geoscientistsInformation about science policy developments, funding opportunities and other relevant mattersRepresenting the interests of young scientists towards (science)-policy makersThe dynamic development of geoscientific research, particularly collaborations across traditional disciplines, as well as in increasing demands from public and policy, calls for a continuous integration of young scientists. We promote this process by organizing round-table discussions, e.g. on “Guaranteeing good scientific praxis” or on “Hot topics and research funding”, by communicating information via the internet and by identifying structural deficiencies that might hinder the advancement of the geosciences and reporting them to decision makers. In this context, we are looking for:European or international collaboratorsYoung geoscientists wishing to participate in / contribute to our activitiesSuggestions on how to improve working conditions of the young and advancing geoscientists</ul

Measurement of the neutrino component of an anti-neutrino beam observed by a non-magnetized detector

Two independent methods are employed to measure the neutrino flux of the anti-neutrino-mode beam observed by the MiniBooNE detector. The first method compares data to simulated event rates in a high purity \numu induced charged-current single \pip (CC1\pip) sample while the second exploits the difference between the angular distributions of muons created in \numu and \numub charged-current quasi-elastic (CCQE) interactions. The results from both analyses indicate the prediction of the neutrino flux component of the pre-dominately anti-neutrino beam is over-estimated - the CC1\pip analysis indicates the predicted \numu flux should be scaled by $0.76 \pm 0.11$, while the CCQE angular fit yields $0.65 \pm 0.23$. The energy spectrum of the flux prediction is checked by repeating the analyses in bins of reconstructed neutrino energy, and the results show that the spectral shape is well modeled. These analyses are a demonstration of techniques for measuring the neutrino contamination of anti-neutrino beams observed by future non-magnetized detectors.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, published in Physical Review D, latest version reflects changes from referee comment

First Measurement of Monoenergetic Muon Neutrino Charged Current Interactions

We report the first measurement of monoenergetic muon neutrino charged current interactions. MiniBooNE has isolated 236 MeV muon neutrino events originating from charged kaon decay at rest ($K^+ \rightarrow \mu^+ \nu_\mu$) at the NuMI beamline absorber. These signal $\nu_\mu$-carbon events are distinguished from primarily pion decay in flight $\nu_\mu$ and $\overline{\nu}_\mu$ backgrounds produced at the target station and decay pipe using their arrival time and reconstructed muon energy. The significance of the signal observation is at the 3.9$\sigma$ level. The muon kinetic energy, neutrino-nucleus energy transfer ($\omega=E_\nu-E_\mu$), and total cross section for these events is extracted. This result is the first known-energy, weak-interaction-only probe of the nucleus to yield a measurement of $\omega$ using neutrinos, a quantity thus far only accessible through electron scattering.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

A Search for Electron Antineutrino Appearance at the Δm2∼\Delta m^2 \sim 1 eV2\mathrm{eV}^{2} Scale

The MiniBooNE Collaboration reports initial results from a search for $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}\to\bar{\nu}_e$ oscillations. A signal-blind analysis was performed using a data sample corresponding to $3.39 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target. The data are consistent with background prediction across the full range of neutrino energy reconstructed assuming quasielastic scattering, $200 < E_{\nu}^{QE} < 3000$ MeV: 144 electron-like events have been observed in this energy range, compared to an expectation of $139.2 \pm 17.6$ events. No significant excess of events has been observed, both at low energy, 200-475 MeV, and at high energy, 475-1250 MeV. The data are inconclusive with respect to antineutrino oscillations suggested by data from the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector at Los Alamos National Laboratory.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 2 table

Renaissance of the ~1 TeV Fixed-Target Program

This document describes the physics potential of a new fixed-target program based on a ~1 TeV proton source. Two proton sources are potentially available in the future: the existing Tevatron at Fermilab, which can provide 800 GeV protons for fixed-target physics, and a possible upgrade to the SPS at CERN, called SPS+, which would produce 1 TeV protons on target. In this paper we use an example Tevatron fixed-target program to illustrate the high discovery potential possible in the charm and neutrino sectors. We highlight examples which are either unique to the program or difficult to accomplish at other venues.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figure