A Search for Free Proton Decay, and Nucleon Decay in O¹⁶, Using the Invariant Mass and Momentum of Exclusive Final States

Existing Grand Unified Theories predict a free proton lifetime which would be experimentally accessible. If discovered, a study of the branching modes of the proton could provide indicators to the correct theory. The lifetime of a proton is probably longer in a nucleus, though by no more than an order of magnitude. A search for nucleon decay was performed for 37 possible branching modes of nucleons in water, and 14 branching modes of free protons from the hydrogen in water. The data was taken from the I.M.B. water Cherenkov detector, which contains 3,300 metric tons in the fiducial volume. The only significant background to proton decay comes from atmospheric neutrino interactions. An initial search used the visible energy, anisotropy, and number of muon decays of events. A more sophisticated search automatically selected events with two clear tracks of opening angle &gt; 115°. The invariant mass and momentum of these events were calculated for 16 nucleon decay hypotheses. In 417 livedays, 326 events were reconstructed in the fiducial volume at a rate, and with visible characteristics consistent with atmospheric neutrino interactions. No significant excess of events was found for any nucleon decay mode. For the visible energy and anisotropy analysis, partial lifetime limits at the 90% confidence level were set in the range 1031-32 years for nucleons, assuming that the free and bound lifetimes are similar. With the free proton decay analysis, limits were set in the range 1030-32 years. The number of clean two-prong events was found to be 4.0 ± 1.1%. The background estimates gave a mean estimate of 4.1 ± 0.3%. Partial lifetime limits at the 90% confidence level were set for both free protons, and bound plus free nucleons at 1032 years for N → lepton + γ/π, and 1031 years for N → lepton + η/ρ/ω. A framework for converting the results into model-dependent total lifetime limits is described, and limits for SU(5) are explicitly calculated. Our results imply an SU(5) model-dependent limit of 4 x 1031 years (90% C.L.) on the total proton lifetime, where effects of the nucleus on the decay rate have been accounted for. This is incompatible with theoretical predictions. The derived limits should also provide useful constraints on other Grand Unified Theories.</p

Search for domain wall dark matter with atomic clocks on board global positioning system satellites

Cosmological observations indicate that 85% of all matter in the Universe is dark matter (DM), yet its microscopic composition remains a mystery. One hypothesis is that DM arises from ultralight quantum fields that form macroscopic objects such as topological defects. Here we use GPS as a ~ 50,000 km aperture DM detector to search for such defects in the form of domain walls. GPS navigation relies on precision timing signals furnished by atomic clocks hosted on board GPS satellites. As the Earth moves through the galactic DM halo, interactions with topological defects could cause atomic clock glitches that propagate through the GPS satellite constellation at galactic velocities ~ 300 km/s. Mining 16 years of archival GPS data, we find no evidence for DM in the form of domain walls at our current sensitivity level. This allows us to improve the limits on certain quadratic scalar couplings of domain wall DM to standard model particles by several orders of magnitude.Comment: 7 pages (main text), and 12 pages for Supplementary Information. v3: Update titl

Multi-messenger astronomy in the new physics modality with GPS constellation

We explore a novel, exotic physics, modality in multi-messenger astronomy. We are interested in exotic fields emitted by the mergers and their direct detection with a network of atomic clocks. We specifically focus on the rubidium clocks onboard satellites of the Global Positioning System. Bursts of exotic fields may be produced during the coalescence of black hole singularities, releasing quantum gravity messengers. To be detectable such fields must be ultralight and ultra-relativistic and we refer to them as exotic low-mass fields (ELFs). Since such fields possess non-zero mass, the ELF bursts lag behind the gravitational waves emitted by the very same merger. Then the gravitational wave observatories provide a detection trigger for the atomic clock networks searching for the feeble ELF signals. ELFs would imprint an anti-chirp transient across the sensor network. ELFs can be detectable by atomic clocks if they cause variations in fundamental constants. We report our progress in the development of techniques to search for ELF bursts with clocks onboard GPS satellites. We focus on the binary neutron star merger GW170817 of August 17, 2017. We find an intriguing excess in the clock noise post LIGO gravitational wave trigger. Potentially the excess noise could be explained away by the increased solar electron flux post LIGO trigger.Comment: 9th Symposium on Frequency Standards and Metrolog

The 2009 L'Aquila Earthquake: Postseismic Deformation with High Temporal Resolution Using the new GPS "Carrier Range" Data Type

The availability of continuous GPS measurements during or soon after significant (Mw > 6) seismic events is important to record the coseismic displacements, the initial postseismic evolution and to evaluate their relative contribution to the overall crustal deformation and total moment release (both seismic and aseismic). Here we present the result of the analysis of continuously operating GPS permanent stations already active or rapidly deployed after the Mw 6.3 2009 April 6th L'Aquila earthquake. In contrast to the observations made for previous earthquakes in Italy, our observations capture the 2009 mainshock allowing an improved temporal resolution on the early postseismic deformation. In order to better define initial postseismic displacements and investigate sub-daily station motions we calculate epoch-by-epoch (0.1 - 30 sec) position time series with the new "carrier range" data type based on the JPL GIPSY-OASIS package. This new approach is based on the calibration of carrier phase data of each station using estimates of one-way carrier phase biases from an ambiguity-fixed network of ~3,500 stations worldwide [see Blewitt, Bertiger and Weiss, 2009 Fall AGU Meeting]. Carrier range data (a precise pseudorange data type) were constructed for GPS stations in the epicentral area, and were processed without carrier phase bias estimation. Time-dependent postseismic displacements were then modeled with a logarithmic time-dependent function. Since postseismic deformation begins immediately after the mainshock and is large within the first day following the mainshock, the actual estimate of amount of coseismic deformation depends upon the temporal character of the deformation and the availability of high-rate GPS time series immediately after the mainshock. The results of our analysis are then used to characterize the characteristics of the initial postseismic evolution after the 2009 mainshock and to investigate the time-dependent distribution of afterslip on the fault

The Spring 1985 high precision baseline test of the JPL GPS-based geodetic system

The Spring 1985 High Precision Baseline Test (HPBT) was conducted. The HPBT was designed to meet a number of objectives. Foremost among these was the demonstration of a level of accuracy of 1 to 2:10 to the 7th power, or better, for baselines ranging in length up to several hundred kilometers. These objectives were all met with a high degree of success, with respect to the demonstration of system accuracy in particular. The results from six baselines ranging in length from 70 to 729 km were examined for repeatability and, in the case of three baselines, were compared to results from colocated VLBI systems. Repeatability was found to be 5:10 to the 8th power (RMS) for the north baseline coordinate, independent of baseline length, while for the east coordinate RMS repeatability was found to be larger than this by factors of 2 to 4. The GPS-based results were found to be in agreement with those from colocated VLBI measurements, when corrected for the physical separations of the VLBI and CPG antennas, at the level of 1 to 2:10 to the 7th power in all coordinates, independent of baseline length. The results for baseline repeatability are consistent with the current GPA error budget, but the GPS-VLBI intercomparisons disagree at a somewhat larger level than expected. It is hypothesized that these differences may result from errors in the local survey measurements used to correct for the separations of the GPS and VLBI antenna reference centers

An enhanced integrated water vapour dataset from more than 10 000 global ground-based GPS stations in 2020

We developed a high-quality global integrated water vapour (IWV) dataset from 12 552 ground-based global positioning system (GPS) stations in 2020. It consists of 5 min GPS IWV estimates with a total number of 1 093 591 492 data points. The completeness rates of the IWV estimates are higher than 95 % at 7253 (58 %) stations. The dataset is an enhanced version of the existing operational GPS IWV dataset provided by the Nevada Geodetic Laboratory (NGL). The enhancement is reached by employing accurate meteorological information from the fifth generation of European ReAnalysis (ERA5) for the GPS IWV retrieval with a significantly higher spatiotemporal resolution. A dedicated data screening algorithm is also implemented. The GPS IWV dataset has a good agreement with in situ radiosonde observations at 182 collocated stations worldwide. The IWV biases are within ±3.0 kg m−2 with a mean absolute bias (MAB) value of 0.69 kg m−2. The standard deviations (SD) of IWV differences are no larger than 3.4 kg m−2. In addition, the enhanced IWV product shows substantial improvements compared to NGL\u27s operational version, and it is thus recommended for high-accuracy applications, such as research of extreme weather events and diurnal variations of IWV and intercomparisons with other IWV retrieval techniques. Taking the radiosonde-derived IWV as reference, the MAB and SD of IWV differences are reduced by 19.5 % and 6.2 % on average, respectively. The number of unrealistic negative GPS IWV estimates is also substantially reduced by 92.4 % owing to the accurate zenith hydrostatic delay (ZHD) derived by ERA5. The dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6973528 (Yuan et al., 2022)

Pre- and post-seismic deformation related to the 2015, M_w 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal

We analyze time series from continuously recording GPS stations in Nepal spanning the pre- and post-seismic period associated to the M_w7.8 Gorkha earthquake which ruptured the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) fault on April 25th, 2015. The records show strong seasonal variations due to surface hydrology. After corrections for these variations, the time series covering the pre- and post-seismic periods do not show any detectable transient pre-seismic displacement. By contrast, a transient post-seismic signal is clear. The observed signal shows southward displacements consistent with afterslip on the MHT. Using additional data from stations deployed after the mainshock, we invert the time series for the spatio-temporal evolution of slip on the MHT. This modelling indicates afterslip dominantly downdip of the mainshock rupture. Two other regions show significant afterslip: a more minor zone updip of the rupture, and a region between the mainshock and the largest aftershock ruptures. Afterslip in the first ~ 7 months after the mainshock released a moment of [12.8 ± 0.5] × 10^(19) Nm which represents 17.8 ± 0.8% of the co-seismic moment. The moment released by aftershocks over that period of time is estimated to 2.98 × 10^(19) Nm. Geodetically observed post-seismic deformation after co-seismic offset correction was thus 76.7 ± 1.0% aseismic. The logarithmic time evolution of afterslip is consistent with rate-strengthening frictional sliding. According to this theory, and assuming a long-term loading velocity modulated on the basis of the coupling map of the region and the long term slip rate of 20.2 ± 1.1 mm/yr, afterslip should release about 34.0 ± 1.4% of the co-seismic moment after full relaxation of post-seismic deformation. Afterslip contributed to loading the shallower portion of the MHT which did not rupture in 2015 and stayed locked afterwards. The risk for further large earthquakes in Nepal remains high both updip of the rupture area of the Gorkha earthquake and West of Kathmandu where the MHT has remained locked and where no earthquake larger than M_w7.5 has occurred since 1505

Ocean mass, sterodynamic effects, and vertical land motion largely explain US coast relative sea level rise

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Harvey, T., Hamlington, B. D., Frederikse, T., Nerem, R. S., Piecuch, C. G., Hammond, W. C., Blewitt, G., Thompson, P. R., Bekaert, D. P. S., Landerer, F. W., Reager, J. T., Kopp, R. E., Chandanpurkar, H., Fenty, I., Trossman, D. S., Walker, J. S., & Boening, C. W. Ocean mass, sterodynamic effects, and vertical land motion largely explain US coast relative sea level rise. Communications Earth & Environment, 2(1), (2021): 233, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00300-w.Regional sea-level changes are caused by several physical processes that vary both in space and time. As a result of these processes, large regional departures from the long-term rate of global mean sea-level rise can occur. Identifying and understanding these processes at particular locations is the first step toward generating reliable projections and assisting in improved decision making. Here we quantify to what degree contemporary ocean mass change, sterodynamic effects, and vertical land motion influence sea-level rise observed by tide-gauge locations around the contiguous U.S. from 1993 to 2018. We are able to explain tide gauge-observed relative sea-level trends at 47 of 55 sampled locations. Locations where we cannot explain observed trends are potentially indicative of shortcomings in our coastal sea-level observational network or estimates of uncertainty.The research was carried out in part at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. C.G.P. was supported by NASA grant 80NSSC20K1241. B.D.H., T.C.H., and T.F. were supported by NASA JPL Task 105393.281945.02.25.04.59. R.E.K. and J.S.W. were supported by U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (grants 80NSSC17K0698, 80NSSC20K1724 and JPL task 105393.509496.02.08.13.31) and U.S. National Science Foundation (grant ICER-1663807). P.R.T. acknowledges financial support from the NOAA Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing program in support of the University of Hawaii Sea Level Center (NA11NMF4320128). The ECCO project is funded by the NASA Physical Oceanography; Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction; and Cryosphere Programs