First demonstration of 30 eVee ionization energy resolution with Ricochet germanium cryogenic bolometers

The future Ricochet experiment aims to search for new physics in the electroweak sector by measuring the Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering process from reactor antineutrinos with high precision down to the sub-100 eV nuclear recoil energy range. While the Ricochet collaboration is currently building the experimental setup at the reactor site, it is also finalizing the cryogenic detector arrays that will be integrated into the cryostat at the Institut Laue Langevin in early 2024. In this paper, we report on recent progress from the Ge cryogenic detector technology, called the CryoCube. More specifically, we present the first demonstration of a 30~eVee (electron equivalent) baseline ionization resolution (RMS) achieved with an early design of the detector assembly and its dedicated High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) based front-end electronics. This represents an order of magnitude improvement over the best ionization resolutions obtained on similar heat-and-ionization germanium cryogenic detectors from the EDELWEISS and SuperCDMS dark matter experiments, and a factor of three improvement compared to the first fully-cryogenic HEMT-based preamplifier coupled to a CDMS-II germanium detector. Additionally, we discuss the implications of these results in the context of the future Ricochet experiment and its expected background mitigation performance.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl

Fast neutron background characterization of the future Ricochet experiment at the ILL research nuclear reactor

The future Ricochet experiment aims at searching for new physics in the electroweak sector by providing a high precision measurement of the Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CENNS) process down to the sub-100 eV nuclear recoil energy range. The experiment will deploy a kg-scale low-energy-threshold detector array combining Ge and Zn target crystals 8.8 meters away from the 58 MW research nuclear reactor core of the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France. Currently, the Ricochet collaboration is characterizing the backgrounds at its future experimental site in order to optimize the experiment's shielding design. The most threatening background component, which cannot be actively rejected by particle identification, consists of keV-scale neutron-induced nuclear recoils. These initial fast neutrons are generated by the reactor core and surrounding experiments (reactogenics), and by the cosmic rays producing primary neutrons and muon-induced neutrons in the surrounding materials. In this paper, we present the Ricochet neutron background characterization using $^3$He proportional counters which exhibit a high sensitivity to thermal, epithermal and fast neutrons. We compare these measurements to the Ricochet Geant4 simulations to validate our reactogenic and cosmogenic neutron background estimations. Eventually, we present our estimated neutron background for the future Ricochet experiment and the resulting CENNS detection significance.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, 1 tabl

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering: Terrestrial and astrophysical applications

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$\nu$NS) is a process in which neutrinos scatter on a nucleus which acts as a single particle. Though the total cross section is large by neutrino standards, CE$\nu$NS has long proven difficult to detect, since the deposited energy into the nucleus is $\sim$ keV. In 2017, the COHERENT collaboration announced the detection of CE$\nu$NS using a stopped-pion source with CsI detectors, followed up the detection of CE$\nu$NS using an Ar target. The detection of CE$\nu$NS has spawned a flurry of activities in high-energy physics, inspiring new constraints on beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics, and new experimental methods. The CE$\nu$NS process has important implications for not only high-energy physics, but also astrophysics, nuclear physics, and beyond. This whitepaper discusses the scientific importance of CE$\nu$NS, highlighting how present experiments such as COHERENT are informing theory, and also how future experiments will provide a wealth of information across the aforementioned fields of physics

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering: Terrestrial and astrophysical applications

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$\nu$NS) is a process inwhich neutrinos scatter on a nucleus which acts as a single particle. Thoughthe total cross section is large by neutrino standards, CE$\nu$NS has longproven difficult to detect, since the deposited energy into the nucleus is$\sim$ keV. In 2017, the COHERENT collaboration announced the detection ofCE$\nu$NS using a stopped-pion source with CsI detectors, followed up thedetection of CE$\nu$NS using an Ar target. The detection of CE$\nu$NS hasspawned a flurry of activities in high-energy physics, inspiring newconstraints on beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics, and new experimentalmethods. The CE$\nu$NS process has important implications for not onlyhigh-energy physics, but also astrophysics, nuclear physics, and beyond. Thiswhitepaper discusses the scientific importance of CE$\nu$NS, highlighting howpresent experiments such as COHERENT are informing theory, and also how futureexperiments will provide a wealth of information across the aforementionedfields of physics.<br

The impact of comorbidities and their stacking on short- and long-term prognosis of patients over 50 with community-acquired pneumonia

Abstract Background The prognosis of patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) with regards to intensive care unit (ICU) admission, short- and long-term mortality is correlated with patient’s comorbidities. For patients hospitalized for CAP, including P-CAP, we assessed the prognostic impact of comorbidities known as at-risk (AR) or high-risk (HR) of pneumococcal CAP (P-CAP), and of the number of combined comorbidities. Methods Data on hospitalizations for CAP among the French 50+ population were extracted from the 2014 French Information Systems Medicalization Program (PMSI), an exhaustive national hospital discharge database maintained by the French Technical Agency of Information on Hospitalization (ATIH). Their admission diagnosis, comorbidities (nature, risk type and number), other characteristics, and their subsequent hospital stays within the year following their hospitalization for CAP were analyzed. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between ICU transfer, short- and 1-year in-hospital mortality and all covariates. Results From 182,858 patients, 149,555 patients aged ≥ 50 years (nonagenarians 17.8%) were hospitalized for CAP in 2014, including 8270 with P-CAP. Overall, 33.8% and 90.5% had ≥ 1 HR and ≥ 1 AR comorbidity, respectively. Cardiac diseases were the most frequent AR comorbidity (all CAP: 77.4%). Transfer in ICU occurred for 5.4% of CAP patients and 19.4% for P-CAP. Short-term and 1-year in-hospital mortality rates were 10.9% and 23% of CAP patients, respectively, significantly lower for P-CAP patients: 9.2% and 19.8% (HR 0.88 [95% CI 0.84–0.93], p < .0001). Both terms of mortality increased mostly with age, and with the number of comorbidities and combination of AR and HR comorbidities, in addition of specific comorbidities. Conclusions Not only specific comorbidities, but also the number of combined comorbidities and the combination of AR and HR comorbidities may impact the outcome of hospitalized CAP and P-CAP patients

Impact of Relational Proximity on Distress from Infidelity

Men are generally more distressed by a partner's sexual infidelity whereas women are generally more distressed by a partner's emotional infidelity. The importance of the identity of the interloper, however, has been neglected. We explored the influence of relational proximity (i.e., the degree of genetic relatedness) on distress about infidelity. In Study 1, participants were most distressed when the imagined infidelity occurred between their current mate and close kin. In Study 2, relational proximity mattered more than the type of sexual behavior, the likelihood of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, and the likelihood of the infidelity leading to a damaged reputation. Together, the results indicate that identity matters, especially if the interloper is someone with whom we have familial bonds