Ionization Electron Signal Processing in Single Phase LArTPCs II. Data/Simulation Comparison and Performance in MicroBooNE

The single-phase liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) provides a large amount of detailed information in the form of fine-grained drifted ionization charge from particle traces. To fully utilize this information, the deposited charge must be accurately extracted from the raw digitized waveforms via a robust signal processing chain. Enabled by the ultra-low noise levels associated with cryogenic electronics in the MicroBooNE detector, the precise extraction of ionization charge from the induction wire planes in a single-phase LArTPC is qualitatively demonstrated on MicroBooNE data with event display images, and quantitatively demonstrated via waveform-level and track-level metrics. Improved performance of induction plane calorimetry is demonstrated through the agreement of extracted ionization charge measurements across different wire planes for various event topologies. In addition to the comprehensive waveform-level comparison of data and simulation, a calibration of the cryogenic electronics response is presented and solutions to various MicroBooNE-specific TPC issues are discussed. This work presents an important improvement in LArTPC signal processing, the foundation of reconstruction and therefore physics analyses in MicroBooNE.Comment: 54 pages, 36 figures; the first part of this work can be found at arXiv:1802.0870

KRAS-regulated glutamine metabolism requires UCP2-mediated aspartate transport to support pancreatic cancer growth

The oncogenic KRAS mutation has a critical role in the initiation of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) since it rewires glutamine metabolism to increase reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) production, balancing cellular redox homeostasis with macromolecular synthesis1,2. Mitochondrial glutamine-derived aspartate must be transported into the cytosol to generate metabolic precursors for NADPH production2. The mitochondrial transporter responsible for this aspartate efflux has remained elusive. Here, we show that mitochondrial uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) catalyses this transport and promotes tumour growth. UCP2-silenced KRASmut cell lines display decreased glutaminolysis, lower NADPH/NADP+ and glutathione/glutathione disulfide ratios and higher reactive oxygen species levels compared to wild-type counterparts. UCP2 silencing reduces glutaminolysis also in KRASWT PDAC cells but does not affect their redox homeostasis or proliferation rates. In vitro and in vivo, UCP2 silencing strongly suppresses KRASmut PDAC cell growth. Collectively, these results demonstrate that UCP2 plays a vital role in PDAC, since its aspartate transport activity connects the mitochondrial and cytosolic reactions necessary for KRASmut rewired glutamine metabolism2, and thus it should be considered a key metabolic target for the treatment of this refractory tumour

The Making of the NEAM Tsunami Hazard Model 2018 (NEAMTHM18)

The NEAM Tsunami Hazard Model 2018 (NEAMTHM18) is a probabilistic hazard model for tsunamis generated by earthquakes. It covers the coastlines of the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and connected seas (NEAM). NEAMTHM18 was designed as a three-phase project. The first two phases were dedicated to the model development and hazard calculations, following a formalized decision-making process based on a multiple-expert protocol. The third phase was dedicated to documentation and dissemination. The hazard assessment workflow was structured in Steps and Levels. There are four Steps: Step-1) probabilistic earthquake model; Step-2) tsunami generation and modeling in deep water; Step-3) shoaling and inundation; Step-4) hazard aggregation and uncertainty quantification. Each Step includes a different number of Levels. Level-0 always describes the input data; the other Levels describe the intermediate results needed to proceed from one Step to another. Alternative datasets and models were considered in the implementation. The epistemic hazard uncertainty was quantified through an ensemble modeling technique accounting for alternative models’ weights and yielding a distribution of hazard curves represented by the mean and various percentiles. Hazard curves were calculated at 2,343 Points of Interest (POI) distributed at an average spacing of ∼20 km. Precalculated probability maps for five maximum inundation heights (MIH) and hazard intensity maps for five average return periods (ARP) were produced from hazard curves. In the entire NEAM Region, MIHs of several meters are rare but not impossible. Considering a 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years (ARP≈2,475 years), the POIs with MIH >5 m are fewer than 1% and are all in the Mediterranean on Libya, Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece coasts. In the North-East Atlantic, POIs with MIH >3 m are on the coasts of Mauritania and Gulf of Cadiz. Overall, 30% of the POIs have MIH >1 m. NEAMTHM18 results and documentation are available through the TSUMAPS-NEAM project website (http://www.tsumaps-neam.eu/), featuring an interactive web mapper. Although the NEAMTHM18 cannot substitute in-depth analyses at local scales, it represents the first action to start local and more detailed hazard and risk assessments and contributes to designing evacuation maps for tsunami early warning.publishedVersio

Seasonal Variation of Multiple-Muon Cosmic Ray Air Showers Observed in the NOvA Detector on the Surface

We report the rate of cosmic ray air showers with multiplicities exceeding 15 muon tracks recorded in the NOvA Far Detector between May 2016 and May 2018. The detector is located on the surface under an overburden of 3.6 meters water equivalent. We observe a seasonal dependence in the rate of multiple-muon showers, which varies in magnitude with multiplicity and zenith angle. During this period, the effective atmospheric temperature and surface pressure ranged between 210 K to 230 K and 940mbar to 990mbar, respectively; the shower rates are anti-correlated with the variation in the effective temperature. The variations are about 30% larger for the highest multiplicities than the lowest multiplicities and 20% larger for showers near the horizon than vertical showers

Measurement of the Double-Differential Muon-neutrino Charged-Current Inclusive Cross Section in the NOvA Near Detector

We report cross-section measurements of the final-state muon kinematics for \numu charged-current interactions in the NOvA near detector using an accumulated 8.09$\times10^{20}$ protons-on-target (POT) in the NuMI beam. We present the results as a double-differential cross section in the observed outgoing muon energy and angle, as well as single-differential cross sections in the derived neutrino energy, $E_\nu$, and square of the four-momentum transfer, $Q^2$. We compare the results to inclusive cross-section predictions from various neutrino event generators via $\chi^2$ calculations using a covariance matrix that accounts for bin-to-bin correlations of systematic uncertainties. These comparisons show a clear discrepancy between the data and each of the tested predictions at forward muon angle and low $Q^2$, indicating a missing suppression of the cross section in current neutrino-nucleus scattering models

Extended search for supernova-like neutrinos in NOvA coincident with LIGO/Virgo detections

A search is performed for supernova-like neutrino interactions coincident with 76 gravitational wave events detected by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration. For 40 of these events, full readout of the time around the gravitational wave is available from the NOvA Far Detector. For these events, we set limits on the fluence of the sum of all neutrino flavors of $F < 7(4)\times 10^{10}\mathrm{cm}^{-2}$ at 90% C.L. assuming energy and time distributions corresponding to the Garching supernova models with masses 9.6(27)$\mathrm{M}_\odot$. Under the hypothesis that any given gravitational wave event was caused by a supernova, this corresponds to a distance of $r > 29(50)$kpc at 90% C.L. Weaker limits are set for other gravitational wave events with partial Far Detector data and/or Near Detector data.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

A time series analysis of the relationship between ambulatory EMG, pain, and stress in chronic low back pain

Twenty-one subjects with chronic back pain (CBP) participated in an ambulatory electromyography (EMG) monitoring study to ascertain the relationships between muscle activity, physical activity, psychosocial stress, and pain. A time-series analysis approach was adopted to investigate both immediate and lagged associations between these variables in an attempt to determine potential causal relationships. Results for group relationships showed a significant relationship between physical activity and pain, self-report of stress and pain, but no relationship between EMG activity and pain. A lagged relationship between physical activity and pain was found, suggesting a causal relationship between physical activity and pain. However, no time lag was observed between stress and pain, hence no causal relationship can be elucidated. Analysis at the individual level indicated stronger relationships between several combinations of these variables, highlighting the need to consider the heterogeneity of the CBP population and etiology of CBP. The use of ambulatory monitoring of pain, stress, and EMG is suggested as one avenue to further explore the population's heterogeneity.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44086/1/10484_2005_Article_BF01543789.pd

An Improved Measurement of Neutrino Oscillation Parameters by the NOvA Experiment

We present new $\nu_\mu\rightarrow\nu_e$, $\nu_\mu\rightarrow\nu_\mu$, $\overline{\nu}_\mu\rightarrow\overline{\nu}_e$, and $\overline{\nu}_\mu\rightarrow\overline{\nu}_\mu$ oscillation measurements by the NOvA experiment, with a 50% increase in neutrino-mode beam exposure over the previously reported results. The additional data, combined with previously published neutrino and antineutrino data, are all analyzed using improved techniques and simulations. A joint fit to the $\nu_e$, $\nu_\mu$, $\overline{\nu}_e$, and $\overline{\nu}_\mu$ candidate samples within the 3-flavor neutrino oscillation framework continues to yield a best-fit point in the normal mass ordering and the upper octant of the $\theta_{23}$ mixing angle, with $\Delta m^{2}_{32} = (2.41\pm0.07)\times 10^{-3}$ eV$^2$ and $\sin^2\theta_{23} = 0.57^{+0.03}_{-0.04}$. The data disfavor combinations of oscillation parameters that give rise to a large asymmetry in the rates of $\nu_e$ and $\overline{\nu}_e$ appearance. This includes values of the CP-violating phase in the vicinity of $\delta_\text{CP} = \pi/2$ which are excluded by $>3\sigma$ for the inverted mass ordering, and values around $\delta_\text{CP} = 3\pi/2$ in the normal ordering which are disfavored at 2$\sigma$ confidence.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures. Supplementary material attached (7 figures

Search for slow magnetic monopoles with the NOvA detector on the surface

We report a search for a magnetic monopole component of the cosmic-ray flux in a 95-day exposure of the NOvA experiment’s Far Detector, a 14 kt segmented liquid scintillator detector designed primarily to observe GeV-scale electron neutrinos. No events consistent with monopoles were observed, setting an upper limit on the flux of 2 × 10−14 cm−2 s−1 sr−1 at 90% C.L. for monopole speed 6 × 10−4 < β < 5 × 10−3 and mass greater than 5 × 108 GeV. Because of NOvA’s small overburden of 3 meters-water equivalent, this constraint covers a previously unexplored low-mass region

Measurement of the νe−\nu_e-Nucleus Charged-Current Double-Differential Cross Section at <Eν>=\left< E_{\nu} \right> = 2.4 GeV using NOvA

The inclusive electron neutrino charged-current cross section is measured in the NOvA near detector using $8.02\times10^{20}$ protons-on-target (POT) in the NuMI beam. The sample of GeV electron neutrino interactions is the largest analyzed to date and is limited by $\simeq$ 17\% systematic rather than the $\simeq$ 7.4\% statistical uncertainties. The double-differential cross section in final-state electron energy and angle is presented for the first time, together with the single-differential dependence on $Q^{2}$ (squared four-momentum transfer) and energy, in the range 1 GeV $\leq E_{\nu} <$6 GeV. Detailed comparisons are made to the predictions of the GENIE, GiBUU, NEUT, and NuWro neutrino event generators. The data do not strongly favor a model over the others consistently across all three cross sections measured, though some models have especially good or poor agreement in the single differential cross section vs. $Q^{2}$