Neutrino interaction vertex reconstruction and particle identification in the MicroBooNE detector

This thesis presents the results of a study measuring and improving the quality of neutrino interaction vertex reconstruction and particle identification (PID) in the MicroBooNE detector. The detector comprises a liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) with a light-collection system, permitting precise tracking of neutrino interaction final states. MicroBooNE's primary physics goal is to resolve the low-energy electron neutrino appearance anomalies observed at MiniBooNE and LSND. The experiment therefore requires high-quality neutrino interaction vertex reconstruction and PID, which together strongly influence event reconstruction quality and energy/momentum estimation. Improvements to the vertex reconstruction are made through the development of powerful new variables and the application of machine learning techniques; these algorithms are now the default used at MicroBooNE and have enabled new studies of neutrino interactions with up to six charged particles in the final state. A robust PID method (FOMA) is developed using a novel analytic approximation to the mode of the dE/dx distribution. A deep learning PID method (PidNet) is also proposed, based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and a semi-supervised representation learning method. The performance of the two approaches is compared and contrasted with PIDA, the default PID algorithm used at MicroBooNE. This work concludes by assessing the impact of the tools and methods developed in this work on particle energy estimation in MicroBooNE

Reliability of measures of lower body strength and speed in academy male adolescent soccer players:Test reliability in elite adolescent footballers

The Nordbord and ForceFrame represent a practical and time efficient means of assessing eccentric hamstring and isometric adductor strength in the large number of squads and players associated with youth soccer academies, yet measurement reliability in this population is unexamined. Therefore, over a period of four days, with no less than 24 hours and no more than 48 hours between trials, 37 players (age: 14.7 ± 0.8 years; stature: 168.7 ± 7.8 cm; mass: 57.7 ± 9.1 kg; maturity offset: 0.8 ± 0.9 years) were assessed for eccentric hamstring strength (force, torque), isometric adductor strength (long and short lever positions) and 30-m sprint (5 m, 10 m, and 20 m splits), using the Nordbord, ForceFrame and electronic timing gates, respectively on three separate occasions. Relative reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient, [ICC]) was rated good for all Nordbord (range: 0.86 to 0.89) and ForceFrame (0.78 to 0.85) measures and ranged from moderate (0.53) to excellent (0.93) for the speed measures, improving with increased distance. Absolute reliability (standard error of the measurement [%SEM]) ranged from 7% to 8% (Nordbord), 3% to 11% (ForceFrame), and 1% to 4% (sprints). Our data provide the first Nordbord and ForceFrame reliability estimates in adolescent soccer academy players. To interpret test sensitivity, practitioners are encouraged to interpret our estimates of absolute reliability against meaningful change values derived from personal experience and evidence-based knowledge and not against absolute or standardized thresholds

Learning to Speak and Act in a Fantasy Text Adventure Game

We introduce a large scale crowdsourced text adventure game as a research platform for studying grounded dialogue. In it, agents can perceive, emote, and act whilst conducting dialogue with other agents. Models and humans can both act as characters within the game. We describe the results of training state-of-the-art generative and retrieval models in this setting. We show that in addition to using past dialogue, these models are able to effectively use the state of the underlying world to condition their predictions. In particular, we show that grounding on the details of the local environment, including location descriptions, and the objects (and their affordances) and characters (and their previous actions) present within it allows better predictions of agent behavior and dialogue. We analyze the ingredients necessary for successful grounding in this setting, and how each of these factors relate to agents that can talk and act successfully

P5_6 How Many Turns Does a Coil Tattoo Machine Need?

We calculated how many turns a single solenoid of known dimensions in a coil tattoo machine would need to drive a needle at a frequency of 3000 strikes per minute at a voltage of 12 V. It was found around 18050 turns would be needed

P5_3 Whats cookin' good lookin'

Using magnifying glasses to set things on fire is an age-old pastime of curious children, we investigate in this paper whether it is possible to take this act to the extreme of focusing the Sun's power to cook an adult human. It was found that it is indeed possible with a suitably large magnifying glass of radius 2.4m that is held over a person for 1 hour

P5_9 Harnessing a Neutron Star

This paper investigates the potential power that could be harnessed from a neutron star using Faraday’s law, and finds it to be a rate of 8.2 × 1020 W. We concluded that a rate of transfer of energy this high would be enough to injure Thor in a scene from Marvel’s ”Avengers: Infinity War”