39 research outputs found
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Cosmogenic neutron production at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
Neutrons produced in nuclear interactions initiated by cosmic-ray muons present an irreducible background to many rare-event searches, even in detectors located deep underground. Models for the production of these neutrons have been tested against previous experimental data, but the extrapolation to deeper sites is not well understood. Here we report results from an analysis of cosmogenically produced neutrons at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. A specific set of observables are presented, which can be used to benchmark the validity of geant4 physics models. In addition, the cosmogenic neutron yield, in units of 10-4 cm2/(g·μ), is measured to be 7.28±0.09(stat)-1.12+1.59(syst) in pure heavy water and 7.30±0.07(stat)-1.02+1.40(syst) in NaCl-loaded heavy water. These results provide unique insights into this potential background source for experiments at SNOLAB
Constraints on Nucleon Decay via "Invisible" Modes from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
Data from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory have been used to constrain the
lifetime for nucleon decay to ``invisible'' modes, such as n -> 3 nu. The
analysis was based on a search for gamma-rays from the de-excitation of the
residual nucleus that would result from the disappearance of either a proton or
neutron from O16. A limit of tau_inv > 2 x 10^{29} years is obtained at 90%
confidence for either neutron or proton decay modes. This is about an order of
magnitude more stringent than previous constraints on invisible proton decay
modes and 400 times more stringent than similar neutron modes.Comment: Update includes missing efficiency factor (limits change by factor of
2) Submitted to Physical Review Letter
First Neutrino Observations from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
The first neutrino observations from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory are
presented from preliminary analyses. Based on energy, direction and location,
the data in the region of interest appear to be dominated by 8B solar
neutrinos, detected by the charged current reaction on deuterium and elastic
scattering from electrons, with very little background. Measurements of
radioactive backgrounds indicate that the measurement of all active neutrino
types via the neutral current reaction on deuterium will be possible with small
systematic uncertainties. Quantitative results for the fluxes observed with
these reactions will be provided when further calibrations have been completed.Comment: Latex, 7 pages, 10 figures, Invited paper at Neutrino 2000
Conference, Sudbury, Canada, June 16-21, 2000 to be published in the
Proceeding
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Measurement of neutron production in atmospheric neutrino interactions at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
Neutron production in GeV-scale neutrino interactions is a poorly studied
process. We have measured the neutron multiplicities in atmospheric neutrino
interactions in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory experiment and compared them
to the prediction of a Monte Carlo simulation using GENIE and a minimally
modified version of GEANT4. We analyzed 837 days of exposure corresponding to
Phase I, using pure heavy water, and Phase II, using a mixture of Cl in heavy
water. Neutrons produced in atmospheric neutrino interactions were identified
with an efficiency of and , for Phase I and II respectively.
The neutron production is measured as a function of the visible energy of the
neutrino interaction and, for charged current quasi-elastic interaction
candidates, also as a function of the neutrino energy. This study is also
performed classifying the complete sample into two pairs of event categories:
charged current quasi-elastic and non charged current quasi-elastic, and
and . Results show good overall agreement between data and
Monte Carlo for both phases, with some small tension with a statistical
significance below for some intermediate energies
Metformin and the gastrointestinal tract
Metformin is an effective agent with a good safety profile that is widely used as a first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes, yet its mechanisms of action and variability in terms of efficacy and side effects remain poorly understood. Although the liver is recognised as a major site of metformin pharmacodynamics, recent evidence also implicates the gut as an important site of action. Metformin has a number of actions within the gut. It increases intestinal glucose uptake and lactate production, increases GLP-1 concentrations and the bile acid pool within the intestine, and alters the microbiome. A novel delayed-release preparation of metformin has recently been shown to improve glycaemic control to a similar extent to immediate-release metformin, but with less systemic exposure. We believe that metformin response and tolerance is intrinsically linked with the gut. This review examines the passage of metformin through the gut, and how this can affect the efficacy of metformin treatment in the individual, and contribute to the side effects associated with metformin intolerance
Tests of Lorentz invariance at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
Experimental tests of Lorentz symmetry in systems of all types are critical
for ensuring that the basic assumptions of physics are well-founded. Data from
all phases of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, a kiloton-scale heavy water
Cherenkov detector, are analyzed for possible violations of Lorentz symmetry in
the neutrino sector. Such violations would appear as one of eight possible
signal types in the detector: six seasonal variations in the solar electron
neutrino survival probability differing in energy and time dependence, and two
shape changes to the oscillated solar neutrino energy spectrum. No evidence for
such signals is observed, and limits on the size of such effects are
established in the framework of the Standard Model Extension, including 40
limits on perviously unconstrained operators and improved limits on 15
additional operators. This makes limits on all minimal, Dirac-type Lorentz
violating operators in the neutrino sector available for the first time
Search for hep solar neutrinos and the diffuse supernova neutrino background using all three phases of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
A search has been performed for neutrinos from two sources, the hep reaction in the solar pp fusion chain and the νe component of the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB), using the full dataset of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory with a total exposure of 2.47 kton-years after fiducialization. The hep search is performed using both a single-bin counting analysis and a likelihood fit. We find a best-fit flux that is compatible with solar model predictions while remaining consistent with zero flux, and set a one-sided upper limit of φhep<30×103 cm-2 s-1 [90% credible interval (CI)]. No events are observed in the DSNB search region, and we set an improved upper bound on the νe component of the DSNB flux of φνeDSNB<19 cm-2 s-1 (90% CI) in the energy range 22.9<Eν<36.9 MeV