Search

The Majorana Demonstrator experiment operated two modular arrays of p-type point contact high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors, of which 30 kg is enriched to 88% in Ge-76, to search for neutrinoless double beta decay. The data-taking campaign for double beta decay with enriched detectors was successfully concluded in March 2021, and data-taking with natural detectors is still ongoing. The Demonstrator has achieved excellent energy performance in a wide dynamic range covering 1 keV to 10 MeV. The extra-low background level and excellent energy performance achieved by the Demonstrator makes it competitive in various searches of physics beyond the Standard Model. If there is an axion-photon coupling, axions can be produced by the Primakoff conversion of photons in the Sun. Solar axions can inversely generate photon signals in germanium crystals, which can be coherently enhanced when the Bragg condition is satisfied. The Demonstrator is searching for solar axions with a novel method to correlate and leverage its high number of HPGe detectors. In this talk, we will discuss the status and results of recent searches for new physics with the Demonstrator, including the first reporting of a solar axion search., Comment: on behalf of the MAJORANA Collaboration. Proceedings for TAUP2021 (the 17th International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics), 26 August - 3 September 2021

The Black Hills State University Underground Campus (BHUC) houses a low background counting facility on the 4850' level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility. There are currently four ultra-low background, high-purity germanium detectors installed in the BHUC and it is anticipated four more detectors will be installed within a year. In total, the BHUC will be able to accommodate up to twelve detectors with space inside a class 1000 cleanroom, an automated liquid nitrogen fill system, on-site personnel assistance and other required utilities.

The Black Hills State University Underground Campus (BHUC) houses a low background counting facility on the 4850' level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility. There are currently four ultra-low background, high-purity germanium detectors installed in the BHUC and it is anticipated four more detectors will be installed within a year. In total, the BHUC will be able to accommodate up to twelve detectors with space inside a class 1000 cleanroom, an automated liquid nitrogen fill system, on-site personnel assistance and other required utilities.

This paper examines and reviews the relevant articles related to increasing learner creativity through integration of low-cost 3-D printer into traditional classroom’s instruction. Various theories and appropriate instructional strategies are examined as part of the integration process. Armchair analysis technique was conducted in this review with the purpose of generalizing and synthesizing previous studies. The study contributes to the topic by providing an in-depth and comprehensive perspective of the literature related to integration of 3D printing in traditional classroom. There are three sections in this conceptual report. The first section introduced the background of low-cost 3D printing technique and the problems existed in creativity instruction. The second sections reviews the integration of low-cost 3D printing in education and sundry approaches to achieve it. Theories and principles are discussed in the final section of the paper. The findings illustrated that collaborative project-based learning using 3D printer has been adapted by various researchers in multidisciplinary learning situation. Three theories, which includes the condition of learning, constructivism theory, and constructionism theory, are used in different settings to support the learning activities. Shortcomings such as time-consuming, diversity of student technical level, and the defects in low-cost 3D printer products are reported in the literature as well. In sum, the researchers summarize the instructional strategies applied in the integration of 3D printing in the classroom and the theories behind it by using armchair analysis technique.

This paper examines and reviews the relevant articles related to increasing learner creativity through integration of low-cost 3-D printer into traditional classroom’s instruction. Various theories and appropriate instructional strategies are examined as part of the integration process. Armchair analysis technique was conducted in this review with the purpose of generalizing and synthesizing previous studies. The study contributes to the topic by providing an in-depth and comprehensive perspective of the literature related to integration of 3D printing in traditional classroom. There are three sections in this conceptual report. The first section introduced the background of low-cost 3D printing technique and the problems existed in creativity instruction. The second sections reviews the integration of low-cost 3D printing in education and sundry approaches to achieve it. Theories and principles are discussed in the final section of the paper. The findings illustrated that collaborative project-based learning using 3D printer has been adapted by various researchers in multidisciplinary learning situation. Three theories, which includes the condition of learning, constructivism theory, and constructionism theory, are used in different settings to support the learning activities. Shortcomings such as time-consuming, diversity of student technical level, and the defects in low-cost 3D printer products are reported in the literature as well. In sum, the researchers summarize the instructional strategies applied in the integration of 3D printing in the classroom and the theories behind it by using armchair analysis technique.

A new form of matter with de-confined quarks and gluons, named the "Quark Gluon Plasma" (QGP), is predicted by Lattice Qutantum Chromodynamics to exist at high temperatures and/or high baryon density regions in the QCD phase diagram. Experimental evidence indicates that the QCD matter created in high energy Au+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in Brookhaven National Lab is a strongly-coupled Quark-Gluon Plasma. One of the central goals of heavy ion physics is to understand the QGP through quantitative comparisons between theoretical calculations and experimental measurements. Heavy flavor quarks are believed to be a unique probe for this task, because they are dominantly produced in the initial hard scatterings, where the production rate can be well calculated by perturbative-QCD(pQCD). When heavy favor quarks traverse the QGP medium, they bear the imprints of the medium via their interactions with the medium. Dynamical models have been developed to calculate the interactions between heavy quarks and the QGP medium to quantitatively extract the medium properties.This dissertation presents a series of experimental studies with the electrons produced in the semi-leptonic decays of heavy flavor quarks in Au+Au and p+p collisions, which serve as the proxies for heavy flavor quarks. These electrons are referred to as non-photonic electrons (NPE), to be differentiated from the main background of photonic electrons. The production of NPE at high pT is found to be highly suppressed in central and semi-central Au+Au collisions, compared to binary-collision scaled production in p+p collisions. The azimuthal anisotropy of NPE is found to be finite at high pT, and the azimuthal correlation between high pT NPE and low pT hadrons exhibits a broadening in the away-side, both of which strengthen the evidence for a strong coupling between heavy flavor quarks and the QGP medium. In addition, the bottom quark production cross-section in p+p collisions is obta

A new form of matter with de-confined quarks and gluons, named the "Quark Gluon Plasma" (QGP), is predicted by Lattice Qutantum Chromodynamics to exist at high temperatures and/or high baryon density regions in the QCD phase diagram. Experimental evidence indicates that the QCD matter created in high energy Au+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in Brookhaven National Lab is a strongly-coupled Quark-Gluon Plasma. One of the central goals of heavy ion physics is to understand the QGP through quantitative comparisons between theoretical calculations and experimental measurements. Heavy flavor quarks are believed to be a unique probe for this task, because they are dominantly produced in the initial hard scatterings, where the production rate can be well calculated by perturbative-QCD(pQCD). When heavy favor quarks traverse the QGP medium, they bear the imprints of the medium via their interactions with the medium. Dynamical models have been developed to calculate the interactions between heavy quarks and the QGP medium to quantitatively extract the medium properties.This dissertation presents a series of experimental studies with the electrons produced in the semi-leptonic decays of heavy flavor quarks in Au+Au and p+p collisions, which serve as the proxies for heavy flavor quarks. These electrons are referred to as non-photonic electrons (NPE), to be differentiated from the main background of photonic electrons. The production of NPE at high pT is found to be highly suppressed in central and semi-central Au+Au collisions, compared to binary-collision scaled production in p+p collisions. The azimuthal anisotropy of NPE is found to be finite at high pT, and the azimuthal correlation between high pT NPE and low pT hadrons exhibits a broadening in the away-side, both of which strengthen the evidence for a strong coupling between heavy flavor quarks and the QGP medium. In addition, the bottom quark production cross-section in p+p collisions is obta

The coherent Bragg scattering of photons converted from solar axions inside crystals would boost the signal for axion-photon coupling enhancing experimental sensitivity for these hypothetical particles. Knowledge of the scattering angle of solar axions with respect to the crystal lattice is required to make theoretical predications of signal strength. Hence, both the lattice axis angle within a crystal and the absolute angle between the crystal and the Sun must be known. In this paper, we examine how the experimental sensitivity changes with respect to various experimental parameters. We also demonstrate that, in a multiple-crystal setup, knowledge of the relative axis orientation between multiple crystals can improve the experimental sensitivity, or equivalently, relax the precision on the absolute solar angle measurement. However, if absolute angles of all crystal axes are measured, we find that a precision of 2-4 degrees will suffice for an energy resolution of $\sigma_E=0.04{\rm E}$ and a flat background. Finally, we also show that, given a minimum number of detectors, a signal model averaged over angles can substitute for precise crystal angular measurements, with some loss of sensitivity., Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures. Published version with improvements suggested by referee

We present STAR measurements of relative charm and bottom contributions to NPE from $p+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$= 200 and 500 GeV energies. We report the total bottom quark production cross section from p+p collisions at $\sqrt{s}= 200$ GeV extracted from NPE spectrum and B to D ratios. We also present the NPE-hadron azimuthal correlations from $Au+Au$ collisions at $\sqrtsNN = 200$ GeV from the 2010 RHIC run where we have collected high statistics data set with low photonic conversion background., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Proceedings for XXII International Conference on Ultra-relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collision (Quark Matter 2011), 22 - 28 May 2011, Annecy, France

We present STAR measurements of relative charm and bottom contributions to NPE from $p+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$= 200 and 500 GeV energies. We report the total bottom quark production cross section from p+p collisions at $\sqrt{s}= 200$ GeV extracted from NPE spectrum and B to D ratios. We also present the NPE-hadron azimuthal correlations from $Au+Au$ collisions at $\sqrtsNN = 200$ GeV from the 2010 RHIC run where we have collected high statistics data set with low photonic conversion background., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Proceedings for XXII International Conference on Ultra-relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collision (Quark Matter 2011), 22 - 28 May 2011, Annecy, France