Nuclear and Particle Physics Research at Valparaiso University: Summer 2024

Faculty Sponsor

Adam Gibson-Even

College

Arts and Sciences

Department/Program

Physics & Astronomy

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Symposium Date

Summer 7-24-2024

Abstract

Nuclear physics students and faculty at Valparaiso University worked on two experiments: the STAR Experiment, and the nEDM Experiment. A major goal of the STAR Experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory is understanding the gluon's contribution to the proton's spin. A proton contains quarks and gluons whose individual spins contribute to an overall spin of ½ ħ. At the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) high energy polarized proton beams are collided, producing a large number of neutral pions (π0) and eta (η) mesons. These particles promptly decay into two photons whose energies and positions are measured by the Endcap Electromagnetic Calorimeter (EEMC). Pairs of photons are combined to calculate the invariant mass of the particles from which they decayed. Our mission was to perform quality assurance on the data taken in 2013 and 2015 to ensure it is good for further analysis. Our quality-assured data will then be used to calculate the assymetry of π0 and η particles produced in the polarized proton beam collisions. These calculations can then be used to determine the gluon's contribution to the proton's spin. Results from the quality assurance of the data will be presented.

The neutron Electric Dipole (nEDM) experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory is designed to search for the nEDM at the level of 10-27 e*cm. The experiment is enclosed in a magnetically shielded room (MSR) to null external magnetic fields. A shielding factor characterizes the performance of the MSR. Discussion of the progress on the shielding factor measurement and optimization of neutron delivery will be presented.

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