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Detonation diffraction leads to either successful transmission of the detonation or quenching wherein the propagation mechanism is attenuated. The transmission behavior is governed by competing effects of energy release, curvature, and unsteadiness. There is a potentially unique critical diameter that will determine the diffraction outcome for every combustible mixture composition at each set of initial conditions. The critical diffraction diameter has been correlated to several detonation parameters to date; however, these correlations all have limitations. Analytical or quasi-analytical solutions to the diffraction problem, specifically those able to predict the critical diameter, are scarce. The present work develops several critical diameter models by uniting previous work on diffraction phenomena and the critical initiation energy problem. Curvature, decay rate, and energy-based models are established, and their critical diameter predictions are compared against a wide range of experimental critical diameter data. While detonation diffraction is a complex multifaceted phenomenon, a curvature-based one-dimensional model in this work is shown to accurately reproduce empirical critical diameter behavior at relatively low computational cost. 

This report summarizes the work of the EMMI Rapid Reaction Task Force on “Real and Virtual Photon Production at Ultra-Low Transverse Momentum and Low Mass at the LHC”. We provide an overview of the soft-photon puzzle, i.e., of the long-standing discrepancy between experimental data and predictions based on Low’s soft-photon theorem, also referred to as “anomalous” soft photon production, and we review the current theoretical understanding of soft radiation and soft theorems. We also focus on low-mass dileptons as a tool for determining the electrical conductivity of the medium produced in high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions. We discuss how both topics can be addressed with the planned ALICE 3 detector at the LHC. 

A formal pedagogical push emerged and later blossomed in designing integrated curriculum between STEM and non-STEM areas in secondary and higher education. A growing cadre of research identifies positive learning outcomes for students participating in an integrated curriculum who apply basic STEM knowledge to investigate social problems and justice issues within social contexts. Research indicates STEM students demonstrate fewer concerns with social issues, often placing a greater interest in the value of individualism. This article outlines a new integrative course, Science, Society and Self, which was supported by a National Science Foundation grant to Iona College in the Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program. The Development of Excellence in Science through Intervention, Resilience, and Enrichment (DESIRE) program seeks to increase retention and graduation rates for economically disadvantaged and high-aptitude STEM majors. Skills important for success in STEM courses are reviewed, as are service-learning and policy applications. We also explore the intersections between nature of science (NOS) and sociological concepts. This culminates in distinguishing public science issues by connecting the intersections of human biographies, history, and societal structures through the sociological imagination, as conceived by C. Wright Mills. 

Abstract In this paper, we review scientific opportunities and challenges related to detection and reconstruction of low-energy (less than 100 MeV) signatures in liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) neutrino detectors. LArTPC neutrino detectors designed for performing precise long-baseline oscillation measurements with GeV-scale accelerator neutrino beams also have unique sensitivity to a range of physics and astrophysics signatures via detection of event features at and below the few tens of MeV range. In addition, low-energy signatures are an integral part of GeV-scale accelerator neutrino interaction final-states, and their reconstruction can enhance the oscillation physics sensitivities of LArTPC experiments. New physics signals from accelerator and natural sources also generate diverse signatures in the low-energy range, and reconstruction of these signatures can increase the breadth of Beyond the Standard Model scenarios accessible in LArTPC-based searches. A variety of experimental and theory-related challenges remain to realizing this full range of potential benefits. Neutrino interaction cross-sections and other nuclear physics processes in argon relevant to sub-hundred-MeV LArTPC signatures are poorly understood, and improved theory and experimental measurements are needed; pion decay-at-rest sources and charged particle and neutron test beams are ideal facilities for improving this understanding. There are specific calibration needs in the low-energy range, as well as specific needs for control and understanding of radiological and cosmogenic backgrounds. Low-energy signatures, whether steady-state or part of a supernova burst or larger GeV-scale event topology, have specific triggering, DAQ and reconstruction requirements that must be addressed outside the scope of conventional GeV-scale data collection and analysis pathways. Novel concepts for future LArTPC technology that enhance low-energy capabilities should also be explored to help address these challenges. 

Abstract SBND is the near detector of the Short-Baseline Neutrino program at Fermilab. Its location near to the Booster Neutrino Beam source and relatively large mass will allow the study of neutrino interactions on argon with unprecedented statistics. This paper describes the expected performance of the SBND photon detection system, using a simulated sample of beam neutrinos and cosmogenic particles. Its design is a dual readout concept combining a system of 120 photomultiplier tubes, used for triggering, with a system of 192 X-ARAPUCA devices, located behind the anode wire planes. Furthermore, covering the cathode plane with highly-reflective panels coated with a wavelength-shifting compound recovers part of the light emitted towards the cathode, where no optical detectors exist. We show how this new design provides a high light yield and a more uniform detection efficiency, an excellent timing resolution and an independent 3D-position reconstruction using only the scintillation light. Finally, the whole reconstruction chain is applied to recover the temporal structure of the beam spill, which is resolved with a resolution on the order of nanoseconds. 

The ALICE Collaboration reports measurements of the large relative transverse momentum ( $k_T$) component of jet substructure in $pp$and Pb-Pb collisions at center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02\mathrm{TeV}$. Enhancement in the yield of such large- $k_{\mathrm{T}}$emissions in head-on Pb-Pb collisions is predicted to arise from partonic scattering with quasiparticles of the quark-gluon plasma. The analysis utilizes charged-particle jets reconstructed by the anti- $k_{\mathrm{T}}$algorithm with resolution parameter $R=0.2$in the transverse-momentum interval $60<p_{\mathrm{T},\mathrm{ch},\mathrm{jet}}<80\mathrm{GeV}/c$. The soft drop and dynamical grooming algorithms are used to identify high transverse momentum splittings in the jet shower. Comparison of measurements in Pb-Pb and $pp$collisions shows medium-induced narrowing, corresponding to yield suppression of high- $k_T$splittings, in contrast to the expectation of yield enhancement due to quasiparticle scattering. The measurements are compared to theoretical model calculations incorporating jet modification due to jet-medium interactions (“jet quenching”), both with and without quasiparticle scattering effects. These measurements provide new insight into the underlying mechanisms and theoretical modeling of jet quenching. 

Abstract This paper presents a study of the inclusive forward J/ψyield as a function of forward charged-particle multiplicity in pp collisions at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ $\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV using data collected by the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. The results are presented in terms of relativeJ/ψyields and relative charged-particle multiplicities with respect to these quantities obtained in inelastic collisions having at least one charged particle in the pseudorapidity range |η|<1. The J/ψmesons are reconstructed via their decay intoμ⁺μ⁻pairs in the forward rapidity region (2.5< y <4). The relative multiplicity is estimated in the forward pseudorapidity range which overlaps with the J/ψrapidity region. The results show a steeper-than-linear increase of the J/ψyields versus the multiplicity. They are compared with previous measurements and theoretical model calculations.