DLX Research Projects in Plaster’s Group in the Physics Department

Precision Tests of Fundamental Physics with Ultracold Neutrons

This project addresses fundamental open physics questions via computational work in support of experiments conducted at national accelerator facilities using sources of ultracold neutrons. Neutrons constitute an especially ideal “laboratory” for fundamental physics tests, as their sensitivities to the four known forces of nature permit a broad class of tests of the so-called “Standard Model”, our current best physics model for the interactions of subatomic particles. The analysis and interpretation of data acquired in accelerator-based experiments requires the concurrent simulation of a large number of “events”.

The standard simulation tool of choice in the particle and nuclear physics communities is, an open source code developed for the simulation of the transport of subatomic particles through matter; the GEANT4 framework also has many applications in the medical and space sciences. We are employing this code for the simulation of an experimental setup at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The calculations to be carried out on the HPC involve simulations of radioactive decays of ultracold neutrons in a magnetic spectrometer. The particles emitted following the decays of the neutrons, electrons and protons, are then subsequently transported by the code through the various materials in the spectrometer. The results from these simulations will be used to optimize the design of future experiments to be conducted at national accelerator facilities.

Students

Danielle C Schaper (Graduate Student) 1/10/2019

Abel Manuel Lorente Campos, Grad, 06/22/2018

Brian Allgeier (undergraduate student)
Michael Brown (graduate student)
Subash Nepal (graduate student)
Nima Nouri (graduate student)
Ryan Dadisman (graduate student)
Edward H. Leggett, Jr. (External User)

Vince Cianciolo, (External User) 1 year limited - 06/22/2018

Alina Aleksandrova

Alexander (Alec) Tewsley-Booth, Postdoc Scholar, Added on LCC 03/16/2022 

Rashika Gupta, Added on MCC cluster 10/06/2022 

Brad Plaster (PI, faculty)

Collaborator

Kent Leung, Faculty at NCSU

Funding

Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics