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Akeem Hart

Akeem

Research Student

Email: a.l.hart@qmul.ac.uk
Room Number: G. O. Jones Building, Room 402
Website: https://akeemlh.github.io

Profile

Project title: Neutrino analysis with MINERνA and DUNE development

Supervisor: Dr Abbey Waldron

Content: Neutrino physics stands on the brink of answering some of the most urgent questions in modern particle physics. These include unravelling the mystery of the matter-antimatter asymmetry, determining whether neutrinos are Majorana particles or if Majorana particles exist at all, and determining the hierarchy of neutrino masses. The answers to these pivotal questions would significantly enhance our understanding of the universe.

In the realm of experimental neutrino physics, two projects, namely DUNE and MINERνA, play distinctive roles. MINERνA, an established and compact experiment, holds a wealth of data that enables the exploration of neutrino-nucleus interaction. It serves as a supporting experiment by refining our understanding of neutrino-nucleus interactions, which in turn impacts other neutrino experiments, but also furthers our understanding of neutrinos in its own right. On the other hand, DUNE is an ambitious experiment currently in the construction phase. Although it has limited data available presently, once completed, it will pioneer the field by capturing an unparalleled volume of high-quality data, unveiling the answers to the aforementioned open questions.

While MINERνA is no longer actively collecting data, one of the collaboration's primary focuses is "Data Preservation."; ensuring the enduring utility of the data gathered by MINERνA for the broader neutrino physics community. My work involves modifying the Data Preservation software to enable future analyses of MINERνA data that were previously unfeasible. Particularly, an analysis aimed at validating our Monte Carlo simulations using "Muon Fuzz", a product of muon interactions within the detector. With MINERνA's diverse range of detector materials (iron, graphite, lead, plastic, water, and helium), I will analyse muon neutrino inclusive scattering across these different materials. The objective is to contribute to advancing our understanding of how various nuclear environments influence neutrino interactions and our ability to observe them.

DUNE comprises Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPC) modules. Recently, a set of smaller-scale prototypes of these modules was constructed at the University of Bern and will soon be installed at Fermilab. I will be involved in installing and testing these prototype modules, as well as the implementation and troubleshooting of the Data Acquisition system.

Research

Publications

Astropy Collaboration et al. (2022). "The Astropy Project: Sustaining and Growing a Community-oriented Open-source Project and the Latest Major Release (v5.0) of the Core Package." The Astrophysical Journal. 935(2). doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac7c74

 

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