Since the discovery in the 1960's that the proton is not a fundamental particle but instead composed of even smaller particles known as quarks and gluons, there has been a concerted effort to understand the proton's internal structure. There still remain many mysteries about the proton and the theory that describes the interactions within: Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). The distributions of quarks and gluons are encoded in objects known as parton correlation functions. Physicists use high-energy scattering experiments to access these functions by means of QCD factorization. This process of extracting information is known as a global QCD analysis. Further insight can be gained through first-principles calculations in lattice QCD as well as models for the strong interaction. In this thesis, we will use global QCD analyses to provide information on the one-dimensional (1D) structure of the proton using the latest experimental data available. Among the mysteries that remain within the proton, we provide insight on the non-perturbative nature of the proton's sea quarks, for both cases where the proton is unpolarized and longitudinally polarized. We also bring new information on the "proton spin puzzle," which concerns the delegation of the proton's spin into its constituent quarks and gluons. We shed light on the proton's transversely polarized structure, where current results from global QCD analyses and lattice QCD fail to paint a consistent picture. Our analyses also reveal a new feature of nuclear effects within light, highly asymmetric nuclei such as helium and tritium. Finally, we perform derivations in a spectator diquark model to glean information on the proton's 3D structure, and calculate moments that can be used in future lattice QCD studies. / Physics

The Precision Reactor Oscillation and SPECTrum (PROSPECT) experiment was designed to probe short baseline oscillations of electron antineutrinos in search of eV-scale sterile neutrinos and precisely measure the 235U reactor antineutrino spectrum from the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge national Laboratory (ORNL). The PROSPECT antineutrino detector (AD) provided excellent background rejection due to its segmented design and use of 6Li-loaded liquid scintillator for a neutron capture target. By tracking the neutron capture lifetime from cosmogenic neutrons and a 252Cf neutron source, we suspect the 6Li content of our scintillator changed over time. We look at this evolution and uncertainty in the PROSPECT oscillation and spectrum analyses. Additionally, the 252Cf source data taken with the PROSPECT AD for detector calibrations are used to make a new measurement on the neutron multiplicity probability distribution emitted during spontaneous fissions, with an average multiplicity of 3.81 ± 0.05 neutrons per fission. / Physics

The Precision Reactor Oscillation and SPECTrum Experiment (PROSPECT) is designed to probe short baseline oscillations of electron antineutrinos in search of eV-scale sterile neutrinos and precisely measure the U-235 reactor antineutrino spectrum from the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The PROSPECT antineutrino detector (AD) provides excellent background rejection and position resolution due to its segmented design and use of Li-6-loaded liquid scintillator. In order to understand relative volume variation effects, which could affect an oscillation measurement, Ac-227 was added as a calibration source that was dissolved isotropically throughout the liquid scintillator. Using the correlated production of alphas from Rn-219 -> Po-215 -> Pb-211 in the Ac-227 decay chain I measured the rate of Ac-227 in each segment of the detector as well as the decay rate of Ac-227 events over the lifetime of the detector. The measured Ac-227 half-life suggests a rate of events falling 1.56 +/- 0.21% faster than expectation. The results of these studies were then applied as corrections to the measurement of antineutrino event rates as a function of distance from the reactor. This thesis will present the testing of Ac-227 as a calibration source before its addition to the AD, analysis methods, results of Ac-227 in the AD, and its application to the oscillation analysis. / Physics

Understanding what contributes to the intrinsic angular momentum (spin) of the proton has been a major goal of the nuclear physics community. In the 1980s, it was discovered that quarks contribute 30% to the spin of the proton. This information led to a search to find other contributions to the spin of the proton. At STAR, the double spin asymmetry (ALL) is measured as it is sensitive to the polarized gluon distribution (Dg(x)). The STAR 2009 inclusive jet ALL at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV has been incorporated into two independent global fits. These fits show for the first time a statistically significant non-zero gluon contribution to the spin of the proton in the parton momentum fraction range x > 0.05. Dijet ALL is also measured at STAR. Dijets are advantageous since the parton momentum fraction (x) of the initial partons may be reconstructed to first order from final state measurements. In 2013 STAR collected an estimated 250 pb-1 of data at sqrt(s) = 510 GeV. The higher center of mass energy will allow STAR to probe Dg(x) at x values as low as 0.02. The large statistics will allow a reduction in the uncertainties. Once the data is incorporated into future global fits, it will allow for a more precise determination of Dg(x). The 2013 dijet ALL results will be presented. The results show good agreement with both global fits and previous STAR results dijet measurements. / Physics

<p>While it is well known that exposure to radiation can result in cataract formation, questions still remain about the presence of a dose threshold in radiation cataractogenesis. Since the exposure history from diagnostic CT exams is well documented in a patient’s medical record, the population of patients chronically exposed to radiation from head CT exams may be an interesting area to explore for further research in this area. However, there are some challenges in estimating lens dose from head CT exams. An accurate lens dosimetry model would have to account for differences in imaging protocols, differences in head size, and the use of any dose reduction methods.</p><p>The overall objective of this dissertation was to develop a comprehensive method to estimate radiation dose to the lens of the eye for patients receiving CT scans of the head. This research is comprised of a physics component, in which a lens dosimetry model was derived for head CT, and a clinical component, which involved the application of that dosimetry model to patient data. </p><p>The physics component includes experiments related to the physical measurement of the radiation dose to the lens by various types of dosimeters placed within anthropomorphic phantoms. These dosimeters include high-sensitivity MOSFETs, TLDs, and radiochromic film. The six anthropomorphic phantoms used in these experiments range in age from newborn to adult.</p><p>First, the lens dose from five clinically relevant head CT protocols was measured in the anthropomorphic phantoms with MOSFET dosimeters on two state-of-the-art CT scanners. The volume CT dose index (CTDIvol), which is a standard CT output index, was compared to the measured lens doses. Phantom age-specific CTDIvol-to-lens dose conversion factors were derived using linear regression analysis. Since head size can vary among individuals of the same age, a method was derived to estimate the CTDIvol-to-lens dose conversion factor using the effective head diameter. These conversion factors were derived for each scanner individually, but also were derived with the combined data from the two scanners as a means to investigate the feasibility of a scanner-independent method. Using the scanner-independent method to derive the CTDIvol-to-lens dose conversion factor from the effective head diameter, most of the fitted lens dose values fell within 10-15% of the measured values from the phantom study, suggesting that this is a fairly accurate method of estimating lens dose from the CTDIvol with knowledge of the patient’s head size.</p><p>Second, the dose reduction potential of organ-based tube current modulation (OB-TCM) and its effect on the CTDIvol-to-lens dose estimation method was investigated. The lens dose was measured with MOSFET dosimeters placed within the same six anthropomorphic phantoms. The phantoms were scanned with the five clinical head CT protocols with OB-TCM enabled on the one scanner model at our institution equipped with this software. The average decrease in lens dose with OB-TCM ranged from 13.5 to 26.0%. Using the size-specific method to derive the CTDIvol-to-lens dose conversion factor from the effective head diameter for protocols with OB-TCM, the majority of the fitted lens dose values fell within 15-18% of the measured values from the phantom study.</p><p>Third, the effect of gantry angulation on lens dose was investigated by measuring the lens dose with TLDs placed within the six anthropomorphic phantoms. The 2-dimensional spatial distribution of dose within the areas of the phantoms containing the orbit was measured with radiochromic film. A method was derived to determine the CTDIvol-to-lens dose conversion factor based upon distance from the primary beam scan range to the lens. The average dose to the lens region decreased substantially for almost all the phantoms (ranging from 67 to 92%) when the orbit was exposed to scattered radiation compared to the primary beam. The effectiveness of this method to reduce lens dose is highly dependent upon the shape and size of the head, which influences whether or not the angled scan range coverage can include the entire brain volume and still avoid the orbit.</p><p>The clinical component of this dissertation involved performing retrospective patient studies in the pediatric and adult populations, and reconstructing the lens doses from head CT examinations with the methods derived in the physics component. The cumulative lens doses in the patients selected for the retrospective study ranged from 40 to 1020 mGy in the pediatric group, and 53 to 2900 mGy in the adult group.</p><p>This dissertation represents a comprehensive approach to lens of the eye dosimetry in CT imaging of the head. The collected data and derived formulas can be used in future studies on radiation-induced cataracts from repeated CT imaging of the head. Additionally, it can be used in the areas of personalized patient dose management, and protocol optimization and clinician training.</p> / Dissertation

abstract: Chiral symmetry and its anomalous and spontaneous breaking play an important role in particle physics, where it explains the origin of pion and hadron mass hierarchy among other things. Despite its microscopic origin chirality may also lead to observable effects in macroscopic physical systems -- relativistic plasmas made of chiral (spin-$\frac{1}{2}$) particles. Such plasmas are called \textit{chiral}. The effects include non-dissipative currents in external fields that could be present even in quasi-equilibrium, such as the chiral magnetic (CME) and separation (CSE) effects, as well as a number of inherently chiral collective modes called the chiral magnetic (CMW) and vortical (CVW) waves. Applications of chiral plasmas are truly interdisciplinary, ranging from hot plasma filling the early Universe, to dense matter in neutron stars, to electronic band structures in Dirac and Weyl semimetals, to quark-gluon plasma produced in heavy-ion collisions. The main focus of this dissertation is a search for traces of chiral physics in the spectrum of collective modes in chiral plasmas. I start from relativistic chiral kinetic theory and derive first- and second-order chiral hydrodynamics. Then I establish key features of an equilibrium state that describes many physical chiral systems and use it to find the full spectrum of collective modes in high-temperature and high-density cases. Finally, I consider in detail the fate of the two inherently chiral waves, namely the CMW and the CVW, and determine their detection prospects. The main results of this dissertation are the formulation of a fully covariant dissipative chiral hydrodynamics and the calculation of the spectrum of collective modes in chiral plasmas. It is found that the dissipative effects and dynamical electromagnetism play an important role in most cases. In particular, it is found that both the CMW and the CVW are heavily damped by the usual Ohmic dissipation in charged plasmas and the diffusion effects in neutral plasmas. These findings prompt a search for new physical observables in heavy-ion collisions, as well as a revision of potential applications of chiral theories in cosmology and solid-state physics. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Physics 2019

abstract: The challenge of radiation therapy is to maximize the dose to the tumor while simultaneously minimizing the dose elsewhere. Proton therapy is well suited to this challenge due to the way protons slow down in matter. As the proton slows down, the rate of energy loss per unit path length continuously increases leading to a sharp dose near the end of range. Unlike conventional radiation therapy, protons stop inside the patient, sparing tissue beyond the tumor. Proton therapy should be superior to existing modalities, however, because protons stop inside the patient, there is uncertainty in the range. “Range uncertainty” causes doctors to take a conservative approach in treatment planning, counteracting the advantages offered by proton therapy. Range uncertainty prevents proton therapy from reaching its full potential. A new method of delivering protons, pencil-beam scanning (PBS), has become the new standard for treatment over the past few years. PBS utilizes magnets to raster scan a thin proton beam across the tumor at discrete locations and using many discrete pulses of typically 10 ms duration each. The depth is controlled by changing the beam energy. The discretization in time of the proton delivery allows for new methods of dose verification, however few devices have been developed which can meet the bandwidth demands of PBS. In this work, two devices have been developed to perform dose verification and monitoring with an emphasis placed on fast response times. Measurements were performed at the Mayo Clinic. One detector addresses range uncertainty by measuring prompt gamma-rays emitted during treatment. The range detector presented in this work is able to measure the proton range in-vivo to within 1.1 mm at depths up to 11 cm in less than 500 ms and up to 7.5 cm in less than 200 ms. A beam fluence detector presented in this work is able to measure the position and shape of each beam spot. It is hoped that this work may lead to a further maturation of detection techniques in proton therapy, helping the treatment to reach its full potential to improve the outcomes in patients. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Physics 2019

abstract: Seeking an upper limit of the Neutron Electric Dipole Moment (nEDM) is a test of charge-parity (CP) violation beyond the Standard Model. The present experimentally tested nEDM upper limit is 3x10^(26) e cm. An experiment to be performed at the Oak Ridge National Lab Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) facility seeks to reach the 3x10^(28) e cm limit. The experiment is designed to probe for a dependence of the neutron's Larmor precession frequency on an applied electric eld. The experiment will use polarized helium-3 (3He) as a comagnetometer, polarization analyzer, and detector. Systematic influences on the nEDM measurement investigated in this thesis include (a) room temperature measurements on polarized 3He in a measurement cell made from the same materials as the nEDM experiment, (b) research and development of the Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (SQUID) which will be used in the nEDM experiment, (c) design contributions for an experiment with nearly all the same conditions as will be present in the nEDM experiment, and (d) scintillation studies in superfluid helium II generated from alpha particles which are fundamentally similar to the nEDM scintillation process. The result of this work are steps toward achievement of a new upper limit for the nEDM experiment at the SNS facility. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Physics 2019

abstract: In this dissertation two kinds of strongly interacting fermionic systems were studied: cold atomic gases and nucleon systems. In the first part I report T=0 diffusion Monte Carlo results for the ground-state and vortex excitation of unpolarized spin-1/2 fermions in a two-dimensional disk. I investigate how vortex core structure properties behave over the BEC-BCS crossover. The vortex excitation energy, density profiles, and vortex core properties related to the current are calculated. A density suppression at the vortex core on the BCS side of the crossover and a depleted core on the BEC limit is found. Size-effect dependencies in the disk geometry were carefully studied. In the second part of this dissertation I turn my attention to a very interesting problem in nuclear physics. In most simulations of nonrelativistic nuclear systems, the wave functions are found by solving the many-body Schrödinger equations, and they describe the quantum-mechanical amplitudes of the nucleonic degrees of freedom. In those simulations the pionic contributions are encoded in nuclear potentials and electroweak currents, and they determine the low-momentum behavior. By contrast, in this work I present a novel quantum Monte Carlo formalism in which both relativistic pions and nonrelativistic nucleons are explicitly included in the quantum-mechanical states of the system. I report the renormalization of the nucleon mass as a function of the momentum cutoff, an Euclidean time density correlation function that deals with the short-time nucleon diffusion, and the pion cloud density and momentum distributions. In the two nucleon sector the interaction of two static nucleons at large distances reduces to the one-pion exchange potential, and I fit the low-energy constants of the contact interactions to reproduce the binding energy of the deuteron and two neutrons in finite volumes. I conclude by showing that the method can be readily applied to light-nuclei. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Physics 2018

abstract: I describe the first continuous space nuclear path integral quantum Monte Carlo method, and calculate the ground state properties of light nuclei including Deuteron, Triton, Helium-3 and Helium-4, using both local chiral interaction up to next-to-next-to-leading-order and the Argonne $v_6'$ interaction. Compared with diffusion based quantum Monte Carlo methods such as Green's function Monte Carlo and auxiliary field diffusion Monte Carlo, path integral quantum Monte Carlo has the advantage that it can directly calculate the expectation value of operators without tradeoff, whether they commute with the Hamiltonian or not. For operators that commute with the Hamiltonian, e.g., the Hamiltonian itself, the path integral quantum Monte Carlo light-nuclei results agree with Green's function Monte Carlo and auxiliary field diffusion Monte Carlo results. For other operator expectations which are important to understand nuclear measurements but do not commute with the Hamiltonian and therefore cannot be accurately calculated by diffusion based quantum Monte Carlo methods without tradeoff, the path integral quantum Monte Carlo method gives reliable results. I show root-mean-square radii, one-particle number density distributions, and Euclidean response functions for single-nucleon couplings. I also systematically describe all the sampling algorithms used in this work, the strategies to make the computation efficient, the error estimations, and the details of the implementation of the code to perform calculations. This work can serve as a benchmark test for future calculations of larger nuclei or finite temperature nuclear matter using path integral quantum Monte Carlo. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Physics 2020