Jefferson Lab Weekly Briefs February 8, 2017

Jefferson Lab Weekly Briefs
February 8, 2017

12 GeV Upgrade

Starting on Feb. 3, high-energy beam was delivered to the upgraded CLAS12 spectrometer for the first time. The beam delivery and the performance of the new Hall B spectrometer was quite impressive, as was the commitment of the Accelerator Operations crew and the CLAS12 collaboration in reaching this important event. Beam delivery throughout the weekend was of high quality. All components of CLAS12 (Torus, Detectors, Electronics, Data Acquisition) worked well, and the CLAS12 team was poised for real-time analysis, monitored through event displays and histograms that had been vetted in advance using cosmic rays. This beam run was focused on demonstrating the Key Performance Parameter (KPP) required for completion of this part of the 12 GeV Upgrade Project. The CLAS12 data from the weekend run has been reviewed by DOE, and concurrence that the KPP has been met was received on Feb. 7, 2017. Congratulations to everyone involved in the achievement of this important milestone!

Thanks to the talented efforts of many hard-working individuals during a dedicated period of leak-checking, pressure-tests and welding, the in-place assembly of the Super High Momentum Spectrometer dipole magnet in Hall C has been completely finished. The magnet is now being slowly cooled down, a process that is expected to take about two weeks. The Q3 quadrupole magnet was also pressure-tested and is cooled down. It is filled with liquid helium, fully instrumented and connected to its power supply. Following verification of the interlocks and instrument readings, the low-power testing of Q3 has begun. Final alignment is underway for all of the SHMS magnets, the target scattering chamber, and the upstream and downstream beam pipes. When all five spectrometer magnets are tested and operational, all vacuum systems closed, and the last detector and concrete blocks installed, Hall C will be ready for its beam run to demonstrate the KPP required for completion of this part of the 12 GeV Upgrade Project.

Physics

Hall D
The first physics run of the GlueX experiment started a week ago, one year after the engineering run demonstrated that the experiment had achieved the designed parameters. A limited amount of physics-quality data collected during the engineering run has already superseded the existing polarized photoproduction data in the given energy range. It allowed the GlueX collaboration to study beam asymmetry effects in pseudoscaler photoproduction, resulting in the first GlueX physics paper recently submitted to Physical Review Letters. This also happens to be the first Jefferson Lab physics result from the 12 GeV upgrade.

Publications Training Offered
If you’re new to the lab or are writing your first journal article or proceedings paper, the next Publications Training and Refresher course is for you! This 45-60 minute course will be held on Friday, Feb. 24, at 10:00 a.m. in CEBAF Center room F224-225. After this session, you will be prepared to:

  • Submit manuscripts to the Publications Review and Approval System;
  • Make recommended revisions to papers during the signature process;
  • Add the relevant information once the paper is published; and
  • Input the final, peer-reviewed accepted manuscript into our system.

These steps are required for Jefferson Lab's compliance to the Department of Energy's Public Access Plan. If you plan to attend, let Kim Edwards know by emailing kindrew@jlab.org no later than Thursday, Feb. 23. 

Nominations Are Being Accepted for the 2016 JSA Thesis Prize
The Users Group Board of Directors will award the 2016 JSA Thesis Prize for the best Jefferson Lab-related thesis. Theses completed during the calendar year 2016 are eligible, as well as theses completed during the last quarter of 2015 (if they haven't been submitted before). Nomination deadline is Feb. 24. Details and nomination requirements are available online.

JSA/JLab Graduate Fellowship Program Now Taking Applications
The JSA/JLab Graduate Fellowship Program contributes to addressing the nation's commitment to grow our future science leaders and researchers by providing the environment and financial resources for graduate students to work alongside Jefferson Lab researchers. Application materials are due by March 10. More information and application requirements can be found online.

Apply Now for Sabbatical and Research Leave Support at Jefferson Lab
The JSA/JLab Sabbatical and Research Leave Support Program enhances research opportunities for faculty through access to Jefferson Lab facilities and interaction with Lab researchers and users, strengthens the teaching and research capabilities of universities through faculty involvement, and strengthens the research programs of Jefferson Lab by attracting "new blood" and integrating university faculty members in the laboratory's programs. Application materials are due by March 31. More information and applications requirements can be found online.

    Center for Theoretical and Computational Physics

    A new paper discusses a lattice QCD calculation using the "Domain Wall" formulation of valence quarks and "HISQ" sea quarks. In this setup, lattice simulations can be achieved with small lattice spacing errors with physical quark masses and multiple lattice spacings, enabling controlled extrapolations to the continuum limit. In the future, this technology will be used to perform calculations relevant to hadronic structure, such the nucleon axial coupling.

    Engineering

    Jefferson Lab Celebrates National Engineers Week, Feb. 19-25
    Jefferson Lab employs more than 130 engineers! To acknowledge the contributions made by its many talented engineers, the Jefferson Lab Engineering Division will be celebrating National Engineers Week. All engineers are invited to take a break any time after 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21, to enjoy a piece of cake. The cake will be in the 2nd floor break area of the TED, Building 55. Please sign the recognition board and let us know where you went to school and when. Perhaps we will find some interesting connections we didn’t know we had.

    Environment, Safety, Health and Quality

    Danger for Road/Utility Workers in the Twilight/Dark
    Road and utility workers continue to make headway on various projects either near Jefferson Lab or on the roadways to and from work. Their jobs entail long days spent near fast-moving vehicles, without much room to spare. The work areas are generally well marked, but workers do move around and often have to step out of the way and may forget that they are stepping into moving traffic.

    According to information provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on this Centers for Disease Control webpage, more than 100 road workers are killed on the job each year. To reduce this statistic, drivers must be more alert and drive with extra caution around construction zones, especially as those zones approach Jefferson Lab entrances. As the hours of darkness overlap business hours here at Jefferson Lab, you will need to be extra cautious during these times. Give the work zone as much room as possible when passing. Keep an eye out for workers who may not see your vehicle and step up onto the edge of the road. Pay attention to work zone markings and signs, and obey all directions, barriers and flaggers.

    Computing and Networking Infrastructure

    Critical CUE Software Updates Set for Thursday, Feb. 9
    Several critical patches will be released early Thursday morning to all Jefferson Lab Windows desktop systems managed through the Common User Environment (CUE). These patches address critical vulnerabilities in Firefox, Thunderbird, Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Acrobat Reader and Java. Plan to reboot your desktop or restart software, as necessary, to finalize these patch installations. If you have any questions or concerns about these patches, contact the IT Division Helpdesk at helpdesk@jlab.org or x7155.

    Announcements

    Jefferson Lab Encourages Digital Literacy With Hour of Code Event
    To help raise awareness of the need for digital literacy, volunteers from Jefferson Lab’s Information Technology Division and Science Education staff joined forces in December to provide more than 60 local students with the opportunity to experience basic computer programming. Two classes of fifth-grade students from Carver Elementary School – participating in Jefferson Lab’s BEAMS program – were invited to participate in the lab’s Hour of Code campaign during the 2016 Computer Science Education Week. Read the full story here.

    Physics Seminar: From Light Hadrons to Charm: Early Results from the GlueX Experiment
    The primary goal of the GlueX experiment is to study gluonic degrees of freedom in QCD by mapping the light meson spectrum, with a focus on searching for and studying hybrid mesons. Sean Dobbs, Northwestern University, will discuss the current status of the experiment, present several results from the commissioning run, including the first observation of the charmed meson J/psi at Jefferson Lab, and discuss the future outlook of the experiment. The seminar will be held in the CEBAF Center auditorium at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16.

    Jefferson Lab Benefits Open Enrollment Begins Wednesday, Feb. 15
    Attention all regular and term employees: The 2017 Benefits Open Enrollment starts on Feb. 15 and will continue through Feb. 28. This is the time of the season for you to review and, if necessary, modify your benefits options. More information is coming soon.

    Reminder: Annual Property Training & Validation Due March 31
    Jefferson Lab’s annual Property Custodian Training and Property Validation for 2017 was launched on Feb. 1 and continues through Friday, March 31. It is important for everyone to complete the training and validation during this period to allow Property Management to conduct the sample inventory required under our Department of Energy contract. See the full memo for links to the training and validation. If you have property or property validation process questions or concerns, contact the Property office at x7348 or property@jlab.org.

    Reminder: TIAA-CREF Individual Counseling Sessions Offered
    TIAA-CREF is offering Individual Counseling Sessions, where you can discuss your personal financial situation with a TIAA-CREF financial consultant on a confidential basis. The consultant will be available at Jefferson Lab on Feb. 9, March 14 and April 19 in Support Service Center room 22i. To schedule an appointment, call TIAA-CREF at (800) 732-8353, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.–8 p.m. (ET).

    Jefferson Lab Calendar of Events

    Feb. 16-18: GlueX Collaboration Meeting
    Feb. 20: Safety Shoe Truck on-site
    Feb. 24-25: Q-Weak Collaboration Meeting
    March 4: Va. Regional Middle School Science Bowl
    March 15-17: 3D Nucleon Tomography Workshop
    March 17: Workshop on Science at LERF
    March 28-31: CLAS Collaboration meeting

    JLab Weekly Briefs is an ongoing publication providing information on the status of safety, accelerator operations, experiments, free-electron laser, reviews, upcoming activities and special events. Deadline for submission is every Tuesday by 10 a.m. Submit new items to: the Communications Office or contact Kandice Carter at x7263.