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The CEBAF large acceptance spectrometer (CLAS) is used to study photo- and electro-induced nuclear and hadronic reactions by providing efficient detection of neutral and charged particles over a good fraction of the full solid angle. A collaboration of about 30 institutions has designed, assembled, and commissioned CLAS in Hall B at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The CLAS detector is based on a novel six-coil toroidal magnet which provides a largely azimuthal field distribution. Trajectory reconstruction using drift chambers results in a momentum resolution of 0.5% at forward angles. Cherenkov counters, time-of-flight scintillators, and electromagnetic calorimeters provide good particle identification. Fast triggering and high data-acquisition rates allow operation at a luminosity of View the MathML source. These capabilities are being used in a broad experimental program to study the structure and interactions of mesons, nucleons, and nuclei using polarized and unpolarized electron and photon beams and targets. This paper is a comprehensive and general description of the design, construction and performance of CLAS

Measurement of two-and three-nucleon shortrange correlation probabilities in nuclei KS The ratios of inclusive electron scattering cross sections of 4 He, 12 C, and 56 Fe to 3 He have been measured at 1 < x B < 3. At Q 2 > 1:4 GeV 2 , the ratios exhibit two separate plateaus, at 1:5 < x B < 2 and at x B > 2:25. This pattern is predicted by models that include 2-and 3-nucleon short-range correlations (SRC). Relative to A 3, the per-nucleon probabilities of 3-nucleon SRC are 2.3, 3.1, and 4.4 times larger for A 4, 12, and 56. This is the first measurement of 3-nucleon SRC probabilities in nuclei.

Reactor neutrino experiments play a crucial role in advancing our knowledge of neutrinos. A precise measurement of reactor electron antineutrino flux and spectrum evolution can be key inputs in improving the knowledge of neutrino mass and mixing as well as reactor nuclear physics and searching for physics beyond the standard model. In this work, the evolution of the flux and spectrum as a function of the reactor isotopic content is reported in terms of the inverse-beta-decay yield at Daya Bay with 1958 days of data and improved systematic uncertainties. These measurements are compared with two signature model predictions: the Huber-Mueller model based on the conversion method and the SM2018 model based on the summation method. The measured average flux and spectrum, as well as their evolution with the 239 Pu isotopic fraction, are inconsistent with the predictions of the Huber-Mueller model. In contrast, the SM2018 model is shown to agree with the average flux and its evolution but fails to describe the energy spectrum. Altering the predicted IBD spectrum from 239 Pu fission does not improve the agreement with the measurement for either model. The models can be brought into better agreement with the measurements if either the predicted spectrum due to 235 U fission is changed or the predicted 235 U, 238 U, 239 Pu, and 241 Pu spectra are changed in equal measure.

The Daya Bay experiment has observed correlations between reactor core fuel evolution and changes in the reactor antineutrino flux and energy spectrum. Four antineutrino detectors in two experimental halls were used to identify 2.2 million inverse beta decays (IBDs) over 1230 days spanning multiple fuel cycles for each of six 2.9 GW$_{\textrm{th}}$ reactor cores at the Daya Bay and Ling Ao nuclear power plants. Using detector data spanning effective $^{239}$Pu fission fractions, $F_{239}$, from 0.25 to 0.35, Daya Bay measures an average IBD yield, $\bar{\sigma}_f$, of $(5.90 \pm 0.13) \times 10^{-43}$ cm$^2$/fission and a fuel-dependent variation in the IBD yield, $d\sigma_f/dF_{239}$, of $(-1.86 \pm 0.18) \times 10^{-43}$ cm$^2$/fission. This observation rejects the hypothesis of a constant antineutrino flux as a function of the $^{239}$Pu fission fraction at 10 standard deviations. The variation in IBD yield was found to be energy-dependent, rejecting the hypothesis of a constant antineutrino energy spectrum at 5.1 standard deviations. While measurements of the evolution in the IBD spectrum show general agreement with predictions from recent reactor models, the measured evolution in total IBD yield disagrees with recent predictions at 3.1$\sigma$. This discrepancy indicates that an overall deficit in measured flux with respect to predictions does not result from equal fractional deficits from the primary fission isotopes $^{235}$U, $^{239}$Pu, $^{238}$U, and $^{241}$Pu. Based on measured IBD yield variations, yields of $(6.17 \pm 0.17)$ and $(4.27 \pm 0.26) \times 10^{-43}$ cm$^2$/fission have been determined for the two dominant fission parent isotopes $^{235}$U and $^{239}$Pu. A 7.8% discrepancy between the observed and predicted $^{235}$U yield suggests that this isotope may be the primary contributor to the reactor antineutrino anomaly.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure