A Quasi-Classical Model of Intermediate Velocity Particle Production in Asymmetric Heavy Ion Reactions

The particle emission at intermediate velocities in mass asymmetric reactions is studied within the framework of classical molecular dynamics. Two reactions in the Fermi energy domain were modelized, $^{58}$Ni+C and $^{58}$Ni+Au at 34.5 MeV/nucleon. The availability of microscopic correlations at all times allowed a detailed study of the fragment formation process. Special attention was paid to the physical origin of fragments and emission timescales, which allowed us to disentangle the different processes involved in the mid-rapidity particle production. Consequently, a clear distinction between a prompt pre- equilibrium emission and a delayed aligned asymmetric breakup of the heavier partner of the reaction was achieved.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Final version: figures were redesigned, and a new section discussing the role of Coulomb in IMF production was include

Probing pre-formed alpha particles in the ground state of nuclei

In this Letter, we report on alpha particle emission through the nuclear break-up in the reaction 40Ca on a 40Ca target at 50A MeV. It is observed that, similarly to nucleons, alpha particles can be emitted to the continuum with very specific angular distribution during the reaction. The alpha particle properties can be understood as resulting from an alpha cluster in the daughter nucleus that is perturbed by the short range nuclear attraction of the collision partner and emitted. A time-dependent theory that describe the alpha particle wave-function evolution is able to reproduce qualitatively the observed angular distribution. This mechanism offers new possibilities to study alpha particle properties in the nuclear medium.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Rare isotope production in statistical multifragmentation

Producing rare isotopes through statistical multifragmentation is investigated using the Mekjian method for exact solutions of the canonical ensemble. Both the initial fragmentation and the the sequential decay are modeled in such a way as to avoid Monte Carlo and thus provide yields for arbitrarily scarce fragments. The importance of sequential decay, exact particle-number conservation and the sensitivities to parameters such as density and temperature are explored. Recent measurements of isotope ratios from the fragmentation of different Sn isotopes are interpreted within this picture.Comment: 10 eps figure

Fragmentation in Peripheral Heavy-Ion Collisions: from Neck Emission to Spectator Decays

Invariant cross sections of intermediate mass fragments in peripheral collisions of Au on Au at incident energies between 40 and 150 AMeV have been measured with the 4-pi multi-detector INDRA. The maximum of the fragment production is located near mid-rapidity at the lower energies and moves gradually towards the projectile and target rapidities as the energy is increased. Schematic calculations within an extended Goldhaber model suggest that the observed cross-section distributions and their evolution with energy are predominantly the result of the clustering requirement for the emerging fragments and of their Coulomb repulsion from the projectile and target residues. The quantitative comparison with transverse energy spectra and fragment charge distributions emphasizes the role of hard scattered nucleons in the fragmentation process.Comment: 5 pages, 5 eps figures, RevTeX4, submitted to Phys. Lett.

Space and Time pattern of mid-velocity IMF emission in peripheral heavy-ion collisions at Fermi energies

The emission pattern in the V_perp - V_par plane of Intermediate Mass Fragments with Z=3-7 (IMF) has been studied in the collision 116Sn + 93Nb at 29.5 AMeV as a function of the Total Kinetic Energy Loss of the reaction. This pattern shows that for peripheral reactions most of IMF's are emitted at mid-velocity. Coulomb trajectory calculations demonstrate that these IMF's are produced in the early stages of the reaction and shed light on geometrical details of these emissions, suggesting that the IMF's originate both from the neck and the surface of the interacting nuclei.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTex 3.1, submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter

Fragment Isospin as a Probe of Heavy-Ion Collisions

Isotope ratios of fragments produced at mid-rapidity in peripheral and central collisions of 114Cd ions with 92Mo and 98Mo target nuclei at E/A = 50 MeV are compared. Neutron-rich isotopes are preferentially produced in central collisions as compared to peripheral collisions. The influence of the size (A), density, N/Z, E*/A, and Eflow/A of the emitting source on the measured isotope ratios was explored by comparison with a statistical model (SMM). The mid-rapidity region associated with peripheral collisions does not appear to be neutron-enriched relative to central collisions.Comment: 12 pages including figure

Genetic variants alter T-bet binding and gene expression in mucosal inflammatory disease

The polarization of CD4+ T cells into distinct T helper cell lineages is essential for protective immunity against infection, but aberrant T cell polarization can cause autoimmunity. The transcription factor T-bet (TBX21) specifies the Th1 lineage and represses alternative T cell fates. Genome-wide association studies have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that may be causative for autoimmune diseases. The majority of these polymorphisms are located within non-coding distal regulatory elements. It is considered that these genetic variants contribute to disease by altering the binding of regulatory proteins and thus gene expression, but whether these variants alter the binding of lineage-specifying transcription factors has not been determined. Here, we show that SNPs associated with the mucosal inflammatory diseases Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis (UC) and celiac disease, but not rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis, are enriched at T-bet binding sites. Furthermore, we identify disease-associated variants that alter T-bet binding in vitro and in vivo. ChIP-seq for T-bet in individuals heterozygous for the celiac disease-associated SNPs rs1465321 and rs2058622 and the IBD-associated SNPs rs1551398 and rs1551399, reveals decreased binding to the minor disease-associated alleles. Furthermore, we show that rs1465321 is an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) for the neighboring gene IL18RAP, with decreased T-bet binding associated with decreased expression of this gene. These results suggest that genetic polymorphisms may predispose individuals to mucosal autoimmune disease through alterations in T-bet binding. Other disease-associated variants may similarly act by modulating the binding of lineage-specifying transcription factors in a tissue-selective and disease-specific manner

The EUSO simulation and analysis framework

ESAF is the simulation and analysis software framework developed for the EUSO experiment. ESAF's scope is the whole process of data simulations and data-analysis, from the primary particle interaction in atmosphere to the reconstruction of the event. Based on the ROOT package and designed using Object Oriented technology, ESAF is organized in two main programs: the full montecarlo simulation and the reconstruction framework. The former includes all the relevant physical contributions, shower development in atmosphere, light transport to the detector pupil and detector response, while the latter comprises basic data cleaning, track direction, shower profile and energy reconstruction algorithms. Here we describe the software architecture and its main features