733 research outputs found
Oscillations above the barrier in the fusion of 28Si + 28Si
Fusion cross sections of 28Si + 28Si have been measured in a range above the
barrier with a very small energy step (DeltaElab = 0.5 MeV). Regular
oscillations have been observed, best evidenced in the first derivative of the
energy-weighted excitation function. For the first time, quite different
behaviors (the appearance of oscillations and the trend of sub-barrier cross
sections) have been reproduced within the same theoretical frame, i.e., the
coupled-channel model using the shallow M3Y+repulsion potential. The
calculations suggest that channel couplings play an important role in the
appearance of the oscillations, and that the simple relation between a peak in
the derivative of the energy-weighted cross section and the height of a
centrifugal barrier is lost, and so is the interpretation of the second
derivative of the excitation function as a barrier distribution for this
system, at energies above the Coulomb barrier.Comment: submitted to Physics Letters
Fusion Hindrance and Quadrupole Collectivity in Collisions of Aâ50 Nuclei: The Case of 48Ti + 58Fe
International audience; The fusion excitation function of Ti-48 + Fe-58 has been measured in a wide energy range around the Coulomb barrier, covering 6 orders of magnitude of the cross sections. We present here the preliminary results of this experiment, and a full comparison with the near-by system Ni-58 + Fe-54 where evidence of fusion hindrance shows up at relatively high cross sections. The sub-barrier cross sections of Ti-48 + Fe-58 are much larger than those of Ni-58 + Fe-54. Significant differences are also observed in the logarithmic derivatives, astrophysical S-factors and fusion barrier distributions. The influence of low-energy nuclear structure on all these trends is pointed out and commented. Coupled-channels calculations using a Woods-Saxon potential are able to reproduce the experimental results for Ti-48 + Fe-58. The logarithmic derivative of the excitation function is very nicely fit, and no evidence of hindrance is observed down to around 1 mu b. The fusion barrier distribution is rather wide, flat and structureless. It is only in qualitative agreement with the calculated distribution
Fusion of 28Si + 28Si: oscillations above the barrier and the behavior down to 1ÎŒb
Fusion excitation functions of light heavy-ion systems show oscillatory structures above the Coulomb barrier, caused by resonances or due to the penetration of successive centrifugal barriers well separated in energy. In heavier systems, the amplitude of oscillations decreases and the peaks get nearer to each other. This makes the measurements very challenging. We have performed a first experiment for 28Si + 28Si, by measuring fusion cross sections (Ï) in an energy range of â15 MeV above the barrier, with a small ÎElab = 0.5 MeV step. Three regular oscillations are clearly observed, which are best revealed by plotting the energy-weighted derivative of the excitation function. The excitation function has been recently measured down to cross sections â€1ÎŒb with larger energy steps. Coupled-channel (CC) calculations based on a shallow potential in the entrance channel are able to reproduce the oscillations. A further analysis will provide a stringent test for the calculations, in particular for the choice of the ion-ion potential, because the subbarrier excitation function has to be reproduced as well. Coupled-channel (CC) calculations based on a shallow potential in the entrance channel are able to reproduce the oscillations. A further analysis will provide a stringent test for the calculations, in particular for the choice of the ion-ion potential, because the subbarrier excitation function has to be reproduced as well
Fusion reactions of 58,64Ni+124Sn
International audience; In order to better understand the influence of transfer in sub-barrier nuclear reactions, cross sections for the system ^58,64Ni+^124Sn have been measured down to 0.5-1 mub and compared to detailed coupledchannel calculations. In agreement with a phenomenological Q-value systematics, calculations show the importance of including the coupling to the transfer channel for these heavy systems. No clear evidence of fusion hindrance is observed, probably due to the fact that the cross sections measured in this experiment are not low enough for the appearance of that phenomenon
Pulse-Shape discrimination with the Counting Test Facility
Pulse shape discrimination (PSD) is one of the most distinctive features of
liquid scintillators. Since the introduction of the scintillation techniques in
the field of particle detection, many studies have been carried out to
characterize intrinsic properties of the most common liquid scintillator
mixtures in this respect. Several application methods and algorithms able to
achieve optimum discrimination performances have been developed. However, the
vast majority of these studies have been performed on samples of small
dimensions. The Counting Test Facility, prototype of the solar neutrino
experiment Borexino, as a 4 ton spherical scintillation detector immersed in
1000 tons of shielding water, represents a unique opportunity to extend the
small-sample PSD studies to a large-volume setup. Specifically, in this work we
consider two different liquid scintillation mixtures employed in CTF,
illustrating for both the PSD characterization results obtained either with the
processing of the scintillation waveform through the optimum Gatti's method, or
via a more conventional approach based on the charge content of the
scintillation tail. The outcomes of this study, while interesting per se, are
also of paramount importance in view of the expected Borexino detector
performances, where PSD will be an essential tool in the framework of the
background rejection strategy needed to achieve the required sensitivity to the
solar neutrino signals.Comment: 39 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. Meth.
Measurement of the specific activity of Ar-39 in natural argon
We report on the measurement of the specific activity of Ar-39 in natural
argon. The measurement was performed with a 2.3-liter two-phase (liquid and
gas) argon drift chamber. The detector was developed by the WARP Collaboration
as a prototype detector for WIMP Dark Matter searches with argon as a target.
The detector was operated for more than two years at Laboratori Nazionali del
Gran Sasso, Italy, at a depth of 3,400 m w.e. The specific activity measured
for Ar-39 is 1.01 +/- 0.02(stat) +/- 0.08(syst) Bq per kg of natural Ar.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, to be submitted to Nucl. Instrum. Methods
First Measurement of Z/gamma* Production in Compton Scattering of Quasi-real Photons
We report the first observation of Z/gamma* production in Compton scattering
of quasi-real photons. This is a subprocess of the reaction e+e- to
e+e-Z/gamma*, where one of the final state electrons is undetected.
Approximately 55 pb-1 of data collected in the year 1997 at an e+e-
centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV with the OPAL detector at LEP have been
analysed. The Z/gamma* from Compton scattering has been detected in the
hadronic decay channel. Within well defined kinematic bounds, we measure the
product of cross-section and Z/gamma* branching ratio to hadrons to be
(0.9+-0.3+-0.1) pb for events with a hadronic mass larger than 60 GeV,
dominated by (e)eZ production. In the hadronic mass region between 5 GeV and 60
GeV, dominated by (e)egamma* production, this product is found to be
(4.1+-1.6+-0.6) pb. Our results agree with the predictions of two Monte Carlo
event generators, grc4f and PYTHIA.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, 5 eps figures included, submitted to Physics Letters
Search for Higgs Bosons in e+e- Collisions at 183 GeV
The data collected by the OPAL experiment at sqrts=183 GeV were used to
search for Higgs bosons which are predicted by the Standard Model and various
extensions, such as general models with two Higgs field doublets and the
Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The data correspond to an
integrated luminosity of approximately 54pb-1. None of the searches for neutral
and charged Higgs bosons have revealed an excess of events beyond the expected
background. This negative outcome, in combination with similar results from
searches at lower energies, leads to new limits for the Higgs boson masses and
other model parameters. In particular, the 95% confidence level lower limit for
the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson is 88.3 GeV. Charged Higgs bosons
can be excluded for masses up to 59.5 GeV. In the MSSM, mh > 70.5 GeV and mA >
72.0 GeV are obtained for tan{beta}>1, no and maximal scalar top mixing and
soft SUSY-breaking masses of 1 TeV. The range 0.8 < tanb < 1.9 is excluded for
minimal scalar top mixing and m{top} < 175 GeV. More general scans of the MSSM
parameter space are also considered.Comment: 49 pages. LaTeX, including 33 eps figures, submitted to European
Physical Journal
A Measurement of the Product Branching Ratio f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) in Z0 Decays
The product branching ratio, f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X), where
Lambda_b denotes any weakly-decaying b-baryon, has been measured using the OPAL
detector at LEP. Lambda_b are selected by the presence of energetic Lambda
particles in bottom events tagged by the presence of displaced secondary
vertices. A fit to the momenta of the Lambda particles separates signal from B
meson and fragmentation backgrounds. The measured product branching ratio is
f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) = (2.67+-0.38(stat)+0.67-0.60(sys))%
Combined with a previous OPAL measurement, one obtains
f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) = (3.50+-0.32(stat)+-0.35(sys))%.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 3 eps figs included, submitted to the European
Physical Journal
Lifetime measurements of N â 20 phosphorus isotopes using the AGATA Îł-ray tracking spectrometer
International audienceLifetimes of excited states of the phosphorus isotopes 1533,34,35,36P have been measured by using the differential recoil-distance method. The isotopes of phosphorus were populated in binary grazing reactions initiated by a beam of S36 ions of energy 225 MeV incident on a thin Pb208 target mounted in the Cologne plunger apparatus. The combination of the PRISMA magnetic spectrometer and an early implementation of the AGATA Îł-ray tracking array was used to detect Îł rays in coincidence with projectile-like nuclear species. Lifetime measurements of populated states were made within the range from about 1 to 100 ps. The number of states for which lifetime measurements were possible was limited by statistics. For P33, lifetime limits were determined for the first 3/2+ and 5/2+ states at 1431 and 1848 keV, respectively; the results are compared with previous published lifetime values. The lifetime of the first 2+ state of P34 at 429 keV was determined and compared with earlier measurements. For P35, the states for which lifetimes, or lifetime limits, were determined were those at 2386, 3860, 4101, and 4493 keV, with JÏ values of 3/2+, 5/2+, 7/21â, and 7/22â, respectively. There have been no previous published lifetimes for states in this nucleus. A lifetime was measured for the stretched Ï(1f7/2)âÎœ(1f7/2)JÏ=(7+) state of P36 at 5212 keV and a lifetime limit was established for the stretched Ï(1d3/2)âÎœ(1f7/2)JÏ=(5â) state at 2030 keV. There are no previously published lifetimes for states of P36. Measured lifetime values were compared with the results of state-of-the-art shell-model calculations based on the PSDPF effective interaction. In addition, measured branching ratios, published mixing ratios, and electromagnetic transition rates, where available, have been compared with shell-model values. In general, there is good agreement between experiment and the shell model; however there is evidence that the shell-model values of the M1 transition rates for the 3/21+â1/2+ (ground state) and 5/21+â3/21+ transitions in P33 underestimate the experimental values by a factor between 5 and 10. In P35 there are some disagreements between experimental and shell-model values of branching ratios for the first and second excited 7/2â states. In particular, there is a serious disagreement for the decay characteristics of the second 7/2â state at 4493 keV, for which the shell-model counterpart lies at 4754 keV. In this case, the shell-model competing electromagnetic decay branches are dominated by E1 and M1 transitions
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