326 research outputs found
Threshold neutral pion photoproduction off the tri-nucleon to O(q^4)
We calculate electromagnetic neutral pion production off tri-nucleon bound
states (3H, 3He) at threshold in chiral nuclear effective field theory to
fourth order in the standard heavy baryon counting. We show that the fourth
order two-nucleon corrections to the S-wave multipoles at threshold are very
small. This implies that a precise measurement of the S-wave cross section for
neutral pion production off 3He allows for a stringent test of the chiral
perturbation theory prediction for the S-wave electric multipole E_{0+}^{pi0
n}.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, title changed, final version to appear in EPJA.
arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1103.340
Neutral Pion Photoproduction on Nuclei in Baryon Chiral Perturbation Theory
Threshold neutral pion photoproduction on light nuclei is studied in the
framework of baryon chiral perturbation theory. We obtain a general formula for
the electric dipole amplitude in the special case of neutral pion
photoproduction on a nucleus. To third order in small momenta, the amplitude is
a sum of 2- and 3-body interactions with no undetermined parameters. With
reasonable input from the single nucleon sector, our result for neutral pion
photoproduction on the deuteron is in agreement with experiment.Comment: 24 pages, 4 uuencoded postscript figures, uses LaTex and epsf.tex.
Added footnote and references. Minor changes in text and forma
On the Angular Resolution of the AGILE gamma-ray imaging detector
We present a study of the Angular Resolution of the AGILE gamma-ray imaging
detector (GRID) that is operational in space since April 2007. The AGILE
instrument is made of an array of 12 planes each equipped with a Tungsten
converter and Silicon micros trip detectors and is sensitive in the energy
range 50 MeV - 10 GeV. Among the space instruments devoted to gamma-ray
astrophysics, AGILE uniquely exploits an analog readout system with dedicated
electronics coupled with Silicon detectors. We show the results of Monte Carlo
simulations carried out to reproduce the gamma-ray detection by the GRID, and
we compare them to in-flight data. We use the Crab (pulsar + Nebula) system for
discussion of real data performance, since its E^{-2} energy spectrum is
representative of the majority of gamma-ray sources. For Crab-like spectrum
sources, the GRID angular resolution (FWHM of ~4deg at 100 MeV; ~0.8deg at 1
GeV; ~0.9deg integrating the full energy band from 100 MeV to tens of GeV) is
stable across a large field of view, being characterized by a flat response up
to 30deg off-axis. A comparison of the angular resolution obtained by the two
operational gamma-ray instruments, AGILE-GRID and Fermi-LAT, is interesting in
view of future gamma-ray missions, that are currently under study. The two
instruments exploit different detector configurations affecting the angular
resolution: the former being optimized in the readout and track reconstruction
especially in the low-energy band, the latter in terms of converter thickness
and power consumption. We show that, despite these differences, the angular
resolution of both instruments is very similar between 100 MeV and a few GeV.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Is the tetraneutron a bound dineutron-dineutron molecule?
In light of a new experiment which claims a positive identification, we
discuss the possible existence of the tetraneutron. We explore a novel model
based on a dineutron-dineutron molecule. We show that this model is not able to
explain the tetraneutron as a bound state, in agreement with other theoretical
models already discussed in the literature.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, J. Phys. G, in pres
The Agile Alert System For Gamma-Ray Transients
In recent years, a new generation of space missions offered great
opportunities of discovery in high-energy astrophysics. In this article we
focus on the scientific operations of the Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector (GRID)
onboard the AGILE space mission. The AGILE-GRID, sensitive in the energy range
of 30 MeV-30 GeV, has detected many gamma-ray transients of galactic and
extragalactic origins. This work presents the AGILE innovative approach to fast
gamma-ray transient detection, which is a challenging task and a crucial part
of the AGILE scientific program. The goals are to describe: (1) the AGILE
Gamma-Ray Alert System, (2) a new algorithm for blind search identification of
transients within a short processing time, (3) the AGILE procedure for
gamma-ray transient alert management, and (4) the likelihood of ratio tests
that are necessary to evaluate the post-trial statistical significance of the
results. Special algorithms and an optimized sequence of tasks are necessary to
reach our goal. Data are automatically analyzed at every orbital downlink by an
alert pipeline operating on different timescales. As proper flux thresholds are
exceeded, alerts are automatically generated and sent as SMS messages to
cellular telephones, e-mails, and push notifications of an application for
smartphones and tablets. These alerts are crosschecked with the results of two
pipelines, and a manual analysis is performed. Being a small scientific-class
mission, AGILE is characterized by optimization of both scientific analysis and
ground-segment resources. The system is capable of generating alerts within two
to three hours of a data downlink, an unprecedented reaction time in gamma-ray
astrophysics.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figures, 5 table
The LOFT Ground Segment
LOFT, the Large Observatory For X-ray Timing, was one of the ESA M3 mission
candidates that completed their assessment phase at the end of 2013. LOFT is
equipped with two instruments, the Large Area Detector (LAD) and the Wide Field
Monitor (WFM). The LAD performs pointed observations of several targets per
orbit (~90 minutes), providing roughly ~80 GB of proprietary data per day (the
proprietary period will be 12 months). The WFM continuously monitors about 1/3
of the sky at a time and provides data for about ~100 sources a day, resulting
in a total of ~20 GB of additional telemetry. The LOFT Burst alert System
additionally identifies on-board bright impulsive events (e.g., Gamma-ray
Bursts, GRBs) and broadcasts the corresponding position and trigger time to the
ground using a dedicated system of ~15 VHF receivers. All WFM data are planned
to be made public immediately. In this contribution we summarize the planned
organization of the LOFT ground segment (GS), as established in the mission
Yellow Book 1 . We describe the expected GS contributions from ESA and the LOFT
consortium. A review is provided of the planned LOFT data products and the
details of the data flow, archiving and distribution. Despite LOFT was not
selected for launch within the M3 call, its long assessment phase (> 2 years)
led to a very solid mission design and an efficient planning of its ground
operations.Comment: Proc. SPIE 9144, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2014:
Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 91446
Possible effects on avionics induced by terrestrial gamma-ray flashes
Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are impulsive (intrinsically sub-millisecond) events associated with lightning in powerful thunderstorms. TGFs turn out to be very powerful natural accelerators known to accelerate particles and generate radiation up to hundreds of MeV energies. The number ratio of TGFs over normal lightning has been measured in tropical regions to be near 10−4. We address in this Article the issue of the possible susceptibility of typical aircraft electronics exposed to TGF particle, gamma ray and neutron irradiation. We consider possible scenarios regarding the intensity, the duration, and geometry of TGFs influencing nearby aircraft, and study their effects on electronic equipment. We calculate, for different assumptions, the total dose and the dose-rate, and estimate single-event-effects. We find that in addition to the electromagnetic component (electrons/positrons, gamma rays) also secondary neutrons produced by gamma-ray photo production in the aircraft structure substantially contribute to single-event effects in critical semiconductors components. Depending on the physical characteristics and geometry, TGFs may deliver a large flux of neutrons within a few milliseconds in an aircraft. This flux is calculated to be orders of magnitude larger than the natural cosmic-ray background, and may constitute a serious hazard to aircraft electronic equipment. We present a series of numerical simulations supporting our conclusions. Our results suggest the necessity of dedicated measurement campaigns addressing the radiative and particle environment of aircraft near or within thunderstorms
Direct Evidence for Hadronic Cosmic-Ray Acceleration in the Supernova Renmant IC 443
The Supernova Remnant (SNR) IC 443 is an intermediate-age remnant well known
for its radio, optical, X-ray and gamma-ray energy emissions. In this Letter we
study the gamma-ray emission above 100 MeV from IC 443 as obtained by the AGILE
satellite. A distinct pattern of diffuse emission in the energy range 100 MeV-3
GeV is detected across the SNR with its prominent maximum (source "A")
localized in the Northeastern shell with a flux F = (47 \pm 10) 10^{-8} photons
cm^{-2} s^{-1} above 100 MeV. This location is the site of the strongest shock
interaction between the SNR blast wave and the dense circumstellar medium.
Source "A" is not coincident with the TeV source located 0.4 degree away and
associated with a dense molecular cloud complex in the SNR central region. From
our observations, and from the lack of detectable diffuse TeV emission from its
Northeastern rim, we demonstrate that electrons cannot be the main emitters of
gamma-rays in the range 0.1-10 GeV at the site of the strongest SNR shock. The
intensity, spectral characteristics, and location of the most prominent
gamma-ray emission together with the absence of co-spatial detectable TeV
emission are consistent only with a hadronic model of cosmic-ray acceleration
in the SNR. A high-density molecular cloud (cloud "E") provides a remarkable
"target" for nucleonic interactions of accelerated hadrons: our results show
enhanced gamma-ray production near the molecular cloud/shocked shell
interaction site. IC 443 provides the first unambiguous evidence of cosmic-ray
acceleration by SNRs.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; accepted by ApJLetters on Jan 21, 201
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