Backward single-pion production in the pd→3He π0\boldsymbol{pd\rightarrow {}^3\textrm{He}\,\pi^0} reaction with WASA-at-COSY

New data on the production of single neutral pions in the $pd\rightarrow{}^3\textrm{He}\,\pi^0$ reaction are presented. For fifteen proton beam momenta between $p_p=1.60\;\textrm{GeV}/c$ and $p_p=1.74\;\textrm{GeV}/c$, differential cross sections are determined over a large fraction of the backward hemisphere. Since the only previous systematic measurements of single-pion production at these energies were made in collinear kinematics, the present work constitutes a significant extension of the current knowledge on this reaction. Even this far above the production threshold, significant changes are found in the behaviour of the angular distributions over small intervals in beam momentum.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables submitted to EPJ

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Isotensor Dibaryon in the pp →ppπ+π- Reaction?

Exclusive measurements of the quasifree pp→ppπ+π- reaction have been carried out at WASA@COSY by means of pd collisions at Tp=1.2 GeV. Total and differential cross sections have been extracted covering the energy region Tp=1.08-1.36 GeV, which is the region of N∗(1440) and Δ(1232)Δ(1232) resonance excitations. Calculations describing these excitations by t-channel meson exchange are at variance with the measured differential cross sections and underpredict substantially the experimental total cross section. An isotensor ΔN dibaryon resonance with I(JP)=2(1+) produced associatedly with a pion is able to overcome these deficiencies

Search for C violation in the decay η → π0e+e− with WASA-at-COSY

We report on the search for the rare decay η→π0e+e− which is of interest to study C violation in the electromagnetic interaction which would indicate contributions from physics beyond the Standard Model, since the allowed decay via a two-photon intermediate state is strongly suppressed. The experiment has been performed using the WASA-at-COSY installation, located at the COSY accelerator of the Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany. In total 3×107 events of the reaction pd→3Heη have been recorded at an excess energy of Q=59.8MeV. Based on this data set the C parity violating decay η→π0γ⁎→π0e+e− via a single-photon intermediate state has been searched for, resulting in new upper limits of Γ(η→π0e+e−)/Γ(η→π+π−π0)<3.28×10−5 and Γ(η→π0e+e−)/Γ(η→all)<7.5×10−6 (CL=90%), respectively

Total and differential cross sections of η-production in proton–deuteron fusion for excess energies between Qη = 13 MeV and Qη = 81 MeV

New data on both total and differential cross sections of the production of η mesons in proton–deuteron fusion to He3η in the excess energy region 13.6MeV≤Qη≤80.9MeV are presented. These data have been obtained with the WASA-at-COSY detector setup located at the Forschungszentrum Jülich, using a proton beam at 15 different beam momenta between pp=1.60GeV/c and pp=1.74GeV/c. While significant structure of the total cross section is observed in the energy region 20MeV≲Qη≲60MeV, a previously reported sharp variation around Qη≈50MeV cannot be confirmed. Angular distributions show the typical forward-peaking that was noted earlier. For the first time, it is possible to study the development of these angular distributions with rising excess energy over a wide interval

Measurement of the _np → dπ0π0 reaction with polarized beam in the region of the d*(2380) resonance

We report on a high-statistics measurement of the most basic double-pionic fusion reaction _np 2192 dπ0π0 over the energy region of the d*(2380) resonance by use of a polarized deuteron beam and observing the double fusion reaction in the quasifree scattering mode. The measurements were performed with the WASA detector setup at COSY. The data reveal substantial analyzing powers and confirm conclusions about the d* resonance obtained from unpolarized measurements. We also confirm the previous unpolarized data obtained under complementary kinematic conditions