SICANE: a Detector Array for the Measurement of Nuclear Recoil Quenching Factors using Monoenergetic Neutron Beam

SICANE is a neutron scattering multidetector facility for the determination of the quenching factor (ratio of the response to nuclear recoils and to electrons) of cryogenic detectors used in direct WIMP searches. Well collimated monoenergetic neutron beams are obtained with inverse (p,n) reactions. The facility is described, and results obtained for the quenching factors of scintillation in NaI(Tl) and of heat and ionization in Ge are presented.Comment: 30 pages, Latex, 11 figures. Submitted to NIM

Resonant two-magnon Raman scattering in parent compounds of high-Tc_c superconductors.

We propose a theory of two-magnon Raman scattering from the insulating parent compounds of high-T$_c$ superconductors, which contains information not only on magnetism, but also on the electronic properties in these materials. We use spin density wave formalism for the Hubbard model, and study diagrammatically the profile of the two-magnon scattering and its intensity dependence on the incoming photon frequency $\omega_i$ both for $\omega_i \ll U$ and in the resonant regime, in which the energy of the incident photon is close to the gap between conduction and valence bands. In the nonresonant case, we identify the diagrams which contribute to the conventional Loudon-Fleury Hamiltonian. In the resonant regime, where most of the experiments have been done, we find that the dominant contribution to Raman intensity comes from a different diagram, one which allows for a simultaneous vanishing of all three of its denominators (i.e., a triple resonance). We study this diagram in detail and show that the triple resonance, combined with the spin-density-wave dispersion relation for the carriers, explains the unusual features found in the two-magnon profile and in the two-magnon peak intensity dependence on the incoming photon frequency. In particular, our theory predicts a maximum of the two-magnon peak intensity right at the upper edge of the features in the optical data, which has been one of the key experimental puzzles.Comment: Revtex, 12 postscript figures (uuencoded

Quasi-free π0\pi^0 Photoproduction from the Bound Nucleon

Differential cross-sections for quasi-free $\pi^0$ photoproduction from the proton and neutron bound in the deuteron have been measured for $E_\gamma= 200 - 400$ MeV at $\theta^{\rm lab}_\gamma = 136.2^\circ$ usind the Glasgow photon tagger at MAMI, the Mainz 48 cm $\varnothing$ $\times$ 64 cm NaI(Tl) photon detector and the G\"ottingen SENECA recoil detector. For the proton measurements made with both liquid deuterium and liquid hydrogen targets allow direct comparison of "free" $\pi^0$ photoproduction cross-sections as extracted from the bound proton data with experimental free cross sections which are found to be in reasonable agreement below 320 MeV. At higher energies the "free" cross sections extracted from quasifree data are significantly smaller than the experimental free cross sections and theoretical predictions based on multipole analysis. For the first time, "free" neutron cross sections have been extracted in the $\Delta$-region. They are also in agreement with the predictions from multipole analysis up to 320 MeV and significantly smaller at higher photon energies

Memory function approach to the Hall constant in strongly correlated electron systems

The anomalous properties of the Hall constant in the normal state of high-$T_c$ superconductors are investigated within the single-band Hubbard model. We argue that the Mori theory is the appropriate formalism to address the Hall constant, since it aims directly at resistivities rather than conductivities. More specifically, the frequency dependent Hall constant decomposes into its infinite frequency limit and a memory function contribution. As a first step, both terms are calculated perturbatively in $U$ and on an infinite dimensional lattice, where $U$ is the correlation strength. If we allow $U$ to be of the order of twice the bare band width, the memory function contribution causes the Hall constant to change sign as a function of doping and to decrease as a function of temperature.Comment: 35 pages, RevTex, 3 ps figures include