835 research outputs found
Investigation of decay in Nd and Nd to the excited states of daughter nuclei
Double beta decay of Nd and Nd to the excited states of
daughter nuclei have been studied using a 400 cm low-background HPGe
detector and an external source consisting of 3046 g of natural NdO
powder. The half-life for the two-neutrino double beta decay of Nd to
the excited 0 state in Sm is measured to be
y.
For other transitions to the 2, 2, 2, and
0 levels in Sm, limits are obtained at the level of y. In the case of Nd only limits for the transitions to the 2, 0, and 2 excited states in
Sm were obtained and are at the level of \sim (4-8)\cdot 10^{20}$ y.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure
Search for EC and ECEC processes in Sn
Limits on EC (here EC denotes electron capture) and ECEC processes
in Sn have been obtained using a 380 cm HPGe detector and an
external source consisting of 53.355 g enriched tin (94.32% of Sn). A
limit with 90% C.L. on the Sn half-life of y for
the ECEC(0) transition to the excited state in Cd (1871.0
keV) has been established. This transition is discussed in the context of a
possible enhancement of the decay rate by several orders of magnitude given
that the ECEC process is nearly degenerate with an excited state in the
daughter nuclide. Prospects for investigating such a process in future
experiments are discussed. The limits on other EC and ECEC processes
in Sn were obtained on the level of y at the
90% C.L.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure
New limits on the EC and ECEC processes in Te
New limits on the double beta processes for Te have been obtained
using a 400 cm HPGe detector and a source consisting of natural Te0
powder. At a confidence level of 90% the limits are y for
the EC transition to the ground state, y for the ECEC transition to the first 2 excited
state of Sn (1171.26 keV) and y for
different ECEC() captures to the ground state of Sn.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; v2: minor change
Phase stability, ordering tendencies, and magnetism in single-phase fcc Au-Fe nanoalloys
Bulk Au-Fe alloys separate into Au-based fcc and Fe-based bcc phases, but
L1 and L1 orderings were reported in single-phase Au-Fe nanoparticles.
Motivated by these observations, we study the structural and ordering
energetics in this alloy by combining density functional theory (DFT)
calculations with effective Hamiltonian techniques: a cluster expansion with
structural filters, and the configuration-dependent lattice deformation model.
The phase separation tendency in Au-Fe persists even if the fcc-bcc
decomposition is suppressed. The relative stability of disordered bcc and fcc
phases observed in nanoparticles is reproduced, but the fully ordered L1
AuFe, L1 AuFe, and L1 AuFe structures are unstable in DFT.
However, a tendency to form concentration waves at the corresponding [001]
ordering vector is revealed in nearly-random alloys in a certain range of
concentrations. This incipient ordering requires enrichment by Fe relative to
the equiatomic composition, which may occur in the core of a nanoparticle due
to the segregation of Au to the surface. Effects of magnetism on the chemical
ordering are also discussed.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figure
Are variations in PMSE intensity affected by energetic particle precipitation?
International audienceThe correlation between variations in Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes (PMSE) and variations in energetic particle precipitation is examined. PMSE were observed by the Esrange VHF MST Radar (ESRAD) at 67°53' N, 21°06' E. The 30 MHz riometer in Abisko (68°24' N, 18°54' E) registered radio wave absorption caused by ionization changes in response to energetic particle precipitation. The relationship between the linear PMSE intensity and the square of absorption has been estimated using the Pearson linear correlation and the Spearman rank correlation. The mean diurnal variation of the square of absorption and the linear PMSE intensity are highly correlated. However, their day-to-day variations show significant correlation only during the late evening hours. The correlation in late evening does not exceed 0.6. This indicates that varying ionization cannot be considered as a primary source of varying PMSE, and the high correlation found when mean diurnal variations are compared is likely a by-product of daily variations caused by other factors
The Single State Dominance Hypothesis and the Two-Neutrino Double Beta Decay of Mo100
The hypothesis of the single state dominance (SSD) in the calculation of the
two-neutrino double beta decay of Mo100 is tested by exact consideration of the
energy denominators of the perturbation theory. Both transitions to the ground
state as well as to the 0+ and 2+ excited states of the final nucleus Ru100 are
considered. We demonstrate, that by experimental investigation of the single
electron energy distribution and the angular correlation of the outgoing
electrons, the SSD hypothesis can be confirmed or ruled out by a precise
two-neutrino double beta decay measurement (e.g. by NEMO III collaboration).Comment: 13 pages, RevTex, 1 figur
Signatures of superconducting gap inhomogeneities in optical properties
Scanning tunneling spectroscopy applied to the high- cuprates has
revealed significant spatial inhomogeneity on the nanoscale. Regions on the
order of a coherence length in size show variations of the magnitude of the
superconducting gap of order or more. An important unresolved question
is whether or not these variations are also present in the bulk, and how they
influence superconducting properties. As many theories and data analyses for
high- superconductivity assume spatial homogeneity of the gap magnitude,
this is a pressing question. We consider the far-infrared optical conductivity
and evaluate, within an effective medium approximation, what signatures of
spatial variations in gap magnitude are present in various optical quantities.
In addition to the case of d-wave superconductivity, relevant to the high-
cuprates, we have also considered s-wave gap symmetry in order to provide
expected signatures of inhomogeneities for superconductors in general. While
signatures of gap inhomogeneities can be strongly manifested in s-wave
superconductors, we find that the far-infrared optical conductivity in d-wave
is robust against such inhomogeneity.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Measurement of double beta decay of 100Mo to excited states in the NEMO 3 experiment
The double beta decay of 100Mo to the 0^+_1 and 2^+_1 excited states of 100Ru
is studied using the NEMO 3 data. After the analysis of 8024 h of data the
half-life for the two-neutrino double beta decay of 100Mo to the excited 0^+_1
state is measured to be T^(2nu)_1/2 = [5.7^{+1.3}_{-0.9}(stat)+/-0.8(syst)]x
10^20 y. The signal-to-background ratio is equal to 3. Information about energy
and angular distributions of emitted electrons is also obtained. No evidence
for neutrinoless double beta decay to the excited 0^+_1 state has been found.
The corresponding half-life limit is T^(0nu)_1/2(0^+ --> 0^+_1) > 8.9 x 10^22 y
(at 90% C.L.).
The search for the double beta decay to the 2^+_1 excited state has allowed
the determination of limits on the half-life for the two neutrino mode
T^(2nu)_1/2(0^+ --> 2^+_1) > 1.1 x 10^21 y (at 90% C.L.) and for the
neutrinoless mode T^(0nu)_1/2(0^+ --> 2^+_1) > 1.6 x 10^23 y (at 90% C.L.).Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables, submitted to Nucl. Phy
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