1,222 research outputs found
Positron-neutrino correlations in 32Ar and 33Ar Decays: Probes of Scalar weak currents and nuclear isospin mixing
The positron-neutrino correlation in the 0^+ \to 0^+ \beta decay of ^{32}Ar
was measured at ISOLDE by analyzing the effect of lepton recoil on the shape of
the narrow proton group following the superallowed decay. Our result is
consistent with the Standard Model prediction; for vanishing Fierz interference
we find a=0.9989 \pm 0.0052 \pm 0.0036. Our result leads to improved
constraints on scalar weak interactions. The positron-neutrino correlation in
^{33}Ar decay was measured in the same experiment; for vanishing Fierz
interference we find a=0.944 \pm 0.002 \pm 0.003. The ^{32}Ar and ^{33}Ar
correlations, in combination with precision measurements of the half-lives,
superallowed branching ratios and beta endpoint energies, will determine the
isospin impurities of the superallowed transitions. These will provide useful
tests of isospin-violation corrections used in deducing |V_{\rm ud}| which
currently indicates non-unitarity of the KM matrix.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure
The topology of a discussion: the #occupy case
We analyse a large sample of the Twitter activity developed around the social
movement 'Occupy Wall Street' to study the complex interactions between the
human communication activity and the semantic content of a discussion. We use a
network approach based on the analysis of the bipartite graph @Users-#Hashtags
and of its projections: the 'semantic network', whose nodes are hashtags, and
the 'users interest network', whose nodes are users In the first instance, we
find out that discussion topics (#hashtags) present a high heterogeneity, with
the distinct role of the communication hubs where most the 'opinion traffic'
passes through. In the second case, the self-organization process of users
activity leads to the emergence of two classes of communicators: the
'professionals' and the 'amateurs'. Moreover the network presents a strong
community structure, based on the differentiation of the semantic topics, and a
high level of structural robustness when a certain set of topics are censored
and/or accounts are removed. Analysing the characteristics the @Users-#Hashtags
network we can distinguish three phases of the discussion about the movement.
Each phase corresponds to specific moment of the movement: from declaration of
intent, organisation and development and the final phase of political
reactions. Each phase is characterised by the presence of specific #hashtags in
the discussion. Keywords: Twitter, Network analysisComment: 13 pages, 9 figure
Systematic trends in beta-delayed particle emitting nuclei: The case of beta-p-alpha emission from 21Mg
We have observed beta+-delayed alpha and p-alpha emission from the
proton-rich nucleus 21Mg produced at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. The
assignments were cross-checked with a time distribution analysis. This is the
third identified case of beta-p-alpha emission. We discuss the systematic of
beta-delayed particle emission decays, show that our observed decays fit
naturally into the existing pattern, and argue that the patterns are to a large
extent caused by odd-even effects.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Evidence of a new state in Be observed in the Li -decay
Coincidences between charged particles emitted in the -decay of
Li were observed using highly segmented detectors. The breakup channels
involving three particles were studied in full kinematics allowing for the
reconstruction of the excitation energy of the Be states participating
in the decay. In particular, the contribution of a previously unobserved state
at 16.3 MeV in Be has been identified selecting the +
He + He+n channel. The angular correlations between the
particle and the center of mass of the He+n system favors spin and
parity assignment of 3/2 for this state as well as for the previously known
state at 18 MeV.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure
Approximate Analytic Solution for the Spatiotemporal Evolution of Wave Packets undergoing Arbitrary Dispersion
We apply expansion methods to obtain an approximate expression in terms of
elementary functions for the space and time dependence of wave packets in a
dispersive medium. The specific application to pulses in a cold plasma is
considered in detail, and the explicit analytic formula that results is
provided. When certain general initial conditions are satisfied, these
expressions describe the packet evolution quite well. We conclude by employing
the method to exhibit aspects of dispersive pulse propagation in a cold plasma,
and suggest how predicted and experimental effects may be compared to improve
the theoretical description of a medium's dispersive properties.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, RevTe
Beta-delayed deuteron emission from 11Li: decay of the halo
The deuteron-emission channel in the beta-decay of the halo-nucleus 11Li was
measured at the ISAC facility at TRIUMF by implanting post-accelerated 11Li
ions into a segmented silicon detector. The events of interest were identified
by correlating the decays of 11Li with those of the daughter nuclei. This
method allowed the energy spectrum of the emitted deuterons to be extracted,
free from contributions from other channels, and a precise value for the
branching ratio B_d = 1.30(13) x 10-4 to be deduced for E(c.m.) > 200 keV. The
results provide the first unambiguous experimental evidence that the decay
takes place essentially in the halo of 11Li, and that it proceeds mainly to the
9Li + d continuum, opening up a new means to study of the halo wave function of
11Li.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Study of bound states in 12Be through low-energy 11Be(d,p)-transfer reactions
The bound states of 12Be have been studied through a 11Be(d,p)12Be transfer
reaction experiment in inverse kinematics. A 2.8 MeV/u beam of 11Be was
produced using the REX-ISOLDE facility at CERN. The outgoing protons were
detected with the T-REX silicon detector array. The MINIBALL germanium array
was used to detect gamma rays from the excited states in 12Be. The gamma-ray
detection enabled a clear identification of the four known bound states in
12Be, and each of the states has been studied individually. Differential cross
sections over a large angular range have been extracted. Spectroscopic factors
for each of the states have been determined from DWBA calculations and have
been compared to previous experimental and theoretical results
Indication of Anisotropy in Electromagnetic Propagation over Cosmological Distances
We report a systematic rotation of the plane of polarization of
electromagnetic radiation propagating over cosmological distances. The effect
is extracted independently from Faraday rotation, and found to be correlated
with the angular positions and distances to the sources. Monte Carlo analysis
yields probabilistic P-values of order 10^(-3) for this to occur as a
fluctuation. A fit yields a birefringence scale of order 10^(25) meters.
Dependence on redshift z rules out a local effect. Barring hidden systematic
bias in the data, the correlation indicates a new cosmological effect.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, ReVTeX. For more information, see
http://www.cc.rochester.edu/college/rtc/Borge/aniso.htm
How does a flexible chain of active particles swell?
We study the swelling of a flexible linear chain composed of active particles
by analytical theory and computer simulation. Three different situations are
considered: a free chain, a chain confined to an external harmonic trap, and a
chain dragged at one end. First we consider an ideal chain with harmonic
springs and no excluded volume between the monomers. The Rouse model of
polymers is generalized to the case of self-propelled monomers and solved
analytically. The swelling, as characterized by the spatial extension of the
chain, scales with the monomer number defining a Flory exponent which is
in the three different situations. As a result, we find that
activity does not change the Flory exponent but affects the prefactor of the
scaling law. This can be quantitatively understood by mapping the system onto
an equilibrium chain with a higher effective temperature such that the chain
swells under an increase of the self-propulsion strength. We then use computer
simulations to study the effect of self-avoidance on active polymer swelling.
In the three different situations, the Flory exponent is now and again unchanged under self-propulsion. However, the chain extension
behaves non-monotonic in the self-propulsion strength.Comment: (9 pages, 5 figures
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