1,689 research outputs found
Measurement of the double-ss decay half-life and search for the neutrinoless double-ss decay of Ca-48 with the NEMO-3 detector
Neutrinoless double-β decay is a powerful probe of lepton number violating processes that may arise from Majorana terms in neutrino masses, or from supersymmetric, left-right symmetric, and other extensions of the Standard Model. Of the candidate isotopes for the observation of this process, 48Ca has the highest Qββ -value, resulting in decays with energies significantly above most naturally occurring backgrounds. The nucleus also lends itself to precise matrix element calculations within the nuclear shell model. We present the world's best measurement of the two-neutrino double-β decay of 48Ca, obtained by the NEMO-3 collaboration using 5.25 yr of data recorded with a 6.99 g sample of isotope, yielding ≈ 150 events with a signal to background ratio larger than 3. Neutrinoless modes of double-β decay are also investigated, with no evidence of new physics. Furthermore, these results indicate that two-neutrino double-β decay would be the main source of background for similar future searches using 48Ca with significantly larger exposures
Low mass dimuons within a hybrid approach
We analyse dilepton emission from hot and dense hadronic matter using a
hybrid approach based on the Ultrarelativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics
(UrQMD) transport model with an intermediate hydrodynamic stage for the
description of heavy-ion collisions at relativistic energies. Focusing on the
enhancement with respect to the contribution from long-lived hadron decays
after freeze-out observed at the SPS in the low mass region of the dilepton
spectra (often referred to as "the excess"), the relative importance of the
emission from the equilibrium and the non-equilibrium stages is discussed.Comment: Proceedings of Hot Quarks 2010, 21-26 June 2010 Las Londe Les Maures;
v2: Corrected typos and added a commen
Evaluation of a multidisciplinary Tier 3 weight management service for adults with morbid obesity, or obesity and comorbidities, based in primary care
A multidisciplinary Tier 3 weight management service in primary care recruited patients with a body mass index ≥40 kg·m−2, or 30 kg·m−2 with obesity-related co-morbidity to a 1-year programme. A cohort of 230 participants was recruited and evaluated using the National Obesity Observatory Standard Evaluation Framework. The primary outcome was weight loss of at least 5% of baseline weight at 12 months. Diet was assessed using the two-item food frequency questionnaire, activity using the General Practice Physical Activity questionnaire and quality of life using the EuroQol-5D-5L questionnaire. A focus group explored the participants' experiences. Baseline mean weight was 124.4 kg and mean body mass index was 44.1 kg·m−2. A total of 102 participants achieved 5% weight loss at 12 months. The mean weight loss was 10.2 kg among the 117 participants who completed the 12-month programme. Baseline observation carried forward analysis gave a mean weight loss of 5.9 kg at 12 months. Fruit and vegetable intake, activity level and quality of life all improved. The dropout rate was 14.3% at 6 months and 45.1% at 1 year. Focus group participants described high levels of satisfaction. It was possible to deliver a Tier 3 weight management service for obese patients with complex co-morbidity in a primary care setting with a full multidisciplinary team, which obtained good health outcomes compared with existing services
Stabilizing the intensity of a wave amplified by a beam of particles
The intensity of an electromagnetic wave interacting self-consistently with a
beam of charged particles as in a free electron laser, displays large
oscillations due to an aggregate of particles, called the macro-particle. In
this article, we propose a strategy to stabilize the intensity by re-shaping
the macro-particle. This strategy involves the study of the linear stability
(using the residue method) of selected periodic orbits of a mean-field model.
As parameters of an additional perturbation are varied, bifurcations occur in
the system which have drastic effect on the modification of the self-consistent
dynamics, and in particular, of the macro-particle. We show how to obtain an
appropriate tuning of the parameters which is able to strongly decrease the
oscillations of the intensity without reducing its mean-value
Surface modes in plasmonic Bragg fibers with negative average permittivity
We investigate surface modes in plasmonic Bragg fibers composed of
nanostructured coaxial cylindrical metal-dielectric multilayers. We demonstrate
that the existence of surface modes is determined by the sign of the spatially
averaged permittivity of the plasmonic Bragg fiber, \bar{% \varepsilon}.
Specifically, localized surface modes occur at the interface between the
cylindrical core with and the outermost uniform
dielectric medium, which is similar to the topologically protected plasmonic
surface modes at the interface between two different one-dimensional planar
metal-dielectric lattices with opposite signs of the averaged permittivity.
Moreover, when increasing the number of dielectric-metal rings, the propagation
constant of surface modes with different azimuthal mode numbers is approaching
that of surface plasmon polaritons formed at the corresponding planar
metal/dielectric interface. Robustness of such surface modes of plasmonic Bragg
fibers is demonstrated too.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, Optics Express, to be publishe
Shake-induced order in nanosphere systems
Self-assembled patterns obtained from a drying nanosphere suspension are
investigated by computer simulations and simple experiments. Motivated by the
earlier experimental results of Sasaki and Hane and Schope, we confirm that
more ordered triangular lattice structures can be obtained whenever a moderate
intensity random shaking is applied on the drying system. Computer simulations
are realized on an improved version of a recently elaborated
Burridge-Knopoff-type model. Experiments are made following the setup of Sasaki
and Hane, using ultrasonic radiation as source for controlled shaking.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figure
Chern-Simons theory and three-dimensional surfaces
There are two natural Chern-Simons theories associated with the embedding of
a three-dimensional surface in Euclidean space; one is constructed using the
induced metric connection -- it involves only the intrinsic geometry, the other
is extrinsic and uses the connection associated with the gauging of normal
rotations. As such, the two theories appear to describe very different aspects
of the surface geometry. Remarkably, at a classical level, they are equivalent.
In particular, it will be shown that their stress tensors differ only by a null
contribution. Their Euler-Lagrange equations provide identical constraints on
the normal curvature. A new identity for the Cotton tensor is associated with
the triviality of the Chern-Simons theory for embedded hypersurfaces implied by
this equivalence. The corresponding null surface stress capturing this
information will be constructed explicitly.Comment: 10 pages, unnecessary details removed, typos fixed, references adde
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