243 research outputs found
Efficient extraction of a collimated ultra-cold neutron beam using diffusive channels
We present a first experimental demonstration of a new method to extract a
well-collimated beam of ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) from a storage vessel.
Neutrons with too large divergence are not removed from the beam by an
absorbing collimation, but a diffuse or semidiffuse channel with high Fermi
potential reflects them back into the vessel. This avoids unnecessary losses
and keeps the storage time high, which may be beneficial when the vessel is
part of a UCN source with long buildup time of a high UCN density
Experimental demonstration of the stability of Berry's phase for a spin-1/2 particle
The geometric phase has been proposed as a candidate for noise resilient
coherent manipulation of fragile quantum systems. Since it is determined only
by the path of the quantum state, the presence of noise fluctuations affects
the geometric phase in a different way than the dynamical phase. We have
experimentally tested the robustness of Berry's geometric phase for spin-1/2
particles in a cyclically varying magnetic field. Using trapped polarized
ultra-cold neutrons it is demonstrated that the geometric phase contributions
to dephasing due to adiabatic field fluctuations vanish for long evolution
times.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Alzheimer's early detection in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome: a systematic review and expert consensus on preclinical assessments.
The risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) in older adults increasingly is being discussed in the literature on Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome (PACS). Remote digital Assessments for Preclinical AD (RAPAs) are becoming more important in screening for early AD, and should always be available for PACS patients, especially for patients at risk of AD. This systematic review examines the potential for using RAPA to identify impairments in PACS patients, scrutinizes the supporting evidence, and describes the recommendations of experts regarding their use.
We conducted a thorough search using the PubMed and Embase databases. Systematic reviews (with or without meta-analysis), narrative reviews, and observational studies that assessed patients with PACS on specific RAPAs were included. The RAPAs that were identified looked for impairments in olfactory, eye-tracking, graphical, speech and language, central auditory, or spatial navigation abilities. The recommendations' final grades were determined by evaluating the strength of the evidence and by having a consensus discussion about the results of the Delphi rounds among an international Delphi consensus panel called IMPACT, sponsored by the French National Research Agency. The consensus panel included 11 international experts from France, Switzerland, and Canada.
Based on the available evidence, olfaction is the most long-lasting impairment found in PACS patients. However, while olfaction is the most prevalent impairment, expert consensus statements recommend that AD olfactory screening should not be used on patients with a history of PACS at this point in time. Experts recommend that olfactory screenings can only be recommended once those under study have reported full recovery. This is particularly important for the deployment of the olfactory identification subdimension. The expert assessment that more long-term studies are needed after a period of full recovery, suggests that this consensus statement requires an update in a few years.
Based on available evidence, olfaction could be long-lasting in PACS patients. However, according to expert consensus statements, AD olfactory screening is not recommended for patients with a history of PACS until complete recovery has been confirmed in the literature, particularly for the identification sub-dimension. This consensus statement may require an update in a few years
Effective one-dimensionality of AC hopping conduction in the extreme disorder limit
It is argued that in the limit of extreme disorder AC hopping is dominated by
"percolation paths". Modelling a percolation path as a one-dimensional path
with a sharp jump rate cut-off leads to an expression for the universal AC
conductivity, that fits computer simulations in two and three dimensions better
than the effective medium approximation.Comment: 6 postscript figure
An Improved Search for the Neutron Electric Dipole Moment
A permanent electric dipole moment of fundamental spin-1/2 particles violates
both parity (P) and time re- versal (T) symmetry, and hence, also charge-parity
(CP) symmetry since there is no sign of CPT-violation. The search for a neutron
electric dipole moment (nEDM) probes CP violation within and beyond the Stan-
dard Model. The experiment, set up at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), an
improved, upgraded version of the apparatus which provided the current best
experimental limit, dn < 2.9E-26 ecm (90% C.L.), by the RAL/Sussex/ILL
collaboration: Baker et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 131801 (2006). In the next
two years we aim to improve the sensitivity of the apparatus to sigma(dn) =
2.6E-27 ecm corresponding to an upper limit of dn < 5E-27 ecm (95% C.L.), in
case for a null result. In parallel the collaboration works on the design of a
new apparatus to further increase the sensitivity to sigma(dn) = 2.6E-28 ecm.Comment: APS Division for particles and fields, Conference Proceedings, Two
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Diffraction of slow neutrons by holographic SiO_2 nanoparticle-polymer composite gratings
Diffraction experiments with holographic gratings recorded in SiO
nanoparticle-polymer composites have been carried out with slow neutrons. The
influence of parameters such as nanoparticle concentration, grating thickness
and grating spacing on the neutron-optical properties of such materials has
been tested. Decay of the grating structure along the sample depth due to
disturbance of the recording process becomes an issue at grating thicknesses of
about 100 microns and larger. This limits the achievable diffraction efficiency
for neutrons. As a solution to this problem, the Pendell\"{o}sung interference
effect in holographic gratings has been exploited to reach a diffraction
efficiency of 83% for very cold neutrons.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Diffuse reflection of ultracold neutrons from low-roughness surfaces
We report a measurement of the reflection of ultracold neutrons from flat, large-area plates of different Fermi potential materials with low surface roughness. The results were used to test two diffuse reflection models, the well-known Lambert model and the micro-roughness model which is based on wave scattering. The Lambert model fails to reproduce the diffuse reflection data. The surface roughness b and correlation length w , obtained by fitting the micro-roughness model to the data are in the range 1 b 3 nm and 10 w 120 nm, in qualitative agreement with independent measurements using atomic force microscop
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