Assessment of GNC Impacts of Chemical Plume Impingement in the Case of Prisma Irides Experiment

This paper presents the preliminary analysis of an in-orbit demonstration opportunity to test plume impingement as a viable means to change the attitude state of a space debris based on the Prisma and Picard missions. This technique has been proposed as part of the COBRA concept studied by ESA in collaboration with GMV, Politecnico di Milano and Thales-Alenia Space, as an active debris removal concept relying on the exhaust plume of a monopropellant chemical propulsion system as a means to impart momentum and ultimately modify the orbit of a space debris object in a contactless manner. The feasibility of the experiment is presented as well as its critical areas, no showstoppers are identified

Independent measurement of the Hoyle state β\beta feeding from 12B using Gammasphere

Using an array of high-purity Compton-suppressed germanium detectors, we performed an independent measurement of the $\beta$-decay branching ratio from $^{12}\mathrm{B}$ to the second-excited (Hoyle) state in $^{12}\mathrm{C}$. Our result is $0.64(11)\%$, which is a factor $\sim 2$ smaller than the previously established literature value, but is in agreement with another recent measurement. This could indicate that the Hoyle state is more clustered than previously believed. The angular correlation of the Hoyle state $\gamma$ cascade has also been measured for the first time. It is consistent with theoretical predictions

9^9Be+120^{120}Sn scattering at near-barrier energies within a four body model

Cross sections for elastic and inelastic scattering of the weakly-bound $^9$Be nucleus on a $^{120}$Sn target have been measured at seven bombarding energies around and above the Coulomb barrier. The elastic angular distributions are analyzed with a four-body continuum-discretized coupled-channels (CDCC) calculation, which considers $^9$Be as a three-body projectile ($\alpha$ + $\alpha$ + n). An optical model analysis using the S\~ao Paulo potential is also shown for comparison. The CDCC analysis shows that the coupling to the continuum part of the spectrum is important for the agreement with experimental data even at energies around the Coulomb barrier, suggesting that breakup is an important process at low energies. At the highest incident energies, two inelastic peaks are observed at 1.19(5) and 2.41(5) MeV. Coupled-channels (CC) calculations using a rotational model confirm that the first inelastic peak corresponds to the excitation of the 2$_1^+$ state in $^{120}$Sn, while the second one likely corresponds to the excitation of the 3$_1^-$ state.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures. Accepted as PR

Breakup coupling effects on near-barrier inelastic scattering of the weakly bound 6Li projectile on a 144Sm target

Angular distributions for the inelastic scattering of the weakly bound 6Li nucleus from a 144Sm target (associated with the contributions of both the 2+ and 3- 144Sm excited states together) were measured at bombarding energies close to the Coulomb barrier. The experimental data were compared with expected results based on continuum discretized coupled-channel (CDCC) calculations. The results confirm that it is essential to include continuum?continuum couplings to reproduce the experimental data. The analysis demonstrates that inelastic scattering data can be a critical tool in testing full CDCC calculations involving weakly bound nuclei.Fil: Woodard, A. E.. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; ArgentinaFil: Figueira, Juan Manuel. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Otomar, D. R.. Universidade Federal Fluminense; BrasilFil: Fernandez Niello, Jorge Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología; ArgentinaFil: Lubian, J.. Universidade Federal Fluminense; BrasilFil: Arazi, Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; ArgentinaFil: Capurro, O. A.. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; ArgentinaFil: Carnelli, Patricio Francisco Florencio. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fimiani, L.. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; ArgentinaFil: Martí, Guillermo Virginio. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; ArgentinaFil: Martinez Heimann, Diego. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Monteiro, D. S.. Universidade Federal Fluminense; BrasilFil: Negri, Agustin Eduardo. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; ArgentinaFil: Pacheco, Alberto Jorge. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Gomes, P. R. S.. Universidade Federal Fluminense; Brasi

Isolation of a wide range of minerals from a thermally treated plant: Equisetum arvense, a Mare’s tale

Silica is the second most abundant biomineral being exceeded in nature only by biogenic CaCO3. Many land plants (such as rice, cereals, cucumber, etc.) deposit silica in significant amounts to reinforce their tissues and as a systematic response to pathogen attack. One of the most ancient species of living vascular plants, Equisetum arvense is also able to take up and accumulate silica in all parts of the plant. Numerous methods have been developed for elimination of the organic material and/or metal ions present in plant material to isolate biogenic silica. However, depending on the chemical and/or physical treatment applied to branch or stem from Equisetum arvense; other mineral forms such glass-type materials (i.e. CaSiO3), salts (i.e. KCl) or luminescent materials can also be isolated from the plant material. In the current contribution, we show the chemical and/or thermal routes that lead to the formation of a number of different mineral types in addition to biogenic silica