Lambda Hyperons in 2 A*GeV Ni + Cu Collisions

A sample of Lambda's produced in 2 A*GeV Ni + Cu collisions has been obtained with the EOS Time Projection Chamber at the Bevalac. Low background in the invariant mass distribution allows for the unambiguous demonstration of Lambda directed flow. The transverse mass spectrum at mid-rapidity has the characteristic shoulder-arm shape of particles undergoing radial transverse expansion. A linear dependence of Lambda multiplicity on impact parameter is observed, from which a total Lambda + Sigma^0 production cross section of $112 +/- 24 mb is deduced. Detailed comparisons with the ARC and RVUU models are made.Comment: Revised version accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.

HD 213885b: A transiting 1-d-period super-Earth with an Earth-like composition around a bright (V = 7.9) star unveiled by TESS

We report the discovery of the 1.008-d, ultrashort period (USP) super-Earth HD 213885b (TOI-141b) orbiting the bright (V= 7.9) star HD 213885 (TOI-141, TIC 403224672), detected using photometry from the recently launched TESS mission. Using FEROS, HARPS, and CORALIE radial velocities, we measure a precise mass of 8.8 ±0.6M⊙ for this 1.74±0.05R⊙ exoplanet, which provides enough information to constrain its bulk composition - similar to Earth's but enriched in iron. The radius, mass, and stellar irradiation of HD 213885b are, given our data, very similar to 55 Cancri e, making this exoplanet a good target to perform comparative exoplanetology of short period, highly irradiated super-Earths. Our precise radial velocities reveal an additional 4.78-d signal which we interpret as arising from a second, non-transiting planet in the system, HD 213885c, whose minimum mass of 19.9 ± 1.4 M⊙ makes it consistent with being a Neptune-mass exoplanet. The HD 213885 system is very interesting from the perspective of future atmospheric characterization, being the second brightest star to host an USP transiting super-Earth (with the brightest star being, in fact, 55 Cancri). Prospects for characterization with present and future observatories are discussed

Pion correlations as a function of atomic mass in heavy ion collisions

The method of two pion interferometry was used to obtain source-size and lifetime parameters for the pions produced in heavy ion collisions. The systems used were 1.70 {center dot} A GeV {sup 56}Fe + Fe, 1.82 {center dot} A GeV {sup 40}Ar + KCl and 1.54 {center dot} A GeV {sup 93}Nb + Nb, allowing for a search for dependences on the atomic number. Two acceptances (centered, in the lab., at {approximately} 0{degrees} and 45{degrees}) were used for each system, allowing a search for dependences on the viewing angle. The correlation functions were calculated by comparing the data samples to background (or reference) samples made using the method of event mixing, where pions from different events are combined to produce a data sample in which the Bose-Einstein correlation effect is absent. The effect of the correlation function on the background samples is calculated, and a method for weighting the events to remove the residual correlation effect is presented. The effect of the spectrometer design on the measured correlation functions is discussed, as are methods for correcting for these effects during the data analysis. 58 refs., 39 figs., 18 tabs