1,197 research outputs found

    Constraints on a Massive Dirac Neutrino Model

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    We examine constraints on a simple neutrino model in which there are three massless and three massive Dirac neutrinos and in which the left handed neutrinos are linear combinations of doublet and singlet neutrinos. We examine constraints from direct decays into heavy neutrinos, indirect effects on electroweak parameters, and flavor changing processes. We combine these constraints to examine the allowed mass range for the heavy neutrinos of each of the three generations.Comment: latex, 29 pages, 7 figures (not included), MIT-CTP-221

    Search for a 33.9 MeV/c^2 Neutral Particle in Pion Decay

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    The E815 (NuTeV) neutrino experiment has performed a search for a 33.9 MeV/c^2 weakly-interacting neutral particle produced in pion decay. Such a particle may be responsible for an anomaly in the timing distribution of neutrino interactions in the KARMEN experiment. E815 has searched for this particle's decays in an instrumented decay region; no evidence for this particle was found. The search is sensitive to pion branching ratios as low as 10^-13.Comment: 4 pages; 5 figure

    Comparison of low--energy resonances in 15N(alpha,gamma)19F and 15O(alpha,gamma)19Ne and related uncertainties

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    A disagreement between two determinations of Gamma_alpha of the astro- physically relevant level at E_x=4.378 MeV in 19F has been stated in two recent papers by Wilmes et al. and de Oliveira et al. In this work the uncertainties of both papers are discussed in detail, and we adopt the value Gamma_alpha=(1.5^{+1.5}_{-0.8})10^-9eV for the 4.378 MeV state. In addition, the validity and the uncertainties of the usual approximations for mirror nuclei Gamma_gamma(19F) approx Gamma_gamma(19Ne), theta^2_alpha(19F) approx theta^2_alpha(19Ne) are discussed, together with the resulting uncertainties on the resonance strengths in 19Ne and on the 15O(alpha,gamma)19Ne rate.Comment: 9 pages, Latex, To appear in Phys. Rev.

    A SIGNATURE FOR ISOSCALAR-SPIN TRANSITIONS IN ([d,d) SCATTERING

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    Three different signatures for isoscalar spin transitions in nuclei have been tested in the 12C(d,d)12C reaction at 400 MeV. These signatures have values close to zero for the natural parity states, and ranging from 0.22 to 0.50 for the ΔS=1 ΔT=0, 12.7 MeV state

    The HPS electromagnetic calorimeter

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    The Heavy Photon Search experiment (HPS) is searching for a new gauge boson, the so-called “heavy photon.” Through its kinetic mixing with the Standard Model photon, this particle could decay into an electron-positron pair. It would then be detectable as a narrow peak in the invariant mass spectrum of such pairs, or, depending on its lifetime, by a decay downstream of the production target. The HPS experiment is installed in Hall-B of Jefferson Lab. This article presents the design and performance of one of the two detectors of the experiment, the electromagnetic calorimeter, during the runs performed in 2015–2016. The calorimeter's main purpose is to provide a fast trigger and reduce the copious background from electromagnetic processes through matching with a tracking detector. The detector is a homogeneous calorimeter, made of 442 lead-tungstate (PbWO4) scintillating crystals, each read out by an avalanche photodiode coupled to a custom trans-impedance amplifier

    H.E.S.S. observations of gamma-ray bursts in 2003-2007

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    Very-high-energy (VHE; >~100 GeV) gamma-rays are expected from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in some scenarios. Exploring this photon energy regime is necessary for understanding the energetics and properties of GRBs. GRBs have been one of the prime targets for the H.E.S.S. experiment, which makes use of four Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) to detect VHE gamma-rays. Dedicated observations of 32 GRB positions were made in the years 2003-2007 and a search for VHE gamma-ray counterparts of these GRBs was made. Depending on the visibility and observing conditions, the observations mostly start minutes to hours after the burst and typically last two hours. Results from observations of 22 GRB positions are presented and evidence of a VHE signal was found neither in observations of any individual GRBs, nor from stacking data from subsets of GRBs with higher expected VHE flux according to a model-independent ranking scheme. Upper limits for the VHE gamma-ray flux from the GRB positions were derived. For those GRBs with measured redshifts, differential upper limits at the energy threshold after correcting for absorption due to extra-galactic background light are also presented.Comment: 9 pages, 4 tables, 3 figure

    Discovery of VHE gamma-rays from the high-frequency-peaked BL Lac object RGB J0152+017

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    Aims: The BL Lac object RGB J0152+017 (z=0.080) was predicted to be a very high-energy (VHE; > 100 GeV) gamma-ray source, due to its high X-ray and radio fluxes. Our aim is to understand the radiative processes by investigating the observed emission and its production mechanism using the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) experiment. Methods: We report recent observations of the BL Lac source RGB J0152+017 made in late October and November 2007 with the H.E.S.S. array consisting of four imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. Contemporaneous observations were made in X-rays by the Swift and RXTE satellites, in the optical band with the ATOM telescope, and in the radio band with the Nancay Radio Telescope. Results: A signal of 173 gamma-ray photons corresponding to a statistical significance of 6.6 sigma was found in the data. The energy spectrum of the source can be described by a powerlaw with a spectral index of 2.95+/-0.36stat+/-0.20syst. The integral flux above 300 GeV corresponds to ~2% of the flux of the Crab nebula. The source spectral energy distribution (SED) can be described using a two-component non-thermal synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) leptonic model, except in the optical band, which is dominated by a thermal host galaxy component. The parameters that are found are very close to those found in similar SSC studies in TeV blazars. Conclusions: RGB J0152+017 is discovered as a source of VHE gamma-rays by H.E.S.S. The location of its synchrotron peak, as derived from the SED in Swift data, allows clearly classification it as a high-frequency-peaked BL Lac (HBL).Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Letters (5 pages, 4 figures

    Detailed spectral and morphological analysis of the shell type SNR RCW 86

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    Aims: We aim for an understanding of the morphological and spectral properties of the supernova remnant RCW~86 and for insights into the production mechanism leading to the RCW~86 very high-energy gamma-ray emission. Methods: We analyzed High Energy Spectroscopic System data that had increased sensitivity compared to the observations presented in the RCW~86 H.E.S.S. discovery publication. Studies of the morphological correlation between the 0.5-1~keV X-ray band, the 2-5~keV X-ray band, radio, and gamma-ray emissions have been performed as well as broadband modeling of the spectral energy distribution with two different emission models. Results:We present the first conclusive evidence that the TeV gamma-ray emission region is shell-like based on our morphological studies. The comparison with 2-5~keV X-ray data reveals a correlation with the 0.4-50~TeV gamma-ray emission.The spectrum of RCW~86 is best described by a power law with an exponential cutoff at Ecut=(3.5±1.2stat)E_{cut}=(3.5\pm 1.2_{stat}) TeV and a spectral index of Γ\Gamma~1.6±0.21.6\pm 0.2. A static leptonic one-zone model adequately describes the measured spectral energy distribution of RCW~86, with the resultant total kinetic energy of the electrons above 1 GeV being equivalent to \sim0.1\% of the initial kinetic energy of a Type I a supernova explosion. When using a hadronic model, a magnetic field of BB~100μ\muG is needed to represent the measured data. Although this is comparable to formerly published estimates, a standard E2^{-2} spectrum for the proton distribution cannot describe the gamma-ray data. Instead, a spectral index of Γp\Gamma_p~1.7 would be required, which implies that ~7×1049/ncm37\times 10^{49}/n_{cm^{-3}}erg has been transferred into high-energy protons with the effective density ncm3=n/1n_{cm^{-3}}=n/ 1 cm^-3. This is about 10\% of the kinetic energy of a typical Type Ia supernova under the assumption of a density of 1~cm^-3.Comment: accepted for publication by A&

    Characterizing the gamma-ray long-term variability of PKS 2155-304 with H.E.S.S. and Fermi-LAT

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    Studying the temporal variability of BL Lac objects at the highest energies provides unique insights into the extreme physical processes occurring in relativistic jets and in the vicinity of super-massive black holes. To this end, the long-term variability of the BL Lac object PKS 2155-304 is analyzed in the high (HE, 100 MeV 200 GeV) gamma-ray domain. Over the course of ~9 yr of H.E.S.S observations the VHE light curve in the quiescent state is consistent with a log-normal behavior. The VHE variability in this state is well described by flicker noise (power-spectral-density index {\ss}_VHE = 1.10 +0.10 -0.13) on time scales larger than one day. An analysis of 5.5 yr of HE Fermi LAT data gives consistent results ({\ss}_HE = 1.20 +0.21 -0.23, on time scales larger than 10 days) compatible with the VHE findings. The HE and VHE power spectral densities show a scale invariance across the probed time ranges. A direct linear correlation between the VHE and HE fluxes could neither be excluded nor firmly established. These long-term-variability properties are discussed and compared to the red noise behavior ({\ss} ~ 2) seen on shorter time scales during VHE-flaring states. The difference in power spectral noise behavior at VHE energies during quiescent and flaring states provides evidence that these states are influenced by different physical processes, while the compatibility of the HE and VHE long-term results is suggestive of a common physical link as it might be introduced by an underlying jet-disk connection.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figure

    Formation of the ηc\eta_c in Two-Photon Collisions at LEP

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    The two-photon width Γγγ\Gamma_{\gamma\gamma} of the ηc\eta_c meson has been measured with the L3 detector at LEP. The ηc\eta_c is studied in the decay modes π+ππ+π\pi^+\pi^-\pi^+\pi^-, π+π\pi^+\pi^-K+^+K^-, Ks0_s^0K±π^\pm\pi^\mp, K+^+Kπ0^-\pi^{0}, π+πη\pi^+\pi^-\eta, π+πη\pi^+\pi^-\eta', and ρ+ρ\rho^+\rho^- using an integrated luminosity of 140 pb1^{-1} at s91\sqrt{s} \simeq 91 GeV and of 52 pb1^{-1} at s183\sqrt{s} \simeq 183 GeV. The result is Γγγ(ηc)=6.9±1.7(stat.)±0.8(sys.)±2.0\Gamma_{\gamma\gamma}(\eta_c) = 6.9 \pm 1.7 (stat.) \pm 0.8 (sys.) \pm 2.0(BR) keV. The Q2Q^2 dependence of the ηc\eta_c cross section is studied for Q2<9Q^2 < 9 GeV2^{2}. It is found to be better described by a Vector Meson Dominance model form factor with a J-pole than with a ρ\rho-pole. In addition, a signal of 29±1129 \pm 11 events is observed at the χc0\chi_c0 mass. Upper limits for the two-photon widths of the χc0\chi_c0, χc2\chi_c2, and ηc\eta_c' are also given
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