Recent results on heavy-ion induced reactions of interest for neutrinoless double beta decay at INFN-LNS

Abstract. The possibility to use a special class of heavy-ion induced direct reactions, such as double charge exchange reactions, is discussed in view of their application to extract information that may be helpful to determinate the nuclear matrix elements entering in the expression of neutrinoless double beta decay halflife. The methodology of the experimental campaign presently running at INFN - Laboratori Nazionali del Sud is reported and the experimental challenges characterizing such activity are describe

Hyperons in Dense Matter

The hyperon-nucleon YN low momentum effective interaction Vlowk allows for an extensive study of the behavior of hyperons in dense matter, together with an investigation of effects of the presence of hyperons on dense matter. The first step towards this goal is the construction of the matrix elements for the hyperon-nucleon low momentum potential. In contrast to the nucleon-nucleon interaction, the available experimental data for the YN interaction are scarce. As a consequence, no unique YN low-momentum potential Vlowk can be constructed from the various bare potentials. Nevertheless we can still use these low-momentum YN potentials to find out what these differences mean for the properties of dense matter. In order to assess the different properties of hyperons within these potentials we calculate the hyperon single-particle potentials in the Hartree-Fock approximation for all of the interactions. Their dependence on both momentum and density, is studied. The single-particle potentials are then used to determine the chemical potential of hyperons in neutron stars. For nucleonic properties, the nucleon-nucleon Vlowk can be used with the caveat that the calculation of the ground-state energy of symmetric nuclear matter does not correctly reproduce the properties of matter at saturation. Even when combined with the appropriate three-nucleon forces the results are still not satisfactory. Additionally, with the nucleon-nucleon Vlowk one is unable to reach the densities needed for the calculation of neutron star masses. To circumvent this problem we use two approaches: in the first one, we parametrize the entire nucleonic sector. In the second one, we replace only the three-body force. The former will enable us to study neutron star masses, and the latter for studying the medium's response to the external probe. In this thesis we take the external probe to be the neutrino. By combining this parametrization with the YN Vlowk potential, we calculate the equation of state of equilibrated matter. Performing the calculation in the Hartree-Fock approximation at zero temperature, the concentrations of all particles are calculated. From these we can ascertain at which densities hyperons appear for a wide range of parameters. Finally, we calculate the masses of neutron stars with these concentrations. For the calculation of the medium's response to an external probe, we replace the three-body force with a density-dependent interaction. This density-dependent interaction is fitted to the saturation properties of nuclear matter and used together with the Vlowk potential. The study of in-medium properties with these interactions is accomplished with a combination of Fermi liquid theory and random phase approximation(RPA). The Fermi liquid theory is then used to obtain the strength of the particle-hole interactions. The medium's response to neutrinos is represented via changes of the polarization function in the random phase approximation. The properties of neutrinos in dense matter are studied in both, Hartree-Fock and random phase, approximation. To understand how the changes in the mediums response alter the behavior of neutrinos in dense matter, we calculate the neutrino cross section and the neutrino mean free path. The neutrinos interact with baryons and leptons through the weak interaction, hence we calculate these for both neutral and charged currents. The comparison between the Hartree-Fock approximation and RPA plays a central role in this work

Gamma-ray Irradiation Induces Useful Morphological Variation in Bermudagrass

Bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. is a widely used warm-season turfgrass species in warmer regions of the world. Gamma (ɣ) irradiation has been used to generate useful variations in turfgrass breeding for various morphological traits. The objective of the present study was to measure and determine variations in morphology and turfgrass characteristics of a native drought resistant bermudagrass germplasm irradiated with 70, 90 or 110 Gy using a 60Co source. The stolons containing a single node were irradiated and immediately planted for regeneration in a greenhouse at the Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey. Selected mutants regenerated from the irradiated stolons were clonally propagated and transplanted into plastic pots for further observations of turfgrass characteristics.  Survival rates of stolons exposed to 70, 90 and 110 Gy were 76%, 43% and 17% respectively, 6 weeks after treatment. Dosages of 85 and 57 Gy were determined as LD50 and LD20 for the cuttings, respectively. The linear reduction of survival rate with increasing gamma-rays was highly correlated (r2=0.99). A total of four mutant lines (0.3 % of the irradiated plants) showed a distinct dwarfed growth habit. Three of these lines were originated from 70 Gy and one from 110 Gy. These mutant lines exhibited more dwarf growth habit, higher shoot density, finer leaf texture than parental genotype. Mutant lines developed in this study can be used for the development of improved bermudagrass cultivars for landscaping and sports turf

The NUMEN Project: An Update of the Facility Toward the Future Experimental Campaigns

International audienceThe goal of NUMEN project is to access experimentally driven information on Nuclear Matrix Elements (NME) involved in the neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) by accurate measurements of the cross sections of heavy-ion induced double charge-exchange reactions. In particular, the (18O, 18Ne) and (20Ne, 20O) reactions are adopted as tools for β+β+ and β-β- decays, respectively. The experiments are performed at INFN - Laboratory Nazionali del Sud (LNS) in Catania using the Superconducting Cyclotron to accelerate the beams and the MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer to detect the reaction products. The measured cross sections are very low, limiting the present exploration to few selected isotopes of interest in the context of typically low-yield experimental runs. In order to make feasible a systematic study of all the candidate nuclei, a major upgrade of the LNS facility is foreseen to increase the experimental yield by more than two orders of magnitude. To this purpose, frontier technologies are being developed for both the accelerator and the detection systems. An update description of the NUMEN project is presented here, focusing on recent achievements from the R&D activity

Recent experimental activity on heavy-ion induced reactions within the NUMEN project

The possibility to use a special class of heavy-ion induced direct reactions, such as double charge exchange reactions, is discussed in view of their application to extract information that may be helpful to determinate the nuclear matrix elements entering in the expression of neutrinoless double beta decay half-life. The strategies adopted in the experimental campaigns performed at INFN - Laboratori Nazionali del Sud are briefly described, emphasizing the advantages of the multi-channel approach to nuclear reaction data analysis

The NUMEN Heavy Ion Multidetector for a Complementary Approach to the Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay

International audienceNeutrinos are so far the most elusive known particles, and in the last decades many sophisticated experiments have been set up in order to clarify several questions about their intrinsic nature, in particular their masses, mass hierarchy, intrinsic nature of Majorana or Dirac particles. Evidence of the Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay (NDBD) would prove that neutrinos are Majorana particles, thus improving the understanding of the universe itself. Besides the search for several large underground experiments for the direct experimental detection of NDBD, the NUMEN experiment proposes the investigation of a nuclear mechanism strongly linked to this decay: the Double Charge Exchange reactions (DCE). As such reactions share with the NDBD the same initial and final nuclear states, they could shed light on the determination of the Nuclear Matrix Elements (NMEs), which play a relevant role in the decay. The physics of DCE is described elsewhere in this issue, while the focus of this paper will be on the challenging experimental apparatus currently under construction in order to fulfil the requirements of the NUMEN experiment. The overall structure of the technological improvement to the cyclotron, along with the newly developed detection systems required for tracking and identifying the reaction products and their final excitation level are described

Recent results on heavy-ion induced reactions of interest for neutrinoless double beta decay at INFN-LNS

The possibility to use a special class of heavy-ion induced direct reactions, such as double charge exchange reactions, is discussed in view of their application to extract information that may be helpful to determinate the nuclear matrix elements entering in the expression of neutrinoless double beta decay half-life. The methodology of the experimental campaign presently running at INFN - Laboratori Nazionali del Sud is reported andthe experimental challenges characterizing such activity are described