Semi-automatic rubble counting system for superheated droplet detectors

Neutron dose rate measurements are normally performed by means of PADC, CR-39 and TLD detectors. Although, none of these devices can give instant reading of the neutron dose, recently new kind of detectors are being developed, based on the formation of tiny drops in a superheated liquid suspended in a polymer or gel solution, called superheated droplet detector (SDD) or also as bubble detectors (BD), with no response for gamma radiation. This work describes the experimental setup and the developed procedures for acquiring and processing digital images obtained with bubble detector spectrometer (BDS), developed by Bubble Technology Industries, for personal neutron dosimeter and/or neutron energy fluence measurements in nuclear facilities. The results of the neutron measurements obtained during the F-18 production, at the RDS-111 cyclotron, are presented. These neutron measurements were the first ones with this type of BDS detectors in a particle accelerator facility in Brazil and it was very important to estimate neutron dose rate received by occupationally exposed individuals

From Coherent Modes to Turbulence and Granulation of Trapped Gases

The process of exciting the gas of trapped bosons from an equilibrium initial state to strongly nonequilibrium states is described as a procedure of symmetry restoration caused by external perturbations. Initially, the trapped gas is cooled down to such low temperatures, when practically all atoms are in Bose-Einstein condensed state, which implies the broken global gauge symmetry. Excitations are realized either by imposing external alternating fields, modulating the trapping potential and shaking the cloud of trapped atoms, or it can be done by varying atomic interactions by means of Feshbach resonance techniques. Gradually increasing the amount of energy pumped into the system, which is realized either by strengthening the modulation amplitude or by increasing the excitation time, produces a series of nonequilibrium states, with the growing fraction of atoms for which the gauge symmetry is restored. In this way, the initial equilibrium system, with the broken gauge symmetry and all atoms condensed, can be excited to the state, where all atoms are in the normal state, with completely restored gauge symmetry. In this process, the system, starting from the regular superfluid state, passes through the states of vortex superfluid, turbulent superfluid, heterophase granular fluid, to the state of normal chaotic fluid in turbulent regime. Both theoretical and experimental studies are presented.Comment: Latex file, 25 pages, 4 figure

Spin-gravity coupling and gravity-induced quantum phases

External gravitational fields induce phase factors in the wave functions of particles. The phases are exact to first order in the background gravitational field, are manifestly covariant and gauge invariant and provide a useful tool for the study of spin-gravity coupling and of the optics of particles in gravitational or inertial fields. We discuss the role that spin-gravity coupling plays in particular problems.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figur