2,161 research outputs found
Heavy-ion Physics at a Fixed-Target Experiment Using the LHC Proton and Lead Beams (AFTER@LHC): Feasibility Studies for Quarkonium and Drell-Yan Production
We outline the case for heavy-ion-physics studies using the multi-TeV lead
LHC beams in the fixed-target mode. After a brief contextual reminder, we
detail the possible contributions of AFTER@LHC to heavy-ion physics with a
specific emphasis on quarkonia. We then present performance simulations for a
selection of observables. These show that , and
production in heavy-ion collisions can be studied in new energy and
rapidity domains with the LHCb and ALICE detectors. We also discuss the
relevance to analyse the Drell-Yan pair production in asymmetric
nucleus-nucleus collisions to study the factorisation of the nuclear
modification of partonic densities and of further quarkonia to restore their
status of golden probes of the quark-gluon plasma formation.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure
Source blending effects on microlensing time-histograms and optical depth determination
Source blending in microlensing experiments is known to modify the Einstein
time of the observed events. In this paper, we have conducted Monte-Carlo
calculations, using the analytical relationships derived by Han (1999) to
quantify the effect of blending on the observed event time distribution and
optical depth. We show that short-time events are affected significantly by
source blending and that, for moderately blended sources, the optical depth
is globally overestimated, because of an underestimation of the
exposure. For high blending situations, on the opposite, blending leads to an
{\it under}estimation of the optical depth. Our results are in agreement with
the most recent optical depth determinations toward the Galactic Center of the
MACHO collaboration (Popowski et al. 2004) and the OGLE-II collaboration (Sumi
et al. 2005) that use clump giants (less affected by the blending effect) as
sources. The blending-corrected, lower optical depth toward the Galactic Bulge
is now in good agreement with the value inferred from galactic models,
reconciling theoretical and observational determinations.Comment: Accepted in Astronomy Astrophysics. Note that these calculations were
conducted in 2001, prior to the recent DIA analyses mentioned in the
references (see Alibert, Y. SF2A-conference, 2001
Chemical sensitivity to the ratio of the cosmic-ray ionization rates of He and H2 in dense clouds
Aim: To determine whether or not gas-phase chemical models with homogeneous
and time-independent physical conditions explain the many observed molecular
abundances in astrophysical sources, it is crucial to estimate the
uncertainties in the calculated abundances and compare them with the observed
abundances and their uncertainties. Non linear amplification of the error and
bifurcation may limit the applicability of chemical models. Here we study such
effects on dense cloud chemistry. Method: Using a previously studied approach
to uncertainties based on the representation of rate coefficient errors as log
normal distributions, we attempted to apply our approach using as input a
variety of different elemental abundances from those studied previously. In
this approach, all rate coefficients are varied randomly within their log
normal (Gaussian) distribution, and the time-dependent chemistry calculated
anew many times so as to obtain good statistics for the uncertainties in the
calculated abundances. Results: Starting with so-called ``high-metal''
elemental abundances, we found bimodal rather than Gaussian like distributions
for the abundances of many species and traced these strange distributions to an
extreme sensitivity of the system to changes in the ratio of the cosmic ray
ionization rate zeta\_He for He and that for molecular hydrogen zeta\_H2. The
sensitivity can be so extreme as to cause a region of bistability, which was
subsequently found to be more extensive for another choice of elemental
abundances. To the best of our knowledge, the bistable solutions found in this
way are the same as found previously by other authors, but it is best to think
of the ratio zeta\_He/zeta\_H2 as a control parameter perpendicular to the
''standard'' control parameter zeta/n\_H.Comment: Accepted for publicatio
Feasibility Studies for Single Transverse-Spin Asymmetry Measurements at a Fixed-Target Experiment Using the LHC Proton and Lead Beams (AFTER@LHC)
The measurement of Single Transverse-Spin Asymmetries, A_N, for various quarkonium states and DrellâYan lepton pairs can shed light on the orbital angular momentum of quarks and gluons, a fundamental ingredient of the proton-spin puzzle. The AFTER@LHC proposal combines a unique kinematic coverage and large luminosities thanks to the Large Hadron Collider beams to deliver precise measurements, complementary to the knowledge provided by collider experiments such as at RHIC. In this paper, we report on sensitivity studies for J/ Ï, ΄ and DrellâYan A_N done using the performance of LHCb-like or ALICE-like detectors, combined with polarised gaseous hydrogen and helium-3 targets. In particular, such analyses will provide us with new insights and knowledge about transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution functions for quarks and gluons and on twist-3 collinear matrix elements in the proton and the neutron
Heavy-flavour and quarkonium production in the LHC era: from proton-proton to heavy-ion collisions
This report reviews the study of open heavy-flavour and quarkonium production
in high-energy hadronic collisions, as tools to investigate fundamental aspects
of Quantum Chromodynamics, from the proton and nucleus structure at high energy
to deconfinement and the properties of the Quark-Gluon Plasma. Emphasis is
given to the lessons learnt from LHC Run 1 results, which are reviewed in a
global picture with the results from SPS and RHIC at lower energies, as well as
to the questions to be addressed in the future. The report covers heavy flavour
and quarkonium production in proton-proton, proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus
collisions. This includes discussion of the effects of hot and cold strongly
interacting matter, quarkonium photo-production in nucleus-nucleus collisions
and perspectives on the study of heavy flavour and quarkonium with upgrades of
existing experiments and new experiments. The report results from the activity
of the SaporeGravis network of the I3 Hadron Physics programme of the European
Union 7th Framework Programme
Radiative diffusion in stellar atmospheres: diffusion velocities
The present paper addresses some of the problems in the buildup of element
stratification in stellar magnetic atmospheres due to microscopic diffusion, in
particular the redistribution of momentum among the various ionisation stages
of a given element and the calculation of diffusion velocities in the presence
of inclined magnetic fields.
We have considerably modified and extended our CARAT code to provide
radiative accelerations, not only from bound-bound but also from bound-free
transitions. In addition, our code now computes ionisation and recombination
rates, both radiative and collisional. These rates are used in calculating the
redistribution of momentum among the various ionisation stages of the chemical
elements. A careful comparison shows that the two different theoretical
approaches to redistribution that are presently available lead to widely
discrepant results for some chemical elements, especially in the magnetic case.
In the absence of a fully satisfactory theory of redistribution, we propose to
use the geometrical mean of the radiative accelerations from both methods.
Diffusion velocities have been calculated for 28 chemical elements in a T_eff
= 12000K, log g = 4.00 stellar magnetic atmosphere with solar abundances.
Velocities and resulting element fluxes in magnetic fields are discussed; rates
of abundance changes are analysed for systematic trends with field strength and
field direction. Special consideration is given to the Si case and our results
are confronted in detail with well-known results derived more than two decades
ago.Comment: To be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics (accepted 02/03/2006
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