401 research outputs found
Comment on "First Observation of Ground State Dineutron Decay: 16Be"
A recent measurement [Spyrou et al., PRL 108, 102501 (2012)] of the in-flight
decay of 16Be into 14Be+n+n has been interpreted as the first case of dineutron
emission. Here we point out that the inclusion of the n-n interaction neglected
in the description of the direct three-body decay can generate strong
enhancements at low n-n relative energy and angle, as observed, without any
need to invoke dineutron decay.Comment: Final version, published in Physical Review Letter
Structure of unbound neutron-rich He studied using single-neutron transfer
The 8He(d,p) reaction was studied in inverse kinematics at 15.4A MeV using
the MUST2 Si-CsI array in order to shed light on the level structure of 9He.
The well known 16O(d,p)17O reaction, performed here in reverse kinematics, was
used as a test to validate the experimental methods. The 9He missing mass
spectrum was deduced from the kinetic energies and emission angles of the
recoiling protons. Several structures were observed above the neutron-emission
threshold and the angular distributions were used to deduce the multipolarity
of the transitions. This work confirms that the ground state of 9He is located
very close to the neutron threshold of 8He and supports the occurrence of
parity inversion in 9He.Comment: Exp\'erience GANIL/SPIRAL1/MUST
Oncogenic RET Kinase domain mutations perturb the autophosphorylation trajectory by enhancing substrate presentation in trans
To decipher the molecular basis for RET kinase activation and oncogenic deregulation, we defined the temporal sequence of RET autophosphorylation by label-free quantitative mass spectrometry. Early autophosphorylation sites map to regions flanking the kinase domain core, while sites within the activation loop only form at later time points. Comparison with oncogenic RET kinase revealed that late autophosphorylation sites become phosphorylated much earlier than wild-type RET, which is due to a combination of an enhanced enzymatic activity, increased ATP affinity, and surprisingly, by providing a better intermolecular substrate. Structural analysis of oncogenic M918T and wild-type RET kinase domains reveal a cis-inhibitory mechanism involving tethering contacts between the glycine-rich loop, activation loop, and αC-helix. Tether mutations only affected substrate presentation but perturbed the autophosphorylation trajectory similar to oncogenic mutations. This study reveals an unappreciated role for oncogenic RET kinase mutations in promoting intermolecular autophosphorylation by enhancing substrate presentation
Search for low lying dipole strength in the neutron rich nucleus Ne
Coulomb excitation of the exotic neutron-rich nucleus Ne on a
Pb target was measured at 58 A.MeV in order to search for low-lying E1
strength above the neutron emission threshold. Data were also taken on an
Al target to estimate the nuclear contribution. The radioactive beam
was produced by fragmentation of a 95 A.MeV Ar beam delivered by the
RIKEN Research Facility. The set-up included a NaI gamma-ray array, a charged
fragment hodoscope and a neutron wall. Using the invariant mass method in the
Ne+n channel, we observe a sizable amount of E1 strength between 6 and
10 MeV. The reconstructed Ne angular distribution confirms its E1
nature. A reduced dipole transition probability of B(E1)=0.490.16
is deduced. For the first time, the decay pattern of low-lying
strength in a neutron-rich nucleus is obtained. The results are discussed in
terms of a pygmy resonance centered around 9 MeV
Linear Responses in Time-dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov Method with Gogny Interaction
A numerical method to integrate the time-dependent Hartree-Fock Bogoliubov
(TDHFB) equations with Gogny interaction is proposed. The feasibility of the
TDHFB code is illustrated by the conservation of the energy, particle numbers,
and center-of-mass in the small amplitude vibrations of oxygen 20. The TDHFB
code is applied to the isoscalar quadrupole and/or isovector dipole vibrations
in the linear (small amplitude) region in oxygen isotopes (masses A = 18,20,22
and 24), titanium isotopes (A = 44,50,52 and 54), neon isotope (A = 26), and
magnesium isotopes (A = 24 and 34). The isoscalar quadrupole and isovector
dipole strength functions are calculated from the expectation values of the
isoscalar quadrupole and isovector dipole moments.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figure
The N = 16 spherical shell closure in 24O
The unbound excited states of the neutron drip-line isotope 24O have been
investigated via the 24O(p,p')23O+n reaction in inverse kinematics at a beam
energy of 62 MeV/nucleon. The decay energy spectrum of 24O* was reconstructed
from the momenta of 23O and the neutron. The spin-parity of the first excited
state, observed at Ex = 4.65 +/- 0.14 MeV, was determined to be Jpi = 2+ from
the angular distribution of the cross section. Higher lying states were also
observed. The quadrupole transition parameter beta2 of the 2+ state was
deduced, for the first time, to be 0.15 +/- 0.04. The relatively high
excitation energy and small beta2 value are indicative of the N = 16 shell
closure in 24O.Comment: to be submitted to Physical Review Letter
Microbial soil respiration and its dependency on carbon inputs, soil temperature and moisture
This experiment was designed to study three determinant factors in decomposition patterns of soil organic matter (SOM): temperature, water and carbon (C) inputs. The study combined field measurements with soil lab incubations and ends with a modelling framework based on the results obtained. Soil respiration was periodically measured at an oak savanna woodland and a ponderosa pine plantation. Intact soils cores were collected at both ecosystems, including soils with most labile C burnt off, soils with some labile C gone and soils with fresh inputs of labile C. Two treatments, dry-field condition and field capacity, were applied to an incubation that lasted 111 days. Short-term temperature changes were applied to the soils periodically to quantify temperature responses. This was done to prevent confounding results associated with different pools of C that would result by exposing treatments chronically to different temperature regimes. This paper discusses the role of the above-defined environmental factors on the variability of soil C dynamics. At the seasonal scale, temperature and water were, respectively, the main limiting factors controlling soil CO2 efflux for the ponderosa pine and the oak savanna ecosystems. Spatial and seasonal variations in plant activity (root respiration and exudates production) exerted a strong influence over the seasonal and spatial variation of soil metabolic activity. Mean residence times of bulk SOM were significantly lower at the Nitrogen (N)-rich deciduous savanna than at the N-limited evergreen dominated pine ecosystem. At shorter time scales (daily), SOM decomposition was controlled primarily by temperature during wet periods and by the combined effect of water and temperature during dry periods. Secondary control was provided by the presence/absence of plant derived C inputs (exudation). Further analyses of SOM decomposition suggest that factors such as changes in the decomposer community, stress-induced changes in the metabolic activity of decomposers or SOM stabilization patterns remain unresolved, but should also be considered in future SOM decomposition studies. Observations and confounding factors associated with SOM decomposition patterns and its temperature sensitivity are summarized in the modeling framework
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