340 research outputs found
On the characterisation of a Bragg spectrometer with X-rays from an ECR source
Narrow X-ray lines from helium-like argon emitted from a dedicated ECR source
have been used to determine the response function of a Bragg crystal
spectrometer equipped with large area spherically bent silicon (111) or quartz
(10) crystals. The measured spectra are compared with simulated ones
created by a ray-tracing code based on the expected theoretical crystal's
rocking curve and the geometry of the experimental set-up.Comment: Version acceptee (NIM
Characterization of a CCD array for Bragg spectroscopy
The average pixel distance as well as the relative orientation of an array of
6 CCD detectors have been measured with accuracies of about 0.5 nm and 50
rad, respectively. Such a precision satisfies the needs of modern crystal
spectroscopy experiments in the field of exotic atoms and highly charged ions.
Two different measurements have been performed by illuminating masks in front
of the detector array by remote sources of radiation. In one case, an aluminum
mask was irradiated with X-rays and in a second attempt, a nanometric quartz
wafer was illuminated by a light bulb. Both methods gave consistent results
with a smaller error for the optical method. In addition, the thermal expansion
of the CCD detectors was characterized between -105 C and -40 C.Comment: Submitted to Review of Scientific Instrument
Determination of pulsation periods and other parameters of 2875 stars classified as MIRA in the All Sky Automated Survey (ASAS)
We have developed an interactive PYTHON code and derived crucial ephemeris
data of 99.4% of all stars classified as 'Mira' in the ASAS data base,
referring to pulsation periods, mean maximum magnitudes and, whenever possible,
the amplitudes among others. We present a statistical comparison between our
results and those given by the AAVSO International Variable Star Index (VSX),
as well as those determined with the machine learning automatic procedure of
Richards et al. 2012. Our periods are in good agreement with those of the VSX
in more than 95% of the stars. However, when comparing our periods with those
of Richards et al, the coincidence rate is only 76% and most of the remaining
cases refer to aliases. We conclude that automatic codes require still more
refinements in order to provide reliable period values. Period distributions of
the target stars show three local maxima around 215, 275 and 330 d, apparently
of universal validity, their relative strength seems to depend on galactic
longitude. Our visual amplitude distribution turns out to be bimodal, however
1/3 of the targets have rather small amplitudes (A 2.5) and could
refer to semi-regular variables (SR). We estimate that about 20% of our targets
belong to the SR class. We also provide a list of 63 candidates for period
variations and a sample of 35 multiperiodic stars which seem to confirm the
universal validity of typical sequences in the double period and in the
Petersen diagramsComment: 14 pages, 14 figures, and 8 tables. Accepted to The Astrophysical
Journal Supplement Series, September 201
Hadronic shift in pionic hydrogen
The hadronic shift in pionic hydrogen has been redetermined to be
\,eV by X-ray
spectroscopy of ground state transitions applying various energy calibration
schemes. The experiment was performed at the high-intensity low-energy pion
beam of the Paul Scherrer Institut by using the cyclotron trap and an
ultimate-resolution Bragg spectrometer with bent crystals.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
On radiative np -> 1s + gamma transitions, induced by strong low-energy interactions,in kaonic atoms
We calculate the rates of the radiative transitions np -> 1s + gamma in
kaonic hydrogen and kaonic deuterium, induced by strong low-energy interactions
and enhanced by Coulomb interactions. The obtained results should be taken into
account for the theoretical analysis of the experimental data on the X-ray
spectra and yields in kaonic atoms.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur
Highly charged ion X-rays from Electron-Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources
Radiation from the highly-charged ions contained in the plasma of
Electron-Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources constitutes a very bright source of
X-rays. Because the ions have a relatively low kinetic energy ( eV)
transitions can be very narrow, containing only small Doppler broadening. We
describe preliminary accurate measurements of two and three-electron ions with
Z=16--18. We show how these measurement can test sensitively many-body
relativistic calculations or can be used as X-ray standards for precise
measurements of X-ray transitions in exotic atoms
Line shape of the muH(3p - 1s) hyperfine transitions
The (3p - 1s) X-ray transition to the muonic hydrogen ground state was
measured with a high resolution crystal spectrometer. A Doppler effect
broadening of the X-ray line was established which could be attributed to
different Coulomb de-excitation steps preceding the measured transition. The
assumption of a statistical population of the hyperfine levels of the muonic
hydrogen ground state was directly confirmed by the experiment and measured
values for the hyperfine splitting can be reported. The results allow a
decisive test of advanced cascade model calculations and establish a method to
extract fundamental strong-interaction parameters from pionic hydrogen
experiments.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review Letter
Line shape analysis of the K transition in muonic hydrogen
The K transition in muonic hydrogen was measured with a
high-resolution crystal spectrometer. The spectrum is shown to be sensitive to
the ground-state hyperfine splitting, the corresponding triplet-to-singlet
ratio, and the kinetic energy distribution in the state. The hyperfine
splitting and triplet-to-singlet ratio are found to be consistent with the
values expected from theoretical and experimental investigations and,
therefore, were fixed accordingly in order to reduce the uncertainties in the
further reconstruction of the kinetic energy distribution. The presence of
high-energetic components was established and quantified in both a
phenomenological, i.e. cascade-model-free fit, and in a direct deconvolution of
the Doppler broadening based on the Bayesian approach.Comment: 22 pages, 21 figure
Pionic Deuterium
The strong interaction shift and broadening in pionic deuterium have been
remeasured with high statistics by means of the (3p-1s) X-ray transition using
the cyclotron trap and a high-resolution crystal spectrometer. Preliminary
results are (-2325+/-31) meV (repulsive) for the shift and (1171+23/-49} meV
for the width, which yields precise values for the pion-deuteron scattering
length and the threshold parameter for pion production.Comment: Conf. Proc. Few Body 19 (FB19), August 31 - September 5, 2009, Bonn,
Germany 9 pages, 13 figure
The clustering of telomeres and colocalization with Rap1, Sir3, and Sir4 proteins in wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
We have developed a novel technique for combined immunofluorescence/in situ hybridization on fixed budding yeast cells that maintains the three-dimensional structure of the nucleus as monitored by focal sections of cells labeled with fluorescent probes and by staining with a nuclear pore antibody. Within the resolution of these immunodetection techniques, we show that proteins encoded by the SIR3, SIR4, and RAP1 genes colocalize in a statistically significant manner with Y' telomere-associated DNA sequences. In wild-type cells the Y' in situ hybridization signals can be resolved by light microscopy into fewer than ten foci per diploid nucleus. This suggests that telomeres are clustered in vegetatively growing cells, and that proteins essential for telomeric silencing are concentrated at their sites of action, i.e., at telomeres and/or subtelomeric regions. As observed for Rap1, the Sir4p staining is diffuse in a sir3- strain, and similarly, Sir3p staining is no longer punctate in a sir4- strain, although the derivatized Y' probe continues to label discrete sites in these strains. Nonetheless, the Y' FISH is altered in a qualitative manner in sir3 and sir4 mutant strains, consistent with the previously reported phenotypes of shortened telomeric repeats and loss of telomeric silencing
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