319 research outputs found
Measurement of the charged pion mass using X-ray spectroscopy of exotic atoms
The transitions in pionic nitrogen and muonic oxygen were measured
simultaneously by using a gaseous nitrogen-oxygen mixture at 1.4\,bar. Due to
the precise knowledge of the muon mass the muonic line provides the energy
calibration for the pionic transition. A value of
(139.57077\,\,0.00018)\,MeV/c (\,1.3ppm) is derived for the
mass of the negatively charged pion, which is 4.2ppm larger than the present
world average
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
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
Precision determination of the dpi -> NN transition strength at threshold
An unusual but effective way to determine at threshold the dpi -> NN
transition strength is to exploit the hadronic ground-state broadening in
pionic deuterium, accessible by x-ray spectroscopy. The broadening is dominated
by the true absorption channel dpi- -> nn, which is related to s-wave pion
production pp -> dpi+ by charge symmetry and detailed balance. Using the exotic
atom circumvents the problem of Coulomb corrections to the cross section as
necessary in the production experiments. Our dedicated measurement finds
(1171+23/-49) meV for the broadening yielding (252+5/-11) \mub.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl
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
High Resolution He-like Argon And Sulfur Spectra From The PSI ECRIT
We present new results on the X-ray spectroscopy of multicharged argon,
sulfur and chlorine obtained with the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Trap
(ECRIT) in operation at the Paul Scherrer Institut (Villigen, Switzerland). We
used a Johann-type Bragg spectrometer with a spherically-bent crystal, with an
energy resolution of about 0.4 eV. The ECRIT itself is of a hybrid type, with a
superconducting split coil magnet, special iron inserts which provides the
mirror field, and a permanent magnetic hexapole. The high frequency was
provided by a 6.4 GHz microwave emitter. We obtained high intensity X-ray
spectra of multicharged F-like to He-like argon, sulfur and chlorine with one
1s hole. In particular, we observed the 1s2s^{3}S_1 \to 1s^2^{1}S_0 M1 and
1s2p^{3}P_2 \to 1s^2^{1}S_0 M2 transitions in He-like argon, sulfur and
chlorine with unprecedented statistics and resolution. The energies of the
observed lines are being determined with good accuracy using the He-like M1
line as a reference
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
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
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
Popillia japonica – Italian outbreak management
Popillia japonica, a priority pest for the EU, was first detected in Northern Italy in 2014. Since its discovery, the outbreak extended over an area of more than 16,000 square kilometers in Northern Italy and Southern Switzerland. In this review, we summarize the state-of-the-art of research conducted in Italy on both the spreading capacity and control measures of P. japonica. Chemical, physical, and biological control measures deployed since its detection are presented, by highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. An in-depth study of the ecosystems invaded by P. japonica disclosed the presence and pathogenicity of natural strains of entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes, some of which have shown to be particularly aggressive towards the larvae of this pest under laboratory conditions. The Plant Health authorities of the Lombardy and Piedmont regions, with the support of several research institutions, played a crucial role in the initial eradication attempt and subsequently in containing the spread of P. japonica. Control measures were performed in the infested area to suppress adult populations of P. japonica by installing several traps (e.g., for mass trapping, for auto-dissemination of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae, and “attract & kill”). For larval control, the infested fields were treated with commercial strains of the entomopathogenic fungus M. anisopliae and nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. Future studies will aim at integrating phenological and spread models developed with the most effective control measures, within an ecologically sustainable approach
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