Seguiment del contingut de nitrats al sòl i en planta en parcel·les comercials de panís al Pla d'Urgell

En aquest treball es presenten els resultats parcials del primer any de seguiment de nitrats al sòl i en planta de parcel·les comercials de panís (Zea mays L.) a la zona regable dels canals d'Urgell. Les parcel·les han estat seleccionades a partir del coneixement dels sòls de la zona i com a principal criteri el de la representativitat espaial. L'excés de nitrogen a la zona, present a les capes freàtiques i a la xarxa de reg i de drenatges, ve donat per l'aplicació en excés de nitrogen als cultius, entre els quals el panís és un dels més importants. A les parcel·les seguides s'han aplicat dosis de nitrogen que van dels 250 als 350 kg N/ha. Els primers resultats mostren com les aplicacions que fan els agricultors són independents de les disponibilitats inicials de nitrogen al sòl. També es mostra com la determinació de nitrats a la base de la tija al final del cicle pot servir per conèixer si les disponibilitats de N han estat excessives. Els rendiments més elevats, 13,5 Mg/ha, han coincidit amb les aplicacions de N més baixes, les disponibilitats de nitrogen també més baixes i amb el contingut de nitrats a la base de la tija més baix (0,4 g NNO3/ kg). Tot això demostra que la racionalització de l'ús del nitrogen és possible.This paper presents the partial results of the first year monitoring of soil and plant nitrate contents in commercial maize (Zea mays L.) in the Urgell canal irrigated area. The fields have been selected starting from the knowledge of the soils in the area and their spatial representativeness as main criteria. The excess of nitrogen in the area, present in the groundwater as well as in the irrigation water, is due to overfertilisation of the crops, of which maize is one of the most importants. In the monitored fields the applied nitrogen fertiliser ranges from 250 to 350 kg/ha. The first results show that the farmers applications are not related to the initially available soil nitrogen. They also show how the determination of nitrates in the lower part of the stem at the end of the cycle may help to show if the N availability has been excessive. The higher yields, 13.5 Mg/ha are the same with the lower fertilizer applications, with the lower soil N availabilities and with the lower contents of nitrates in the lower part of the stem (0.4 g NNO3/ kg). All of this show there is ample room to rationalize the nitrogen use.En este trabajo se presentan los resultados parciales del primer año de seguimiento de nitratos en el suelo y en planta de parcelas comerciales de maíz (Zea mays L.) en la zona regable de los canales de Urgell. Las parcelas han sido seleccionadas a partir del conocimiento de los suelos de la zona y como criterio principal el de su representatividad espacial. El exceso de nitrógeno en la zona, presente en las capas freáticas y en la red de riego y de drenajes viene dado por la aplicación en exceso de nitróge-no a los cultivos, dentro de los cuales el maíz es uno de los más importantes. En las parcelas seguidas se han aplicado dosis de nitrógeno que van de los 250 a los 350 kg N/ha. Los primeros resultados muestran como las aplicaciones que hacen los agricultores son independientes de las disponibilidades iniciales de nitrógeno en el suelo. También se muestra como la determinación de nitratos en la base del tallo al final del ciclo puede servir para conocer si las disponibilidades de N han sido excesivas. Los rendimientos más elevados 13,5 Mg/ha han coincidido con las aplicaciones de N más bajas, las disponibilidades de nitrógeno también más bajas y con el contenido de nitratos en la base del tallo más bajo (0,4 g N-NO3/kg). Todo esto demuestra que la racionalización del uso del nitrógeno es posible

A vestige low metallicity gas shell surrounding the radio galaxy 0943-242 at z=2.92

Observations are presented showing the doublet CIV 1550 absorption lines superimposed on the CIV emission in the radio galaxy 0943-242. Within the errors, the redshift of the absorption system that has a column density of N_CIV = 10^{14.5 +- 0.1} cm-2 coincides with that of the deep Ly-alpha absorption trough observed by Rottgering et al. (1995). The gas seen in absorption has a resolved spatial extent of at least 13 kpc (the size of the extended emission line region). We first model the absorption and emission gas as co-spatial components with the same metallicity and degree of excitation. Using the information provided by the emission and absorption line ratios of CIV and Ly-alpha, we find that the observed quantities are incompatible with photoionization or collisional ionization of cloudlets with uniform properties. We therefore reject the possibility that the absorption and emission phases are co-spatial and favour the explanation that the absorption gas has low metallicity and is located further away from the host galaxy (than the emission line gas). The estimated low metallicity for the absorption gas in 0943-242 (Z \~ 1% solar) and its proposed location -outer halo outside the radio cocoon- suggest that its existence preceeds the observed AGN phase and is a vestige of the initial starburst at the onset of formation of the parent galaxy.Comment: 11 pages,5 figures, A&A accepte

Status of the ANAIS Dark Matter Project at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory

The ANAIS experiment aims at the confirmation of the DAMA/LIBRA signal. A detailed analysis of two NaI(Tl) crystals of 12.5 kg each grown by Alpha Spectra will be shown: effective threshold at 1 keVee is at reach thanks to outstanding light collection and robust PMT noise filtering protocols and the measured background is well understood down to 3 keVee, having quantified K, U and Th content and cosmogenic activation in the crystals. A new detector was installed in Canfranc in March 2015 together with the two previous modules and preliminary characterization results will be presented. Finally, the status and expected sensitivity of the full experiment with 112 kg will be reviewed.Comment: Contributed to the 11th Patras Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISPs, Zaragoza, June 22 to 26, 201

Light yield determination in large sodium iodide detectors applied in the search for dark matter

Application of NaI(Tl) detectors in the search for galactic dark matter particles through their elastic scattering off the target nuclei is well motivated because of the long standing DAMA/LIBRA highly significant positive result on annual modulation, still requiring confirmation. For such a goal, it is mandatory to reach very low threshold in energy (at or below the keV level), very low radioactive background (at a few counts/keV/kg/day), and high detection mass (at or above the 100 kg scale). One of the most relevant technical issues is the optimization of the crystal intrinsic scintillation light yield and the efficiency of the light collecting system for large mass crystals. In the frame of the ANAIS (Annual modulation with NaI Scintillators) dark matter search project large NaI(Tl) crystals from different providers coupled to two photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) have been tested at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory. In this paper we present the estimates of the NaI(Tl) scintillation light collected using full-absorption peaks at very low energy from external and internal sources emitting gammas/electrons, and single-photoelectron events populations selected by using very low energy pulses tails. Outstanding scintillation light collection at the level of 15~photoelectrons/keV can be reported for the final design and provider chosen for ANAIS detectors. Taking into account the Quantum Efficiency of the PMT units used, the intrinsic scintillation light yield in these NaI(Tl) crystals is above 40~photoelectrons/keV for energy depositions in the range from 3 up to 25~keV. This very high light output of ANAIS crystals allows triggering below 1~keV, which is very important in order to increase the sensitivity in the direct detection of dark matter

Production and relevance of cosmogenic radionuclides in NaI(Tl) crystals

The cosmogenic production of long-lived radioactive isotopes in materials is an hazard for experiments demanding ultra-low background conditions. Although NaI(Tl) scintillators have been used in this context for a long time, very few activation data were available. We present results from two 12.5 kg NaI(Tl) detectors, developed within the ANAIS project and installed at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory. The prompt data taking starting made possible a reliable quantification of production of some I, Te and Na isotopes with half-lives larger than ten days. Initial activities underground were measured and then production rates at sea level were estimated following the history of detectors; a comparison of these rates with calculations using typical cosmic neutron flux at sea level and a selected description of excitation functions was also carried out. After including the contribution from the identified cosmogenic products in the detector background model, we found that the presence of 3H in the crystal bulk would help to fit much better our background model and experimental data. We have analyzed the cosmogenic production of 3H in NaI, and although precise quantification has not been attempted, we can conclude that it could imply a very relevant contribution to the total background below 15 keV in NaI detectors.Comment: Proceedings of the Low Radioactivity Techniques 2015 workshop, March 2015, Seattle (US

Background model of NaI(Tl) detectors for the ANAIS Dark Matter Project

A thorough understanding of the background sources is mandatory in any experiment searching for rare events. The ANAIS (Annual Modulation with NaI(Tl) Scintillators) experiment aims at the confirmation of the DAMA/LIBRA signal at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC). Two NaI(Tl) crystals of 12.5 kg each produced by Alpha Spectra have been taking data since December 2012. The complete background model of these detectors and more precisely in the region of interest will be described. Preliminary background analysis of a new 12.5 kg crystal received at Canfranc in March 2015 will be presented too. Finally, the power of anticoincidence rejection in the region of interest has been analyzed in a 4x 5 12.5 kg detector matrix.Comment: Contributed to the 11th Patras Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISPs, Zaragoza, June 22 to 26, 201

Background analysis and status of the ANAIS dark matter project

ANAIS (Annual modulation with NaI Scintillators) is a project aiming to set up at the new facilities of the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC), a large scale NaI(Tl) experiment in order to explore the DAMA/LIBRA annual modulation positive result using the same target and technique. Two 12.5 kg each NaI(Tl) crystals provided by Alpha Spectra took data at the LSC in the ANAIS-25 set-up. The comparison of the background model for the ANAIS-25 prototypes with the experimental results is presented. ANAIS crystal radiopurity goals have been achieved for Th-232 and U-238 chains, but a Pb-210 contamination out-of-equilibrium was identified, whose origin has been studied. The high light collection efficiency obtained with these prototypes allows to anticipate an energy threshold of the order of 1 keVee. A new detector, with improved performances, was received in March 2015 and very preliminary results are shown.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure