Quark-Gluon-Plasma Formation at SPS Energies?

By colliding ultrarelativistic ions, one achieves presently energy densities close to the critical value, concerning the formation of a quark-gluon-plasma. This indicates the importance of fluctuations and the necessity to go beyond the investigation of average events. Therefore, we introduce a percolation approach to model the final stage ($\tau > 1$ fm/c) of ion-ion collisions, the initial stage being treated by well-established methods, based on strings and Pomerons. The percolation approach amounts to finding high density domains, and treating them as quark-matter droplets. In this way, we have a {\bf realistic, microscopic, and Monte--Carlo based model which allows for the formation of quark matter.} We find that even at SPS energies large quark-matter droplets are formed -- at a low rate though. In other words: large quark-matter droplets are formed due to geometrical fluctuation, but not in the average event.Comment: 7 Pages, HD-TVP-94-6 (1 uuencoded figure

Enhanced quasiparticle heat conduction of the multigap superconductor Lu2Fe3Si5

The thermal transport measurements have been made on the Fe-based superconductor Lu2Fe3Si5 (Tc ~ 6 K) down to a very low temperature Tc/120. The field and temperature dependences of the thermal conductivity confirm the multigap superconductivity with fully opened gaps on the whole Fermi surfaces. In comparison to MgB2 as a typical example of the multigap superconductor in a p-electron system, Lu2Fe3Si5 reveals a remarkably enhanced quasiparticle heat conduction in the mixed state. The results can be interpreted as a consequence of the electronic correlations derived from Fe 3d-electrons.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Dietary supplementation of essential oils in dairy cows: evidence for stimulatory effects on nutrient absorption

Results of recent in vitro experiments suggest that essential oils (EO) may not only influence ruminal fermentation but also modulate the absorption of cations like Na+, Ca2+ and NH4+ across ruminal epithelia of cattle and sheep through direct interaction with epithelial transport proteins, such as those of the transient receptor potential family. The aim of the current study was to examine this hypothesis by testing the effect of a blend of essential oils (BEO) on cation status and feed efficiency in lactating dairy cows. In the experiment, 72 dairy cows in mid-to-end lactation were divided into two groups of 36 animals each and fed the same mixed ration with or without addition of BEO in a 2×2 cross-over design. Feed intake, milk yield and composition, plasma and urine samples were monitored. Feeding BEO elevated milk yield, milk fat and protein yield as well as feed efficiency, whereas urea levels in plasma and milk decreased. In addition, plasma calcium levels increased significantly upon BEO supplementation, supporting the hypothesis that enhanced cation absorption might contribute to the beneficial effects of these EO

Statistical Model Predictions for Particle Ratios at sqrt(s_NN) = 5.5 TeV

Particle production in central Pb-Pb collisions at LHC is discussed in the context of the Statistical Model. Predictions of various particle ratios are presented with the corresponding choice of model parameters made according to the systematics extracted from heavy-ion collisions at lower energies. The sensitivity of several ratios on the temperature and the baryon chemical potential is studied in detail, and some of them, which are particularly appropriate to determine the chemical freeze-out point experimentally, are indicated. We show that the anti-p / p ratio is most suitable to determine the baryon chemical potential while the Omega / K and Omega / pi ratios are best to determine the temperature at chemical freeze-out.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. C, 7 pages, 4 figure

Helioseismic Holography of an Artificial Submerged Sound Speed Perturbation and Implications for the Detection of Pre-Emergence Signatures of Active Regions

We use a publicly available numerical wave-propagation simulation of Hartlep et al. 2011 to test the ability of helioseismic holography to detect signatures of a compact, fully submerged, 5% sound-speed perturbation placed at a depth of 50 Mm within a solar model. We find that helioseismic holography as employed in a nominal "lateral-vantage" or "deep-focus" geometry employing quadrants of an annular pupil is capable of detecting and characterizing the perturbation. A number of tests of the methodology, including the use of a plane-parallel approximation, the definition of travel-time shifts, the use of different phase-speed filters, and changes to the pupils, are also performed. It is found that travel-time shifts made using Gabor-wavelet fitting are essentially identical to those derived from the phase of the Fourier transform of the cross-covariance functions. The errors in travel-time shifts caused by the plane-parallel approximation can be minimized to less than a second for the depths and fields of view considered here. Based on the measured strength of the mean travel-time signal of the perturbation, no substantial improvement in sensitivity is produced by varying the analysis procedure from the nominal methodology in conformance with expectations. The measured travel-time shifts are essentially unchanged by varying the profile of the phase-speed filter or omitting the filter entirely. The method remains maximally sensitive when applied with pupils that are wide quadrants, as opposed to narrower quadrants or with pupils composed of smaller arcs. We discuss the significance of these results for the recent controversy regarding suspected pre-emergence signatures of active regions

Fluctuations of the number of participants and binary collisions in AA interactions at fixed centrality in the Glauber approach

In the framework of the classical Glauber approach, the analytical expressions for the variance of the number of wounded nucleons and binary collisions in AA interactions at a given centrality are presented. Along with the optical approximation term, they contain additional contact terms arising only in the case of nucleus-nucleus collisions. The magnitude of the additional contributions, e.g., for PbPb collisions at SPS energies, is larger than the contribution of the optical approximation at some values of the impact parameter. The sum of the additional contributions is in good agreement with the results of independent Monte Carlo simulations of this process. Due to these additional terms, the variance of the total number of participants for peripheral PbPb collisions and the variance of the number of collisions at all values of the impact parameter exceed several multiples of the Poisson variances. The correlator between the numbers of participants in colliding nuclei at fixed centrality is also analytically calculated.Comment: updated version; as published by Phys. Rev.

TDC Chip and Readout Driver Developments for COMPASS and LHC-Experiments

A new TDC-chip is under development for the COMPASS experiment at CERN. The ASIC, which exploits the 0.6 micrometer CMOS sea-of-gate technology, will allow high resolution time measurements with digitization of 75 ps, and an unprecedented degree of flexibility accompanied by high rate capability and low power consumption. Preliminary specifications of this new TDC chip are presented. Furthermore a FPGA based readout-driver and buffer-module as an interface between the front-end of the COMPASS detector systems and an optical S-LINK is in development. The same module serves also as remote fan-out for the COMPASS trigger distribution and time synchronization system. This readout-driver monitors the trigger and data flow to and from front-ends. In addition, a specific data buffer structure and sophisticated data flow control is used to pursue local pre-event building. At start-up the module controls all necessary front-end initializations.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Chemical Equilibrium in Collisions of Small Systems

The system-size dependence of particle production in heavy-ion collisions at the top SPS energy is analyzed in terms of the statistical model. A systematic comparison is made of two suppression mechanisms that quantify strange particle yields in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions: the canonical model with strangeness correlation radius determined from the data and the model formulated in the canonical ensemble using chemical off-equilibrium strangeness suppression factor. The system-size dependence of the correlation radius and the thermal parameters are obtained for p-p, C-C, Si-Si and Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 17.3 AGeV. It is shown that on the basis of a consistent set of data there is no clear difference between the two suppression patterns. In the present study the strangeness correlation radius was found to exhibit a rather weak dependence on the system size.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Physical Review