Sex Differences in Semantic Processing: Event-Related Brain Potentials Distinguish between Lower and Higher Order Semantic Analysis during Word Reading

Behavioral studies suggest that women and men differ in the strategic elaboration of verbally encoded information especially in the absence of external task demand. However, measuring such covert processing requires other than behavioral data. The present study used event-related potentials to compare sexes in lower and higher order semantic processing during the passive reading of semantically related and unrelated word pairs. Women and men showed the same early context effect in the P1-N1 transition period. This finding indicates that the initial lexical-semantic access is similar in men and women. In contrast, sexes differed in higher order semantic processing. Women showed an earlier and longer lasting context effect in the N400 accompanied by larger signal strength in temporal networks similarly recruited by men and women. The results suggest that women spontaneously conduct a deeper semantic analysis. This leads to faster processing of related words in the active neural networks as reflected in a shorter stability of the N400 map in women. Taken together, the findings demonstrate that there is a selective sex difference in the controlled semantic analysis during passive word reading that is not reflected in different functional organization but in the depth of processin

Determination of the color temperature in laser-produced shocks

Experimental results on the determination of the color temperature in shock waves produced with lasers are presented. The method is based on imaging the target rear side in two different spectral windows and on using phased zone plates to produce high-quality shocks. The shock velocity is also measured, allowing, with the use of the equation of state, the real shock temperature to be deduced and compared with the measured color temperature

Hydrodynamic instabilities in a highly radiative environment

In this paper, we present the effects of a radiative shock (RS) on the morphology of jet-like objects subjected to hydrodynamic instabilities. To this end, we used an experimental platform developed to create RSs on high energy laser facilities such as LULI2000 and GEKKO XII. Here, we employed modulated targets to initiate Richtmyer–Meshkov and Rayleigh–Taylor instability (RTI) growth in the presence of an RS. The RS is obtained by generating a strong shock in a dense pusher that expands into a low-density xenon gas. With our design, only a limited RTI growth occurs in the absence of radiative effects. A strongly radiative shock has opposite effects on RTI growth. While its deceleration enhances the instability growth, the produced radiations tend to stabilize the interfaces. Our indirect experimental observations suggest a lower instability growth despite the interface deceleration. In addition, the jets, produced during the experiment, are relevant to astrophysical structures such as Herbig–Haro objects or other radiatively cooling jets

Partial Wave Analysis of the Reaction p(3.5GeV)+p→pK+Λp(3.5 GeV)+p \to pK^+\Lambda to Search for the "ppK−ppK^-" Bound State

Employing the Bonn-Gatchina partial wave analysis framework (PWA), we have analyzed HADES data of the reaction $p(3.5GeV)+p\to pK^{+}\Lambda$. This reaction might contain information about the kaonic cluster "$ppK^-$" via its decay into $p\Lambda$. Due to interference effects in our coherent description of the data, a hypothetical $\overline{K}NN$ (or, specifically "$ppK^-$") cluster signal must not necessarily show up as a pronounced feature (e.g. a peak) in an invariant mass spectra like $p\Lambda$. Our PWA analysis includes a variety of resonant and non-resonant intermediate states and delivers a good description of our data (various angular distributions and two-hadron invariant mass spectra) without a contribution of a $\overline{K}NN$ cluster. At a confidence level of CL$_{s}$=95\% such a cluster can not contribute more than 2-12\% to the total cross section with a $pK^{+}\Lambda$ final state, which translates into a production cross-section between 0.7 $\mu b$ and 4.2 $\mu b$, respectively. The range of the upper limit depends on the assumed cluster mass, width and production process.Comment: 7 Pages, 5 Figure

Production of Sigma{\pm}pi?pK+ in p+p reactions at 3.5 GeV beam energy

We study the production of Sigma^+-pi^+-pK^+ particle quartets in p+p reactions at 3.5 GeV kinetic beam energy. The data were taken with the HADES experiment at GSI. This report evaluates the contribution of resonances like Lambda(1405$, Sigma(1385)^0, Lambda(1520), Delta(1232), N^* and K^*0 to the Sigma^+- pi^-+ p K+ final state. The resulting simulation model is compared to the experimental data in several angular distributions and it shows itself as suitable to evaluate the acceptance corrections properly.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure

Inclusive pion and eta production in p+Nb collisions at 3.5 GeV beam energy

Data on inclusive pion and eta production measured with the dielectron spectrometer HADES in the reaction p+93Nb at a kinetic beam energy of 3.5 GeV are presented. Our results, obtained with the photon conversion method, supplement the rather sparse information on neutral meson production in proton-nucleus reactions existing for this bombarding energy regime. The reconstructed e+e-e+e- transverse-momentum and rapidity distributions are confronted with transport model calculations, which account fairly well for both pi0 and eta production.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Deep sub-threshold Ξ−\Xi^- production in Ar+KCl reactions at 1.76A GeV

We report first results on a deep sub-threshold production of the doubly strange hyperon $\Xi^-$ in a heavy-ion reaction. At a beam energy of 1.76A GeV the reaction Ar+KCl was studied with the High Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at SIS18/GSI. A high-statistics and high-purity $\Lambda$ sample was collected, allowing for the investigation of the decay channel $\Xi^- \to \Lambda \pi^-$. The deduced $\Xi^-/(\Lambda+\Sigma^0)$ production ratio of $(5.6 \pm 1.2 ^{+1.8}_{-1.7})\cdot 10^{-3}$ is significantly larger than available model predictions.Comment: 4 pages, including 4 figure

Searching a Dark Photon with HADES

We present a search for the e+e- decay of a hypothetical dark photon, also names U vector boson, in inclusive dielectron spectra measured by HADES in the p (3.5 GeV) + p, Nb reactions, as well as the Ar (1.756 GeV/u) + KCl reaction. An upper limit on the kinetic mixing parameter squared epsilon^{2} at 90% CL has been obtained for the mass range M(U) = 0.02 - 0.55 GeV/c2 and is compared with the present world data set. For masses 0.03 - 0.1 GeV/c^2, the limit has been lowered with respect to previous results, allowing now to exclude a large part of the parameter region favoured by the muon g-2 anomaly. Furthermore, an improved upper limit on the branching ratio of 2.3 * 10^{-6} has been set on the helicity-suppressed direct decay of the eta meson, eta-> e+e-, at 90% CL