14,840 research outputs found
Discovery of Long-Lived Shape Isomeric States which Decay by Strongly Retarded High-Energy Particle Radioactivity
The reaction 28Si + 181Ta has been studied at E(Lab) = 125 and 135 MeV.
Coincidences between high energy particles and various X- and gamma-rays from
abnormally long-lived states were observed. e.g. 7.8 - 8.6 MeV alpha-particles
with gamma-rays of a superdeformed band, 5.1 - 5.5 MeV alpha-particles with X-
and gamma-rays of W, Re, and Pt, and 3.88 MeV particles (interpreted as
protons) with 185.8 keV gamma-rays. The data are interpreted in terms of the
production of long-lived (t(1/2) of several months) high spin isomeric states
in the second well of the potential in the parent nuclei, which decay to the
normal states in the daughters, and in the third well of the potential, which
decay to the second well.Comment: 25 pages including 11 figures and 3 table
Coherent Description for Hitherto Unexplained Radioactivities by Super- and Hyperdeformed Isomeric States
Recently long-lived high spin super- and hyperdeformed isomeric states with
unusual radioactive decay properties have been discovered. Based on these newly
observed modes of radioactive decay, consistent interpretations are suggested
for previously unexplained phenomena seen in nature. These are the Po halos,
the low-energy enhanced 4.5 MeV alpha-particle group proposed to be due to an
isotope of a superheavy element with Z = 108, and the giant halos.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, to be published in Int. J. Mod. Phys.
A Note on Gravitational Baryogenesis
The coupling between Ricci scalar curvature and the baryon number current
dynamically breaks CPT in an expanding universe and leads to baryon asymmetry.
We study the effect of time dependence of equation of state parameter of the
FRW universe on this asymmetry.Comment: 10 pages, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Unjamming a granular hopper by vibration
We present an experimental study of the outflow of a hopper continuously
vibrated by a piezoelectric device. Outpouring of grains can be achieved for
apertures much below the usual jamming limit observed for non vibrated hoppers.
Granular flow persists down to the physical limit of one grain diameter, a
limit reached for a finite vibration amplitude. For the smaller orifices, we
observe an intermittent regime characterized by alternated periods of flow and
blockage. Vibrations do not significantly modify the flow rates both in the
continuous and the intermittent regime. The analysis of the statistical
features of the flowing regime shows that the flow time significantly increases
with the vibration amplitude. However, at low vibration amplitude and small
orifice sizes, the jamming time distribution displays an anomalous statistics
Thermal effects on slow-roll dynamics
A description of the transition from the inflationary epoch to radiation
domination requires the understanding of quantum fields out of thermal
equilibrium, particle creation and thermalisation. This can be studied from
first principles by solving a set of truncated real-time Schwinger-Dyson
equations, written in terms of the mean field (inflaton) and the field
propagators, derived from the two-particle irreducible effective action. We
investigate some aspects of this problem by considering the dynamics of a
slow-rolling mean field coupled to a second quantum field, using a \phi^2\chi^2
interaction. We focus on thermal effects. It is found that interactions lead to
an earlier end of slow-roll and that the evolution afterwards depends on
details of the heatbath.Comment: 25 pages, 11 eps figures. v2: paper reorganized, title changed,
conclusions unchanged, to appear in PR
Super- and Hyperdeformed Isomeric States and Long-Lived Superheavy Elements
The recent discoveries of the long-lived high spin super- and hyperdeformed
isomeric states and their unusual radioactive decay properties are described.
Based on their existence a consistent interpretation is given to the production
of the long-lived superheavy element with Z = 112, via secondary reactions in
CERN W targets, and to the low energy and very enhanced alpha-particle groups
seen in various actinide fractions separated from the same W target. In
addition, consistent interpretations are suggested for previously unexplained
phenomena seen in nature. These are the Po halos, the low-energy enhanced 4.5
MeV alpha-particle group proposed to be due to an isotope of a superheavy
element with Z = 108, and the giant halos.Comment: 4 pages. Contribution to the 2nd Int. Conf. on the Chemistry and
Physics of the Transactinide Elements (TAN 03) Napa California, November 200
Dark Matter Axions Revisited
We study for what specific values of the theoretical parameters the axion can
form the totality of cold dark matter. We examine the allowed axion parameter
region in the light of recent data collected by the WMAP5 mission plus baryon
acoustic oscillations and supernovae, and assume an inflationary scenario and
standard cosmology. If the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is restored after inflation,
we recover the usual relation between axion mass and density, so that an axion
mass makes the axion 100% of the cold dark matter. If
the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is broken during inflation, the axion can instead be
100% of the cold dark matter for provided a specific value
of the initial misalignment angle is chosen in correspondence to a
given value of its mass . Large values of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry
breaking scale correspond to small, perhaps uncomfortably small, values of the
initial misalignment angle .Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
Particle-Antiparticle Asymmetry Due to Non-Renormalizable Effective Interactions
We consider a model for generating a particle-antiparticle asymmetry through
out-of-equilibrium decays of a massive particle due to non-renormalizable,
effective interactions.Comment: preliminary version, 38 pages; LaTeX source, epsf.sty and EPS files
included in tar archiv
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