818 research outputs found
Photoproduction of pi0-mesons from nuclei
Photoproduction of neutral pions from nuclei (carbon, calcium, niobium, lead)
has been studied for incident photon energies from 200 MeV to 800 MeV with the
TAPS detector using the Glasgow photon tagging spectrometer at the Mainz MAMI
accelerator. Data were obtained for the inclusive photoproduction of neutral
pions and the partial channels of quasifree single pi0, double pi0, and
pi0pi+/- photoproduction. They have been analyzed in terms of the in-medium
behavior of nucleon resonances and the pion - nucleus interaction. They are
compared to earlier measurements from the deuteron and to the predictions of a
Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (BUU) transport model for photon induced pion
production from nuclei.Comment: 15 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in EPJ
Breit - Wigner parameters of nucleon resonance S11(1535)
The result of partial - wave analysis of angular distributions for the
process gamma+p -> eta +p at the energies upto 2 GeV are given. From the energy
dependence of the regression coefficient a0(W) the reliable estimates of Breit
- Wigner parameters of S11(1535) - resonance and energy dependence of real and
imagenery parts of electric dipol amplitude E0+ and its phase were obtainedComment: 12 pages, 11 figure
Model Independent Form Factors for Spin Independent Neutralino-Nucleon Scattering from Elastic Electron Scattering Data
Theoretical calculations of neutralino-nucleon interaction rates with various
nuclei are of great interest to direct dark matter searches such as CDMS,
EDELWEISS, ZEPLIN, and other experiments since they are used to establish upper
bounds on the WIMP-proton cross section. These interaction rates and cross
sections are generally computed with standard, one or two parameter
model-dependent nuclear form factors, which may not exactly mirror the actual
form factor for the particular nucleus in question. As is well known, elastic
electron scattering can allow for very precise determinations of nuclear form
factors and hence nuclear charge densities for spherical or near-spherical
nuclei. We use charge densities derived from elastic electron scattering data
to calculate model independent, analytic form factors for various target nuclei
important in dark matter searches, such as Si, Ge, S, Ca and others. We have
found that for nuclear recoils in the range of 1-100 keV significant
differences in cross sections and rates exist when the model independent form
factors are used: at 30 keV nuclear recoil the form factors squared differ by a
factor of 1.06 for Si, 1.11 for Ca, 1.27 for Ge, and 1.92
for Xe. We show the effect of different form factors on the upper limit
on the WIMP-proton cross section obtained with a hypothetical Ge
detector during a 100 kg-day effective exposure. Helm form factors with various
parameter choices differ at most by 10--20% from the best (Fourier Bessel) form
factor, and can approach it to better than 1% if the parameters are chosen to
mimic the actual nuclear density.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure
Incoherent Photoproduction of -mesons from the Deuteron near Threshold
Incoherent photoproduction of the -meson on the deuteron is studied for
photon energies from threshold to 800 MeV. The dominant contribution, the
N-N amplitude, is described within an isobar model. The final
state interaction derived from the CD-Bonn potential is included and found to
be important for the description of the production cross section close to
threshold. Possible effects from the final state interaction are
discussed.Comment: 11 pages, revtex, including 6 figure
Search for He-eta bound states with the WASA-at-COSY facility
The existence of eta-mesic nuclei in which the eta meson is bound in a
nucleus by means of the strong interaction was postulated already in 1986,
albeit not yet confirmed it by experiment. The discovery of this new kind of an
exotic nuclear matter would be very important as it might allow for a better
understanding of the eta meson structure and its interaction with nucleons. The
search for eta-mesic helium 4He-eta is carried out with high statistics and
high acceptance with the WASA detector, installed at the cooler synchrotron
COSY of the Research Center Juelich. The search is conducted via the
measurement of the excitation function for selected decay channels of the
4He-eta system. In the experiment, performed in November 2010, two reactions
dd->(4He-eta)bs ->3He p pi- and dd->(4He-eta)bs ->3He p pi0 were measured with
a beam momentum ramped from 2.127GeV/c to 2.422GeV/c. The report includes the
description of the experimental method and status of the measurement.Comment: Presented at the Erice School on Nuclear Physics 2011. 5 pages, 3
figure
Photoproduction of mesons off nuclei
Recent results for the photoproduction of mesons off nuclei are reviewed.
These experiments have been performed for two major lines of research related
to the properties of the strong interaction. The investigation of nucleon
resonances requires light nuclei as targets for the extraction of the isospin
composition of the electromagnetic excitations. This is done with quasi-free
meson photoproduction off the bound neutron and supplemented with the
measurement of coherent photoproduction reactions, serving as spin and/or
isospin filters. Furthermore, photoproduction from light and heavy nuclei is a
very efficient tool for the study of the interactions of mesons with nuclear
matter and the in-medium properties of hadrons. Experiments are currently
rapidly developing due to the combination of high quality tagged (and
polarized) photon beams with state-of-the-art 4pi detectors and polarized
targets
Social and individual features affecting natal dispersal in the colonial Lesser Kestrel
Causes of natal dispersal were studied in an isolated population of the migratory, facultatively colonial Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) in northeastern Spain. During a seven-year study, we gathered information on natal dispersal of 751 individuals and on 24 explanatory variables that evaluated individual traits, conspecific cues in terms of colony size, and different ecological and populational features. We examined separately whether or not individuals changed colonies and how far they moved. Dispersal from the natal colony was high (83%), and dispersers covered a median distance of 7225 m (range 112-136 500 m). The probability of natal dispersal decreased with the size of the natal colony and with the distance to the nearest colony, but not with the distance to unoccupied buildings, in the year of recruitment. Moreover, the shorter the distance to the nearest colony, the shorter the distances that individuals dispersed, particularly to large colonies (>10 pairs). These results support the conspecific attraction hypothesis. Accordingly, the probability of recruiting in the natal colony increased with the proportion of philopatric adults, although beyond a threshold individuals were prevented from recruiting by the more dominant adults in a despotic way. The timing of arrival from the wintering grounds was positively related to the probability of colony change, especially in males. To the extent that this variable is related to the phenotypic quality of individuals, it reinforces the idea that natal dispersal is shaped by intraspecific competition in crowded colonies. Males showed lower frequencies of colony change and dispersed shorter distances than did females, as explained by the different role of the sexes in nest acquisition and defense. Our results indicate that natal dispersal is an evolutionarily labile trait simultaneously influenced by ecological, social, and individual features both within and between populations.Peer Reviewe
Experience with the introduction of dry, urine-diverting sanitation systems in Ethiopia
To overcome the drawbacks of conventional sanitation systems, new approaches to sanitation are
necessary. Human faeces and urine as well as greywater represent potential resources requiring efficient
management. Thus, source-separating
systems, which safe water and allow the recycling of nutrients to
agriculture, can provide an alternative. These systems can even be integrated into multistorey
houses,
therefore addressing the need for resource efficient
sanitation in condominium housing programmes.
Several urine separating
facilities are implemented in Ethiopia showing a high acceptance by their users.
The cost comparison between source-separating
systems and the conventional system for condominium
houses shows an advantage for the new approach due to savings of water for toilet flushing as well as
reduced costs for the treatment of the wastewater in septic tanks. The use of human urine as fertiliser in
several trials resulted in significant benefits in terms of improved crop growth
Quasi-free photoproduction of η-mesons off 3He nuclei
Quasi-free photoproduction of η-mesons has been measured off nucleons bound in 3He nuclei for incident photon energies from the threshold region up to 1.4 GeV. The experiment was performed at the tagged photon facility of the Mainz MAMI accelerator with an almost 4π covering electromagnetic calorimeter, combining the TAPS and Crystal Ball detectors. The η-mesons were detected in coincidence with the recoil nucleons. This allowed a comparison of the production cross section off quasi-free protons and quasi-free neutrons and a full kinematic reconstruction of the final state, eliminating effects from nuclear Fermi motion. In the S11(1535) resonance peak, the data agree with the neutron/proton cross section ratio extracted from measurements with deuteron targets. More importantly, the prominent structure observed in photoproduction off quasi-free neutrons bound in the deuteron is also clearly observed. Its parameters (width, strength) are consistent with the expectations from the deuteron results. On an absolute scale the cross sections for both quasi-free protons and neutrons are suppressed with respect to the deuteron target pointing to significant nuclear final-state interaction effects
High-Intensity and High-Brightness Source of Moderated Positrons Using a Brilliant gamma Beam
Presently large efforts are conducted towards the development of highly
brilliant gamma beams via Compton back scattering of photons from a
high-brilliance electron beam, either on the basis of a normal-conducting
electron linac or a (superconducting) Energy Recovery Linac (ERL). Particularly
ERL's provide an extremely brilliant electron beam, thus enabling to generate
highest-quality gamma beams. A 2.5 MeV gamma beam with an envisaged intensity
of 10^15 s^-1, as ultimately envisaged for an ERL-based gamma-beam facility,
narrow band width (10^-3), and extremely low emittance (10^-4 mm^2 mrad^2)
offers the possibility to produce a high-intensity bright polarized positron
beam. Pair production in a face-on irradiated W converter foil (200 micron
thick, 10 mm long) would lead to the emission of 2 x 10^13 (fast) positrons per
second, which is four orders of magnitude higher compared to strong radioactive
^22Na sources conventionally used in the laboratory.Using a stack of converter
foils and subsequent positron moderation, a high-intensity low-energy beam of
moderated positrons can be produced. Two different source setups are presented:
a high-brightness positron beam with a diameter as low as 0.2 mm, and a
high-intensity beam of 3 x 10^11 moderated positrons per second. Hence,
profiting from an improved moderation efficiency, the envisaged positron
intensity would exceed that of present high-intensity positron sources by a
factor of 100.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
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