Electroweak Measurements of Neutron Densities in CREX and PREX at JLab, USA

Measurement of the parity-violating electron scattering asymmetry is an established technique at Jefferson Lab and provides a new opportunity to measure the weak charge distribution and hence pin down the neutron radius in nuclei in a relatively clean and model-independent way. This is because the Z boson of the weak interaction couples primarily to neutrons. We will describe the PREX and CREX experiments on ${}^{208}$Pb and ${}^{48}$Ca respectively; these are both doubly-magic nuclei whose first excited state can be discriminated by the high resolution spectrometers at JLab. The heavier lead nucleus, with a neutron excess, provides an interpretation of the neutron skin thickness in terms of properties of bulk neutron matter. For the lighter ${}^{48}$Ca nucleus, which is also rich in neutrons, microscopic nuclear theory calculations are feasible and are sensitive to poorly constrained 3-neutron forces.Comment: A contribution to the upcoming EPJA Special Volume on Nuclear Symmetry Energ

Detection Prospects for Majorana Fermion WIMPless Dark Matter

We consider both velocity-dependent and velocity-independent contributions to spin-dependent (SD) and spin-independent (SI) nuclear scattering (including one-loop corrections) of WIMPless dark matter, in the case where the dark matter candidate is a Majorana fermion. We find that spin-independent scattering arises only from the mixing of exotic squarks, or from velocity-dependent terms. Nevertheless (and contrary to the case of MSSM neutralino WIMPs), we find a class of models which cannot be detected through SI scattering, but can be detected at IceCube/DeepCore through SD scattering. We study the detection prospects for both SI and SD detection strategies for a large range of Majorana fermion WIMPless model parameters.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures. v2: updated to match published versio

A comparison of methods for DPLL loop filter design

Four design methodologies for loop filters for a class of digital phase-locked loops (DPLLs) are presented. The first design maps an optimum analog filter into the digital domain; the second approach designs a filter that minimizes in discrete time weighted combination of the variance of the phase error due to noise and the sum square of the deterministic phase error component; the third method uses Kalman filter estimation theory to design a filter composed of a least squares fading memory estimator and a predictor. The last design relies on classical theory, including rules for the design of compensators. Linear analysis is used throughout the article to compare different designs, and includes stability, steady state performance and transient behavior of the loops. Design methodology is not critical when the loop update rate can be made high relative to loop bandwidth, as the performance approaches that of continuous time. For low update rates, however, the miminization method is significantly superior to the other methods

Non-Equilibrium Production of Photons via \pi^0\to 2\gamma in DCC's

We study production of photons via the non-equilibrium relaxation of a Disoriented Chiral Condensate with the chiral order parameter having a large initial amplitude along the \pi^0 direction. Assuming the validity of the low energy coupling of the neutral pion to photons via the U_A(1) anomalous vertex, we find that for large initial amplitudes along the \pi^0 direction, photon production is enhanced by parametric amplification. These processes are non-perturbative with a large contribution during the non-equilibrium stages of the evolution and result in a distinct distribution of the produced photons and a polarization asymmetry. For initial amplitudes of the \pi^0 component of the order parameter between 200-400 MeV, corresponding to energy densities between 1-12 GeV/fm^3 we find a peak in the photon distribution at energies between \approx 300 -600 MeV. We also find polarization asymmetries typically between 5-10%. We discuss the potential experimental impact of these results as well as the problems associated with its detection.Comment: 36 pages, 14 figures, uses revte