302 research outputs found
First Application of Pulse-Shape Analysis to Silicon Micro-Strip Detectors
The method of pulse-shape analysis (PSA) for particle identification (PID)
was applied to a double-sided silicon strip detector (DSSD) with a strip pitch
of 300 \{mu}m. We present the results of test measurements with particles from
the reactions of a 70 MeV 12C beam impinging on a mylar target. Good separation
between protons and alpha particles down to 3 MeV has been obtained when
excluding the interstrip events of the DSSD from the analysis.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Nuclear Inst. and Methods in Physics
Research
Orbital electron capture by the nucleus
The theory of nuclear electron capture is reviewed in the light of current understanding of weak interactions. Experimental methods and results regarding capture probabilities, capture ratios, and EC/Beta(+) ratios are summarized. Radiative electron capture is discussed, including both theory and experiment. Atomic wave function overlap and electron exchange effects are covered, as are atomic transitions that accompany nuclear electron capture. Tables are provided to assist the reader in determining quantities of interest for specific cases
The Quasi-Molecular Stage of Ternary Fission
We developed a three-center phenomenological model,able to explain
qualitatively the recently obtained experimental results concerning the
quasimolecular stage of a light-particle accompanied fission process. It was
derived from the liquid drop model under the assumption that the aligned
configuration, with the emitted particle between the light and heavy fragment,
is reached by increasing continuously the separation distance, while the radii
of the heavy fragment and of the light particle are kept constant. In such a
way,a new minimum of a short-lived molecular state appears in the deformation
energy at a separation distance very close to the touching point. This minimum
allows the existence of a short-lived quasi-molecular state, decaying into the
three final fragments.The influence of the shell effects is discussed. The
half-lives of some quasimolecular states which could be formed in the Be
and C accompanied fission of Cf are roughly estimated to be the
order of 1 ns, and 1 ms, respectively.Comment: 12 pages, 6 epsf, uses ws-p8-50x6-00.cl
Prototyping of DSSDs for Particle Tracking and Spectroscopy within the EXL Project at Fair
Prototype double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSD) of 300 m thickness produced at PTI St. Petersburg (Russia) were tested for the use as position sensitive, and E detectors for tracking and particle identification in the EXL (EXotic nuclei studied in Light-ion induced reactions at the NESR storage ring) setup at the FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) project at GSI. We describe the characteristics of detectors with and strips, respectively. The response of these detectors for Am particles injected either from the p or n side was examined. The test measurements were performed partially at GSI and the University of Edinburgh. A first in-beam test with a proton beam of 50 MeV with the latter two DSSDs and two 6.5 mm thick Si(Li) detectors was also done at KVI Groningen, the Netherlands. The results reveal good spectroscopic properties of these detectors
Charge and current-sensitive preamplifiers for pulse shape discrimination techniques with silicon detectors
New charge and current-sensitive preamplifiers coupled to silicon detectors
and devoted to studies in nuclear structure and dynamics have been developed
and tested. For the first time shapes of current pulses from light charged
particles and carbon ions are presented. Capabilities for pulse shape
discrimination techniques are demonstrated.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, to be published in Nucl. Inst. Meth.
First results from the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST)
Hypothetical axion-like particles with a two-photon interaction would be
produced in the Sun by the Primakoff process. In a laboratory magnetic field
(``axion helioscope'') they would be transformed into X-rays with energies of a
few keV. Using a decommissioned LHC test magnet, CAST has been running for
about 6 months during 2003. The first results from the analysis of these data
are presented here. No signal above background was observed, implying an upper
limit to the axion-photon coupling < 1.16 10^{-10} GeV^-1 at 95% CL for m_a
<~0.02 eV. This limit is comparable to the limit from stellar energy-loss
arguments and considerably more restrictive than any previous experiment in
this axion mass range.Comment: 4 pages, accepted by PRL. Final version after the referees comment
Are the weak channels really weak?
The transfer probabilities for 20Ne + 90Zr and 20Ne + 92Zr at energies near the Coulomb barrier were measured. This quantity turned out to be very similar for both Zr isotopes and does not explain the observed
differences in the barrier height distributions for these systems
A Family of Plasmodesmal Proteins with Receptor-Like Properties for Plant Viral Movement Proteins
Plasmodesmata (PD) are essential but poorly understood structures in plant cell walls that provide symplastic continuity and intercellular communication pathways between adjacent cells and thus play fundamental roles in development and pathogenesis. Viruses encode movement proteins (MPs) that modify these tightly regulated pores to facilitate their spread from cell to cell. The most striking of these modifications is observed for groups of viruses whose MPs form tubules that assemble in PDs and through which virions are transported to neighbouring cells. The nature of the molecular interactions between viral MPs and PD components and their role in viral movement has remained essentially unknown. Here, we show that the family of PD-located proteins (PDLPs) promotes the movement of viruses that use tubule-guided movement by interacting redundantly with tubule-forming MPs within PDs. Genetic disruption of this interaction leads to reduced tubule formation, delayed infection and attenuated symptoms. Our results implicate PDLPs as PD proteins with receptor-like properties involved the assembly of viral MPs into tubules to promote viral movement
The search for solar axions in the CAST experiment
The CAST (CERN Axion Solar Telescope) experiment at CERN searches for solar axions with energies in the keV range. It is possible that axions are produced in the core of the sun by the interaction of thermal photons with virtual photons of strong electromagnetic fields. In this experiment, the solar axions can be reconverted to photons in the transversal field of a 9 Tesla superconducting magnet. At both ends of the 10m-long dipole magnet three different X-ray detectors were installed, which are sensitive in the interesting photon energy range. Preliminary results from the analysis of the 2004 data are presented: g GeV at 95% C.L. for axion masses m 0.02 eV. At the end of 2005, data started to be taken with a buffer gas in the magnet pipes in order to extend the sensitivity to axion masses up to 0.8 eV.The CAST (CERN Axion Solar Telescope) experiment at CERN searches for solar axions with energies in the keV range. It is possible that axions are produced in the core of the sun by the interaction of thermal photons with virtual photons of strong electromagnetic fields. In this experiment, the solar axions can be reconverted to photons in the transversal field of a 9 Tesla superconducting magnet. At both ends of the 10m-long dipole magnet three different X-ray detectors were installed, which are sensitive in the interesting photon energy range. Preliminary results from the analysis of the 2004 data are presented: g GeV at 95% C.L. for axion masses m 0.02 eV. At the end of 2005, data started to be taken with a buffer gas in the magnet pipes in order to extend the sensitivity to axion masses up to 0.8 eV
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