Atomic masses of intermediate-mass neutron-deficient nuclei with relative uncertainty down to 35-ppb via multireflection time-of-flight mass spectrograph

High-precision mass measurements of $^{63}$Cu, $^{64-66}$Zn, $^{65}$Ga, $^{65-67}$Ge, $^{67}$As, $^{78,81}$Br, $^{80}$Rb, and $^{79}$Sr were performed utilizing a multireflection time-of-flight mass spectrograph combined with the gas-filled recoil ion separator GARIS-II. In the case of $^{65}$Ga, a mass uncertainty of 2.1 keV, corresponding to a relative precision of $\delta m / m = 3.5\times10^{-8}$, was obtained and the mass value is in excellent agreement with the 2016 Atomic Mass Evaluation. For $^{67}$Ge and $^{81}$Br, where masses were previously deduced through indirect measurements, discrepancies with literature values were found. The feasibility of using this device for mass measurements of nuclides more neutron-deficient side, which have significant impact on the $rp$-process pathway, is discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

\pi N and \eta p deexcitation channels of the N^* and \Delta baryonic resonances between 1470 and 1680 MeV

Two reactions, pp->ppX and pp->p\pi^+X, are used to study the 1.47<M<1.68 GeV baryonic mass range. Three different final states are considered in the invariant masses: N^* or \Delta^+, p\pi^0, and p\eta. The last two channels are defined by software cuts applied to the missing mass of the first reaction. Several narrow structures are extracted with widths \sigma(\Gamma) varying between 3 and 9 MeV. Some structures are observed in one channel but not in others. Such nonobservation may be due either to the spectrometer momenta limits or to the physics (e.g. no such disintegration channel is allowed from the narrow state considered). We tentatively conclude that the broad Particle Data Group (PDG) baryonic resonances N(1520)D13, N(1535)S11, Delta(1600)P33, and N(1675)D15 are collective states built from several narrow and weakly excited resonances, each having a (much) smaller width than the one reported by PDG.Comment: 29 pages, plus 50 (.png) figures Will be published in a slightly reduced size in Phys. Rev.

Law, Liberty and the Rule of Law (in a Constitutional Democracy)

In the hunt for a better--and more substantial--awareness of the “law,” The author intends to analyze the different notions related to the “rule of law” and to criticize the conceptions that equate it either to the sum of “law” and “rule” or to the formal assertion that “law rules,” regardless of its relationship to certain principles, including both “negative” and “positive” liberties. Instead, he pretends to scrutinize the principles of the “rule of law,” in general, and in a “constitutional democracy,” in particular, to conclude that the tendency to reduce the “democratic principle” to the “majority rule” (or “majority principle”), i.e. to whatever pleases the majority, as part of the “positive liberty,” is contrary both to the “negative liberty” and to the “rule of law” itself

An adaptive inelastic magnetic mirror for Bose-Einstein condensates

We report the reflection and focussing of a Bose-Einstein condensate by a new pulsed magnetic mirror. The mirror is adaptive, inelastic, and of extremely high optical quality. The deviations from specularity are less than 0.5 mrad rms, making this the best atomic mirror demonstrated to date. We have also used the mirror to realize the analog of a beam-expander, producing an ultra-cold collimated fountain of matter wavesComment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Cooperative damping mechanism of the resonance in the nuclear photoabsorption

We propose a resonance damping mechanism to explain the disappearance of the peaks around the position of the resonances higher than the $\Delta$ resonance in the nuclear photoabsorption. This phenomenon is understood by taking into account the cooperative effect of the collision broadening of $\Delta$ and $N^{*}$, the pion distortion and the interference in the two-pion photoproduction processes in the nuclear medium.Comment: 11 pages, uses revtex.sty. To appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Multi-level parallel clocking of CCDs for: improving charge transfer efficiency, clearing persistence, clocked anti-blooming, and generating low-noise backgrounds for pumping

A multi-level clocking scheme has been developed to improve the parallel CTE of four-phase CCDs by suppressing the effects of traps located in the transport channel under barrier phases by inverting one of these phases throughout the transfer sequence. In parallel it was apparent that persistence following optical overload in Euclid VIS detectors would lead to undesirable signal released in subsequent rows and frames and that a suitable scheme for flushing this signal would be required. With care, the negatively biased electrodes during the multi-level transfer sequence can be made to pin the entire surface, row-by-row, and annihilate the problematic charges. This process can also be extended for use during integration to significantly reduce the unusable area of the detector, as per the clocked anti-blooming techniques developed many years ago; however, with the four-phase electrodes architecture of modern CCDs, we can take precautionary measures to avoid the problem of charge pumping and clock induced charge within the science frames. Clock induced charge is not all bad! We also propose the use of on-orbit trap-pumping for Euclid VIS to provide calibration input to ground based correction algorithms and as such a uniform, low noise background is require. Clock induced charge can be manipulated to provide a very suitable, low signal and noise background to the imaging array. Here we describe and present results of multi-level parallel clocking schemes for use in four-phase CCDs that could improve performance of high precision astronomy applications such as Euclid VIS

Magnetic dipole moment of the Δ+\Delta^+(1232) from the γp→γπ0p\gamma p \to \gamma \pi^0 p reaction

The $\gamma p \to \gamma \pi^0 p$ reaction in the $\Delta(1232)$-resonance region is investigated as a method to access the $\Delta^+(1232)$ magnetic dipole moment. The calculations are performed within the context of an effective Lagrangian model containing both the $\Delta$-resonant mechanism and a background of non-resonant contributions to the $\gamma p \to \gamma \pi^0 p$ reaction. Results are shown both for existing and forthcoming $\gamma p \to \gamma \pi^0 p$ experiments. In particular, the sensitivity of unpolarized cross sections and photon asymmetries to the $\Delta^+$ magnetic dipole moment is displayed for those forthcoming data.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figure

Photofission of heavy nuclei at energies up to 4 GeV

Total photofission cross sections for 238U, 235U, 233U, 237Np, 232Th, and natPb have been measured simultaneously, using tagged photons in the energy range Egamma=0.17-3.84 GeV. This was the first experiment performed using the Photon Tagging Facility in Hall B at Jefferson Lab. Our results show that the photofission cross section for 238U relative to that for 237Np is about 80%, implying the presence of important processes that compete with fission. We also observe that the relative photofission cross sections do not depend strongly on the incident photon energy over this entire energy range. If we assume that for 237Np the photofission probability is equal to unity, we observe a significant shadowing effect starting below 1.5 GeV.Comment: 4 pages of RevTex, 6 postscript figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

First Direct Mass Measurements of Nuclides around Z=100 with a Multireflection Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrograph

The masses of 246Es, 251Fm, and the transfermium nuclei 249−252Md and 254No, produced by hot- and cold-fusion reactions, in the vicinity of the deformed N=152 neutron shell closure, have been directly measured using a multireflection time-of-flight mass spectrograph. The masses of 246Es and 249,250,252Md were measured for the first time. Using the masses of 249,250Md as anchor points for α decay chains, the masses of heavier nuclei, up to 261Bh and 266Mt, were determined. These new masses were compared with theoretical global mass models and demonstrated to be in good agreement with macroscopic-microscopic models in this region. The empirical shell gap parameter δ2n derived from three isotopic masses was updated with the new masses and corroborates the existence of the deformed N=152 neutron shell closure for Md and Lr

Automated Detection of Malarial Retinopathy in Digital Fundus Images for Improved Diagnosis in Malawian Children with Clinically Defined Cerebral Malaria

Cerebral malaria (CM), a complication of malaria infection, is the cause of the majority of malaria-associated deaths in African children. The standard clinical case definition for CM misclassifies ~25% of patients, but when malarial retinopathy (MR) is added to the clinical case definition, the specificity improves from 61% to 95%. Ocular fundoscopy requires expensive equipment and technical expertise not often available in malaria endemic settings, so we developed an automated software system to analyze retinal color images for MR lesions: retinal whitening, vessel discoloration, and white-centered hemorrhages. The individual lesion detection algorithms were combined using a partial least square classifier to determine the presence or absence of MR. We used a retrospective retinal image dataset of 86 pediatric patients with clinically defined CM (70 with MR and 16 without) to evaluate the algorithm performance. Our goal was to reduce the false positive rate of CM diagnosis, and so the algorithms were tuned at high specificity. This yielded sensitivity/specificity of 95%/100% for the detection of MR overall, and 65%/94% for retinal whitening, 62%/100% for vessel discoloration, and 73%/96% for hemorrhages. This automated system for detecting MR using retinal color images has the potential to improve the accuracy of CM diagnosis