Z-dependent Barriers in Multifragmentation from Poissonian Reducibility and Thermal Scaling

We explore the natural limit of binomial reducibility in nuclear multifragmentation by constructing excitation functions for intermediate mass fragments (IMF) of a given element Z. The resulting multiplicity distributions for each window of transverse energy are Poissonian. Thermal scaling is observed in the linear Arrhenius plots made from the average multiplicity of each element. ``Emission barriers'' are extracted from the slopes of the Arrhenius plots and their possible origin is discussed.Comment: 15 pages including 4 .ps figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Letters. Also available at http://csa5.lbl.gov/moretto

Liquid-Drop Model and Quantum Resistance Against Noncompact Nuclear Geometries

The importance of quantum effects for exotic nuclear shapes is demonstrated. Based on the example of a sheet of nuclear matter of infinite lateral dimensions but finite thickness, it is shown that the quantization of states in momentum space, resulting from the confinement of the nucleonic motion in the conjugate geometrical space, generates a strong resistance against such a confinement and generates restoring forces driving the system towards compact geometries. In the liquid-drop model, these quantum effects are implicitly included in the surface energy term, via a choice of interaction parameters, an approximation that has been found valid for compact shapes, but has not yet been scrutinized for exotic shapes.Comment: 9 pages with 3 figure

New approach of fragment charge correlations in 129Xe+(nat)Sn central collisions

A previous analysis of the charge (Z) correlations in the $\Delta Z-$ plane for Xe+Sn central collisions at 32 MeV/u has shown an enhancement in the production of equally sized fragments (low $\Delta Z$) which was interpreted as an evidence for spinodal decomposition. However the signal is weak and rises the question of the estimation of the uncorrelated yield. After a critical analysis of its robustness, we propose in this paper a new technique to build the uncorrelated yield in the charge correlation function. The application of this method to Xe+Sn central collision data at 32, 39, 45 and 50 MeV/u does not show any particular enhancement of the correlation function in any $\Delta Z$ bin.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures, revised version with an added figure and minor changes. To appear in Nuclear Physics

The Geant4-DNA project

The Geant4-DNA project proposes to develop an open-source simulation software based and fully included in the general-purpose Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation toolkit. The main objective of this software is to simulate biological damages induced by ionising radiation at the cellular and sub-cellular scale. This project was originally initiated by the European Space Agency for the prediction of deleterious effects of radiation that may affect astronauts during future long duration space exploration missions. In this paper, the Geant4-DNA collaboration presents an overview of the whole ongoing project, including its most recent developments already available in the last Geant4 public release (9.3 BETA), as well as an illustration example simulating the direct irradiation of a chromatin fibre. Expected extensions involving several research domains, such as particle physics, chemistry and cellular and molecular biology, within a fully interdiciplinary activity of the Geant4 collaboration are also discussed.Comment: presented by S. Incerti at the ASIA SIMULATION CONFERENCE 2009, October 7-9, 2009, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, Japa

Correlations in Nuclear Arrhenius-Type Plots

Arrhenius-type plots for multifragmentation process, defined as the transverse energy dependence of the single-fragment emission-probability, -ln(p_{b}) vs 1/sqrt(E_{t}), have been studied by examining the relationship of the parameters p_{b} and E_{t} to the intermediate-mass fragment multiplicity . The linearity of these plots reflects the correlation of the fragment multiplicity with the transverse energy. These plots may not provide thermal scaling information about fragment production as previously suggested.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, 3 Postscript figures include

Simulation of cellular irradiation with the CENBG microbeam line using GEANT4

Light-ion microbeams provide a unique opportunity to irradiate biological samples at the cellular level and to investigate radiobiological effects at low doses of high LET ionising radiation. Since 1998 a single-ion irradiation facility has been developed on the focused horizontal microbeam line of the CENBG 3.5 MV Van de Graaff accelerator. This setup delivers in air single protons and alpha particles of a few MeV onto cultured cells, with a spatial resolution of a few microns, allowing subcellular targeting. In this paper, we present results from the use of the GEANT4 toolkit to simulate cellular irradiation with the CENBG microbeam line, from the entrance to the microprobe up to the cellular medium.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, presented at the 2003 IEEE-NSS conference, Portland, OR, USA, October 20-24, 200

A statistical interpretation of the correlation between intermediate mass fragment multiplicity and transverse energy

Multifragment emission following Xe+Au collisions at 30, 40, 50 and 60 AMeV has been studied with multidetector systems covering nearly 4-pi in solid angle. The correlations of both the intermediate mass fragment and light charged particle multiplicities with the transverse energy are explored. A comparison is made with results from a similar system, Xe+Bi at 28 AMeV. The experimental trends are compared to statistical model predictions.Comment: 7 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Mass production of Bacillus subtilis and Trichoderma viride for the control of Phyllosticta citricarpa (Teleomorph: Guignardia citricarpa).

The work was aimed at studying the production of cells and metabolites of Bacilius subtilis (ACB-69) and of Trichoderma viride conidia (ACB-14) on different substrates, since they can potentially control Phyllosticta citricarpa. Our results showed that the medium consisting of cotton meal added of hydrolized protein provided the highest yield of B. subtiiis cells (2.44 x IO9 cells/mL), after the culture had been incubated for three days. This liquid substrate also provided conditions for the bacterium to produce thermostable metabolites, in sufficient amounts to inhibit the plant pathogen's micelial growth. The production of B. subtilis under the solid fermentation system performed better on the brewers rice substrate; the number of bactéria; cells decreased as the substrate concentration increased. In general, the liquid medium yielded a higher amount of B. subtilis than the solid medium. With regard to the large scale production of T. viride, it was verified that the substrates tested had a low spore production; the best substrate among those tested (com cob + hydrolized protein) only yielded 2.17 x IO6 conidia/mL. O objetivo foi estudar a produção de células e de metabólitos de Bacillus subtilis (ACB-69) e de conídios de Trichoderma viride (ACB-14) em diferentes substratos, pois apresentam potencial para o controle de Phyllosticta citricarpa. O meio constituído de farelo de algodão acrescido de proteína hidrolisada foi o que proporcionou maior produção de células de B. subtilis (2,4 x 109 células/mL), após três dias de incubação da cultura. Esse substrato líquido também propiciou condições para que a bactéria produzisse metabólitos termoestáveis e, em quantidades suficientes para inibir o crescimento micelial do fitopatógeno. A produção de B. subtilis pelo sistema de fermentação sólida foi melhor no substrato quirera de arroz sendo que o número de células da bactéria diminuiu à medida que aumentou a concentração do substrato. De um modo geral, o meio líquido foi superior ao sólido para a produção de B. subtilis. Com relação à produção de T. viride, verificou-se que os substratos testados apresentaram baixa produção de esporos, sendo que o melhor substrato testado (sabugo de milho + proteína hidrolisada) produziu apenas 2,2 x 106 conídios/mL