Unstable Hadrons in Hot Hadron Gas in Laboratory and in the Early Universe

We study kinetic master equations for chemical reactions involving the formation and the natural decay of unstable particles in a thermal bath. We consider the decay channel of one into two particles, and the inverse process, fusion of two thermal particles into one. We present the master equations the evolution of the density of the unstable particles in the early Universe. We obtain the thermal invariant reaction rate using as an input the free space (vacuum) decay time and show the medium quantum effects on $\pi+\pi \leftrightarrow \rho$ reaction relaxation time. As another laboratory example we describe the $K+K \leftrightarrow \phi$ process in thermal hadronic gas in heavy-ion collisions. A particularly interesting application of our formalism is the $\pi^{0}\leftrightarrow \gamma +\gamma$ process in the early Universe. We also explore the physics of $\pi^{\pm}$ and $\mu^{\pm}$ freeze-out in the Universe.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, published in Physical Review

Hadron Resonances and Phase Threshold in Heavy Ion Collisions

We show that a measurement of the reaction energy dependence of relative hadron resonance yields in heavy ion collisions can be used to study the phase structure of the dense QCD matter created in these collisions, and investigate the origin of the trends observed in the excitation functions of certain soft hadronic observables. We show that presence of chemical nonequilibrium in light quark abundance imparts a characteristic signature on the energy dependence of resonance yields, that differs considerably from what is expected in the equilibrium picture.Comment: In press, Phys. Rev.

Electron Positron Annihilation Radiation from SgrA East at the Galactic Center

Maps of the Galactic electron-positron annihilation radiation show evidence for three distinct and significant features: (1) a central bulge source, (2) emission in the Galactic plane, and (3) an enhancement of emission at positive latitudes above the Galactic Center. In this paper, we explore the possibility that Sgr A East, a very prominent radio structure surrounding the Galactic nucleus, may be a significant contributer to the central bulge feature. The motivation for doing so stems from a recently proposed link between this radio object and the EGRET gamma-ray source 2EG J1746-2852. If this association is correct, then Sgr A East is also expected to be a source of copious positron production. The results presented here show that indeed Sgr A East must have produced a numerically significant population of positrons, but also that most of them have not yet had sufficient time to thermalize and annihilate. As such, Sgr A East by itself does not appear to be the dominant current source of annihilation radiation, but it will be when the positrons have cooled sufficiently and they have become thermalized. This raises the interesting possibility that the bulge component may be due to the relics of earlier explosive events like the one that produced Sgr A East.Comment: This manuscript was prepared with the AAS Latex macros v4.0 It is 37 pages long and has 16 figure

The Sound of Sonoluminescence

We consider an air bubble in water under conditions of single bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) and evaluate the emitted sound field nonperturbatively for subsonic gas-liquid interface motion. Sound emission being the dominant damping mechanism, we also implement the nonperturbative sound damping in the Rayleigh-Plesset equation for the interface motion. We evaluate numerically the sound pulse emitted during bubble collapse and compare the nonperturbative and perturbative results, showing that the usual perturbative description leads to an overestimate of the maximal surface velocity and maximal sound pressure. The radius vs. time relation for a full SBSL cycle remains deceptively unaffected.Comment: 25 pages; LaTex and 6 attached ps figure files. Accepted for publication in Physical Review

Clinical and microbiological characteristics of bloodstream infections due to AmpC β-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae: an active surveillance cohort in a large centralized Canadian region

Background: The objective of this study was to describe the clinical and microbiological characteristics of bloodstream infections (BSIs) due to AmpC producing Enterobacteriaceae (AE) in a large centralized Canadian region over a 9-year period. Methods: An active surveillance cohort design in Calgary, Canada. Results: A cohort of 458 episodes of BSIs caused by AE was assembled for analysis. The majority of infections were of nosocomial origin with unknown sources. Enterobacter spp. was the most common species while BSIs due to Serratia spp. had a significant higher mortality when compared to other AE. Delays in empiric or definitive antibiotic therapy were not associated with a difference in outcome. However, patients that did not receive any empiric antimicrobial therapy had increased mortality (3/5; 60% vs. 57/453; 13%; p = 0.018) as did those that did not receive definitive therapy (6/17; 35% vs. 54/441; 12%; p = 0.015). Conclusions: Delays in therapy were not associated with adverse outcomes although lack of active therapy was associated with increased mortality. A strategy for BSIs due to AE where β-lactam antibiotics (including oxyiminocephalosporins) are used initially followed by a switch to non-β-lactam antibiotics once susceptibility results are available is effective.</p

On the characterisation of a Bragg spectrometer with X-rays from an ECR source

Narrow X-ray lines from helium-like argon emitted from a dedicated ECR source have been used to determine the response function of a Bragg crystal spectrometer equipped with large area spherically bent silicon (111) or quartz (10$\bar{1}$) crystals. The measured spectra are compared with simulated ones created by a ray-tracing code based on the expected theoretical crystal's rocking curve and the geometry of the experimental set-up.Comment: Version acceptee (NIM

Acarinose da videira no Rio Grande do Sul.

bitstream/item/48495/1/Circular-Tecnica-85.pd

Depth-dependent ordering, two-length-scale phenomena and crossover behavior in a crystal featuring a skin-layer with defects

Structural defects in a crystal are responsible for the "two length-scale" behavior, in which a sharp central peak is superimposed over a broad peak in critical diffuse X-ray scattering. We have previously measured the scaling behavior of the central peak by scattering from a near-surface region of a V2H crystal, which has a first-order transition in the bulk. As the temperature is lowered toward the critical temperature, a crossover in critical behavior is seen, with the temperature range nearest to the critical point being characterized by mean field exponents. Near the transition, a small two-phase coexistence region is observed. The values of transition and crossover temperatures decay with depth. An explanation of these experimental results is here proposed by means of a theory in which edge dislocations in the near-surface region occur in walls oriented in the two directions normal to the surface. The strain caused by the dislocation lines causes the ordering in the crystal to occur as growth of roughly cylindrically shaped regions. After the regions have reached a certain size, the crossover in the critical behavior occurs, and mean field behavior prevails. At a still lower temperature, the rest of the material between the cylindrical regions orders via a weak first-order transition.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

Cryogenics for CERN experiments: past, present and future

Use of cryogenics at CERN was originated (in the 1960s) by bubble chambers and the associated s.c. solenoids. Complex cryoplants were installed to provide cooling at LH2 and LHe temperatures. Continuity (in the 1970s) in He cryogenics for experiments was provided by spectrometer magnets for fixed target physics of the SPS accelerator. More recently (in the 1980s), large "particle-transparent" s.c. solenoids for collider experiments (LEP) have been built demanding new cryoplants. The LHC experiments (in the 2000s) will continue the tradition with s.c. dipoles (ALICE and LHCb), solenoids (CMS, ATLAS) and toroids (ATLAS) of unusual size. Cryogenics for experiments using noble liquids follows the same trend since the development (in the 1970s) of the first shower LAr detectors. A LKr calorimeter (about 10 m3) will be operated in 1996 and the ATLAS experiment foresees a set of three huge LAr calorimeters (almost 90 m3 total volume of liquid) to be installed underground