Nonextensive Interpretation Of Radiative Recombination In Electron Cooling

An interest for the low-energy range of the nonextensive distribution function arises from the study of radiative recombination in electron cooling devices in particle accelerators, whose experimentally measured reaction rates are much above the theoretical prediction. The use of generalized distributions, that differ from the Maxwellian in the low energy part (due to subdiffusion between electron and ion bunches), may account for the observed rate enhancement. In this work, we consider the isotropic distribution function and we propose a possible experiment for verifying the existence of a cut-off in the generalized momentum distribution, by measuring the spectrum of the X-rays emitted from radiative recombination reactions.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Submitted for publication in the Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference NEXT-SigmaPhi, 2005, Cret

Temperature dependence of modified CNO nuclear reaction rates in dense stellar plasmas

We study the dependence of the CNO nuclear reaction rates on temperature, in the range of $10^7\div 10^8$ K, the typical range of temperature evolution from a Sun-like star towards a white dwarf. We show that the temperature dependence of the CNO nuclear reaction rates is strongly affected by the presence of non-extensive statistical effects in the dense stellar core. A very small deviation from the Maxwell-Boltzmann particle distribution implies a relevant enhancement of the CNO reaction rate and could explain the presence of heavier elements (e.g. Fe, Mg) in the final composition of a white dwarf core. Such a behavior is consistent with the recent experimental upper limit to the fraction of energy that the Sun produces via the CNO fusion cycle.Comment: Presented at NEXT2003 (Second International Conference on "News and Expectations in Thermostatistics"), Villasimius (Cagliari)- Italy in 21-28 September 2003. 7 pages including 3 figure

Modified Debye-Huckel Electron Shielding and Penetration Factor

Screened potential, modified by non standard electron cloud distributions responsible for the shielding effect on fusion of reacting nuclei in astrophysical plasmas, is derived. The case of clouds with depleted tails in space coordinates is discussed. The modified screened potential is obtained both from statistical mechanics arguments based on fluctuations of the inverse of the Debye-Huckel radius and from the solution of a Bernoulli equation used in generalized statistical mechanics. Plots and tables useful in evaluating penetration probability at any energy are provided.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 3 table

Metastable and stable equilibrium states of stellar electron-nuclear plasmas

By minimizing free energy density, we show that the stellar core of a hydrogen burning star is not in a global thermodynamical equilibrium unless density, temperature, mass and composition assume given values. The core (as the solar interior) may be viewed more appropriately as a metastable state with very long lifetime. Slightly non-extensive distribution function could be the natural distribution for a weakly non-ideal plasma like a stellar core and represents a more appropriate approximation to this system than a Maxwellian distribution, without affecting bulk properties of stars.Comment: 14 pages, to appear in Phys. Lett.

An inexpensive spectroscopic beam monitor for hard X-ray synchrotron applications

We describe an inexpensive beam monitor for hard X-ray synchrotron applications which has good spectroscopic abilities and can operate without cooling. The device is centred on an inexpensive, commercial off-the-shelf, large area (1.2 × 1.2 mm2) Si photodiode operated in single counting mode. Measurements carried out at the HASYLAB synchrotron research facility have shown that it is fully spectroscopic across the energy range 8 keV to 100 keV with a measured energy resolution of ~ 1.2 keV FWHM at room temperature. The measured resolutions were found to be the same under pencil-beam and full-area illumination, indicating uniform crystallinity and stoichiometry of the bulk. The low cost, simplicity and performance of the detector make it suitable for a wider range of applications, e.g., in undergraduate laboratory experiments

Characterization of Large Volume 3.5 x 8 inches LaBr3:Ce Detectors

The properties of large volume cylindrical 3.5 x 8 inches (89 mm x 203 mm) LaBr3:Ce scintillation detectors coupled to the Hamamatsu R10233-100SEL photo-multiplier tube were investigated. These crystals are among the largest ones ever produced and still need to be fully characterized to determine how these detectors can be utilized and in which applications. We tested the detectors using monochromatic gamma-ray sources and in-beam reactions producing gamma rays up to 22.6 MeV; we acquired PMT signal pulses and calculated detector energy resolution and response linearity as a function of gamma-ray energy. Two different voltage dividers were coupled to the Hamamatsu R10233-100SEL PMT: the Hamamatsu E1198-26, based on straightforward resistive network design, and the LABRVD, specifically designed for our large volume LaBr3:Ce scintillation detectors, which also includes active semiconductor devices. Because of the extremely high light yield of LaBr3:Ce crystals we observed that, depending on the choice of PMT, voltage divider and applied voltage, some significant deviation from the ideally proportional response of the detector and some pulse shape deformation appear. In addition, crystal non-homogeneities and PMT gain drifts affect the (measured) energy resolution especially in case of high-energy gamma rays. We also measured the time resolution of detectors with different sizes (from 1x1 inches up to 3.5x8 inches), correlating the results with both the intrinsic properties of PMTs and GEANT simulations of the scintillation light collection process. The detector absolute full energy efficiency was measured and simulated up to gamma-rays of 30 Me