137 research outputs found
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION OF LONG DISTANCE WALKERS: STUDYING FOUR DAYS MARCHES PARTICIPANTS.
OBJECTIVE: Studies show physical activity to be beneficial for cognitive function. However, studies usually included individuals who were not particularly inclined to exercise. Following research among master athletes, we examined associations between physical activity and cognitive function in participants of the International Nijmegen Four Days Marches. These individuals are also inclined to exercise. On 4 consecutive days > 40,000 participants walk a daily distance of 30-50 km (120-200 km or 75-125 miles in total). METHOD: Four Days Marches participants and less active or inactive control participants from the Nijmegen Exercise Study were examined. Self-reported current and lifelong physical activities were quantified in Metabolic Equivalent of Task minutes/day and training walking speed was estimated in km/h. Cognitive functioning in the domains of working memory, executive function, and visuospatial short-term memory was assessed using the validated Brain Aging Monitor. RESULTS: Data from 521 participants (mean age 54.7, standard deviation 12.9) showed neither positive associations between lifelong physical activity and working memory, executive function, and visuospatial short-term memory nor positive associations between current physical activity and cognitive functioning in these domains (P-values > 0.05). However, a positive association between training walking speed and working memory was revealed (age adjusted Beta = 0.18, P-value < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Walking speed, as a surrogate marker of fitness, but not lifelong and current physical activity levels were associated with cognitive function. Therefore, walking speed deserves more attention in research aimed at unravelling associations between physical activity and cognitive function
Inclusive and exclusive photoproduction on the deuteron: - and -threshold phenomena
Inclusive and exclusive photoproduction on the deuteron are
investigated theoretically. Modern hyperon-nucleon forces and a recently
updated kaon photoproduction operator for the process are
used. Sizable effects of the hyperon-nucleon final state interaction are found
near the and thresholds in the inclusive reaction.
Angular distributions for the exclusive process show clear final state
interaction effects in certain kinematic regions. Precise data especially for
the inclusive process around the threshold would help to clarify
the strength and property of the interaction.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figure
Neutron star matter equation of state and gravitational wave emission
The EOS of strongly interacting matter at densities ten to fifteen orders of
magnitude larger than the typical density of terrestrial macroscopic objects
determines a number of neutron star properties, including the pattern of
gravitational waves emitted following the excitation of nonradial oscillation
modes. This paper reviews some of the approaches employed to model neutron star
matter, as well as the prospects for obtaining new insights from the
experimental study of gravitational waves emitted by neutron stars.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures. To be published as a Brief Review in Modern
Physics Letters
Hyperon-nucleon scattering and hyperon masses in the nuclear medium
We analyze low-energy hyperon-nucleon scattering using an effective field
theory in next-to-leading order. By fitting experimental cross sections for
laboratory hyperon momenta below 200 MeV/c and using information from the
hypertriton we determine twelve contact-interaction coefficients. Based on
these we discuss the low-density expansion of hyperon mass shifts in the
nuclear medium.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Associated strangeness production at threshold
The associated strangeness dissociation at threshold has been studied at the
COSY-11 facility measuring the hyperon - and the K+K- meson pair production.
Measurements of the near threshold Lambda and Sigma0 production via the pp ->
pK+ Lambda / Sigma0 reaction at COSY-11 have shown that the Lambda / Sigma0
cross section ratio exceeds the value at high excess energies (Q >= 300 MeV) by
an order of magnitude. For a better understanding additional data have been
taken between 13 MeV and 60 MeV excess energy.
The near threshold production of the charged kaon-antikaon pair is related to
the discussion about the nature of the scalar states in the 1 GeV/c^2 mass
range, i.e. the f0(980) and a0(980). The interpretation as a K anti-K molecule
is strongly dependent on the K anti-K interaction which can be studied via the
production channel. A first total cross section value on the reaction pp ->
ppK+K- at an excess energy of 17 MeV i.e. below the phi production threshold
was measured.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, Presented at Conference on Quarks and Nuclear
Physics (QNP 2002), Julich, Germany, 9-14 Jun 200
Pion-Lambda-Sigma Coupling Extracted from Hyperonic Atoms
The latest measurements of the atomic level width in Sigma-hyperonic Pb atom
offer the most accurate datum in the region of low-energy Sigma-hyperon
physics. Atomic widths are due to the conversion of Sigma-nucleon into
Lambda-nucleon. In high angular momentum states this conversion is dominated by
the one-pion exchange. A joint analysis of the data of the scattering of
negative-Sigma on proton converting into a Lambda and a neutron and of the
atomic widths allows to extract a pseudovector pion-hyperon-Sigma coupling
constant of 0.048 with a statistical error of +-0.005 and a systematic one of
+-0.004. This corresponds to a pseudoscalar coupling constant of 13.3 with a
statistical uncertainty of 1.4 and a systematic one of 1.1.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, Use of Revtex.st
Strangeness Production in Proton-Proton Collisions Close to Threshold
Exclusive data on the reactions pp -> ppK+K- and pp -> pK+ Lambda/Sigma0 have
been taken at the cooler synchrotron COSY close to threshold. At equal excess
energies, an enhancement of the Lambda/Sigma0 ratio by one order of magnitude
has been observed compared to data at higher excess energies. New results
obtained at the COSY-11 facility explore the transition region between this
low-energy Sigma0 suppression and excess energies of 60 MeV. A first total
cross section for elementary antikaon production below the phi threshold has
been determined, two orders of magnitude smaller compared to kaon production at
the same excess energy.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Talk given by P. Moskal at 16th International
Conference on Particles and Nuclei (PANIC 02), Osaka, Japan, 30 Sep - 4 Oct
200
A Realistic Description of Nucleon-Nucleon and Hyperon-Nucleon Interactions in the SU_6 Quark Model
We upgrade a SU_6 quark-model description for the nucleon-nucleon and
hyperon-nucleon interactions by improving the effective meson-exchange
potentials acting between quarks. For the scalar- and vector-meson exchanges,
the momentum-dependent higher-order term is incorporated to reduce the
attractive effect of the central interaction at higher energies. The
single-particle potentials of the nucleon and Lambda, predicted by the G-matrix
calculation, now have proper repulsive behavior in the momentum region q_1=5 -
20 fm^-1. A moderate contribution of the spin-orbit interaction from the
scalar-meson exchange is also included. As to the vector mesons, a dominant
contribution is the quadratic spin-orbit force generated from the rho-meson
exchange. The nucleon-nucleon phase shifts at the non-relativistic energies up
to T_lab=350 MeV are greatly improved especially for the 3E states. The
low-energy observables of the nucleon-nucleon and the hyperon-nucleon
interactions are also reexamined. The isospin symmetry breaking and the Coulomb
effect are properly incorporated in the particle basis. The essential feature
of the Lambda N - Sigma N coupling is qualitatively similar to that obtained
from the previous models. The nuclear saturation properties and the
single-particle potentials of the nucleon, Lambda and Sigma are reexamined
through the G-matrix calculation. The single-particle potential of the Sigma
hyperon is weakly repulsive in symmetric nuclear matter. The single-particle
spin-orbit strength for the Lambda particle is very small, in comparison with
that of the nucleons, due to the strong antisymmetric spin-orbit force
generated from the Fermi-Breit interaction.Comment: Revtex v2.09, 69 pages with 25 figure
Strange hadron matter and SU(3) symmetry
We calculate saturation curves for strange hadron matter using recently
constructed baryon-baryon potentials which are constrained by SU(3) symmetry.
All possible interaction channels within the baryon octet (consisting of ,
, , and ) are considered. It is found that a small
fraction in nuclear matter slightly increases binding, but that
larger fractions () rapidly cause a decrease. Charge-neutral
systems, with equal densities for nucleons and cascades, are
only very weakly bound. The dependence of the binding energies on the
strangeness per baryon, , is predicted for various and
systems. The implications of our results in
relativistic heavy-ion collisions and the core of a dense star are discussed.
We also discuss the differences between our results and previous hadron matter
calculations.Comment: 14 pages RevTeX, 7 postscript figure
-matrix poles near the and Thresholds in the Coupled \\ System
We search -matrix poles for coupling interactions
using two soft core models of the Nijmegen group which bind the hypertriton at
the correct binding energy, and hard core models which are still influential in
hypernuclear physics. To treat the hard core potentials, a useful method for
calculating the off-shell -matrix is proposed. We find poles close to the
threshold in the second or third quadrant of the complex plane of
the relative momentum. The relation between the poles and the shape
of the elastic total cross section is discussed based on a
so-called uniformization by which two-channel -matrices become single-valued
on a complex valuable. We also find poles near the threshold. These
are correlated to the -wave scattering lengths, the values of
which have yet to be determined.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, Revte
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