Elastic Scattering of 6He on Heavy Targets at Coulomb Barrier Energies

Elastic cross sections for the scattering of 6He projectiles by 208Pb at 27 MeV have been studied. The data have been analyzed within the framework of the Optical Model using Saxon–Woods phenomenological form factors for both the real and imaginary parts of the nuclear potential. The elastic scattering data suggests the presence of a long range absorption mechanisms which might be related to the halo structure of 6He.Ministerio Ciencia y Tecnología FPA2002-04181- C04-04 y FPA2000-1592-C03-0

Influence of single-neutron stripping on near-barrier ⁶He+²⁰⁸Pb and ⁸He+²⁰⁸Pb elastic scattering

The influence of single-neutron stripping on the near-barrier elastic scattering angular distributions for the 6,8He+208Pb systems is investigated through coupled reaction channels (CRC) calculations fitting recently published data to explore the differences in the absorptive potential found in the scattering of these two neutron-rich nuclei. The inclusion of the coupling reduces the elastic cross section in the Coulomb-nuclear interference region for 8He scattering, whereas for 6He its major impact is on the large-angle elastic scattering. The real and imaginary dynamic polarization potentials are obtained by inverting the CRC elastic scattering S-matrix elements. These show that the main absorptive features occur between 11 and 12 fm for both projectiles, while the attractive features are separated by about 1 fm, with their main structures occurring at 10.5 fm for 6He and 11.5 fm for 8He

Large scale risk-assessment of wind-farms on population viability of a globally endangered long-lived raptor

Wind-farms receive public and governmental support as an alternative energy source mitigating air pollution. However, they can have adverse effects on wildlife, particularly through collision with turbines. Research on wind-farm effects has focused on estimating mortality rates, behavioural changes or interspecific differences in vulnerability. Studies dealing with their effects on endangered or rare species populations are notably scarce. We tested the hypothesis that wind-farms increase extinction probability of long-lived species through increments in mortality rates. For this purpose, we evaluate potential consequences of wind-farms on the population dynamics of a globally endangered long-lived raptor in an area where the species maintains its greatest stronghold and wind-farms are rapidly increasing. Nearly one-third of all breeding territories of our model species are in wind-farm risk zones. Our intensive survey shows that wind-farms decrease survival rates of this species differently depending on individual breeding status. Consistent with population monitoring, population projections showed that all subpopulations and the meta-population are decreasing. However, population sizes and, therefore, time to extinction significantly decreased when wind-farm mortality was included in models. Our results represent a qualitative warning exercise showing how very low reductions in survival of territorial and non-territorial birds associated with wind-farms can strongly impact population viability of long-lived species. This highlights the need for examining long-term impacts of wind-farms rather than focusing on short-term mortality, as is often promoted by power companies and some wildlife agencies. Unlike other non-natural causes of mortality difficult to eradicate or control, wind-farm fatalities can be lowered by powering down or removing risky turbines and/or farms, and by placing them outside areas critical for endangered birds. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer Reviewe

The ALHAMBRA photometric system

This paper presents the characterization of the optical range of the ALHAMBRA photometric system, a 20 contiguous, equal-width, medium-band CCD system with wavelength coverage from 3500A to 9700A. The photometric description of the system is done by presenting the full response curve as a product of the filters, CCD and atmospheric transmission curves, and using some first and second order moments of this response function. We also introduce the set of standard stars that defines the system, formed by 31 classic spectrophotometric standard stars which have been used in the calibration of other known photometric systems, and 288 stars, flux calibrated homogeneously, from the Next Generation Spectral Library (NGSL). Based on the NGSL, we determine the transformation equations between Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) ugriz photometry and the ALHAMBRA photometric system, in order to establish some relations between both systems. Finally we develop and discuss a strategy to calculate the photometric zero points of the different pointings in the ALHAMBRA project.Comment: Astronomical Journal on the 14th of January 201

The ALHAMBRA Project: A large area multi medium-band optical and NIR photometric survey

(ABRIDGED) We describe the first results of the ALHAMBRA survey which provides cosmic tomography of the evolution of the contents of the Universe over most of Cosmic history. Our approach employs 20 contiguous, equal-width, medium-band filters covering from 3500 to 9700 A, plus the JHKs bands, to observe an area of 4 sqdeg on the sky. The optical photometric system has been designed to maximize the number of objects with accurate classification by SED and redshift, and to be sensitive to relatively faint emission lines. The observations are being carried out with the Calar Alto 3.5m telescope using the cameras LAICA and O-2000. The first data confirm that we are reaching the expected magnitude limits of AB<~25 mag in the optical filters from the blue to 8300 A, and from AB=24.7 to 23.4 for the redder ones. The limit in the NIR is (Vega) K_s~20, H~21, J~22. We expect to obtain accurate redshift values, Delta z/(1+z) <~ 0.03 for about 5x10^5 galaxies with I<~25 (60% complete), and z_med=0.74. This accuracy, together with the homogeneity of the selection function, will allow for the study of the redshift evolution of the large scale structure, the galaxy population and its evolution with redshift, the identification of clusters of galaxies, and many other studies, without the need for any further follow-up. It will also provide targets for detailed studies with 10m-class telescopes. Given its area, spectral coverage and its depth, apart from those main goals, the ALHAMBRA-Survey will also produce valuable data for galactic studies.Comment: Accepted to the Astronomical Journal. 43 pages, 18 figures. The images have been reduced in resolution to adapt to standard file sizes. Readers can find the full-resolution version of the paper at the ALHAMBRA web site (http://www.iaa.es/alhambra) under the "Publications" lin

Limited local electron-lattice coupling in manganites

(Pr,Ca)MnO3 is the archetypal charge-ordered manganite, but in Pr0.48Ca0.52MnO3 we find (using convergent-beam electron diffraction and dark-field images) that the superlattice period is locally incommensurate with respect to the parent lattice, and that the superlattice orientation possesses significant local variations. This suggests that local electron-lattice coupling never overwhelmingly dominates the rich physics of manganites, even in the most extreme scenarios that produce the largest colossal magnetoresistance effects.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; accepted in Physical Review

Tracing The Sound Horizon Scale With Photometric Redshift Surveys

We propose a new method for cosmological parameters extraction using the baryon acoustic oscillation scale as a standard ruler in deep galaxy surveys with photometric determination of redshifts. The method consists in a simple empirical parametric fit to the angular 2-point correlation function w(theta). It is parametrized as a power law to describe the continuum plus a Gaussian to describe the BAO bump. The location of the Gaussian is used as the basis for the measurement of the sound horizon scale. This method, although simple, actually provides a robust estimation, since the inclusion of the power law and the use of the Gaussian removes the shifts which affect the local maximum. We discuss the effects of projection bias, non-linearities, redshift space distortions and photo-z precision, and apply our method to a mock catalog of the Dark Energy Survey, built upon a large N-body simulation provided by the MICE collaboration. We discuss the main systematic errors associated to our method and show that they are dominated by the photo-z uncertainty.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, published online in MNRAS, 25 October 201

Reaction dynamics studies for the system 7Be + 208Pb at Coulomb barrier energies

The scattering process of the Radioactive Ion Beam 7Be from a 208Pb target was measured at three near-barrier energies. The quasi-elastic angular distributions were analyzed within the framework of the optical model to extract the reaction cross sections. The results are compared with those obtained for the reactions induced by the mirror projectile 7Li and by the lightest particle-stable lithium isotope 6Li on the same target. The angular distributions for the production of the two 7Be constituent clusters, namely 3He and 4He, were also measured. In agreement with what observed for the interaction of 7Be with lighter targets, the production of the heavier helium isotope resulted to be much more abundant than that of its lighter counterpart

Interaction of 8 He with 208Pb at near-barrier energies: 4 He and 6 He production

Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness-FPA-2010-22131-CO2-01 (FINURA) y FPA2013-47327-C2-1-RMinistry of Science and Higher Education of Poland-N202 033637National Science Centre of Poland-2013/08/M/ST2/00257 (LEA-COPIGAL) y 2014/14/M/ST2/00738 (COPIN-INFN Collaboration)European Science Foundation-EUI2009-04163432 (EUROGENESIS