Direct photons measured by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC

Results from the PHENIX experiment at RHIC on direct photon production in p+p, d+Au, and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV are presented. In p+p collisions, direct photon production at high p_T behaves as expected from perturbative QCD calculations. The p+p measurement serves as a baseline for direct photon production in Au+Au collisions. In d+Au collisions, no effects of cold nuclear matter are found within the large uncertainty of the measurement. In Au+Au collisions, the production of high p_T direct photons scales as expected for particle production in hard scatterings. This supports jet quenching models, which attribute the suppression of high p_T hadrons to the energy loss of fast partons in the medium produced in the collision. Low p_T direct photons, measured via e+e- pairs with small invariant mass, are possibly related to the production of thermal direct photons.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, Proceedings of the Hot Quarks 2006 Workshop for young scientists on the physics of ultra-relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions, Villasimius, Sardinia, Italy, May 15--20, 200

Measurement of photons via conversion pairs in \sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions with the PHENIX experiment at RHIC

Thermal photons can provide information on the temperature of the new state of matter created at RHIC. In the p_T region of 1--3 GeV/c thermal photons are expected to be the dominant direct photon source. Therefore, a possible excess compared to a pure decay photon signal due to a thermal photon contribution should be seen in the double ratio (\gamma/\gamma(\pi^{0}))_{Measured}/(\gamma/\gamma(\pi^{0}))_{Simulated}, if sufficient accuracy can be reached. We present a method to reconstruct direct photons by measuring e^{+}e^{-}--pairs from external photon conversions.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figures. To appear in the proceedings of Hot Quarks 2006: Workshop for Young Scientists on the Physics of Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions, Villasimius, Italy, 15-20 May 200

Spin configurations in circular and rectangular vertical quantum dots in a magnetic field: Three-dimensional self-consistent simulation

The magnetic field dependence of the electronic properties of \textit{real} single vertical quantum dots in circular and rectangular mesas is investigated within a full three-dimensional multiscale self-consistent approach without any {\it \'a priori} assumptions about the shape and strength of the confinement potential. The calculated zero field electron addition energies are in good agreement with available experimental data for both mesa geometries. Charging diagrams in a magnetic field for number of electrons up to five are also computed. Consistent with the experimental data, we found that the charging curves for the rectangular mesa dot in a magnetic field are flatter and exhibit less features than for a circular mesa dot. Evolution of the singlet-triplet energy separation in the two electron system for both dot geometries in magnetic field was also investigated. In the limit of large field, beyond the singlet-triplet transition, the singlet-triplet energy difference continues to become more negative in a circular mesa dot without any saturation within the range of considered magnetic fields whilst it is predicted to asymptotically approach zero for the rectangular mesa dot. This different behavior is attributed to the symmetry "breaking" that occurs in the singlet wave-functions in the rectangular mesa dot but not in the circular one.Comment: 12 pages, 8 gifure

Influence of preload and nonlinearity of railpads on vibration of railway tracks under stationary and moving harmonic loads

In railway track dynamics, the stiffness and damping properties of railpads have a significant effect on track vibration, decay rates as well forces transmitted to the track supporting structure. Many studies have shown that railpads exhibit pronounced nonlinear behaviour, with preload and frequency dependent properties. This paper presents a three parameter railpad model, together with its differential equation of motion and the required model parameters obtained from experimental data. A time domain model of a rail discretely supported on these railpads is then formulated using the finite element method. The model is subjected to static and dynamic loading in order to study the effects of preload and frequency on its dynamic behaviour. Results are shown as time histories and frequency spectra for the track displacements and reaction forces for various preload levels. They emphasise the necessity of accounting for nonlinear behaviour based on the large disparities (up to 20 dB) observed between the linear and nonlinear cases for the parameters used in this study

High pT pi0 Production and Angular Correlations in 158 AGeV p+A and Pb+Pb Collisions

Recent results of the WA98 experiment with p and Pb induced reactions at 158 AGeV are presented. Azimuthal gamma-gamma correlations at high pT were studied in search for a signal of jet-like structures. A clear indication for back-to-back correlations can be seen in p+A with a strong dependence on the pT of the photons and the size of the system. In Pb+Pb collisions in plane elliptic flow has been observed. Results on transverse mass spectra of neutral pions measured at central rapidity are presented for impact parameter selected Pb+Pb collisions. In going from peripheral to medium central collisions there is a nuclear enhancement increasing with transverse mass similar to the Cronin effect, while for very central collisions this enhancement appears to be weaker than expected.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Talk presented at Quark Matter 2002, Nantes, France, July 18-24, 2002. To appear in the proceedings (Nucl. Phys. A

Correlating low energy impact damage with changes in modal parameters: diagnosis tools and FE validation

This paper presents a basic experimental technique and simplified FE based models for the detection, localization and quantification of impact damage in composite beams around the BVID level. Detection of damage is carried out by shift in modal parameters. Localization of damage is done by a topology optimization tool which showed that correct damage locations can be found rather efficiently for low-level damage. The novelty of this paper is that we develop an All In One (AIO) package dedicated to impact identification by modal analysis. The damaged zones in the FE models are updated by reducing the most sensitive material property in order to improve the experimental/numerical correlation of the frequency response functions. These approximate damage models(in term of equivalent rigidity) give us a simple degradation factor that can serve as a warning regarding structure safety

Magneto Transport of high TCR (temperature coefficient of resistance) La2/3Ca1/3MnO3: Ag Polycrystalline Composites

We report the synthesis, (micro)structural, magneto-transport and magnetization of polycrystalline La2/3Ca1/3MnO3:Agx composites with x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4. The temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) near ferromagnetic (FM) transition is increased significantly with addition of Ag. The FM transition temperature (TFM) is also increased slightly with Ag addition. Magneto-transport measurements revealed that magneto-resistance MR is found to be maximum near TFM. Further the increased MR of up to 60% is seen above 300 K for higher silver added samples in an applied field of 7 Tesla. Sharp TCR is seen near TFM with highest value of up to 15 % for Ag (0.4) sample, which is an order of magnitude higher than as for present pristine sample and best value yet reported for any polycrystalline LCMO compound. Increased TCR, TFM and significant above room temperature MR of La2/3Ca1/3MnO3:Agx composites is explained on the basis of improved grains size and connectivity with silver addition in the matrix. Better coupled FM domains and nearly conducting grain boundaries give rise to improved physical properties of the La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 manganites.Comment: 16 pages Text + Figs. ACCEPTED: Solid State Communications (Sept. 2006

Transverse Spin at PHENIX: Results and Prospects

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), as the world's first and only polarized proton collider, offers a unique environment in which to study the spin structure of the proton. In order to study the proton's transverse spin structure, the PHENIX experiment at RHIC took data with transversely polarized beams in 2001-02 and 2005, and it has plans for further running with transverse polarization in 2006 and beyond. Results from early running as well as prospective measurements for the future will be discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, presented at Transversity 2005, Como, Ital