2,082 research outputs found
Dynamical Casimir-Polder interaction between an atom and surface plasmons
We investigate the time-dependent Casimir-Polder potential of a polarizable
two-level atom placed near a surface of arbitrary material, after a sudden
change in the parameters of the system. Different initial conditions are taken
into account. For an initially bare ground-state atom, the time-dependent
Casimir-Polder energy reveals how the atom is "being dressed" by virtual,
matter-assisted photons. We also study the transient behavior of the
Casimir-Polder interaction between the atom and the surface starting from a
partially dressed state, after an externally induced change in the atomic level
structure or transition dipoles. The Heisenberg equations are solved through an
iterative technique for both atomic and field operators in the medium-assisted
electromagnetic field quantization scheme. We analyze in particular how the
time evolution of the interaction energy depends on the optical properties of
the surface, in particular on the dispersion relationof surface plasmon
polaritons. The physical significance and the limits of validity of the
obtained results are discussed in detail.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure
A palladium iodide-catalyzed oxidative aminocarbonylation–heterocyclization approach to functionalized benzimidazoimidazoles
A novel carbonylative approach to the synthesis of functionalized 1H-benzo[d]imidazo[1,2-a]imidazoles is presented. The method consists of the oxidative aminocarbonylation of N-substituted-1-(prop-2-yn-1-yl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-amines, carried out in the presence of secondary nucleophilic amines, to give the corresponding alkynylamide intermediates, followed by in situ conjugated addition and double-bond isomerization, to give 2-(1-alkyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazo[1,2-a]imidazol-2-yl)acetamides. Products were obtained in good to excellent yields (64–96%) and high turnover numbers (192–288 mol of product per mol of catalyst) under relatively mild conditions (100 °C under 20 atm of a 4:1 mixture of CO–air), using a simple catalytic system, consisting of PdI2 (0.33 mol %) in conjunction with KI (0.33 equiv)
Charged particle's flux measurement from PMMA irradiated by 80 MeV/u carbon ion beam
Hadrontherapy is an emerging technique in cancer therapy that uses beams of
charged particles. To meet the improved capability of hadrontherapy in matching
the dose release with the cancer position, new dose monitoring techniques need
to be developed and introduced into clinical use. The measurement of the fluxes
of the secondary particles produced by the hadron beam is of fundamental
importance in the design of any dose monitoring device and is eagerly needed to
tune Monte Carlo simulations. We report the measurements done with charged
secondary particles produced from the interaction of a 80 MeV/u fully stripped
carbon ion beam at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Catania, with a
Poly-methyl methacrylate target. Charged secondary particles, produced at
90 with respect to the beam axis, have been tracked with a drift
chamber, while their energy and time of flight has been measured by means of a
LYSO scintillator. Secondary protons have been identified exploiting the energy
and time of flight information, and their emission region has been
reconstructed backtracking from the drift chamber to the target. Moreover a
position scan of the target indicates that the reconstructed emission region
follows the movement of the expected Bragg peak position. Exploting the
reconstruction of the emission region, an accuracy on the Bragg peak
determination in the submillimeter range has been obtained. The measured
differential production rate for protons produced with 83 MeV and emitted at 90 with respect to the beam line is: .Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure
Measurement of {\eta} meson production in {\gamma}{\gamma} interactions and {\Gamma}({\eta}-->{\gamma}{\gamma}) with the KLOE detector
We present a measurement of {\eta} meson production in photon-photon
interactions produced by electron-positron beams colliding with \sqrt{s}=1 GeV.
The measurement is done with the KLOE detector at the \phi-factory DA{\Phi}NE
with an integrated luminosity of 0.24 fb^{-1}. The e^+e^- --> e^+e^-{\eta}
cross section is measured without detecting the outgoing electron and positron,
selecting the decays {\eta}-->{\pi}^+{\pi}^-{\pi}^0 and
{\eta}-->{\pi}^0{\pi}^0{\pi}^0. The most relevant background is due to e^+e^-
--> {\eta}{\gamma} when the monochromatic photon escapes detection. The cross
section for this process is measured as {\sigma}(e^+e^- -->{\eta}{\gamma}) =
(856 \pm 8_{stat} \pm 16_{syst}) pb. The combined result for the e^+e^-
-->e^+e^-{\eta} cross section is {\sigma}(e^+e^- -->e^+e^-{\eta}) = (32.72 \pm
1.27_{stat} \pm 0.70_{syst}) pb. From this we derive the partial width
{\Gamma}({\eta}-->{\gamma}{\gamma}) = (520 \pm 20_{stat} \pm 13_{syst}) eV.
This is in agreement with the world average and is the most precise measurement
to date.Comment: Version accepted by JHE
A new limit on the CP violating decay KS -> 3pi0 with the KLOE experiment
We have carried out a new direct search for the CP violating decay KS -> 3pi0
with 1.7 fb^-1 of e+e- collisions collected by the KLOE detector at the
phi-factory DAFNE. We have searched for this decay in a sample of about 5.9 x
10^8 KS KL events tagging the KS by means of the KL interaction in the
calorimeter and requiring six prompt photons. With respect to our previous
search, the analysis has been improved by increasing of a factor four the
tagged sample and by a more effective background rejection of fake KS tags and
spurious clusters. We find no candidates in data and simulated background
samples, while we expect 0.12 standard model events. Normalizing to the number
of KS -> 2pi0 events in the same sample, we set the upper limit on BR(KS ->
3pi0 < 2.6 x 10^-8 at 90% C.L., five times lower than the previous limit. We
also set the upper limit on the eta_000 parameter, |eta_000 | < 0.0088 at 90%
C.L., improving by a factor two the latest direct measurement.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physics Letters B (15 pages, 13 figures
KLOE results in kaon physics and prospects for KLOE-2
The phi-factory DAPHNE offers a possibility to select pure kaon beams,
charged and neutral ones. In particular, neutral kaons from phi->KS KL are
produced in pairs and the detection of a KS (KL) tags the presence of a KL
(KS). This allows to perform precise measurements of kaon properties by means
of KLOE detector. Another advantage of a phi-factory consists in fact that the
neutral kaon pairs are produced in a pure quantum state (J^(PC) = 1^(--)),
which allowsto investigate CP and CPT symmetries via quantum interference
effects, as well as the basic principles of quantum mechanics.A review of the
most recent results of the KLOE experiment at DAPHNE using pure kaon beams or
via quantum interferometry is presented together with prospects for kaon
physics at KLOE-2.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, From Phi To Psi 2011 conference, to be published
in Nuclear Physics B (Proceedings Supplements
Measurement of \Gamma(\eta -> \pi^+\pi^-\gamma)/\Gamma(\eta -> \pi^+\pi^-\pi^0) with the KLOE Detector
The ratio R_{\eta}=\Gamma(\eta -> \pi^+\pi^-\gamma)/\Gamma(\eta ->
\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0) has been measured by analyzing 22 million \phi \to \eta \gamma
decays collected by the KLOE experiment at DA\PhiNE, corresponding to an
integrated luminosity of 558 pb^{-1}. The \eta \to \pi^+\pi^-\gamma proceeds
both via the \rho resonant contribution, and possibly a non-resonant direct
term, connected to the box anomaly. Our result, R_{\eta}= 0.1856\pm
0.0005_{stat} \pm 0.0028_{syst}, points out a sizable contribution of the
direct term to the total width. The di-pion invariant mass for the \eta ->
\pi^+\pi^-\gamma decay could be described in a model-independent approach in
terms of a single free parameter, \alpha. The determined value of the parameter
\alpha is \alpha = (1.32 \pm 0.08_{stat} +0.10/-0.09_{syst}\pm 0.02_{theo})
GeV^{-2}Comment: Paper in press, accepted by PL
Impact of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations on sustained virologic response in HCV-infected patients: Results from the GUARD-C Cohort
BACKGROUND:
Despite the introduction of direct-acting antiviral agents for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, peginterferon alfa/ribavirin remains relevant in many resource-constrained settings. The non-randomized GUARD-C cohort investigated baseline predictors of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations (sr-RD) and their impact on sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients receiving peginterferon alfa/ribavirin in routine practice.
METHODS:
A total of 3181 HCV-mono-infected treatment-naive patients were assigned to 24 or 48 weeks of peginterferon alfa/ribavirin by their physician. Patients were categorized by time-to-first sr-RD (Week 4/12). Detailed analyses of the impact of sr-RD on SVR24 (HCV RNA <50 IU/mL) were conducted in 951 Caucasian, noncirrhotic genotype (G)1 patients assigned to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin for 48 weeks. The probability of SVR24 was identified by a baseline scoring system (range: 0-9 points) on which scores of 5 to 9 and <5 represent high and low probability of SVR24, respectively.
RESULTS:
SVR24 rates were 46.1% (754/1634), 77.1% (279/362), 68.0% (514/756), and 51.3% (203/396), respectively, in G1, 2, 3, and 4 patients. Overall, 16.9% and 21.8% patients experienced 651 sr-RD for peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, respectively. Among Caucasian noncirrhotic G1 patients: female sex, lower body mass index, pre-existing cardiovascular/pulmonary disease, and low hematological indices were prognostic factors of sr-RD; SVR24 was lower in patients with 651 vs. no sr-RD by Week 4 (37.9% vs. 54.4%; P = 0.0046) and Week 12 (41.7% vs. 55.3%; P = 0.0016); sr-RD by Week 4/12 significantly reduced SVR24 in patients with scores <5 but not 655.
CONCLUSIONS:
In conclusion, sr-RD to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin significantly impacts on SVR24 rates in treatment-naive G1 noncirrhotic Caucasian patients. Baseline characteristics can help select patients with a high probability of SVR24 and a low probability of sr-RD with peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin
HCV genotypes are differently prone to the development of resistance to linear and macrocyclic protease inhibitors
Because of the extreme genetic variability of hepatitis C virus (HCV), we analyzed whether specific HCV-genotypes are differently prone to develop resistance to linear and macrocyclic protease-inhibitors (PIs)
Decreased expression of GRAF1/OPHN-1-L in the X-linked alpha thalassemia mental retardation syndrome
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