Evidence for the presence of dust in intervening QSO absorbers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We find evidence for dust in the intervening QSO absorbers from the spectra of QSOs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 1. No evidence is found for the 2175 A feature which is present in the Milky Way dust extinction curve. The extinction curve resembles the SMC extinction curve. The observed Delta(g-i) excess for QSOs with strong absorption systems appears to be a result of the reddening due to dust in the intervening absorbers.Comment: Poster paper presented at the IAU Colloquium #199 on "Probing Galaxies through Quasar Absorption Lines" held in Shanghai, China from March 14th to 18th, 200

The Q^2-Dependence of Nuclear Transparency for Exclusive ρ0\rho^0 Production

Exclusive coherent and incoherent electroproduction of the $\rho^0$ meson from $^1$H and $^{14}$N targets has been studied at the HERMES experiment as a function of coherence length ($l_c$), corresponding to the lifetime of hadronic fluctuations of the virtual photon, and squared four-momentum of the virtual photon ($-Q^2$). The ratio of $^{14}$N to $^1$H cross sections per nucleon, known as nuclear transparency, was found to increase (decrease) with increasing coherence length for coherent (incoherent) $\rho^0$ electroproduction. For fixed coherence length, a rise of nuclear transparency with $Q^2$ is observed for both coherent and incoherent $\rho^0$ production, which is in agreement with theoretical calculations of color transparency.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Single-spin asymmetries in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering on a transversely polarized hydrogen target

Single-spin asymmetries for semi-inclusive electroproduction of charged pions in deep-inelastic scattering of positrons are measured for the first time with transverse target polarization. The asymmetry depends on the azimuthal angles of both the pion ($\phi$) and the target spin axis ($\phi_S$) about the virtual photon direction and relative to the lepton scattering plane. The extracted Fourier component \cmpi is a signal of the previously unmeasured quark transversity distribution, in conjunction with the so-called Collins fragmentation function, also unknown. The Fourier component \smpi of the asymmetry arises from a correlation between the transverse polarization of the target nucleon and the intrinsic transverse momentum of quarks, as represented by the previously unmeasured Sivers distribution function. Evidence for both signals is observed, but the Sivers asymmetry may be affected by exclusive vector meson productio

Nuclear Polarization of Molecular Hydrogen Recombined on a Non-metallic Surface

The nuclear polarization of $\mathrm{H}_2$ molecules formed by recombination of nuclear polarized H atoms on the surface of a storage cell initially coated with a silicon-based polymer has been measured by using the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry in deep-inelastic positron-proton scattering. The molecules are found to have a substantial nuclear polarization, which is evidence that initially polarized atoms retain their nuclear polarization when absorbed on this type of surfac

Flavor decomposition of the sea quark helicity distributions in the nucleon from semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering

Double-spin asymmetries of semi-inclusive cross sections for the production of identified pions and kaons have been measured in deep-inelastic scattering of polarized positrons on a polarized deuterium target. Five helicity distributions including those for three sea quark flavors were extracted from these data together with re-analyzed previous data for identified pions from a hydrogen target. These distributions are consistent with zero for all three sea flavors. A recently predicted flavor asymmetry in the polarization of the light quark sea appears to be disfavored by the data.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

First Measurement of the Tensor Structure Function b1b_1 of the Deuteron

The \Hermes experiment has investigated the tensor spin structure of the deuteron using the 27.6 GeV/c positron beam of \Hera. The use of a tensor polarized deuteron gas target with only a negligible residual vector polarization enabled the first measurement of the tensor asymmetry \At and the tensor structure function \bd for average values of the Bj{\o}rken variable $0.01<0.45$ and of the squared four-momentum transfer $0.5 {\rm GeV^2} <5 {\rm GeV^2}$. The quantities \At and \bd are found to be non-zero. The rise of \bd for decreasing values of $x$ can be interpreted to originate from the same mechanism that leads to nuclear shadowing in unpolarized scattering

Performance of the First ANTARES Detector Line

In this paper we report on the data recorded with the first Antares detector line. The line was deployed on the 14th of February 2006 and was connected to the readout two weeks later. Environmental data for one and a half years of running are shown. Measurements of atmospheric muons from data taken from selected runs during the first six months of operation are presented. Performance figures in terms of time residuals and angular resolution are given. Finally the angular distribution of atmospheric muons is presented and from this the depth profile of the muon intensity is derived.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

Quark helicity distributions in the nucleon for up, down, and strange quarks from semi--inclusive deep--inelastic scattering

Polarized deep--inelastic scattering data on longitudinally polarized hydrogen and deuterium targets have been used to determine double spin asymmetries of cross sections. Inclusive and semi--inclusive asymmetries for the production of positive and negative pions from hydrogen were obtained in a re--analysis of previously published data. Inclusive and semi--inclusive asymmetries for the production of negative and positive pions and kaons were measured on a polarized deuterium target. The separate helicity densities for the up and down quarks and the anti--up, anti--down, and strange sea quarks were computed from these asymmetries in a ``leading order'' QCD analysis. The polarization of the up--quark is positive and that of the down--quark is negative. All extracted sea quark polarizations are consistent with zero, and the light quark sea helicity densities are flavor symmetric within the experimental uncertainties. First and second moments of the extracted quark helicity densities in the measured range are consistent with fits of inclusive data

The ANTARES Optical Beacon System

ANTARES is a neutrino telescope being deployed in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of a three dimensional array of photomultiplier tubes that can detect the Cherenkov light induced by charged particles produced in the interactions of neutrinos with the surrounding medium. High angular resolution can be achieved, in particular when a muon is produced, provided that the Cherenkov photons are detected with sufficient timing precision. Considerations of the intrinsic time uncertainties stemming from the transit time spread in the photomultiplier tubes and the mechanism of transmission of light in sea water lead to the conclusion that a relative time accuracy of the order of 0.5 ns is desirable. Accordingly, different time calibration systems have been developed for the ANTARES telescope. In this article, a system based on Optical Beacons, a set of external and well-controlled pulsed light sources located throughout the detector, is described. This calibration system takes into account the optical properties of sea water, which is used as the detection volume of the ANTARES telescope. The design, tests, construction and first results of the two types of beacons, LED and laser-based, are presented.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. and Meth. Phys. Res.

The Q2Q^2-dependence of the generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integral for the deuteron, proton and neutron

The Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn (GDH) sum rule connects the anomalous contribution to the magnetic moment of the target nucleus with an energy-weighted integral of the difference of the helicity-dependent photoabsorption cross sections. The data collected by HERMES with a deuterium target are presented together with a re-analysis of previous measurements on the proton. This provides a measurement of the generalised GDH integral covering simultaneously the nucleon-resonance and the deep inelastic scattering regions. The contribution of the nucleon-resonance region is seen to decrease rapidly with increasing $Q^2$. The DIS contribution is sizeable over the full measured range, even down to the lowest measured $Q^2$. As expected, at higher $Q^2$ the data are found to be in agreement with previous measurements of the first moment of $g_1$. From data on the deuteron and proton, the GDH integral for the neutron has been derived and the proton--neutron difference evaluated. This difference is found to satisfy the fundamental Bjorken sum rule at $Q^2 = 5$ GeV$^2$.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure