677 research outputs found
CLAS+FROST: new generation of photoproduction experiments at Jefferson Lab
A large part of the experimental program in Hall B of the Jefferson Lab is
dedicated to baryon spectroscopy. Photoproduction experiments are essential
part of this program. CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) and
availability of circularly and linearly polarized tagged photon beams provide
unique conditions for this type of experiments. Recent addition of the Frozen
Spin Target (FROST) gives a remarkable opportunity to measure double and triple
polarization observables for different pseudo-scalar meson photoproduction
processes. For the first time, a complete or nearly complete experiment becomes
possible and will allow model independent extraction of the reaction amplitude.
An overview of the experiment and its current status is presented.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures. Invited paper NSTAR 2009 conferenc
Photofission of heavy nuclei at energies up to 4 GeV
Total photofission cross sections for 238U, 235U, 233U, 237Np, 232Th, and
natPb have been measured simultaneously, using tagged photons in the energy
range Egamma=0.17-3.84 GeV. This was the first experiment performed using the
Photon Tagging Facility in Hall B at Jefferson Lab. Our results show that the
photofission cross section for 238U relative to that for 237Np is about 80%,
implying the presence of important processes that compete with fission. We also
observe that the relative photofission cross sections do not depend strongly on
the incident photon energy over this entire energy range. If we assume that for
237Np the photofission probability is equal to unity, we observe a significant
shadowing effect starting below 1.5 GeV.Comment: 4 pages of RevTex, 6 postscript figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Learning From Early Attempts to Generalize Darwinian Principles to Social Evolution
Copyright University of Hertfordshire & author.Evolutionary psychology places the human psyche in the context of evolution, and addresses the Darwinian processes involved, particularly at the level of genetic evolution. A logically separate and potentially complementary argument is to consider the application of Darwinian principles not only to genes but also to social entities and processes. This idea of extending Darwinian principles was suggested by Darwin himself. Attempts to do this appeared as early as the 1870s and proliferated until the early twentieth century. But such ideas remained dormant in the social sciences from the 1920s until after the Second World War. Some lessons can be learned from this earlier period, particularly concerning the problem of specifying the social units of selection or replication
Neutron skin of Pb from Coherent Pion Photoproduction
Information on the size and shape of the neutron skin on Pb has been
extracted from coherent pion photoproduction cross sections measured using the
Crystal Ball together with the Glasgow tagger at the MAMI electron beam
facility. On exploitation of an interpolated fit of a theoretical model to the
measured cross sections the half-height radius and diffuseness of the neutron
distribution are found to be 6.70 fm and 0.55 fm respectively, corresponding to a neutron
skin thickness =0.15 fm.
The results give the first successful extraction of a neutron skin with an
electromagnetic probe and indicate the skin of Pb has a halo character.
The measurement provides valuable new constraints on both the structure of
nuclei and the equation of state for neutron-rich matter.Comment: 4 figures 5 pages. Version submitted to journal. Includes additional
studies of systematic effects in the extracted diffuseness, which led to a
small increase in the quoted systematic error. These additional studies are
discussed in the revised manuscript. Also includes minor editorial
improvements to the tex
and photoproduction with fine center-of-mass energy resolution
Measurements of and cross-sections have been obtained with the photon
tagging facility and the Crystal Ball calorimeter at MAMI-C. The measurement
uses a novel meson identification technique in which the weak decay
products are characterized using the energy and timing characteristics of the
energy deposit in the calorimeter, a method that has the potential to be
applied at many other facilities. The fine center-of-mass energy ()
resolution and statistical accuracy of the new data results in a significant
impact on partial wave analyses aiming to better establish the excitation
spectrum of the nucleon. The new analyses disfavor a strong role for
quark-diquark dynamics in the nucleon.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
Measurement of the beam-helicity asymmetry in the photoproduction of -pairs off protons and off neutrons
Beam-helicity asymmetries have been measured at the MAMI accelerator in Mainz
for the photoproduction of mixed-charge pion pairs in the reactions
off free protons and
and
off quasi-free nucleons bound
in the deuteron for incident photon energies up to 1.4 GeV. Circularly
polarized photons were produced from bremsstrahlung of longitudinally polarized
electrons and tagged with the Glasgow-Mainz magnetic spectrometer. The charged
pions, recoil protons, recoil neutrons, and decay photons from mesons
were detected in the 4 electromagnetic calorimeter composed of the Crystal
Ball and TAPS detectors. Using a complete kinematic reconstruction of the final
state, excellent agreement was found between the results for free and
quasi-free protons, suggesting that the quasi-free neutron results are also a
close approximation of the free-neutron asymmetries. A comparison of the
results to the predictions of the Two-Pion-MAID reaction model shows that the
reaction mechanisms are still not well understood, in particular at low
incident photon energies in the second nucleon-resonance region.Comment: accepted for publication in Eur. phys. J.
Photoproduction of pi0-mesons off neutrons in the nucleon resonance region
Precise angular distributions have been measured for the first time for the
photoproduction of -mesons off neutrons bound in the deuteron. The
effects from nuclear Fermi motion have been eliminated by a complete kinematic
reconstruction of the final state. The influence of final-state-interaction
effects has been estimated by a comparison of the reaction cross section for
quasi-free protons bound in the deuteron to the results for free protons and
then applied as a correction to the quasi-free neutron data. The experiment was
performed at the tagged photon facility of the Mainz Microtron MAMI with the
Crystal Ball and TAPS detector setup for incident photon energies between
~GeV and ~GeV. The results are compared to the predictions from
reaction models and partial-wave analyses based on data from other isospin
channels. The model predictions show large discrepancies among each other and
the present data will provide much tighter constraints. This is demonstrated by
the results of a new analysis in the framework of the Bonn-Gatchina
coupled-channel analysis which included the present data.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys; Rev. Let
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