The {\eta}'-carbon potential at low meson momenta

The production of $\eta^\prime$ mesons in coincidence with forward-going protons has been studied in photon-induced reactions on $^{12}$C and on a liquid hydrogen (LH$_2$) target for incoming photon energies of 1.3-2.6 GeV at the electron accelerator ELSA. The $\eta^\prime$ mesons have been identified via the $\eta^\prime\rightarrow \pi^0 \pi^0\eta \rightarrow 6 \gamma$ decay registered with the CBELSA/TAPS detector system. Coincident protons have been identified in the MiniTAPS BaF$_2$ array at polar angles of $2^{\circ} \le \theta _{p} \le 11^{\circ}$. Under these kinematic constraints the $\eta^\prime$ mesons are produced with relatively low kinetic energy ($\approx$ 150 MeV) since the coincident protons take over most of the momentum of the incident-photon beam. For the C-target this allows the determination of the real part of the $\eta^\prime$-carbon potential at low meson momenta by comparing with collision model calculations of the $\eta^\prime$ kinetic energy distribution and excitation function. Fitting the latter data for $\eta^\prime$ mesons going backwards in the center-of-mass system yields a potential depth of V = $-$(44 $\pm$ 16(stat)$\pm$15(syst)) MeV, consistent with earlier determinations of the potential depth in inclusive measurements for average $\eta^\prime$ momenta of $\approx$ 1.1 GeV/$c$. Within the experimental uncertainties, there is no indication of a momentum dependence of the $\eta^\prime$-carbon potential. The LH$_2$ data, taken as a reference to check the data analysis and the model calculations, provide differential and integral cross sections in good agreement with previous results for $\eta^\prime$ photoproduction off the free proton.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1608.0607

Photoproduction of eta mesons from the neutron: cross sections and double polarization observable E

Photoproduction of $\eta$ mesons from neutrons} \abstract{Results from measurements of the photoproduction of $\eta$ mesons from quasifree protons and neutrons are summarized. The experiments were performed with the CBELSA/TAPS detector at the electron accelerator ELSA in Bonn using the $\eta\to3\pi^{0}\to6\gamma$ decay. A liquid deuterium target was used for the measurement of total cross sections and angular distributions. The results confirm earlier measurements from Bonn and the MAMI facility in Mainz about the existence of a narrow structure in the excitation function of $\gamma n\rightarrow n\eta$. The current angular distributions show a forward-backward asymmetry, which was previously not seen, but was predicted by model calculations including an additional narrow $P_{11}$ state. Furthermore, data obtained with a longitudinally polarized, deuterated butanol target and a circularly polarized photon beam were analyzed to determine the double polarization observable $E$. Both data sets together were also used to extract the helicity dependent cross sections $\sigma_{1/2}$ and $\sigma_{3/2}$. The narrow structure in the excitation function of $\gamma n\rightarrow n\eta$ appears associated with the helicity-1/2 component of the reaction

g9/2g_{9/2} neutron strength in the N=29N=29 isotones and the 52^{52}Cr(d,pd,p)53^{53}Cr reaction

We performed a measurement of the $^{52}$Cr$(d,p)^{53}$Cr reaction at 16 MeV using the Florida State University Super-Enge Split-Pole Spectrograph (SE-SPS) and observed 26 states. While all of the states observed here had been seen in previous $(d,p)$ experiments, we changed five $L$ assignments from those reported previously and determined $L$ values for nine states that had not had such assignments made previously. The $g_{9/2}$ neutron strength observed in $^{53}$Cr in the present work and in the $N=29$ isotones $^{49}$Ca, $^{51}$Ti, and $^{55}$Fe via $(d,p)$ reactions is much smaller than the sum rule for this strength. Most of the observed $L=4$ strength in these nuclei is located in states near 4 MeV excitation energy. The remaining $g_{9/2}$ strength may be located in the continuum or may be fragmented among many bound states. A covariant density functional theory calculation provides support for the hypothesis that the $g_{9/2}$ neutron orbit is unbound in $^{53}$Cr. The ($\alpha,^3$He) reaction may provide a more sensitive probe for the missing $g_{9/2}$ neutron strength. In addition, particle-$\gamma$ coincidence experiments may help resolve some remaining questions in this nucleus.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2212.0438

Les Houches 2015: Physics at TeV colliders - new physics working group report

We present the activities of the 'New Physics' working group for the 'Physics at TeV Colliders' workshop (Les Houches, France, 1-19 June, 2015). Our report includes new physics studies connected with the Higgs boson and its properties, direct search strategies, reinterpretation of the LHC results in the building of viable models and new computational tool developments. Important signatures for searches for natural new physics at the LHC and new assessments of the interplay between direct dark matter searches and the LHC are also considered.Comment: Proceedings of the New Physics Working Group of the 2015 Les Houches Workshop, Physics at TeV Colliders, Les Houches 1-19 June 2015. 197 page

The pygmy quadrupole resonance and neutron-skin modes in Sn-124

We present an extensive experimental study of the recently predicted pygmy quadrupole resonance (PQR) in Sn isotopes, where complementary probes were used. In this study, and experiments were performed on 124Sn. In both reactions, states below an excitation energy of 5 MeV were populated. The E2 strength integrated over the full transition densities could be extracted from the experiment, while the experiment at the chosen kinematics strongly favors the excitation of surface modes because of the strong α-particle absorption in the nuclear interior. The excitation of such modes is in accordance with the quadrupole-type oscillation of the neutron skin predicted by a microscopic approach based on self-consistent density functional theory and the quasiparticle-phonon model (QPM). The newly determined γ-decay branching ratios hint at a non-statistical character of the E2 strength, as it has also been recently pointed out for the case of the pygmy dipole resonance (PDR). This allows us to distinguish between PQR-type and multiphonon excitations and, consequently, supports the recent first experimental indications of a PQR in 124Sn

Using system dynamics to support a functional exercise for pandemic preparedness and response

In pandemic preparedness and response, a Functional Exercise (FX) is used to simulate a situation as close to a real-life event as possible without the deployment of resources. Participants are drawn from public health emergency operations centres, and work through a scenario script to test possible responses to a novel pathogen outbreak. This paper summarises the role of system dynamics modelling in the design and implementation of a functional exercise, which involved the Dutch and German national public health institutes in March 2023. The findings confirm the value of the system dynamics method in integrating disease and hospital models, and also highlights how well the method aligns with modern software development processes. The paper concludes with a discussion of what worked well, and presents areas for future enhancements of management flight simulators to support functional exercises.Peer Reviewe

Investigation of octupole collectivity near the A=72A =72 shape-transitional point

Enhanced octupole collectivity is expected in the neutron-deficient Ge, Se and Kr isotopes with neutron number $N \approx 40$ and has indeed been observed for $^{70,72}$Ge. Shape coexistence and configuration mixing are, however, a notorious challenge for theoretical models trying to reliably predict octupole collectivity in this mass region, which is known to feature rapid shape changes with changing nucleon number and spin of the system. To further investigate the microscopic configurations causing the prolate-oblate-triaxial shape transition at $A \approx 72$ and their influence on octupole collectivity, the rare isotopes $^{72}$Se and $^{74,76}$Kr were studied via inelastic proton scattering in inverse kinematics. While significantly enhanced octupole strength of $\sim 32$ Weisskopf units (W.u.) was observed for $^{72}$Se, only strengths of $\sim 15$ W.u. were observed for $^{74,76}$Kr. In combination with existing data, the new data clearly question a simple origin of enhanced octupole strengths around $N = 40$. The present work establishes two regions of distinct octupole strengths with a sudden strength increase around the $A=72$ shape transitional point

Determination of the scalar polarizabilities of the proton using beam asymmetry Σ3\Sigma_{3} in Compton scattering

The scalar dipole polarizabilities, $\alpha_{E1}$ and $\beta_{M1}$, are fundamental properties related to the internal dynamics of the nucleon. The currently accepted values of the proton polarizabilities were determined by fitting to unpolarized proton Compton scattering cross section data. The measurement of the beam asymmetry $\Sigma_{3}$ in a certain kinematical range provides an alternative approach to the extraction of the scalar polarizabilities. At the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) the beam asymmetry was measured for Compton scattering below pion photoproduction threshold for the first time. The results are compared with model calculations and the influence of the experimental data on the extraction of the scalar polarizabilities is determined.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Helicity-dependent cross sections and double-polarization observable E in η photoproduction from quasifree protons and neutrons

Precise helicity-dependent cross sections and the double-polarization observable E were measured for η photoproduction from quasifree protons and neutrons bound in the deuteron. The η → 2γ and η → 3π0 → 6γ decay modes were used to optimize the statistical quality of the data and to estimate systematic uncertainties. The measurement used the A2 detector setup at the tagged photon beam of the electron accelerator MAMI in Mainz. A longitudinally polarized deuterated butanol target was used in combination with a circularly polarized photon beam from bremsstrahlung of a longitudinally polarized electron beam. The reaction products were detected with the electromagnetic calorimeters Crystal Ball and TAPS, which covered 98% of the full solid angle. The results show that the narrow structure observed earlier in the unpolarized excitation function of η photoproduction off the neutron appears only in reactions with antiparallel photon and nucleon spin (σ1/2). It is absent for reactions with parallel spin orientation (σ3/2) and thus very probably related to partial waves with total spin 1/2. The behavior of the angular distributions of the helicity-dependent cross sections was analyzed by fitting them with Legendre polynomials. The results are in good agreement with a model from the Bonn-Gatchina group, which uses an interference of P11 and S11 partial waves to explain the narrow structure