844 research outputs found
Measurement of the production branching ratios following nuclear muon capture for palladium isotopes using the in-beam activation method
Background: The energy distribution of excited states populated by the
nuclear muon capture reaction can facilitate an understanding of the reaction
mechanism; however, experimental data are fairly sparse. Purpose: We developed
a new methodology, called the in-beam activation method, to measure the
production probability of residual nuclei by muon capture. For the first
application of the new method, we have measured muon-induced activation of five
isotopically-enriched palladium targets. Methods: The experiment was conducted
at the RIKEN-RAL muon facility of the Rutherford Appleton Facility in the UK.
The pulsed muon beam impinged on the palladium targets and gamma rays from the
beta and isomeric decays from the reaction residues were measured using
high-purity germanium detectors in both the in-beam and offline setups.
Results: The production branching ratios of the residual nuclei of muon capture
for five palladium isotopes with mass numbers A = 104, 105, 106, 108, and 110
were obtained. The results were compared with a model calculation using the
particle and heavy ion transport system (PHITS) code. The model calculation
well reproduces the experimental data. Conclusion: For the first time, this
study provides experimental data on the distribution of production branching
ratios without any theoretical estimation or assumptions in the interpretation
of the data analysisComment: 20 pages, 11 figure
Correlation dynamics between electrons and ions in the fragmentation of D molecules by short laser pulses
We studied the recollision dynamics between the electrons and D ions
following the tunneling ionization of D molecules in an intense short pulse
laser field. The returning electron collisionally excites the D ion to
excited electronic states from there D can dissociate or be further
ionized by the laser field, resulting in D + D or D + D,
respectively. We modeled the fragmentation dynamics and calculated the
resulting kinetic energy spectrum of D to compare with recent experiments.
Since the recollision time is locked to the tunneling ionization time which
occurs only within fraction of an optical cycle, the peaks in the D kinetic
energy spectra provides a measure of the time when the recollision occurs. This
collision dynamics forms the basis of the molecular clock where the clock can
be read with attosecond precision, as first proposed by Corkum and coworkers.
By analyzing each of the elementary processes leading to the fragmentation
quantitatively, we identified how the molecular clock is to be read from the
measured kinetic energy spectra of D and what laser parameters be used in
order to measure the clock more accurately.Comment: 13 pages with 14 figure
High-order harmonic generation with a strong laser field and an attosecond-pulse train: the Dirac Delta comb and monochromatic limits
In recent publications, it has been shown that high-order harmonic generation
can be manipulated by employing a time-delayed attosecond pulse train
superposed to a strong, near-infrared laser field. It is an open question,
however, which is the most adequate way to approximate the attosecond pulse
train in a semi-analytic framework. Employing the Strong-Field Approximation
and saddle-point methods, we make a detailed assessment of the spectra obtained
by modeling the attosecond pulse train by either a monochromatic wave or a
Dirac-Delta comb. These are the two extreme limits of a real train, which is
composed by a finite set of harmonics. Specifically, in the monochromatic
limit, we find the downhill and uphill sets of orbits reported in the
literature, and analyze their influence on the high-harmonic spectra. We show
that, in principle, the downhill trajectories lead to stronger harmonics, and
pronounced enhancements in the low-plateau region. These features are analyzed
in terms of quantum interference effects between pairs of quantum orbits, and
compared to those obtained in the Dirac-Delta limit.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures (eps files). To appear in Laser Physic
Coherent Electron Scattering Captured by an Attosecond Quantum Stroboscope
The basic properties of atoms, molecules and solids are governed by electron
dynamics which take place on extremely short time scales. To measure and
control these dynamics therefore requires ultrafast sources of radiation
combined with efficient detection techniques. The generation of extreme
ultraviolet (XUV) attosecond (1 as = 10-18 s) pulses has, for the first time,
made direct measurements of electron dynamics possible. Nevertheless, while
various applications of attosecond pulses have been demonstrated
experimentally, no one has yet captured or controlled the full three
dimensional motion of an electron on an attosecond time scale. Here we
demonstrate an attosecond quantum stroboscope capable of guiding and imaging
electron motion on a sub-femtosecond (1 fs = 10-15 s) time scale. It is based
on a sequence of identical attosecond pulses which are synchronized with a
guiding laser field. The pulse to pulse separation in the train is tailored to
exactly match an optical cycle of the laser field and the electron momentum
distributions are detected with a velocity map imaging spectrometer (VMIS).
This technique has enabled us to guide ionized electrons back to their parent
ion and image the scattering event. We envision that coherent electron
scattering from atoms, molecules and surfaces captured by the attosecond
quantum stroboscope will complement more traditional scattering techniques
since it provides high temporal as well as spatial resolution.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
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