Binary Decay of Light Nuclear Systems

A review of the characteristic features found in fully energy-damped, binarydecay yields from light heavy-ion reactions with $20\leq A_{target} + A_{projectile}\leq 80$ is presented. The different aspects of these yields that have been used to support models of compound-nucleus (CN) fission and deep-inelastic dinucleus orbiting are highlighted. Cross section calculations based on the statistical phase space at different stages of the reaction are presented and compared to the experimental results. Although the statistical models are found to reproduce most of the observed experimental behaviors, an additional reaction component corresponding to a heavy-ion resonance or orbiting mechanism is also evident in certain systems. The system dependence of this second component is discussed. The extent to which the binary yields in very light systems $(A_{CN} \leq 32)$ can be viewed as resulting from a fusion-fission mechanism is explored. A number of unresolved questions, such as whether the different observed behaviors reflect characteristically different reaction times, are discussed.Comment: 79 pages REVTeX file, 39 ps Figures included - to be publihed in Physics Report

Stern-Gerlach Entanglement in Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensates

Entanglement of spin and position variables produced by spatially inhomogeneous magnetic fields of Stern-Gerlach type acting on spinor Bose-Einstein condensates may lead to interference effects at the level of one-boson densities. A model is worked out for these effects which is amenable to analytical calculation for gaussian shaped condensates. The resulting interference effects are sensitive to the spin polarization properties of the condensate.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

On the Issue of the \zeta Series Convergence and Loop Corrections in the Generation of Observable Primordial Non-Gaussianity in Slow-Roll Inflation. Part II: the Trispectrum

We calculate the trispectrum T_\zeta of the primordial curvature perturbation \zeta, generated during a {\it slow-roll} inflationary epoch by considering a two-field quadratic model of inflation with {\it canonical} kinetic terms. We consider loop contributions as well as tree level terms, and show that it is possible to attain very high, {\it including observable}, values for the level of non-gaussianity \tau_{NL} if T_\zeta is dominated by the one-loop contribution. Special attention is paid to the claim in JCAP {\bf 0902}, 017 (2009) [arXiv:0812.0807 [astro-ph]] that, in the model studied in this paper and for the specific inflationary trajectory we choose, the quantum fluctuations of the fields overwhelm the classical evolution. We argue that such a claim actually does not apply to our model, although more research is needed in order to understand the role of quantum diffusion. We also consider the probability that an observer in an ensemble of realizations of the density field sees a non-gaussian distribution. In that respect, we show that the probability associated to the chosen inflationary trajectory is non-negligible. Finally, the levels of non-gaussianity f_{NL} and \tau_{NL} in the bispectrum B_\zeta and trispectrum T_\zeta of \zeta, respectively, are also studied for the case in which \zeta is not generated during inflation.Comment: LaTex File, 27 pages, 8 figures. v2: Previous Section 2 has been removed. Two new sections (3 and 4) discussing the classicality condition given by Byrnes, Choi, and Hall, in JCAP 0902, 017 (2009), and the probability that an observer sees a non-gaussian distribution have been added. v3: Version accepted for publication in Physical Review

Violation of the Ikeda sum rule and the self-consistency in the renormalized quasiparticle random phase approximation and the nuclear double-beta decay

The effect of the inclusion of ground state correlations into the QRPA equation of motion for the two-neutrino double beta ($\beta\beta_{2\nu}$) decay is carefully analyzed. The resulting model, called renormalized QRPA (RQRPA), does not collapse near the physical value of the nuclear force strength in the particle-particle channel, as happens with the ordinary QRPA. Still, the $\beta\beta_{2\nu}$ transition amplitude is only slightly less sensitive on this parameter in the RQRPA than that in the plain QRPA. It is argued that this fact reveals once more that the characteristic behaviour of the $\beta\beta_{2\nu}$ transition amplitude within the QRPA is not an artifact of the model, but a consequence of the partial restoration of the spin-isospin $SU(4)$ symmetry. It is shown that the price paid for bypassing the collapse in the RQRPA is the violation of the Ikeda sum rule.Comment: 16 pages, latex, 3 postscript figure