Short versus long range interactions and the size of two-body weakly bound objects

Very weakly bound systems may manifest intriguing "universal" properties, independent of the specific interaction which keeps the system bound. An interesting example is given by relations between the size of the system and the separation energy, or scaling laws. So far, scaling laws have been investigated for short-range and long-range (repulsive) potentials. We report here on scaling laws for weakly bound two-body systems valid for a larger class of potentials, i.e. short-range potentials having a repulsive core and long-range attractive potentials. We emphasize analogies and differences between the short- and the long-range case. In particular, we show that the emergence of halos is a threshold phenomenon which can arise when the system is bound not only by short-range interactions but also by long-range ones, and this for any value of the orbital angular momentum $\ell$. These results enlarge the image of halo systems we are accustomed to.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. To be published in the Proceedings of the Workshop "Hirschegg 2003: Nuclear Structure and Dynamics at the Limits", Hirschegg, January 12 - 18, 200

Star scanner

A star scanner on a spin stabilized spacecraft is described which includes a reticle with a pair of slits having different separations as a function of the spacecraft vertical plane, to form a V slit. The time between a star image crossing one of the slits relative to a reference telemetry time provides an indication of azimuth angle. The time between the image crossing the two slits provides an indication of elevation angle of the star. If a star cluster is detected such that two stars pass the slits in less time than normally required for a single star to cross the two slits, an indication of the cluster occurrence is derived. Means are provided to prevent effective detection of large celestial bodies, such as the sun or moon

Description of Heavy Quark Systems by means of Energy Dependent Potentials

We apply, for the first time, an energy dependent Schrodinger equation to describe static properties of heavy quark systems, i.e. charmonium and bottonium. We show that a good description of the eigenstates and reasonable values for the widths can be obtained. Values of the radii and of the density at the origin are also given. We compare the results to those deduced with a Schrodinger equation implemented with potentials used so far. We note that the energy dependence of the confining potential provides a natural mechanism for the saturation of the spectra. Our results introduce a new class of potentials for the description of heavy quark systems.Comment: 3 page

Brownian motion in a non-homogeneous force field and photonic force microscope

The Photonic Force Microscope (PFM) is an opto-mechanical technique based on an optical trap that can be assumed to probe forces in microscopic systems. This technique has been used to measure forces in the range of pico- and femto-Newton, assessing the mechanical properties of biomolecules as well as of other microscopic systems. For a correct use of the PFM, the force field to measure has to be invariable (homogeneous) on the scale of the Brownian motion of the trapped probe. This condition implicates that the force field must be conservative, excluding the possibility of a rotational component. However, there are cases where these assumptions are not fulfilled Here, we show how to improve the PFM technique in order to be able to deal with these cases. We introduce the theory of this enhanced PFM and we propose a concrete analysis workflow to reconstruct the force field from the experimental time-series of the probe position. Furthermore, we experimentally verify some particularly important cases, namely the case of a conservative or rotational force-field

Low energy neutrino scattering measurements at future Spallation Source facilities

In the future several Spallation Source facilities will be available worldwide. Spallation Sources produce large amount of neutrinos from decay-at-rest muons and thus can be well adapted to accommodate state-of-the-art neutrino experiments. In this paper low energy neutrino scattering experiments that can be performed at such facilities are reviewed. Estimation of expected event rates are given for several nuclei, electrons and protons at a detector located close to the source. A neutrino program at Spallation Sources comprises neutrino-nucleus cross section measurements relevant for neutrino and core-collapse supernova physics, electroweak tests and lepton-flavor violation searches.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 5 table

On the suitability of thermogravimetric balances for the study of biomass pyrolysis

In fixed-bed pyrolysis reactors, the stacking of sample particles often leads to higher yields of solid pyrolysis products (chars) than are obtained from other types of reactors. This phenomenon is particularly emphasised in thermogravimetric (TG) balances, which unlike many fixed-bed reactors, do not sweep gas through the stationary bed of pyrolysing sample. Gas is swept through the sample bed to reduce the residence time of tar vapours in close proximity to chars, which affects the extent to which these vapours will condense onto the surface of chars and repolymerise, thus increasing char yield. Depth of the sample bed affects this residence time, and thus affects char yield. In this work, the sensitivity of typical analyses of biomass thermogravimetry to variations in bed depth have been assessed. Results of these analyses, including product distributions, proximate compositions, and kinetic predictions, carried out on microcrystalline cellulose and birch wood hydrochar samples produced at temperatures ranging from 160 to 280 °C, have been shown to be sensitive to variations in bed depth, and it has been demonstrated that this sensitivity is amplified at higher heating rates and temperatures. Thus, when a single sample mass is used for any of these typical TG analyses, as is common in published literature, the results are not fundamental properties of the material tested but rather a product of the exact experimental design employed. Future work is needed to identify reactor and experimental design guidelines to minimise this sensitivity in fixed-bed reactors

Search for New Physics with same-sign isolated dilepton events with jets and missing transverse energy at LHC

The results of searches for new physics in events with two same-sign isolated leptons, hadronic jets, and missing transverse energy in the final state are presented. The searches use an integrated luminosity of 35 pb−1 of pp collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 7TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The observed numbers of events agree with the standard model predictions, and no evidence for new physics is found

Influence of Reactor Design on Product Distributions from Biomass Pyrolysis

This paper explores the elements of experimental design that affect outcomes of pyrolysis experiments. Primary pyrolysis products are highly reactive, and reactor properties that tend to promote or suppress their secondary reactions play a key role in determining final product distributions. In assessing particular experimental designs, it is often useful to compare results from different configurations under similar experimental conditions. In the case of pure cellulose, char yields from pyrolysis experiments were observed to vary between 1 and 26%, as a function of changes in reactor design and associated operating parameters. Most other examples have been selected from the pyrolysis of ligno-cellulosic biomass and its main constituents, although relevant data from coal pyrolysis experiments have also been examined. The work focuses on identifying the ranges of conditions where diverse types of reactors provide more dependable data. The greater reliability of fluidized-bed reactors for weight loss (total volatile) determinations in the 300–550 °C range, particularly relevant to the study of biomass pyrolysis, has been highlighted and compared with challenges encountered in using wire-mesh reactors and thermogravimetric balances in this temperature range