3,432 research outputs found
Probing the equation of state of neutron-rich matter with intermediate energy heavy-ion collisions
Nuclear reactions induced by stable and/or radioactive neutron-rich nuclei
provide the opportunity to pin down the equation of state of neutron-rich
matter, especially the density () dependence of its isospin-dependent
part, i.e., the nuclear symmetry energy . A conservative
constraint, , around the nuclear matter saturation density has
recently been obtained from the isospin diffusion data in intermediate energy
heavy-ion collisions. We review this exciting result and discuss its
consequences and implications on nuclear effective interactions, radii and
cooling mechanisms of neutron stars.Comment: 10 pages. Invited talks at (1) International Workshop on Nuclear
Multifragmentation, Nov. 28-Dec. 1, 2005, Catania, Italy and (2) XXIX
Symposium on Nuclear Physics, Jan. 3-6, 2006, Cocoyoc, Morelos, Mexic
Nuclear matter symmetry energy and the neutron skin thickness of heavy nuclei
Correlations between the thickness of the neutron skin in finite nuclei and
the nuclear matter symmetry energy are studied in the Skyrme Hartree-Fock
model. From the most recent analysis of the isospin diffusion data in heavy-ion
collisions based on an isospin- and momentum-dependent transport model with
in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross sections, a value of MeV for the
slope of the nuclear symmetry energy at saturation density is extracted, and
this imposes stringent constraints on both the parameters in the Skyrme
effective interactions and the neutron skin thickness of heavy nuclei.
Predicted thickness of the neutron skin is fm for Pb,
fm for Sn, and fm for Sn.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, revised version, to appear in PR
Constraining the Skyrme effective interactions and the neutron skin thickness of nuclei using isospin diffusion data from heavy ion collisions
Recent analysis of the isospin diffusion data from heavy-ion collisions based
on an isospin- and momentum-dependent transport model with in-medium
nucleon-nucleon cross sections has led to the extraction of a value of MeV for the slope of the nuclear symmetry energy at saturation density.
This imposes stringent constraints on both the parameters in the Skyrme
effective interactions and the neutron skin thickness of heavy nuclei. Among
the 21 sets of Skyrme interactions commonly used in nuclear structure studies,
the 4 sets SIV, SV, G, and R are found to give values
that are consistent with the extracted one. Further study on the correlations
between the thickness of the neutron skin in finite nuclei and the nuclear
matter symmetry energy in the Skyrme Hartree-Fock approach leads to predicted
thickness of the neutron skin of fm for Pb, fm for Sn, and fm for Sn.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 1 Table, Talk given at 1) International
Conference on Nuclear Structure Physics, Shanghai, 12-17 June, 2006; 2) 11th
China National Nuclear Structure Physics Conference, Changchun, Jilin, 13-18
July, 200
Determination of the stiffness of the nuclear symmetry energy from isospin diffusion
With an isospin- and momentum-dependent transport model, we find that the
degree of isospin diffusion in heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies is
affected by both the stiffness of the nuclear symmetry energy and the momentum
dependence of the nucleon potential. Using a momentum dependence derived from
the Gogny effective interaction, recent experimental data from NSCL/MSU on
isospin diffusion are shown to be consistent with a nuclear symmetry energy
given by at
subnormal densities. This leads to a significantly constrained value of about
-550 MeV for the isospin-dependent part of the isobaric incompressibility of
isospin asymmetric nuclear matter.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, revised version, to appear in PR
Equation of state of the hot dense matter in a multi-phase transport model
Within the framework of a multi-phase transport model, we study the equation
of state and pressure anisotropy of the hot dense matter produced in central
relativistic heavy ion collisions. Both are found to depend on the
hadronization scheme and scattering cross sections used in the model.
Furthermore, only partial thermalization is achieved in the produced matter as
a result of its fast expansion
Effect of symmetry energy on two-nucleon correlation functions in heavy-ion collisions induced by neutron-rich nuclei
Using an isospin-dependent transport model, we study the effects of nuclear
symmetry energy on two-nucleon correlation functions in heavy ion collisions
induced by neutron-rich nuclei. We find that the density dependence of the
nuclear symmetry energy affects significantly the nucleon emission times in
these collisions, leading to larger values of two-nucleon correlation functions
for a symmetry energy that has a stronger density dependence. Two-nucleon
correlation functions are thus useful tools for extracting information about
the nuclear symmetry energy from heavy ion collisions.Comment: Revised version, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Circumstantial evidence for a soft nuclear symmetry energy at supra-saturation densities
Within an isospin- and momentum-dependent hadronic transport model it is
shown that the recent FOPI data on the ratio in central heavy-ion
collisions at SIS/GSI energies (Willy Reisdorf {\it et al.}, NPA {\bf 781}, 459
(2007)) provide circumstantial evidence suggesting a rather soft nuclear
symmetry energy \esym at compared to the
Akmal-Pandharipande-Ravenhall prediction. Some astrophysical implications and
the need for further experimental confirmations are discussed.Comment: Version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
production associated with a T-odd (anti)quark at the LHC in NLO QCD
In the framework of the littlest Higgs model with T parity, we study the
production in association with a T-odd (anti)quark of the first two
generations at the CERN Large Hadron Collider up to the QCD next-to-leading
order. The kinematic distributions of final decay products and the theoretical
dependence of the cross section on the factorization/renormalization scale are
discussed. We apply three schemes in considering the QCD NLO contributions and
find that the QCD NLO corrections by adopting the (II) and (III) subtraction
schemes can keep the convergence of the perturbative QCD description and reduce
the scale uncertainty of the leading order cross section. By using these two
subtraction schemes, the QCD NLO corrections to the production
process enhance the leading order cross section with a K-factor in the range of
.Comment: 31 pages, 12 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev.
Transition Density and Pressure at the Inner Edge of Neutron Star Crusts
Using the nuclear symmetry energy that has been recently constrained by the
isospin diffusion data in intermediate-energy heavy ion collisions, we have
studied the transition density and pressure at the inner edge of neutron star
crusts, and they are found to be 0.040 fm
fm and 0.01 MeV/fm MeV/fm,
respectively, in both the dynamical and thermodynamical approaches. We have
also found that the widely used parabolic approximation to the equation of
state of asymmetric nuclear matter gives significantly higher values of
core-crust transition density and pressure, especially for stiff symmetry
energies. With these newly determined transition density and pressure, we have
obtained an improved relation between the mass and radius of neutron stars.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, proceeding of "The International Workshop on
Nuclear Dynamics in Heavy-Ion Reactions and the Symmetry Energy (IWND2009)
Furanodiene alters mitochondrial function in doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7 human breast cancer cells in an AMPK-dependent manner
Furanodiene is a bioactive sesquiterpene isolated from the spice-producing Curcuma wenyujin plant (Y. H. Chen and C. Ling) (C. wenyujin), which is a commonly prescribed herb used in clinical cancer therapy by modern practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine. Previously, we have shown that furanodiene inhibits breast cancer cell growth both in vitro and in vivo, however, the mechanism for this effect is not yet known. In this study, therefore, we asked (1) whether cultured breast cancer cells made resistant to the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DOX) via serial selection protocols are susceptible to furanodiene\u27s anticancer effect, and (2) whether AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is a regulator of cellular energy homeostasis in eukaryotic cells, participates in this effect. We show here (1) that doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7 (MCF-7/DOXR) cells treated with furanodiene exhibit altered mitochondrial function and reduced levels of ATP, resulting in apoptotic cell death, and (2) that AMPK is central to this effect. In these cells, furanodiene (as opposed to doxorubicin) noticeably affects the phosphorylation of AMPK and AMPK pathway intermediates, ACLY and GSK-3β, suggesting that furanodiene reduces mitochondrial function and cellular ATP levels by way of AMPK activation. Finally, we find that the cell permeable agent and AMPK inhibitor compound C (CC), abolishes furanodiene-induced anticancer activity in these MCF-7/DOXR cells, with regard to cell growth inhibition and AMPK activation; in contrast, AICAR (5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-4-ribofuranoside, acadesine), an AMPK activator, augments furanodiene-induced anticancer activity. Furthermore, specific knockdown of AMPK in MCF-7/DOXR cells protects these cells from furanodiene-induced cell death. Taken together, these findings suggest that AMPK and its pathway intermediates are promising therapeutic targets for treating chemoresistant breast cancer, and that furanodiene may be an important chemical agent incorporated in next-generation chemotherapy protocols
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