92 research outputs found
A highly stable atomic vector magnetometer based on free spin precession
We present a magnetometer based on optically pumped Cs atoms that measures
the magnitude and direction of a 1 T magnetic field. Multiple circularly
polarized laser beams were used to probe the free spin precession of the Cs
atoms. The design was optimized for long-time stability and achieves a scalar
resolution better than 300 fT for integration times ranging from 80 ms to 1000
s. The best scalar resolution of less than 80 fT was reached with integration
times of 1.6 to 6 s. We were able to measure the magnetic field direction with
a resolution better than 10 rad for integration times from 10 s up to 2000
s
Constraining interactions mediated by axion-like particles with ultracold neutrons
We report a new limit on a possible short range spin-dependent interaction
from the precise measurement of the ratio of Larmor precession frequencies of
stored ultracold neutrons and Hg atoms confined in the same volume. The
measurement was performed in a 1 T vertical magnetic holding field
with the apparatus searching for a permanent electric dipole moment of the
neutron at the Paul Scherrer Institute. A possible coupling between freely
precessing polarized neutron spins and unpolarized nucleons of the wall
material can be investigated by searching for a tiny change of the precession
frequencies of neutron and mercury spins. Such a frequency change can be
interpreted as a consequence of a short range spin-dependent interaction that
could possibly be mediated by axions or axion-like particles. The interaction
strength is proportional to the CP violating product of scalar and pseudoscalar
coupling constants . Our result confirms limits from complementary
experiments with spin-polarized nuclei in a model-independent way. Limits from
other neutron experiments are improved by up to two orders of magnitude in the
interaction range of m
Measurement of the permanent electric dipole moment of the neutron
We present the result of an experiment to measure the electric dipole moment EDM) of the neutron at the Paul Scherrer Institute using Ramsey's method of separated oscillating magnetic fields with ultracold neutrons (UCN). Our measurement stands in the long history of EDM experiments probing physics violating time reversal invariance. The salient features of this experiment
were the use of a Hg-199 co-magnetometer and an array of optically pumped cesium vapor magnetometers to cancel and correct for magnetic field changes. The statistical analysis was performed on blinded datasets by two separate groups while the estimation of systematic effects profited from an
unprecedented knowledge of the magnetic field. The measured value of the neutron EDM is d_{\rm n} = (0.0\pm1.1_{\rm stat}\pm0.2_{\rmsys})\times10^{-26}e\,{\rm cm}
Multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations in inelastic proton-proton interactions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron
Measurements of multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations of charged
particles were performed in inelastic p+p interactions at 20, 31, 40, 80 and
158 GeV/c beam momentum. Results for the scaled variance of the multiplicity
distribution and for three strongly intensive measures of multiplicity and
transverse momentum fluctuations \$\Delta[P_{T},N]\$, \$\Sigma[P_{T},N]\$ and
\$\Phi_{p_T}\$ are presented. For the first time the results on fluctuations
are fully corrected for experimental biases. The results on multiplicity and
transverse momentum fluctuations significantly deviate from expectations for
the independent particle production. They also depend on charges of selected
hadrons. The string-resonance Monte Carlo models EPOS and UrQMD do not describe
the data. The scaled variance of multiplicity fluctuations is significantly
higher in inelastic p+p interactions than in central Pb+Pb collisions measured
by NA49 at the same energy per nucleon. This is in qualitative disagreement
with the predictions of the Wounded Nucleon Model. Within the statistical
framework the enhanced multiplicity fluctuations in inelastic p+p interactions
can be interpreted as due to event-by-event fluctuations of the fireball energy
and/or volume.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figure
Dynamic stabilization of the magnetic field surrounding the neutron electric dipole moment spectrometer at the Paul Scherrer Institute
The Surrounding Field Compensation (SFC) system described in this work is installed around the four-layer Mu-metal magnetic shield of the neutron electric dipole moment spectrometer located at the Paul Scherrer Institute. The SFC system reduces the DC component of the external magnetic field by a factor of about 20. Within a control volume of approximately 2.5 m × 2.5 m × 3 m, disturbances of the magnetic field are attenuated by factors of 5–50 at a bandwidth from 10−3 Hz up to 0.5 Hz, which corresponds to integration times longer than several hundreds of seconds and represent the important timescale for the neutron electric dipole moment measurement. These shielding factors apply to random environmental noise from arbitrary sources. This is achieved via a proportional-integral feedback stabilization system that includes a regularized pseudoinverse matrix of proportionality factors which correlates magnetic field changes at all sensor positions to current changes in the SFC coils
LEDGF1-326 Decreases P23H and Wild Type Rhodopsin Aggregates and P23H Rhodopsin Mediated Cell Damage in Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells
P23H rhodopsin, a mutant rhodopsin, is known to aggregate and cause retinal degeneration. However, its effects on retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells are unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of P23H rhodopsin in RPE cells and further assess whether LEDGF(1-326), a protein devoid of heat shock elements of LEDGF, a cell survival factor, reduces P23H rhodopsin aggregates and any associated cellular damage.ARPE-19 cells were transiently transfected/cotransfected with pLEDGF(1-326) and/or pWT-Rho (wild type)/pP23H-Rho. Rhodopsin mediated cellular damage and rescue by LEDGF(1-326) was assessed using cell viability, cell proliferation, and confocal microscopy assays. Rhodopsin monomers, oligomers, and their reduction in the presence of LEDGF(1-326) were quantified by western blot analysis. P23H rhodopsin mRNA levels in the presence and absence of LEDGF(1-326) was determined by real time quantitative PCR.P23H rhodopsin reduced RPE cell viability and cell proliferation in a dose dependent manner, and disrupted the nuclear material. LEDGF(1-326) did not alter P23H rhodopsin mRNA levels, reduced its oligomers, and significantly increased RPE cell viability as well as proliferation, while reducing nuclear damage. WT rhodopsin formed oligomers, although to a smaller extent than P23H rhodopsin. Further, LEDGF(1-326) decreased WT rhodopsin aggregates.P23H rhodopsin as well as WT rhodopsin form aggregates in RPE cells and LEDGF(1-326) decreases these aggregates. Further, LEDGF(1-326) reduces the RPE cell damage caused by P23H rhodopsin. LEDGF(1-326) might be useful in treating cellular damage associated with protein aggregation diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa
Observation of gravitationally induced vertical striation of polarized ultracold neutrons by spin-echo spectroscopy
We describe a spin-echo method for ultracold neutrons (UCNs) confined in a precession chamber and exposed to a |B 0 |=1 μT magnetic field. We have demonstrated that the analysis of UCN spin-echo resonance signals in combination with knowledge of the ambient magnetic field provides an excellent method by which to reconstruct the energy spectrum of a confined ensemble of neutrons. The method takes advantage of the relative dephasing of spins arising from a gravitationally induced striation of stored UCNs of different energies, and also permits an improved determination of the vertical magnetic-field gradient with an exceptional accuracy of 1.1 pT/cm . This novel combination of a well-known nuclear resonance method and gravitationally induced vertical striation is unique in the realm of nuclear and particle physics and should prove to be invaluable for the assessment of systematic effects in precision experiments such as searches for an electric dipole moment of the neutron or the measurement of the neutron lifetime
A measurement of the neutron to 199Hg magnetic moment ratio
The neutron gyromagnetic ratio has been measured relative to that of the 199Hg atom with an uncertainty of 0.8 ppm. We employed an apparatus where ultracold neutrons and mercury atoms are stored in the same volume and report the result γn/γHg=3.8424574(30)
Optically pumped Cs magnetometers enabling a high-sensitivity search for the neutron electric dipole moment
An array of 16 laser-pumped scalar Cs magnetometers was part of the neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) experiment taking data at the Paul Scherrer Institute in 2015 and 2016. It was deployed to measure the gradients of the experiment's magnetic field and to monitor their temporal evolution. The originality of the array lies in its compact design, in which a single near-infrared diode laser drives all magnetometers that are located in a high-vacuum chamber, with a selection of the sensors mounted on a high-voltage electrode. We describe details of the Cs sensors' construction and modes of operation, emphasizing the accuracy and sensitivity of the magnetic-field readout. We present two applications of the magnetometer array directly beneficial to the nEDM experiment: (i) the implementation of a strategy to correct for the drift of the vertical magnetic-field gradient and (ii) a procedure to homogenize the magnetic field. The first reduces the uncertainty of the nEDM result. The second enables transverse neutron spin relaxation times exceeding 1500 s, improving the statistical sensitivity of the nEDM experiment by about 35% and effectively increasing the rate of nEDM data taking by a factor of 1.8
Complex interaction of Drosophila GRIP PDZ domains and Echinoid during muscle morphogenesis
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