1,868 research outputs found
On the muon neutrino mass
During the runs of the PS 179 experiment at LEAR of CERN, we photographed an
event of antiproton-Ne absorption, with a complete pi+ -> mu+ ->e+ chain. From
the vertex of the reaction a very slow energy pi+ was emitted. The pi+ decays
into a mu+ and subsequently the mu+ decays into a positron. At the first decay
vertex a muon neutrino was emitted and at the second decay vertex an electron
neutrino and a muon antineutrino. Measuring the pion and muon tracks and
applying the momentum and energy conservation and using a classical statistical
interval estimator, we obtained an experimental upper limit for the muon
neutrino mass: m_nu < 2.2 MeV at a 90% confidence level. A statistical analysis
has been performed of the factors contributing to the square value of the
neutrino mass limit.Comment: 18 pages, 5 eps figure
A phenomenological analysis of antiproton interactions at low energies
We present an optical potential analysis of the antiproton-proton
interactions at low energies. Our optical potential is purely phenomenological,
and has been parametrized on data recently obtained by the Obelix Collaboration
at momenta below 180 MeV/c. It reasonably fits annihilation and elastic data
below 600 MeV/c, and allows us for an evaluation of the elastic cross section
and rho-parameter down to zero kinetic energy. Moreover we show that the
mechanism that depresses antiproton-nucleus annihilation cross sections at low
energies is present in antiproton-proton interactions too.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
An X-ray view of Mrk 705: A borderline narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy
Mrk 705 exhibits optical properties of both narrow- and broad-line Seyfert 1
galaxies. We examine the X-ray properties of this borderline object utilising
proprietary and public data from Chandra, ASCA, ROSAT and RXTE, spanning more
than twelve years. Though long-term flux variability from the pointed
observations appears rather modest (about 3 times), we do find examples of rare
large amplitude outbursts in the RXTE monitoring data. There is very little
evidence of long-term spectral variability as the low- and high-energy spectra
appear constant with time. A 6.4 keV emission line is detected in the ASCA
spectra of Mrk 705, but not during the later, higher flux state Chandra
observation. However, the upper limit on the equivalent width of a line in the
Chandra spectrum is consistent with a constant-flux emission line and a
brighter continuum, suggesting that the line is emitted from distant material
such as the putative torus. Overall, the X-ray properties of Mrk 705 appear
typical of BLS1 activity.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A (Research Note
Electron effective masses of Scx Al1- x N and Alx Ga1- x N from first-principles calculations of unfolded band structure
The electron effective masses of Sc x Al 1 - xN and Al x Ga 1 - xN, two of the most promising wide bandgap materials for power and RF electronic applications, have been calculated using the predictions of the density functional theory (DFT). More specifically, the unfolding technique has been adopted to extract the effective band structure of the two alloys under investigation. It has been found that the AlGaN effective masses m - approximately follow the Vegard law. On the contrary, due to the larger amount of disorder inside the crystal, the ScAlN shows a non-monotonic change of m - as a function of the Sc concentration, which requires the DFT calculations to be consistently performed for an accurate prediction. The ScAlN effective masses as a function of Sc content have been reported in the range 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.25 for the first time
The invisible environmental impact of tourism in show caves: microplastic pollution in three Italian show caves
Show caves are the most important geological heritage in the world, a significant economic resource and unique ecosystems characterized by speleothems, particular species and important drinking water reserves, however, microplastic (MP) pollution in caves is poorly studied. The deposits of three NW Italian show caves were investigated: for each cave, six sediment samples were collected along the tourist paths and one in a non-touristic area. MPs were identified and characterized using MUPL automated software, observed with and without UV light under a microscope, and verified under μFTIR-ATR. MPs were present in sediments of all examined caves: an average of 4300 MPs/kg were found along the tourist paths and of 2570 MPs/kg in the speleological zones. MPs less than 1 mm, fibre-shaped, polyesters and polyolefins dominated the samples suggesting that synthetic clothes are the main source of pollution in show caves. Our results highlight a high pollution of MPs in the examined show caves, despite the different touristic and environmental characteristics. The subterranean environment monitoring gives useful information to assess risks posed by MPs in show caves and consequently define strategies for the conservation and management of caves and natural resources
High efficiency thermionic converter studies
The objective is to improve thermionic converter performance by means of reduced interelectrode losses, greater emitter capabilities, and lower collector work functions until the converter performance level is suitable for out-of-core space reactors and radioisotope generators. Electrode screening experiments have identified several promising collector materials. Back emission work function measurements of a ZnO collector in a thermionic diode have given values less than 1.3 eV. Diode tests were conducted over the range of temperatures of interest for space power applications. Enhanced mode converter experiments have included triodes operated in both the surface ionization and plasmatron modes. Pulsed triodes were studied as a function of pulse length, pulse potential, inert gas fill pressure, cesium pressure, spacing, emitter temperature and collector temperature. Current amplifications (i.e., mean output current/mean grid current) of several hundred were observed up to output current densities of one amp/sq cm. These data correspond to an equivalent arc drop less than 0.1 eV
TCAD Modeling of High-Field Electron Transport in Bulk Wurtzite GaN: The Full-Band SHE-BTE
Gallium Nitride (GaN) High-Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) actually represent one of the best candidates for medium-high power and radio frequency applications. As they operate at large bias and electric fields, a comprehensive analysis of the high-field transport properties is fundamentals, as hot electrons are expected to play a relevant role for the device reliability. In this perspective, Technology Computer-Aided Design (TCAD) simulations can be a very useful tool for the understanding of the phenomena dominating hot-electron degradation mechanisms. The most-accurate modeling approaches are based on the direct solution of the Boltzmann equation, which is not actually available for the GaN material. In this work, the deterministic solution of the Boltzmann transport equation via the spherical-harmonics expansion (SHE-BTE), as incorporated in a commercial TCAD tool, has been extended to the analysis of GaN electrons. To this purpose, the details of the full-band structure has been derived from DFT calculations as in state-of-art literature works, and the electron density of states, g(E), and group velocity g(E), have been calculated for the SHE-BTE for the first time. In addition to this, an accurate calibration of the total scattering rate accounting for nonpolar acoustic and optical carrier-phonon interaction, Coulomb scattering and impact ionization has been carried out against available Monte Carlo data and experiments. The proposed model is also shown to correctly predict the temperature dependence of the electron impact-ionization coefficient and current density up to breakdown
Production of Mesons in the Reaction at 3.67 GeV/c
The ratio of the total exclusive production cross sections for
and mesons has been measured in the reaction at
GeV/c. The observed ratio is
from which the exclusive
meson production cross section is determined to be
. Differential cross section
distributions have been measured. Their shape is consistent with isotropic
meson production.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted by Phys.Lett.
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