Neutron-antineutron Oscillations in the Trapping Box

We have reexamined the problem of $n-\bar n$ oscillations for ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) confined within a trap. We have shown that the growth of the $\bar n$ component with time is to a decent accuracy given by $P(\bar n)= \epsilon^2_{n\bar n} t_Lt,$ where $\epsilon_{n\bar n}$ is the mixing parameter, $t_L\sim 1$ sec in the neutron propagation time between subsequent collisions with the trap walls. Possible corrections to this law and open questions are discussed.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX2

Multidimensional news quality: A comparison of crowdsourcing and nichesourcing

In the age of fake news and of filter bubbles, assessing the quality of information is a compelling issue: it is important for users to understand the quality of the information they consume online. We report on our experiment aimed at understanding if workers from the crowd can be a suitable alternative to

The Rise Times of High and Low Redshift Type Ia Supernovae are Consistent

We present a self-consistent comparison of the rise times for low- and high-redshift Type Ia supernovae. Following previous studies, the early light curve is modeled using a t-squared law, which is then mated with a modified Leibundgut template light curve. The best-fit t-squared law is determined for ensemble samples of low- and high-redshift supernovae by fitting simultaneously for all light curve parameters for all supernovae in each sample. Our method fully accounts for the non-negligible covariance amongst the light curve fitting parameters, which previous analyses have neglected. Contrary to Riess et al. (1999), we find fair to good agreement between the rise times of the low- and high-redshift Type Ia supernovae. The uncertainty in the rise time of the high-redshift Type Ia supernovae is presently quite large (roughly +/- 1.2 days statistical), making any search for evidence of evolution based on a comparison of rise times premature. Furthermore, systematic effects on rise time determinations from the high-redshift observations, due to the form of the late-time light curve and the manner in which the light curves of these supernovae were sampled, can bias the high-redshift rise time determinations by up to +3.6/-1.9 days under extreme situations. The peak brightnesses - used for cosmology - do not suffer any significant bias, nor any significant increase in uncertainty.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. Also available at http://www.lbl.gov/~nugent/papers.html Typos were corrected and a few sentences were added for improved clarit

Free electron lifetime achievements in Liquid Argon Imaging TPC

A key feature for the success of the liquid Argon imaging TPC (LAr-TPC) technology is the industrial purification against electro-negative impurities, especially Oxygen and Nitrogen remnants, which have to be continuously kept at an exceptionally low level by filtering and recirculating liquid Argon. Improved purification techniques have been applied to a 120 liters LAr-TPC test facility in the INFN-LNL laboratory. Through-going muon tracks have been used to determine the free electron lifetime in liquid Argon against electro-negative impurities. The short path length here observed (30 cm) is compensated by the high accuracy in the observation of the specific ionization of cosmic ray muons at sea level as a function of the drift distance. A free electron lifetime of (21.4+7.3-4.3) ms, namely > 15.8 ms at 90 % C.L. has been observed over several weeks under stable conditions, corresponding to a residual Oxygen equivalent of about 15 ppt (part per trillion). At 500 V/cm, the free electron speed is 1.5 m/ms. In a LAr-TPC a free electron lifetime in excess of 15 ms corresponds for instance to an attenuation of less than 15 % after a drift path of 5 m, opening the way to the operation of the LAr-TPC with exceptionally long drift distances.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures; Accepted for publication in JINS

Neutron-Mirror-Neutron Oscillations in a Trap

We calculate the rate of neutron-mirror-neutron oscillations for ultracold neutrons trapped in a storage vessel. Recent experimental bounds on the oscillation time are discussed.Comment: v4: typos correcte

Some Implications of Neutron Mirror Neutron Oscillation

We comment on a recently discussed possibility of oscillations between neutrons and degenerate mirror neutrons in the context of mirror models for particles and forces. It has been noted by Bento and Berezhiani that if these oscillations occurred at a rate of $\tau^{-1}_{NN'}\sim sec^{-1}$, it would help explain putative super GKZ cosmic ray events provided the temperature of the mirror radiation is $\sim 0.3-0.4$ times that of familiar cosmic microwave background radiation. We discuss how such oscillation time scales can be realized in mirror models and find that the simplest nonsupersymmetric model for this idea requires the existence of a low mass (30-3000 GeV) color triplet scalar or vector boson. A supersymmetric model, where this constraint can be avoided is severely constrained by the requirement of maintaining a cooler mirror sector. We also find that the reheat temperature after inflation in generic models that give fast $n-n'$ oscillation be less than about 300 GeV in order to maintain the required relative coolness of the mirror sector.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures; minor changes in the text; accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.

The design and commissioning of the MICE upstream time-of-flight system

In the MICE experiment at RAL the upstream time-of-flight detectors are used for particle identification in the incoming muon beam, for the experiment trigger and for a precise timing (sigma_t ~ 50 ps) with respect to the accelerating RF cavities working at 201 MHz. The construction of the upstream section of the MICE time-of-flight system and the tests done to characterize its individual components are shown. Detector timing resolutions ~50-60 ps were achieved. Test beam performance and preliminary results obtained with beam at RAL are reported.Comment: accepted on Nuclear Instruments and Methods