Ultra-low Q values for neutrino mass measurements

We investigate weak nuclear decays with extremely small kinetic energy release (Q value) and thus extremely good sensitivity to the absolute neutrino mass scale. In particular, we consider decays into excited daughter states, and we show that partial ionization of the parent atom can help to tune Q values to << 1 keV. We discuss several candidate isotopes undergoing beta+, beta-, bound state beta, or electron capture decay, and come to the conclusion that a neutrino mass measurement using low-Q decays might only be feasible if no ionization is required, and if future improvements in isotope production technology, nuclear mass spectroscopy, and atomic structure calculations are possible. Experiments using ions, however, are extremely challenging due to the large number of ions that must be stored. New precision data on nuclear excitation levels could help to identify further isotopes with low-Q decay modes and possibly less challenging requirements.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures; v2: Typos corrected, references adde

Effect of Vinyl and Silicon Monomers on Mechanical and Degradation Properties of Bio-Degradable Jute-Biopol® Composite

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Composites of jute fabrics (Hessian cloth) and Biopol® were prepared by compression molding process. Three types of Biopol® (3-hydroxbutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalarate) such as D300G, D400G and D600G, depending on the concentration of 3-hydroxyvalarate (3HV) in 3-hydroxbutyrate (3HB) were taken for this purpose. Mechanical properties such as tensile strength (TS), bending strength (BS), elongation at break (Eb) and impact strength (IS) of the jute-Biopol® composites were studied. It was found that the composite with D400G produced higher mechanical properties in comparison to the other two types of Biopol®. To increase mechanical properties as well as interfacial adhesion between fiber and matrix, 2-ethyl hydroxy acrylate (EHA), vinyl tri-methoxy silane (VMS) and 3-methacryloxypropyl tri-methoxy silane (MPS) were taken as coupling agents. Enhanced mechanical properties of the composites were obtained by using these coupling agents. Biopol® D400G composites showed the highest mechanical properties. Among the coupling agents EHA depicts the highest increase of mechanical properties such as tensile strength (80%), bending strength (81%), elongation at break (33%) and impact strength (130%) compared pure Biopol. SEM investigations demonstrate that the coupling agents improve the interfacial adhesion between fiber and matrix. The surface of the silanized jute was characterized by FTIR and found the deposition of silane on jute fiber was observed. Soil degradation test proved that the composite prepared with EHA treated jute exhibits better degradation properties in comparison to pure Biopol®

Metal-Insulator Transition of the LaAlO3-SrTiO3 Interface Electron System

We report on a metal-insulator transition in the LaAlO3-SrTiO3 interface electron system, of which the carrier density is tuned by an electric gate field. Below a critical carrier density n_c ranging from 0.5-1.5 * 10^13/cm^2, LaAlO3-SrTiO3 interfaces, forming drain-source channels in field-effect devices are non-ohmic. The differential resistance at zero channel bias diverges within a 2% variation of the carrier density. Above n_c, the conductivity of the ohmic channels has a metal-like temperature dependence, while below n_c conductivity sets in only above a threshold electric field. For a given thickness of the LaAlO3 layer, the conductivity follows a sigma_0 ~(n - n_c)/n_c characteristic. The metal-insulator transition is found to be distinct from that of the semiconductor 2D systems.Comment: 4 figure

Pitch-angle scattering in magnetostatic turbulence. I. Test-particle simulations and the validity of analytical results

Context. Spacecraft observations have motivated the need for a refined description of the phase-space distribution function. Of particular importance is the pitch-angle diffusion coefficient that occurs in the Fokker-Planck transport equation. Aims. Simulations and analytical test-particle theories are compared to verify the diffusion description of particle transport, which does not allow for non-Markovian behavior. Methods. A Monte-Carlo simulation code was used to trace the trajectories of test particles moving in turbulent magnetic fields. From the ensemble average, the pitch-angle Fokker-Planck coefficient is obtained via the mean square displacement. Results. It is shown that, while excellent agreement with analytical theories can be obtained for slab turbulence, considerable deviations are found for isotropic turbulence. In addition, all Fokker-Planck coefficients tend to zero for high time values.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Astron. Astrophy

Two experiments for the price of one? -- The role of the second oscillation maximum in long baseline neutrino experiments

We investigate the quantitative impact that data from the second oscillation maximum has on the performance of wide band beam neutrino oscillation experiments. We present results for the physics sensitivities to standard three flavor oscillation, as well as results for the sensitivity to non-standard interactions. The quantitative study is performed using an experimental setup similar to the Fermilab to DUSEL Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE). We find that, with the single exception of sensitivity to the mass hierarchy, the second maximum plays only a marginal role due to the experimental difficulties to obtain a statistically significant and sufficiently background-free event sample at low energies. This conclusion is valid for both water Cherenkov and liquid argon detectors. Moreover, we confirm that non-standard neutrino interactions are very hard to distinguish experimentally from standard three-flavor effects and can lead to a considerable loss of sensitivity to \theta_{13}, the mass hierarchy and CP violation.Comment: RevTex 4.1, 23 pages, 10 figures; v2: Typos corrected, very minor clarifications; matches published version; v3: Fixed a typo in the first equation in sec. III