1,429 research outputs found
Transcriptional regulation in the context of DNA replication by RNA interference in fission yeast
Shell-Model Effective Operators for Muon Capture in ^{20}Ne
It has been proposed that the discrepancy between the partially-conserved
axial-current prediction and the nuclear shell-model calculations of the ratio
in the muon-capture reactions can be solved in the case of ^{28}Si by
introducing effective transition operators. Recently there has been
experimental interest in measuring the needed angular correlations also in
^{20}Ne. Inspired by this, we have performed a shell-model analysis employing
effective transition operators in the shell-model formalism for the transition
. Comparison of
the calculated capture rates with existing data supports the use of effective
transition operators. Based on our calculations, as soon as the experimental
anisotropy data becomes available, the limits for the ratio can be
extracted.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures include
Gaseous time projection chambers for rare event detection: Results from the T-REX project. II. Dark matter
As part of the T-REX project, a number of R&D and prototyping activities have
been carried out during the last years to explore the applicability of
Micromegas-read gaseous TPCs in rare event searches like double beta decay
(DBD), axion research and low-mass WIMP searches. While in the companion paper
we focus on DBD, in this paper we focus on the results regarding the search for
dark matter candidates, both axions and WIMPs. Small ultra-low background
Micromegas detectors are used to image the x-ray signal expected in axion
helioscopes like CAST at CERN. Background levels as low as
c keVcms have already been achieved in CAST while values
down to c keVcms have been obtained in a
test bench placed underground in the Laboratorio Subterr\'aneo de Canfranc.
Prospects to consolidate and further reduce these values down to
c keVcmswill be described. Such detectors, placed at the
focal point of x-ray telescopes in the future IAXO experiment, would allow for
10 better signal-to-noise ratio than CAST, and search for solar axions with
down to few 10 GeV, well into unexplored axion
parameter space. In addition, a scaled-up version of these TPCs, properly
shielded and placed underground, can be competitive in the search for low-mass
WIMPs. The TREX-DM prototype, with 0.300 kg of Ar at 10 bar, or
alternatively 0.160 kg of Ne at 10 bar, and energy threshold well below 1
keV, has been built to test this concept. We will describe the main technical
solutions developed, as well as the results from the commissioning phase on
surface. The anticipated sensitivity of this technique might reach
cm for low mass ( GeV) WIMPs, well beyond current
experimental limits in this mass range.Comment: Published in JCAP. New version with erratum incorporated (new figure
14
Lessons from the operation of the "Penning-Fluorescent" TPC and prospects
We have recently reported the development of a new type of high-pressure
Xenon time projection chamber operated with an ultra-low diffusion mixture and
that simultaneously displays Penning effect and fluorescence in the
near-visible region (300 nm). The concept, dubbed `Penning-Fluorescent' TPC,
allows the simultaneous reconstruction of primary charge and scintillation with
high topological and calorimetric fidelity
49Cr: Towards full spectroscopy up to 4 MeV
The nucleus 49Cr has been studied analysing gamma-gamma coincidences in the
reaction 46Ti(alpha,n)49Cr at the bombarding energy of 12 MeV. The level scheme
has been greatly extended at low excitation energy and several new lifetimes
have been determined by means of the Doppler Shift Attenuation Method.
Shell model calculations in the full pf configuration space reproduce well
negative-parity levels. Satisfactory agreement is obtained for positive parity
levels by extending the configuration space to include a nucleon-hole either in
the 1d3/2 or in the 2s1/2 orbitals.
A nearly one-to-one correspondence is found between experimental and
theoretical levels up to an excitation energy of 4 MeV.
Experimental data and shell model calculations are interpreted in terms of
the Nilsson diagram and the particle-rotor model, showing the strongly coupled
nature of the bands in this prolate nucleus. Nine values of K(pi) are proposed
for the levels observed in this experiment.
As a by-result it is shown that the values of the experimental magnetic
moments in 1f7/2 nuclei are well reproduced without quenching the nucleon
g-factors.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure
Lowering the background level and the energy threshold of Micromegas x-ray detectors for axion searches
Axion helioscopes search for solar axions by their conversion in x-rays in
the presence of high magnetic fields. The use of low background x-ray detectors
is an essential component contributing to the sensitivity of these searches. In
this work, we review the recent advances on Micromegas detectors used in the
CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) and proposed for the future International
Axion Observatory (IAXO). The actual setup in CAST has achieved background
levels below 10 keV cm s, a factor 100 lower than
the first generation of Micromegas detectors. This reduction is based on active
and passive shielding techniques, the selection of radiopure materials, offline
discrimination techniques and the high granularity of the readout. We describe
in detail the background model of the detector, based on its operation at CAST
site and at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC), as well as on Geant4
simulations. The best levels currently achieved at LSC are low than 10
keV cm s and show good prospects for the application of
this technology in IAXO. Finally, we present some ideas and results for
reducing the energy threshold of these detectors below 1 keV, using
high-transparent windows, autotrigger electronics and studying the cluster
shape at different energies. As a high flux of axion-like-particles is expected
in this energy range, a sub-keV threshold detector could enlarge the physics
case of axion helioscopes.Comment: Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Technology and
Instrumentation in Particle Physics (TIPP 2014
Renormalization of the weak hadronic current in the nuclear medium
The renormalization of the weak charge-changing hadronic current as a
function of the reaction energy release is studied at the nucleonic level. We
have calculated the average quenching factors for each type of current (vector,
axial vector and induced pseudoscalar). The obtained quenching in the axial
vector part is, at zero momentum transfer, 19% for the sd shell and 23% in the
fp shell. We have extended the calculations also to heavier systems such as
Ni and Sn, where we obtain stronger quenchings, 44% and 59%,
respectively. Gamow--Teller type transitions are discussed, along with the
higher order matrix elements. The quenching factors are constant up to roughly
60 MeV momentum transfer. Therefore the use of energy-independent quenching
factors in beta decay is justified. We also found that going beyond the zeroth
and first order operators (in inverse nucleon mass) does not give any
substantial contribution. The extracted renormalization to the ratio
at q=100 MeV is -3.5%, -7.1$%, -28.6%, and +8.7% for mass 16, 40, 56, and 100,
respectively.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figure
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