Studies of Neutrino-Electron Scattering at the Kuo-Sheng Reactor Neutrino Laboratory

Studies on electron antineutrino-electron elastic scattering were performed using a 200-kg CsI(Tl) scintillating crystal detector array at the Kuo-Sheng Nuclear Power Plant in Taiwan. The measured cross section of R(exp) = [1.00 +- 0.32(stat)]xR(SM) is consistent with the Standard Model expectation and the corresponding weak mixing angle derived is sin2T = 0.24 +- 0.05 (stat). The results are consistent with a destructive interference effect between neutral and charged-currents in this process. Limits on neutrino magnetic moment of mu(nu_(e)) < 2.0 x 10^(-10) mu_(B) at 90% confidence level and on electron antineutrino charge radius of r^(2) < (0.12 +- 2.07)x10^(-32) cm^2 were also derived.Comment: Parallel talk at ICHEP08, Philadelphia, USA, July 2008. 4 pages, LaTex, 4 eps figure

Final results of nu-e-bar electron scattering cross-section measurements and constraints on new physics

The nu-e-bar electron elastic scattering cross-section was measured with a CsI(Tl) scintillating crystal detector array with a total mass of 187 kg at the Kuo-Sheng Nuclear Power Station. The detectors were exposed to a reactor nu-e-bar flux of 6.4 X 10^{12} cm^{-2}s^{-1} originated from a core with 2.9 GW thermal power. Using 29882/7369 kg-days of Reactor ON/OFF data, the Standard Model (SM) of electroweak interaction was probed at the 4-momentum transfer range of Q^2 ~ 3 X 10^{-6} GeV^2. A cross-section ratio of R_{expt} = [1.08 +- 0.21(stat) +- 0.16(sys)] X R_{SM} was measured. Constraints on the electroweak parameters (g_V,g_A) were placed, corresponding to a weak mixing angle measurement of \s2tw = [0.251 +- 0.031(stat) +- 0.024(sys)]. Destructive interference in the SM nu-e-bar+e processes was verified. Bounds on neutrino anomalous electromagnetic properties (neutrino magnetic moment and neutrino charge radius), non-standard neutrino interactions, upparticle physics and non-commutative physics were placed. We summarize the experimental details and results, and discuss projected sensitivities with realistic and feasible hardware upgrades.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables ; To appear in Proceedings of TAUP-2011 Conferenc

Constraints on Dark Photon from Neutrino-Electron Scattering Experiments

A possible manifestation of an additional light gauge boson $A^\prime$, named as Dark Photon, associated with a group $U(1)_{\rm B-L}$ is studied in neutrino electron scattering experiments. The exclusion plot on the coupling constant $g_{\rm B-L}$ and the dark photon mass $M_{A^\prime}$ is obtained. It is shown that contributions of interference term between the dark photon and the Standard Model are important. The interference effects are studied and compared with for data sets from TEXONO, GEMMA, BOREXINO, LSND as well as CHARM II experiments. Our results provide more stringent bounds to some regions of parameter space.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, text improved, fig.6 updated, references adde

PEAXIS: A RIXS and XPS Endstation for Solid-State Quantum and Energy Materials at BESSY II

PEAXIS (Photo Electron Analysis and resonant X-ray Inelastic Spectroscopy) is a dedicated endstation installed at the beamline U41-PEAXIS that offers high resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy measurements with incident photon energies ranging from 180 – 1600 eV. The endstation combines two X-ray spectroscopic techniques, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering (RIXS), which are important for probing the electronic structure and local and collective excitations of solid-state materials. It features a continuous variation of scattering angle under UHV conditions for wave vector-resolved studies and a modular sample environment that allows investigation in the temperature range between 10 K and 1000 K

Is it good to be bad? An evolutionary analysis of the adaptive potential of psychopathic traits

Although psychopathy is widely conceptualised as a mental disorder, some researchers question the maladaptive nature of psychopathy, and argue that it might be advantageous from an evolutionary point of view. According to this view psychopathy can be seen as an evolutionary adaptative strategy that relies on deception and manipulation to gain short-term reproductive benefits. Psychopathy is also identified as a fast life strategy in response to early life stress and an adaptation to harsh environments. This paper investigates the evidence that psychopathic traits are adaptive, while also addressing the limitations of current evolutionary models of psychopathy based on frequency-dependent selection and life-history theory. We review recent studies on the fitness correlates of psychopathy and find that psychopathic traits present potential adaptive trade-offs between fertility and mortality, and offspring quantity and quality. On a proximate level, individual differences in stress reactivity and environmental risk factors in early development predispose to psychopathy through gene-environment interactions. We propose that environmental, developmental, social and cultural factors can mediate the relationship between psychopathic traits and fitness and therefore should be considered to make accurate predictions on the adaptive potential of psychopathy. We end by outlining gaps in the literature and making recommendations for future evolutionary research on psychopathy

Composition ot Glvceride Esters of Lauric Acid bV FTIR Band Shape Analysis

Synthesis of glyceride esters of a fatty acid produces a mixture of isomers that are difficult to separate and analyze, requiring high temperature GC in most cases particularly for long-chain esters. In this paper, we present a fast estimation of the composition of the glyceride esters of lauric acid and glycerol (monolaurin, dilaurin, and trilaurin) by FTIR band shape analysis. The method uses the fact that the carbonyl stretching regions of the pure glycerides have differentband shapes, which implies any composite band of a mixture of glycerides may be resolved into the component peaks due to each glyceride. The carbonyl band region was fitted with five component peaks using a commercial peak-fitting program. The peak at 1745 cm-1 is characteristic of trilaurin whereas the peaks at 1740 cm-1 and 1731 cm-1 provide a unique height ratio for mono- and dilaurin. Calibration curves were prepared and a system of two equations may be solved to obtain the composition of mono-, di-, and trilaurin. This method was tested with known mixtures of the glycerides yielding estimates within ± 10 % composition units

Massively parallel single-molecule manipulation using centrifugal force

Precise manipulation of single molecules has already led to remarkable insights in physics, chemistry, biology and medicine. However, widespread adoption of single-molecule techniques has been impeded by equipment cost and the laborious nature of making measurements one molecule at a time. We have solved these issues with a new approach: massively parallel single-molecule force measurements using centrifugal force. This approach is realized in a novel instrument that we call the Centrifuge Force Microscope (CFM), in which objects in an orbiting sample are subjected to a calibration-free, macroscopically uniform force-field while their micro-to-nanoscopic motions are observed. We demonstrate high-throughput single-molecule force spectroscopy with this technique by performing thousands of rupture experiments in parallel, characterizing force-dependent unbinding kinetics of an antibody-antigen pair in minutes rather than days. Additionally, we verify the force accuracy of the instrument by measuring the well-established DNA overstretching transition at 66 $\pm$ 3 pN. With significant benefits in efficiency, cost, simplicity, and versatility, "single-molecule centrifugation" has the potential to revolutionize single-molecule experimentation, and open access to a wider range of researchers and experimental systems.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Coherency in Neutrino-Nucleus Elastic Scattering

Neutrino-nucleus elastic scattering provides a unique laboratory to study the quantum mechanical coherency effects in electroweak interactions, towards which several experimental programs are being actively pursued. We report results of our quantitative studies on the transitions towards decoherency. A parameter ($\alpha$) is identified to describe the degree of coherency, and its variations with incoming neutrino energy, detector threshold and target nucleus are studied. The ranges of $\alpha$ which can be probed with realistic neutrino experiments are derived, indicating complementarity between projects with different sources and targets. Uncertainties in nuclear physics and in $\alpha$ would constrain sensitivities in probing physics beyond the standard model. The maximum neutrino energies corresponding to $\alpha$>0.95 are derived.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables. V2 -- Published Versio

Probing nonstandard interactions with reactor neutrinos

New limits on the weak mixing angle and on the electron neutrino effective charge radius in the low energy regime, below 100 MeV, are obtained from a combined fit of all electron-(anti)neutrino electron elastic scattering measurements. We have included the recent TEXONO measurement with a CsI (Tl) detector. Only statistical error of this measurement has been taken into account. Weak mixing angle is found to be sin^2 theta_W = 0.255 +0.022 -0.023. The electron neutrino effective charge radius squared is bounded to be r^2 = (0.9 +0.9 -1.0) x 10^{-32} cm^2. The sensitivity of future low energy neutrino experiments to nonstandard interactions of neutrinos with quarks is also discussed.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, talk given at the Neutrino Oscillation Workshop (NOW 2008), Otranto, Italy, September 6-13, 2008. Misprints correcte