We present an analysis of proton number fluctuations in $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.4 GeV Au+Au collisions measured with the High-Acceptance DiElectron Spectrometer (HADES) at GSI. With the help of extensive detector simulations done with IQMD transport model events including nuclear clusters, various nuisance effects influencing the observed proton cumulants have been investigated. Acceptance and efficiency corrections have been applied as a function of fine grained rapidity and transverse momentum bins, as well as considering local track density dependencies. Next, the effects of volume changes within particular centrality selections have been considered and beyond-leading-order corrections have been applied to the data. The efficiency and volume corrected proton number moments and cumulants Kn of orders n = 1, . . . , 4 have been obtained as a function of centrality and phase-space bin, as well as the corresponding correlators C_n . We find that the observed correlators show a power-law scaling with the mean number of protons, i.e. $C_n \propto <N>^n$, indicative of mostly long-range multi-particle correlations in momentum space. We also present a comparison of our results with Au+Au collision data obtained at RHIC at similar centralities, but higher $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$.
Differential cross sections for the neutral pion production reaction C12(p,π0)13Ng.s. have been measured at 153.5, 166.1, 186.0, and 204.0 MeV bombarding energy using recoil detection. The shape of the angular distribution agrees well with that of the mirror reaction C12(p,π+)13Cg.s.. Isospin invariance predicts for the ratio of the cross sections σ(p,π+)/σ(p,π0)=2. At 153.5, 166.1, and 186.0, MeV, where (p,π+) cross sections have been reported previously by other groups at the same reduced pion momentum η=pπ/mπc=0.34,0.55,0.78, the ratio of the total cross sections is 2.02±0.14, 3.14±0.12, and 2.12±0.16, respectively. The (p,π0) cross sections at 166 MeV is therefore 1.57±0.06 times larger than expected. For Tp<160 MeV, the experimental cross sections are larger than predicted by a phase space and Coulomb barrier penetration calculation that fits the higher-energy data. Differential cross sections were also obtained for the C12(p,π−)13O reaction, and upper limits set for differential cross sections for radiative capture to the ground state of N13.
A detailed study of pion production in central Mg - Mg collisions at a momentum of 4.3 GeV/c per incident nucleon was carried out using the GIBS set-up. It has been shown that the dependence of the average kinematical characteristics ( and ) of mesons on multiplicity differs from that for NN collisions at the same energy, which is due to nuclear effects. The temperatures of mesons have been estimated using two different selection criteria: in the rapidity interval and at angles in the CMS. A satisfactory fit for mesons can be achieved by using a form involving two temperatures and . The relative yield of the high-temperature component is . The results obtained by the intranuclear cascade model CASIMIR coincide with the experimental data estimated with both methods. From the analysis of angular distributions of mesons the anisotropy coefficient a was obtained. The anisotropy coefficient increases linearly with the kinetic energy (in the CMS). CASIMIR reproduces the increase of a with , but the slope is less steep than from experimental results.
A search for the 0 + → 2 + neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76 Ge into the first excited state of 76 Se has been carried out using a coincidence technique between Ge and NaI detectors. Since the expected number of counts is very small and mixed with a continuous background of natural radioactivity, special care has been taken to maintain the good energy resolution of the detectors. As a consequence, the experimental data display, after 6207 h statistical time, a coincidence signal of 19.3 ± 5.8 counts, between an energy deposition of 1484.0 ± 0.3 keV in the Ge detectors and 561 ± 10 keV in the NaI detectors. Both Ge and NaI energies are within the experimental errors, compatible with the expected values. No other unidentified coincidence signal has been found in the full Ge-NaI energy matrix, and no similar γγ cascade has been found within our background. Even if the low statistics does not completely rule out the possibility of a statistical fluctuation, this result should encourage further experiments with improved sensitivities.
The (p,$\gamma$) cross sections of three stable Sr isotopes have been measured in the astrophysically relevant energy range. These reactions are important for the $p$-process in stellar nucleosynthesis and, in addition, the reaction cross sections in the mass region up to 100 are also of importance concerning the $rp$-process associated with explosive hydrogen and helium burning. It is speculated that this $rp$-process could be responsible for a certain amount of $p$-nuclei in this mass region. The (p,$\gamma$) cross sections of $^{84,86,87}$Sr isotopes were determined using an activation technique. The measurements were carried out at the 5 MV Van de Graaff accelerator of the ATOMKI, Debrecen. The resulting cross sections are compared with the predictions of statistical model calculations. The predictions are in good agreement with the experimental results for $^{84}$Sr(p,$\gamma$)$^{85}$Y whereas the other two reactions exhibit differences that increase with mass number. The corresponding astrophysical reaction rates have also been computed.
p p annihilation cross sections into 2-, 4- and 6-prong topologies, and the exclusive annihilation cross sections for the π + π − , K + K − , π + π − π 0 , π + π + π − π − , π + π + π − π − π 0 , π + π + π + π − π − π − , and π + π + π + π − π − π − π 0 channels in the momentum range 374–680 MeV/ c were measured. No prominent structure was observed in the momentum dependence of any of the above cross sections, but a small enhancement in the cross section was observed at 490 MeV/ c corresponding to the S meson mass in the topological, and π + π − π 0 and π + π + π − π − π 0 cross sections. If the extensive of the S meson with a mass and width of 1935.5 and 2.8 MeV/ c 2 is assumed, our measurement gives a total resonant annihilation cross section into charged particles of 10.0±3.0 mb.
Differential cross sections and polarization analyzing powers for proton-deuteron elastic scattering have been measured at 800 MeV incident proton kinetic energy over the range of center-of-mass angles from 14.1° to 153.6°. The differential cross sections are described by the Glauber theory of impulse approximation at forward angles (−t<0.5) and exhibit the exponential dependence on cosθc.m. typical for these energies at backward angles (cosθc.m.<−0.5). The analyzing power shows considerable structure with strong positive peaks at forward and backward angles and a sharp dip at t=−0.4 typical at intermediate energies. There is no evidence for correspondence of the angular dependence of the analyzing power with that for the pp→dπ+ reaction. At large momentum transfer the data favor calculations based on multiple scattering with a modified deuteron form factor rather than N* exchange. NUCLEAR REACTIONS H2(p,p)H2, E=800 MeV, measured σ(θ) and Ay(θ).
The inclusive production of Ks0, Λ, Λ¯, and Ks0Λ in the p¯Ta reaction at 4 GeV/c was measured and compared with that in the p¯p reaction. The total inelastic and topological cross sections were also measured. The number of Λ’s produced in the p¯Ta reaction was 11.3 times larger than that expected from the geometrical cross section, which is defined as A2/3 times the cross section for the p¯p reaction. The yield ratio Λ¯/Λ was found to be 2×10−2. These values cannot be accounted for by a straightforward extension of the p¯N reaction. Besides, a correlation of 2 vees like Ks0-Λ could not prove their simultaneous production. Nuclear temperatures of 135 and 97 MeV were obtained from the kinetic energy spectra of Ks0 and Λ, respectively. The kinematical characteristics of the Ks0 and Λ produced were analyzed in terms of the fireball model.
Inelastic interactions of nuclei accelerated to a momentum of 4.5 GeV/$c$ per projectile nucleon with photoemulsion nuclei have been investigated. The main features of these interactions - mean ranges of $^6$Li nuclei, mean multiplicities of secondaries, the isotopic composition of fragments, fragmentation channels, and the mean transverse momenta of projectile fragments - have been measured. The probability of the charge-exchange reaction featuring lithium nuclei has been determined. The results obtained for the $^6$Li nucleus have been compared with data for other nuclei. The observed features of $^6$Li interactions with other nuclei indicate that the $^6$Li structure in the form of the loosely bound system consisting of an $\alpha$-particle and a deuteron cluster clearly manifests itself in these interactions. Events resulting in the coherent dissociation of $^6$Li nuclei into $^4$He+$d$, $^3$He+$t$, and $t+d+p$ and involving low-lying excitations of $^6$Li have been observed.
In a joint effort the CERES/NA45 and TAPS collaborations have measured low-mass electron pairs in p–Be and p–Au collisions at 450 GeV/c at the CERN SPS. In the range covered up to ≈ 1.5 GeV/c2 the mass spectra from p–Be and p–Au collisions are well explained by electron pairs from decays of neutral mesons. For p–Au our result is new. For p–Be, the simultaneously measured electron pair inclusive pair spectrum in which instrumental uncertainties are highly reduced. We confirm the earlier finding of HELIOS-1 with significantly reduced systematic uncertainties of 23% in the mass range below 450 MeV/c2, and of 28% in the mass range above 750 MeV/c2 at 90% confidence limit. Any unconventional source of electron pairs is limited by these error margins as the percentage fraction of the hadronic contribution.
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