Abstract: A benchmark experiment on (208)Pb shows that polarized proton inelastic scattering at very forward angles including 0 degrees is a powerful tool for high-resolution studies of electric dipole (E1) and spin magnetic dipole (M1) modes in nuclei over a broad excitation energy range to test up-to-date nuclear models. The extracted E1 polarizability leads to a neutron skin thickness r(skin) = 0.156(-0.021)(+0.025) fm in (208)Pb derived within a mean-field model [Phys. Rev. C 81, 051303 (2010)], thereby constraining the symmetry energy and its density dependence relevant to the description of neutron stars.

Abstract: A brief review of different quantum Monte Carlo simulations of small (p-H-2)(N) clusters is presented. The clusters are viewed as a set of N structureless p-H-2 molecules, interacting via an isotropic pairwise potential. Properties as superfluidity, magic numbers, radial structure, excitation spectra, and abundance production of (p-H-2)(N) clusters are discussed and, whenever possible, a comparison with He-4(N) droplets is presented. All together, the simulations indicate that temperature has a paradoxical effect of the properties of (p-H-2)(N) clusters, as they are solid-like at high T and liquid-like at low T, due to quantum delocalization at the lowest temperature.

Abstract: A detector head composed of a continuous LaBr3 crystal coupled to a silicon photomultiplier array has been mounted and tested, for its use in a Compton telescope for dose monitoring in hadron therapy. The LaBr3 crystal has 16 mm x 18 mm x 5 mm size, and it is surrounded with reflecting material in five faces. The SiPM array has 16 (4 x 4) elements of 3 mm x 3 mm size. The SPIROC1 ASIC has been employed as readout electronics. The detector shows a linear behavior up to 1275 keV. The energy resolution obtained at 511 keV is 7% FWHM, and it varies as one over the square root of the energy up to the energies tested. The variations among the detector channels are within 12%. A preliminary measurement of the timing resolution gives 7 ns FWHM. The spatial resolution obtained with the center of gravity method is 1.2 mm FWHM. The tests performed confirm the correct functioning of the detector.

Abstract: A golden age for heavy-quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in 2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the B-factories and CLEO-c flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality, precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for continuing investigations at BESIII, the LHC, RHIC, FAIR, the Super Flavor and/or Tau-Charm factories, JLab, the ILC, and beyond. The list of newly found conventional states expanded to include h(c)(1P), chi(c2)(2P), B-c(+), and eta(b)(1S). In addition, the unexpected and still-fascinating X(3872) has been joined by more than a dozen other charmonium- and bottomonium-like “XYZ” states that appear to lie outside the quark model. Many of these still need experimental confirmation. The plethora of new states unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c (c) over bar, b (b) over bar, and b (c) over bar bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. Lattice QCD has grown from a tool with computational possibilities to an industrial-strength effort now dependent more on insight and innovation than pure computational power. New effective field theories for the description of quarkonium in different regimes have been developed and brought to a high degree of sophistication, thus enabling precise and solid theoretical predictions. Many expected decays and transitions have either been measured with precision or for the first time, but the confusing patterns of decays, both above and below open-flavor thresholds, endure and have deepened. The intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing directions for ongoing and future efforts.

Abstract: A measurement of the cross section for the inclusive production of isolated prompt photons in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy root s = 7 TeV is presented. The measurement covers the pseudorapidity ranges vertical bar eta(gamma)vertical bar < 1: 37 and 1: 52 <= vertical bar eta(gamma)vertical bar < 1: 81 in the transverse energy range 15 <= E-T(gamma) < 100 GeV. The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 880 nb(-1), collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Photon candidates are identified by combining information from the calorimeters and from the inner tracker. Residual background in the selected sample is estimated from data based on the observed distribution of the transverse isolation energy in a narrow cone around the photon candidate. The results are compared to predictions from next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations.