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Tain, J. L. et al, Valencia, E., Algora, A., Agramunt, J., Rubio, B., Estevez, E., et al. (2015). Enhanced gamma-Ray Emission from Neutron Unbound States Populated in beta Decay. Phys. Rev. Lett., 115(6), 062502–5pp.
Abstract: Total absorption spectroscopy is used to investigate the beta-decay intensity to states above the neutron separation energy followed by gamma-ray emission in Br-87,Br-88 and Rb-94. Accurate results are obtained thanks to a careful control of systematic errors. An unexpectedly large. intensity is observed in all three cases extending well beyond the excitation energy region where neutron penetration is hindered by low neutron energy. The gamma branching as a function of excitation energy is compared to Hauser-Feshbach model calculations. For Br-87 and Br-88 the gamma branching reaches 57% and 20%, respectively, and could be explained as a nuclear structure effect. Some of the states populated in the daughter can only decay through the emission of a large orbital angular momentum neutron with a strongly reduced barrier penetrability. In the case of neutron-rich Rb-94 the observed 4.5% branching is much larger than the calculations performed with standard nuclear statistical model parameters, even after proper correction for fluctuation effects on individual transition widths. The difference can be reconciled by introducing an enhancement of 1 order of magnitude in the photon strength to neutron strength ratio. An increase in the photon strength function of such magnitude for very neutron-rich nuclei, if it proves to be correct, leads to a similar increase in the (n, gamma) cross section that would have an impact on r process abundance calculations.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Ruiz Valls, P., & Sanchez Mayordomo, C. (2015). First Observation of Top Quark Production in the Forward Region. Phys. Rev. Lett., 115(11), 112001–10pp.
Abstract: Top quark production in the forward region in proton-proton collisions is observed for the first time. The W + b final state with W -> μnu is reconstructed using muons with a transverse momentum, p(T), larger than 25 GeV in the pseudorapidity range 2.0 < eta < 4.5. The b jets are required to have 50 < p(T) < 100 GeV and 2.2 < eta < 4.2, while the transverse component of the sum of the muon and b-jet momenta must satisfy p(T) > 20 GeV. The results are based on data corresponding to integrated luminosities of 1.0 and 2.0 fb(-1) collected at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV by LHCb. The inclusive top quark production cross sections in the fiducial region are sigma(top)[7 TeV] = 239 +/- 53(stat) +/- 33(syst) +/- 24(theory) fb; sigma(top)[8 TeV ] = 289 +/- 43(stat) +/- 40(syst) +/- 29(theory) fb: These results, along with the observed differential yields and charge asymmetries, are in agreement with next-to-leading order standard model predictions.
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Pompa, F., Capozzi, F., Mena, O., & Sorel, M. (2022). Absolute nu Mass Measurement with the DUNE Experiment. Phys. Rev. Lett., 129(12), 121802–6pp.
Abstract: Time of flight delay in the supernova neutrino signal offers a unique tool to set model-independent constraints on the absolute neutrino mass. The presence of a sharp time structure during a first emission phase, the so-called neutronization burst in the electron neutrino flavor time distribution, makes this channel a very powerful one. Large liquid argon underground detectors will provide precision measurements of the time dependence of the electron neutrino fluxes. We derive here a new v mass sensitivity attainable at the future DUNE far detector from a future supernova collapse in our galactic neighborhood, finding a sub-eV reach under favorable scenarios. These values are competitive with those expected for laboratory direct neutrino mass searches.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Ruiz Valls, P., & Sanchez Mayordomo, C. (2014). Evidence for CP Violation in B+ -> p(p)over-barK(+) Decays. Phys. Rev. Lett., 113(14), 141801–9pp.
Abstract: Three-body B+ -> p (p) over barK(+) and B+ -> p (p) over bar pi(+) decays are studied using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb(-1) collected by the LHCb experiment in proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. Evidence of CP violation in the B+ -> p (p) over barK(+) decay is found in regions of the phase space, representing the first measurement of this kind for a final state containing baryons. Measurements of the forward-backward asymmetry of the light meson in the p (p) over bar rest frame yield A(FB)(p (p) over barK(+), m(p (p) over bar) < 2.85 GeV/c(2)) = 0.495 +/- 0.012 (stat) +/- 0.007 (syst) and A(FB)(p<(p)over bar>pi(+), m(p (p) over bar) < 2.85 GeV/c(2)) = -0.409 +/- 0.033 (stat) +/- 0.006 (syst). In addition, the branching fraction of the decay B+ -> <(Lambda)over bar>(1520)p is measured to be B(B+ -> (Lambda) over bar (1520)p) = (3.15 +/- 0.48 (stat) +/- 0.07 (syst) +/- 0.26 (BF)) x 10(-7), where BF denotes the uncertainty on secondary branching fractions.
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del Rio, A., Sanchis-Gual, N., Mewes, V., Agullo, I., Font, J. A., & Navarro-Salas, J. (2020). Spontaneous Creation of Circularly Polarized Photons in Chiral Astrophysical Systems. Phys. Rev. Lett., 124(21), 211301–6pp.
Abstract: This work establishes a relation between chiral anomalies in curved spacetimes and the radiative content of the gravitational field. In particular, we show that a flux of circularly polarized gravitational waves triggers the spontaneous creation of photons with net circular polarization from the quantum vacuum. Using waveform catalogs, we identify precessing binary black holes as astrophysical configurations that emit such gravitational radiation and then solve the fully nonlinear Einstein's equations with numerical relativity to evaluate the net effect. The quantum amplitude for a merger is comparable to the Hawking emission rate of the final black hole and small to be directly observed. However, the implications for the inspiral of binary neutron stars could be more prominent, as argued on symmetry grounds.
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