Llosa, G., Barrio, J., Cabello, J., Crespo, A., Lacasta, C., Rafecas, M., et al. (2012). Detector characterization and first coincidence tests of a Compton telescope based on LaBr3 crystals and SiPMs. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 695, 105–108.
Abstract: A Compton telescope for dose monitoring in hadron therapy consisting of several layers of continuous LaBr3 crystals coupled to silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays is under development within the ENVISION project. In order to test the possibility of employing such detectors for the telescope, a detector head consisting of a continuous 16 mm x 18 mm x 5 mm LaBr3 crystal coupled to a SiPM array has been assembled and characterized, employing the SPIROC1 ASIC as readout electronics. The best energy resolution obtained at 511 key is 6.5% FWHM and the timing resolution is 3.1 ns FWHM. A position determination method for continuous crystals is being tested, with promising results. In addition, the detector has been operated in time coincidence with a second detector layer, to determine the coincidence capabilities of the system. The first tests are satisfactory, and encourage the development of larger detectors that will compose the telescope prototype.
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Lopez-Honorez, L., Mena, O., & Rigolin, S. (2012). Biases on cosmological parameters by general relativity effects. Phys. Rev. D, 85(2), 023511–12pp.
Abstract: General relativistic corrections to the galaxy power spectrum appearing at the horizon scale, if neglected, may induce biases on the measured values of the cosmological parameters. In this paper, we study the impact of general relativistic effects on non standard cosmologies such as scenarios with a time dependent dark energy equation of state, with a coupling between the dark energy and the dark matter fluids or with non-Gaussianities. We then explore whether general relativistic corrections affect future constraints on cosmological parameters in the case of a constant dark energy equation of state and of non-Gaussianities. We find that relativistic corrections on the power spectrum are not expected to affect the foreseen errors on the cosmological parameters nor to induce large biases on them.
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Ludl, P. O., Morisi, S., & Peinado, E. (2012). The reactor mixing angle and CP violation with two texture zeros in the light of T2K. Nucl. Phys. B, 857(3), 411–423.
Abstract: We reconsider the phenomenological implications of two texture zeros in symmetric neutrino mass matrices in the light of the recent T2K results for the reactor angle and the new global analysis which gives also best fit values for the Dirac CP phase delta. The most important results of the analysis are: Among the viable cases classified by Frampton etal, only A(1) and A(2) predict theta(13) to be different from zero at 3 sigma. Furthermore these two cases are compatible only with a normal mass spectrum in the allowed region for the reactor angle. At the best fit value A(1) and A(2) predict 0.024 >= sin(2)theta(13) >= 0.012 and 0.014 <= sin(2)theta(13) <= 0.032, respectively, where the bounds on the right and the left correspond to cos delta = -1 and cos delta = 1, respectively. The cases B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-4 predict nearly maximal CP violation, i.e. cos delta approximate to 0.
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Mangano, G., Miele, G., Pastor, S., Pisanti, O., & Sarikas, S. (2012). Updated BBN bounds on the cosmological lepton asymmetry for non-zero theta(13). Phys. Lett. B, 708(1-2), 1–5.
Abstract: We discuss the bounds on the cosmological lepton number from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), in light of recent evidences for a large value of the neutrino mixing angle theta(13), sin(2) theta(13) greater than or similar to 0.01 at 2 sigma. The largest asymmetries for electron and mu, tau neutrinos compatible with He-4 and H-2 primordial yields are computed versus the neutrino mass hierarchy and mixing angles. The flavour oscillation dynamics is traced till the beginning of BBN and neutrino distributions after decoupling are numerically computed. The latter contains in general, non-thermal distortion due to the onset of flavour oscillations driven by solar squared mass difference in the temperature range where neutrino scatterings become inefficient to enforce thermodynamical equilibrium. Depending on the value of theta(13), this translates into a larger value for the effective number of neutrinos, N-eff. Upper bounds on this parameter are discussed for both neutrino mass hierarchies. Values for N-eff which are large enough to be detectable by the Planck experiment are found only for the (presently disfavoured) range sin(2) theta(13) <= 0.01.
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Marginean, R., Rusu, C., Marginean, N., Bucurescu, D., Ur, C. A., de Angelis, G., et al. (2012). High-spin structure of Pd-95. Phys. Rev. C, 86(3), 034339–9pp.
Abstract: The level scheme of the neutron-deficient nucleus Pd-95 has been studied with the Ni-58 + Ca-40 fusion-evaporation reaction at 135 MeV with the GASP gamma-ray array, the ISIS silicon ball, and the N-ring neutron detector. Excited levels with spins at least up to 45/2 (h) over bar are reported for both parities. The observed experimental data are compared to large-scale shell-model calculations.
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