Pujades, M. C., Granero, D., Vijande, J., Ballester, F., Perez-Calatayud, J., Papagiannis, P., et al. (2014). Air-kerma evaluation at the maze entrance of HDR brachytherapy facilities. J. Radiol. Prot., 34(4), 741–753.
Abstract: In the absence of procedures for evaluating the design of brachytherapy (BT) facilities for radiation protection purposes, the methodology used for external beam radiotherapy facilities is often adapted. The purpose of this study is to adapt the NCRP 151 methodology for estimating the air-kerma rate at the door in BT facilities. Such methodology was checked against Monte Carlo (MC) techniques using the code Geant4. Five different facility designs were studied for Ir-192 and Co-60 HDR applications to account for several different bunker layouts. For the estimation of the lead thickness needed at the door, the use of transmission data for the real spectra at the door instead of the ones emitted by Ir-192 and Co-60 will reduce the lead thickness by a factor of five for Ir-192 and ten for Co-60. This will significantly lighten the door and hence simplify construction and operating requirements for all bunkers. The adaptation proposed in this study to estimate the air-kerma rate at the door depends on the complexity of the maze: it provides good results for bunkers with a maze (i.e. similar to those used for linacs for which the NCRP 151 methodology was developed) but fails for less conventional designs. For those facilities, a specific Monte Carlo study is in order for reasons of safety and cost-effectiveness.
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Racker, J. (2014). Mass bounds for baryogenesis from particle decays and the inert doublet model. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 03(3), 025–23pp.
Abstract: In models for thermal baryogenesis from particle decays, the mass of the decaying particle is typically many orders of magnitude above the TeV scale. We will discuss different ways to lower the energy scale of baryogenesis and present the corresponding lower bounds on the particle's mass. This is done specifically for the inert doublet model with heavy Majorana neutrinos and then we indicate how to extrapolate the results to other scenarios. We also revisit the question of whether or not dark matter, neutrino masses, and the cosmic baryon asymmetry can be explained simultaneously at low energies in the inert doublet model.
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Racker, J., & Rius, N. (2014). Helicitogenesis: WIMPy baryogenesis with sterile neutrinos and other realizations. J. High Energy Phys., 11(11), 163–19pp.
Abstract: We propose a mechanism for baryogenesis from particle decays or annihilations that can work at the TeV scale. Some heavy particles annihilate or decay into a heavy sterile neutrino N (with M greater than or similar to 0.5 TeV) and a “light” one nu (with m << 100 GeV), generating an asymmetry among the two helicity degrees of freedom of nu. This asymmetry is partially transferred to Standard Model leptons via fast Yukawa interactions and reprocessed into a baryon asymmetry by the electroweak sphalerons. We illustrate this mechanism in a WIMPy baryogenesis model where the helicity asymmetry is generated in the annihilation of dark matter. This model connects the baryon asymmetry, dark matter, and neutrino masses. Moreover it also complements previous studies on general requirements for baryogenesis from dark matter annihilation. Finally we discuss other possible realizations of this helicitogenesis mechanism.
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Rebel, B., Hall, C., Bernard, E., Faham, C. H., Ito, T. M., Lundberg, B., et al. (2014). High voltage in noble liquids for high energy physics. J. Instrum., 9, T08004–57pp.
Abstract: A workshop was held at Fermilab November 8-9, 2013 to discuss the challenges of using high voltage in noble liquids. The participants spanned the fields of neutrino, dark matter, and electric dipole moment physics. All presentations at the workshop were made in plenary sessions. This document summarizes the experiences and lessons learned from experiments in these fields at developing high voltage systems in noble liquids.
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Ren, X. L., Geng, L. S., Oset, E., & Meng, J. (2014). Test of h(1)(1830) made of K*K* with the eta(c) ->phi K*K* decay. Eur. Phys. J. A, 50(8), 133–5pp.
Abstract: We present a new reaction, complementary to from which an h (1) resonance with mass around 1830 MeV was reported from a BESIII experiment. The new reaction is , or . Using the information from the analysis of , we find that the invariant mass distribution for those two Iu decays exhibits a clear peak around 1830 MeV perfectly distinguishable from what one obtains with pure phase space. We suggest the implementation of these reactions to assert the existence of this elusive resonance which, by its nature as a vector-vector molecule with 0(-)(1(+-)) quantum numbers, only couples to the channel.
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Rinaldi, M., Scopetta, S., Traini, M., & Vento, V. (2014). Double parton correlations and constituent quark models: a light front approach to the valence sector. J. High Energy Phys., 12(12), 028–23pp.
Abstract: An explicit evaluation of the double parton distribution functions (dPDFs), within a relativistic Light-Front approach to constituent quark models, is presented. dPDFs encode information on the correlations between two partons inside a target and represent the non-perturbative QCD ingredient for the description of double parton scattering in proton-proton collisions, a crucial issue in the search of new Physics at the LHC. Valence dPDFs are evaluated at the low scale of the model and the perturbative scale of the experiments is reached by means of QCD evolution. The present results show that the strong correlation effects present at the scale of the model are still sizable, in the valence region, at the experimental scale. At the low values of x presently studied at the LHC the correlations become less relevant, although they are still important for the spin-dependent contributions to unpolarized proton scattering.
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Ros, A., Lerche, C. W., Sebastia, A., Sanchez, F., & Benlloch, J. M. (2014). Retroreflector arrays for better light collection efficiency of gamma-ray imaging detectors with continuous scintillation crystals without DOI misestimation. J. Instrum., 9, P04009–14pp.
Abstract: A method to improve light collection efficiency of gamma-ray imaging detectors by using retroreflector arrays has been tested, simulations of the behaviour of the scintillation light illuminating the retroreflector surface have been made. Measurements including retroreflector arrays in the setup have also been taken. For the measurements, positron emission tomography (PET) detectors with continuous scintillation crystals have been used. Each detector module consists of a continuous LSO-scintillator of dimensions 49x49x10 mm(3) and a H8500 position-sensitive photo-multiplier (PSPMT) from Hamamatsu. By using a continuous scintillation crystal, the scintillation light distribution has not been destroyed and the energy, the centroids along the x- and y-direction and the depth of interaction (DOI) can be estimated. Simulations have also been run taking into account the use of continuous scintillation crystals. Due to the geometry of the continuous scintillation crystals in comparison with pixelated crystals, a good light collection efficiency is necessary to correctly reconstruct the impact point of the gamma-ray. The aim of this study is to investigate whether micro-machine retro-reflectors improve light yield without misestimation of the impact point. The results shows an improvement on the energy and centroid resolutions without worsening the depth of interaction resolution. Therefore it can be concluded that using retroreflector arrays at the entrance side of the scintillation crystal improves light collection efficiency without worsening the impact point estimation.
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Rubio, B. et al, Orrigo, S. E. A., Montaner-Piza, A., Agramunt, J., Algora, A., & Molina, F. (2014). Beta Decay Study of the T-z =-2 Zn-56 Nucleus and the Determination of the Half-Lives of a Few fp-shell Nuclei. Nucl. Data Sheets, 120, 37–40.
Abstract: This paper concerns the experimental study of the beta decay properties of few proton-rich fp-shell nuclei. The nuclei were produced at GANIL in fragmentation reactions, separated with the LISE spectrometer and stopped in an implantation detector surrounded by Ge detectors. The beta-delayed gammas, beta-delayed protons and the exotic beta-delayed gamma-proton emission have been studied. Preliminary results are presented. The decay of the T-z = -2 nucleus Zn-56 has been studied in detail. Information from the beta-delayed protons and beta-delayed gammas has been used to deduce the decay scheme. The exotic beta-delayed gamma-proton decay has been observed for the first time in the fp-shell. The interpretation of the data was made possible thanks to the detailed knowledge of the mirror Charge Exchange (CE) process and the gamma de-excitation of the states in Co-56, the mirror nucleus of Cu-56.
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Ruiz-Femenia, P. (2014). First estimate of the NNLO nonresonant corrections to top-antitop threshold production at lepton colliders. Phys. Rev. D, 89(9), 097501–4pp.
Abstract: We compute the dominant term in the expansion in rho = 1 – M-w/m(t) of the unknown next-to-next-to-leading order nonresonant contributions to the e+ e(-) -> W+ W- b (b) over bar total cross section at energies close to the top-antitop threshold. Our analytic result disagrees with a previous calculation by other authors [A. A. Penin and J. H. Piclum, J. High Energy Phys. 01 (2012) 034]. We show that our determination has the correct infrared structure needed to cancel the divergences proportional to the top width arising in the resonant production of the same final state, and we point to a missing contribution in the computation of Penin and Piclum to explain the discrepancy.
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Sarriguren, P., Algora, A., & Pereira, J. (2014). Gamow-Teller response in deformed even and odd neutron-rich Zr and Mo isotopes. Phys. Rev. C, 89(3), 034311–13pp.
Abstract: beta-decay properties of neutron-rich Zr and Mo isotopes are investigated within a microscopic theoretical approach based on the proton-neutron quasiparticle random-phase approximation. The underlying mean field is described self-consistently from deformed Skyrme Hartree-Fock calculations with pairing correlations. Residual separable particle-hole and particle-particle forces are also included in the formalism. The structural evolution in these isotopic chains including both even and odd isotopes is analyzed in terms of the equilibrium deformed shapes. Gamow-Teller strength distributions, beta-decay half-lives, and beta-delayed neutron-emission probabilities are studied, stressing their relevance to describe the path of the nucleosynthesis rapid neutron capture process.
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