Abstract: We report measurements of electron pair production in elementary p + p and d + p reactions at 1.25 GeV/mu with the HADES spectrometer. For the first time, the electron pairs were reconstructed for n + p reactions by detecting the proton spectator from the deuteron breakup. We find that the yield of electron pairs with invariant mass Me+e- > 0.15 GeV/c(2) is about an order of magnitude larger in n + p reactions as compared to p + p. A comparison to model calculations demonstrates that the production mechanism is not sufficiently described yet. The electron pair spectra measured in C + C reactions are compatible with a superposition of elementary n + p and p + p collisions, leaving little room for additional electron pair sources in such light collision systems.

Abstract: The Nd-Pm-Sm branching is of interest for the study of the s-process, related to the production of heavy elements in stars. As Sm-148 and Sm-150 are s-only isotopes, the understanding of the branching allows constraining the s-process neutron density. In this context the key physics input needed is the cross section of the three unstable nuclides in the region: Nd-147 (10.98 d half-life), Pm-147 (2.62 yr) and Pm-148 (5.37 d). This paper reports on the activation measurement of Pm-147, the longest-lived of the three nuclides. The cross section measurement has been carried out by activation at the SARAF LiLiT facility using a 56(2) μg target. Compared to the single previous measurement of Pm-147, the measurement presented herein benefits from a target 2000 times more massive. The resulting Maxwellian Averaged Cross Section (MACS) to the ground and metastable states in Pm-148 are 469(50) mb and 357(27) mb. These values are 41% higher (to the ground state) and 15% lower (to the metastable state) than the values reported so far, leading however to a total cross section of 826(107) mb consistent within uncertainties with the previous result and hence leaving unchanged the previous calculation of the s-process neutron density.

Abstract: Neutron-rich nuclei in the lead region, beyond N = 126, have been studied at the FRS-RISING setup at GSI, exploiting the fragmentation of a primary uranium beam. Two isomeric states have been identified in Hg-210: the 8(+) isomer expected from the seniority scheme in the vg(9/2) shell and a second one at low spin and low excitation energy. The decay strength of the 8(+) isomer confirms the need of effective three-body forces in the case of neutron-rich lead isotopes. The other unexpected low-lying isomer has been tentatively assigned as a 3(-) state, although this is in contrast with theoretical expectations.

Abstract: We analyze the radiative pion decay pi(+) -> e(+) nu(e)gamma within nonlocal chiral quark models that include wave function renormalization. In this framework we calculate the vector and axial-vector form factors F-V and F-A at q(2) = 0 – where q(2) is the e(+) nu(e) squared invariant mass – and the slope a of F-V (q(2)) at q(2) -> 0. The calculations are carried out considering different nonlocal form factors, in particular those taken from lattice QCD evaluations, showing a reasonable agreement with the corresponding experimental data. The comparison of our results with those obtained in the (local) NJL model and the relation of F-V and a with the form factor in pi(0) -> gamma*gamma decays are discussed.

Abstract: We present a novel approach to derive constraints on neutrino masses, as well as on other cosmological parameters, from cosmological data, while taking into account our ignorance of the neutrino mass ordering. We derive constraints from a combination of current as well as future cosmological datasets on the total neutrino mass M-nu and on the mass fractions f(nu),i = m(i)/M-nu (where the index i = 1, 2, 3 indicates the three mass eigenstates) carried by each of the mass eigenstates m(i), after marginalizing over the (unknown) neutrino mass ordering, either normal ordering (NH) or inverted ordering (IH). The bounds on all the cosmological parameters, including those on the total neutrino mass, take therefore into account the uncertainty related to our ignorance of the mass hierarchy that is actually realized in nature. This novel approach is carried out in the framework of Bayesian analysis of a typical hierarchical problem, where the distribution of the parameters of the model depends on further parameters, the hyperparameters. In this context, the choice of the neutrino mass ordering is modeled via the discrete hyperparameter h(type), which we introduce in the usual Markov chain analysis. The preference from cosmological data for either the NH or the IH scenarios is then simply encoded in the posterior distribution of the hyper-parameter itself. Current cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements assign equal odds to the two hierarchies, and are thus unable to distinguish between them. However, after the addition of baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements, a weak preference for the normal hierarchical scenario appears, with odds of 4 : 3 from Planck temperature and large-scale polarization in combination with BAO (3 : 2 if small-scale polarization is also included). Concerning next-generation cosmological experiments, forecasts suggest that the combination of upcoming CMB (COrE) and BAO surveys (DESI) may determine the neutrino mass hierarchy at a high statistical significance if the mass is very close to the minimal value allowed by oscillation experiments, as for NH and a fiducial value of M-nu = 0.06 eV there is a 9 : 1 preference of normal versus inverted hierarchy. On the contrary, if the sum of the masses is of the order of 0.1 eV or larger, even future cosmological observations will be inconclusive. The innovative statistical strategy exploited here represents a very simple, efficient and robust tool to study the sensitivity of present and future cosmological data to the neutrino mass hierarchy, and a sound competitor to the standard Bayesian model comparison. The unbiased limit on M-nu we obtain is crucial for ongoing and planned neutrinoless double beta decay searches.