Cederwall, B. et al, Algora, A., & Gadea, A. (2011). Evidence for a spin-aligned neutron-proton paired phase from the level structure of Pd-92. Nature, 469(7328), 68–71.
Abstract: Shell structure and magic numbers in atomic nuclei were generally explained by pioneering work(1) that introduced a strong spin-orbit interaction to the nuclear shell model potential. However, knowledge of nuclear forces and the mechanisms governing the structure of nuclei, in particular far from stability, is still incomplete. In nuclei with equal neutron and proton numbers (N = Z), enhanced correlations arise between neutrons and protons (two distinct types of fermions) that occupy orbitals with the same quantum numbers. Such correlations have been predicted to favour an unusual type of nuclear superfluidity, termed isoscalar neutron-proton pairing(2-6), in addition to normal isovector pairing. Despite many experimental efforts, these predictions have not been confirmed. Here we report the experimental observation of excited states in the N = Z = 46 nucleus Pd-92. Gamma rays emitted following the Ni-58(Ar-36,2n)Pd-92 fusion-evaporation reaction were identified using a combination of state-of-the-art high-resolution c-ray, charged-particle and neutron detector systems. Our results reveal evidence for a spin-aligned, isoscalar neutron-proton coupling scheme, different from the previous prediction(2-6). We suggest that this coupling scheme replaces normal superfluidity (characterized by seniority coupling(7,8)) in the ground and low-lying excited states of the heaviest N = Z nuclei. Such strong, isoscalar neutron-proton correlations would have a considerable impact on the nuclear level structure and possibly influence the dynamics of rapid proton capture in stellar nucleosynthesis.
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Hirsch, M., Morisi, S., Peinado, E., & Valle, J. W. F. (2010). Discrete dark matter. Phys. Rev. D, 82(11), 116003–5pp.
Abstract: We propose a new motivation for the stability of dark matter (DM). We suggest that the same non-Abelian discrete flavor symmetry which accounts for the observed pattern of neutrino oscillations, spontaneously breaks to a Z(2) subgroup which renders DM stable. The simplest scheme leads to a scalar doublet DM potentially detectable in nuclear recoil experiments, inverse neutrino mass hierarchy, hence a neutrinoless double beta decay rate accessible to upcoming searches, while theta(13) = 0 gives no CP violation in neutrino oscillations.
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Jittoh, T., Kohri, K., Koike, M., Sato, J., Shimomura, T., & Yamanaka, M. (2010). Stau relic density at the big-bang nucleosynthesis era in the coannihilation scenario and a solution to the Li-7 problem. Phys. Rev. D, 82(11), 115030–10pp.
Abstract: We calculate the relic density of stau at the big-bang nucleosynthesis era in the coannihilation scenario of the minimal supersymmetric standard model. In this scenario, stau can be long lived and have significance in the remediation of light elements abundances. The freeze-out of stau is corroborated by solving the Boltzmann equation numerically, and the parameter dependence of the relic density is investigated. The possibility of solving the Li-7 problem is examined by taking account into the long-lived stau. By adopting an observational value of Li-7 in [J. Melendez and I. Ramirez, Astrophys. J. 615, L33 (2004).], we get minimal supersymmetric standard model parameter space in which abundances of both dark matter and all of the light elements are reproduced in accordance with observations. We also address the influence of intergenerational mixing on our calculation.
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ANTARES Collaboration(Aguilar, J. A. et al), Bigongiari, C., Dornic, D., Emanuele, U., Gomez-Gonzalez, J. P., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., et al. (2011). Time calibration of the ANTARES neutrino telescope. Astropart Phys., 34(7), 539–549.
Abstract: The ANTARES deep-sea neutrino telescope comprises a three-dimensional array of photomultipliers to detect the Cherenkov light induced by upgoing relativistic charged particles originating from neutrino interactions in the vicinity of the detector. The large scattering length of light in the deep sea facilitates an angular resolution of a few tenths of a degree for neutrino energies exceeding 10 TeV. In order to achieve this optimal performance, the time calibration procedures should ensure a relative time calibration between the photomultipliers at the level of similar to 1 ns. The methods developed to attain this level of precision are described.
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Casas, J. A., Moreno, J. M., Rius, N., Ruiz de Austri, R., & Zaldivar, B. (2011). Fair scans of the seesaw. Consequences for predictions on LFV processes. J. High Energy Phys., 03(3), 034–22pp.
Abstract: We give a straightforward procedure to scan the seesaw parameter-space, using the common “R-parametrization”, in a complete way. This includes a very simple rule to incorporate the perturbativity requirement as a condition for the entries of the R-matrix. As a relevant application, we show that the somewhat propagated belief that BR(mu -> e, gamma) in supersymmetric seesaw models depends strongly on the value of theta(13) is an “optical effect” produced by incomplete scans, and does not hold after a careful analytical and numerical study. When the complete scan is done, BR(mu -> e, gamma) gets very insensitive to theta(13). This holds even if the right-handed neutrino masses are kept constant or under control (as is required for succesful leptogenesis). In most cases the values of BR(mu -> e, gamma) are larger than the experimental upper bound. Including (unflavoured) leptogenesis does not introduce any further dependence on theta(13), although decreases the typical value of BR(mu -> e, gamma).
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