Abstract: Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions are the most common weak interaction processes of spin-isospin (sigma tau) type in atomic nuclei. They are of interest not only in nuclear physics but also in astrophysics; they play an important role in supernovae explosions and nucleosynthesis. The direct study of weak decay processes, however, gives relatively limited information about GT transitions and the states excited via GT transitions (GT states); beta decay can only access states at excitation energies lower than the decay Q-value, and neutrino-induced reactions have very small cross-sections. However, one should note that beta decay has a direct access to the absolute GT transition strengths B(GT) from a study of half-lives, Q(beta)-values and branching ratios. They also provide information on GT transitions in nuclei far-from-stability. Studies of M1 gamma transitions provide similar information. In contrast, the complementary charge-exchange (CE) reactions, such as the (p, n) or ((3)He, t) reactions at intermediate beam energies and 0 degrees, can selectively excite GT states up to high excitation energies in the final nucleus. It has been found empirically that there is a close proportionality between the cross-sections at 0 degrees and the transition strengths B(GT) in these CE reactions. Therefore, CE reactions are useful tools to study the relative values of B(GT) strengths up to high excitation energies. In recent ((3)He, t) measurements, one order-of-magnitude improvement in the energy resolution has been achieved. This has made it possible to make one-to-one comparisons of GT transitions studied in CE reactions and beta decays. Thus GT strengths in ((3)He, t) reactions can be normalised by the beta-decay values. In addition, comparisons with closely related M1 transitions studied in gamma decay or electron inelastic scattering [(e, e')1, and furthermore with “spin” M I transitions that can be studied by proton inelastic scattering [(p, p')[ have now been made possible. In these comparisons, the isospin quantum number T and associated symmetry structure in the same mass A nuclei (isobars) play a key role. Isospin symmetry can extend our scope even to the structures of unstable nuclei that are far from reach at present unstable beam factories.

Abstract: Results are presented of a search for supersymmetric particles in events with large missing transverse momentum and at least one heavy flavour jet candidate in root s = 7 TeV proton proton collisions. In a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35 pb(-1) recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, no significant excess is observed with respect to the prediction for Standard Model processes. For R-parity conserving models in which sbottoms (stops) are the only squarks to appear in the gluino decay cascade, gluino masses below 590 GeV (520 GeV) are excluded at the 95% C.L. The results are also interpreted in an MSUGRA/CMSSM supersymmetry breaking scenario with tan beta = 40 and in an SO(10) model framework.

Abstract: Hitherto unobserved long-lived massive particles with electric and/or colour charge are predicted by a range of theories which extend the Standard Model. In this Letter a search is performed at the ATLAS experiment for slow-moving charged particles produced in proton-proton collisions at 7 TeV centre-of-mass energy at the LHC, using a data-set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb(-1). No deviations from Standard Model expectations are found. This result is interpreted in a framework of supersymmetry models in which coloured sparticles can hadronise into long-lived bound hadronic states, termed R-hadrons, and 95% CL limits are set on the production cross-sections of squarks and gluinos. The influence of R-hadron interactions in matter was studied using a number of different models, and lower mass limits for stable sbottoms and stops are found to be 294 and 309 GeV respectively. The lower mass limit for a stable gluino lies in the range from 562 to 586 GeV depending on the model assumed. Each of these constraints is the most stringent to date.

Abstract: The ATLAS detector is used to search for high-mass states, such as heavy charged gauge bosons (W'. W*), decaying to a charged lepton (electron or muon) and a neutrino. Results are presented based on the analysis of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb(-1). No excess beyond standard model expectations is observed. A W' with sequential standard model couplings is excluded at 95% confidence level for masses below 1.49 TeV, and a W* (charged chiral boson) for masses below 1.35 TeV.

Abstract: The first implementation of the AGATA spectrometer consisting of five triple germanium detector clusters has been installed at Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, INFN. This setup has two major goals, the first one is to validate the gamma-tracking concept and the second is to perform an experimental physics program using the stable beams delivered by the Tandem-PIAVE-ALPI accelerator complex. A large variety of physics topics will be addressed during this campaign, aiming to investigate both neutron and proton-rich nuclei. The setup has been designed to be coupled with the large-acceptance magnetic-spectrometer PRISMA. Therefore, the in-beam prompt gamma rays detected with AGATA will be measured in coincidence with the products of multinucleon-transfer and deep-inelastic reactions measured by PRISMA. Moreover, the setup is versatile enough to host ancillary detectors, including the heavy-ion detector DANTE, the gamma-ray detector array HELENA, the Cologne plunger for lifetime measurements and the Si-pad telescope TRACE. In this paper the design; characteristics and performance figures of the setup will be described.