Albertus, C., Hernandez, E., & Nieves, J. (2012). Exclusive c -> s, d semileptonic decays of ground-state spin-1/2 and spin-3/2 doubly heavy cb baryons. Phys. Rev. D, 85(9), 094035–21pp.
Abstract: We evaluate exclusive semileptonic decays of ground-state spin-1/2 and spin-3/2 doubly heavy cb baryons driven by a c --> s, d transition at the quark level. We check our results for the form factors against heavy quark spin symmetry constraints obtained in the limit of very large heavy quark masses and near zero recoil. Based on those constraints we make model-independent, though approximate, predictions for ratios of decay widths.
|
Bertolini, S., Di Luzio, L., & Malinsky, M. (2012). Seesaw scale in the minimal renormalizable SO(10) grand unification. Phys. Rev. D, 85(9), 095014–22pp.
Abstract: Simple SO(10) Higgs models with the adjoint representation triggering the grand unified symmetry breaking, discarded long ago due to inherent tree-level tachyonic instabilities in the physically interesting scenarios, have been recently brought back to life by quantum effects. In this work we focus on the variant with 45(H) circle plus 126(H) in the Higgs sector and show that there are several regions in the parameter space of this model that can support stable unifying configurations with the B – L-breaking scale as high as 10(14) GeV, well above the previous generic estimates based on the minimal survival hypothesis. This admits for a renormalizable implementation of the canonical seesaw and makes the simplest potentially realistic scenario of this kind a good candidate for a minimal SO(10) grand unification. Last, but not least, this setting is likely to be extensively testable at future large-volume facilities such as Hyper-Kamiokande.
|
BABAR Collaboration(Lees, J. P. et al), Lopez-March, N., Martinez-Vidal, F., & Oyanguren, A. (2012). Search for the decay D-0 -> gamma gamma and measurement of the branching fraction for D-0 -> pi(0)pi(0). Phys. Rev. D, 85(9), 091107–8pp.
Abstract: We search for the rare decay of the D-0 meson to two photons, D-0 -> gamma gamma, and present a measurement of the branching fraction for a D-0 meson decaying to two neutral pions, B(D-0 -> pi(0)pi(0)). The data sample analyzed corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 470.5 fb(-1) collected by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e(+)e(-) collider at SLAC. We place an upper limit on the branching fraction, B(D-0 -> gamma gamma) < 2.2 x 10(-6), at 90% confidence level. This limit improves on the existing limit by an order of magnitude. We also find B(D-0 -> pi(0)pi(0)) = (8.4 +/- 0.1 +/- 0.4 +/- 0.3 +/-) x 10(-4).
|
n_TOF Collaboration(Gunsing, F. et al), Domingo-Pardo, C., & Tain, J. L. (2012). Measurement of resolved resonances of Th-232(n, gamma) at the n_TOF facility at CERN. Phys. Rev. C, 85(6), 064601–17pp.
Abstract: The yield of the neutron capture reaction Th-232(n, gamma) has been measured at the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN in the energy range from 1 eV to 1 MeV. The reduction of the acquired data to the capture yield for resolved resonances from 1 eV to 4 keV is described and compared to a recent evaluated data set. The resonance parameters were used to assign an orbital momentum to each resonance. A missing level estimator was used to extract the s-wave level spacing of D-0 = 17.2 +/- 0.9 eV.
|
Hinke, C. B. et al, & Domingo-Pardo, C. (2012). Superallowed Gamow-Teller decay of the doubly magic nucleus Sn-100. Nature, 486(7403), 341–345.
Abstract: The shell structure of atomic nuclei is associated with 'magic numbers' and originates in the nearly independent motion of neutrons and protons in a mean potential generated by all nucleons. During beta(+)-decay, a proton transforms into a neutron in a previously not fully occupied orbital, emitting a positron-neutrino pair with either parallel or antiparallel spins, in a Gamow-Teller or Fermi transition, respectively. The transition probability, or strength, of a Gamow-Teller transition depends sensitively on the underlying shell structure and is usually distributed among many states in the neighbouring nucleus. Here we report measurements of the half-life and decay energy for the decay of Sn-100, the heaviest doubly magic nucleus with equal numbers of protons and neutrons. In the beta-decay of Sn-100, a large fraction of the strength is observable because of the large decay energy. We determine the largest Gamow-Teller strength so far measured in allowed nuclear beta-decay, establishing the 'superallowed' nature of this Gamow-Teller transition. The large strength and the low-energy states in the daughter nucleus, In-100, are well reproduced by modern, large-scale shell model calculations.
|