Abstract: The properties of strange (K, (K) over bar and (K) over bar*) and open-charm (D, (D) over bar and D*) mesons in dense matter are studied using a unitary approach in coupled channels for meson-baryon scattering. In the strangeness sector, the interaction with nucleons always comes through vector-meson exchange, which is evaluated by chiral and hidden gauge Lagrangians. For the interaction of charmed mesons with nucleons we extend the SU(3) Weinberg-Tomozawa Lagrangian to incorporate spin-flavor symmetry and implement a suitable flavor symmetry breaking. The in-medium solution for the scattering amplitude accounts for Pauli blocking effects and meson self-energies. On one hand, we obtain the K, (K) over bar and (K) over bar* spectral functions in the nuclear medium and study their behaviour at finite density, temperature and momentum. We also make an estimate of the transparency ratio of the gamma A -> K+ K*(-) A' reaction, which we propose as a tool to detect in-medium modifications of the (K) over bar* meson. On the other hand, in the charm sector, several resonances with negative parity are generated dynamically by the s-wave interaction between pseudoscalar and vector meson multiplets with 1/2(+) and 3/2(+) baryons. The properties of these states in matter are analyzed and their influence on the open-charm meson spectral functions is studied. We finally discuss the possible formation of D-mesic nuclei at FAIR energies.

Abstract: In this work, an Effective Field Theory (EFT) incorporating light SU(3)-flavour and heavy quark spin symmetries is used to describe charmed meson-antimeson bound states. At Lowest Order (LO), this means that only contact range interactions among the heavy meson and antimeson fields are involved. Besides, the isospin violating decays of the X(3872) will be used to constrain the interaction between the D and a (D) over bar* mesons in the isovector channel. Finally, assuming that the X(3915) and Y(4140) resonances are D* (D) over bar* and D-s* (D) over bar (s)* molecular states, we can determine the four Low Energy Constants (LECs) of the EFT that appear at LO and, therefore, the full spectrum of molecular states with isospin I = 0, 1/2 and 1.

Abstract: We have investigated a charmed system of DNN (composed of two nucleons and a D meson) by a complementary study with a variational calculation and a Faddeev calculation with fixed-center approximation (Faddeev-FCA). In the present study, we employ a DN potential based on a vector-meson exchange picture in which a resonant A(c)(2595) is dynamically generated as a DN quasi-bound state, similarly to the A(1405) as a (K) over barN one in the strange sector. As a result of the study of variational calculation with an effective DN potential and three kinds of NN potentials, the DNN(J(pi) =0(-), I = 1/2) is found to be a narrow quasi-bound state below A(c)(2595)N threshold: total binding energy similar to 225 MeV and mesonic decay width similar to 25 MeV. On the other hand, the J(pi) =1(-) state is considered to be a scattering state of A(c)(2595) and a nucleon. These results are essentially supported by the Faddeev-FCA calculation. By the analysis of the variational wave function, we have found a unique structure in the DNN(J(pi) = 0, I = 1/2) such that the D meson stays around the center of the total system due to the heaviness of the D meson.

Abstract: DTAS is a segmented total absorption y-ray spectrometer developed for the DESPEC experiment at FAIR. It is composed of up to eighteen NaI(Tl) crystals. In this work we study the performance of this detector with laboratory sources and also under real experimental conditions. We present a procedure to reconstruct offline the sum of the energy deposited in all the crystals of the spectrometer, which is complicated by the effect of NaI(Tl) light-yield non-proportionality. The use of a system to correct for time variations of the gain in individual detector modules, based on a light pulse generator, is demonstrated. We describe also an event-based method to evaluate the summing-pileup electronic distortion in segmented spectrometers. All of this allows a careful characterization of the detector with Monte Carlo simulations that is needed to calculate the response function for the analysis of total absorption gamma-ray spectroscopy data. Special attention was paid to the interaction of neutrons with the spectrometer, since they are a source of contamination in studies of beta-delayed neutron emitting nuclei.

Abstract: The Earth is bombarded by ultrarelativistic particles, known as cosmic rays (CRs). CRs with energies up to a few PeV (=10(15) eV), the knee in the particle spectrum, are believed to have a Galactic origin. One or more factories of PeV CRs, or PeVatrons, must thus be active within our Galaxy. The direct detection of PeV protons from their sources is not possible since they are deflected in the Galactic magnetic fields. Hundred TeV gamma-rays from decaying pi(0), produced when PeV CRs collide with the ambient gas, can provide the decisive evidence of proton acceleration up to the knee. Here we report the discovery by the High Altitude Water Cerenkov (HAWC) observatory of the gamma-ray source, HAWC J1825-134, whose energy spectrum extends well beyond 200 TeV without a break or cutoff. The source is found to be coincident with a giant molecular cloud. The ambient gas density is as high as 700 protons cm(-3). While the nature of this extreme accelerator remains unclear, CRs accelerated to energies of several PeV colliding with the ambient gas likely produce the observed radiation.