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Algora, A., Ganioglu, E., Sarriguren, P., Guadilla, V., Fraile, L. M., Nacher, E., et al. (2021). Total absorption gamma-ray spectroscopy study of the beta-decay of Hg-186. Phys. Lett. B, 819, 136438–7pp.
Abstract: The Gamow-Teller strength distribution of the decay of Hg-186 into Au-186 has been determined for the first time using the total absorption gamma spectroscopy technique and has been compared with theoretical QRPA calculations using the SLy4 Skyrme force. The measured Gamow-Teller strength distribution and the half-life are described by mixing oblate and prolate configurations independently in the parent and daughter nuclei. In this theoretical framework the best description of the experimental beta strength is obtained with dominantly prolate components for both parent Hg-186 and daughter Au-186. The approach also allowed us to determine an upper limit of the oblate component in the parent state. The complexity of the analysis required the development of a new approach in the analysis of the X-ray gated total absorption spectrum.
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Algora, A., Tain, J. L., Rubio, B., Fallot, M., & Gelletly, W. (2021). Beta-decay studies for applied and basic nuclear physics. Eur. Phys. J. A, 57(3), 85–28pp.
Abstract: In this reviewwe will present the results of recent beta-decay studies using the total absorption technique that cover topics of interest for applications, nuclear structure and astrophysics. The decays studied were selected primarily because they have a large impact on the prediction of (a) the decay heat in reactors, important for the safety of present and future reactors and (b) the reactor electron anti-neutrino spectrum, of interest for particle/nuclear physics and reactor monitoring. For these studies the total absorption technique was chosen, since it is the only method that allows one to obtain beta-decay probabilities free from a systematic error called the Pandemonium effect. The total absorption technique is based on the detection of the. cascades that follow the initial beta decay. For this reason the technique requires the use of calorimeters with very high. detection efficiency. The measurements presented and discussed here were performed mainly at the IGISOL facility of the University of Jyvaskyla (Finland) using isotopically pure beams provided by the JYFLTRAP Penning trap. Examples are presented to show that the results of our measurements on selected nuclei have had a large impact on predictions of both the decay heat and the anti-neutrino spectrum from reactors. Some of the cases involve beta-delayed neutron emission thus one can study the competition between gamma – and neutron-emission from states above the neutron separation energy. The gamma-to-neutron emission ratios can be used to constrain neutron capture (n, gamma) cross sections for unstable nuclei of interest in astrophysics. The information obtained from the measurements can also be used to test nuclear model predictions of half-lives and Pn values for decays of interest in astrophysical network calculations. These comparisons also provide insights into aspects of nuclear structure in particular regions of the nuclear chart.
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Alicki, R., Barenboim, G., & Jenkins, A. (2023). Quantum thermodynamics of de Sitter space. Phys. Rev. D, 108(12), 123530–13pp.
Abstract: We consider the local physics of an open quantum system embedded in an expanding three-dimensional space x, evolving in cosmological time t, weakly coupled to a massless quantum field. We derive the corresponding Markovian master equation for the system's nonunitary evolution and show that, for a de Sitter space with Hubble parameter h 1/4 const, the background fields act as a physical heat bath with temperature TdS 1/4 h/2z. The energy density of this bath obeys the Stefan-Boltzmann law pdS proportional to h4. We comment on how these results clarify the thermodynamics of de Sitter space and support previous arguments for its instability in the infrared. The cosmological implications are considered in an accompanying Letter.
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Alidra, M. et al, & Torro Pastor, E. (2021). The MATHUSLA test stand. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 985, 164661–9pp.
Abstract: The rate of muons from LHC pp collisions reaching the surface above the ATLAS interaction point is measured as a function of the ATLAS luminosity and compared with expected rates from decays of W and Z bosons and b- and c-quark jets. In addition, data collected during periods without beams circulating in the LHC provide a measurement of the background from cosmic ray inelastic backscattering that is compared to simulation predictions. Data were recorded during 2018 in a 2.5 x 2.5 x 6.5 m(3) active volume MATHUSLA test stand detector unit consisting of two scintillator planes, one at the top and one at the bottom, which defined the trigger, and six layers of RPCs between them, grouped into three (x, y)-measuring layers separated by 1.74 m from each other. Triggers selecting both upward-going tracks and downward-going tracks were used.
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Alimena, J. et al, Hirsch, M., Mamuzic, J., Mitsou, V. A., & Santra, A. (2020). Searching for long-lived particles beyond the Standard Model at the Large Hadron Collider. J. Phys. G, 47(9), 090501–226pp.
Abstract: Particles beyond the Standard Model (SM) can generically have lifetimes that are long compared to SM particles at the weak scale. When produced at experiments such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, these long-lived particles (LLPs) can decay far from the interaction vertex of the primary proton-proton collision. Such LLP signatures are distinct from those of promptly decaying particles that are targeted by the majority of searches for new physics at the LHC, often requiring customized techniques to identify, for example, significantly displaced decay vertices, tracks with atypical properties, and short track segments. Given their non-standard nature, a comprehensive overview of LLP signatures at the LHC is beneficial to ensure that possible avenues of the discovery of new physics are not overlooked. Here we report on the joint work of a community of theorists and experimentalists with the ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb experiments-as well as those working on dedicated experiments such as MoEDAL, milliQan, MATHUSLA, CODEX-b, and FASER-to survey the current state of LLP searches at the LHC, and to chart a path for the development of LLP searches into the future, both in the upcoming Run 3 and at the high-luminosity LHC. The work is organized around the current and future potential capabilities of LHC experiments to generally discover new LLPs, and takes a signature-based approach to surveying classes of models that give rise to LLPs rather than emphasizing any particular theory motivation. We develop a set of simplified models; assess the coverage of current searches; document known, often unexpected backgrounds; explore the capabilities of proposed detector upgrades; provide recommendations for the presentation of search results; and look towards the newest frontiers, namely high-multiplicity 'dark showers', highlighting opportunities for expanding the LHC reach for these signals.
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