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Liang, W. H., Xie, J. J., & Oset, E. (2015). (B)over-bar(0) decay into D-0 and f(0)(500), f(0)(980), a(0)(980), rho and (B)over-bar(s)(0) decay into D-0 and kappa(800), K*(0). Phys. Rev. D, 92(3), 034008–9pp.
Abstract: We make predictions for ratios of branching fractions of (B) over bar (0) decays into D-0 and the scalar mesons f(0)(500), f(0)(980), a(0)(980), plus (B) over bar (0)(s) decay into D-0 and kappa(800). We also compare the pi(+)pi(-) production in the scalar channel with that observed in the rho channel and make predictions for the (B) over bar (0)(s) decay into D-0 and K*(892), comparing the strength of this channel with that of kappa(800) production. The work is based on results of the chiral unitary approach where the scalar resonances are generated from the pseudoscalar-pseudoscalar interaction. Up to an arbitrary normalization, the mass distributions and rates for decays into the scalar resonances are predicted with no free parameters. Comparison with experimental data is done when available.
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Liang, W. H., Xie, J. J., & Oset, E. (2015). (B)over-bar(0), B- and (B)over-bar(S)(0) decays into J/psi and K (K)over-bar or pi eta. Eur. Phys. J. C, 75(12), 609–8pp.
Abstract: We study the (B) over bar (0)(S) -> J/psi K+ K-, (B) over bar (0) -> J/psi K+ K, B- -> J/psi K+ K-, (B) over bar (0) -> J/psi pi(0)eta(-), decays and compare their mass distributions with those obtained for the (B) over bar (0)(S) -> J/psi pi(+) pi(-) and (B) over bar (0)(S) -> J/psi pi(+)pi(-). The approach followed consist in a factorization of the weak part and the hadronization part into a factor which is common to all the processes. Then what makes the reactions different are some trivial CabibboKobayashi- Maskawa matrix elements and the weight by which the different pairs of mesons appear in a primary step plus their final state interaction. These elements are part of the theory and thus, up to a global normalization factor, all the invariant mass distributions are predicted with no free parameters. Comparison is made with the limited experimental information available. Further comparison of these results with coming LHCb measurements will be very valuable to make progress in our understanding of the meson- meson interaction and the nature of the low lying scalar meson resonances, f(0)(500), f(0)( 980) and a(0)(980).
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AGATA Collaboration(Crespi, F. C. L. et al), & Gadea, A. (2015). 1(-) and 2(+) discrete states in Zr-90 populated via the (O-17, O-17 'gamma) reaction. Phys. Rev. C, 91(2), 024323–9pp.
Abstract: 2(+) and 1(-) states in Zr-90 were populated via the (O-17, O-17 'gamma) reaction at 340 MeV. The gamma decay was measured with high resolution using the AGATA (advanced gamma tracking array demonstrator array). Differential cross sections were obtained at few different angles for the scattered particle. The results of the elastic scattering and inelastic excitation of 2(+), 3(,)(-) and 1(-) states are compared with distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA) calculations, using both the standard collective form factor and a form factor obtained by folding microscopically calculated transition densities. This allowed to extract the isoscalar component of the 1(-) state at 6.424 MeV. The comparison of the present (17O, 17O 'gamma) data with existing (gamma,gamma') and (p, p') data in the corresponding region of the gamma continuum (6-11 MeV), characterized by a large E1 component, shows completely different behaviors of the cross section as a function of the nuclear excitation energy. The comparison of the data with DWBA calculations suggests a decrease of the isoscalar strength in the cross section with increasing excitation energy.
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Tain, J. L., Algora, A., Agramunt, J., Guadilla, V., Jordan, M. D., Montaner-Piza, A., et al. (2015). A decay total absorption spectrometer for DESPEC at FAIR. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 803, 36–46.
Abstract: This paper presents the design of a total absorption gamma-ray spectrometer for the determination of beta-decay intensity distributions of exotic nuclear species at the focal plane of the FAIR-NUSTAR Super Fragment Separator. The spectrometer is a key instrument in the DESPEC experiment and the proposed implementation follows extensive design studies and prototype tests. Two options were contemplated, based on Nal(TI) and LaBr3:Ce inorganic scintillation crystals respectively. Monte Carlo simulations and technical considerations determined the optimal configurations consisting of sixteen 15 x 15 x 25 cm(3) crystals for the Nal(Tl) option and one hundred and twenty-eight 5.5 x 5.5 x 11 cm(3) crystals for the LaBr3:Ce option. Minimization of dead material was crucial for maximizing the spectrometer full-energy peak efficiency. Module prototypes were build to verify constructional details and characterize their performance. The measured energy and timing resolution was found to agree rather well with estimates based on simulations of scintillation light transport and collection. The neutron sensitivity of the spectrometer, important when measuring beta-delayed neutron emitters, was investigated by means of Monte Carlo simulations.
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Achterberg, A., Amoroso, S., Caron, S., Hendriks, L., Ruiz de Austri, R., & Weniger, C. (2015). A description of the Galactic Center excess in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 08(8), 006–27pp.
Abstract: Observations with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) indicate an excess in gamma rays originating from the center of our Galaxy. A possible explanation for this excess is the annihilation of Dark Matter particles. We have investigated the annihilation of neutralinos as Dark Matter candidates within the phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (pMSSM). An iterative particle filter approach was used to search for solutions within the pMSSM. We found solutions that are consistent with astroparticle physics and collider experiments, and provide a fit to the energy spectrum of the excess. The neutralino is a Bino/Higgsino or Bino/Wino/Higgsino mixture with a mass in the range 84-92 GeV or 87-97 GeV annihilating into W bosons. A third solutions is found for a neutralino of mass 174-187 GeV annihilating into top quarks. The best solutions yield a Dark Matter relic density 0.06 < Omega h(2) < 0.13. These pMSSM solutions make clear forecasts for LHC, direct and indirect DM detection experiments. If the pMSSM explanation of the excess seen by Fermi-LAT is correct, a DM signal might be discovered soon.
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Bordes, J., Hong-Mo, C., & Tsun, T. S. (2015). A first test of the framed standard model against experiment. Int. J. Mod. Phys. A, 30(11), 1550051–34pp.
Abstract: The framed standard model (FSM) is obtained from the standard model by incorporating, as field variables, the frame vectors (vielbeins) in internal symmetry space. It gives the standard Higgs boson and 3 generations of quarks and leptons as immediate consequences. It gives moreover a fermion mass matrix of the form: m = mT alpha alpha dagger, where alpha is a vector in generation space independent of the fermion species and rotating with changing scale, which has already been shown to lead, generically, to up-down mixing, neutrino oscillations and mass hierarchy. In this paper, pushing the FSM further, one first derives to 1-loop order the RGE for the rotation of alpha, and then applies it to fit mass and mixing data as a first test of the model. With 7 real adjustable parameters, 18 measured quantities are fitted, most (12) to within experimental error or to better than 0.5 percent, and the rest (6) not far off. (A summary of this fit can be found in Table 2 of this paper.) Two notable features, both generic to FSM, not just specific to the fit, are: (i) that a theta-angle of order unity in the instanton term in QCD would translate via rotation into a Kobayashi-Maskawa phase in the CKM matrix of about the observed magnitude (J similar to 10(-5)), (ii) that it would come out correctly that m(u) < m(d), despite the fact that m(t) >> m(b), m(c) >> m(s). Of the 18 quantities fitted, 12 are deemed independent in the usual formulation of the standard model. In fact, the fit gives a total of 17 independent parameters of the standard model, but 5 of these have not been measured by experiment.
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Ballester, F., Tedgren, A. C., Granero, D., Haworth, A., Mourtada, F., Fonseca, G. P., et al. (2015). A generic high-dose rate Ir-192 brachytherapy source for evaluation of model-based dose calculations beyond the TG-43 formalism. Med. Phys., 42(6), 3048–3062.
Abstract: Purpose: In order to facilitate a smooth transition for brachytherapy dose calculations from the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group No. 43 (TG-43) formalism to model-based dose calculation algorithms (MBDCAs), treatment planning systems (TPSs) using a MBDCA require a set of well-defined test case plans characterized by Monte Carlo (MC) methods. This also permits direct dose comparison to TG-43 reference data. Such test case plans should be made available for use in the software commissioning process performed by clinical end users. To this end, a hypothetical, generic high-dose rate (HDR) Ir-192 source and a virtual water phantom were designed, which can be imported into a TPS. Methods: A hypothetical, generic HDR Ir-192 source was designed based on commercially available sources as well as a virtual, cubic water phantom that can be imported into any TPS in DICOM format. The dose distribution of the generic Ir-192 source when placed at the center of the cubic phantom, and away from the center under altered scatter conditions, was evaluated using two commercial MBDCAs [Oncentra (R) Brachy with advanced collapsed-cone engine (ACE) and BrachyVision AcuRos (TM)]. Dose comparisons were performed using state-of-the-art MC codes for radiation transport, including ALGEBRA, BrachyDose, GEANT4, MCNP5, MCNP6, and pENELopE2008. The methodologies adhered to recommendations in the AAPM TG-229 report on high-energy brachytherapy source dosimetry. TG-43 dosimetry parameters, an along-away dose-rate table, and primary and scatter separated (PSS) data were obtained. The virtual water phantom of (201)(3) voxels (1 mm sides) was used to evaluate the calculated dose distributions. Two test case plans involving a single position of the generic HDR Ir-192 source in this phantom were prepared: (i) source centered in the phantom and (ii) source displaced 7 cm laterally from the center. Datasets were independently produced by different investigators. MC results were then compared against dose calculated using TG-43 and MBDCA methods. Results: TG-43 and PSS datasets were generated for the generic source, the PSS data for use with the ACE algorithm. The dose-rate constant values obtained from seven MC simulations, performed independently using different codes, were in excellent agreement, yielding an average of 1.1109 +/- 0.0004 cGy/(h U) (k = 1, Type A uncertainty). MC calculated dose-rate distributions for the two plans were also found to be in excellent agreement, with differences within type A uncertainties. Differences between commercial MBDCA and MC results were test, position, and calculation parameter dependent. On average, however, these differences were within 1% for ACUROS and 2% for ACE at clinically relevant distances. Conclusions: A hypothetical, generic HDR Ir-192 source was designed and implemented in two commercially available TPSs employing different MBDCAs. Reference dose distributions for this source were benchmarked and used for the evaluation of MBDCA calculations employing a virtual, cubic water phantom in the form of a CT DICOM image series. The implementation of a generic source of identical design in all TPSs using MBDCAs is an important step toward supporting univocal commissioning procedures and direct comparisons between TPSs.
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Egea Canet, F. J. et al, Gadea, A., & Huyuk, T. (2015). A New Front-End High-Resolution Sampling Board for the New-Generation Electronics of EXOGAM2 and NEDA Detectors. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., 62(3), 1056–1062.
Abstract: This paper presents the final design and results of the FADC Mezzanine for the EXOGAM (EXOtic GAMma array spectrometer) and NEDA (Neutron Detector Array) detectors. The measurements performed include those of studying the effective number of bits, the energy resolution using HP-Ge detectors, as well as timing histograms and discrimination performance. Finally, the conclusion shows how a common digitizing device has been integrated in the experimental environment of two very different detectors which combine both low-noise acquisition and fast sampling rates. Not only the integration fulfilled the expected specifications on both systems, but it also showed how a study of synergy between detectors could lead to the reduction of resources and time by applying a common strategy.
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Richart, J., Otal, A., Rodriguez, S., Nicolas, A. I., DePiaggio, M., Santos, M., et al. (2015). A practical MRI-based reconstruction method for a new endocavitary and interstitial gynaecological template. J. Contemp. Brachytherapy, 7(5), 407–414.
Abstract: Purpose: There are perineal templates for interstitial implants such as MUPIT and Syed applicators. Their limitations are the intracavitary component deficit and the necessity to use computed tomography (CT) for treatment planning since both applicators are non-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compatibles. To overcome these problems, a new template named Template Benidorm (TB) has been recently developed. Titanium needles are usually reconstructed based on their own artifacts, mainly in T1-weighted sequence, using the void on the tip as the needle tip position. Nevertheless, patient tissues surrounding the needles present heterogeneities that complicate the accurate identification of these artifact patterns. The purpose of this work is to improve the titanium needle reconstruction uncertainty for the TB case using a simple method based on the free needle lengths and typical MRI pellets markers. Material and methods: The proposed procedure consists on the inclusion of three small A-vitamin pellets (hyper-intense on MRI images) compressed by both applicator plates defining the central plane of the plate's arrangement. The needles used are typically 20 cm in length. For each needle, two points are selected defining the straight line. From such line and the plane equations, the intersection can be obtained, and using the free length (knowing the offset distance), the coordinates of the needle tip can be obtained. The method is applied in both T1W and T2W acquisition sequences. To evaluate the inter-observer variation of the method, three implants of T1W and another three of T2W have been reconstructed by two different medical physicists with experience on these reconstructions. Results and conclusions: The differences observed in the positioning were significantly smaller than 1 mm in all cases. The presented algorithm also allows the use of only T2W sequence either for contouring or reconstruction purposes. The proposed method is robust and independent of the visibility of the artifact at the tip of the needle.
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Amjad, M. S., Bilokin, S., Boronat, M., Doublet, P., Frisson, T., Garcia Garcia, I., et al. (2015). A precise characterisation of the top quark electro-weak vertices at the ILC. Eur. Phys. J. C, 75(10), 512–11pp.
Abstract: Top quark production in the process e(+)e(-) -> t t at a future linear electron positron collider with polarised beams is a powerful tool to determine indirectly the scale of new physics. The presented study, based on a detailed simulation of the ILD detector concept, assumes a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 500GeV and a luminosity of L = 500 fb(-1) equally shared between the incoming beam polarisations of Pe-, Pe+ = +/- 0.8, -/+ 0.3. Events are selected in which the top pair decays semi-leptonically and the cross sections and the forward-backward asymmetries are determined. Based on these results, the vector, axial vector and tensorial CP conserving couplings are extracted separately for the photon and the Z(0) component. With the expected precision, a large number of models in which the top quark acts as a messenger to new physics can be distinguished with many standard deviations. This will dramatically improve expectations from e.g. the LHC for electro-weak couplings of the top quark.
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