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At least 73 records · Page 4

Search For Excited Cascade Hypersons (¿*-) Using the CLAS12 Spectrometer at Jefferson Laboratory

The number of experimentally observed doubly strange Cascade states to date is far fewer than has been predicted theoretically. The CLAS12 Very Strange physics program (E12- 11-005A) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility aims to study the electroproduction of these states using the newly upgraded CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer for 12 GeV (CLAS12) in experimental Hall B. In this project, the reaction ep ! e0K+K+??? ! e0K+K+K?(?=?0) is studied using CLAS12 Run Group A (RG-A) data sets taken by impinging electron beams of 10:2 and 10:6 GeV energies on an LH2 target. Scattered electrons are detected with either the Forward Detector (FD), covering a polar angle range of 5? to 35? to study electroproduction, or with the Forward Tagger (FT), covering a polar angle range of 2:5? to 4:5?, to study quasi-real photoproduction. The CLAS12 detector with nearly a 4? solid angle coverage is used to detect scattered electrons and charged kaons in the ?final state. ?=?0 hyperons are reconstructed using the missing mass technique to explore intermediate doubly-strange hyperons (???) that decay to K? and ?=?0. No statistically significant ??? states other than the ???(1530) were found in the missing mass spectra based on the currently available statistics in the CLAS12-FD acceptance only. A maximum log-likelihood method is implemented to determine the statistical significance and the upper limits on the ???(1820) electroproduction cross section by constructing 95% confidence level boundaries on the ???(1820) yields. Additional research was conducted to investigate the upper limit electroproduction cross section of the reaction ep ! e0K+K+??? ! e0K+K+K?(?=?0) as a function of the electroproduced ??? mass and the differential cross section ( d?dMM(e0K+K+) ) as a function of missing mass MM(e0K+K+) for electroproduction and quasi-real photoproduction processes.

Khanal, Achyut↗

Photonuclear Production of 67 Cu From Gallium

Copper-67 is a radioisotope of interest for medical imaging and therapy as well as for under- standing stellar and interstellar evolution pertaining to the formation of proton-rich nuclei. Since 67 Cu decays 100% to 67 Zinc, understanding this reaction can shed light on the abundance of this and other p-nuclei elements in the universe. Here, the photonuclear production of 67 Cu from 71 Ga and natural gallium is examined as an alternative to its photoproduction from zinc. Two research and development production runs were performed at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility using an electron linac. During the first run, an 805-W, 30.9-MeV beam was used to irradiate a 1-mm tungsten radiator to create a bremsstrahlung flux. The resulting gamma photons irradiated 50.9 g of natural gallium encased in a graphite crucible for 24.2 h; 7.02 Bq/W∙s∙kg of 67 Cu activity was produced. During the second run, a 4380-W, 31.5-MeV beam was used for 12.0 h on the same target containing 60 g of natural gallium; 6.41 Bq/W∙s∙kg of 67 Cu activity was produced. Because of the difficulties in spectroscopically differentiating 67 Cu from 67 Ga, prior to each run, an isotopically pure 71 Ga disk was irradiated using a 100-W beam for 1 h, at the same respective energies. Finally, these baseline irradiations allowed for separation of 67 Cu from 67 Ga in the spectroscopic measurements of the natural gallium targets.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Measurement of the t-dependence of the Beam Asymmetry of Photoproduced eta at the GlueX Experiment at Jefferson Lab

We report on the photoproduction of eta mesons studied at the GlueX experiment at Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory in Newport News, VA. A linearly polarized photon beam at energies between 8.2 and 8.8 GeV, incident on a liquid hydrogen target, produces eta dominantly through t-channel exchanges. Azimuthal angular distributions of the eta, for the direction of the polarized photon, facilitate the extraction of the beam asymmetry Sigma for the reaction gamma p -> eta p. We can understand the production mechanisms of the eta by analyzing Sigma_eta, which is sensitive to the particles exchanged. Compared to previous GlueX results [[4],[17]], we have access to five times the statistics, thereby allowing us to extend these measurements to values beyond the previous limitation of -t lte 1.1 (GeV)2. Results will be shown for events reconstructed from the decay of eta -> gamma gamma and eta -> pi^+ pi^- pi^0 Systematic checks are also made for the neutral mode decay to confirm the stability of the extracted results. We find through data binned up to a momentum transfer of 2.0 (GeV)2 that the photoproduction of eta at these beam energies is largely carried out by natural processes, with a preliminary comparison with the photoproduction of eta' suggesting possible strangeness exchanges at wider kinematic regions.

Erbora, Tolga↗

Comparison of the Forward and Reverse Photocycle Dynamics of Two Highly Similar Canonical Red/Green Cyanobacteriochromes Reveals Unexpected Differences

Cyanobacteriochromes (CBCRs) are cyanobacterial photoreceptors that exhibit photochromism between two states: a thermally stable dark-adapted state and a metastable light-adapted state with bound linear tetrapyrrole (bilin) chromophores possessing 15Z and 15E configurations, respectively. The photodynamics of canonical red/green CBCRs have been extensively studied; however, the time scales of their excited-state lifetimes and subsequent ground-state evolution rates widely differ and, at present, remain difficult to predict. Here, we compare the photodynamics of two closely related red/green CBCRs that have substantial sequence identity (~68%) and similar chromophore environments: AnPixJg2 from Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 and NpR6012g4 from Nostoc punctiforme. Using broadband transient absorption spectroscopy on the primary (125 fs to 7 ns) and secondary (7 ns to 10 ms) time scales together with global analysis modeling, our studies revealed that AnPixJg2 and NpR6012g4 have comparable quantum yields for initiating the forward ( 15Z P r → 15E P g ) and reverse ( 15E P g → 15Z P r ) reactions, which proceed through monotonic and nonmonotonic mechanisms, respectively. In addition to small discrepancies in the kinetics, the secondary reverse dynamics resolved unique features for each domain: intermediate shunts in NpR6012g4 and a Meta-Gf intermediate red-shifted from the 15Z P r photoproduct in AnPixJg2. Altogether, this study supports the conclusion that sequence similarity is a useful criterion for predicting pathways of the light-induced evolution and quantum yield of generating primary intermediate Φ p within subfamilies of CBCRs, but more studies are still needed to develop a comprehensive molecular level understanding of these processes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Dynamical model of J/ψ photoproduction on the nucleon

Here, a dynamical model based on a phenomenological charm quark-nucleon (c – N) potential v cN and the Pomeronexchange mechanism is constructed to investigate the J/ψ photoproduction on the nucleon from threshold to invariant mass W = 300 GeV. The J/ψ – N potential, V J/ψN (r), is constructed by folding v cN into the wave function φ J/ψ ($c\bar{c}$) of J/ψ within a constituent quark model (CQM) of Segovia et al. [Int. J. Mod. Phys. E 22, 1330026 (2013)]. A photoproduction amplitude is also generated by v cN by a $c\bar{c}$–loop integration over the γ → $c\bar{c}$ vertex function and φ J/ψ ($c\bar{c}$). No commonly used vector meson dominance assumption is used to define this photoproduction amplitude which is needed to describe the data near the threshold. The c – N potential v cN (r) is parameterized in a form such that the predicted V J/ψN (r) at large distances has the same Yukawa potential form extracted from a lattice QCD (LQCD) calculation of Kawanai and Sasaki, [Phys. Rev. D 82, 091501(R) (2010)]. The parameters of vcN are determined by fitting the total cross-section data of Jefferson Laboratory (JLab) by performing calculations that include J/ψ – N final-state interactions (FSI). The resulting differential cross sections dσ /dt are found in good agreements with the data. It is shown that the FSI effects dominate the cross section in the very near-threshold region, allowing for sensitive testing of the predicted J/ψ – N scattering amplitudes. By imposing the constraints of J/ψ – N potential extracted from the LQCD calculation of Kawanai and Sasaki, [Phys. Rev. D 82, 091501(R) (2010)], we have obtained three J/ψ – N potentials which fit the JLab data equally well. The resulting J/ψ – N scattering lengths are in the range of a = [-0.05, -0.25] fm. With the determined v cN (r) and the wave functions generated from the same CQM, the constructed model is used to predict the cross sections of photoproduction of η c (1S) and ψ(2S) mesons for future experimental tests.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Electrophotocatalytic perfluoroalkylation by LMCT excitation of Ag(II) perfluoroalkyl carboxylates

Molecular Ag(II) complexes are superoxidizing photoredox catalysts capable of generating radicals from redox-reticent substrates. In this work, we exploited the electrophilicity of Ag(II) centers in [Ag(bpy) 2 (TFA)][OTf] and Ag(bpy)(TFA) 2 (bpy, 2,2′-bipyridine; OTf, CF 3 SO 3 – ) complexes to activate trifluoroacetate (TFA) by visible light–induced homolysis. The resulting trifluoromethyl radicals may react with a variety of arenes to forge C(sp 2 )–CF 3 bonds. This methodology is general and extends to other perfluoroalkyl carboxylates of higher chain length (R F CO 2 – ; R F , CF 2 CF 3 or CF 2 CF 2 CF 3 ). The photoredox reaction may be rendered electrophotocatalytic by regenerating the Ag(II) complexes electrochemically during irradiation. Electrophotocatalytic perfluoroalkylation of arenes at turnover numbers exceeding 20 was accomplished by photoexciting the Ag(II)–TFA ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) state, followed by electrochemical reoxidation of the Ag(I) photoproduct back to the Ag(II) photoreactant.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

Looking at the bigger picture: Identifying the photoproducts of pyruvic acid at 193 nm

Here, photodissociation of pyruvic acid (PA) was studied in the gas-phase at 193 nm using two complementary techniques. The time-sliced velocity map imaging arrangement was used to determine kinetic energy release distributions of fragments and estimate dissociation timescales. The multiplexed photoionization mass spectrometer setup was used to identify and quantify photoproducts, including isomers and free radicals, by their mass-to-charge ratios, photoionization spectra, and kinetic time profiles. Using these two techniques, it is possible to observe the major dissociation products of PA photodissociation: CO 2 , CO, H, OH, HCO, CH 2 CO, CH 3 CO, and CH 3 . Acetaldehyde and vinyl alcohol are minor primary photoproducts at 193 nm, but products that are known to arise from their unimolecular dissociation, such as HCO, H 2 CO, and CH 4 , are identified and quantified. A multivariate analysis that takes into account the yields of the observed products and assumes a set of feasible primary dissociation reactions provides a reasonable description of the photoinitiated chemistry of PA despite the necessary simplifications caused by the complexity of the dissociation. These experiments offer the first comprehensive description of the dissociation pathways of PA initiated on the S 3 excited state. Most of the observed products and yields are rationalized on the basis of three reaction mechanisms: (i) decarboxylation terminating in CO 2 + other primary products (~50%); (ii) Norrish type I dissociation typical of carbonyls (~30%); and (iii) O—H and C—H bond fission reactions generating the H atom (~10%). The analysis shows that most of the dissociation reactions create more than two products. This observation is not surprising considering the high excitation energy (~51 800 cm –1 ) and fairly low energy required for dissociation of PA. We find that two-body fragmentation processes yielding CO 2 are minor, and the expected, unstable primary co-fragment, methylhydroxycarbene, is not observed because it probably undergoes fast secondary dissociation and/or isomerization. Norrish type I dissociation pathways generate OH and only small yields of CH 3 CO and HOCO, which have low dissociation energies and further decompose via three-body fragmentation processes. Experiments with d 1 -PA (CH 3 COCOOD) support the interpretations. The dissociation on S 3 is fast, as indicated by the products’ recoil angular anisotropy, but the roles of internal conversion and intersystem crossing to lower states are yet to be determined.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Threshold charmonium photoproduction with GlueX

Exclusive charmonium photoproduction near threshold opens the door for studying the gluonic properties of the proton: gluonic GPDs, anomalous contribution to the mass of the proton, gravitational form factors, the mass radius of the proton. However, such an ambitious program requires precise measurements to validate the theoretical assumptions that relate the experimental results to the above quantities. The first total cross-section measurements of near-threshold exclusive J/? photoproduction (?p?J/?p) by the GlueX collaboration sparked remarkable theoretical interest, however had limited statistics. We will report new total cross-section results based on more than a four-fold increase in statistics. Even more, due to the full acceptance of the GlueX experiment for this reaction, we will present first measurements of the differential cross-sections over the whole near-threshold kinematic region. Such measurements enable more general conclusions about the reaction mechanism when compared to a wide range of theoretical predictions including GPD calculations and models with open-charm intermediate states.

Pentchev, Lubomir↗

Primary photodissociation mechanisms of pyruvic acid on S 1 : observation of methylhydroxycarbene and its chemical reaction in the gas phase

Pyruvic acid, a representative alpha-keto carboxylic acid, is one of the few organic molecules destroyed in the troposphere by solar radiation rather than by reactions with free radicals. To date, only its stable final products were identified, often with contribution from secondary chemistry, making it difficult to elucidate photodissociation mechanisms following excitation to the lowest singlet excited-state (S 1 ) and the role of the internal hydrogen bond in the most-stable Tc conformer. Using multiplexed photoionization mass spectrometry we report the first direct experimental evidence, via the observation of singlet methylhydroxycarbene (MHC) following 351 nm excitation, supporting the decarboxylation mechanism previously proposed. Decarboxylation to MHC + CO 2 represents 97–100% of product branching at 351 nm. We observe vinyl alcohol and acetaldehyde, which we attribute to isomerization of MHC. We also observe a 3 ± 2% yield of the Norrish Type I photoproducts CH 3 CO + DOCO, but only from d 1 -pyruvic acid. At 4 Torr pressure, we measure a photodissociation quantum yield of $1.0^{+0}_{–0.4}$, consistent with IUPAC recommendations. However, our measured product branching fractions disagree with IUPAC. In light of previous calculations, these results support a mechanism in which hydrogen transfer on the S 1 excited state occurs at least partially by tunneling, in competition with intersystem crossing to the T 1 state. Here, we present the first evidence of a bimolecular reaction of MHC in the gas phase, where MHC reacts with pyruvic acid to produce a C 4 H 8 O 2 product. This observation implies that some MHC produced from pyruvic acid in Earth's troposphere will be stabilized and participate in chemical reactions with O 2 and H 2 O, and should be considered in atmospheric modeling.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Baryon–antibaryon photoproduction cross sections off the proton

The GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab has observed 𝑝⁢$\overline{p}$ and, for the first time, Λ$\overlineΛ$ and 𝑝$\overlineΛ$ photoproduction from a proton target at photon energies up to 11.6 GeV. The angular distributions are forward peaked for all produced pairs, consistent with Regge-like 𝑡-channel exchange. Asymmetric wide-angle antibaryon distributions show the presence of additional processes. In a phenomenological model, we find consistency with a double-𝑡-channel exchange process where antibaryons are created only at the middle vertex. The model matches all observed distributions with a small number of free parameters. In the hyperon channels, we observe a clear distinction between photoproduction of the Λ$\overlineΛ$ and 𝑝$\overlineΛ$ systems but general similarity to the 𝑝$\overline{p}$ system. We report both total cross sections and cross sections differential with respect to momentum transfer and the invariant masses of the created particle pairs. No narrow resonant structures were found in these reaction channels. The suppression of 𝑠$\overline{s}$ quark pairs relative to 𝑑$\overline{d}$ quark pairs is similar to what has been seen in other reactions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Using a multistate mapping approach to surface hopping to predict the ultrafast electron diffraction signal of gas-phase cyclobutanone

Using the recently developed multistate mapping approach to surface hopping (multistate MASH) method combined with SA(3)-CASSCF(12,12)/aug-cc-pVDZ electronic structure calculations, the gas-phase isotropic ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) of cyclobutanone is predicted and analyzed. After excitation into the n-3s Rydberg state (S2), cyclobutanone can relax through two S2/S1 conical intersections, one characterized by compression of the CO bond and the other by dissociation of the α–CC bond. Subsequent transfer into the ground state (S0) is then achieved via two additional S1/S0 conical intersections that lead to three reaction pathways: α ring-opening, ethene/ketene production, and CO liberation. The isotropic gas-phase UED signal is predicted from the multistate MASH simulations, allowing for a direct comparison to the experimental data. This work, which is a contribution to the cyclobutanone prediction challenge, facilitates the identification of the main photoproducts in the UED signal and thereby emphasizes the importance of dynamics simulations for the interpretation of ultrafast experiments.

Chemistry↗

Search for Isoscalar Resonances in yp ¿ wnp AT GLUEX

The GlueX experiment has produced the world?s largest statistics for peripheral photoproduction of mesons with a goal to search for exotic mesons. This document presents results on the search for possible intermediate resonances which decay to ??. Little is known for the states seen in this decay channel such as the ?(1420) and ?(1650). This channel also allows to search for the never seen exotics JPC = 0??, 2+?, and the elusive 2??. The ?, in this reaction, is identified via the ?+???0 decay mode and the ? and ?0 are identified via the decay to 2?. Data from the GlueX Phase I was analyzed. This data was obtained at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility utilizing the GlueX detector and a tagged linearly polarized photon beam incident on a liquid hydrogen target. A model using the expected major wave contributors, 1+? and 1??, shows two structure in the region where the ?(1420) and ?(1650) are expected. A third structure is seen at threshold with the quantum numbers of an h1 resonance, however, more studies are needed to assert the nature of this structure. Instabilities on the m = ±1 were shown to come from mathematical ambiguities. This only occurs between the m = 1 and m = ?1 projections when both reflectivities are present in close amount. Expanding the intensity equation for a single wave allows to extract coefficients that can help describe the data. A tangent study is also presented in this document which consists on a direct fit to the lineshape of an isolated N(1535). This baryonic resonance is well established, but its Breit-Wigner parameters have only been obtained from partial wave analysis. In contrast, this study obtained the Breit-Wigner parameters using a direct fit and finds the value of the width to be 70.5± 9.2 MeV; this is half of the accepted value.

Barriga, Edmundo↗

J/psi photoproduction close to threshold at GlueX

Close-to-threshold photoproduction probes small-size gluon configurations in the proton. Under certain assumptions it allows us to study the proton properties, as gluonic GPDs, anomalous contribution to the mass of the proton, gravitational form factors, and the mass radius of the proton. A careful comparison of the experimental data with the theoretical predictions would help us to verify the validity of those assumptions. The first cross-section measurements of near-threshold reaction by the GlueX Collaboration (Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 072001 (2019)) has attracted a considerable theoretical interest. Along with the relation to the gluonic properties of the proton, the measurement exploited a possibility of the LHCb Pentaquark production in the s-channel of the observed reaction, placing a limit of the decay probability . Here we present new GlueX results based on a four-times larger data set. The higher statistics along with the full acceptance of the GlueX spectrometer allow us to measure the differential cross section in several energy ranges and compare the results with several theoretical calculations.

Chudakov, Eugene↗

Hadron spectroscopy of pseudoscalar and vector meson photoproduction using linearly polarised photons at CLAS

The field of hadron spectroscopy is informed by experiments which study excited states of the nucleon by detecting the decay products following excitation with a hadronic, leptonic or electromagnetic probe. Experiments using a polarised beam of photons provide an important contribution to the world data. This thesis describes the analysis of data from one such experiment, the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer at Jefferson Laboratory, Virginia, USA. In the experiment, an incident beam of electrons passes through a diamond radiator producing a linearly polarised photon beam of energy from 1.1 to 2.1 GeV on a liquid hydrogen target. The analysis method and results for two reaction channels are presented. In the first analysis, the polarisation observables {?, P, T, Ox, Oz} for the reaction ??? p ? K0 S ?+ are extracted simultaneously using likelihood sampling with Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo. The results are presented as angular distributions (cos ?K0S) for bins in photon energy E? for a total of 21 bins. The values extracted for T , Ox and Oz are a first measurement of these quantities for this reaction and the beam asymmetry (?) measurement supplements the one previous measurement for this quantity and extends the energy range over which it has been extracted. The measurement of the recoil polarisation, P, is consistent with previous measurements. In a second analysis, the spin density matrix elements (SDMEs) for ? p ? p ? are extracted using similar analysis techniques. The results are presented as angular distributions (cos ?? ) for bins in photon energy E? for a total of 24 bins. This work is the first to extract all nine SDMEs for the full angular range of the ? meson production. A comparison is made to the predictions of the Vector Meson Dominance (VMD) model and the results provide evidence for contributing processes other than VMD, particularly at more backward angles of the ? meson production. The data also indicate non-helicity conserving process in both the s-channel and the t-channel. The results from the first analysis have been passed to the Juelich-Bonn theory group and the effect of including the new data within their dynamical coupled channel model is described. Several nucleon resonances are affected and the impact on the pole positions, widths and photon decay amplitudes of the affected resonances is described.

Clark, Louise↗

Electroproduction of the Λ/Σ 0 hyperons at Q 2 ≃ 0.5 (GeV/c) 2 at forward angles

In 2018, the E12-17-003 experiment was conducted at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) to explore the possible existence of an nn⁢Λ state in the reconstructed missing mass distribution from a tritium gas target [K. N. Suzuki et al., Prog. Theor. Exp. Phys. 2022, 013D01 (2022); B. Pandey et al., Phys. Rev. C 105, L051001 (2022)]. As part of this investigation, data were also collected using a gaseous hydrogen target, not only for a precise absolute mass scale calibration but also for the study of Λ/Σ 0 electroproduction. This dataset was acquired at Q 2 ≃ 0.5 (GeV/c) 2 , W = 2.14 GeV, and θ$^{c.m.}_{γK}$ ≃ 8°. It covers forward angles where photoproduction data are scarce and a low-Q 2 region that is of interest for hypernuclear experiments. On the other hand, this kinematic region is at a slightly higher Q 2 than previous hypernuclear experiments, thus providing crucial information for understanding the Q 2 dependence of the differential cross sections for Λ/Σ 0 hyperon electroproduction. Here, this paper reports on the Q 2 dependence of the differential cross section for the e + p → e' + K + + Λ/Σ 0 reaction at 0.2–0.8 (GeV/c) 2 , and provides comparisons with the currently available theoretical models.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗