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At least 163 records · Page 9

Measurement of Compton Scattering at MAMI for the Extraction of the Electric and Magnetic Polarizabilities of the Proton

A precise measurement of the differential cross sections dσ/dΩ and the linearly polarized photon beam asymmetry Σ 3 for Compton scattering on the proton below pion threshold has been performed with a tagged photon beam and almost 4π detector at the Mainz Microtron. The incident photons were produced by the recently upgraded Glasgow-Mainz photon tagging facility and impinged on a cryogenic liquid hydrogen target, with the scattered photons detected in the Crystal Ball/TAPS setup. Using the highest statistics Compton scattering data ever measured on the proton along with two effective field theories (both covariant baryon and heavy-baryon) and one fixed-t dispersion relation model, constraining the fits with the Baldin sum rule, we have obtained the proton electric and magnetic polarizabilities with unprecedented precision: α E1 = 10.99 ± 0.16 ± 0.47 ± 0.17 ± 0.34, β M1 = 3.14 ± 0.21 ± 0.24 ± 0.20 ± 0.35; in units of 10 -4 fm 3 where the errors are statistical, systematic, spin polarizability dependent, and model dependent.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Electromagnetic currents for dressed hadrons

We propose an extension of the minimal-substitution prescription for coupling the electromagnetic field to hadronic systems with internal structure. The resulting rules of extended substitution necessarily distinguish between couplings to scalar and Dirac particles. Moreover, they allow for the incorporation of electromagnetic form factors for virtual photons in an effective phenomenological framework. Applied to pions and nucleons, assumed to be fully dressed to all orders, the resulting dressed currents are shown to be locally gauge invariant. Moreover, half-on-shell expressions of (hadron propagator)×(electromagnetic current) needed in all descriptions of physical processes will lose all information about hadronic dressing for real photons. The Ball-Chiu ansatz for the spin-1/2 current is seen to suffer from an incomplete coupling procedure where some essential aspects of the Dirac particle are effectively treated as those of a scalar particle. Applied to real Compton scattering on pions and nucleons, we find that all dressing information cancels exactly when external hadrons are on shell, leaving only gauge-invariant bare Born-type contributions with physical masses. Furthermore, nontrivial descriptions necessarily require contact-type two-photon processes obtained by hadrons looping around two photon insertion points.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

The broad-band X-ray spectrum of Cygnus X-2

Cygnus X-2 was observed with the broad-band X-ray spectroscopy experiment, HEAO 1 A-2, in the energy range 0.4-18 keV for four intervals of approximately 31 s over the course of 5 days in 1977. The spectra can be adequately represented by single-temperature thermal bremmstrahlung continua with temperatures ranging from 3.7 x 10 to the 7th K to 6.4 x 10 to the 7th K. An examination of the spectra and the spectra-luminosity relationship effectively rules out one degenerate dwarf model for the X-ray emission. The far-UV continuum emission could be dominated by this continuum component during X-ray high states, an effect which would be detected in optical UV line observations. A Comptonized X-ray cloud around a neutron star remains a viable model for the observed X-ray spectra.

Pravdo, S. H.↗

Potentials with small-angle neutron scattering technique for understanding structure-property relation of 3D-printed materials: SANS Investigation of 3D-Printed Materials

Carbon fiber (CF)-embedded acrylonitrile butadiene styrene polymer composites printed on the large-scale printer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were investigated by small-angle neutron scattering to correlate the microstructure of the composites with their mechanical strength. The microstructure of the polymer domains and the alignment of CF were characterized across the interfaces among layers of the hot-melt extruded material and were compared with CF-free ABS. The small-angle neutron scattering data show that the CF-containing material displays strong anisotropic scatterings indicating molecular alignment along the printing direction that is not present in the CF-free ABS. Scattering data analysis across the interfacial layer revealed enhanced molecular alignment along the printing direction near the boundaries and inhomogeneous size distribution of polymer domains upon the addition of CF. We attribute the compromised strength across interfacial layers from CF-containing material to this inhomogeneous size distribution which inhibits effective lateral interaction between layers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Radiative shock oscillations in AM Her cataclysmic binaries

The stability properties of radiative shocks in spherically symmetric accretion flows onto white dwarfs is discussed. Accretion rates that result in shock thicknesses ranging from thin to settling solutions are investigated. Models for white dwarf masses from 0.3 to 1.2 of the solar mass are presented. The effects of unequal ion and electron temperatures, electron thermal conduction, bremsstrahlung, and Compton cooling are included. It is shown that thick two-temperature shocks are unstable to oscillations in the fundamental mode for white dwarf mass up to and including 1.0 of the solar mass. The possibility that the 0.3 to 1.0 Hz optical Quasi-Periodic Oscillations (QPOs) observed in four AM Her type cataclysmic binaries are due to the first overtone instability. Low accretion rate shock instabilities may be responsible for the tens of seconds to several minute X-ray QPOs observed in some AM Her objects.

Wolff, M. T.↗

High-resolution imaging gamma-ray spectroscopy with externally segmented germanium detectors

Externally segmented germanium detectors promise a breakthrough in gamma-ray imaging capabilities while retaining the superb energy resolution of germanium spectrometers. An angular resolution of 0.2 deg becomes practical by combining position-sensitive germanium detectors having a segment thickness of a few millimeters with a one-dimensional coded aperture located about a meter from the detectors. Correspondingly higher angular resolutions are possible with larger separations between the detectors and the coded aperture. Two-dimensional images can be obtained by rotating the instrument. Although the basic concept is similar to optical or X-ray coded-aperture imaging techniques, several complicating effects arise because of the penetrating nature of gamma rays. The complications include partial transmission through the coded aperture elements, Compton scattering in the germanium detectors, and high background count rates. Extensive electron-photon Monte Carlo modeling of a realistic detector/coded-aperture/collimator system has been performed. Results show that these complicating effects can be characterized and accounted for with no significant loss in instrument sensitivity.

Callas, J. L.↗

X-ray spectroscopy of the ultrasoft transient 4U 1543 - 47

The X-ray transient 4U 1543 - 47 was observed in August 1983 by the Exosat observatory near the maximum of an outburst. The X-ray spectrum was measured using a gas scintillation proportional counter (GSPC) and a transmission grating spectrometer (TGS). A broad (FWHM about 2.7 keV) line at 5.9 keV is detected in the GSPC, which is interpreted as a redshifted and broadened iron K-alpha line. The line broadening and redshift may arise from either Compton scattering in a cool plasma with small optical depth and/or from Droppler and relativistic effects in the vicinity of compact object. The spectrum below 2 keV, obtained with the TGS, shows evidence for a broad emission feature at 0.74 keV, which may be an iron L-transition complex. However, such an emission feature could be an artifact caused by an anomalously low interstellar absorption by neutral oxygen. The contimuum emission is extremely soft and is well described by an unsaturated Comptonized spectrum from very cool plasma (kT = 0.84 keV) with large scattering depth.

Van Der Woerd, H.↗

Backscatter, anisotropy, and polarization of solar hard X-rays

The problems of anisotropy, polarization, center-to-limb variation of the X-ray spectrum, and Compton backscatter are investigated in a study of solar hard X-rays. Effect of backscatter are found particularly important for anisotropic sources which emit hard X-rays predominantly toward the photosphere; for such anisotropic primary X-ray sources, the observed X-ray flux near 30 keV does not depend significantly on the position of the flare. In addition, the degree of polarization of the sum of the primary and reflected X-rays with energies in the 15 to 30 keV range may be as high as 30%. Determination of the height and anisotropy of the primary X-ray sources from study of the albedo patch is also discussed.

Bai, T.↗

A model for X-ray pulsar spectra

The transfer of X-rays through a hot, magnetized, scattering atmosphere is studied using a Monte Carlo technique. The process considered is Compton scattering, including cyclotron resonance scattering. Unlike previous work on the subject, the effects of frequency shifts, relativistic corrections, recoil, and polarization mode changes have been included. It is found that the emergent X-ray spectra harden toward the magnetic equator, are cut off at a frequency less than the fundamental cyclotron frequency, and depend on the magnetic field strength. The relevance of the results to observed pulsar spectra is indicated.

Pravdo, S. H.↗

Gamma-ray lines from type I supernovae

Analytic calculations are made of the time-dependent fluxes, shapes, median energies, and effective widths of the gamma-ray lines expected from the decay of nucleosynthetic Ni-56, Co-56, Fe-56, and Co-57 in current models of type I SNe. The attenuation and distortion of the line shapes due to Compton scattering and photoelectric absorption in the SN ejecta, line broadening from the expansion, and further distortion by the lookback effect from the differential light-travel time across the SN and by special relativistic effects are all taken into account. It is shown that several gamma-ray lines from such SNe should be measurable by detectors on the Gamma Ray Observatory and by the high-resolution spectrometer on the proposed Nuclear Astrophysics Explorer. The most intense and most detectable lines are the 0.847 and 1.238 MeV lines from Co-56 decay. Five other Co-56 decay lines, as well as the 0.158 MeV line from Ni-56 decay, should also be measurable. The models which can be tested by such observations are pointed out.

Chan, Kai Wing↗

The Thermal and Kinematic Sunyaev–Zeldovich Effect in Galaxy Clusters and Filaments Using Multifrequency Temperature Maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background: A399–A401 Cluster Pair Case Study

We present a multifrequency and multi-instrument methodology to study the physical properties of galaxy clusters and cosmic filaments using cosmic microwave background observations. Our approach enables simultaneous measurement of both the thermal (tSZ) and kinematic Sunyaev–Zeldovich (kSZ) effects, incorporates relativistic corrections, and models astrophysical foregrounds such as thermal dust emission. We do this by jointly fitting a single physical model across multiple maps from multiple instruments at different frequencies, rather than fitting a model to a single Compton-y map. We demonstrate the success of this method by fitting the A399–A401 galaxy cluster pair and filament system using archival data from the Planck satellite and new, targeted deep data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, covering 11 different frequencies over 14 maps from 30 GHz to 545 GHz. Our tSZ results are consistent with previous work using Compton-y maps. We measure the line-of-sight peculiar velocities of the cluster–filament system using the kSZ effect and find statistical uncertainties on individual cluster peculiar velocities of ≲600 km s −1 , which are competitive with current state-of-the-art measurements. Additionally, we measure the optical depth of the filament component with a signal-to-noise of 8.5σ and reveal hints of its morphology. This modular approach is well-suited for application to future instruments across a wide range of millimeter and submillimeter wavebands.

Gill, Ajay S. [National Research Council of Canada↗

The Thermal and Kinematic Sunyaev–Zeldovich Effect in Galaxy Clusters and Filaments Using Multifrequency Temperature Maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background A399–A401 Cluster Pair Case Study

We present a multifrequency and multi-instrument methodology to study the physical properties of galaxy clusters and cosmic filaments using cosmic microwave background observations. Our approach enables simultaneous measurement of both the thermal (tSZ) and kinematic Sunyaev–Zeldovich (kSZ) effects, incorporates relativistic corrections, and models astrophysical foregrounds such as thermal dust emission. We do this by jointly fitting a single physical model across multiple maps from multiple instruments at different frequencies, rather than fitting a model to a single Compton-y map. We demonstrate the success of this method by fitting the A399–A401 galaxy cluster pair and filament system using archival data from the Planck satellite and new, targeted deep data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, covering 11 different frequencies over 14 maps from 30 GHz to 545 GHz. Our tSZ results are consistent with previous work using Compton-y maps. We measure the line-of-sight peculiar velocities of the cluster–filament system using the kSZ effect and find statistical uncertainties on individual cluster peculiar velocities of ≲600 km s −1 , which are competitive with current state-of-the-art measurements. Additionally, we measure the optical depth of the filament component with a signal-to-noise of 8.5σ and reveal hints of its morphology. This modular approach is well-suited for application to future instruments across a wide range of millimeter and submillimeter wavebands.

Ajay S Gill↗

Simplified analysis techniques to support the determination of Shuttle aerodynamics

The use of deterministic and regression methods to supplement the maximum likelihood estimation programs for the determination of the stability and control parameters of the Shuttle vehicle is discussed. Examples taken from STS-2 and STS-3 flight data show the use of deterministic methods to verify the effectiveness of the pitch and roll Reaction Control System (RCS), to verify the model structure used in the maximum likelihood estimator and to indicate regions of the descent trajectory where unmodeled moments dominate the vehicle motion and the application of maximum likelihood estimation would lead to incorrect parameter values. The use of regression methods to determine selected parameters when the more sophisticated maximum likelihood programs are not required, to determine the form of the vehicle mathematical model and to select the data time intervals for most effective parameter identification are also discussed.

Suit, W. T.↗

Tropical deforestation and habitat fragmentation in the Amazon - Satellite data from 1978 to 1988

Landsat satellite imagery covering the entire forested portion of the Brazilian Amazon Basin was used to measure, for 1978 and 1988, deforestation, fragmented forest, defined as areas less than 100 square kilometers surrounded by deforestation, and edge effects of 1 kilometer into forest from adjacent areas of deforestation. Tropical deforestation increased from 78,000 square kilometers in 1978 to 230,000 square kilometers in 1988 while tropical forest habitat, severely affected with respect to biological diversity, increased from 208,000 to 588,000 square kilometers. Although this rate of deforestation is lower than previous estimates, the effect on biological diversity is greater.

Skole, David↗

Observation of quantum effects on radiation reaction in strong fields

Radiation reaction, the force experienced by an accelerated charge due to radiation emission, has long been the subject of extensive theoretical and experimental research. Experimental verification of a quantum, strong-field description of radiation reaction is fundamentally important, and has wide-ranging implications for astrophysics, laser-driven particle acceleration, next-generation particle colliders and inverse-Compton photon sources for medical and industrial applications. However, the difficulty of accessing regimes where strong field and quantum effects dominate inhibited previous efforts to observe quantum radiation reaction in charged particle dynamics with high significance. We report the first high significance (> 5σ) observation of strong-field radiation reaction on electron spectra where quantum effects are substantial. We obtain the first, quantitative, strong evidence favouring the quantum-continuous and quantum-stochastic models over the classical model; the quantum models perform comparably. The lower electron energy losses predicted by the quantum models accounts for their improved performance. Model comparison was performed using a novel Bayesian framework which has widespread utility for laser-particle collision experiments, including those utilising conventional accelerators, where some collision parameters cannot be measured directly.

Los, Eva E. [Imperial College London (United Kingd↗