Positron annihilation in helium - Theory and experiment
Positron annihilation in helium
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Positron annihilation in helium
Elucidating the synergistic effects of different energetic beams on the radiation response of nuclear materials is critical for developing an improved methodology for their evaluation when exposed to extreme environments. This article describes in-situ sequential (He implantation followed by Kr irradiation and vice-versa) and simultaneous (heavy ion Kr irradiation and He implantation) dual beam irradiations performed on tungsten at 1223 K. Dislocation loop density, average area, and total loop damage as a function of irradiation history and dose/fluence are quantified. The loop Burgers vectors and cavity damage (cavity density, size and total change in volume) are also determined at the final maximum dose for each condition. The loop damage evolution was different in all cases, with the smallest loop damage observed in the simultaneous experiment. Annihilation of Kr generated dislocation loops during He implantation in the Kr + He experiment was an unanticipated observation that may be explained by the dynamic evolution of dislocation loop sink strengths and time-dependent defect fluxes. Dislocation loop raft formation, denuded zones near extended defects, and cavity damage are compared across the different conditions. The phenomena observed and discussed in this work will stimulate further experimental and computational modeling activities leading to improved fundamental understanding of the irradiation response of nuclear materials under reactor-similar environments.
Predictions of local density functional (LDF) calculations of the electronic structure and transport properties of high T(sub c) superconductors are presented. As evidenced by the excellent agreement with both photoemission and positron annihilation experiments, a Fermi liquid nature of the 'normal' state of the high T(sub c) superconductors become clear for the metallic phase of these oxides. In addition, LDF predictions on the normal state transport properties are qualitatively in agreement with experiments on single crystals. It is emphasized that the signs of the Hall coefficients for the high T(sub c) superconductors are not consistent with the types of dopants (e.g., electron-doped or hole-doped) but are determined by the topology of the Fermi surfaces obtained from the LDF calculations.
For years, there has been controversy on whether the normal state of the Cu-oxide superconductors is a Fermi liquid or some other exotic ground state. However, some experimentalists are clarifying the nature of the normal state of the high T(sub c) superconductors by surmounting the experimental difficulties in producing clean, well characterized surfaces so as to obtain meaningful high resolved photoemission data, which agrees with earlier positron-annihilation experiments. The experimental work on high resolution angle resolved photoemission by Campuzano et al. and positron-annihilation studies by Smedskjaer et al. has verified the calculated Fermi surfaces in YBa2Cu3O7 superconductors and has provided evidence for the validity of the energy band approach. Similar good agreement was found for Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 by Olson et al. As a Fermi liquid (metallic) nature of the normal state of the high T(sub c) superconductors becomes evident, these experimental observations have served to confirm the predictions of the local density functional calculations and hence the energy band approach as a valid natural starting point for further studies of their superconductivity.
Based on 334 pb −1 of photoproduction data collected with the GlueX detector at Jefferson Lab, we have measured for the first time the cross section of the exclusive reaction 𝛾+𝑝→𝜙(1020)𝜋 + 𝜋 − 𝑝 by reconstructing the final state 𝐾 + 𝐾 − 𝜋 + 𝜋 − 𝑝 produced with a photon beam of energies between 8.0 and 11.6 GeV. Based on the measured differential cross section, we have performed a search for the strangeoniumlike exotic candidate 𝑌(2175), recently renamed to 𝜙(2170). This state has been reported by different 𝑒 + 𝑒 − annihilation experiments and it is addressed here for the first time in a photoproduction experiment. We do not find evidence for this state when using the resonance parameters quoted by the Particle Data Group and provide upper limits on the photoproduction cross section. Instead, we find a structure at a mass of 𝑚(𝜙𝜋 + 𝜋 − ) = 2.24 GeV/𝑐 2 with a statistical significance of about 5𝜎. The parameters of this structure differ from those quoted by the Particle Data Group for the 𝜙(2170) and are consistent with a previous observation in 𝑒 + 𝑒 − annihilation. In addition, there is evidence for a second structure at 1.82 GeV/𝑐 2 .
The annihilation of matter with antimatter represents the highest energy density of any known reaction, producing 10(exp 8) MJ/g, approximately 10 orders of magnitude more energy per unit mass than chemical based combustion. To take the first step towards using this energy for propulsion applications the NASA MSFC Propulsion Research Center (PRC) has initiated a research activity examining the storage of low energy antiprotons. Storage was identified as a key enabling technology since it builds the experience base necessary to understand the handling of antiprotons for virtually all utilization and high-density storage concepts. To address this need, a device referred to as the High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) is under development at the NASA MSFC PRC. The HiPAT is an electromagnetic system (Penning-Malmberg design) consisting of a 4 Tesla superconductor, a high voltage confinement electrode system (operation up to 20 KV), and an ultra high vacuum test section (operating in the 10(exp -12) torr range). The system was designed to be portable with an ultimate goal of maintaining 10(exp 12) charged particles with a half-life of 18 days. Currently, this system is being experimentally evaluated using normal matter ions which are cheap to produce and relatively easy to handle. These normal ions provide a good indication of overall trap behavior, with the exception of assessing annihilation losses. The ions are produced external to HiPAT using two hydrogen ion sources, with adjustable beam energy and current. Ion are transported in a beam line and controlled through the use of electrostatic optics. These optics serve to both focus and gate the incoming ions, providing microsecond-timed pulses that are dynamically captured by cycling the HiPAT electric containment field like a 'trap door'. The layout of this system more closely simulates the operations expected at an actual antiproton production facility where 'packets' of antiprotons with pulse widths measured in 100's of nanoseconds could be provided. Initial dynamic capture experiments have been performed with both trap and ton source system functioning at approximately 10% of maximum levels, minimizing the potential for extraneous effects. Dynamic trapping techniques demonstrated the successful capture of millions of hydrogen ions with good agreement with the predicted loading based on the timing sequence, trap electric field, and ion beam current. These techniques will be expanded to examine multiple shot capture or 'stacking' to increase the total number of ions stored within HiPAT.
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We report the first observation and measurement of antiproton annihilation at rest on argon track and shower multiplicities and particle identification conducted with the LArIAT experiment. Stopping antiprotons from the Fermilab Test Beam Facility’s charged particle test beam are identified using beamline instrumentation and LArIAT’s liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC). The charged particle multiplicity from the annihilation vertex is manually evaluated via hand scanning, yielding a mean of 3.2 ± 0.4 tracks and a standard deviation of 1.3 tracks, consistent with a semiautomated reconstruction resulting in 2.8 ± 0.4 tracks and a standard deviation of 1.2 tracks. Both methods are consistent with Monte Carlo simulations within statistical uncertainty. The shower multiplicities and particle identification for outgoing tracks are also consistent with eant4 model predictions. These results, obtained from a low-statistics sample, provide a foundation for higher-statistics studies in larger LArTPCs, which could refine modeling of intranuclear annihilation on argon and inform scenarios such as neutron-antineutron oscillations. Published by the American Physical Society 2025
Indirect detection experiments typically measure the flux of annihilating dark matter (DM) particles propagating freely through galactic halos. We consider a new scenario where celestial bodies “focus” DM annihilation events, increasing the efficiency of halo annihilation. In this setup, DM is first captured by celestial bodies, such as neutron stars or brown dwarfs, and then annihilates within them. If DM annihilates to sufficiently long-lived particles, they can escape and subsequently decay into detectable radiation. This produces a distinctive annihilation morphology, which scales as the product of the DM and celestial body densities, rather than as DM density squared. We show that this signal can dominate over the halo annihilation rate in γ -ray observations in both the Milky Way Galactic center and globular clusters. We use Fermi and H.E.S.S. data to constrain the DM-nucleon scattering cross section, setting powerful new limits down to ~10 -39 cm 2 for sub-GeV DM using brown dwarfs, which is up to 9 orders of magnitude stronger than existing limits. We demonstrate that neutron stars can set limits for TeV-scale DM down to about 10 -47 cm 2 .
This slide presentation reviews the possible sources for the apparent excess of Cosmic Ray Electrons. The presentation reviews the Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter (ATIC) instrument, the various parts, how cosmic ray electrons are measured, and shows graphs that review the results of the ATIC instrument measurement. A review of Cosmic Ray Electrons models is explored, along with the source candidates. Scenarios for the excess are reviewed: Supernova remnants (SNR) Pulsar Wind nebulae, or Microquasars. Each of these has some problem that mitigates the argument. The last possibility discussed is Dark Matter. The Anti-Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics (PAMELA) mission is to search for evidence of annihilations of dark matter particles, to search for anti-nuclei, to test cosmic-ray propagation models, and to measure electron and positron spectra. There are slides explaining the results of Pamela and how to compare these with those of the ATIC experiment. Dark matter annihilation is then reviewed, which represent two types of dark matter: Neutralinos, and kaluza-Kline (KK) particles, which are next explained. The future astrophysical measurements, those from GLAST LAT, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), and HEPCAT are reviewed, in light of assisting in finding an explanation for the observed excess. Also the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) could help by revealing if there are extra dimensions.
We report a systematic first-principles study on positron annihilation parameters in the β–Ga 2 O 3 lattice and Ga monovacancy defects complemented with orientation-dependent experiments of the Doppler broadening of the positron-electron annihilation. We find that both the β–Ga 2 O 3 lattice and the considered defects exhibit unusually strong anisotropy in their Doppler broadening signals. This anisotropy is associated with low symmetry of the β–Ga 2 O 3 crystal structure that leads to unusual kind of one-dimensional confinement of positrons even in the delocalized state in the lattice. In particular, the split Ga vacancies recently observed by scanning transmission electron microscopy produce unusually anisotropic positron annihilation signals. Furthermore, we show that in experiments, the positron annihilation signals in β–Ga 2 O 3 samples seem to be often dominated by split Ga vacancies.
The Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE) on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory has performed several observations of the galactic plane and galactic center region to measure the distribution of galactic 511 keV positron annihilation radiation. Preliminary analysis of data collected during the observation of the galactic center region over the period 13-24 Jun. 1991, indicates the presence of a 511 keV line and positronium continuum superimposed on a power-law continuum. The line of flux was found to be (2.7 +/- 0.5) x 10(exp -4) gamma/sq cm sec, with a positronium fraction of (0.9 +/- 0.2). The 3(sigma) upper limit to daily variations in the 511 keV line flux from the mean during the observation interval is 3 x 10(exp -4) gamma/sq cm sec. If all of the observed annihilation radiation is assumed to originate from the x-ray source 1E 1740.7-2942, the corresponding 511 keV line flux would be (3.0 +/- 0.6) x 10(exp -4) gamma/sq cm sec. The 3(sigma) upper limit for 511 keV line emission from the x-ray binary GX1+4 is 6 x 10(exp -4) gamma/sq cm sec. Results from the galactic plane observations at galactic longitudes of 25 degrees (16-21 Aug. 1991) and 339 degrees (6-11 Sep. 1991) suggest that the emission is concentrated near the galactic center. The observations and the preliminary results are described.
Abstract Topological defects (TDs) have become a sensational topic due to their significant influence on the unusual optical and physiochemical characteristics of the material. To facilitate their application across a wide range of disciplines it is desirable to analyze and gain fundamental understanding of TDs in both equilibrium and nonequilibrium systems. Liquid crystals (LCs) are considered an ideal system for study given the direct visualization of TDs and a straightforward analyzation process. In addition to the equilibrium morphology of LC TDs, it is also of great interest to track and control the formation and annihilation of defects during thermodynamic processes. However, controlling the dynamic behavior of formed defects remains a challenge. Here, nematic LCs confined in a cell exhibiting surfaces with periodic anchoring conditions containing surface topography are relied on. The effects of patterned surface characteristics such as width, periodicity, and degree of curvature on defects dynamic motion, stabilization, and annihilation are explored. The computational experiments recapitulate the TDs transition path and provide free energy‐based predictions of critical distances for defect annihilation. Taken together, this simple approach offers a promising opportunity to control the dynamics of TDs in LCs through chemical patterned surfaces with topography.
The evidence for dark matter particles,x, is compelling based on Galactic to cosmological scale observations. Thus far, the promising weakly interacting massive particle scenario have eluded detection, motivating alternative models of dark matter. We consider scenarios involving super-heavy dark matter (SHDM) that potentially can decay or annihilate to neutrinos and antineutrinos. In the mass range m(sub x) =10(exp 7) −10(exp 15) GeV, we evaluate the sensitivities of future observatories PO-EMMA and GRAND for indirect dark matter detection via the measurement of neutrino-induced extensive air showers (EAS), compute the Auger and ANITA limits using their last up-to-date sensitivities, and compare them with IceCube limits. We also show that the uncertainties related to the dark matter distribution in the Galactic halo have a large impact on the neutrino flux. We show that a ground-based radio detector such as GRAND can achieve high sensitivities due to its large effective area and high duty cycle. Space-based Cherenkov detectors such as POEMMA that measure the EAS optical Cherenkov signal have the advantage of full-sky coverage and rapid slewing, enabling an optimized SHDM observation strategy focusing on the Galactic Center. We show that increasing the field of view of the Cherenkov detectors can significantly enhance the sensitivity. Moreover, POEMMA’s fluorescence observation mode that measures EAS above20EeV will achieve state-of-the-art sensitivity to SHDM properties at the highest mass scales.
Here, we performed feasibility studies for various single transverse spin measurements that are related to the Sivers effect, transversity and the tensor charge, and the Collins fragmentation function. The processes studied include semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering (SIDIS) where single hadrons (pions and kaons) were detected in addition to the scattered DIS lepton. The data were obtained in pythia6 and geant4 simulated e+p collisions at 18 GeV on 275 GeV, 18 on 100, 10 on 100, and 5 on 41 that use the ECCE detector configuration. Typical DIS kinematics were selected, most notably Q 2 >1 GeV 2 , and cover the x range from 10 -4 to 1. The single spin asymmetries were extracted as a function of x and Q 2 , as well as the semi-inclusive variables z, which corresponds to the momentum fraction the detected hadron carries relative to the struck parton, and P T , which corresponds to the transverse momentum of the detected hadron relative to the virtual photon. They are obtained in azimuthal moments in combinations of the azimuthal angles of the hadron transverse momentum and transverse spin of the nucleon relative to the lepton scattering plane. In order to extract asymmetries, the initially unpolarized MonteCarlo was re-weighted in the true kinematic variables, hadron types and parton flavors based on global fits of fixed target SIDIS experiments and e + e – annihilation data. The expected statistical precision of such measurements is extrapolated to 10 fb –1 and potential systematic uncertainties are approximated given the deviations between true and reconstructed yields. Similar neutron information is obtained by comparing the ECCE e+p pseudo-data with the same from the EIC Yellow Report and scaling the corresponding Yellow Report e+ 3 He pseudo-data uncertainties accordingly. The impact on the knowledge of the Sivers functions, transversity and tensor charges, and the Collins function has then been evaluated in the same phenomenological extractions as in the Yellow Report. Finally, the impact is found to be comparable to that obtained with the parametrized Yellow Report detector and shows that the ECCE detector configuration can fulfill the physics goals on these quantities.
One of the most well-founded candidates for dark matter remains a split-supersymmetry (SUSY) model with a Higgsino- or winolike lightest superpartner and the grander SUSY model providing answers for the hierarchy problem and grand unified theory scale unification. The relatively heavy scalar superpartners imply such models would not yet be seen at collider experiments, and mixing-suppressed couplings place such models outside the reach of current direct detection experiments. As such particles annihilate fairly readily to electroweak bosons, a significant neutrino signal can arise near the Galactic Center that may be visible to dedicated searches at current and future neutrino telescopes. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
The head-on collision of two identical axisymmetric viscous vortex rings is studied through direct simulations of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The initial vorticity distributions considered are those of Hill's spherical vortex and of rings with circular Gaussian cores, each at Reynolds numbers of about 350 and 1000. The Reynolds number is defined by Gamma/Nu, the ratio of circulation to viscosity. As the vortices approach each other by self-induction, the radii increase by mutual induction, and vorticy cancels through viscous cross-diffusion across the collision plane. Following contact, the vorticity distribution in the core forms a head-tail structure (for the cases considered). The characteristic time of vorticity annihilation is compared with that of a 3D collision experiment and 3D numerical simulations. It is found that the annihilation time is somewhat longer in the axisymmetric case than it is in the symmetry plane of the experiment and 3D numerical simulation. By comparing the annihilatiom time with a viscous timescale and a circulation timescale, it is deduced that both the strain rate due to local effects and to 3D vorticity realignment are important.
Thermal stability and high-temperature mechanical properties of a 304L austenitic oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloy manufactured via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) are examined in this work. Additively manufactured 304L ODS alloy samples were aged at temperatures of 1000, 1100, and 1200 °C for 100 h in an argon atmosphere. Microstructure characterization of LPBF 304L ODS alloy before and after the thermal stability experiments revealed that despite the annihilation of dislocations, induced cellular substructure by the LPBF process was partially retained in the ODS alloy even after aging at 1200 °C. The size of Y-Si-O nanoparticles after aging at 1200 °C increased from 25 to 50 nm. EBSD analysis revealed that nanoparticles retained the microstructure of LPBF 304L ODS and hindered recrystallization and further grain growth. At 600 °C and 800 °C, the yield stress of the 290 and 145 MPa were measured, respectively, which are substantially higher than 113 MPa, and 68 MPa for 304L at the same temperatures. Furthermore, the creep properties of LPBF 304L ODS alloy were evaluated at a temperature of 700 °C under three applied stresses of 70, 85, and 100 MPa yielding a stress exponent (n) of ~7.7; the minimum creep rate at 100 MPa was found to be about two orders of magnitude lower than found in the literature for wrought 304L stainless steel.