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At least 19 records

Ab initio calculation of the potential bubble nucleus Si 34

Background: The possibility that an unconventional depletion (referred to as a “bubble”) happens in the middle of the charge density distribution of certain nuclei due to a purely quantum mechanical effect has attracted theoretical and experimental attention in recent years. Based on a mean-field rationale, a correlation between the occurrence of such a semibubble and an anomalously weak splitting between low angular-momentum spin-orbit partners has been further conjectured. Energy density functional and valence-space shell model calculations have been performed to identify and characterize the best candidates, among which Si 34 appears as a particularly interesting case. While the experimental determination of the charge density distribution of the unstable Si 34 is currently out of reach, ($d, p$) experiments on this nucleus have been performed recently to test the correlation between the presence of a bubble and an anomalously weak 1/2 – –3/2 – splitting in the spectrum of Si 35 as compared to S 37 . Purpose: We study the potential bubble structure of Si 34 on the basis of the state-of-the-art ab initio self-consistent Green's function many-body method. Methods: We perform the first ab initio calculations of Si 34 and S 36 . In addition to binding energies, the first observables of interest are the charge density distribution and the charge root-mean-square radius for which experimental data exist in S 36 . The next observable of interest is the low-lying spectroscopy of Si 35 and S 37 obtained from ($d, p$) experiments along with the spectroscopy of Al 33 and P 35 obtained from knock-out experiments. The interpretation in terms of the evolution of the underlying shell structure is also provided. The study is repeated using several chiral effective field theory Hamiltonians as a way to test the robustness of the results with respect to input internucleon interactions. The convergence of the results with respect to the truncation of the many-body expansion, i.e., with respect to the many-body correlations included in the calculation, is studied in detail. We eventually compare our predictions to state-of-the-art multireference energy density functional and shell model calculations. Results: The prediction regarding the (non)existence of the bubble structure in Si 34 varies significantly with the nuclear Hamiltonian used. Yet, demanding that the experimental charge density distribution and the root-mean-square radius of S 36 be well reproduced, along with Si 34 and S 36 binding energies, only leaves the NNLO sat Hamiltonian as a serious candidate to perform this prediction. In this context, a bubble structure, whose fingerprint should be visible in an electron scattering experiment of Si 34 , is predicted. Furthermore, a clear correlation is established between the occurrence of the bubble structure and the weakening of the 1/2 – –3/2 – splitting in the spectrum of Si 35 as compared to S 37 . Conclusions: The occurrence of a bubble structure in the charge distribution of Si 34 is convincingly established on the basis of state-of-the-art ab initio calculations. This prediction will have to be reexamined in the future when improved chiral nuclear Hamiltonians are constructed. On the experimental side, present results act as a strong motivation to measure the charge density distribution of Si 34 in future electron scattering experiments on unstable nuclei. In the meantime, it is of interest to perform one-neutron removal on Si 34 and S 36 in order to further test our theoretical spectral strength distributions over a wide energy range.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Impact of form factor uncertainties on interpretations of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering data

The standard model coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS) cross section is subject to nuclear form factor uncertainties, mainly driven by the root-mean-square radius of the neutron density distribution. Motivated by COHERENT phases I-III and future multi-ton direct detection dark matter searches, we evaluate these uncertainties in cesium iodide, germanium, xenon and argon detectors. We find that the uncertainties become relevant for momentum transfers q≳20 MeV and are essentially independent of the form factor parameterization. Consequently, form factor uncertainties are not important for CEνNS induced by reactor or solar neutrinos. Taking into account these uncertainties, we then evaluate their impact on measurements of CEνNS at COHERENT, the diffuse supernova background (DSNB) neutrinos and sub-GeV atmospheric neutrinos. We also calculate the relative uncertainties in the number of COHERENT events for different nuclei as a function of recoil energy. For DSNB and atmospheric neutrinos, event rates at a liquid argon detector can be uncertain to more than 5%. Finally, we consider the impact of form factor uncertainties on searches for nonstandard neutrino interactions, sterile neutrinos and neutrino generalized interactions. We point out that studies of new physics using CEνNS data are affected by neutron form factor uncertainties, which if not properly taken into account may lead to the misidentification of new physics signals. The uncertainties quantified here are also relevant for dark matter direct detection search

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Calculation of nucleon densities in calcium, nickel, and molybdenum isotopes on the basis of the dispersive optical model

The radial distributions of proton and neutron densities in the even–even isotopes {sup 40−70}Cа and {sup 48−78}Ni and the analogous distributions of neutron densities in the even–even isotopes {sup 92−138}Mo were calculated on the basis of the mean-fieldmodel involving a dispersive optical potential. The respective root-mean-square radii and neutron-skin thicknesses were determined for the nuclei under study. In N > 40 calcium isotopes, the calculated neutron root-mean-square radius exhibits a fast growth with increasing N, and this is consistent with the prediction of the neutron-halo structure in calcium isotopes near the neutron drip line.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Deep learning: Extrapolation tool for ab initio nuclear theory

Ab initio approaches in nuclear theory, such as the no-core shell model (NCSM), have been developed for approximately solving finite nuclei with realistic strong interactions. The NCSM and other approaches require an extrapolation of the results obtained in a finite basis space to the infinite basis space limit and assessment of the uncertainty of those extrapolations. Each observable requires a separate extrapolation and many observables have no proven extrapolation method. Herein, we propose a feed-forward artificial neural network (ANN) method as an extrapolation tool to obtain the ground-state energy and the ground-state point-proton root-mean-square (rms) radius along with their extrapolation uncertainties. The designed ANNs are sufficient to produce results for these two very different observables in 6 Li from the ab initio NCSM results in small basis spaces that satisfy the following theoretical physics condition: independence of basis space parameters in the limit of extremely large matrices. Comparisons of the ANN findings with other extrapolation methods are also provided.

6Li↗

Charge Radius of Neutron-Deficient Ni 54 and Symmetry Energy Constraints Using the Difference in Mirror Pair Charge Radii

he nuclear root-mean-square charge radius of Ni 54 was determined with collinear laser spectroscopy to be R ( Ni 54 ) = 3.737 ( 3 ) fm . In conjunction with the known radius of the mirror nucleus Fe 54 , the difference of the charge radii was extracted as Δ R ch = 0.049 ( 4 ) fm . Based on the correlation between Δ R ch and the slope of the symmetry energy at nuclear saturation density ( L ), we deduced 21 ≤ L ≤ 88 MeV . The present result is consistent with the L from the binary neutron star merger GW170817, favoring a soft neutron matter EOS, and barely consistent with the PREX-2 result within 1 σ error bands. Our result indicates the neutron-skin thickness of Ca 48 as 0.15–0.21 fm.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

The PRad windowless gas flow target

In this work, we report on a windowless, high-density, gas flow target at Jefferson Lab that was used to measure $r_p$, the root-mean-square charge radius of the proton. To our knowledge, this is the first such system used in a fixed-target experiment at a (non-storage ring) electron accelerator. The target achieved its design goal of an areal density of 2$\times$10$^{18}$ atoms/cm$^2$, with the gas uniformly distributed over the 4 cm length of the cell and less than 1% residual gas outside the cell. This design eliminated scattering from the end caps of the target cell, a problem endemic to previous measurements of the proton charge radius in electron scattering experiments, and permitted a precise, model-independent extraction of $r_p$ by reaching unprecedentedly low values of $Q^2$, the square of the electron's transfer of four-momentum to the proton.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Two-dimensional parametric design of short pulse laser driven iron opacity experiments

High intensity short pulse lasers are commonly used to create high temperature and high density plasmas. These plasmas are used to study fundamental properties such as the equation of state and opacity. The targets often use small-diameter, thin buried layers of the materials of interest, surrounded by a tamper of low atomic number material such as plastic. Computational modeling is used to design and interpret experiments with short pulse lasers. Most of the modeling to date has assumed one-dimensional plane-parallel geometry. In this paper, the effects of radial gradients in the irradiation of thin planar targets are studied with one- and two-dimensional radiation/hydrodynamic simulations. It is found that the main effect of radial gradients is the averaging of plasma conditions and x-ray emission over the pattern of irradiation. Additionally, differences between one- and two-dimensional simulations arise because the plasma conditions and x-ray emission are, in general, nonlinear functions of the temperature of the plasma and thereby also nonlinear functions of the irradiation intensity. The differences increase with the ratio of the buried layer radius to the laser spot radius. The root mean square difference in the inferred iron L-shell opacity is less than 30% when the ratio is less than 1.0 and about 70% when the ratio is 1.5.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Ab initio no-core solutions for 6 Li

Here, we solve for properties of 6 Li in the ab initio no-core full configuration (NCFC) approach and we separately solve for its ground state and ${J}^{\pi }={2}_{2}^{+}$ resonance with the Gamow shell model (GSM) in the Berggren basis. We employ both the JISP16 and chiral ${\mathrm{NNLO}}_{\mathrm{opt}}$ realistic nucleon–nucleon interactions and investigate the ground state energy, excitation energies, point proton root mean square (rms) radius and a suite of electroweak observables. We also extend and test methods to extrapolate the ground state energy, point proton rms radius, and electric quadrupole moment. We attain improved estimates of these observables in the NCFC approach by using basis spaces up through ${N}_{\max }=18$ that enable more definitive comparisons with experiment. Using the density matrix renormalization group approach with the JISP16 interaction, we find that we can significantly improve the convergence of the GSM treatment of the 6Li ground state and ${J}^{\pi }={2}_{2}^{+}$ resonance by adopting a natural orbital single-particle basis.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Using isotope shift for testing nuclear theory: The case of nobelium isotopes

We calculate field isotope shifts for nobelium atoms using nuclear charge distributions which come from different nuclear models.We demonstrate that comparing calculated isotope shifts with experiment can serve as a testing ground for nuclear theories. It also provides a way of extracting parameters of nuclear charge distribution beyond nuclear root mean square (rms) radius, e.g., parameter of quadrupole deformation β. The measurements of at least two atomic transitions is needed to disentangle the contributions of the changes in deformation and nuclear rms radius into field isotopic shift. We argue that a previous interpretation of the isotope measurements in terms of δ < r 2 > between 252,254 No isotopes should be amended when nuclear deformation is taken into account. As a result, we calculate isotope shifts for other known isotopes and for hypothetically metastable isotope 286 No for which the predictions of nuclear models differ substantially.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Improvements to the Langley HZE abrasion model

Improvements to a previously developed high charge energy abrasion model are made by incorporating more realistic values for the constituent Fermi momentum and nucleon root-mean-square charge radius. The theoretical predictions for neon projectiles at 2.1 GeV/nucleon colliding with carbon and molybdenum targets are in excellent agreement with recent experiment results.

Townsend, L. W.↗

The nuclear charge radius of 13 C

The size is a key property of a nucleus. Accurate nuclear radii are extracted from elastic electron scattering, laser spectroscopy, and muonic atom spectroscopy. The results are not always compatible, as the proton-radius puzzle has shown most dramatically. Beyond helium, precision data from muonic and electronic sources are scarce in the light-mass region. The stable isotopes of carbon are an exception. We present a laser spectroscopic measurement of the root-mean-square (rms) charge radius of 13 C and compare this with ab initio nuclear structure calculations. Measuring all hyperfine components of the 2 3 S → 2 3 P fine-structure triplet in 13 C 4+ ions referenced to a frequency comb allows us to determine its center-of-gravity with accuracy better than 2 MHz although second-order hyperfine-structure effects shift individual lines by several GHz. We improved the uncertainty of R c ( 13 C) determined with electrons by a factor of 6 and found a 3σ discrepancy with the muonic atom result of similar accuracy.

Müller, Patrick [Technical Univ. of Darmstadt (Ger↗

Effective operators in two-nucleon systems

Effective Hamiltonians and effective electroweak operators are calculated with the Okubo-Lee-Suzuki formalism for two-nucleon systems. Working within a harmonic oscillator basis, first without and then with a confining harmonic oscillator trap, we demonstrate the effects of renormalization on observables calculated for truncated basis spaces. We illustrate the renormalization effects for the root-mean-square point-proton radius, electric quadrupole moment, magnetic dipole moment, Gamow-Teller transition and neutrinoless double-beta decay operator using nucleon-nucleon interactions from chiral Effective Field Theory. Renormalization effects tend to be larger in the weaker traps and smaller basis spaces suggesting applications to heavier nuclei with transitions dominated by weakly-bound nucleons would be subject to more significant renormalization effects within achievable basis spaces.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Analytical modeling and simulation of electrical contact resistance for elastic rough electrode surface contact including frictional temperature rise

An improved electrical contact resistance (ECR) model for elastic rough electrode contact is proposed, incorporating the effects of asperity interactions and temperature rise by frictional and joule heating. The analytical simulation results show that the ECR decreases steeply at the beginning of the contact between Al and Cu. However, it becomes stabilized after reaching a specific contact force. It is also found that the longer elapsed sliding contact time, the higher ECR due to the increase in electrical resistivity of electrode materials by the frictional temperature rise at the interface. The effects of surface roughness parameters on ECR are studied through the 3 2 full-factorial design-of-experiment analysis. Based on the two representative roughness parameters, i.e., root-mean-square (rms) roughness and asperity radius, their individual and coupled effects on the saturated ECR are examined. The saturated ECR increases with the rms roughness for a rough machined surface condition, but it is hardly affected by the asperity radius. On the other hand, the saturated ECR increases with both the rms roughness and the asperity radius under a smooth thin film surface condition.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Statistical tests of galactic dynamo theory

Mean-field galactic dynamo theory is the leading theory to explain the prevalence of regular magnetic fields in spiral galaxies, but its systematic comparison with observations is still incomplete and fragmentary. Here we compare predictions of mean-field dynamo models to observational data on magnetic pitch angle and the strength of the mean magnetic field. We demonstrate that a standard α{sup 2}Ω dynamo model produces pitch angles of the regular magnetic fields of nearby galaxies that are reasonably consistent with available data. The dynamo estimates of the magnetic field strength are generally within a factor of a few of the observational values. Reasonable agreement between theoretical and observed pitch angles generally requires the turbulent correlation time τ to be in the range of 10–20 Myr, in agreement with standard estimates. Moreover, good agreement also requires that the ratio of the ionized gas scale height to root-mean-square turbulent velocity increases with radius. Our results thus widen the possibilities to constrain interstellar medium parameters using observations of magnetic fields. This work is a step toward systematic statistical tests of galactic dynamo theory. Such studies are becoming more and more feasible as larger data sets are acquired using current and up-and-coming instruments.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Spatial extent of the excited exciton states in WS 2 monolayers from diamagnetic shifts

Here, we experimentally study the radii of excitons in hBN-encapsulated WS 2 monolayers by means of magneto-optical reflectance spectroscopy at cryogenic temperatures in magnetic fields up to 29 T. We observe field-induced energy shifts of the exciton ground and excited states due to valley Zeeman and diamagnetic effects. We find the g factor of the first excited state of –4.2 ± 0.1 to be essentially equal to that of the ground state of –4.35 ± 0.1. From diamagnetic shifts, we determine the root mean square radii of the excitons. The radius of the first excited state is found to be 5–8 nm and that of the ground state around 2 nm. Our results further confirm the Wannier-Mott nature of the exciton quasiparticles in monolayer semiconductors and the assignment of the optical resonances in absorption-type measurements. They also provide additional support for the applicability of the effective mass hydrogenlike models in these systems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Cloud Droplet Size and Liquid Water Path Retrievals From Zenith Radiance Measurements: Examples From the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program and the Aerosol Robotic Network

The ground-based Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) and NASA Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) routinely monitor clouds using zenith radiances at visible and near-infrared wavelengths. Using the transmittance calculated from such measurements, we have developed a new retrieval method for cloud effective droplet size and conducted extensive tests for non-precipitating liquid water clouds. The underlying principle is to combine a water-absorbing wavelength (i.e. 1640 nm) with a nonwater-absorbing wavelength for acquiring information on cloud droplet size and optical depth. For simulated stratocumulus clouds with liquid water path less than 300 g/sq m and horizontal resolution of 201m, the retrieval method underestimates the mean effective radius by 0.8 m, with a root-mean-squared error of 1.7 m and a relative deviation of 13 %. For actual observations with a liquid water path less than 450 gm.2 at the ARM Oklahoma site during 2007-2008, our 1.5 min-averaged retrievals are generally larger by around 1 m than those from combined ground-based cloud radar and microwave radiometer at a 5min temporal resolution. We also compared our retrievals to those from combined shortwave flux and microwave observations for relatively homogeneous clouds, showing that the bias between these two retrieval sets is negligible, but the error of 2.6 m and the relative deviation of 22% are larger than those found in our simulation case. Finally, the transmittance-based cloud effective droplet radii agree to better than 11% with satellite observations and have a negative bias of 1 m. Overall, the retrieval method provides reasonable cloud effective radius estimates, which can enhance the cloud products of both ARM and AERONET.

Chiu, J. C.↗

On Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism

A statistical description of Earth's broad scale, core-source magnetic field has been developed and tested. The description features an expected, or mean, spatial magnetic power spectrum that is neither "flat" nor "while" at any depth, but is akin to spectra advanced by Stevenson and McLeod. This multipole spectrum describes the magnetic energy range; it is not steep enough for Gubbins' magnetic dissipation range. Natural variations of core multipole powers about their mean values are to be expected over geologic time and are described via trial probability distribution functions that neither require nor prohibit magnetic isotropy. The description is thus applicable to core-source dipole and low degree non-dipole fields despite axial dipole anisotropy. The description is combined with main field models of modem satellite and surface geomagnetic measurements to make testable predictions of: (1) the radius of Earth's core, (2) mean paleomagnetic field intensity, and (3) the mean rates and durations of both dipole power excursions and durable axial dipole reversals. The predicted core radius is 0.7% above the 3480 km seismologic value. The predicted root mean square paleointensity (35.6 mu T) and mean Virtual Axial Dipole Moment (about 6.2 lx 1022 Am(exp 2)) are within the range of various mean paleointensity estimates. The predicted mean rate of dipole power excursions, as defined by an absolute dipole moment <20% of the 1980 value, is 9.04/Myr and 14% less than obtained by analysis of a 4 Myr paleointensity record. The predicted mean rate of durable axial dipole reversals (2.26/Myr) is 2.3% more than established by the polarity time-scale for the past 84 Myr. The predicted mean duration of axial dipole reversals (5533 yr) is indistinguishable from an observational value. The accuracy of these predictions demonstrates the power and utility of the description, which is thought to merit further development and testing. It is suggested that strong stable stratification of Earth's uppermost outer core leads to a geologically long interval of no dipole reversals and a very nearly axisymmetric field outside the core. Statistical descriptions of other planetary magnetic fields are outlined.

Voorhies, Coerte V.↗

Global anomaly and undulation recovery using GEOS-3 altimeter data

The data were adjusted to remove orbit error and altimeter bias in a primary adjustment and four regional adjustments. The root mean square crossover discrepancy was about + or - 55 cm after the adjustment. The adjusted altimeter data, now considered to give geoid undulations, was used to predict values at 1 deg intersections from which an oceanic geoid map, with predicted accuracies, was prepared at a two meter contour interval. This geoid was compared to the Gemini 9 geoid over very long profiles to examine the long wavelength error in the altimeter geoid. At a wavelength of 13,010 km the root mean squares difference was 57 cm. The altimeter geoid was also compared to altimeter geoids fixed by precise orbits. A root mean square difference was found of about 1 m with a systematic difference that implied the equatorial radius of the earth was 6,378,137 meters. The adjusted altimeter data was also used to determine a total of 29,479 1 deg x 1 deg anomalies (and undulations).

Rapp, R. H.↗