Measurement of astrophysical S factors and electron screening potentials for d(d, n)3He reaction In ZrD2, TiD2, D2O, and CD2 targets in the ultralow energy region using plasma accelerators

The paper is devoted to study electron screening effect influence on the rate of d(d, n)³He reaction in the ultralow deuteron collision energy range in the deuterated polyethylene (CD₂), frozen heavy water (D₂O) and deuterated metals (ZrD₂ and TiD₂). The ZrD₂ and TiD₂ targets were fabricated via magnetron sputtering of titanium and zirconium in gas (deuterium) environment. The experiments have been carried out using high-current plasma pulsed accelerator with forming of inverse Z pinch (HCEIRAS, Russia) and pulsed Hall plasma accelerator (NPI at TPU, Russia). The detection of neutrons with energy of 2.5MeV from dd reaction was done with plastic scintillation spectrometers. As a result of the experiments the energy dependences of astrophysical S factor for the dd reaction in the deuteron collision energy range of 2?C7 keV and the values of the electron screening potential U _e of interacting deuterons have been measured for the indicated above target: U _e (CD₂) ? 40 eV; U _e (D₂O) ? 26 eV; U _e (ZrD₂) = 157 ± 43 eV; U _e (TiD₂) = 125±34 eV. The value of astrophysical S factor, corresponding to the deuteron collision energy equal to zero, in the experiments with D₂O target is found: S _b (0) = 58.6 ± 3.6 keV b. The paper compares our results with other available published experimental and calculated data.     

Preliminary results of the study of the d(d,n)3He reaction in the astrophysical energy range with the use of a Hall plasma accelerator

The possibility of using a plasma accelerator based on a pulsed Hall ion source to study the characteristics of pd, dd, d³He, ³He, and⁴He reactions in the astrophysical energy range (2–12 keV) has been considered. The preliminary experimental data on measurement of the astrophysical S factor for the dd reaction (dd → ³He + n (2.5 MeV)) at average deuteron collision energies E _col = 4.5 and 4.95 keV and the deuteron beam energy spread FWHM = 18% are reported. The found value of the S factor is in agreement with the results of the experiments carried out by us previously using linear plasma in the inverse Z-pinch configuration.     

Measurement of the astrophysical S factor for dd interaction at ultralow deuteron-collision energies using the inverse Z pinch

This paper is devoted to measurement of the astrophysical S factor and cross sections of the d + d → ³He + n reaction at ultralow deuteron-collision energies. Formation of the flow of the accelerated deuterons incident on the CD₂ solid-state target was made within the scheme of the inverse Z pinch. The liner in the initial state was a hollow supersonic deuterium jet of radius of 15 mm and length of 20 mm. The experiment was carried out at the pulsed high-current accelerator (I=950 kA, τ=80 ns) of the Institute of High-Current Electronics (Tomsk, Russia). Measurement of the deuteron energy distribution was performed through an analysis of the time distributions of the intensity of the liner radiation (H_α and H_β lines) generated during the liner radial movement from the axis. Recording of this radiation was carried out by optical detectors placed along the direction of the liner moving from its axis. The measured value of the astrophysical S factor for the dd reaction at the average deuteron collision energy E _coll=3.69 keV was equal to S(E _coll=3.69 keV)=58.2±18.1 keV b. The dd-reaction cross section calculated using the found value of the S factor and known representation of the reaction cross section as the product of the barrier factor and the astrophysical S factor was σ _dd ⁿ (E _coll=3.69 keV)=(1.33±0.41)×10^?30 cm².     

Astrophysical S factor for dd interaction at ultralow energies

Experimental results are presented that were obtained by measuring the astrophysical S factor for dd interaction at very low deuteron collision energies by using the liner-plasma technique. The experiment was performed at the high-current generator of the High-Current Electronics Institute (Tomsk, Russia). The values found for the S factor at the deuteron collision energies of 1.80, 2.06, and 2.27 keV are S _dd=114±68, 64±30, and 53±16 keV b, respectively. The corresponding dd cross sections obtained as the product of the barrier factor and the measured astrophysical S factor are σ _dd ⁿ (E _col=1.80 keV)=(4.3±2.6)×10^?33cm², σ _dd ⁿ (E _col=2.06 keV)=(9.8±4.6)×10^?33cm², and σ _dd ⁿ (E _col=2.27 keV)=(2.1±0.6)×10^?32cm².     

Investigation of temperature dependence of neutron yield and electron screening potential for the d(d, n)3He reaction proceeding in deuterides ZrD2 and TiD2

The temperature dependence of the enhancement factor for the dd reaction proceeding in TiD₂ and ZrD₂ is investigated. The experiments were carried out at the Hall pulsed ion accelerator (INP, Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia) in the deuteron energy interval 7.0?C12.0 keV and at temperatures ranging from 20 to 200°C. The values obtained for the electron screening potentials indicate that the dd reaction enhancement factor does not depend on the target temperature in the range 20?C200°C. This result contradicts the conclusions drawn by the LUNA Collaboration from their work.     

Polarization of protons in C12(d,p)C13 reaction

The angular distributions of the polarization of protons from C¹²(d,p)C¹³(g.s) reaction were measured at 200 keV intervals for deuteron energies from 1.40 to 2.40 MeV. Elastic scattering on C¹² at 45 ° (lab) was used to analyze the polarization. Positive sign of the polarization corresponds to the vector productK _d ×K _p . The maximum polarization observed is about 30%. The results are not similar to those obtained from the mirror reaction C¹²(d,n)N¹³ in the same deuteron energy range.     

Total cross-section measurements for the production of nuclear gamma rays from light nuclei by low-energy deuterons

The thick target yields of the reactions ⁶Li, ⁹Be, ¹⁰B(d, nγ) for specific final nucleus γ-rays have been measured between deuteron bombarding energies of 48 and 170 keV. The measured thick target yields are used, together with recently published values of the stopping power of low-energy deuterons in matter, to infer the total reaction cross sections for the production of the specific γ-rays between deuteron energies of 65 and 160 keV. The cross sections are compared to appropriate Coulomb barrier penetration probabilities and the astrophysical functions S(E) are deduced.     

Investigation of the reaction D(<Superscript>4</Superscript>He, γ)<Superscript>6</Superscript>Li at ultralow energies

The cross section of the reaction D(⁴He, γ)⁶Li with titanium and zirconium deuterides as targets is measured for incident ⁴He⁺ ion energies of 30 and 36 keV, respectively. The ion beam is generated by a Hall pulsed plasma accelerator. For the first time, upper limits on the cross section of the reaction D(⁴He, γ)⁶Li at ultralow energies are imposed (at 90% confidence level): σ ≤ 1.2 × 10^?35 cm² for the TiD₂ target and E(⁴He⁺) = 30 keV, and σ ≤ 7 × 10^?36 cm² for the ZrD₂ target and E(⁴He⁺) = 36 keV     

Measuring the astrophysical S factors and the cross sections of the p(d, γ)3He reaction in the ultralow energy region using a zirconium deuteride target

The present paper is dedicated to the study of the p(d, γ)³He reaction mechanism with the use of a zirconium deuteride target at proton energies of 11–19 keV. The experiment has been carried out using a proton beam of a high-current pulsed Hall accelerator at the National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University. The dependences of the astrophysical S factor and the effective cross section of the pd reaction on the proton-deuteron collision energy are measured. The results were compared with the available data. The results detailed in the present work agree with the results of an experiment carried out by the LUNA collaboration with the use of a gaseous deuterium target.     

Study of DD-reaction yields from the Ti/TiO2:Dx heterostructure at low energies using the GELIS setup

The results of measurements of the DD-reaction yields from the Ti/TiO₂:D_x heterostructure in the energy range of 10–25 keV are presented. Neutron and proton fluxes were measured using a neutron detector based on He-3 counters and a CR-39 plastic track detector. A comparison with calculations showed the existence of significant effects of DD-reaction yield amplification. The screening potential for this heterostructure under these experimental conditions was estimated to be in the range U _e = 160–750 eV.     

DD reaction enhancement and X-ray generation in a high-current pulsed glow discharge in deuterium with titanium cathode at 0.8–2.45 kV

The DD reaction yield (3-MeV protons) and the soft X-ray emission from a titanium (Ti) cathode surface in a periodic pulsed glow discharge in deuterium were studied at a discharge voltage of 0.8–2.45 kV and a discharge current density of 300–600 mA/cm². The electron screening potential U_e = 610 ± 150 eV was estimated in the range of deuteron energies 0.8 keV < E_d < 2.45 keV from an analysis of the DD reaction yield as a function of the accelerating voltage. The obtained data show evidence for a significant enhancement of the DD reaction yield in Ti in comparison to both theoretical estimates (based on the extrapolation of the known DD reaction cross section for E_d ≥ 5 keV to low deuteron energies in the Bosch-Halle approximation) and the results of experiments using accelerators at the deuteron energies E_lab ≥ 2.5 keV and current densities 50–500 μ A/cm². Intense emission of soft X-ray quanta (10¹³–10¹⁴ s^?1 cm^?2) was observed at an average energy of 1.2–1.5 keV. The X-ray emission intensity and the DD reaction yield enhancement strongly depend on the rate of deuterium diffusion in a thin subsurface layer of Ti cathode.     

The 18O(p, α)15N cross section at low energies

The ¹⁸O(p, α)¹⁵N reaction cross section has been measured over the energy range 661 keV > E_c.m > 223 keV. The S-function was extrapolated to energies of astrophysical interest using the R-matrix theory. The S-factor, S₀, is estimated to be 46 MeV · b which is a factor of 3 larger than the value used in a recent tabulation of nuclear reaction rates. The effects of broad levels near the proton threshold are discussed.     

Electron transfer in low energetic Ne2+/Ar,Kr collisions

Single electron capture processes in Ne²⁺/Ar, Kr collisions were studied by aid of the high-resolution translational spectroscopy. At low collision energies (<1 keV) the dominant contribution to the Ne⁺-spectrum arises from Ne²⁺ ions in the metastable¹ S ₀-state, although it is the weakest component of the primary Ne²⁺ beam. Ne²⁺(³ P) and Ne^2+*(¹ D) projectiles play no important role due to unfavourable energy defects. Target excitation processes as well as transfer ionisation are considered as a possible explanation for different structures in the measured Ne⁺ spectra.     

Hydrogen burning of 20Ne and 22Ne in stars

The ²⁰Ne(p, γ)²¹Na capture reaction has been studied in the energy range E_p = 0.37–2.10 MeV. Direct-capture transitions to the $\text{332 (}\text{5}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{)}\text{and}\text{2425}\text{keV}\text{(}\text{1}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{)}$ states have been found with spectroscopic factors of C²S(1d) = 0.77±0.13 and C²S(2s) = 0.90±0.12, respectively. The high-energy tail of the 2425 keV state, bound by 7 keV against proton decay, has also been observed in the above energy range as a subthreshold resonance. The excitation function for this tail is consistent with a single-level Breit-Wigner shape for a γ-width of Γ_γ = 0.31±0.07 eV at E_x = 2425 keV. The extrapolation of these data to stellar energies gives an astrophysical S-factor of S(0) = 3500 keV · b. Two new resonances at E_p = 384±5 and 417± 5 keV have been observed with strengths of ωγ = 0.11±0.02 and 0.06±0.01 meV, corresponding to the known states at and 2829 keV (presumably $\text{9}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{+}}$), respectively. For the known E_p = 1830 keV resonance, a strength of ωγ = 1.0± 0.3 eV and a total width of Γ = 180± 15 keV were found. Branching ratios as well as transition strengths have been obtained for these three states. The Q-value for the ²⁰Ne(p, γ)²¹Na reaction (Q = 2432.3 ± 0.5 keV) as well as excitation energies for many low-lying states in ²¹Na have been measured. No evidence was found for the existence of the state reported at E_x = 4308±4 keV.In the case of ²²Ne(p, γ)²³Na, direct-capture transitions to six final bound states have been observed revealing sizeable spectroscopic factors for these states. The astrophysical S-factor extrapolated from these data to stellar energies, is S(0) = 67 ± 12 keV · b.The astrophysical as well as the nuclear structure aspects of the present results are discussed.     

The polarization of protons from the 2H(d, p)3H reaction for deuteron energies below 1 MeV

The angular distribution of proton polarization P^γ' (θ) from the ${}^2\text{H}\text{(}\text{d,}\text{p}\text{)}{}^3\text{H}$ reaction has been measured at 975 keV deuteron energy. Moreover, the energy dependence of P^γ′(E_d) was measured at 45°(lab) for deuteron energies between 250 and 975 keV. The values of σ₀(θ)P^γ' (θ) were fitted in terms of an associated Legendre polynomial expansion. The measured energy dependence of P^γ' (E_d) has been analyzed in terms of barrier-penetration parameters.     

Astrophysical <Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis>-factor of T(<Superscript>4</Superscript>He, γ)<Superscript>7</Superscript>Li reaction at <Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis><Subscript>cm</Subscript> = 15.7 keV

The astrophysical S-factor of the reaction T(⁴He, γ)⁷Li is measured for the first time at the center of mass energy E _cm = 15.7 keV, lower than the energy range of the Standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (SBBN) model. The experiment is performed on a Hall pulsed accelerator (TPU, Tomsk). An acceleration pulse length of 10 μs allows one to suppress the background of cosmic radiation and the ambient medium by five orders of magnitude. A beam intensity of ~ 5 × 10^{14 4}He⁺ ions per pulse allows one to measure an extremely low reaction yield. The yield of γ-quanta with the energies E _γ ⁰ = 2483.7 keV and E _γ ¹ = 2006.1 keV is registered by NaI(Tl) detectors with the efficiency ε = 0.331 ± 0.026. A method for direct measurement of the background from the chain of reactions T(⁴He, ⁴He)T→T(T, 2n)X→(n, γ) and/or (n, n′γ) which ends by neutron activation of materials surrounding the target is proposed and implemented in this study. The value of the astrophysical S-factor of the reaction T(⁴He, γ)⁷Li S _αt (E _cm = 15.7 keV) = 0.091 ± 0.032 keV b provides the choice from the set of experimental data for the astrophysical S _αt -factor in favor of experimental data [4] with S _αt (E _cm = 0) = 0.1067 ± 0.0064 keV b.     

Signals of new gauge bosons at futuree + e − colliders

We analyze possible indirect signals of additional neutral gauge bosons at futuree ⁺ e ^? colliders, concentrating onSU(2) _L ×U(1) _y ×U(1) _y , andSU(2) _L ×SU(2) _R ×U(1) effective theories. We develop a simple formalism to describe these effects and make a careful study of radiative corrections, in particular initial state radiation, which will be shown to have important implications. To make realistic estimates of the sensitivity to the new gauge boson effects, we use a model detector fore ⁺ e ^? annihilation at a center of mass energy of 500 GeV. Using a number of selected physical observables we then show that masses considerably higher than the total energy (up to a factor of 6) can be probed and that distinction between various theoretical models is possible.     

Enhancement of DD-reaction yields from the Ti/TiO2:Dx heterostructure by H+ and N+ ion beams using the GELIS setup

The results on DD-reaction yield enhancement from the Ti/TiO₂:D_x heterostructure by H⁺ and N⁺ ion beams in the energy range of 10–25 keV are presented. Neutron and proton fluxes weremeasured using a neutron detector based onHe-3 counters and a CR-39 plastic track detector. Measurements showed significant DD-reaction yield enhancement effects. The screening potential for this heterostructure under these experimental conditions was determined as U _e = 796 eV.     

Natural left-right symmetry,atomic parity experiments and asymmetries in high energy e+e− collisions in petra and pep regions

The previously proposed left-right-symmetric SU(2)_L × SU(2)_R × U(1) theory permits one of the two neutral gauge particles N₁ and N₂ to be particularly light (<mW⁺_L) compatible with all neutrin-data and the present atomic parity experiments. Distinguishing features of this theory (with the light mass solution) for e^?e⁺ → μ⁺μ^? and π⁺π^? at PETRA and PEP energies as compared to the SU(2) × U(1) predictions are given.     

Rovibronic structure in the electron energy spectrum for associative ionization: Ne(3 P 2), Ar(3 P 2)+H

Associative ionization in thermal energy (300 K) collisions between Ne(2p ⁵ 3s ³P₂), Ar(3p ⁵ 4s ³ P ₂) metastable atoms and hydrogen atomsH(1s ² S _1/2) has been studied by high resolution (20 meV) electron spectrometry. The spectra exhibit structure due to the formation of different vibrational states in the molecular ion and show superimposed rotational structure. Direct information is obtained on the relative population of the rovibronic states and on their energy positions. The well depth of the ionic potential curves has been determined as:D _e (NeH ⁺ X ¹ Σ ⁺)=2.27 (3) eV,D _e (ArH ⁺ X ¹ Σ ⁺)=4.02(3) eV.